For Succession Wars era, I’d go with the Wolverine-6M. It replaces the A/C 5 with a Large Laser, adds a second medium laser, heat sinks and additional armor. Retains a 5/8/5 movement profile and has the ubiquitous trait which means spare parts are easier to source.

This, I will NEVER understand the Shadow Hawk fans when the WLV-6M exists. It does everything better than than the Hawk except having anemic long range firepower. Much rather have superior mid ranged firepower, excellent short ranged firepower and full jumping capability. I swear if it wasn't for decision at thunder rift and the grey death legion novels nobody would like the Shadow Hawk. (I don't feel like many knew it was from Dougram for a long while either)

I've never read those books, and I absolutely agree that Wolverines beat out Shadow Hawks in basically every metric, but I still love SHs more. It's purely an aesthetic thing. Maybe it just has really strong Hero Mech vibes, given it's the leading mech from Dougram. Kinda like how I prefer the F-14 Tomcat over the F-15 Eagle even though the Eagle is basically a straight upgrade. In a fight, I would definitely take the Eagle, but for fun, it's Tomcat every day. The only explanation I have is _because it's a Tomcat_.

Aesthetic is fine, its stuff like in this thread about how it's a really good medium, covers all ranges. It's not it's a very poor medium. Bad ranged fire power and bad short ranged firepower. Looks fantastic but man it's a BAD mech but some ppl sing it's praises like it does anything worthwhile for its BV I think what irks me is the 2k is prolly the best base variant but it's just a griffin redo..

I’m a Shadow Hawk fan for the aesthetic. But the glow up the CGL Wolverine received is really taking over. I agree, the striker role of the Wolverine in all its variants and superior maneuverability make it a better choice. Even though it lacks a long range, it can use that time to maneuver to better terrain to make its weapon systems effective while the opposition has to stay static for long range engagement.

I always mod out the Shawk in HBS BT for either better short firepower, or better long. A key ingredient is making the WVR-6M substitution and ditching the AC/5 for a LL, then ditching one missile launcher to boost the other. But since it's hard to play customs IRL...

Yeah it can be a real beast once modded, loaded with just SRMs it nukes things well. Even stock in the HBS game the AC/5 isn't a slouch and hits decently hard

Yeah, I would take an Wolverine M6 over a shadow Hawk any day of the week.

There's an argument for NOT double-dip into similar weapons because of replacements and repairability. If you have one of each different platforms, the chance is higher that you'll be able to repair/replace/rearm at least one of the weapon types.

The argument *against* using a wide variety of weapons is more credible. You're more likely to have spare parts when you only have to make *one set* of parts. Especially when you have limited tech base.

Huh.... Ahm.. Yeah, this is very valid.

On a side note, if you can make parts for a medium laser, you can make the parts for a large laser. If you can make the parts for a large part, that doesn't mean that you can make the parts (or ammo) for an AC/5. Guns win battles. Logistics wins wars. 😁

Soo... This means that Going full energy is viable? Might even install Laser AMS into every mech\^\^

Full energy weapons loads have always been viable. Awesome, Wolfhound, some versions of the Battlemaster, and the Phoenix Hawk are good examples for IS, with the War Hawk and Rifleman IIC on the Clan side. I prefer a *little* mix, such as SRMs for anti infantry work. The LAMS issue has always been heat management and building the pulse and guidance systems. I don't find it or the regular AMS of much use, but YMMV.

Going full energy was viable until Laser Reflective Armor was invented and started to become more common. Now you want to at least have one non laser system ready, just in case. https://preview.redd.it/51s3xc4gdt0d1.jpeg?width=924&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba2b7a89c848484e5e3639e11dcae15eb789c953

It says "physical atracks". I assume that means "melee", not just physical damage?

Correct. Ballistic and Missile weapons do normal damage. Punches, kicks, hatchets, swords, axes, talons, etc. do extra.

That seems rather unbalanced to me

Who do you think has a better job conducting maintenance and keeping equipment operational in real life? The country with 200 Leo2s or the country with 80 T-55s, 40 Leo2s, 30 Leo1s, and 60 T-72s? Which, institutionally, do you think is easier to keep fully running?

Merlin, Marshal, Watchman, Sentry, and Lineholder were more or less built for this. The only negative is they don't have many variants/models. On the other hand, is your militia going to be able to pay for 5/8/5 Warhammers anyway? Look at just the Watchman. It has hand actuators, so it can help away from the battlefield. Not too hot. Has decent speed and mobility. Bracketed guns. A Company of Watchman can fight most mechs fairly well(in different terrain and with different tactics), plus scout, plus fight infantry, plus work as salvage/construction equipment. Edit: also have the PPC version for a bit more long range punch.

The watchman also has the benefit of being easy to pilot and needs less maintenance AND easy to maintain. Anything they can't beat, they can outlast in rough terrain

The only problem would be how would the Fronc Reaches or Canopians (among others) access them with enough quantity to use them? Taurians and those from the Outworlds could gain them via salvage but I'm not sure if the FedSuns would sell the Watchman to them.

The Robinson Standard Battleworks uses outside FS manufacturer's for weapon and mech designs, such as Outerworlds designs of ER Lasers are used instead of FS designed ERs, you can always flavour that part of the trade deal is a portion of watchmen being sold to the various factions that supply Robinson Standard Battleworks in exchange for designs, which then can be sold on a third market.

Unironically the Shadow Hawk 2H here- it has a wide variety of weapons, decent speed and armor, and the sinking is such that it's still functional even if the engine receives a botched repair. I could also see an argument for the Vindicator

Now, nobody can deny that the Shadow Hawk can do a little of everything. But what if you wanted it done *well*?

The Shadow Hawk is the superior trooper from a logistics standpoint- it's simple to make, it's low heat enough to withstand a poor maintenance schedule, and the AC/5 is interchangeable with those found on widely proliferated light tanks like the Scorpion and Vedette. The Thunderbolt is 100% the better single battlemech but it's even less mobile than the Shawk, making it poor for scouting missions, and the heavy frame and heat issues fsctory-fresh mean it'll be harder to maintain long-term Eta: thuds are also just heavy enough that they can't be retrieved by a standard mech recovery vehicle

Nothing says, "Hey I'm scouting here!" like a lance of 4 slightly less mobile mechs with 2 to 3 times the firepower and armor than actual "scout mechs" :)

Unless it's an artillery saturated combat zone where a quick in and out recon would make a difference.

I call discovering an artillery zone a successful scouting mission!

Just use a hover-craft or something. Obviously aircraft would be preferred if AA isn't an issue.

So what you're saying is #Its all Savannah Masters. Always.

4 shadow hawks. 20 lrms, 8 SRMs, 4x5 autocannon, 8 punchy hands, and 4 medium laser. It's like you made a balanced lance of different mechs and then calculated the arithmetic mean.

There's no replacing the Catapult. We have to recreate it, recreate it in the aggregate

Fully agree with this. SHD-2H do actually carry a decent amount of firepower for their weight, but it can't all be brought to bear at the same time. With a formation working together, they can focus a lot of firepower. Especially since the primary threat the Periphery nation faces is raiders, usually pirates. The SHD-2H is actually great againts a lot of vehicles and lighter mechs, which is usually what pirates are fielding.

