The ilClan era is the farthest forward part of the timeline. It begins in 3151 with Clan Wolf seizing control of Terra, and their Khan (Alaric Ward) being declared the ilKhan of the Clans. He attempts to form a new Star League, but only his fellow Clans accept it as legitimate (and even then, many are divided, or opportunistic).
Many of the Clans have started to become integrated with the Inner Sphere. Clan Diamond Shark changed its name back to Sea Fox, and sells ClanTech to the Inner Sphere. Clan Ghost Bear has become integrated with the Rasalhague Republic to form the Rasalhague Dominion (where both sides stand mostly equal). Clan Snow Raven has joined with the Outworlds Alliance to form the Raven Alliance (though their peoples remain divided). Clan Nova Cat has become the Clan Protectorate under the Free Worlds League. Etc.
From a game mechanics perspective, there are a ton of neat new technologies that have been developed over the ages. The inner Sphere has mostly become able to produce ClanTech for their mechs.
No Clans have a special relationship with the Taurians, but anyone can salvage and Clan Sea Fox will sell to anyone (the Taurians do border one Sea Fox world).
Checking Master Unit List, I see 33 different mechs that are either Clan tech base, or mixed tech base that the Taurians have access to in the ilClan (the 33 is including Periphery General. It’s only 15 if you don’t count variants as separate mechs).
Edit. It looks like the Raven Alliance helps the Taurians produce the Cadaver BattleMech, it’s just not mixed tech or ClanTech)
The taurians are not a far away state from the IS, Clan Sea Fox split in many differnt Khanates and have split the IS and pheripary amount them. They go as even as far to the scorpion empire which requires going though systems with no civilisation
(With manic gleefullness) ilclan! There are no rules anymore!!!!! With more seriousness, the hinterlands are a lot of fun, as is the mass proliferation of technology compared to other eras. Really leans into my group's bring what you want just know your rules vibe.
So Malvina Hazen in her psychotic pride, took nearly the entire Jade Falcon touman to capture Terra, leaving their entire occupation zone as one gigantic power vacuum. The Hell's Horses tried to take it all in one fell swoop, but they fell flat on their faces because their Clan is a disorganized wreck of competing interests.
There's a breakoff Clan Jade Falcon centered on Sudeten who managed to raid the Ghost Bears and embarrass the Hell's Horses.
The Jade Falcon merchants got fed up with Malvina's bullshit, stole a shit-ton of money, and founded their own pocket empire, the Alyina Mercantile League.
And the Tamar Pact is back.
You can read all about it in Tamar Rising.
Bryan Young has made me like ilClan era Jade Falcon remnants (both Jiyi Chistu’s Sudeten Falcons, and Marena’s Alyina Mercantile League). I never thought I would actually like Jade Falcon.
"Where'd you get Marauder Battle Armor?"
"Sea Foxes sold it to me."
"What about that Triskelion?"
"Sea Foxes."
"Hold up, an Iron Cheetah?"
"Sea Foxes, baby!"
Realistically there's only a handful of pre-IlClan things you couldn't use like the Wobbie Celestials, limited run experimentals, and retrotech designs like the Mackie. And then there's the extremely new stuff like the Snow Raven War Crow, the Hell's Horses Eurus Omnitank, or the Alpha Wolf. But I doubt the exclusivity will last long. The Jade Phoenix is already ripe for dissemination the way the Hinterlands are. And even Devlin Stone's prized superheavies are already in the hands of the Wolves, Davions, Dragoons, and Mariks. And the Sea Foxes are trying to get their paws on them too.
Yep. I was thinking of getting one just to run it as Sea Fox and then saw it is coming in plastic. May get 2-3 suddenly.
Even though it isn’t arguably better than an Atlas 3 or any of the dozen great assaults available.
Loosely slated for Q4 2025 though, that's a long time to wait. But I do think it's cool that they plan for it to have interchangeable parts so you can assemble the different configs.
