HatchAtlas

[icy moss]

Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level                Era                    
--------------------------------------------
Experimental         3050+ (Clan Invasion -)
Advanced             -                      
Standard             3151+ (ilClan -)       
Tech Rating: E/X-X-X-E

Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,446
Role: Juggernaut

Movement: 4/6/4
Engine: 400 XL
Double Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Cockpit: Standard Cockpit
Gyro: Heavy Duty Gyro

Internal: 152 (Endo-Composite)
Armor: 307/307 (Standard)
                     Internal  Armor    
----------------------------------------
Head                     3       9      
Center Torso            31       47     
Center Torso (rear)              15     
Right Torso             21       32     
Right Torso (rear)               10     
Left Torso              21       32     
Left Torso (rear)                10     
Right Arm               17       34     
Left Arm                17       34     
Right Leg               21       42     
Left Leg                21       42     

Weapons              Loc      Heat    
--------------------------------------
Snub-Nose PPC         LT       10     
Small Laser           LT        1     
Small Pulse Laser     RT        2     
Medium Laser          RT        3     
Medium Laser          RT        3     
Medium Laser          RA        3     
Medium Laser          RT        3     
Medium Laser          RA        3     
Medium Laser          LT        3     
Medium Laser          RA        3     

Equipment               Loc  
-----------------------------
Hatchet                  LA  
Triple Strength Myomer   HD  
Triple Strength Myomer   CT  
Triple Strength Myomer   CT  
Triple Strength Myomer   RT  
Triple Strength Myomer   RT  
Triple Strength Myomer   RA  

Quirks
------
Battle Fists (LA)
Battle Fists (RA)
Distracting
Command Mek
Improved Communications

Not too familiar with how mech naming conventions work yet so C77 is a placeholder (Custom, 77 from my usernname).

[twin dock]

custom naming conventions are pretty much whatever you want! Looks pretty good, personally I'd swap one SN PPC for a group of Medium Lasers so you can fine tune what heat you are at a bit better for TSM, plus you are currently a bit undergunned for an Assault in exchange for the glorious melee

[icy moss]

I appreciate the feedback! Undergunned is probably better than overtuned I suppose, if I'm trying to get local players to play pickup games with custom meks.

Right now I just like that firing both PPCs is heat neutral with the sinks, so he can build TSM heat on the way in.

[twin dock]

which works, the issue then is that once you are at the right heat for your TSM, you either have to keep heating up the Mech, or not fire a SN PPC in which case you cool down at least 6. So basically right now the issue is less generating the heat, and more making sure you don't overheat too much while still staying over the activation threshold

TSM is a tricky piece of equipment to get the most out of

MLs being 3 heat each means you'll be able to basically select what heat you want to be at by firing whatever amount you need to keep TSM activated without heating up too much

[icy moss]

All true. TSM is something I've rarely used on both tabletop and in HBS (RogueTech), so I'm still getting a handle on it.

I have some space leftover, 16 slots to be precise. The main reason I didn't fill it with FF or something was I didn't want BV getting too high. I want to put a 4/3 or 4/2 pilot in this monster, and the latter already pushes him past 2600. Then again, I'm not really sure what passes for "average" BV for games, I haven't had two yet at the same BV limit.

The SN PPC for M Lasers swap was a clean one-for-six. It's funny though, this whole thing started by stripping everything except the AC/20 off the Atlas, intending to turn it into basically a bigger, better Hunchback-5S. Now I've circled back around to basically doing the opposite, piling all the lasers back on.

[twin dock]

depends on the era what BV people tend to play. I tend to run with 5k BV for introtech, 8k for Helm Memory Core, 10k for Clan Invasion onwards, but there is no real set standard that I've seen

[twin dock]

you've just returned to Discoback

[icy moss]

?

I'm sorry, Hunchbacks lacking massive autocannons aren't real

Please report to your nearest Lyran security officer for summary execution for suggesting otherwise

[twin dock]

I personally enjoy both the orthodoxy and swaybacks

[icy moss]

I fell in love with the Hunchback by getting my ass beat with it

My very first game of Battletech I was rocking TGAOC mechs, tried to pepper an enemy Hunchback-4G's rear armor with a Commando. Hunchback ignored it, turned around, and put one AC/20 shell through my center torso.

[twin dock]

Hunchbacks are great (almost) no matter the flavor. The utter swagger and bravado you need to properly pilot a Hunchback…

[icy moss]

Now I run a 5S in most lists

[icy moss]

I don't know what Helm Memory Core is. I'm somewhat familiar with 3025/introtech and Clan Invasion, but I'm still new to Battletech lore.