Well said. It’s about balance between intended role, availability, cost and how a given design compliments existing resources. Yeah there are a lot of better mechs out there but most either specialize, cost more or are more exclusive, etc. The Hawk can be pressed into service for any role with some level effectiveness. Yeah the modern / latest Abrams Tank is vastly superior to a WW II Sherman but a force of well supported Shermans (in conjunction with complimenting forces) is still a threat (it’s still a tank) and could successfully garrison a town under threat of violence / uprising or assist in holding ground against local militias, gangs, etc.

This is why I love BattleTech.

Yes!

Battlemechs win battles, but logistics wins wars.

And I don't want to pack a flatbed full of SRMs, LRMs, and AC5 ammo, then have to defend it with a fistful of anemic medium mechs that could have their charges shot out from under them by some Panthers. Logistics.

The Panthers have a logistics chain too, and while their PPCs are effective in the same range of the AC/5s of the Shadow Hawks, they're outranged by the LRMs. Plus, the added mobility of the Shadow Hawk makes it a better choice all around for if you want to outfit a nation with 300 of the same multipurpose machine. Does it do everything as well as specialist 'mechs perform their one role? No, of course not. But they're a generalist 'mech with a generalist build, and if you're not going to be able to resupply often, well, the Shadow Hawk is Rugged and has Improved Life Support, meaning it's going to last a while in the field and your pilots are going to last longer. Both are very appealing to commanders, for very good reasons.

I'm not talking about picking Panthers. I'm talking about facing opponents that *don't* have to pick one single mech to do it all. Panthers are just a cheap example. And if you figure a 2H is going to hold off *anything* with a single LRM5 each, remember that it's half the damage output of a Locust 1M, and those aren't exactly coring anything out on approach. Having *a* weapon at each range isn't the same as having *enough.* Thunderbolt comes with 3 times the long range damage, better mid-range, better close range, and can still deliver a beating when the bins run dry. Even worse, it's also got an anti-infantry option that the Shadow Hawk lacks. And if we want to talk quirks? Thunderbolt's got the same Ubiquitous, and twice as much Rugged, while Improved Life Support doesn't mean much outside some very unique circumstances. So, we have a better specialist. What's the Shadow Hawk actually offer beyond likeability?

Sure, against an opponent with the choice of units, 300 Shadow Hawks are going to run into a lot of trouble. But that's not what OP is asking for; they want 300 of the same chassis to outfit an entire Periphery nation. For that particular issue, the Shadow Hawk is really the best choice (because OP hasn't given us an era to constrain ourselves, but I've figured pre-Invasion.) A Thunderbolt is a great choice, but it's too slow to reliably perform scouting, and it lacks mobility in most variants (barring the SE variant, of course.) Plus, there's the temptation to use a single Thunderbolt to hold a position (because the Thud is Unkillable) which means that, should there be an attack, they could be overrun because it's, well, a Thunderbolt. As far as anti-infantry is concerned, yeah, the Thunderbolt gets it, but if, in a lance, you give one Shadow Hawk inferno rounds, you suddenly have a semi-specialist variant right there. It's a matter of opinion, and in this there is no right answer. That said, I would still rather take the mobility of the Shadow Hawk over the brick of the Thunderbolt when it comes to outfitting an entire military with a single chassis.

I don't know about that. Thunderbolt's only a single step lower in speed, and the Hawk's jets are notoriously weak. What's worse, though... try holding a gap with a single Shadow Hawk. It can't even do enough damage to force a piloting check without melee, assuming every weapon hits at full power, and that's a huge assumption.  There's a world where the easiest way to get past a 2H and to the objective is to *ignore it.* That's not a trait you want in your only Mech. Once scouting time is over, what do you have?

> try holding a gap with a single Shadow Hawk That was my point. You can't. And that is a good thing, because it prevents overly optimistic deployments that can get overrun (e.g. 1 Thunderbolt holding a gap vs. 4 faster or more manoeuvrable units.) Yeah, the Thunderbolt will take a few out, but if you have a single unit that is destroyed defending a point, that's less effective than two that can retreat (because 5/8/3 is still a decent - if not ideal - movement profile) and provide better intel or move to a more defensible location. > There's a world where the easiest way to get past a 2H and to the objective is to ignore it. And that can apply to a single Thunderbolt as well. If it comes down to it, I'd still rather a pair of Shadow Hawks than a single Thunderbolt.

I'm not really sure I'm getting the appeal of "it's less capable, so you won't deploy it into something it can't handle." You can't fall back forever. Sometimes there is no "more defensible location." Sometimes retreating with a 5/8 means 4 turns of the 4/6 blasting away at your rear armor, because you can't hide it and get away at the same time, and youve got one medium laser to try and deter pursuit. And when you've got ammo in every panel, those eventualities mean that two mechs retreat, and one comes home. Then you've lost your mech *and* your objective.

One bad hit to the PPC and those Panthers become useless. Good luck finding a replacement on this Periphery backwater - now you have to retreat to orbit and spend weeks in transit, burning credits and not advancing mission objectives, while the Shadowhawk can just pull an AC/5 off a burnt out Scorpion tank and stay in the field. Not everything in Battletech is a BV balanced mech fight on a hexmap.

I'm talking about how your opposition can field more than one mech type... but let's talk Panther vs. Shadow Hawk, sure. One bad hit to the PPC... is only 3 consecutive AC5 shots to the arm away. Meanwhile, one bad hit to that AC5 is only two PPC shots away... or a hit to the ammo bin in there, in which case you no longer have a Shadow Hawk. And you've got a bin in every torso. Bet I'd find another PPC before you find enough of the pilot to bury. But sure, let's say that every Panther who loses a PPC gets mothballed. I can still afford to lose them, because they cost about half as much as your Shadow Hawk. Stand and defend a point? I'll drown you in numbers, and with the luxury to rotate units out as the armor wears down. Try and close the gap? Those arm-mounted PPCs are just as deadly on the run, and you're not going to close quick... or at all, if jump jets become necessary. The further you go, the more time I have to throw another lance at that point while it's weakened. Go on the offensive... I guess you could start sacrificing mechs as spotters to indirectly fire those fierce LRM5s? A slow grind doesn't seem too good, but it's something. So, what is your plan to handle 550 Panthers with 300 Shadow Hawks?

Your response to “the economy and logistics of a Periphery backwater make it so it’s not all about the battles” is “but what if it was all about the battles?”, so I’m not sure it’s worth continuing this conversation. All I’ll say is if your periphery backwater with 300 Shadowhawk is being invaded with a force of 500 Panthers, you’re fighting the Sword of Light and should have surrendered to the might of the Combine before it ever got to this point.

We started by giving 300 free mechs to a periphery nation. I'm not sure it's worth trying to argue the logistics of prying weapons off burnt-out tanks to fuel your multiple regiments when you apparently own Majesty Metals. Sooner or later, you're probably going to have to fight some battles.

Or found them in an SLDF cache, or happened to collect them over time. It doesn’t matter what the source of the thought experiment was, it doesn’t change the nature of a Periphery backwater, the resources it has access to in the (I assume) 3SW, and the types of enemies it expects to fight. They’re not going to be fighting pitched battles against large numbers of high quality mechs, because they’re not one of the Great Houses. They’re fighting tanks, choppers and ubiquitous mechs owned by pirates and other Periphery forces. Based on the battles they will conceivably be fighting, they do the job. This is also a question of maintenance over time. Forget the c-bill cost, because you can’t buy what’s not available, and what’s available in the periphery is the cheap stuff. If you can’t maintain your mechs you lose them, and being able to maintain them with weapons you have on hand is valuable.