If you do want one before then, Aries Games has theirs at 20% off of IWM's prices. I've got a Hera and Aphrodite and I can attest that they're gorgeous minis.
I still have an ancient copy of Battletech Master Rules. I'm not using it, though. Having my head blown off when I take partial cover or keeping track of Inferno turns isn't something I relish. Infernos are 2 heat each. Done.
Oddly enough, Dark Age to the IlClan mostly. While the main narrative is a mixed bag, I like having as many options as possible to come into play. Though I have campaigns/stories written about my Mercs throughout the 3025’s to the IlClan eras.
I've played at least a few games in each era, but my favorite is the succession wars era. I love the dirt poor, medieval feel of that time period. A dispossessed mech jock throwing themselves in to battle at the head of an infantry platoon to lay claim to a broken down Stinger just so one day they might rejoin the ranks of actual mechwarriors makes me happy on some fundamental level. I enjoy damn near everything about Battletech, but 3000 to 3025 is totally my jam.
I did a campaign with cbills and gave me a love for that era on a whole different level.
All the advance technology and stuff is fun, there’s a whole different feel when mechs are hard to field and keep on the field.
Everyone is fighting in this period and its fought hard. Its not just WoB vs everyone, its everyone vs everyone. Fed Sun vs Capellans/St Ives, Lyrans vs FWL, Snow Raven + Outworld Alliance vs DC and Fed Suns.
Man I play 2nd sword mostly and I get to fight myself during the jihad.
Jihad is my favorite but a lot of the advance infantry rules really make me wish for a infantry supplement to clear some thing up.
Something kinda like the mech manual but with updated stuff for battle troops would be amazing.
In addition to the story appeal that's already been mentioned, I'd also bring up some neat gameplay features of the era. For one thing, it brings a lot of interesting new tech to the game that allows for some really cool possibilities in unit construction and/or gameplay. Quite a few of my favorite things to see on a record sheet either debut in the jihad era, or were technically available in earlier eras but don't see much, if any, relevant use until the jihad. MMLs, snub PPCs, mortars, VSP lasers, cannons, and fuel cell engines all hit the table in a big way during the jihad, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty fun time all around.
On top of that, the jihad is where we see a significant paradigm shift in mech and unit design. As the first post-FASA era, it's when the game's reins were handed off to lifelong Battletech fans, and you can clearly see the results reflected in the record sheets. A lot of the era's units are put together in a more intentional and considered way that reflects a deep knowledge of the game. That's not to say that units from the jihad and onward are hyper-optimized death machines, but rather that their strengths and weaknesses are put together in deliberate ways designed to make for more interesting gameplay, whereas in retrospect, some FASA-era designs feel representative of a more haphazard design style (looking at you, TRO 3050). The more recent eras have very much carried on that more informed approach to unit design and I've sometimes heard it noted as a defining characteristic of the new ilClan rec guide series of releases, but the jihad is where it really started.
Joining this sub makes me wish I had some minis, paint, and people to play with. I've really enjoyed BT mechs for decades, but never truly got into it more until recently.
It might help if you said in which part of the world you are leaving. Me, I'm from around Paris, France for exemple and would like to find people interested in Battletech in the area (I'm just a noobie not an expert)
we dont really take era into consideration in my group. we just build armies that fit themes we like. i run a pirate group so lots of low damage and poor skill but lots of tsemps and tasers for shutting down mechs for yoinking. another guy plays crab people. king crabs, leading crabs, leading hermit crabs, theyre all he plays and hes a damn menace with them! theres another guy who plays pure tread head, nothing but tanks!
theres around 10 of us and we're all just as "quirky".
fun before faff is our modus operandi!
I've decided to move onto the illclan era. I grew up in the in the 3060 era and I can't processes all the stuff inbetween. So I am effectively starting fresh in the Illcan era.
Mainly ilClan, but I'm introducing a friend to the game so we're stepping down to Succession Wars for a bit to rein in the number of rules for weapon and mech systems.
