OOC chatter

[GreyWolfVT]

Thanks for changing the position for F2 wolfpack, & sorry if i am being a pain in the butt. I'm just trying to keep both mechs side by side while on the move, I appreciate it.

[wolfpack]

Thanks for changing the position for F2 wolfpack, & sorry if i am being a pain in the butt. I'm just trying to keep both mechs side by side while on the move, I appreciate it.

not pain in the butt at all.

You'll get used to movement. just remember when walking or running it is how many points you have to use. rougher terrain costs more than 1 point to enter, turning a hex face costs 1 point.

When jumping though none of that applies. when jumping you can move the number of jump points you have in any direction, no terrain modifiers and you can land facing anywhere on the hex you want.

[GreyWolfVT]

Alright, see I was counting that in hexes like D&D so i thought i could move 9 hexes in a run.

[Diamond_Spear]

Very true. Maybe if we knew some real military tactics we could pull something off. Anyone here in RL got some military experience?

The problem with using real world tactics in Battletech is that in Battletech A) Movement is tons more important than every other aspect of combat, & B) Weapon ranges vary too much for a lot of real world tactics to be effective.

Put another way Battletech doesn’t simulate tank on tank combat so much as it simulates tank on APC on Jeep combat.

Even with the disparity in armor, with a two-to-one advantage, if our weapon ranges were the same as the enemy we could advance in line abreast, designate a target, destroy it and move on to the next one. With the range disparity between thier mechs and ours, however, that just won’t work as we’d be more like infantry charging prepared defenses; cut to pieces before we could close to our effective range.

On the plus side I think that the more we work together the better our tactics are going to get. Just compare the rushed, haphazard nature of our first fight with our calmer, much more tactical approach to this one.

[wolfpack]

Very true. Maybe if we knew some real military tactics we could pull something off. Anyone here in RL got some military experience?

me

diamond_spear is right though you have to know the movement and weapons to really formulate a plan.

[wolfpack]

and there is always the luck factor.

One time we were a command lance that got separated from the rest of the unit and an entire company of heavies did an assault drop on us.

Their commander was in a battle master, the biggest mech on the field, and they started 2 boards away. I wa sin a modified grasshopper that sported a gauss rifle (was in 3050 and recovered tech).

I took a max range shot from 20 hexes away on round 1 and hit, and rolled a 12 for location. Blew their commanders head off and not single scratch anywhere else on the mech.

[Recklessfireball]

Yeah, the dice rolls can screw you sometimes, regardless.

There are some things you can do to improve chances of winning, though. Basic things are:

1) Try to combine fire on the same mech. Focus on the same target and take it down as quickly as possible. Attack modifiers may prohibit this, sometimes. So you have to use discretion.

2) Never walk or jump when you can run. Walk is almost never the better option. Jumping can be useful to backstab or escape a dangerous foe, but it's almost always better if you can accomplish the same thing with running, because jumping fouls your aim and creates a lot of heat. In a light or medium mech, try to move a minimum of 7 hexes (that's hexes, not movement points- which are two completely different things. Turning in the same hex provides no movement modifiers for your mech).

3) Weapon hits are resolved in the order they were fired in BattleTech. So attack with powerful energy and ballistics first (PPC, LL, AC/10 and AC/20, etc.) then follow up with cluster weapons like LRMs & SRMs to maximize the chance of breaching armor and exploiting a critical.

[GreyWolfVT]

Well we can't help that we didn't get to really select our mech or the weapons we got to roll for it the enemy should have to suffer the same.

Edit: Looks like both SGT's are out of range to fire on the enemy left side are we focusing on E4 first then the guys on the hill?

[Recklessfireball]

E4 is now the more immediate threat that you have to deal with. If you try to run past to assault the snipers, he'll get behind you and shoot the hell out of you with that large laser.

He's wanting to tie you up so the snipers can keep taking pot shots at you (a pretty good plan, really) which is why I recommend trying to force the engagement with the P-Hawk at a range that will keep you outside of, or at least within, the snipers long range bracket.

[wolfpack]

E4 is now the more immediate threat that you have to deal with. If you try to run past to assault the snipers, he'll get behind you and shoot the hell out of you with that large laser.

He's wanting to tie you up so the snipers can keep taking pot shots at you (a pretty good plan, really) which is why I recommend trying to force the engagement with the P-Hawk at a range that will keep you outside of, or at least within, the snipers long range bracket.

E4 doesn't have a large laser. Ac5, ML, flamer.

[GreyWolfVT]

E4 is now the more immediate threat that you have to deal with. If you try to run past to assault the snipers, he'll get behind you and shoot the hell out of you with that large laser.

He's wanting to tie you up so the snipers can keep taking pot shots at you (a pretty good plan, really) which is why I recommend trying to force the engagement with the P-Hawk at a range that will keep you outside of, or at least within, the snipers long range bracket.

E4 doesn't have a large laser. Ac5, ML, flamer.

Sounds like E4 is more of a closer ranged foe then.

[Recklessfireball]

I meant E1, sorry. Hard to keep track of the enemy/ally designations. But, yeah- the same applies (more or less) to the Hermes.

[wolfpack]

this next inititive will be an important one since you guys are now closing in range.

[wolfpack]

I meant E1, sorry. Hard to keep track of the enemy/ally designations. But, yeah- the same applies (more or less) to the Hermes.

tell me about it

[GreyWolfVT]

lol no no P1

Granted by left i mean if we flip the map so the top where we started is the bottom of the image...

[wolfpack]

holy shit thats some ballsy privates runnig up on the phoenix hawk like that.

diamond-spear let me know if you want to get there walking of running. your movement for the enemy is +2 either way so if you are sure that ius the hex you want to be in might as well walk.

[wolfpack]

FYI i use the optional rule for flamers. A player can choose rather than the flamer doing 2 points of damage it can instead add to heat points to the target for each flamer hit.

i mention this since White has 4 of them and it is the first time we have used a flamer to this point.

[GreyWolfVT]

flamer is that like a flame thrower? I know that sheet you added says Flamer "Vehicle" does that mean some heat producing vehicle is following the mech?

[BuckshotChuck]

Yes, like a flamethrower. That's my favorite tactic with the firestarter. By the time I typed my previous ic post, Diamond spear had beat me to it. Since it gives insight into how I think about tactics, showing it here for reference.

"Armbuster, move into the southern edge of those trees and see if we can start tightening the noose. Even winged, I can still jump into this nearby copse in case this guy tries to hide out in there as soon as I see what he does." "Acknowledged Spectre.", Armbuster replies before jumping his Spider into the woods are requested.

David prepares to jump into the woods behind the Phoenix Hawk, but hesitates in order to see how his comrades react.

F3 jumps to 1508, facing split hex ending in 08
Suggestion: The Spider can reach the furthest 2 light woods hexes behind the enemy with a jump. If P4 runs or jumps into the heavy woods, I will jump into hex 0514, facing hex 0613 with P4 at my back. Then we leave our Firestarter F4 for last to move after the last enemy so he can capitalize on where ever the enemy moves, likely into one of the 2 remaining woods hexes, but hopefully getting a back shot.

keep in mind, the above did not happen, just sharing thought process.

[GreyWolfVT]

ok yup looked up an image for it.