Are there any decent discussions or articles on the tactics & strategy involved in the Classic Battletech game to be found on the internet?

Or do I have to hunt down old fanzines like Battletechnology?

The only thing I found was a rather uninspired Podcast called Mechhead, and he spoke uninspiringly about some Mech´s design flaws and virtues. There oughta be more!

I haven't seen anything like you are wanting.  Have you asked at the ClassicBattletech.com boards?  Some of the folks there have their heads on straight.

Of all the games I've played over the years pre-Clan Battletech was maybe the only one for which I ever showed any geniune proficiency.  As teenagers me and my crew would go to local cons and smoke enemy lances crewed by dudes twice our age.

QuoteOf all the games I've played over the years pre-Clan Battletech was maybe the only one for which I ever showed any geniune proficiency. As teenagers me and my crew would go to local cons and smoke enemy lances crewed by dudes twice our age.

How sweet is that?!
Do you remember any of the tactics & tricks you guys pulled off back in those days?

Now coming to think of it, maybe there´s a gap to be filled.

Did you know there´s mega-mek, with which you can play online (hinthint)?

The board discussions I´ve seen so far were...let me say "not on the level of abstraction and reflection that I was aiming at".

In tournament or con play with a timed ending one trick we would pull is to run hot right before the time ran out.  Dave would be running his Rifleman cool, only using one Large Laser each round.  When it looked like we only had a turn or two left he'd start firing both each round.  I've seen a similar situation with the original Awesome.  Standard procedure with the Awesome was to alternate 3 PPCs on one turn then 2 on the next to bleed off the heat of firing all three the previous turn.  The last two or three turns of the game you forget all that and just pump out hot particulate death.

Dave also ran a very smart Phoenix Hawk.  A lot of yahoos see that 45 tonner with jump jets and immediately want to Death From Above.  The real trick is to set up a rear kick from one elevation up.  A 45 ton kick to the back of the head is no laughing matter.  And just the ability to have a large laser near anyplace on the board is extremely helpful.

A lot of people underestimate the usefulness of light mechs like Stinger or Wasps, but I can't tell you the number of guys I've seen that allowed these things to ruin their game.  About 2 or 3 hours into a game, especially when my crew was playing tight to the vest, the other team would be getting itchy for some real action, not this long-range pussyfooting around that we would do.  So we would set up a honey trap.  The Stinger or Locust would come out in the open where he could draw heavy fire from multiple units.  Finally, a chance to kill one of these stupid kids!  Meanwhile, the rest of my lance would be lined up to concentrate fire on one of their heavy hitters.  Sure, we'd often lose the Stinger, but in exchange we had a shot at crippling their Griffon or Thunderbolt.

Me, I ran the missile guys.  My machine of choice was the Crusader but I also had success with the Archer and the Atlas.  Oh, sure, EVERYBODY kicks ass with a 100-ton skull-faced Atlas, right?  Wrong.  The most common mistake is stomping around the board trying to get into AC/20 and SRM range or better yet, hand-to-hand range.  With smart opposition that will never happen.  It's too obvious.  The trick is to lure the other guy in.  You pepper the enemy big boy for 4 or 5 rounds with LRM20 fire and suddenly he wants to come to you, the poor fool.  Or sometimes not.  I've pulled the trigger on my LRM20 until it was empty, with no one brave enough to come closer.  That's not a bad thing.  That one mech has successfully controlled operations within a 7 hex or more radius.  The Crusader is the exact same story only easier to get the suckers to close.  You hit them three rounds in a row with dual LRM-15s and suddenly they want to tango at close range.  Guess what chump?  I've got dual short range missiles as well!

Interesting!

I used quite similiar tactics with the bunch of Mechs I had ten years ago. I´m totally an Archer person, and would accompany him with a Centurion, AC20 version. Sniping at long range with three LRM launchers, and waiting for someone angry enough to come into "Centurion-Kill range".

To get people angry enough, I´d use a P-hawk or Stinger to give my LRMs a forward observer, jumping and generally not getting hit.

The fourth Mech was a Panther, most of the time on some other spot, just to draw fire and attention. The PPC really is something most guys won´t ignore.

Against Clans, we had a load of different tactics, but my favorite was my Wraith Lance:

Four Wraiths (7/11/7), jumping from wood to wood in close formation, waiting for somebody stupid (or desperate) enough to move within seven hexes. Then it was a nasty gang beating with For large pulse lasers, and four 55t kicks at the legs.
Two rounds of this (not consecutively! jumping away is paramount!), will send most Munchkinny Clan-bunny Mech to the ground permanently.


One of the main meta-tactics I try to use:
Fight initiative!