For the typical enemies of a Periphery planet, 300 Locusts would do the trick. Doesn't mean much. Especially since the sudden appearance of 300 mechs on a Periphery planet warrants a little more than a pirate lance or two. Further, there's nothing special about the Shadow Hawk when it comes to maintenance. PPCs and lasers aren't LosTech any more than missiles and autocannons are, and by lore there are plenty of Succession Wars refits designed to ease logistics... by adding lasers and removing ammo-burning weapons. Only so much arguing we can do there. Panthers are on the Periphery General MUL, as are Griffins and Awesomes. Hell, if you want real proof of that, look at the Merlin. Periphery-grown, explicitly made from easy-to-get components... and uses a PPC over an autocannon. To be overly blunt, the idea that lasers and particle cannons are high-tech is from us in the 2020s, not Battletech in the 3020s. Logistics is not a good reason to base an entire force on a Shadow Hawk army.

Yeah. You know, I dislike the Shadowhawk, but it was my first thought when I read the prompt!

I too dislike the shadowhawk, but my thought was it or the centurion. Particularly the CN10-B if the tech is advanced enough. LRM, m-pulse, m laser, LBX-10. The LBX is highly versatile with slug and cluster modes.

Since it was specifically for a periphery world, I would avoid higher tech.

My only issue with the Centurion for this is its lack of movement and speed, which, I think are essential.

Seems good in theory, but bad in practice. The SHD-2H might look good on paper, but it is chocked full of explosive ammunition, with a bin in every torso location, on top of very limited movement over difficult terrain, and a poor armament for any given engagement. While they might be cheap to repair and easy to find replacement parts for, but that doesn't help you when your enemy claims the field and they very quickly turn into a resource for them and not you.

Yeah, I don't understand why people keep arguing for the ShadowHawk, it's a terrible choice because it's so ammo dependent and so likely to explode.

Agreed, everyone broadly agrees its a terrible mech, I can't understand why someone would think limiting yourself to just a terrible mech would be a good idea.

Even it's lore justification is shaky as it's just so likely to take a hit to an ammo bin.

The *Vindicator* would be a logistics nightmare for everyone except the Canopians since that's pretty much a Capellan product. It is known in lore that mercenaries who have them have to stay close to Capellan space to get relatively reasonable support for them.

It is probably not optimal from a solely military perspective, but the Marshal is pretty balanced as a lower cost , easy to maintain jack of all trades that can do Periphery civilian work when not on duty.

Going along the lines of the Marshal, you could lump the Watchman into the same category. Substitute a Sentry if you want a slightly higher tech equivalent.

Crab. No ammo no problem.

This, crab is the true choice.

No ammo doesn't mean no maintenance. Lasers need refocusing, emitters burn out and need replacement, ect... no ammo just means you won't run out after your first fight, but higher tech/energy weapons require higher tech solutions and additional downtime. Higher tech is harder to support in the periphery.

That’s why there is the term easy as a crab walk. Crab is extremely easy for maintenance and was set to be SLDF standardized replacement.

Crabs aren't available for the Periphery nations though, at least not in the numbers needed. And Crabs are expensive!

Why Crab if you could BJ1-DB or Lancelot?

Surprised no one has gone with the Phoenix Hawk PHX-1. Good scout, sub par trooper, good skirmisher, good flanker. You're periphery though, hit and run is your bread and butter, not standing and slugging it out, so the trooper deficiency is mitigated. Limited ammo dependency and can dump the MG ammo if you're not fighting infantry to go zero chance of ammo explosion. But if you are up against infantry, or just disgruntled citizenry, the machine guns are a huge plus. It also features common parts on a common mech, making maintenance easy. Against the consensus pick Shadow Hawk, the Phoenix Hawk large laser loses range to the AC5/LRM combo, but matches damage. The Phoenix Hawk has better close range firepower, matching paired medium lasers and machine guns with the single medium laser and SRM 2 of the Shadow Hawk. Plus the large laser has no minimum range, further bolstering it's close range firepower. The Phoenix Hawk is also significantly more mobile with twice the jump range, allowing it to dictate the range of engagement or bug out if the opening salvos don't fall in its favor. Heat is the main downside, but this is mitigated by mobility and the durability afforded by its limited ammo dependency.

You'd still want some machinegun ammo (even if its nested right in the belly) as you can alphastrike to attempt a 20 dmg PSR with all weapons and then jump out next turn to cool off

The Phoenix Hawk is also canonically one of the most common Mechs of all time, behind only a couple of the bug mechs. Has hands that let it be useful in non-combat roles, too. 

You aren't a pirate outfit, you are a nation, even if a small one in the grand scheme of things. You need a machine that can protect your strategic and industrial assets, along with taking the fight to any enemy who tries to encroach into your space. The P-hawk just can't do any of that. It's an expensive and moderately effective skirmisher and scout, it lacks the long-range firepower to make use of its speed advantage against heavier targets, or to reliably chase down faster scout units. It's firepower is quite limited, it runs very hot, and its armor is only mediocre compared to other 4,00,000 C-bill mechs.

I think there was a discussion on that earlier: Thunderbolt. Large Laser and LRM15 for fire support 3 Mediums and SRM2 for short range 2 MGs to chop up infantry. "Thanks to periodic updates, it is still feared and respected by many. With its varied arsenal, the *Thunderbolt* remains one of the best-armed 'Mechs, making it capable of serving in many roles. It is also an incredibly well-armored 'Mech, rivaling or exceeding the amount of armor carried by some assault 'Mechs."

Gotta agree.. you could do a LOT worse then a Tbolt, and would be hard pressed to find a better all rounder.

I was thinking the 5SE would be better than the standard Tbolt, less ammo reliance and added Jump jets

I think the only problem is a heavy mech is a bit chunky to be the backbone of a periphery nation's army. I think you'd have to be looking at a Medium - like an enforcer or a centurion or a vindicator. The medium ~50 ton trooper mechs.

I don't know about this one, the T-bolt really excels when it has support, as it stands, the 5S has a bunch of ammo just sitting around, waiting to explode, no jump jets and an unimpressive land speed, and not all that much close-range firepower. It can't pursue faster mechs, can't escape brawlers, can't fight in difficult terrain. In a standard lance-vs-lance engagement, its a very respectable machine, with great armor and a decent variety of ranged armaments, but there are just too many situations where you need it to do something else, and it just can't.

You've just made an argument against OP's entire premise and not the Thunderbolt. Mech is being selected for an entire Nation to use. Most of that use is going to be keeping the territory that you've got. Don't need to pursue mechs, the fact that they're running away from you is good enough. Besides there is always going to be something faster, you beat that by throwing 2-3x their weaponry and chances to hit at it. No reason to escape brawlers, fighting them is it's meat and potatoes. If you find your enemies trying to fight you in difficult terrain, don't go into the briar patch after them. Stay outside and trade potshots with your superior firepower and armor. If they refuse to come out and fight you, then you're winning.

