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Wanallo Federated Suns Leftenant Colonel
Joined: 02-Jan-2004 00:00 Posts: 671 Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 04-Jan-2004 18:22 Post subject: Rockets? |
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OK just mite sound a bit thick here, but played battletech for a while and still don't have a clue about the Rocket launcher 10s, etc,etc cant find any info on them (unless overlooked them in the master rules) Some one help!!
_________________ Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them-Seneca
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Gangrene Federated Suns Leftenant General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 939 Location: United States
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Posted: 04-Jan-2004 18:24 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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They are in the Periphery Field Manual. They might also be in the updated Master Rules.
_________________ Gangrene
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chihawk Clan Blood Spirit Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 8081 Location: United States
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Posted: 04-Jan-2004 18:31 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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They are in both...
_________________ www.210sportsblog.com
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DarkAdder Clan Star Adder Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00 Posts: 604
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Posted: 18-Jan-2004 13:50 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Pretty much, theyre one shot LRMs. They have no guidance systems, so Narc and Artemis wont work on em. Fire and forget in the truest sense. Also a complete waste of time.
_________________ Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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AWAD Draconis Combine Chu-sa
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 766
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Posted: 18-Jan-2004 18:11 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Quote:
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On 2004-01-18 13:50, DarkAdder wrote:
Pretty much, theyre one shot LRMs. They have no guidance systems, so Narc and Artemis wont work on em. Fire and forget in the truest sense. Also a complete waste of time.
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For Mechs, I feel that is mostly true, but it can add some cool punch. For conventional VTOLs, Fighters, and wheeled vehicles, man can they lay the pain. These are flimsy platforms anyway, so why put long term weapons on it? This is a fluff type weapon also. If doing just duels (in Solaris this may hurt), not worth it, but if you are fighting Taurians, or any remote location power, it makes sense. So I think these weapons would be what you see strapped to the back the locals Pick Up Truck in a guerilla campaign.
AWAD- Yep, a lance of Silverado’s with RL10s on them and a bunch a Bubba's with their fingers on trigger...... that Stinger may be in big time trouble
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DarkAdder Clan Star Adder Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00 Posts: 604
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Posted: 18-Jan-2004 22:05 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Okay, they may have a use. I stand corected. Merc units might like these for their low price tag. But then, because theyre OS weapons, youre going to have to buy alot of them to make up for the lack of ammunition. Buying in bulk doesnt seem like much of a savings on this one.
_________________ Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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CO_17thRecon Kell Hounds Major
Joined: 10-Sep-2002 00:00 Posts: 1297 Location: United States
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Posted: 18-Jan-2004 23:24 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Well, I'm in the minority...but since I love rockets, I can't just sit here and let them be bashed. I will give my views...
Pros of Rockets:
Light Weight: I can get 12 RL10s for the same weight as an LRM10 with a ton of ammo. If I fire them one per turn like LRMs, I get the same bang for the same tonnage. I can also put them in strange places when I run low on tonnage. Makes a nasty surprise.
No Minimum Range: Worst thing about LRMs in my opinion is the huge minimum range. It's why I almost never use them. These are useful for short or long range support.
Variable Firepower: I can fire them off one at a time, getting a weapon similar to (though not the same as) an LRM, or I can fire off packs of them for a big hit, or risk it all on one glorious roll of the dice. Say, a shut down assault 'Mech.
Cons:
Inaccurate: That +1 to hit is a real bummer...but I still think it's okay, since in a city, you'd get a LOT more than that with LRMs. This is the reason they are not a top class weapon system. Accurate = Deadly. And these are not usually accurate compared to other weapons.
Bulky: They may weigh less than standard LRMs...however, they do take up more room, so keep that in mind when using them. This can make using large numbers of them a challenge.
Finally, I believe the rules state that Rocket Launchers are not discarded, but are actually reloaded off the field. But I take it this process is slightly more difficult than loading LRMs again. Still, cheap is cheap.
Personally, I put them head and shoulders above MRMs and above LRMs as well...but I never really liked LRMs. Feel free to discuss my points if you wish.
[ This Message was edited by: CO_17thRecon on 2004-01-18 23:25 ] _________________ Jarylan Blackwell
"What the...?! Where did you get THAT?!"
"Creative aquisition."
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Oafman Draconis Combine Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00 Posts: 1657 Location: United States
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Posted: 19-Jan-2004 16:20 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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I have not played with them yet, but I too am having images of backwoods Rednecks in their 3010 model of the F-150. Racks of rockets on the back hiding in light woods, garages in the city, etc. For planets that cannot afford more than 1-2 mechs to defend the whole planet, these would be the best weapons. Besides, for technicians with a little training they can build their own rockets instead of buying them. No special technology involved that is hard to come by. If the Nazis can use rockets in 1939 then why not use them in 3050?