Attack only when you got it, but plan on losing it next round. Never ever build your tactics on having to win Ini two times in a row. Therefore, an Archer behind cover is great. Let him sit still or even hides as the first move when you lose Ini. Thereby you minimize the enemies advantage. And you can still pull him out again next round.

First to jump in the sippy hole and blast away was always a favorite tactic.

I can only sort of follow this stuff since I never got into Battletech (heh, I remember when it was Battledroids). But, interesting...

One thing that I'm wondering: does the game use a Panzerblitz-style "spotting" rule? In that game, even if you have a clear line of sight to a unit, you can't fire on it when it's in cover (town or woods) unless it's been spotted--i.e., if it either fired while in LOS of an enemy unit, or is adjacent to an enemy unit.

Anyway, here's where I think you guys can take it to the next level. So far,  you're both talking about tactics that either always work (such as peppering the opposition with LRM20 fire at range) or which depend on antsy opponents. What I'd like to know is, if you were faced with those tactics, what would you do?

QuoteAnyway, here's where I think you guys can take it to the next level. So far, you're both talking about tactics that either always work (such as peppering the opposition with LRM20 fire at range) or which depend on antsy opponents. What I'd like to know is, if you were faced with those tactics, what would you do?

Yeah, my level of insight into Battletech is still that of my 16 year old me. That´s what I basically posted. I think your question is very valid, and I will ponder it. Maybe we can work from there to reach new heigths in BattleTactics.

The spotting rule works only for LRMs: you can fire them, even though you can´t trace a LOS to the enemy unit. A spotter let´s you fire indirectly. You can have forward observers of all kinds, but a Mech has the mobility needed to keep up with the enemy.
Infantry spotters get overrun quickly.

Keep also in mind, that the different eras of BT definitely influence tactics. Jeff and I have mostly talked about 3025er tactics, or anectdotes thereof.

Quote from: Elliot WilenAnyway, here's where I think you guys can take it to the next level. So far,  you're both talking about tactics that either always work (such as peppering the opposition with LRM20 fire at range) or which depend on antsy opponents. What I'd like to know is, if you were faced with those tactics, what would you do?

With regard to being peppered the ammo capacity of the opponent becomes a big factor.  For mechs with small ammo capacities I'd make them waste shots against me at long range, hoping to deplete their LRM capabilities.  If they have enough reloads to go all day I wouldn't screw around with that.  I'd close range by hopping from obstacle to obstacle or else just flatout charge.

But if he has an Atlas, you wouldn't charge, would you? Is there anything you could do other than suck up the LRMs?

Quote from: Elliot WilenBut if he has an Atlas, you wouldn't charge, would you? Is there anything you could do other than suck up the LRMs?

Depends on how fast my unit is.  At anything further than 1 hex an Atlas is only marginally more powerful than a Hunchback.  If you can steer cleer of the 20 point kicks then there's no reason to let that skully bastard intimidate you.  I'd totally throw down with an Atlas at range 5 or 6 with a mere Griffon or Wolverine if I needed to.  Yeah, one hit from that AC20 will mess you up bigtime, but meanwhile my buddy in the Warhammer is setting up some dual PPC action from a different angle.

Generally, I use strategy and tactics to compliment each other. I prefer a Wasp, 2 Wolverines and a Longbow or Archer. In general, I keep the Archer hull down on a hill and use it as fire support. I run my Wasp as a harasser unit and keep my Wolverines in a support position for the Archer and Wasp. I will, if the scenario allows, replace the Wasp with a few Harasser HT.

However, that said, I generally do not like simple combat. I prefer to have goals, carry out missions and run campaigns with salvage, repair and a fair amount of resource management. It makes for very different game and tactics if your goal is to run up and paint a bunker as opposed to "kill all enemy mechs".

Bill

Okay, here´s my counter-Archer tactic:

Let´s see, most LRM badasses like the Longbow or the Archer have a movement rate of 4/6/nil. While that´s not really slow, it´s slow in the sense that they need some time to enter and leave entrenched positions. They also suck at close range, but they are up to melee combat. The close range vulnerability will most likely be not so severe, as he has some kind of big puncher around, in our example an AC20.

I´d split my forces into jump capable and non-jumpers, and then use the jumping Mechs to encircle the LRM guys. The non-jumping Mechs will be a great pinning force, able to suck up LRM fire and return with AC5, PPC or even some LRMs of their own. Once the LRM guy starts to move his Mechs to avoid being caught by the pincer attack, I´d might even let my pinning force charge right in. That should take care of the old "Archer behind half cover"-tactic. At the very least, the battle turns from one sided static sniping into moving and dancing, where no side has a structural advantage, and I regain the power to influence my enemies moves.