Something beefier to replace my Jenner?

[Zankaze]

I used a Jenner as a flanker/cavalry mech for almost 35hrs of the campaign but this excellent unit is now reaching its limits as I face heavier and heavier opponents (and monstrous missile volleys).

Would you have a suggestion for what to use next for the same role?

That would mean ripping the rear armour of enemy mechs and flanking fast enough to be at the right place at the right moment (ambush convoys, assassination...). That and scouting.

[wendigo211]

I would go up to a 55 like a Shadowhawk-2D or Wolverine-6K. You won't get anything heavier than the Jenner that's just as fast (well there's the Cicada but that's a step down). The next fastest mechs are the 5/8s like the Shadowhawk, Wolverine, Griffin and Kintaro. The Shadowhawk-2D and Wolverine-6K are probably the best of those mechs for flanking and melee, and they can field 1000 armor while maxing their hardpoints.

[Lack of Stuff]

Firestarter can pack some serious damage if you mount all M and S lasers. If you play the reserve system right you can get in and 1 shot heavies from behind then bug out before they can act. If you want to go a bit up in tonnage then the swayback is pretty neat.

[GM Pax]

My adice woudl be, "not a light mech".

Maybe a Griffin, those're reasonably mobile.

[Rob'sEvilTwin]

I use a Griffin as a scout myself :D If you want to stick with a light, the Jenner is the best combination of speed with a bit of backshooting, and the Firestarter can shut down a mech 3 times it's size with those flamers. I try to leg either if I see them coming, because both can be a serious pain in the arse.

[Teralitha]

The centurian. Can carry more weapons weight than others its size.

[DarkFenix]

The Firestarter is about the most firepower you'll get on a mech that still retains some speed. Slap a bunch of small and medium lasers on it, it'll do a lot of damage for its size, but is still able to outrun any medium (except the Cicada, but that's a piece of crap anyway).

[wendigo211]

Originally posted by Teralitha:

The centurian. Can carry more weapons weight than others its size.

Problem with that is it's 4/6 mech. If you're going to scout with a 4/6 mech, use a Grasshopper or a Battlemaster instead.

[Madcain]

griffins are probably the best from what role you describe as desired. but in the lategame i would use highlander for that purpose. excellent at jumping in for melee and with 6 SL or 6 flame throwers they can do some serious damage while flanking the enemy mechs. either they ignore the highlander or they turn on the highlander and exposing themselves to the main mechs with the big guns.

[ImHelping]

Firestarter. Even if you hate flamethrowers. It's still faster than any medium mech.

While they TECHNICALLY have the same armor potential. The firestarter has the advantages of more 3 more tons of "Free tonnage" than the Jenner, and being loaded to the brim with support points. 6 Flamers may be 6 tons, but 6 small laers is only 3 tons (and 4 tons for 6 machineguns and one ton of ammo) for example.

A lof of people like the Panther, but you have to keep in mind the only thing slower than a panther is the urbanmech.

That said?

Originally posted by GM Pax:

My adice woudl be, "not a light mech".

Maybe a Griffin, those're reasonably mobile.

When I bring a firestarter on ambush missions, they are NOT attacking the convoy most of the time.

Because of their sandpapering heavy loadout Vs "Hey, did you know a manticore has 210 front armor and 130 rrear armor?" making them worst at killing vehicles than they are at shooting heavy mechs in the back.

Right. rush your lights towards a convoy of a Manricore, Demolisher, and two SRM carriers. great job!

[GM Pax]

Originally posted by Teralitha:

The centurian. Can carry more weapons weight than others its size.

I love the centurion as a heavy-hitter in the early, "all lights and mediums" game.

But it's way too slow to be a replacement for a Jenner in the role of scount and flanker.

[rcallahan1]

You can pull off the Jenner's SRM4 rack and increase the armor, you're obviously trading punch for survivability, but the Jenner over heats so much it's not that much of a trade-off (you could take off a medium laser or two, but the SRM and ammo is more armor for less loss of power). It's also cheap and only takes one day to do it.

The Firestarter is another good choice as Lack of Stuff recommended, but if you leave it with the flamers you can use the "reserve/double turn" to criticallly overheat a heavy mech with poor heat management (Black Knights and Thunderbolts especially). If you're punching the mech when you do it you may knock it down and if the ammo goes critical it can take down a large mech fast, or at least shut it down, the heat also forces that mech not to employ it's bigger weapons. So you may not kill it in one shot, but you can make it much less effective in one turn. You can do some nasty tricks with a Firestarter.

The Panther is tough, and that PPC packs a whollap, but it's slow for a light mech. However it's a light mech so you still get to move first, or hold it till the end and try to double move.

The Shadow Hawk is another good choice, and if they release an expansion or DLC with the Phoenix Hawk or Valkyrie Mechs, I would recommend those.

[ImHelping]

Shadowhawks are a wonderful "Hey let's make my scout a medium mech" choice, yes.

I got both "With" and "Without" an AC5 shadowhawks in the mechbay for a reason.

Wolverine too if you prefer it's hardpoint spreads, but the shadowhawks are much more intuitive if you want a little bit of everything.

The cicada is a cruel joke.

[Teralitha]

Originally posted by wendigo211:

Originally posted by Teralitha:

The centurian. Can carry more weapons weight than others its size.

Problem with that is it's 4/6 mech. If you're going to scout with a 4/6 mech, use a Grasshopper or a Battlemaster instead.

He didnt say it was for scouting. And he didnt say he only wanted an heavy mech or bigger. Its a step up from a jenner.

[Madcain]

Originally posted by Teralitha:

Originally posted by wendigo211:

Problem with that is it's 4/6 mech. If you're going to scout with a 4/6 mech, use a Grasshopper or a Battlemaster instead.

He didnt say it was for scouting.

well in my mind, a cavalry/flanker acts as a scout :) a pure scout would be rather useless in combat ^^

[wendigo211]

Originally posted by Teralitha:

Originally posted by wendigo211:

Problem with that is it's 4/6 mech. If you're going to scout with a 4/6 mech, use a Grasshopper or a Battlemaster instead.

He didnt say it was for scouting. And he didnt say he only wanted an heavy mech or bigger. Its a step up from a jenner.

Originally posted by Zankaze:

That would mean ripping the rear armour of enemy mechs and flanking fast enough to be at the right place at the right moment (ambush convoys, assassination...). That and scouting.

The Griffin-1S is an okay scout, but I still prefer the Shadow Hawk-2d for the 85 point melee attack or Wolverine-6k for having more energy hardpoints.