[twin dock]

Basically it was a data core with a lot of Star League era tech that got spread throughout the Inner Sphere, which boosted the tech level all over

[icy moss]

My last game was a monstrosity because both my opponent and I had lost our scheduled partners, so we played against each other. Issue was, I had all IS 3025 mechs and he had a full Clan Star pushing 16K BV. So, I rifled through the sheets I had, grabbed a few more off Flechs, and stared him down 10v5. Game took the better part of four hours because I had never dealt with this many mechs before lol, but I did end up winning by drowning him in 4/5 pilots using various medium, heavy and assault chassis.

[twin dock]

discovered in 3028, but it was really by the 3040s that most of its tech was widespread. Stuff like DHS, Gauss Rifles, ER energy weapons, AMS, etc were in there for reference

[icy moss]

Got it, that makes sense.

Also I just now realized adding FF or Endo doesn't actually change my BV? I need my LGS to stock the damn TechManual or Total Warfare, it's clear I don't know everything about 'mech construction yet.

[twin dock]

sounds about right for a Clan vs IS battle.

[icy moss]

Melee is my favorite part of this game by far, and once someone explained the Lyran Commonwealth to me, it was over lmao

[twin dock]

if you want you can get a PDF copy from the CGL website for pretty cheap, and it comes with free updates whenever there is an errata. Total Warfare, Tech Manual, and the two Tac Ops rulebooks are the most relevant

[icy moss]

I get to hunt Clanners with ComStar support? Sign me up.

[icy moss]

I had no idea, I'll have to look into that.

[twin dock]

You can also pay more to get both the PDF and a hard copy, and their shipping is pretty good. I've gotten two hard copy rulebooks and one box set direct from CGL, though of course I try and support my local game store by getting stuff from there when possible

[icy moss]

Looks like that's no longer a thing. I went through the six pages of free downloads that are linked above and they're not there, either. Thanks anyway though!

I have the Battlemech Manual and that'll get me through for now.

[twin dock]

The PDFs are still available, just means they are currently out of stock of the hard copies

[icy moss]

Oh I misread your first message, I think I dyslexia'd "free" into the first line

Derp

I'm not paying for PDFs, they're nice but I prefer hard copies. I'll be picking them up in due time.

[twin dock]

Ah, yeah no they do still cost, they’re just not super pricy. If you do have the BMM, you can safely skip Total Warfare unless you want to use vehicles or infantry though

[twin dock]

Fair enough, hard copies are definitely easier to flip through

[icy moss]

Fully intending to use vehicles and at least battle armor, infantry is up in the air til I figure out where to get good models for them.

I was actually hoping the Battle Armor box would come with starter rules or something to explain their use. I was incorrect and now have four battle armor squads sitting next to my mechs lol, I have their card but not their full rules.

It did come with unit cards, but not how to interpret them

[twin dock]

Yeah unfortunately for that you'll need Total Warfare. At least the rules for them are fairly simple, and aren't like ASF or LAMs. Never play against someone bringing ASF or LAMs. You will be in for a week long battle simply due to needing to frequently look up rules. This is where MegaMek is nice as you don't need to reference the rules for them every single time!

[icy moss]

On the topic of the Atlas, while I continue to fiddle with it (Endo-Composite not costing BV threw me for a loop and I'm now continuing to tinker), I wanted to mention that the reason I threw everything into his side torsos is to crit-pad for the XL engine. I don't know how common that is, but it's a habit I picked up from the Steam version.

[icy moss]

Planning on getting it. I placed an order through my LGS, but that was weeks ago and I haven't heard anything back.

[twin dock]

Its usually a solid plan to do so if possible, though it does leave you more vulnerable to flanking, as arms do have that bit of extra arc compared to the torso weapons. IS XL engines though definitely need the crit padding

[icy moss]

To be fair, he is wielding a hatchet. He's not going to be shooting behind him much if I can help it.

[twin dock]

That’s always the plan… but yeah it should be fine

[icy moss]

Alright, updated the original post with the modifications. While playing around with stuff I ended up giving him a heavy duty gyro because I had some extra tonnage, figured there's no harm in it since he needs to be upright to effectively Do Melee.

Armor stayed standard, structure became endo-comp because Steiner, and I ended up dropping a couple of the medium lasers in the process. Still better heat control than before, though.

ER Small Laser was just the result of having a half-ton left over. I looked at a Laser AMS but Heat 7 that I don't have control over felt questionable.

[fathom crest]

I'd personally spring for DHS so you can take some other stuff, like Chameleon

[icy moss]

I don't know what either of those are. Going to guess DHS is double heat sinks but I don't know how that unlocks what I assume is stealth armor?

I haven't touched stealth armor yet.

