What to do with a Banshee?

[WoundedRonin]

I recently picked up a Banshee. I was wondering why it seemed so wimpy when it was controlled by the AI and I realized it was because it only had 2 guns on it.

So I spent some time playing with putting the best 2 long range guns on it that I could but basically there wasn't enough tonnage to do what I really wanted on it. No matter what guns I tried the damage output seemed to be crap.

I thought, "This sucks, why go into Assault Mech initiative slowness just to field a PPC and an autocannon, when lots of other lighter mechs could have a PPC and an autocannon?"

So I thought about removing all ranged weapons except for S lasers, max armor, and having it be strictly a melee thing. I believe jump jets too.

Just because when you put guns on it, it seems too anemic. You can't even get to max armor.

Is that a terrible idea?

[Graygan]

The Banshee sucks for a variety of reasons. It's always sucked. From the first time it showed up on TableTop until now.

You can make it serviceable, I suppose. It's biggest advantage is that it can carry a LOT of armor. So you could make it into a melee specialist. But that's about it. There are so many "better" mechs out there that I just take any Banshees I cobble together and put them in storage until I sell them.

[Mistfox]

The Banshee is supposed to be a 'fast scout brawler', a job it's very mediocre at. Trying to turn it into a fire support platform is even worse.

Just sell it.

[Rabidnid]

Sell it. Assaults faster than 3 are completely pointless, heavies have the same or more available tonnage.

[Wantoomany]

Generally the answer of "What to do with a Banshee" is to point and laugh at it.

[Werecat101]

well lets behonest in the lore it was basically certain houses used certain speciality mech designs and some houses had really bad designs. But a Banshee is an easy kill and a useless mech.

[Sinsling]

They're called banshees due to the horrific screams of the dieing pilots forced to pilot them. ;p

[MinenSpecht]

Search the forums for "banshee useless" to find a long and constructive discussion about both banshee variants and their usage.

[wesnef]

Yeah, the Banshee is one of those "too big an engine = no weight for guns" mechs. It's "fast" for an assault mech (i.e, it moves at regular medium/heavy speed), but because engine weights increase non-linearly with engine power, it gives up way too much for that not-really-speed.

(looking at the mech construction rules from tabletop... a 3-speed engine for the Banshee would weigh 16.5 tons. The 4-speed engine it actually has weighs 41 tons. That's a lot of weight for one more point of move.)

So yeah. The proper use for a Banshee is to sell it.

[Socipat]

Looking over the Banshee data the worth of the Banshee is going to be determined by the model you get, BNC-3M or the BNC-3E.

The 3E is the base design with 1 energy and 1 antipersonnel weapon mount in the head, 1 ballistic mount in the left torso, and 1 energy and 3 antipersonnel mounts in the right torso. There is nothing you can do to improve this design with out mods. Sell it.

The 3M is a variant design with 1 energy and 1 anitpersonnel mount in the head, 3 energy and 3 antipersonnel mounts in the right torso and 4 energy and 2 anitpersonnel mounts in the left torso. Now with this variant you can play with and make a decent mech.

[Geredis]

Sell it, as suggested, or kit it out in armor, jump jets, and as many melee mods as you can fit (plus MGs or small lasers for support slots of course) to turn it into a pretty good puncher. It won't quite have the punch of a Grasshopper...but it will be pretty very durable and well worth the investment with a high-piloting mechwarrior.

[Strontiumdog]

Stick on 2 arm mods invest in armour and small lasers and jump jets now you beat something up whenever you have desert or martian missions.

[Shotgun]

put it in storage with fairy lights on so you can see all the other mechs , alternatively sell it its worth a stack

[Salty Nobody]

I was "lucky" enough to find a Banshee mid game when all I had was 60-65 tonners. I used it for awhile with a single LL and AC20 and it did alright as a front line damage soaker. Not so great at killing things though...

[Nine-ball]

10 Uses for Banshees. People say the Banshee is useless, but this quick guide can give you some ideas on how to make your unpopular friend a more valued member of the team.

1) Practical Jokes - Tell one of your mechwarriors that they are going to get an assault mech, then reveal the Banshee. Alternatively, they can be used for ransoms if captors don't inquire too much about their accquistion. They may just decide to cut their losses and give everything back.