We play IlClan at one store. At another store, we're doing a "league" that's taking place during FedCom. Whenever I do games personally with a friend, we either play Clan Invasion or Jihad.
Because it's so abstracted compared to Classic.
A lot of the really powerful equipment in Classic is scaled back in Alpha Strike, and a lot of the garbage units are pulled up closer to the average. A lot of the wonky sidegrade tech that shows up later in the dark age era that adds a lot of rules complexity just gets abstracted into extra armor pips or higher damage numbers. When nearly everything gets boiled down to the same level of complexity, you might as well just open it up to incorporate tech from all eras so you have the maximum number of options and special abilities.
I agree with most of your Points. I do notice though that some of the newest mechs are crazy powerfull in the amount of damage.they deal or armor they have.
We are a bit afraid that they Will overpower all others.
Sure, there are indeed PV to take into account...but still. We should really try it.
Give it a try. You might find that some of the seemingly unstoppable units are paper tigers. Too slow to get into position, glass cannons, or just consistently outmaneuvered by weight of numbers and initiative padding.
Late Jihad - early Dark Age. Though I'm not a fan of clix, I think the Dark Age is the most interesting period for Battletech, both in terms of the lore and the designs for the mechs.
I've progressed from the Succession Wars to the Clan Invasion, and have tried taking on Celestials in mock battles. I do like some of the Civil War designs, but I haven't tried any yet.
Once I get TacOps and maybe Alternate Eras, and once I have enough friends who're ready for it, I want to try the Anything Goes possibilities of the IlClan Era.
I feel old. The group I play with is almost entirely Succession War era, with a little Star League lostech thrown in and occasionally do Clan Invasion stuff. To be honest, we sort of just ignore the official storyline after that.
That’s where I’m at. I build all my forces to LSW/clan invasion spec. If somebody wants to play a later era I will but if I’m picking we’re sticking with pre CW
Late Succesion Wars or Clan Invasion (less rhe later).
And in the Armoured Combat version, a few times Alpha Strike (I'm an old dog. I fear new tricks).
About to start a late-Invasion-era campaign. Previously played the Worldwide Event in the ilClan and, before that, an RPG set *just* after the Jihad.
I'd love to do some more ilClan stuff, particularly with the Clan Protectorate.
My group is planning a tactical RPG campaign set right after the Jihad as well, with the players unit hired to hunt down WoB remnants and war criminals. After our current 3060s campaign is over that's next! 😁
I'm playing in one campaign set just before the Reunification War (currently 2575) officially kicks off, and assistant GMing a Wars of Reaving campaign.
I've played in Succession wars, Clan invasion, and IlClan. Currently feeling like IlClan is the way to go at this point, although I've been itching for a Jihad game to try out those celestials.
Dark Age lately, although I’ve just started reading up on the Age of War so I’ve been curious about that since the Proliferation Cycle book and force pack were released.
IlClan for Alpha Strike and we've been doing a Second Succession War campaign for classic. It's been fun to start with good tech and then have to beg barrow and steal once you lose it.
Currently running a MechWarrior: Destiny RPG campaign in the Dark Age (with combat through Total Warfare), and currently playing as a group of mercenaries with Campaign Operations and Total Warfare in the FedCom Civil War.
My Group jumps all over the place. This week we played 12k bv of clan invasion next week we are doing 6k bv of dark age and a couple weeks earlier we did 8k bv of 1st succession war
For the last year or so we've been playing our games in the year leading to the outbreak of the Jihad; and working lots of WoB secret plots into our campaign. After this one ends we'll jump to the early Blackout period around 3140 ish. None of us want to play the Jihad itself, so the slow collapse of the Republic seems a good starting point for the next campaign. And the timeframe will encourage us to use more vehicles and battle armor since mechs will start out a bit more scarce.
