Mecha Mecrs Skirmish Mission 14

With the IF's seat of power destroyed few of the Peace Keeper's command staff remain alive. One such officer is General Carvine, leader of the International Desert Task Force currently headquartered in Landum... and under siege by a relentless Zanvran assault.

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Cable Guy: “This is the big one, we pull this off and we might slip out from under the peacekeeper’s thumb without having to go rogue. The Zanvran army has managed to push deep into Landum and has come within striking distance of the International Task Force’s HQ. Task Force assets have been severely depleted over the past few days prompting them to hire a unit from Noblesse Oblige to bolster their defenses. Even those forces have suffered heavy casualties, so now the job falls to us.”

“Our primary objective is to protect the HQ from the incoming Zanvran assault if we can break their spearhead then it will give the Task Force brass enough time to evacuate and regroup at a better defended location. The Zanvrans have committed a full mech platoon backed up by assault servers and MGP units. The mecha themselves are piloted by veterans and elites and consist of general purpose crocodiles with specialist units mixed in. Once the mecha units have pushed forward they’ll be sending MGP-Ds to begin bombarding the command center and MGP-Bs and Cs to hit the flanks.”

“The base’s long range air defence net was disabled several days ago and Zanvran airstrikes have taken a heavy toll on the defenders. Fortunately they’ve recently managed to set up two temporary SAM sites that are keeping the enemy air units at bay. If these sites fall your job will get a lot harder as the Zanvran CAS will start strafing your position and they’ll bring in type-C heavy VTOLs to begin hacking your mecha. Aside from the SAM sites the base defenders have got a handful of infantry spread thin and a lone Lord mech from Noblesse piloted by a Captian Eshe Nkruma guarding key points.”

“The battlefield is a mess, the smoldering wreckage from previous battles will give you some form of cover. Just remember that mecha are taller than most vehicles so the wrecks won’t block line of sight and sandbags only offer protection to infantry. The helipad in the south west is a raised platform that will block line of sight. You’ll need jump jets if you want to get up there. There are multiple deployment zones to choose from. If you’re feeling bold we can slip a team into the warehouse at bravo and pop out to flank the main attack force but this will hamper your ability to redeploy around the HQ. We’ve also plenty of space to put the pioneers in if you want to deploy them.”

>All pilots post your builds and desired deployment zone.
>Officers if you wish to deploy the pioneers, purchase intel or hire air support, do so now.

Do try to avoid dying out there, all right?

Your available Air Support Options are: EVERYTHING and our current company funds are
59 COMPANY CREDITS.

Because that sort of thing might be neccessary, feel free to invest pay a few freelancers to stand by. Keep in mind thought that we will also possibly be needing either Shrike or Bird Man's help for the Ammerit mission, and that while carpet bombing an assaulting mech platoon is a good feeling... so is shooting them.

Hey, look on the bright side! It ain't an oncoming mechanized tank brigade. You rookies are lucky.

Mr. Kerry, any hope of any reinforcements from either the IF or Noblesse? Or are they actually so depleted its on us and Captain Nkruma? I bet they'll say they're busy hunting for Richard Irving. Lazy bones.

"Huh. cable guy, I see some mechs without smokes coming out of them.
Either way, is that seriously all? four infantry squads, a lord, two SAM sites, and that's it? my god, a real mess must have happened here."

Oh and if you want to change your mechanized gear around, the current state of the company ressource pool is as follows...

Franz has put in an order for 1 ECM pod and 1 Composite Armor, so unfortunately both ECM pods are taken as is the armor.

You can also check out a missile cluster from the Bitz Bin Of Bombardment, since the compahy has a stockpile of 15 defective missiles and my current plans for a sling-shot based mech operated delivery system has had some severe issues with range. And accuracy. And flight time. And just generally working, actually.

Defective missiles are AMMO for MISSILES and discount the repair and maintenance cost of missiles on this mission, but they sometimes go "fzz" rather than "!!!" or "KRAK" when you sort of want them to go "BOOSH".

--

Also of note is the existence of both a spare Cobra and a spare Lord in the motor pool; the cobra with a mortar. Maybe someone will think of something clever with them.

--

Anyway, this isn't my operation, so good luck Pilots...
Malek
Eigan
Goose
Haze
Nihilus
Borealis
>and deepbreath
Chuck
Cryptic
Bob Doe
Franz

and try to stay in one shape out there. I've gotta get back to conspicously loitering around the IF compound making vaguely sure Irving isn't dropped down a flight of bullet-shaped stairs.

Cable Guy: "No hope of reinforcements I'm afraid. All taskforce units are tied up elsewhere. To be honest this whole situation seems wrong. The taskforce had a significant presence in the region. They shouldn't have been reduced to calling upon us like this. Maybe once we rescue Captain Nkruma and General Carvine they can tell us more."

