MechDB Misadventures, Part 19: Tweaking the Royal Locust

MechDB Misadventures, Part 19: Tweaking the Royal Locust

Although the Locust has a reputation for being one of the flimsiest BattleMechs in BattleTech (even by light 'Mech standards) due to its low armor capacity (4 tons), its speed and low cost makes it a highly effective scout 'Mech. One variant, the LCT-1Vb, takes the basic LCT-1V and removes its ammunition dependency issues by swapping out the arm-mounted machine guns with one each of a Small and Medium Pulse Laser in each arm. To accommodate the extra mass, it uses an extralight engine, endo steel structure, ferro-fibrous armor, and double heat sinks. However, this variant is absent from MechWarrior Online due to the LCT-1E and especially LCT-3M rendering it redundant.

Above: The stock configuration for the Locust LCT-1Vb, though not officially present in the game, can be matched on the LCT-3M as shown above.

Given that the LCT-3M has the same hardpoint arrangement as the LCT-1Vb, replicating the latter's loadout on the former is quite easy. Start with a 160-rated XL engine, then install Endo Steel structure and Ferro-Fibrous Armor (both of which occupy 14 critical slots each). Now place a Medium Laser in the center torso energy hardpoint, followed by a Small Pulse Laser and a Medium Pulse Laser in each arm. Finally, add four Double Heat Sinks to bring the loadout's total tonnage as close to the 20-ton limit as possible. The result is essentially an LCT-3M with the LCT-1Vb's setup - but what if I told you that it can be customized further?

For starters, the LCT-3M shares its engine cap of 190 with other Locust variants. Installing an XL engine with that particular rating will increase its maximum running speed to 153.9 km/h - something that very few 'Mechs can exceed, and even then, only if they are compatible with MASC (Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry) and have been fitted with it. This engine adds two tons of mass to the overall loadout, so we'll need to save some weight elsewhere on the 'Mech to compensate. Doing so involves installing either a Small Pulse/X-Pulse Laser or a Medium Laser (the latter of which may be of the Extended Range variety) in all five of its energy hardpoints, as shown below.

Above, from top: A comparison of two alternate loadouts for the Locust LCT-1Vb, both of which are based on the LCT-3M variant. Replacing the entire loadout (especially the bulky Medium Pulse Lasers) with a quintet of either regular Medium Lasers or Small Pulse Lasers frees up 2 tons for use in a higher-rated engine (in this case, a 190-rated XL item) and improves its heat management.

Arming the LCT-1Vb (or in MWO, the LCT-3M) with five standard Medium Lasers allows it to serve as a very fast, if lightly armored, harasser that can match the stock loadout for raw firepower, but, crucially, does so with a lower heat load, at the expense of damage per second. Fitting five Small Pulse Lasers instead yields more sustained DPS (while also matching the stock setup's overall value) and even more heat efficiency, but reduces its effective range. Finally, swapping those weapons for Small X-Pulse Lasers  reduces the sustained DPS somewhat, but yields a higher overall DPS ceiling.

In short, trading DPS or alpha strike firepower (and range, with the 5x SPL loadout) for extra speed on the Locust LCT-1Vb and LCT-3M is a viable option. With the chassis' low armor capacity (4 tons when using ferro-fibrous armor), they need all the speed they can get, and both of my loadouts prove it by leaning further into one of two specialties (at the minor expense of the other) that the original loadout had to compromise on out of necessity.