_________________ Festina Lente!
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Gunslinger Patch Royal Black Watch Regiment Major
Joined: 04-Mar-2002 00:00 Posts: 1611
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Posted: 19-Jan-2004 17:34 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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I haven't tried them yet, but I have this lance of german halftracks with 6 4tube boxes each on them that look great for rockets. For cheap militia vehicles I think rockets are going to be fun. I'd think some kind of truck with rocket racks on it would be common to just about any periphery world and quite a few Inner Sphere ones too. Maybe something to stick on top of a tank turret when you've got a ton or two you don't know what to do with.
But where I don't see using rockets is on most battlemechs.
Take the Valkyrie, it has an LRM10. Earlier one of you said you can replace an LRM10 with 12 RL10s?
OK
Now look at the frontal view of the Valkryie and tell where you are going to fit 120 rocket launcher tubes and still have something called armor on the front of the mech or on its arms. Now picture what the Rocket Valkyrie would look like visually. Ridiculous, ain't it? Those rockets will turn any mech into a walking missile box and there's already one or two of those in the TROs.
Maybe here and there you could slap one on where it would reasonably fit. Take the SRM4 off a Jenner and use rockets instead. Its all on top of the mech and no hinderance to anything (unless you fall down and smush the launcher boxes before you fire them).
But for most mechs, replacing the missiles with Rockets is visually ridiculous and unworkable as well in the engineering sense.
Now if there were reloadable rocket launchers that wieghed less then missile launchers or perhaps had more ammo per ton or did more damage (no guidance stuff, hence bigger warheads) than LRMs did, that would not look so out of whack like turning 10 tubes into 120 tubes does.
Of course that's probably called an MRM, come to think of it.
[ This Message was edited by: Gunslinger Patch on 2004-01-19 17:38 ] _________________ "Those who beat their guns into plows will plow for those with guns..." -Thomas Jefferson
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Ruger Lyran Alliance Hauptmann General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 2108
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Posted: 19-Jan-2004 18:13 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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If you want to see what some of the Reseen look like with rocket launchers, you can always check out TRO: Project Phoenix...
Ruger
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DarkAdder Clan Star Adder Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00 Posts: 604
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Posted: 19-Jan-2004 18:14 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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I wonder how long it takes to reaload rocket launchers. I know that some of the AC ammo comes in preloadded casettes, so they can be dropped in with a minimum of fuss. I wonder if theres some kind of loader that can drop the rockets back into the tubes, prime them, and have them ready to go in a short ammount of time. Or if it can be done by hand in combat. If that were the case, then i think that they would have more of an effect. Shoot, run to reload, return, shoot...lather, rinse, repeat.
It stands to reason that if a mech can be hooked up to a coolant truck in combat, than it should be possible to reload one in combat. Of course, the mech could take some fire, or the loader team could. However, I think that if a mech is reloading, or hooked up to a coolant truck, then for the duration its a non combatant. Once its loaded and ready and moves away from the loader, its a target again.
_________________ Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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-Mud ex-Jade Falcon Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00 Posts: 1082
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Posted: 19-Jan-2004 19:24 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Quote:
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On 2004-01-19 18:13, Ruger wrote:
If you want to see what some of the Reseen look like with rocket launchers, you can always check out TRO: Project Phoenix...
Ruger
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That abomination...NEVER! Long live the unseens
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Motown Scrapper Clan Ice Hellions Galaxy Commander
Joined: 24-Jul-2003 00:00 Posts: 2074 Location: United States
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Posted: 20-Jan-2004 03:25 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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I consider Rocket launchers to be among the most over rated weapons in Battletech.I all them landscaping tools.because at best 20 to 30 % of them actually hit the target a while back we had a game going where one of the sides fielded three tanks that carried 15 RL 20s each one took on an assault mech (This was clan vs. inner sphere)on average out of 300 rockets launched about 80 hit their target. the other 220 scattered across the country side 5 point groups very little armour penetration and only a couple of crits from all three launchers.next round the mechs pounded the now defenseless tanks into scrap.I am not impressed by the rocket launcher too inaccurate.
_________________ Having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have-Rush Limbaugh www.rushlimbaugh.com
Force of nature
Still crazy after all these years
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js Federated Suns Sergeant-Major
Joined: 25-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 125
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Posted: 20-Jan-2004 06:01 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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RL's have one more advantage. They are wonderful crit soaks. Got a vulnerable crit you need to fill up to prevent an ammo explosion/cockpit hit? Use an RL10. It only weighs half a ton and if fired at medum range gives you a decent chance at doing about 5 points of damage.
RL's are definitely niche weapons, but they can be useful.
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AWAD Draconis Combine Chu-sa
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00 Posts: 766
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Posted: 20-Jan-2004 13:03 Post subject: RE: Rockets? |
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Not hat home, but does not the RL explode also? I think for less damage but still blows up.
AWAD- Thus another DHS advantage, critical soak
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