Cable Guy:"The fires on those wrecks have burned themselves out already. Rest assured every white icon you see on that display is well and truly out of action."

"something more to note is that the Cobra in storage has an Autoloader. Anyone would be able to use it easily, or could very well be uninstalled and be slapped on the Lord. That autoloader is mine, by the way, so to anyone using it, please try to bring it back in one piece if possible!"

"Oh, shoot, yeah. Speaking of franz. I checked the logs last time, and I saw this:"

=The mook=
Chassis : Crocodile
HP : 18/18
DR : 10
ED : 14
SR : 10
Mv : 4
Damage reduction :3 (one from composite +2 from shield)

RA : Laser rifle: Rng:6,Dmg:2 beam, Rof:3)
LA : Tactical shield (Dr:2, front only)
Torso : Ecm pod and Free redundant system
Legs : -
Armor: Composite armor
Pilot skills: Fortified systems

"this seems incredibly weird. first off, the free redundant system that comes with the Combat tech training doesn't take up a hardpoint slot. secondly, the DR from the Tacshield and Composite armor doesn't stack.
so it should look like this:

'
[T/CRC-LZ-TS]Franz
=The mook=
Chassis : Crocodile
HP : 18/18
DR : 10
ED : 14
SR : 10
Mv : 4
Damage reduction : 2 on front, 1 on back

RA : Laser rifle (2/2)
LA : Tactical shield (2/2)
Torso : Ecm pod (1/3)
Legs : - (0/1)
Armor: Composite armor

Pilot skills: Fortified systems
'

"correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this should be it for him."

"Well, thanks for confirming that, I would be incredibly worried if one of it suddenly activated and jumped one of our guys."

"Malek reporting. Just arrived on the scene and boy... it's grim down here. We're definitely going to need the pioneers, but I'm going to contact the IF command before making any operational decisions."

"General Carvine, the Three-C defence team is about to land so I'll save pleasantries for another day. Any intel on how long we have until the next Zanvran assault? Is there time to reposition either of the SAM sites? And are the doors on warehouse Bravo functional?"

"Captain Nkruma, reinforcements are deploying now. Could you upload your mech equipment and pilot dossier to the tac-net? We want to put you where you can do the most good."

I presume now is too late to buy the pioneer defence turret upgrade? What about a tac-net hub, since mine got borrowed by Kestrel and then treated rather roughly.

---
Pilot: Malek
Cred: 1
Stash: Tac-Net Hub (leant to Kestrel)
Secret Stash: Chemical Submunitions, Terror Drone
---
Skills:
EW-Specialist (+2 to Lock-on and Hacking)
Target Aquired (One free Lock-on action each turn)
Automated Aggression (Fire two Lock weapons at Locked targets for free each turn)
Redline (once per mission, roll a natural 20 for a single roll, or get +10 to all rolls for a turn)
Advanced Warfare training (+2 to all rolls)
---
== Stormlord ==
[Zenith] - HP 14/14
DEF 10 - ECM 8
SEN 12+4 - Move 4
---
Armour - Reactive {4/4}
Right Arm - HK Missile {1/1}, Combat Drone {3/3}
Left Arm - HK Missile {1/1}, Combat Drone {3/3}
Torso - Advanced Sensor, Cluster Rocket {3/3}
Legs - Four
---
Value: 43 +20 in drones

Good lord, look at the state of this place. I've never seen so much twisted metal in once place before. I count a whole platoon's worth of mech scrap down there.

Well then, deploying to the frontlines in zone Alpha.

>Deploy to zone Alpha

==Magnus Lux==
Summit
HP: 16/16
Def:10
EDef:8
Sensor:8
Move:5
Armour: Reactive armour (4/4)
Torso: Enhanced Auto Loader, Advanced FCS, Redundant Systems
RA: Heavy Laser
LA: Tactical shield
Legs: Thruster Array
Cost: 51

Bear in mind, my reactive armour isn't going to be too useful against the laser rifles those Crocs'll be packing.


Spare, I was puttering about the archives, and I noticed that at one point you had a TacNet hub. Could you double check your inventory? Malek could really do with it.

Oh, right you are.

I actually do have one if it's relevant? It was on the Stratus then the Nimbus then the non-existent non-stratus then the Nimbus again then replaced with a Sat-Com Jammer and now I can't fit it in because of the missiles and the PD turret.

Well, if it's in the stock I'm sure Malek can grab it on his way over.

You trust him with the keycode to your personal stash, right?

Well spotted! Now, does anyone have space to mount it? Haze, I seem to remember your warden had a some unused space?

She does, but not enough to fit a hub.

