Javelin

[Fighting-Priest]

So a mech with arms but you cant use them for anything? or is there something about this mech im missing?

[Muu]

More times than not, youre supposed to be using your arms as shields in mechwarrior/battletech. In cases like the javelin, its a good thing.

[Fighting-Priest]

Originally posted by Princess Muu-Muu:

More times than not, youre supposed to be using your arms as shields in mechwarrior/battletech. In cases like the javelin, its a good thing.

It just seems weird, I'm not used to the lore behind these games but feels strange to build a mech with arms then not have them hold anything.

[charliedrex]

Originally posted by Fighting-Priest:

Originally posted by Princess Muu-Muu:

More times than not, youre supposed to be using your arms as shields in mechwarrior/battletech. In cases like the javelin, its a good thing.

It just seems weird, I'm not used to the lore behind these games but feels strange to build a mech with arms then not have them hold anything.

Shortcomings of a tabletop IP. Same with a lot of stuff in like 40k or similar. In lore, 'mechs can use their arms for... stuff... if they have them. Basically, whatever the novel authors feel like the story they're telling needs. But it's difficult to make them relevant in a video game that's largely about piloting a ranged-weapon-equipped walking tank.

[Fighting-Priest]

Originally posted by Just Some Dude:

Originally posted by Fighting-Priest:

It just seems weird, I'm not used to the lore behind these games but feels strange to build a mech with arms then not have them hold anything.

Shortcomings of a tabletop IP. Same with a lot of stuff in like 40k or similar. In lore, 'mechs can use their arms for... stuff... if they have them. Basically, whatever the novel authors feel like the story they're telling needs. But it's difficult to make them relevant in a video game that's largely about piloting a ranged-weapon-equipped walking tank.

I guess I'll have to get used to it, I'm coming from deamon x machina so big change in game style.

[Coyote]

When your weapons are cooling down point away from the target to let your arms absorb the damage.

[Zamza]

They're probably there for, I guess, punching or giving the other pilot the bird. Still waiting on someone making that punching mod.

[Honyakusha]

Usually melee attacks or blocking would be made with those tonnish arms. Alas MW5 not implemented melee combat so it's pretty empty. But there's still one usage of those non-armed parts. You can simply rotate and soak some damage to protect more critical parts of your mech, in case of javelin it would be chest. Losing a part is much better than losing a part with packed components.

[Fighting-Priest]

Originally posted by Honyakusha:

Usually melee attacks or blocking would be made with those tonnish arms. Alas MW5 not implemented melee combat so it's pretty empty. But there's still one usage of those non-armed parts. You can simply rotate and soak some damage to protect more critical parts of your mech, in case of javelin it would be chest. Losing a part is much better than losing a part with packed components.

Would be nice to have a simple customization option. Nothing over the top but maybe a swap out feature or something. Say for the javelin you could swap out a plain arm for one with a M laser but at the cost of movement or something like that.

[charliedrex]

Originally posted by Fighting-Priest:

Originally posted by Honyakusha:

Usually melee attacks or blocking would be made with those tonnish arms. Alas MW5 not implemented melee combat so it's pretty empty. But there's still one usage of those non-armed parts. You can simply rotate and soak some damage to protect more critical parts of your mech, in case of javelin it would be chest. Losing a part is much better than losing a part with packed components.

Would be nice to have a simple customization option. Nothing over the top but maybe a swap out feature or something. Say for the javelin you could swap out a plain arm for one with a M laser but at the cost of movement or something like that.

And that's where you have to just swallow the setting. I see what you're getting at, I see that you're thinking of things like DXM (and I'm guessing Armored Core, that kinda thing?)

Mechwarrior, Battletech at large as a franchise, is not really about mechs being a modular collection of parts; the sum total of a Javelin's legs, arms, torso, and head components are not a suggestion that are supposed to be swapped with a... pick your poison, a Centurion's right arm or something. Or just a duct-taped-on gun or something. It'd be funny and charming I guess, but it's not "Battletech."

Yes, this means some mechs have physical features that don't, in-game, 'do anything'... but the parts are all part of one coherent whole, requiring more or less the same volume and density parts (i.e. those designed by and installed by the factory literally centuries ago when the mech was built) across the entire body to remain properly balanced.

[Dreamyr]

Technically there are "frankenmechs" in the lore but 99% of the time they're well... garbage to put it politely. I think there was once or twice where they actually had a effective combination but they just ended designing a whole new mech based off of it instead of trying to deal with the difficulties of trying to mash parts of different mechs together.

The only real place you would see a lot of mech customization and crazy mods in universe would be the Solaris Arena and those are pretty much all one-offs for a bunch of robot gladiators.

So yea, not something you'd really see in a mechwarrior game outside of say special one-off units like a boss fight or something.

[Shrimpins]

Arms in LT and RT can be better than in arms, if played well.

[Droknar]

To be using your mech's arms as a shield you would think they would add, you know, a shield to those arms. Or instead of having arms just have shields sticking out of the mech's side torsos

[Ghost]

Originally posted by Fighting-Priest:

So a mech with arms but you cant use them for anything? or is there something about this mech im missing?

there is not many mech games where you can use the hands

[Fighting-Priest]

Originally posted by Ghost:

Originally posted by Fighting-Priest:

So a mech with arms but you cant use them for anything? or is there something about this mech im missing?

there is not many mech games where you can use the hands

The reason I asked that is because I did play a mech game that did exactly that, deamon x machina and yes it's the gundam style game but you could pick up small objects such as cars and throw them. That's why I asked. I also said I can understand the difference and will have to get used the this style of gameplay coming from that style.

[MeltingPotOfFriendship]

Originally posted by Zamza:

They're probably there for, I guess, punching or giving the other pilot the bird. Still waiting on someone making that punching mod.

I remember watching the batteltech cartoon and the main guy piloted an "Axeman" 'mech and he used the hatchet it had affixed to it to knock off another 'mechs arm. I'm thinking some of those 'mechs were from older times when mechs had less weapons and were more up close and personal since most newer ones are all ranged weapons. In the TTG, fielding a 'mech with a melee weapon is still feasible because it generates no heat and apparently can do some nasty damage(assuming your opponents 'mechs haven't shot the arm off). But yeah, would be interesting if one could melee like in the TTG.

What I always found interesting of that cartoon was that it was inducted into the canon(via a rulebook and the campain composition played like the episodes on the show iirric) of the TTG but played off canonically by the writers as a glorified holovid overdramaticizing the clash between Clan Jade Falcon and the 1st Somerset Strikers. Which when I read about it, was kind of interesting.