2) Tactical Diversion - Banshees do a good job of looking like assault mechs to sensors that have no LoS. They can draw off enemy forces, at least until they are spotted. At that point, they must immediately use their mediocre speed to get away, before being caught and destroyed by faster, lighter, more heavily-armed mechs.

3) Minimizing Losses - Mercenary units are often compelled to provide certain types of mechs in support of client operations. During a losing battle or campaign, it can be useful to fulfill assault requirements by supplying Banshees piloted by novices. They likely won't survive, but who cares? The iomprotant thing is that you can say you tried, thus avoiding breach of contract.

4) Fun Decorations - For both ceremonies and parties! Lots of Inner Sphere nobles like to hold grand balls, inaugurations, and extavagant soirees. They always demand security and/or honor guards, and the Banshees looks impressive enough to seem like you're delivering. After all, you want your good mechwarriors fighting, training, and resting. Meanwhile, the hulking Banshee can stand guard for hours stocked only with a rent-a-cop and some snacks. For all its faults, it doesn't fall over easily.

Or perhaps you're throwing a party for your unit in the mech bay. Look no further for volleyball net posts, basketball backboards, attachment points for banners, impromptu rock-climbing gyms, and much more. At Halloween, the Banshee's skull-like visage can be painted to make spooky skeletons or jack-o-lanterns. Fun!

5) 95-ton Paperweight - Often believed to be a common joke about the Banshee, it is actually an excellent protector of sensitive documentation. Safes can be broken into with vibrosaws and plasma torches. However, if you've got a Banshees and some sensitive documents, just have it step on them while in its scaffold. Those papers will never go anywhere, even during a security breach by specialized forces that can hack mech interfaces. Nobody would ever think to steal the Banshee.

6) Training Dummy - SImulators can't teach you everything. Newer pilots need live-fire and physical combat training as well. They virtually always begin in light designs that can beat on a Banshee for quite a while before they start messing up the paint job. Also good for mechwarrior painting practice, techs and astechs have more important work to do.

7) Crane/Elevator Platform/Tractor - The Banshee doesn't have many combat advantages, but two fully-functioning hand actuators can help out in a pinch, haha! Actual cranes, elevators, and tractors are better and cheaper at the work, but when they aren't at hand, the Banshee can lend two. It's not like it's got anything better to do.

8) "Command" Mech - No sane mechwarrior would ever want a Banshee for a command mech. Fortunately, most dignitaries, governers, petty officials, and other annoying civilians who would get in the way don't know that. The spacious cabin is impressive-looking enough to convince anyone who has no idea what they are doing that this is indeed a command mech. Just sit them in the bumper seat and let them pretend they're managing the battle from afar. They aren't in the pilot's seat, they can't see the HUD, so they likely won't ever know any better.

9) Riot Control - Civil unrest is par for the course wherever battlemechs are in combat. The Banshee is big, scary-looking, and not something you'd want in combat most of the time, anyway. Granted, it has weapons very ill-suited to pacifying crowds, but you don't really want the mech firing on them anyway. It's just there to look like it might. Meanwhile, it has the armor and heatsinks to deal with any weapon a mob is likely to field. If they start pulling out towed artillery or man-pack particle cannons, you're dealing with a revolt. Pull it out.

10) Luxury Hot Tub - Luxury is sparse on a military dropship so this definetely counts. A Banshee with cupped hands, and a little sealant, can become an elevated hot tub for two crewmembers, three if they're really friendly. Normally that would be considered a waste of ship resources, but everything you need is aboard the mech. Mechs carry hydrogen oxidizers to make water for the pilot, and supply all the power. Just fire up the reactor for several minutes, until the water begins to boil, then wait for it to cool and enjoy.

Towels or clothes can be hung on the thumbs. Note: use scaffolding or safety harnesses to avoid injury when climbing out of your tub.


That's it for now. See what other efficient and entertaining uses you can come up with for your Banshee. A good Commander wastes no resource, at least until they can find someone to actually buy the thing.

[Mistfox]

Originally posted by Nine-ball:

10 Uses for Banshees.

Damn man, you're my new hero with that post! lol.