Franz has a couple torso slots to spare though, and his Croc has pretty good base sensor range.

Speaking of which, I have a demo charge in my inventory just gathering dust. Franz, you want to borrow it? Waste not want not, right?

Welcome to the 3C, where people be trippin over theyselves to give you free shit.

Franz indeed has two torso and one leg slot left for fitting. he can take the both tacnet and demo charge well enough.

I have a few HKM pods and a pair of mech pistols to add to that borrow list.

And I have a spare smoke pod (unless Command will let me attach it to my knees).

Command, can you confirm whether or not the flank attack will be part of the first wave? Will we have mechs approaching from all directions from the moment of contact, or will they take some time to outflank?

I'm starting to put a plan together...

"Already itching to use that new gear you got, are ya Malek?"

He could actually hit both flanks from zone Alpha. The range on those cluster rockets is pretty amazing.

It occurs that the people in Linebreakers could switch between zones quite quickly too.

Reporting for duty!

Any chance I can repair the damaged turret if I deploy in Delta?

==Atonement==
Onager (Cost:52 (Upkeep:10))
HP 20 DEF 8 ED 8 SR 8 MV 4
--
Armor: Reactive Armor
Right Arm: Howizter
Left Arm: Shell Plating, Repair Arm, Recon Drone
Torso: Shell Plating, HK Missile
Legs: Heavy Servo
Other: Redundant Sub-sytem

-Storage-
Sensor Pod

"B-bob Doe here! W-where should I deploy?" he nervously asked. "Spirits watch over us" he muttered.

=Bob Doe=
Gunner: Vigilance

=The Snapper=
Chassis: [Summit]
Armour: Composite Armour (+4 HP, 1 DR)
HP: 20/20
DEF: 10 (1 DR and 2 DR front arc)
E.DEF: 8
SENSOR: 8
MOV: 4
Torso (3/3): Redundant Systems, Stiletto Targeting Suite, Enhanced Auto-Loader
LA (2/2): Tactical Shield
RA (2/2): Heavy Laser
Legs (0/1): N/A

>Gonna be in classes all day so expect delayed responses.

Oh, hey Bob.

You're probably best on the frontline with me. These heavy lasers pack a hell of a punch if you can keep them on target, so if we make good use of our overwatch training then we can rack up the damage. We'll show them the difference between a Crocodile and a Summit.

Try and keep close to Haze too, wouldn't want to get caught in the rain.

Good to see you Bob! I'm currently thrashing out a Plun (like a plan but more betterer), so hold on a bit and we'll have deployment orders for you.

"So from what i have perceived from this mission is that if worst comes to worst we all die, and I get to sip sweet's in heaven. If not some of us live and well I get to pass out on a couch for another day! Either way good ending nonetheless in my opinion. Either way today is a good day to die suns shining our mechs are ready and well i cant really think of any other way to die than in a cramped somewhat overheated mech. Thats sarcasm kids!"
>Get ready :3

=The mook=
Chassis : Crocodile
HP : 18/18
DR : 10
ED : 14
SR : 10
Mv : 4
Damage reducction: (2 front, 1 everywhere)
RA : Laser rifle: Rng:6,Dmg:2 beam, Rof:3)
LA : Tactical shield (Dr:2, front only)
Torso : Ecm pod and Free redundant sub system
Legs : Natha
Armor: Composite armor
Pilot skills: Fortified systems,Redline

>today is a good day to die
No quite. It is, however, a good day for someone else to die.

As Kestrel mentioned earlier, you were misinformed about the redundant system, it doesn't take up a slot, which means you still have two torso hardpoints.

How do you feel about carrying the TacNet hub?

"Haze reporting, looks like we've got our job cut out for us this time, huh?"

=Singing In The Rain=
Warden (WRD)
Reactive Armour
HP 20/20
DEF 8 + (2 within SR)
EDEF 10 +2
SR 8
MV 4 + (1 Jump)
DR: 8 x4

Torso (3/4): TAM, AM Umbrella
L Arm (2/2): Sabot Cannon (Lnk)
R Arm (2/2): Sabot Cannon (Lnk)
Legs (1/1): Thruster Array (On Loan/Izzy)
Special: Redundant Systems

Upkeep: 8 Creds

Also missed the thread earlier because I was searching 'Mercs' and it's typoed in the thread title, derp.

I think someone bought me the ECM pod? Either way it got sold with my last mech Sorry :C[/psoiler]

>since mine got borrowed by Kestrel and then treated rather roughly.
"It was unintentional! I sweat to god, the entire mission was cursed or something."

"Ah, Franz, a moment please. please see this memo: . and what Cryptic said. unless you're planning on bringing anything else in particular, a tacnet will be a great help, and a demo charge can help if something needs to be taken care of fast."