[twin dock]

Chameleon is stealth, not stealth armor though that’s different. The issue is stealth generates a lot of heat, so DHS lets you sink the heat to be able to use it

Chameleon though is definitely another rules level up

DHS alone though will allow you to take less heatsinks and more weapons if you want

[icy moss]

Yeah Chameleon seems to not exist in the BMM, so I think I'll steer clear of that for now. But DHS sinks my heat super fast, I'll have to overhaul my weapons to make TSM work with it.

Actually wait lol

nvm, I see it

[twin dock]

You can bring fewer heatsinks and more guns

[icy moss]

Yeah I just realized that, I dropped it all the way down to 10 DHS and that's the same 20 heat I was sinking before, but with 10t of free space now.

(Not going to just keep it all the way down there ofc, but using it as a baseline)

[twin dock]

I’d recommend keeping as many DHS as you can fit in your engine without using crit space

[undone ledge]

MML should tell you that amount BTW

[twin dock]

Can tweak from there as necessary

[undone ledge]

Having various lasers of the varying heats [1s, 2s, and 3s] can really help you TSM

[icy moss]

Yeah I can bring it up to 16 without losing space, they still take weight though.

[undone ledge]

Though in MM you can also just make a heat efficient mech and just never not fire/jump. And set your starting heat to 9

[twin dock]

With TSM you really want to stay right at the threshold as otherwise you lose the bonus movement

[twin dock]

Or for the first few rounds use the advanced rule to disable some of your heatsinks

[icy moss]

Trying to make 'mechs that will be accepted at my LGS, I don't think that one would fly

[undone ledge]

Ha ha ha. Its actually not that OP.

[icy moss]

Right I forgot, Heat 10 is all it takes. I can't fire a weapon with no target, right?

[undone ledge]

Shoot the ground

You can always shoot the ground

[icy moss]

I know that and you know that, but people seem to distrust customized mechs by default.

[icy moss]

I can??

[undone ledge]

Yup. The ground is a valid target

[icy moss]

I mean it makes sense but I never saw that option anywhere lol

[fathom crest]

Also, I'd drop the Heavy Duty gyro

[icy moss]

Oh riiiight, in case you're out of range after declaring targets

[twin dock]

Heat 9 actually is what you want, it’s active at heat 9 and if you go up to heat 10 you lose out on the bonus movement speed, though jump jets make that less of an issue

[fathom crest]

Or a building!

[icy moss]

I can just choose to shoot something I can't possibly hit

[undone ledge]

Artillery cannons abuse it xD

[twin dock]

Or some trees!

[icy moss]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant Heat 10 is all it takes to lose the speed.

[undone ledge]

You can always shoot.

[undone ledge]

Yeah. This is why 9 ia optimum

[twin dock]

Yeah heat 10 brings you back to your base speed. Which is still better than being slower, but definitely less optimal

[icy moss]

Is there a guide or tutorial on building TSM mechs effectively lmao

[twin dock]

Though with jump jets, ground movement isn’t quite as big a deal

[twin dock]

Not that I know of other than just asking folk lol

[icy moss]

The very first thing I did after stripping off all the weapons was the 400XL and the jump jets, they were the whole point of this mech lol

[twin dock]

TSM is very simple in concept, yet very hard to use effectively

Though you are luckily not going the full meme which is the intercontinental ballistic Atlas

[icy moss]

I was considering improved jump jets but I can't seem to find them in the BMM.

[icy moss]

Going to assume this is a Highlander Burial 'mech

[twin dock]

Aka sticking a 400 XL in an Atlas, 6 Improved Jump Jets, a Partial Wing, and Talons. You then proceed to try and DFA things.

[icy moss]

Glad to see I was dead-on lmao

[twin dock]

4/6/7 movement profile and talons iirc double DFA damage

[icy moss]

I actually built a Phoenix Hawk with that setup in RogueTech and use it to eat light 'mechs

[fathom crest]

You'd do nearly as much damage by sitting on that poor Hunchback!

[undone ledge]

I now retire from this convo for I am tanker. Not a mek jockey 😄

[icy moss]

Understandable. My goal is 40-damage hatchet swings, and your tanks would probably not enjoy them.

Thanks for your input!

[undone ledge]

I mean thats only half the armor on any one facing of my 100 tonner

Still wouldn't like it

[icy moss]

Fair enough lol

I forget that 'mech melee doing double damage to vehicles is an HBS-specific thing

(Though it'd be funny if it wasn't, and that hatchet did 80)

[twin dock]

I did just post the ICBA as well if you want to take a look at it. Its mostly a meme.

[icy moss]

That thing is god damn beautiful

[icy moss]

Problem: new text dump exceeds 2k character limit

Not by a lot but I guess I'll have to cut out some of the upper section

[twin dock]

Should let you just upload it as a .txt instead