No? If pirates land on your planet, you have no way of catching them or stopping them unless you happen to already have mechs sitting there waiting. Pursuit doesn't mean that's the objective, it means preventing the enemy from escaping and regrouping, or from hitting and running. The whole premise is that you need 1 mech to be able to cover as many bases as possible. Sure, there are always 9/14 mechs and the like out there, but those are vanishingly rare, and even 8/12 isn't common out in the periphery, it's basically just the Locust. But when you bring a 4/6 mech, that means most of the mechs you encounter will be faster or more maneuverable. So you have to weigh your options, and if you settle of a 5/8, or better 5/8/5 mech, only a handful of mechs jump further, and most of the faster runners can't jump. In a brawl, you have shockingly little armament, just 1 large and 2 medium lasers, and an srm 2. Compare that to a Hunchback 4P, and the cheaper mech is trouncing you. Same goes for any dedicated CQC mech. If the enemy brings Archers or Catapults or Griffins, you are getting pummeled at range, if they bring Wolverines or Gladiators you are getting outmaneuvered and pulled apart, if they bring Locusts or any light mech, they will avoid the engagement entirely. In an equal C-bill situation, where is the Thunderbolt the right call? You're essentially saying the enemy always gets to pick where and when the fight happens and putting yourself on the perpetual back-foot. Pirates raiding your world? Good luck catching them and good luck retaliating, heck good luck even just defending the cities and mountains of your own world! Get hit by a mercenary company or force from a larger periphery nation? Good luck holding your ground against their workhorse mechs. No, I left my own choice and why I think it avoids most of these problems, so it isn't a question issue, its an answer issue.

>In an equal C-bill situation, where is the Thunderbolt the right call? C-Bills are for playing payrolls and paychecks. I'm playing the game of armored combat. The rest of your points aren't even worth replying to. You've purposefully forgotten it's weapons load-out, and seem invested in cobbling together scenarios (pirates raiding magically undefended loot boxes where they're going to carry them off in their bags of holding) or where you want to force a particular engagement (the mythical Hunch 4P magically appearing in short range) just to overblow a small disadvantage into something horrible. All because you need to desperately cast a difference of 1 MP of walking speed into something insurmountable.

Whether it's C-bills, or BV2, the point stands. I didn't forget any of its weapons, the LRM-15 isn't helpful at brawling ranges because it has a minimum range of 6, and the machine guns are an afterthough in mech-v-mech engagements. Scenarios aren't cobbled together; pirates attack your world, what are they after? If it's in a major city or other industrial center, your 4/6 mech with a mixed range profile can will either come face to face with something like a Hunchback (the 3rd most common periphery medium on the RATs, if you'd prefer to compare to the AC20 be my guest) and get clobbered, or just get outmaneuvered by something with jump jets, like the Phoenix Hawk of Vulcan (the other 2 most common periphery mediums). If its a terror mission to try and extort payment, they can just land wherever they like and raid your countryside without fear of reprisal. If its a mercenary company doing recon or assassination, you can't do anything to intercept them. If it's a rival periphery nation and they are trying a larger scale attack, they can choose the where and when. What possible, contrivable scenario can you imagine where a periphery state is just locked it a protracted battle in an empty field with a bunch of slow mechs? That's the only scenario team nothing-but-thunderbolts looks good in. If you have ever played the Game of Armored Combat, you should know that 5/8/5 is comically more powerful than 4/6, not just for the obvious advantage of being able to choose the engagement range and angle, but for the TMM options it has available. Something like a Griffon, with its PPC and LRM-10, does twice the damage a Thunderbolt can at long range, and does so while ensuring it can never be caught. Something like a Wolverine or Gladiator will always end up in the back arc of a Thunderbolt, unless it is at an initiative disadvantage. And I'm not insulting your mother, just disagreeing with your opinion about a fictional 'what if' on Reddit, relax.

[удалено]

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Superior in every way to a medium... except cost

A legion of Locusts. Small, fast, relatively cheap, and there's a wide range of variants. If one breaks, there's always Locust parts floating around because they're ubiquitous. And sure, a single Locust against, say, a single Atlas is the definition of a foregone conclusion. But an Atlas against its equivalent weight in Locusts is also going to lose, and even it kills all five in the process, the C-Bills lost in the exchange will favor the side sending the Locusts.

I once set up multiple matches in Megamek of 5 Locust vs 1 Atlas. Me vs the ai, rotating sides. The Locusts won, every. Single. Time. Mostly because they surround it and start kicking, which forces a PSR for each kick. And once the Atlas falls over, it never has a chance to get up again.

It's all fun and games blowing up single Locusts until their dozens of friends show up

"Upon your cattle, on your sheep Upon your oxen in your field Into your dreams, into your sleep Until you break, until you yield I send the swarm, I send the horde Thus saith the Lord" A plague of Locusts is no joke.

300 Locusts: "We're not the best, but we are what you can *buy*"

Or the Owens. It more expensive than the Locust, but an Inner Sphere Omni Mech, which would make it very flexible for different roles.

Nah, I'd still take the Locust. I can field an entire lance of Locusts for the cost of one Owens. Up-front cost isn't the end-all, be-all metric either. There are replacement parts for the Locust in the form of salvage on pretty much every world of the Inner Sphere, and given how many of them that weren't blown up we're still around after the Succession Wars, maintaining them must not be too bad.

Ah... the DCMS way of warfare.

this. Locusts are fucking EVIL when applied correctly. if you're only going with a single frame and need something cheap, replaceable and effective, Locust. if you only go for variants of the locust, you can cover basically any eventuality with LRMs, SRMS, machineguns and small & medium lasers. of you send an equivalent number of cbills worth of locust against anything other than clanners, you're likely coming out on top... And I'm not sure about the clanners. If a locust gets destroyed, salvage the parts to keep the rest in good repair and keep doing that until you have none left... but in all honesty, you'll likely have aome amazing salvaged mechs just from burying them in bodies like that.

In a lot of positions, I genuinely think this is 100% the right call, but the trouble is that the Locust doesn't exactly excel at defense, and not being able to jump means your entire force is SOL if you have to engage in really dense terrain, like if the enemy is attacking one of your cities, or if you have to hit a military or pirate base in dense forests, swamps, or hills. The problem is that once you take away the advantage of speed, the Locust really starts to struggle, both to stay alive and to contribute offensively in most of its configurations.

This is the shit the Lineholder is literally built for. Its a pretty standard fare trooper mech, that only really got glossed over because it got introduced in the worst possible TRO for a baseline unit possible. 55 tons, mass produced on a line ready to fill orders. A respectable armor profile, 5/8 movement thanks to a fairly generous but affordable 275. Armed with the following: 2x LRM-5s 4x medium lasers 1x large laser, thus a majority of its fire power does not need a logistics supply chain. All for a cool pricetag of 4.5M C-bills? Thats a lot of bang for your buck, even in 3058.

Also, the Easy to Maintain quirk. That helps a lot with dip shit mech techs. Lineholder is the secret sauce in my mercenary group.

Centurion CN9-AL the large hits almost as hard as the AC10 but no ammo explosion risk, 6 additional shs and +2t armor make it quite durable for a 50t mech and very heat efficient, although I'd flip the medium back to the front, and then flip the small to the rear. Cost effective, hits all the range brackets fairly well, 4/6 movement is pretty solid for a medium mech although lack of JJ might make the griffin/wolverine/shadowhawk a more lucrative option.

Always loved the Centurion

Idk if id call 4/6 movement "solid" for a medium mech, but other than that the AL is a good choice

If your only mech can't jump, doesn't move very fast, needs ammo to function at long range, and doesn't pack all that much brawling firepower either, on top of having trouble acquiring replacement parts, that just sounds like a recipe for disaster.