There's also my old Crocodile in there as well, in case people need a back-up mech.

((What equipment does that have? I'll add it to the inventory till you respawn.))

Hang on, I'll fetch it.

Right, he just repaired it after its last mission without changing anything, so it should have the same stats:

==Jormungandr==
[Crocodile] - HP 18/18
DEF 10 - ECM 8
SEN 10 - MV 4+1
DR 1

Right Arm - Laser Rifle
Left Arm - Laser Rifle
RNG: 6 ROF: 3 DAM: 2 PEN: 2 (3) CRT: 19 (17) Special: Beam, Doubles Damage
Torso - Stiletto Targeter, Hunter-Killer Missile {1/1}, Smoke Launcher {2/2}
Armor - Composite Armor
Legs - Thruster Array

One we dont have any tac net's and two if your expecting me to have money i dont. And also having a demo charge would be excellent and thank you for the advice.
>rent out demo charges

"Nihilus reporting for duty!"
>salutes impeccably

Linebreaker:
Ablative
HP: 22/22
Def: 10
Edef: 8
SR: 8
Move: 4 +1
Torso: Sabot Cannon, Guidance Disruptor (3/3)
RA: Impact Hammer
LA: Sabot Cannon
Legs: Charge Booster
Extra: HV rounds
Cred: 1
Inventory: redundant systems

"Lt. Malek, where do you wish me to deploy?"

> we dont have any tac net's
Actually, Spare stashed one in his closet and forgot he'd put it there.
So we do have one to hand. You don't have to install it, but it would be appreciated, as you are the only one at present who can mount it without taking other things off first.

>having a demo charge would be excellent
Certainly

>Lend Demo Charge from Cryptic's stash to Franz

I don't like this, it feels like a setup. But the IF couldn't possibly orchestrate this just to kill us off. Still, I feel like something odd is going on, stay alert.

Also, I spot a few Knight Lite mechs in the wreckage : Do a sensor sweep of the area from time to time, we don't want a stealth unit slipping past our defenses. Good luck, team.

Cable Guy:"I'll pull up the spec's on the Captain's mech"

Captain Nkruma’s Mech
Chassis: [Lord]
Armour: Composite Armour (+4 HP, 1 DR)
HP: 16/16
DEF: 10
E.DEF: 8
SENSOR: 12
MOV: 4
Torso (3/3): Tac Net Hub, Recon Drone
LA (2/2): Marksman Rifle
RA (2/2): Lancer Cannon
Legs: N/A

Pilot Skills: Veteran Gunner
Vigilance, Marksman

Taskforce Officer:"The General is busy merc. We've had to set everything up in a hurry so the SAM's can't be moved, if they stop scanning the skys for even a moment we'll be hit by Zanvran bombers. The warehouse doors on bravo work fine, and even if they didn't you could just smash through them kool aid style."

Cable Guy: "No chance. None of the wrecks on that battlefield can be brought online again without at least a day in the maintenance bay and the task force just doesn't have time to conduct a salvage and refit operation"

You'll need to buy intel if you want that information.

"Then i shall gladly carry the dang hub i mean someones got to do it. Just promise me someone rents out glory boy at one point I wonder what that old geezer can do to the other fighter planes!"
>rent out the tac-net hub and install both the demo charge and hub onto the mech
"Stop being so paranoid, before you know it you will start believing that someone out there is spraying chemicals so they can control the population! The mission will be done maybe one of our mechs will be wrecked, in the end it will just be a normal mission everything's going to be okay!"

=The mook=
Chassis : Crocodile
HP : 18/18
DR : 10
ED : 14
SR : 10
Mv : 4
Damage reduction : 2 on front, 1 on back

RA : Laser rifle (2/2)
LA : Tactical shield (2/2)
Torso : Ecm pod,Tac-net hub (3/3)
Legs : - Demolition charges(1/1)
Armor: Composite armor

Pilot skills: Fortified systems

Thanks Franz. This should give our defence a real shot in the arm for all those folks who love their lockons.

>"everything's going to be okay!"
(In his cockpit, out of eyeshot, Cryptic visibly winces)
Franz...don't....please don't do that...

>You'll need to buy intel
Spare/Malek?

Good to see you Nihilus. Will have deployment instructions shortly.

Turns out Captain Nkruma is in possession of a Hub, so we may not need one ourselves. Stand by.

Since we're all working together, I presume Nkruma's Hub can interface with our Camel-Code(tm) brand tac-net software?

>You'll need to buy intel if you want that information.
>Stop talking and take my 5 company credits
Authorised immediately. If we can guard the SAMs properly, we won't need to pay for expensive airsupport. Doing that requires understanding how the enemy seek to take them.

