Grasshopper lovin'

[meucha]

Disclaimer : this post contains heavy Grasshopper lovin'

The Grasshopper is hands down the best Heavy Mech out there. Even when you're swimming in Assault Mechs and have every single one collected multiple times you still want to field a Grasshopper in any lance, along with 3 big baddies.
They don't output the best alpha damage, are not heavy tanks, but they strike a perfect balance on everything including mobility and tactical advantage so should be a must have in any lance IMHO.

Without further ado, here are the 2 Grasshoppers i currently own in my mech bays :

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1481533368
Slap Yer♥♥♥♥♥is more focused on pure alpha damage, but has poor heat management and is unsafe for inexperienced mechwarriors due to the lack of a cockpit mod. Melee attacks required 1 turn out of 3 to let the heat down, hence the arm mod.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1481533574
Spank Yer♥♥♥♥♥does less alpha damage but has better heat management and is much safer to newbies. I field that one exclusively on hot biomes.


How do i use these ? Well, they have several roles in my lance :

- Trolling enemy mechs : that's #1. They will get all the aggro, bunny hop everywhere with JJ's driving opponents insane, and due to the combined fact of having Gyro++ a Pilot 10 mechwarrior and non-stop jumping they're basically "can't touch this...". Even marksmen enemies will miss half of their shots.

-♥♥♥♥♥spanking : just jump behind your local enemy mech and unload the goop. That's not a surprise obviously but due to its 6 MGs the Grasshopper is hands down the best at this.

- Incapacitating pilots : when some mech starts to show stripped armour just get in range, unload all 6 MGs and watch ammo racks explode. You'll insta kill the pilot (or if you overdid it will watch the enemy mech explode in a blaze of glory from multiple ammo explosions).

- As a side touch, just stepping/jumping on enemy vehicles whatever their size and hosing what may be left of them with MGs.


I love the Grasshopper so much i would pick it first before any other mech, short maybe of a HGN-732B.

Spread the Grasshopper lovin'

[wesnef]

Oh, the Grasshopper can have pretty good Alpha damage with 7 ML+ and either 6 MG or 6 SL+ (the heat can be an issue with the SL version).

I've had one kill 2 assault mechs in 2 turns by jumping behind them and precision shotting their rear CT. :D

(but yeah, I had a Grasshopper as my "scout" in the endgame assault lance in my first campaign. Great mech.)

[meucha]

Slap Yer Ass has pretty good alpha with 5 ML++ (+10 damage each) but tends to overheat, also probably due to my liberal use of JJs.

I had my Grasshoppers take on full assault lances on their own. I don't mean killing the lance of course, but trolling them long enough so my 3 Assaults can finish off the main assault lance then rain down on the reinforcement Assault lance my grasshopper has turned crazy for so many turns jumping everywhere and pew-pewing them with MGs. Probably took one on its own by then.

[Shotgun]

i love em mines callsign is mantis sounds a bit more gung ho

[Rivethead]

My ‘hoppers name is Carradine 🤓

[meucha]

Originally posted by Rivethead:

My ‘hoppers name is Carradine 🤓

Did your 'hopper spank himself to ammo explosion ?
Carradine sounds great for my next Grasshopper name theme.

[MinenSpecht]

If you want true melee love drop the weapons, download RogueTech and strap on stealth armor, Angel ECM, Prototype Polymers and 2 chainswords. Together with XXL Engine you can get some solaris spikes and stuff on it so this meanie easily deals 350 damage with a punch.

[meucha]

Originally posted by MinenSpecht:

If you want true melee love drop the weapons, download RogueTech and strap on stealth armor, Angel ECM, Prototype Polymers and 2 chainswords. Together with XXL Engine you can get some solaris spikes and stuff on it so this meanie easily deals 350 damage with a punch.

Yeah, but i'm not into cheating.

Vanilla game is fine for me thanks, i don't need mods that make everything easy since with my current lance i faceroll 5 skull missions.

If devs want to introduce lostech in a further DLC update i'll be happy to purchase it. I'll stay away from cheater mods in the meantime.

[MinenSpecht]

Originally posted by meucha:

Originally posted by MinenSpecht:

If you want true melee love drop the weapons, download RogueTech and strap on stealth armor, Angel ECM, Prototype Polymers and 2 chainswords. Together with XXL Engine you can get some solaris spikes and stuff on it so this meanie easily deals 350 damage with a punch.

Yeah, but i'm not into cheating.

Vanilla game is fine for me thanks, i don't need mods that make everything easy since with my current lance i faceroll 5 skull missions.

If devs want to introduce lostech in a further DLC update i'll be happy to purchase it. I'll stay away from cheater mods in the meantime.

You will encounter deadlier Gladiators in that mod. Its more melee heavy and not cheating at all. If you are not cautious you will be beaten to death by power armor.

Oh and theres no Bulwark ;)

Anyone calling RogueTech cheating has no clue.. no offense mate but the mod makes the game so much harder......

[SeriousCCIE]

My first real fielding of a grasshopper was on a lunar map. One can say that it went... well. It was really rad up until that heat management problem came about by turn 3. I had to carefully manage glee with fear...

[wesnef]

Yeah, LasHoppers don't do great on Lunar maps. Even before they upped the heat on MLs.

[meucha]

Originally posted by SpenReyn:

The Grasshopper is usually the first Heavy I get in salvage and I play it all the way thru the end of the game, I usually run 4 MLs and 6 SLs, full jump jets and armor. I usually use my piloting mechs in this one with a 'miss me' gyro (best available currently) and jump into cover after spotting the enemy, sensor lock and jump until they get close and are fully engaged with the rest of the lance, then I start the reserve, jump in and do alphas to the rear CT routine, then jump out as close to first the next round as I can get. If they have pilot 10, I can even shoot the 4 SLs again then jump out without overheating, usually. Always chck your heat before finalizing the jump, believe me!

Yeah that's pretty much how i use mine... But 4 MLs and 6 SLs ? You must have worse heat management issues than i do.
Believe me look at my 6 MG builds, they get you a turn of full cooling when performing melee attacks, and are awesome crit dealers on any mech with structure showing through.

My Spank Yer Ass build is even better at heat management, i have the +20 stb. dmg PPC for long range shots and knockdown finishing shots, then i turn it off at short range and go all lasers and MGs. It may not be as fearsome as a backstabbing laser boat, but it is sure more effective when trying to get 3 part salvages. Plus without SRM4 the head is free for a cockpit mod so your mechwarrior is safe.