is there a particular speed profile we want to fit into? with my shadow hawk i was hoping to eventually go 5/8/5 which would put me in range of doing raid missions. which type of lance do we want to be? -recon 6/9 (or 5/8/5) -raiding: 5/8 (or 4/6/4) -heavy: 4/6 (or 3/5/3) -assault: 3/5 (or 2/3/2) as mentioned earlier, the speed profile our lance has will limit which missions we can do (more options at faster speeds)
Let me know when your mech choices are final and I'll convert your remaining cbills to TP for modifications.
The more I think about it, the more starting with a mech that goes at least 5/8/5 appeals to me. getting a Firebee would leave me with 3 TP to spare... that is A LOT of wiggle room to pimp my ride spend 1 TP for better armor... add Jumping Jack ability.... and i would have a very lethal mid-range harasser. the Firestarter FS9-K would be another good choice...
After speaking with Magnus last night I made the switch out of the Thorn into the Kyudo. Unless we're changing the lance config then that's what I'll be starting with.
So since you want Claymore to be more of a 'raider' lance, what are the chances that I can spend TP to increase the engine in this Kyudo so that I'm getting 5/8 for movement?
that is a very good question. replacing the engine requires a factory level facility (class F). i think skwi will let you do factory level upgrades at specific times during the course of the campaign. but dont expect it to be a common occurance. if you have 3 TP leftover, it might be wise to get it right at the start than to wait for the next opportunity. Recon: if we go 6/9 (or 5/8/5), 35-55 tons is going to be our sweet spot. Raiding: if we go 5/8 (or 4/6/4), 55-85 tons is our sweet spot. We could always start at one tier and then move into another once we have the required speeds.
Unfortunately, I only have 2TP left after upgrading into the Kyudo. Unless there's an OA bank I can get a loan from, then stock is what I'm starting out with.
what about going with the original plan then? start with a cheap mech and save up for something better later. the Firestarter K would be a good choice too; 35 tons, much more customizable. also, i think the Thorn might be off-limits because periphery doesn't have the ability to repair endo-steel
sounds like I should switch from the barely mobile Eisenfaust to something else then, maybe that firebee config you were talking about magnus?
that is your choice. we have been anticipating there will be a bit of reshuffling in the ranks now that we have the format pretty well figured out. there are others taking the eisenfaust so we could always group you with them (i think trev is one of them). If you wanted to stick with me, I will gladly have you. And yeah... the firebee does seem to be the best option for our purposes; it is 500k cheaper than the firestarter K. the only real advantage that the firestarter has is that it is even faster (6/9).
just switch me to the firebee, we can always loot something better or make some kind of franken mech. I'll have to swap around my skills too. what would you suggest?
Exactly, there are many medium mechs capable of going 5/8/5 or 6/9. We will likely be able to upgrade once the campaign is underway. The firebee will just give us a good place to start with. As far as skills go, consider taking Jumping Jack and focusing on your secondary skills early on (that is what I'm doing). Reason: Enemy BV is affected by primary skills but NOT secondary skills & abilities. The difference will be subtle at first, but this will make our fights easier in the long run. Jumping Jack will be especially useful to you in a firebee. It reduces your gunnery penalty from +3 to +1 when shooting while jumping. When you consider that your jumping 5 hexes adds a +3 gunnery penalty to any enemy attempting to shoot you, that is a +2 penalty to-hit in your favor (THAT IS HUGE). To put it in MWO terms, this ability turns you into a pop-tart mechwarrior. You will both deal more and take less damage than your opponents... incredibly useful in a light or medium mech. again.. just my recommendation. if you aren't keen on always having JJs, I would pick a different ability. also, remember you can only grab 1 ability every 6 months in-game, so be sure to grab your first one right at the start.
I'm also realizing now that Jumping Jack is pretty damn broken. Not much I can do for the moment besides make it more expensive (4 XP more feels about right... for now).
I know.. I'm sorry. I certainly don't want to stay in a firebee either. But don't get too down about it. We are just very limited in our options at the start. Give it a few missions. Once we start getting some salvage we will have a lot more options.