>Captain Nkruma is in possession of a Hub, so we may not need one ourselves
Nkruma's pretty far back and likely to stay there, it couldn't hurt to have another hub up front.

>The mission will be done maybe one of our mechs will be wrecked, in the end it will just be a normal mission everything's going to be okay!
You.
stop.
please. don't.

The Lord does have a sensor range of 12 though, and it only needs to cover the mechs who are sharing, not the enemies who are locked-on to.

After Kestrel went down to a stealth mech last mission and took the hub with him, I'm inclined to say better safe than sorry. There's not really any reason for Franz to not carry it, unless there's something else he feels he could get more use out of.

>deploy charlie

Your sources tell you that the Zanvrans intend to send in MGP squads to attack the flanks on the second turn.

The incoming mecha unit consists of 9 mecha split into three squads of three, each supported by their own assault server. In each squad 2 of the mecha will be general purpose crocodiles, but the third mech is a specialist. In this case there will be two Onagers kitted out with a siege cannon, howitzer and point defence turret. The third specialist is a command Nimbus with a tacnet hub and mixed loadout of missiles and drones.

Also, yes, you can use the captain's tac-net hub

"Two Onagers with howitzers and siege cannons? Jesu... We're in for a hell of a time"

Elite pilots too. I'm no longer regretting my decision to take reactive armour, artillery is way scarier than lasers.

If we hit hard and fast and wipe out as many units as possible as fast as possible, we could save ourselves a lot of trouble. Recommend we focus fire on one unit at a time.

Damn good intel command, give my regards to Tragedy on her "vacation".

>Three assault servers, two onagers with PD, and a command nimbus
Since the servers alone come with a Quad-Flak each and are very hard to take down, I think we can discard the air-support options for now.

Meanwhile, a Plun has made itself known. Now to scrabble it down.

Could have mentioned the thread had started.

>Deploy Alpha

"Time for the ultimate stress test"

19 Monies
Mech Cost: 51

=Noble Savage=
Linebreaker
-Composite Armour-
HP: 22/22
Def: 10
EDef: 10
Sensor: 8
Move: 3
DR: 6 Frontal Arc, 2 Rear Arc

RA: Impact Hammer
LA: Shell Plating *, Melee Sub-Processor
Torso: Shell Plating *, Threat Assessment Module, Point Defense Turret
Legs: Charge Booster
Extra: Redundant Sub-system
Skills: Combat Tech, System Restore, Deflection Angles

Great to see you Chuck. Going to have a special mission for you in a moment though.

Ah, good to have you.

Now I believe we're just waiting on Borealis and Eigan. Really hope they show, we're badly going to need that firepower/tanking.

Command, what happens if we lose one SAM site but not the other? Will the Zanvrans chance sending in the airsupport, or will it be enough to hold them back?

"Roger that deploying to Alpha site then."

>Deploy to the western side of Alpha

==Atonement==
Onager (Cost:52 (Upkeep:10))
HP 20 DEF 8 ED 8 SR 8 MV 4
--
Armor: Reactive Armor
Right Arm: Howizter
Left Arm: Shell Plating, Repair Arm, Recon Drone
Torso: Shell Plating, HK Missile
Legs: Heavy Servo
Other: Redundant Sub-sytem

> the smoldering wreckage from previous battles will give you some form of cover.
Do the wrecks block movement completely or just count as difficult terrain?

"Ok folks, listen up! This is Operation: IRON CURTAIN. We are going to draw a line in the sand here, and draw it with the burning wrecks of the Zanvran forces. To do that, we're dividing into three groups."

"The enemy outnumber us, but they have one key weakness: the mobile server farms they use to keep rolling. Team BRAVO is Chuck, Borealis, and Nihilus: deploy in Bravo, and ambush the servers as they advance. Once that's done, engage or pull back as necessary."

"Team ALPHA is almost everyone else. While Bravo provides the hammer, you're the anvil. Engage the enemy, focus the Onagers down first, and don't let them get past that weak west flank."

"Finally, Team OMEGA is myself, Cryptic and Captain Nkruma. Our job is to defend the SAM sites from assault by the MGPs. I hate to take you away from the frontlines Cryptic, but they need a solid defence and we are it. You take the east from Charlie, Nkruma takes Delta, and I'll fill both full of missiles from the center. All you need to do is distract them long enough for my Cluster Rockets to get a bead, so no heroics."

To reiterate:

Deploy Pioneers: Center
Deploy Delta: Nkruma, if we can get her to redeploy?
Deploy Charlie: Cryptic
Deploy Bravo: Chuck, Borealis, Nihilus
Deploy Alpha: Everyone else

Deploy hugging the pioneers, two hexes south of Nkruma's current position: Me, if possible.
Otherwise Deploy Alpha, as close to the pioneers as I can.

