MechDB Misadventures, Part 5: Replicating the Hellstar in MechDB - Is it Possible?

MechDB Misadventures, Part 5: Replicating the Hellstar in MechDB - Is it Possible?

One of my favorite Clan standard BattleMechs from the Wars of Reaving/Blakist War era (3067 AD to 3085 AD) is the Hellstar, a 95-ton Assault 'Mech. The original HLS-1 (which is what it would be called if it were featured in MechWarrior Online) is armed exclusively with four Clan ER PPCs (one in each arm and side torso), and carries 30 Clan Double Heat Sinks to absorb their immense heat load, while a 380-rated Clan XL fusion engine propels it to a maximum running speed of 64.8 km/h. All of this is wrapped up in a Clan endo-steel structure and 18 tons of standard armor (the maximum amount possible for its weight class). 

The only problem (although admittedly, a major one) with the Hellstar is that it wasn't introduced until 3079 AD, whereas the current MWO timeline remains stuck at 3067 AD (for now). As such, the Hellstar has yet to be introduced to MWO, but there is one 95-ton Clan standard 'Mech in the game right now that comes closest: the Bull Shark (specifically, the Clan-tech hero variant, the BSK-M "Mako"). It should be noted that the Bull Shark was originally created for Harebrained Schemes' BattleTech video game, and introduced to MWO later on; as such, it is an apocryphal 'Mech design that cannot be used in the tabletop.

So I decided to configure a Bull Shark in a similar fashion to the Hellstar, but with a few key differences: since the Bull Shark's maximum engine rating is a relatively modest 345 (as opposed to the Hellstar's 380), I had to install a 340-rated engine instead, thus freeing up enough spare mass for a standard (rather than Clan endo-steel) structure, along with three extra Clan double heat sinks and a Clan Active Probe (which can be replaced with a Mk1 Targeting Computer if required). The resulting build is shown below:

This customized Bull Shark BSK-M "Mako" is the closest thing you can get right now to a 1:1 replica of the Hellstar HLS-1 in MechWarrior Online - instead of the Clan endo-steel structure and 380-rated Clan XL engine, there's now a standard structure encasing a 340-rated Clan XL engine, a Clan Active Probe, and three additional Clan double heat sinks. 

This custom build (which I call the HellShark - a portmanteau of Hellstar and Bull Shark) may be slower than its inspiration, but it runs slightly colder, and its effective profile is narrower due to all of its weapons both located in its side torsos (one high up and another lower down in each, in both cases close to the centerline). Moreover, it will not lose any effectiveness (aside from heat capacity) if either or both arms are blown off. And with its absence of lower arm actuators (which the Hellstar has, as evidenced by that 'Mech's Barrel Fist quirk on both arms), it can carry a whopping 32(!) Clan double heat sinks. For comparison, a Warhawk WHK-Prime (an 85-ton Clan assault OmniMech) with the same weapons configuration and a full set of 8 OmniPods can carry only 28 at most (although admittedly, most of those are fixed equipment). Even so, with the recent nerfs to Double Heat Sinks, it's still best to fire those ER PPCs two at a time to avoid ghost heat.

The reason for using a standard structure and a 340-rated XL engine is that the Hellstar's 380-rated XL engine weighs a whopping 32.5 tons after attaching five more heat sinks to it - nine more than a 340-rated engine with all three of its heat sink slots filled, as installed on this Bull Shark. If it were indeed possible to swap it out for a 380-rated engine, doing so and upgrading to an endo-steel structure would entail removing three double heat sinks, while only gaining two in return (for a net loss of one), and there would be no room for the Active Probe either. Also, an additional half-ton of armor would have to be removed to accommodate these changes, so it wouldn't be quite as well-protected as a Hellstar. Removing a heat sink would then solve the armor deficiency, but would take away the Bull Shark's advantage of extra heat capacity, so my proposed Bull Shark build may indeed work better with a 340-rated XL engine (complete with 3 extra heat sinks) and a standard structure after all.

In short, compared to a Hellstar, this Quad ER PPC Bull Shark Mako may be slightly slower, and lacks any energy weapon-related quirks (although skill tree upgrades can help compensate for that), but on the other hand, it has even more heat capacity, and is incapable of being completely disarmed if both arms are blown off, due to the entirety of its firepower being concentrated in its side torsos, allowing you to use its arms as shields. Just be careful if even one arm falls off - you'll lose quite a fair bit of heat capacity if you do. Still, to say that this Bull Shark build is the next best thing to a Hellstar may just be an understatement - with the exception of speed, it may just be an improvement in so many other ways that you may even start questioning whether the Hellstar should even be introduced to MWO. And if this build were available in the tabletop, its greater heat capacity (when compared to MWO, where all Double Heat Sinks are nerfed in comparison to the source material, to avoid overreliance on energy-based builds, among others) and Active Probe would make it utterly frightening for any foe to face, especially since its lighter engine and standard structure would effectively turn it into a discount Hellstar. Maybe it's a good thing that the Bull Shark Mako is only found in MWO - it would potentially be overpowered on the tabletop if it were configured similarly to the Hellstar.

As for the later Hellstar HLS-3, which carries four Clan ER Large Lasers, two Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, a MkIV Targeting Computer, and a Clan ECM Suite, this is the closest equivalent:

This alternate loadout for the Bull Shark Mako apes the Hellstar HLS-3, but downgrades to a 340-rated Clan XL engine and a standard structure, while swapping the ECM suite for an anti-missile system due to the Mako lacking provision for ECM.

This may not be quite as powerful as the quad ER PPC build, but it runs even colder and is even more accurate, in addition to being able to resist incoming missile salvos for as long it has AMS ammo to spare. However, both of them are very effective for prolonged battles where ammunition dependency (except for AMS) is of significant concern.