MechDB Misadventures, Part 28: Zombie Grasshoppers

MechDB Misadventures, Part 28: Zombie Grasshoppers

It didn't take long for me to revisit the idea of the Grasshopper GHR-5H as a true Zombie 'Mech (BattleTech slang for a BattleMech that carries energy weapons exclusively, along with a standard engine and enough heat sinks and armor to maintain an adequate level of survivability and sustainability) and add more firepower to it. The resulting loadout is as follows:

Above: A more lore-accurate take on my custom Grasshopper GHR-5H setup, now with a tabletop-accurate 280-rated engine for a bit more speed, and dual ER PPCs combined with five medium lasers to make it more of a bracket build (PPCs for long range, medium lasers for shorter ranges). Despite having one less heat sink, it's still a viable build under tabletop rules (I used an ASP to simulate a tabletop-sized Beagle Active Probe for this one, even though it requires one fewer critical slot and must be placed in the head under MechWarrior Online MechLab rules).

Taking the idea further, I could create a hypothetical GHR-5E variant that swaps the left torso AMS slot for a Guardian ECM slot, to accommodate such a system where the AMS once resided, and move the arm-mounted medium lasers to the center torso and head, thus forcing the Beagle Active Probe to be mounted in the right torso. The result has a narrower profile for all practical purposes, since the arms don't carry any equipment, although it runs hotter than the original quad-ER Large Laser build, so you'll need to manage your heat more efficiently to exploit its potential.

In short, although more heat-intensive, this Grasshopper variant proposal is not only faster, but harder-hitting, with actual headchopper potential - and nobody would want to underestimate those attributes when applied to any heavy or assault 'Mech.

MechDB Misadventures, Part 27: Patience, Grasshopper!

MechDB Misadventures, Part 27: Patience, Grasshopper!

I recently gave MechDB another try and attempted to create a loadout for the Grasshopper GHR-5H that would translate well to BattleTech tabletop rules, even though it might not necessarily be as effective in MechWarrior Online. Eventually, I came up with this all-energy setup with four ER Large Lasers (two per side torso), a standard Medium Laser in the center torso, 16 Double Heat Sinks (two of them in each side torso, and another one in each arm, to complement the 10 heat sinks built into its 270-rated standard engine), an AMS (Anti-Missile System) to simulate a Beagle Active Probe, four jump jets, and 13.5 tons of standard armor over an Endo-Steel internal structure, as follows:

Above: A proposal for a tabletop-friendly Grasshopper GHR-5H build I created in MechDB. While its relatively low combined alpha strike damage (41 points under MWO rules) and absence of melee functionality might make it ill-suited to the game, even when considering its excellent heat capacity and numerous quirks, its zombie status (bestowed upon it due to having a standard engine and an all-energy loadout, with a center torso-mounted Medium Laser as a backup weapon that remains usable even if both side torsos are blown off) and the more generous heat generation rules (such as the absence of MWO's heat scaling and Double Heat Sinks providing a 100% per-item heat capacity increase instead of MWO's 40%), when combined with hand actuators for improved melee accuracy, make it very annoying to face in combat, especially if you swap the AMS with a Beagle Active Probe to give it the ability to detect ECM-equipped units.

Under tabletop rules, this loadout can dissipate 32 heat per turn (2 per Double Heat Sink) while generating only 51 heat during an alpha strike (55 if jumping while performing such an action), for a net heat buildup of only 23 per turn, making alpha strike salvos more sustainable. A Grasshopper GHR-5H so equipped could serve as a highly mobile sniper or skirmisher, and could be more survivable due to carrying as much standard armor as a 70-ton heavy 'Mech can have (13.5 tons as opposed to the 13 found in the stock setup).

In short, for combining maximum durability and immense staying power with surprising agility during the Clan Invasion era, this customized Grasshopper GHR-5H is tough to beat on the tabletop, regardless of whether you fill the 1.5 tons and 2 critical slots of unused mass and space, respectively, with an Anti-Missile System or Beagle Active Probe. With a few tweaks to the loadout to make it better suited to the faster-paced gameplay style of MechWarrior Online, it can be equally effective there, too, if you're brave enough to trade durability for speed with the following setup:

Above: Swapping the 270-rated standard engine for a 325-rated Extralight (XL) unit reduces this Grasshopper GHR-5H variant's survivability somewhat, but increases its top speed frees up extra mass for the fitment of two more medium lasers; upgrading them (along with the single center torso-mounted one) to extended-range versions helps them synergize better with the four Large Lasers, which have been downgraded to regular items to improve heat efficiency. Also, with the presence of heat scaling in MWO and a milder 40% heat efficiency bonus for double heat sinks (as opposed to the tabletop game's 100%), the extra heat sink is much appreciated here.

There are many other Grasshopper variants in MWO that can run these exact loadouts, but the GHR-5H is one of the most (if not the most) flexible variant out there. So go ahead and try out some Grasshoppers if you get the chance - you won't be disappointed!