"Good hunting everyone."

> hate to take you away from the frontlines Cryptic, but they need a solid defence and we are it. You take the east from Charlie
Ngggh, damn it all. Fine, I've known you long enough to trust your tactical sense. Alpha will just have to make do with what firepower they have.

>Redeploy to Charlie

Anything makes it through on the east, I turn it back or I turn it to scrap.

By the way, this reminds me. I don't think we've ever gotten a stat block for an assault server. We know how much armour it has, but its HP would be useful.

"Pretend this never existed.."
>deploy alpha

Don't worry Cryptic, I can at least keep the missiles off our boys at Alpha - we'll keep the frontline busy until you get back.

>Deploy Alpha - preferably in the middle.
Also a friendly reminder that the AM Umbrella works to defend allies as well - stay within 4 hexes if you can!

"U-understood sir. Borealis, Deploying to Bravo..."
Assault, Point Blank
[Linebreaker] (LBK)
Composite Armor (borrowed)
HP: 22/22
DEF: 10 (4 reduction front arc, 1 all around)
EDEF: 8
SENSOR: 8
MOV: 3 (6 in straight lines)
Torso: (PI)Mech Pistol, Stiletto targeting suite (Pending)
LA: Shell Plating, (PI) Mech Pistol
RI: (IH) Impact Hammer
Legs: Charge Booster

I know I don't have to worry about you Haze, pretty sure that when the sun explodes and engulfs the planet you'll still be sitting pretty in that Warden. I'm more worried about Bob and Franz, they don't have LHI machines to take the punishment.

"Yes sir! Nihilus, deploying to Bravo!"

>salutes excitedly, eager to test the new Linebreaker within the fray of it all

Linebreaker:
Ablative
HP: 22/22
Def: 10
Edef: 8
SR: 8
Move: 4 +1 (Commando)
Torso: Sabot Cannon, Guidance Disruptor (3/3)
RA: Impact Hammer
LA: Sabot Cannon
Legs: Charge Booster
Extra: HV rounds
Cred: 1
Inventory: redundant systems

"Dont worry, its why i have this huge shield that should hopefully block those laser rifles the croc's should have. And if there was something we could do about it we will have done it already so stop worrying! No reason to pull your hair if you cant do anything about it. I mean whats the reason other than to build your stress levels?"

Hey, come on now, I'm not Kestrel. Malek is right, the mission necessitates this, so I can swallow my misgivings and deal. I just consider it unfortunate that the frontline is short a heavy laser, given how much damage I could potentially do to a mech with it.

> have this huge shield that should hopefully block those laser rifles
Heh. I remember thinking that. See this?

(He pats his own tactical shield with a clang)

It's pristine! Not a mark on it, I've never once managed to block anything with the thing. They always seem to get round my guard. Maybe I'm just sloppy, Malek swears by 'em.

Anyway, bear in mind that a frontal shield won't protect you against blast weapons like the Onagers' howitzers.

"Y-yes sir! Deploying to Alpha!"

>Deploy Alpha

=Bob Doe=
Gunner: Vigilance

=The Snapper=
Chassis: [Summit]
Armour: Composite Armour (+4 HP, 1 DR)
HP: 20/20
DEF: 10 (1 DR and 2 DR front arc)
E.DEF: 8
SENSOR: 8
MOV: 4
Torso (3/3): Redundant Systems, Stiletto Targeting Suite, Enhanced Auto-Loader
LA (2/2): Tactical Shield
RA (2/2): Heavy Laser
Legs (0/1): N/A

"(frustrated grunting is heard over the comms)"

"Hey, you know what? I just remembered something. you know how before that guyco raid, we had the option to cover a desert retreat, right? in that briefing it confirmed the existance of some giant assault server. chances are, it's still kicking around, as I don't see any large chunks of burning server farms around there.
how's that for a dose of paranoia?"

"H-hopefully that's all it is... If not, t-the linebreaker's hammers specialize in destructive force. I-if we activate redline and hit it center mass, we should be able to take it down swiftly.

I'm not overly happy with it either Cryptic, but it was either you, Bob, or Franz.

Bravo needs all the Linebreakers. Alpha needs Goose and Haze. And Eigan hasn't even shown up yet. I trust you the most to get the job done: we NEED that eastern SAM to survive.

All that really needs to happen, is for you and Nkruma to hold them for a minuite while my rockets get a lock. Since the main force has five(!) different ways of intercepting missiles, I've worked out a way to bombard both sides at once instead.

I have a pugilist in storage...
Someone can borrow it.