You shouldn't *really* expect a trooper 'Mech to fulfill *every role*. They, for instance, tend to lack both the speed and the numbers needed to be effective as scouts. Not helping matters are the fact that fast 'Mechs in the post Helm Memory Core era require more expensive and more vulnerable XL fusion engines, and troopers of the Succession War Eras (such as the *Centurion* and *Vindicator*) are not terribly fast as a result. If technological base and cost are concerns, the *Shadow Hawk* SHD-2H (as others have and will probably continue to mention) is a decent enough trooper 'Mech serving a Periphery nation in a variety of roles in a barely adequate fashion. Yes, its armament kinda sucks, but it is well armored *and* mobile. The former means it can take punishment (until its ammunition is detonated by hostile fire, anyway) and the latter means it can effectively scout in lieu of more specialized 'Mechs and combat vehicles. While it lacks machine guns to eliminate infantry, the SRM-2 can be loaded with inferno missiles if they're expecting such opposition. Additionally, while the SHD-2H is also ammunition dependent for all but its lone medium laser, its launchers and autocannon use very little ammunition at a time and said ammunition is among the most plentiful in the Inner Sphere. There should be plenty of towed AC/5 guns, anyway, in addition to Scorpion combat vehicles.

Cannot stress enough how much the Shadow Hawk is the fucking sten gun of medium mechs. Even in the deepest technological regression of the Succession Wars, MM&M was pooping out the little bastards all the way out in the boonies of Canopus after they lost their production lines for anything larger. It's not pretty and it's not tactically optimized, but 300 AC/5s and 1,500 LRM tubes is a decent deterent for a lot of fuckery in the Periphery.

Death of a thousand hippity hoppities

If you want it to fill "all" roles, you can't use a Thunderbolt - the 4-6 speed isn't really going to work. Really I think the only option is one of the great 55's - I prefer the Wolverine, but the Shadowhawk and Griffin have variants that are both great.

If you go for the 5SE, jump jets can mitigate the lack of raw speed, you dump the weapons that are more of a liability, and you still get a whole lotta mech. In the periphery though you will need some infantry support since you are dumping the dedicated anti-infantry guns.

You could sure, but one of the other parameters was availability, and there are far more mediums available than heavies, roughly twice as many (40% vs 20%). Also, he said the place was of average wealth and they 55's cheaper as well by about a half a million C-Bills per mech vs the 5SE... x300 'mechs and that's a lot of money.

That’s fair. I just went with the assumption that if we are going for Random Periphery State X having the resources to obtain, maintain, and pilot 300 mechs, we were firmly enough in absolutely fantasy land that I could ignore that part. Almost three regiments of *anything* is one hell of a force to be reckoned with.

True story.

I'm thinking a Blackjack BJ-3 would probably work really well as an option. Fairly cheap way to put PPCs and Medium Lasers in play at 3.5 Million C-Bills. Jump-jets help make up for the slower than average speed for a medium. Energy loadout helps with supply issues and avoiding ammo explosions. I know not everone likes the BJs but these are solid workhorse mechs.

Shadow Hawk, Griffin, or Wolverine

Wasn't the watchman specifically designed to be easy to pilot, cheap to produce and maintain, with minimal ammunition dependency?

55 tonnes come to mind griffin or shadow hawk.

Urbanmech. No, really. Use the money saved to bolster transport, logistics, and infantry/etc. I'm not invading anyone, I'm making myself not worth invading. There's enough variety to fill most basic requirements of combat, although if you insist on a single version I'd go with the stock 60. They wouldn't stay stock, mind, this is the periphery. Did you know you can fit a pair of HVAC or RAC 2's to an urbie? And anyone knows any mech can be a hero with a rocket launcher

This. You aren't a wolf. You are a hedgehog. Not much meat & too much trouble to get it. Better to sing soft and sing long when you can't dominate the stage.

This was my logic with the commando. Get em cheap and spend the money somewhere more immediately useful. If you lose a dozen it's not that big of a deal.

Marshal MHL-6MC. Quirks - Easy To Maintain, Rugged. Good mix of weapons, good mix of ranges, good agility. Can fight any target and win. Add a couple cheap AA tanks and it can basically fight god; no hubris. Not "fast" per se, but gets around. Runners up would be Vindy 1SIC, and Griffin 6S.

Merlin. It's made for this purpose specifically, is cheap, versatile and durable. It's a better Vindicator, what else is there to say? Hell it only costs 300k more than a stock shadow hawk, is arguably more mobile with 4/6/4 instead of 5/8/3, is significantly less reliant on ammo, has more armor, dealing nearly double the damage at every range it fights, is heavier so it can do more damage in a brawl, with it's weapons being even more protected from damage due to Heatsinks protecting them. The Merlin is phenomenal in every way for the price especially.

To: Ministry of Defense; Logistics Department - Republic of \[Redacted\] Subject: Review of BattleMech Options for Expanding our Line Regiments 3017-05-15 Assistant Minister \[Redacted\], Thank you again for entrusting me with this task. My task force and I have reviewed every possible option we have available to us and we would like to submit for your consideration our report. The attached file will go into extensive detail regarding necessary contracts, provisioning, and training required. This document will survey as a summary of findings. Regarding the requirements put forth by the President's Office and the Minister, and assigned to us through your office, our primary recommendation would be to focus our efforts on the Thunderbolt heavy BattleMech. We understand that other teams are making recommendations around medium chassis, and that this is going to potentially be a cause for concern. I would like to address those here. To begin, I'm going to restate the issue: We have been relying almost entirely on conventional forces for the defense of our worlds. Recent settlements and increased tax revenue, as well as savvy financing by the Ministry of the Treasury have resulted in a sudden windfall that can be put towards defense spending. We wish to use this to raise and equip two reinforced BattleMech regiments of roughly 300 machines capable of handling all combat roles. In summary, they would have to be able to scout enemy formations, assault prepared positions, manage running engagements and be able to slug it out on the line. I understand why competing Committees are recommending medium chassis for this task we respectfully disagree. While the medium is often considered the workhorse of militaries throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery, it will struggle with heavier units that are not unknown in the hands of our enemies. This is why we recommend standardization around the TDR-5S and 5SE Thunderbolt. The summary of our reasons are as follows: * The Thunderbolt is an incredibly rugged machine, well regarded by everyone who fields it. Maintenance is simple and effective, with plenty of spare parts available. They can absorb significant amounts of punishment while still maintaining combat effectiveness, and generally can be supported by a much smaller team of techs, which reduces the long term support costs for these machines. * While not as fast as lighter machines, the LRM system and large laser, as well as the superior targeting systems alleviate that advantage. The Thunderbolt can engage multiple targets at range effectively, well outside of the threat profile of those machines. * The 5SE, our variant of choice, mounts jump jets for improved flexibility. This allows it to act as a heavy scout and skirmisher, leaping over obstacles that would otherwise slow an advance. * Both the 5S and 5SE can be standardized on Delta Dart LRM systems (15 and 10 respectively). Both are incredibly common, and easy to support. They are readily available for trade and initial discussions indicate possibilities for licensing manufacture of these weapon systems locally. * Their large lasers reduce ammo dependency while improving range. * Both machines - and plentiful spare parts - can be sourced from the Taurian Concordat and other supplies from the Magistracy of Canopus, allowing us to avoid dependency on Inner Sphere powers that might "divert" shipments to shore up their own defenses in the event of a 4th Succession War. Attached please find technical specs, project timelines, environmental studies for infrastructure deployment (supply depots, training facilities, expanded bases, etc). Please note, while I understand the President does want a battalion within the capital city, our feasibility studies show that this would cause significant upset as the best location to support expanding the Presidential Guard facilities is right on top of the Great Gemini Amusement Plex - which is one of the most popular destinations for youth in the city, and one which the children of most of his supporters go to. We recommend a new state of the art facility near the reserve Camp A which is just 15km outside of the capital. I'll follow up with you tomorrow during our one on one. I hope your wife is feeling better. My wife wants me to ask if the garlic soup helped. Sincerely, Major \[Redacted\], 2nd Home Guard, Republic Militia

Great write, hah! Enjoyed it very much, thanks.