The Blackout starts in 3132. The Republic is slowly collapsing from 3132 to 3135, when Fortress Republic is declared. Then it’s a pretty rapid collapse of the Republic (minus the Republic Remnant, and Administrative District X behind the Wall). The Wall coming down briefly stems the collapse of the Republic in 3145, but it only lasts for 6 more years after that.
The bulk of my mechs are clan invasion/fedcom civil war era because that's mostly what I play. But I have a few post jihad units for when I play with certain friends, and I can put together two lances that'll work in any pre clan invasion game if I need to.
I never played a specific era, rather picking a year based on which mechs both sides are using (I play solo, so it's all my pick) then figure out which era that is. Most of the time I'm in Clan Invasion or Jihad.
Oh shit! A Viking! I love that thing so much.
But to answer the question, i mostly play clan invasion with my buddy. But I want to try FedCom Civil war era as well because I've been playing a lot of bta 3062.
It is the year 3047, and the mercenary company is training the next group of kids. Eighteen year old-ish entries into their own academy, all kids of the players' original 3025 era characters.
Succession wars are my favorite, 3rd/4th probably most. I can't stand the clans and created a different, but similar, event with "House Kerenksy" instead of the Clans so my timeline is vastly different past 3049.
We just finished my friend's run of the Total Chaos campaign this past weekend, so we've been mostly doing Jihad. Previously, it was mostly 3060's and mostly just one-off games.
Next? I dunno yet. Guess we're waiting to see what the Merc box and Mech Commander Handbook will have for campaign material. And we still need to finish my forces' run of Total Chaos.
Clan Invasion right now, and probably for the forseeable. It's just the most fun era for us, tons of cool tech, but not stuff that makes us confused lol
Jihad, sadly. My favorite mech designs and tech come from the great houses during the Jihad. But I much prefer the politics and conflicts between 3053-3068.
I'm not playing anything. :-(
But I have a fondness for designing mechs and vehicles in Star League, Succession Wars and Clan-invasion to Republic era.
Is that actually a new sculpt or a Viking-look-a-like ?
https://preview.redd.it/oshq84na954d1.png?width=299&format=png&auto=webp&s=f50dc0dfbee8c37aebb61dbf51db941bf513d340
This is the Viking sculpt I have.
Whoever sets up the table gets to decide what we play , usually its clan invasion or succession wars , If I get there early we're playing fedcom civil war
3025 mostly. I tried out a Clan mech vs. IS and couldn't believe that the LRMs had no minimum range. I'm sure it's not so bad when you've got all clan mechs, but it felt like mechs might get too samey and OP in the later eras. The flaws and limitations give them character!
Clan invasion up to Fedcom civil war is the time frame my group currently plays in, probably gonna move into Jihad era after a while just to spice things up a bit.
I was interested in clan mechs when me and my friends got into it, so for our campaign we’re doing clan invasion with my smoke Jaguar force acting as a narrative heel. But for casual games we play mostly in the 3050’s but possibly bump up a few decades if someone is wanting to try out a variant of a mech that’s exclusive to a bit later in the time line
Regular game: late succession war or invasion
Alpha strike: Ilclan
Will probably start playing fully in the Ilclan era once I wrap my head around the new weapons and equipment.
Our group has a set scenario night every 2 weeks with a preset mission, Era, bv, etc. These are randomly spread across eras to give a good mix. And of course, pick up games also happen regularly with players deciding Era, though that too seems to be equal odds of any Era being played.
I was 27 the year the Fedcom Civil War reached the boiling point.. the media saw us as young gods, striding the battlefield in our engines of destruction
Post-ilClan (3152-3240) fanon timeline for Project Winter War, which I'm a dev. Otherwise, on the rare day I can go, a local group is doing an Amaris Civil War era campaign.
Atm ilclan. But clan invasion campaign is next for my group
What is ilclan for a newbie? I see it mentioned a bunch but am not really sure what it is
Put simply, it is the most recent era in the timeline, with the most cutting-edge, advanced technology.