Confirmed Deployment orders so far:

Cryptic: Charlie Franz: Alpha Haze: Alpha Borealis: Bravo Nihilus: Bravo Bob Doe: Alpha Goose: Alpha Chuck: Bravo - Needs confirmation
Eigan: Alpha - AWOL?

Me: With Pioneers/Alpha
Nkruma: Delta if she would be so kind

Both those sam sites are with in 14 hexs of the south and 10 of the east/west. We have at least 4 incoming onager with howitzers. All sam sites can ranged in with a single 4 hex move action from the projected incoming paths...

Make that 2 not 4 but the danger of both sites getting shelled before we can take them down is very real.

I don't think the eastern side is much of a concern, three Linebreakers charging into their midst should prove plenty distracting, even if they don't take out the Onager first thing. But the western squad is a problem, only way to reliably take that one down fast would be if you and Eigan concentrate fire, and Eigan shows up. If he doesn't, we are at a severe firepower deficit.

What is it with 3C Onager pilots and tardiness? We're 2 for 3 with that.

Maybe I could redline called shot on the arm with the howitzer since even with reactive armor I'd still penetrate with 1-2 damage.

Yeah, good call. It looks like that might be your best option.

God Onagers are bullshit. They can hit you like a speeding freight train from the next postcode and when you finally get to them they can eat more bullets than 50 Cent.

Threads at inconvenient times

[ONG-2HW/G]

Onager
HP: 24
DEF: 8
EDF: 8
SNS: 8
MOV: 4

Armor: Ablative Armor
L Arm [4/4]: Howitzer
R Arm [4/4]: Howitzer
Torso [2/2]:
- Stilleto Targeting System
- Redundant Systems
Leg [1/1]: Heavy Duty Servos

(Does a little jig in his cockpit harness)
I have never been happier to see an Onager.

Fantastic! That's everyone posted in the thread. Just need you to confirm your deployment to Alpha with Command >49071639

Then once Chuck has confirmed deployment to Alpha, we're ready to go.

What timezone are you, out of curiosity?

Don't take my grumbling to heart, I really am glad to have you aboard.

Here

[ONG-2HW/G]

Onager
HP: 24
DEF: 8
EDF: 8
SNS: 8
MOV: 4

Armor: Ablative Armor
L Arm [4/4]: Howitzer
R Arm [4/4]: Howitzer
Torso [2/2]:
- Stilleto Targeting System
- Redundant Systems
Leg [1/1]: Heavy Duty Servos

Fantastic! Just need you to confirm deployment to Alpha with Command here Then once Chuck has confirmed deployment to Bravo we're good to go.

Onagers used to have "slow reload" on their guns once. Next hanger thread maybe it should come back.

hold on a minute
>RA (2/2): Lancer Cannon
>2/2
>2
>Lancer cannon
???

He'll fix it in post.

Bump.

I did wonder why that went away. Perhaps the ubiquity of enhanced auto-loaders made it fairly moot?
Well, this mission will give us a good chance to see them in action, should help with determining if they need a rebalance.

I think it was because he might have thought being both heavy and slow to reload was too big of a drawback.

This seems to me to be similar to the situation with the original Summit's weapons where one was clearly superior, though in this case it's one decent weapon weighed against an extremely good one. The siege cannon is fine, I think. It's powerful but the short range limits its use. The real issue is the howitzer. It's almost as powerful (a paltry 2 dmg difference), while having extremely long range. An Onager can sit and dish out 20 damage a turn (plus splash) from half the map away, potentially from behind cover, and can have its choice of ballistic or blast special ammo as well. Sabot gives it longer range than a railgun, DU lets it ignore armour like one & HESH makes the siege cannon redundant.

That the Onager itself is tied for toughest mech in the game even before armour is the cherry on top. And it can do all this with a rookie pilot. Meanwhile an elite gunner can play keep away or reliably land shells between the gap in your teeth. In the face of all that, why bother messing about trying to get into reach with the siege cannon?

I know the Onager was supposed to be an unholy terror in the lore; but it still feels a little much. One of the reasons the now retracted Predator nerf confused me was that it really didn't seem that strong, given how the howitzer was as good as the railgun but you could have two. Like, if this was a video game, I'd probably have the whole squad riding dual howitzer Onagers by now. It's not all that flexible and there are tons of things it can't do, but when you can bury the battlefield in ordinance why bother with them?

Making it reload is one option to incentivise anything else, but it might be better to give it he same damage/crit stats as the MGP-D howitzer. That way it's more of a beefed up mortar than a finger of god.

Unrelated balance but when was the last time any one used Tactical Advance to any benefit? It feels like would be off being something like once per turn take a free move action after an attack action.

I believe Tragedy used it to toss a demo charge and back away. The thing about Tactical Advance is that it's a bit useless for smashy melee people, which is what most of our assaults are. It's of more benefit to people like Tragedy that use the tree for point blank gunslinging, but she's the only one of us who uses it for that.