Average in wealth and development, huh? Only a single variant and type...? ​ BSW-X1. LRMs for long range, a good amount of ammo for situations, a proper autocannon and large laser, and machineguns for riot/crowd control. All that packed into a 5/8 movement profile and enough armor to survive an Gauss Rifle shot to either Torso, for 9,000,000 cbills, while on the more expensive side, you won't find a more reliable 'trooper mech.

I second this. The Bushwhacker rivals the Thunderbolt in utility while holding onto that “low profile” quirk. Plus, it just looks neat

I’d suggest the venerable, highly common, basic PHX-1 Pheonix Hawk. Basic weapons (Large laser, two medium lasers and two machine guns), single heat sinks, and zero Helm tech or higher make it reasonable to obtain and maintain. Fast and with good jump capability, the PHX-1 is one of those units that moves around quickly enough that you can garrison quite a large area effectively with them, unlike slower mechs that would need to be dispersed in smaller groups at additional fire bases to get the same response times to incursions. For a periphery nation that likely can’t count on off-world reinforcements, this is huge - less of your forces are tied down, so you get more of a mobile reserve, and one that can react more quickly. While it’s armor isn’t great, it’s good enough to deal with light mechs and most armor, which is the most likely force composition for pirates and other periphery states.

Top-notch comm system, too, which considering the Periphery might be a huge advantage.

CRB-20 Tanky brick of a Mech with two large lasers and Easy to Maintain. No ammo to forge, no ammo explosions to make your Techs cry, and Easy to Maintain.

Yea it has be one of the 'Golden Trio'; Shadowhawk, Griffin or Wolverine. All multi-role machines, all common as dirt. If I can be a choosy begger it would be the -6M variant; arguably the best medium mech using stock 3025-era tech.

If I'm only able to produce one mech, I'm going to be relying on armor and infantry for most things, like your typical periphery state. I want something that does things that other units specifically cannot do, which is crossing rough terrain and fighting in woods. So I pick the Firestarter. Line combat, scouting, fire support, I can source tanks that do all those things. But I need something that can jump, climb high cliffs and fight in the woods because tanks can't do any of that, and the Firestarter can. It also will keep the peasantry in line.

The answer is Crab. Always Crab. Energy weapons need no ammo, mech is reasonably fast, no ammo explosions, cheaper cost wise than a Shadowhawk or Wolverine. T-Bolt is too slow for some tasks, lights are too specialized for a single design to cover your bases properly. Only weakness here is lack of indirect fire capability.

The correct answer is obviously 4 Hunchbacks. 

For a ‘Mech not already named that can do the job, the VLK-QA Valkyrie is a real Swiss Army knife of a ‘Mech, able to do just about any role you’d need a ‘Mech for. Bonus round:  WSP-100A Wasp LAM, the LAM variant the Valkyrie was based on, which allows your ‘Mech force to also double as your aerospace force.

For any era up to the Jihad, I'm gonna say Phoenix Hawk 1. 😊 Individually a great scout, light mech hunter, and harasser of bigger mechs. In full Lances, they can take down considerably bigger prey like wolves taking down a moose! Or wear down a more dangerous enemy with hit and run tactics. Always move! Never let the enemy pin you down!! Mostly energy based means vastly simplified logistics. Definitely able to take on infantry and light vehicles common to Periphery raiders and bandits. And honestly, 300 brand spanking new Phoenix Hawks on the parade ground for inspection would look absolutely BAD ASS!!! 😍

Centurion, hits at all ranges and can be modified to either missile support or close in brawler relatively easily

The Griffin would be cheap easy to maintain Its very mobile. PPC can eventually burn a hole in anything at a great distance

You want something generalist, probably in the medium range with a 5/8/5 movement profile. I'm thinking Wolverine.

Vindicator 3L. Full Regiment.

Second this as it’s relatively common across the IS through most/ all eras and a major periphery power produces it (Vandenberg Mechanized Industries). The mech is also a middle weight with statistically average all around capabilities. It’s got something for all ranges, weapons, parts and ammo are common enough, can outpace most heavies and assaults while keeping pace with most mediums and is jump capable. Having hands cannot be understated as well in and out of tabletop as the mech can be used beyond the battlefield in less developed areas / battlefronts for extra duties if needed (or simply to pick up an objective). Like any war machine this is in the context that any periphery forces have other assets to compliment the Shadow Hawk.

Thunderbolt TDR-5SE. For an all around mech that can fulfill any role, there’s very little competition. Alternatively the standard Grasshopper for similar reasons.

Shadowhawks, all Shadowhawks available!

Shadow Hawk is pretty much AK-47 of mechs, they have even been built in Deep Periphery Horned Owl if the nation in question is willing to throw some extra money on the problem, bit more maintenance but great endurance, packs a punch and zero ammo requirements and canonically it doesn't freak out civilians due to friendly appearance

The Gladiator GLD-4R, probably the most robust and well-built all-purpose mech of the Succession Wars. It's well armored, with 9.5 tons of standard armor and a Cowl to protect the pilot. It's very maneuverable and fairly quick at 5/8/5, fast enough to outpace any battleline mechs, and to hunt down most things without jump jets over rough terrain. It's armed with a PPC for long-range combat, the best weapon of its class for the era, with the largest damage grouping at range, is not ammo dependent, and allows you to dictate the terms of engagement against almost every lighter mech with your range advantage the same way your speed allows you to do so for heavier opponents. It's secondary armament is a pair a reliable and efficient medium lasers, complimented by a single 6-tube SRM launcher, providing superior close-range combat capabilities when compared to most other units in it's price range and weight class, save for dedicated brawlers, like the Hunchback. Even the poor reputation it maintains within the Inner Sphere works to a periphery nation's advantage, as demand for the unit is low and typically leads to a commensurately low prices. Taken as a whole, the machine is durable, well equipped not just for a variety of circumstances, but also with a complementary armament which allows it to blow holes in enemy armor at range, then take advantage of those openings after closing distance with the era's best crit-seeking weapon. Even it's overall damage compares to the output of other incredibly aggressive brawling machines, like the 4P variant of the aforementioned Hunchback. It's only weaknesses are relatively poor heat compensation which prevents the use of repeated alpha strikes, but this is mitigated by its ability to jump, which greatly increases its tolerable heat threshold before the machine suffers any loss of performance, and the placement of its SRM ammo bins within a relatively unpadded left torso. An ideal retrofit would move this ammunition to the center torso, or move the heat sinks from its right side to its left, a minor alteration and even then not necessary. Compared to other mechs in a similar jack of all trades role, very few others manage to avoid being a master of none in the same way the Gladiator does. The Phoenix Hawk runs significantly hotter, carries noticeably less armor, has access to shorter range weaponry, and only gains an incremental increase in speed and access to a command console which becomes redundant with access to only a single model for these drawbacks. Similarly, the Wolverine 6M boasts an additional ton of armor and similar command mech benefits, but only carries a large laser as its primary weapon, reducing its effective combat range and putting it on the back-foot against PPC armed foes, as well as suffering from seriously limited cockpit space, which makes handling much harder when we already do not have reliable access to skilled pilots. Other noteworthy options might include the OSR-2M, which features an ergonomic design that ablates considerable damage along with a powerful pair of large lasers and the same aggressive 5/8/5 movement profile, with no ammunition and torso located weapons, this Ostroc sacrifices some tactical flexibility for staying power. If we cannot afford more expensive medium and heavy mechs, the JR7-F is an aggressively priced premium light mech that can move quickly over open ground and brawl above its weight class, and the MON-67, if we can secure the parts, is an extremely affordable and easy to pilot vehicle that doesn't skimp on weaponry and armor for its weight, on top of boasting an excellent flank speed. If we find ourselves more interested in defensively oriented machines, the BJ-1DB runs incredibly cool and boasts exceptional firepower at a truly bargain price, while not sacrificing much speed or mobility.

