Why no love for the Cataphract?

[kricket]

I swapped out my mlaser grashopper for a cataphract with 5 medium lasers, a healthy portion of D heat sinks, and an ac20. I'm finding it sooooo much more useful. But I don't see anyone talking about this beast of a mech. Am Imissing something?

[Nekonoaijin]

"'Mech of the Month"

These things always did go in cycles. I like my Cataphract too, but Grasshopper is definitely quite the beast, if fitted for close combat.

[C4Warr10r]

I don't know about everyone else, but I dislike it because it's fugly. I'm also not very fond of the Capellan Confederation, which produces it.

[Nekonoaijin]

Originally posted by C4Warr10r:

I don't know about everyone else, but I dislike it because it's fugly. I'm also not very fond of the Capellan Confederation, which produces it.

Definitely disagree, I like the looks. In fact, I tend to prefer the 'Mechs that look like 'Mechs over those that look like giant humans.

[C4Warr10r]

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

Definitely disagree, I like the looks. In fact, I tend to prefer the 'Mechs that look like 'Mechs over those that look like giant humans.

To each his own, but the Cataphract is dereisevely known as "the Frankenmech" in canon.

[Nekonoaijin]

Originally posted by C4Warr10r:

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

Definitely disagree, I like the looks. In fact, I tend to prefer the 'Mechs that look like 'Mechs over those that look like giant humans.

To each his own, but the Cataphract is dereisevely known as "the Frankenmech" in canon.

Yeah, which it wears with honour. That's because it is a little of everything, in terms of loadout, however, not its looks.

Edit: Okay, I checked the lore (Sarna) and it does say it was the appearance that inspired the term, even though it is technically not a "FrankenMech" since it was designed from scratch, albeit with off-the-shelf parts used to make different 'Mechs.

[C4Warr10r]

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

Yeah, which is wears with honour. That's because it is a little of everything, in terms of loadout, however, not its looks.

Close, but no. It's actually assembled from spare parts of Marauders, Shadow Hawks, Phoenix Hawks, and whatever else the Confederation could still produce after it lost many of its major factories. Totally canon, and also ghetto. Look it up.

edit- oh, I see you already did. No worries, if you like it you like it.

[Veritas]

Cataphracts are not very common. They also aren't really an attractive looking mech, either.

[mattleec]

its a great mech if you can get it before too late into the game but i didnt get one til my 2nd campaign when i was well into using mostly assault mechs. it was very rare for me to ever encounter them and i had already sold off all but 1 heavy mech by that point. i used it on some of the easier missions just cause i wanted to test it out and enjoyed it. it was able to hold up well vs banshee, stalker and both varients of catapult concentrating on it for round after round 1 game. i think its one of the best heavies along with the grasshoper and jaggermechs. hoping i get one early on in my current campaign.

1st time playing the difficulty scaled up way to much too quick and i found myself facing lots of assaults without any for myself. it was nothing but vehicles and light mechs for quite a bit before advancing the story then it got too much.

2nd time playing after restarting and learning from mistakes in the 1st campaign i put about 150 hours into this 2nd campaign and got pretty far but i had added a mod so lost my save with the patch. it was extremely rare to encounter any assaults for the longest time even on 5 skull missions hence taking so long to build up.

3rd campaign as i restarted after the patch and im around 10 or so missions in including the 1st 2 story missions. i got the argo as the last one i did last night and ive already got a jaggermech and a orion as well as some griffons and a hunchback. most missions from the start included a medium mech and 1 had a srm carrier which gave me a nasty surprise. i had 1 very hard 3 skull with a ppc carrier, 5 mediums and 2 heavies. the salvage was great but after getting the srm carrier surprise at close range followed immediately by that mission with the heavies where i took some major damage, i nearly went bankrupt waiting on months of mech repairs to get operational again and took 2 missions with partial lance(2 mechs and then did one with 3 mechs) just to get some money to avoid going broke. now that ive recovered though im much better equiped than i was even a lot longer into the last campaign.

[Nekonoaijin]

I despise the jaeger, actually. It's probably just me, though. (In terms of its loadouts, but I never found it that goodlooking, either).

[Nekonoaijin]

Also, just admit it. The Cataphract is beautiful, but like that bully who used to beat you up and steal your lunch money, you now hate it anyway. ;)

[Sword_of_Light]

I ran a stock Cataphract first campaign - first heavy I found, one of those Trap missions - 4 Cicadas guarding a Cataphract.

Now I've gotten one this campaign to replace my increasingly vulnerable Hunchback. Went the AC/20 route, since that was the role I was using it to replace - so far seems to work well enough. Still the lance bullet magnet, though the Cat-K2 seemed to draw some fire too.

Havent really put it through its paces yet, though. One Escort mission fighting 3 lances of light mechs. Looks promising, though.

[Nekonoaijin]

Originally posted by Sword_of_Light:

I ran a stock Cataphract first campaign - first heavy I found, one of those Trap missions - 4 Cicadas guarding a Cataphract.

Now I've gotten one this campaign to replace my increasingly vulnerable Hunchback. Went the AC/20 route, since that was the role I was using it to replace - so far seems to work well enough. Still the lance bullet magnet, though the Cat-K2 seemed to draw some fire too.

Havent really put it through its paces yet, though. One Escort mission fighting 3 lances of light mechs. Looks promising, though.

I considered AC/20 too. I am sad that by the time I got a Hunchback it is already outclassed by my other 'Mechs, but I have it there begging to get a mission. Probably let it get an outing on an easy cash grab.

[Strayed]

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

I have it there begging to get a mission. Probably let it get an outing on an easy cash grab.

<insert scene from star wars where Luke and his uncle "buy" droids from the Jawas; in this instance, hunchie is R2D2>

[Sword_of_Light]

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

Originally posted by Sword_of_Light:

I ran a stock Cataphract first campaign - first heavy I found, one of those Trap missions - 4 Cicadas guarding a Cataphract.

Now I've gotten one this campaign to replace my increasingly vulnerable Hunchback. Went the AC/20 route, since that was the role I was using it to replace - so far seems to work well enough. Still the lance bullet magnet, though the Cat-K2 seemed to draw some fire too.

Havent really put it through its paces yet, though. One Escort mission fighting 3 lances of light mechs. Looks promising, though.

I considered AC/20 too. I am sad that by the time I got a Hunchback it is already outclassed by my other 'Mechs, but I have it there begging to get a mission. Probably let it get an outing on an easy cash grab.

The problem with the Hunchback is that loosing either torso means you loose the use of the AC/20. Since it was the smallest of the frontline mechs in my lance, it usually attracted the bulk of the incomming fire. So, I'm hoping this new mech - AC/20, LL, 3-4 ML - and about 400 points more armor - will solve the problem of "I fired three shots, now I have to eject because I have almost no interal structure left."

[Nekonoaijin]

Originally posted by Strayed:

Originally posted by Nekonoaijin:

I have it there begging to get a mission. Probably let it get an outing on an easy cash grab.

<insert scene from star wars where Luke and his uncle "buy" droids from the Jawas; in this instance, hunchie is R2D2>

Pretty much. Jawas would be all over battlefield salvage, too.