I've said for a while that I think the Assault and Commando base skills are the wrong way round. The Commando likes the ability to run back and forth shooting, while the Assault just wants to move as fast as possible into your face.

I think the Commando movement was meant to play more into the flanking aspect. That said, I don't think it should be changed at this stage, it's not unbalanced and it'd make all our commandoes very unhappy. Tactical advance my be due a change, Goose's idea sounds better, but having a free action of any sort seems a little powerful for a first tier ability.

Maybe take [CQ]C +2 to def against attacks within 4 as the base skill and give Free action move+2 to hit as the alternate to Point Blank?

Hm. Assault was meant to be split between attack and defense at close range, what you're proposing would make tier 2 a choice of extra movement or extra damage, which doesn't fit with that, especially since for a melee build they both end up conferring more damage.

What if you took the short range hit bonus from the veteran skills and made that the base skill, since both branches get and use it anyway? Maybe beef the rank two skills up a bit to compensate.

Tactical Advance has issues because it gives no benefit taking a seperate move + attack action doesn't. Movement ranges + gun ranges are too short to benefit from not just moving then shooting or vice versa. 2nd skills and 3rd skills means you want to be closer to the enemy, so when exactly are you going to take a shot after you've moved 3 hexes and still be needing to move a 4th? Just move 4 then shoot. For mobile firepower, Automated Aggression means 2 moves + Free attack so that's already better.

The second problem is one of map-construction. Tactical Advance is a *good* skill if you're using it to strafe from cover - fire - into cover. On the mech-strewn battlefield this map entails, you can easily hang around in cover the pop out and take a shot then move back in. Constantly navigating mazes of debris + cover is not much fun for everyone else, so the previous 13 missions seldom include small constrained spaces. Oh, and with Automated Aggression you do the same again but better.

You could use Tactical Assault to jumpjet "up" then fire at a target beyond a wall you're standing behind. But then you're out of range for your 2nd level and 3rd level skills and Automated does it better at longer range - this came up on the GuyeCo mission and is one of those slim edge cases.

So the reason you don't see people use it is that there's no reason to use it, because the cases where you can seldom come up.

I remain convinced that Tactical Advance should be: "When Move+Run, double Run Def Bonus" or some variation on a free attack when moving+moving. Fire 1 weapon at -2? Alternatively "Preserves cover bonus until end start of next turn" would mean you're advancing tactically. if with some book-keeping. +1 Def per 2 hexes moved is extreme, but useful.

It's sort of meant to be hipfiring snapshots because you're a cool operator, the ability to move more means you're faster than a commando. Good idea though.

> can have its choice of ballistic or blast special ammo as well. Sabot gives it longer range than a railgun, DU lets it ignore armour like one & HESH makes the siege cannon redundant.
Having though about this some more, I realised it might look like a condemnation of special ammo, which was definitely not my intent. I like special ammo, there's clearly a much greater variety for ballistics and that's good, I gives them something to keep viable (versatility). Maybe ballistic and blast weapons should be separate again, that way there'd be a decent balance between weapon types.

It would go:

>Ballstics
Generic weapon type with unremarkable stats and few inherent traits, but has a greater variety of special ammo available for different situations.

>Magnetic
Similar performance to ballistic, but often conferring special effects like armour piercing or silence. Limited variety of less effective special ammo

>Beam
Higher raw damage, but harder to crit with and no special ammo. More effective against reactive armour thank other types.

>Blast
Deals AOE damage, often at range. Limited variety of special ammo. Ignores directional armour plating.

>Missiles
Always has some combination of range, power or special effects, but always has limited ammo and each missile is essentially its own special ammo type (i.e. no 'special warheads'). Dependant on locks.

Don't die folks.

Inspiring words of encouragement from my fellow officer!

Yeah that's a typo. It's what I get for excessively copy-pasting stat blocks.

Right I'm going to bed now but I'll be looking to start the mission sometime tomorrow. Hopefully that would have given you all ample time to report for deployment.

Special ammo was feature creep and is really starting to cause me a headache now now. I should have restrained myself and refrained from putting it in the game.

Err sure I'll do that

=Noble Savage=
Linebreaker
-Composite Armour-
HP: 22/22
Def: 10
EDef: 10
Sensor: 8
Move: 3
DR: 6 Frontal Arc, 2 Rear Arc

RA: Impact Hammer
LA: Shell Plating *, Melee Sub-Processor
Torso: Shell Plating *, Threat Assessment Module, Point Defense Turret
Legs: Charge Booster
Extra: Redundant Sub-system
Skills: Combat Tech, System Restore, Deflection Angles