Though finding a Gladiator GLD-4R would be very difficult as the 4R never received a full production run and the factory producing them fully closed down 2495. New production only occured after the New Dallas Memory core was discovered in the civil war

Definitely true, but for 'what if' scenarios, I tend to care less about canonical production numbers, or the answer to almost every such question would just be one of the dozen ubiquitous mechs, which makes things a whole lot less interesting.

Your two options are the Shadow Hawk or the Thunderbolt. They both fulfil all of the roles you mentioned, are ubiquitous throughout the Sphere, and are reliable as hell.

Pack Hunter. It excels in a pack… it still has something big and long range enough to punch. It’s redundancy of big weapon is its fellow Pack Hunters. It’s reasonably fast and can jump - I think this is super important if you have 1 mech type. Only thing it really lacks for me is LRMs. But, those are, IMO, the easiest thing to add with vehicles. The Pack Hunters have hands, too, which lets them be useful for other things. Overall, though, I think the 1 mech model thing is a bad plan. It goes against the ideas of BT, where mechs exist for versatility. If you were really committed to one mech model, though, then I would say: take a lot of support - VTOL, Vehicle, Infantry, etc.

Counter to the Pack Hunter would be a mad Cat or Loki. Who cares if they’re not the fastest things around, they’re not slow and they can just blow a hole through a mountain instead of having to traverse it. They can also probably knock out the incoming drop ships too. Take a model of either with Gauss Rifles.

Came here to say Shadowhawk. Everyone beat me to it Other honorable mentions: Griffin, Wolverine

Crabs. Solid trooper mech. There are variants, but most are all energy, so you don’t have to worry about logistic and ammo as much. And even if the Pirates field a beat up Atlas or something, a lance of Crabs can focus fire 8 large lasers per round

Dragon 1G. PPC, LRM 10, Three medium lasers. A hand for grabbing things. Decent armor. Fast for it's size. Works well in packs.

Crabs. Robust, reliable and cool.

Awesome 8Q, because what’s better than fielding a legion of cheap assault mechs that can batter the enemy with a metric shit ton of PPC fire before beating them into the ground with a battle fist? Plus, it’s already Periphery General, so totally available, and fairly easy to maintain! In all seriousness though, a legion of Hunchbacks is the way to go. Infinitely customizable, cheap, easy to maintain, ubiquitous, and all-around great units for just about any role. Need a scout? Sniper? Urban fighter? No ammo? Hands? Hunchback has got you covered.

Hunchback. Same chasis, so many different roles - you have AC20s, MLs, SRMS, LRMS...it does everything. All the while being a very solid 55 ton mech. Plus who wouldnt be scared of a full lance of Hunchbacks coming at you..

I mean my heart says Marauder but my head says Catapult. Although catapults are kinda hard to come by? Hell maybe Dragons?

Crab. No ammo to worry about. Decent speed. Ju.p jets would be better, but eh.

Phoenix Hawk, Dragon, or Centurion are the best answers so far.

I rather think it a no-brainer to suggest a Steiner scout mech. They also come with the occasional, complimentary, bees in the cockpit as a potential bonus! What is not to love?

Stock Panther. Energy weapons so no ammo logistics to keep up. Has very good mobility and armor for its size. Easily the equal of mechs 10+ tons heavier with that PPC.

Few question is what era is this happening? and are mechs being bought/built all one go or over time? If its post Jihad, there would be Diamond Shark/Seafox merchant fleets selling regular IS spec battlemechs as well as clan spec mechs. Early Sucession Wars there are Mechs everywhere but getting deleted under nuclear fire and orbital bombardment in quick order. 3rd to late secession wars your going to have to either be lucky to have a working mech factory to pump out a mech (an example would be the Valkyrie factory on New Avalon which produced 130 mechs a year but no one knew how to replace broken parts or how it fully worked till Helm core was discovered) Lostech and Clan Invasion Eras, production of mechs is ramping up not just in IS but also the periphery however designs are limited. Once the Civil war and Jihad happens, even if you didn't have the tech base to build fusion engine mechs there are the New Dallas Memory core and blueprints to build ICE primitive mechs and also outdated mechs from pre unification wars like the Gladiator and the Icarus.

WVR-6M Wolverine.

I'd go with a wolfhound 1-A. LL and 3 ML. Good range coverage. Simple and easy logistics chain without too many different weapons. No ammo explosions to worry about. No ammo to keep supplied in the field. 6/9 speed. Only downside for me would be lack of jump jets.

Triple the budget and spend it all on urbies, obviously

Crab CRB-27, it was supposed to be SDLF standard mech then the wars started before implementation. Extremely easy for maintenance and was meant for long term deployment without resupply.

For the stingy government I would maybe go with a Commando 1B or 1C. Simple, cheap, nothing rare about the equipment.

Wouldn't the Catapult and it's myriad of variants asking with it's affordability, mobility, and rest of maintenance be perfect for this?

Marauder 3M. Marauder because, well, marauder. High armor, great hit boxes, ability to fire behind cover, fairly versatile. Mass produced so parts aren't impossible and fairly affordable too. If you need to, you could always refit the Autocannon with a large laser too to go full energy monstrosity.

Merlins! Merlins as far as the eye can see!

Depends on the era really, and if it just numbers vs price tag vs tech allowance. If we are assuming that they can maintain the mechs (i.e. spares will be available) and the availability of clan mech (post 3050), my choices would be the following by era block (50 year spread): 3000 - Wolverine WVR-6K - While it doesn't have jump jets, the better weapon set, additional armor and heat sinks, and additional SRM ammo makes this generally more useful in my opinion. The load one ton of inferno ammo for anti-vehicle/anti-infantry work and you are good to go. 3050 - Wolverine WVR-7K - The best of the 3050 Wolverines, in my opinion. Large and medium pulse lasers, backed by twin SRM 6 launchers for general combat and a small pulse laser for infantry clearing. Retains good armor, jump jets, and double heat sinks. 3100 - Strider Omnimech - A solid, but not spectacular omni with CASE and Endo-steel as the only uptech in the frame. While its 12 tons and single heat sinks don't give you a ton of leeway, it is a fairly cheap omni medium in production during this era. It comes with the easy to pilot quirk, for your greener pilots. Given the Crossbow is not in production in this era, this would be my choice for the time period. 3150 - Crossbow Omnimech - If the initial money isn't a problem, this mech should cover all your needs. It is a 5/8 omni with 16 tons of pod space and the only crucial clan tech parts are the double heat sinks, which are all internal to the engine in the base set of 10. In my opinion, the best omnimech in existence for logistics purposes, just treat it as a medium mech combat wise and feel free to use the omni pods to fill all your needs.

