Would you . . .

[Hellraiser]

Indeed, as long as it's a 2KO...

I'm absolutely sure you MUST have meant NDA-2KC which is clearly the better machine 

[Hellraiser]

you must be the only person in the world who thinks of the Atlas as a Kuritian mech

I mean... TECHNICALLY they did have 2/3 of all Atlas factories from 3039 till Jihad.

So there's 30 years or so where its "Mostly" Kuritan, lol.

And let me tell you, all joking aside............. I'm STILL really bitter about that.

[Hellraiser]

I TRIED THAT. IT DIDN'T WORK.

LMAO,  I knew that was coming before I even saw it.

[Catfur]

I'm absolutely sure you MUST have meant NDA-2KC which is clearly the better machine 

It is (by removing a waste-of-BV rear laser), but only during the time periods that it actually exists. Existence matters, after all.

[Prospernia]

Replace a sword, that can do 14-points of damage, using the Punch hit-location with a one in six chance of a head-hit?  No way. I'm huntin' a Dire Wolf with those.

[Colt Ward]

Replace a sword, that can do 14-points of damage, using the Punch hit-location with a one in six chance of a head-hit?  No way. I'm huntin' a Dire Wolf with those.

Hand-held melee weapons go full chart . . .

[Aresneo]

Replace a sword, that can do 14-points of damage, using the Punch hit-location with a one in six chance of a head-hit?  No way. I'm huntin' a Dire Wolf with those.

Swords do 1/10th tonnage +1 damage so a No-Dachi does 8 damage with their sword, they also hit on the full body table.

[Colt Ward]

I know the damage was less than a hatchet but I do not know the specifics off the top of my head.  I do know they also get a -1 TH  . . so with the right pilot and the advanced rules you could call upper which the -1 helps offset the penalty.

[Charistoph]

I know the damage was less than a hatchet but I do not know the specifics off the top of my head.  I do know they also get a -1 TH  . . so with the right pilot and the advanced rules you could call upper which the -1 helps offset the penalty.

Swords get a -2 TH, as opposed to Hatchet's -1, which helps a bit more.

[Hellraiser]

Swords get a -2 TH, as opposed to Hatchet's -1, which helps a bit more.

It just occurred to me.
Swords are the "Pulse Laser" of punching.
-2 to hit, +1 damage,  but you can only fit in half as many of them :)

[Weirdo]

Yeah, a fast machine with a sword is something fast lights will have to be wary of, especially those with reflec armor that might laugh at actual pulse lasers.

[JadeHellbringer]

Yeah, a fast machine with a sword is something fast lights will have to be wary of, especially those with reflec armor that might laugh at actual pulse lasers.

One of the best cures for a Gyrfalcon-infestation is, luckily for the Falcons, built a long, long way from the green OZ.

[Weirdo]

Yeah, I think they just have to worry about Chimeras.

Gotta be honest, that's a thought I never expected to express.

[Colt Ward]

One of the best cures for a Gyrfalcon-infestation is, luckily for the Falcons, built a long, long way from the green OZ.

I would expect to see AES equipped melee mechs start showing up.  Particularly a AES/mace design to offset it's negatives.  It parallels a traditional discussion of DMG vs accuracy- Gauss Rifles or Clan LPL?

[smdvogrin]

It just occurred to me.
Swords are the "Pulse Laser" of punching.
-2 to hit, +1 damage,  but you can only fit in half as many of them :)

They also have the downside of a worse hit table - full body vs punch table.

[Hellraiser]

Meh, the idea of punching a head off sounds really cool on paper.
Having run customized TSM Wolverines multiple times over the years, I can safely say, it isn't nearly as easy/often as we all hope.

[Colt Ward]

See, thing is you could have a sword w/AEs in a arm, her a -3 TH . . .and using called shots say 'upper' and the penalty is negated or better (do not know it top of head) so a average Wolverine pilot with a sword would get 8 or 9 on a 1 in 6 shot at the head w/o overheating for a weapons targeting penalty.

And you do not put a average pilot in that sort of machine.

[Hellraiser]

See, thing is you could have a sword w/AEs in a arm, her a -3 TH . . .and using called shots say 'upper' and the penalty is negated or better (do not know it top of head) so a average Wolverine pilot with a sword would get 8 or 9 on a 1 in 6 shot at the head w/o overheating for a weapons targeting penalty.

And you do not put a average pilot in that sort of machine.

IIRC it's a +4 to call Upper so your actually worse than 2 punches, and yeah, I never have Regs in the TSM machine, well, Reg PILOTs anyway.  4/3 or 3/3 is the goal there.

[DevianID]

If making a custom no-dachi, yeah id take the sword out.  But Id change almost everything on the mech, so not sure how fair that is.  Like, TC+pulse lasers with 2 hands for punching, light engine and supercharger, and a fancy armor.  Totally different design at that point.

The Sword is good if you are putting bad troops in the design, as you dont have to worry about falling on a missed kick, but still have kick accuracy.  With an Ace pilot, you are double punching even with no hand, cause the ace pilot skill means you hit regardless, so the sword is wasted.  But, despite the XL, the no-dachi was kinda a 'reguar joe' mech with MRMs and a sword, as for whatever reason the initial fluff had Kurita issue MRMs to regular troops so when they missed, the ammo cost less... and the sword fits with the 'regular joe' theme.  Here, stop kicking (and falling) Joe, use this cool sword instead (that wont incur more repair bills).

[Catfur]

One of the best cures for a Gyrfalcon-infestation is, luckily for the Falcons, built a long, long way from the green OZ.

Kicks are even better. 16 damage to a random location at -2 pales in comparison to 28 damage guaranteed to a leg at -2 to hit. A No-Dachi TSM kick leaves a Gyrfalcon with 4 pips left of structure if it hits an undamaged leg. Gyrfalcon lose leg, Gyrfalcon fall down and go boom, not jump all over any more.

[Weirdo]

The factor there is the PSR if you fail the kick. If your plans absolutely positively require your No-Dachi to be highly mobile the next turn, the kick night not be worth the risk.

That's what I love about this mech and others like it - depending on the situation, it has options...