It seems that every lance is a mixed bag of faster and slower mechs. And if I am remembering all the selections right I dont think any lance has an average base speed fast enough to do Recon/Raid missions. If everyone likes the mechs they have picked out should we think about some reshuffling of personnel so that we are able to hit all the mission types?
people that don't want to change mechs should probably at least consider the possibility of swapping places with other lances. i think the best way to go about it would be for lances leaders to start considering what role they want their lance to play. individuals should start deciding what "role" they are most interested in playing. go from there. it is okay to swap players. no one's feelings should be hurt. and there isn't actually any specific rules against lances with mixed speeds. only that their combined speed is the slowest mech in their lance (slowest sets the pace). furthermore, not everyone has to play recon missions and not everyone has to play assault missions. there is still plenty options either way. for those who forgot, here are the mission tiers again: -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) personally, i had intended to get my old Shadow Hawk up to 5/8/5 so i could do recon. however, my mech will be stuck at 4/6/4 for quite some time limiting myself to raids (normally reserved for mechs that go 5/8 without JJs). 5/8 or 4/6/4 and up is my preferred movement speed so I guess you could consider Claymore aiming to be a "raider" lance. we have 4 lances and 4 tiers. who wants to claim the others? keep in mind that as we acquire more salvage (mechs), there is nothing stopping us from swapping roles. also, faster mechs can still participate in lower tiers with slower mechs. theoretically, we could probably even do without any Assault Lance (although that would leave the Eisenfausts out in the cold). other things to keep in mind: bigger (slower/more powerful) mechs are often deployed where they are needed most... a higher BV lance is likely to be deployed against tougher opponents. more dangerous combat = better/more salvage. higher risk = higher reward. you get the idea. ultimately, i want there to be not only a need for both sides of the weight spectrum, but incentives for both as well. we have quite a few Eisenfaust and Talos players. we could always group them together to form the core for our "assault" and "heavy" lances. faster mechs could fill in the holes anywhere as needed. UPDATE: the more i think about it, the more I think I want to play something other than a Shadow Hawk 1R; it is too slow and i already use a SHD in the other campaign . I would definitely be interested in starting off leading a recon lance if it is in the cards. a 5/8/5 or 6/9 mech would be very much to my liking.
We have 2 - 4/6, 1 4/6/4, and 1 5/8/5 which means we would be doing all heavy or assault runs. And while it might be challenging I think constantly going against much more heavily armed opponents might lead to my driving a truck... So if it is an option to move to a faster raid and recon lance I would be up for it. If there isnt enough interest then I shall play hide behind Trev until the fight really gets involved and I can pick stuff off from the edge.
they wouldn't be much more powerful than yourself... but they would be more powerful than say... if you all were all taking 20 ton Thorns. ergo, better salvage/rewards for your lance, but also more risk if you guys get in over your head and are forced to retreat. also keep in mind that max enemy mech weight is determined by the mission. if it is an escape mission, your mechs might be the heaviest mechs on the field, but be prepared to face a massive zerg force as they chase you down. basically, it is much more well defined than big mechs fight big mechs and small mechs fight small mechs.
Do we have enough pilots interested in a dedicated recon lance? It would be cool to see a fast lance setup that can do some recon missions and set up some other scenarios based on what they find and do. Magnus has said he would be fine leading a full recon lance if we have 3 other pilots who wish to be part of it. You don't have to have the recon secondary skill per se, just a wish to pilot a light fast mech on these types of missions.
Recon will definitely NOT be /easymode. If you want to be in the recon lance with me, it is important that you have a firm understanding of light mech tactics. We will need to pull every trick in the book. I recommend Firebees or Firestarters (K model) as a starting mech. Both come armed with a Large Laser which will help in picking apart targets from longer ranges when we need to. Also, add Taake to the list. I think Sheo said he could switch too. Sheo, did you want in on this? That leaves us just one open slot from my lance (pretty sure Fet likes his Talos).
Well, I am Iron Man... and had planned to stick in my Firebee or some faster mech for the duration. Talking with Skwi to see what he'd like to do with me.
Sheo is now confirmed for my lance. It is my understanding that Hordac will also be joining me. If all goes as expected, that means myself, Taake, Sheo, and Hordac will be acting dedicated Recon. I have not heard back from Fet recently, but I'm assuming he would take Hordac's place in Broadsword (using a Talos).
Works for me as long as Fet is cool with it. I shall go start packing and you lance leader types can move our spiffy character pictures around in the lance threads.