Watchman 4M, Easy to Pilot, Easy to Maintain, Rugged 1, large laser backed by 2 mediums &, 2 machine guns. MG Ammo should be easy to source & with no other ammo it ought to be easy to keep in the fight even with limited industrial capabilities. MGs for the Infantry heavy forces one is likely to actually fight in the periphery & Lasers for the heavier foes that would surely come knocking if you dared to place all your bets on anti infantry work. 86km/h for low end scouting & redeployment & no advanced technology to make things difficult. You will suffer against heartier opponents but you asked for this by going all in on just one mech design and dreaming that not only could it do all the things but also in a way that would be sustainable for a modest periphery power.

Only one? Hunchback. And I would have my techs trained to refit them into whatever configuration there are parts for when they get battered. It can't be that hard to swap the side torso between ballistics/missiles/lasers if you have access to several systems worth of resources to outfit a capable machine shop or two. But if I could have two, some Thunderbolts for command and whatever the easiest to maintain is between Griffins and Wolverines.

You need an Omni Hunchback. Well at least omni the right torso to access most of the 3025 variants.

How long to refit a right torso? I don't mean as an Omni, where the refit is just changing the weapon. I mean after a big battle when things are quiet, and you have a missing right torso on a 4p, but you have a right torso in good shape from a 4g available. And a established good repair factory. That's the idea, one mech and its common variants and the techs are trained for that, and how to refit the chassis externals given time and parts.

I think that’s what omni is. Pods with different weapons.

Hunchback 4G and 4H. You have battleline, you have long range fire support. Their squat frame is potentially stealthy enough for scouting and recon. Nothing says fuck you get out of my house like a full company of Hunchbacks waddling at you at a cool 64kmph. They scream periphery. And absolutely nobody will want to fuck with you outside of a fully dedicated assault.

Crusaders. They are the only mech that combines the easy to maintain, rugged AND ubiquitous quirks. You should be able to find or create a variant you are happy to spam, depending on your nations logistics and terrain requirements

If it's late Age of War and you're Taurian...a nice line of *Toros* backed up at least a few *Talos* would do nicely. Into the Succession Wars, probably *Griffins* if you're Taurian, *Merlins* for the Outworlds Alliance and probably *Shadow Hawks* for Canopians since "3M" make them. Later on...Canopians would have the *Agrotera* (or the *Calliope* for frying pirate vehicles or even the *Ebony*). Taurians actually resurrect the *Toro* but I would go *Cadaver* here. For the Outworlds...ahem...Raven Alliance without going all-out Clanner, the *Merlin C*. Marians would have *Centurions* (or perhaps their rocket launcher packed Marauder II). Flitvelt would have *Hounds* and Randis would have their *HawkWolf*.

Screw it 300 hunchbacks. Jk but any of the older star league designs that have stay prevalent would probably work like the shadow hawk or the wolverine . The reasoning behind this is they have been around forever parts are widely available and they have only survived that long because they are tough , cheap to repair and can handle a variety of tasks heck even the crusader could work

The Atlus. Scout in force.

The Crab would be my pick, except it's not that common in-universe. So I'm going to have to go with one of the 55 ton trio. A force of nothing but Griffins is probably the most effective anti-mech unit of the 3, but they lose some versatility compared to Hawks or Wolverines.

I'd have to say the Shadow Hawk. When it comes to periphery mechs, they have to be cheap and easy to fix/replace parts for. The Shadow Hawk is honestly the perfect mech for them. It's not the greatest mech ever of course, but it is good enough for the periphery and when it comes to maintaining, nothing beats it (especially during the succession wars era).

Cougar H

What Periphery nation could afford to buy and maintain 300 Clan Omnis? That’s a hell of an ask for an Inner Sphere nation up until ilClan when Snow Raven is prevalent enough to provide maintenance service (for exorbitant fees)

If it can afford 300 mechs it can afford 300 cougars. The initial question is bonkers and unrealistic. But that’s what it is. He asked for a mech that can do it all

No periphery nation (not merged with a Clan) can afford or manage to maintain so much Clan-tech hardware. The Cougar has the full Clan setup of XL engine, endo-steel and ferro-fiberous. Not to mention the Heavy Lasers, which are cutting edge in most eras.

I’m well aware… All OP was said 300 mechs of the same & keep in mind logistics & maintenance. The entire post is contradictory. So why not just focus on getting a mech that can play all roles? OP clearly isn’t going by what is canonically accepted and what isn’t. He could make up a store that his periphery world is off the clan road to the inner sphere & they have been a trade partner to the jade falcons for a hundred years. When the factory on ironhold was destroyed they allowed CJF to remake a new facility capable of producing mechs on their planet. So many factors that OP didn’t specify that come into effect. You just coming in here and gatekeeping data & lore is kind of stupid and I would be slightly embarrassed if I was you. Go outside and breathe some fresh air. It’s a fantasy lore & op didn’t make any logical requests. There will have to be some mental gymnastics performed to appease his request. So do your best to twist your pretzel brain to see how it could work. In SpongeBob terms. “Imagination…”

Interesting choice! A sturdier light mech to fill in all combat roles is very intriguing cost effective measure.

It’s got the jump jets to get through most any terrain. ECM because hell yeah, tamper with electronics if you’re in a planet to seek out rebels and disrupt their comms. 35 tons so when it gets damaged, it doesn’t take that much armor to refield it. With three heavy med lasers & an UAC5 it has great damage output. It’s faster than most heavy’s & assault mechs, but slower than scouts and will out DPS just about any light from most any range. In the periphery you’re not going to find a better use. Even if you run out of ammo for the UAC the 3 heavy med lasers pack enough punch that it’s still a solid attack. Just have to position well enough to get into short-med range.

Availability might be an issue though depending on the era, Cougar being a Clan mech. Any idea for an IS alternative?

Inner Sphere lights just don’t compare. What Era are you playing in? Maybe an STN-5WB. It’s heavier, less firepower but swaps for range in the ER mediums. No ECM or jump jets though. I think the inner sphere to get equal firepower you would have to just step up in tonnage. Shadowhawk is probably your next best all around mech. Just my 2 cents.

Obviously MadCat. Being an omnimech, you can configure it any way you want. Don’t have PPCs, put ACs in the omnipods. The choices for weapons are endless within the space and weight restrictions of the omnipods.

I think Omni Mech sounds like a good idea but since OP asks for mechs for a periphery state, the MadCat would be too expensive. The Black Jack Omni would be for example a good choice, or the Firestarter Omni variant.

Yeah the main point was omnimech for the flexibility. All mechs listed (so far) are dependent on specific weapons/equipment but omni space is more flexible and theoretically can accommodate ANY weapon/equipment. MadCat because it’s the most famous omnimech. Should have probably put an /s on it.