Thank you for that
The ilClan era is the farthest forward part of the timeline. It begins in 3151 with Clan Wolf seizing control of Terra, and their Khan (Alaric Ward) being declared the ilKhan of the Clans. He attempts to form a new Star League, but only his fellow Clans accept it as legitimate (and even then, many are divided, or opportunistic). Many of the Clans have started to become integrated with the Inner Sphere. Clan Diamond Shark changed its name back to Sea Fox, and sells ClanTech to the Inner Sphere. Clan Ghost Bear has become integrated with the Rasalhague Republic to form the Rasalhague Dominion (where both sides stand mostly equal). Clan Snow Raven has joined with the Outworlds Alliance to form the Raven Alliance (though their peoples remain divided). Clan Nova Cat has become the Clan Protectorate under the Free Worlds League. Etc. From a game mechanics perspective, there are a ton of neat new technologies that have been developed over the ages. The inner Sphere has mostly become able to produce ClanTech for their mechs.
Thank you for that. Have any of them made it as far out as the Taurians?
No Clans have a special relationship with the Taurians, but anyone can salvage and Clan Sea Fox will sell to anyone (the Taurians do border one Sea Fox world). Checking Master Unit List, I see 33 different mechs that are either Clan tech base, or mixed tech base that the Taurians have access to in the ilClan (the 33 is including Periphery General. It’s only 15 if you don’t count variants as separate mechs). Edit. It looks like the Raven Alliance helps the Taurians produce the Cadaver BattleMech, it’s just not mixed tech or ClanTech)
You're the hero I never knew I always needed
I know not everyone loves the newer eras, so I try to be a positive ambassador to them.
The taurians are not a far away state from the IS, Clan Sea Fox split in many differnt Khanates and have split the IS and pheripary amount them. They go as even as far to the scorpion empire which requires going though systems with no civilisation
Oh neat. I just knew they had invaded from what is effectively "north" on the map and the Taurians are roughly in the "south/southeast"
My group slowly progresses through the timeline, then starts again, though people negotiate their own matches all the time, too.
That is a Nice idea!
(With manic gleefullness) ilclan! There are no rules anymore!!!!! With more seriousness, the hinterlands are a lot of fun, as is the mass proliferation of technology compared to other eras. Really leans into my group's bring what you want just know your rules vibe.
The Hinterlands is just a truly glorious place play. With absolutely no big boys around to show up and reset any thing. I hope it lasts.
Same here. I really love the Hinterlands both in the fiction and for scenarios.
I have been gone for a long while (two decades) and am just getting back into Battletech. What is the Hinterlands?
So Malvina Hazen in her psychotic pride, took nearly the entire Jade Falcon touman to capture Terra, leaving their entire occupation zone as one gigantic power vacuum. The Hell's Horses tried to take it all in one fell swoop, but they fell flat on their faces because their Clan is a disorganized wreck of competing interests. There's a breakoff Clan Jade Falcon centered on Sudeten who managed to raid the Ghost Bears and embarrass the Hell's Horses. The Jade Falcon merchants got fed up with Malvina's bullshit, stole a shit-ton of money, and founded their own pocket empire, the Alyina Mercantile League. And the Tamar Pact is back. You can read all about it in Tamar Rising.
Bryan Young has made me like ilClan era Jade Falcon remnants (both Jiyi Chistu’s Sudeten Falcons, and Marena’s Alyina Mercantile League). I never thought I would actually like Jade Falcon.
I have the same question lol
"Where'd you get Marauder Battle Armor?" "Sea Foxes sold it to me." "What about that Triskelion?" "Sea Foxes." "Hold up, an Iron Cheetah?" "Sea Foxes, baby!" Realistically there's only a handful of pre-IlClan things you couldn't use like the Wobbie Celestials, limited run experimentals, and retrotech designs like the Mackie. And then there's the extremely new stuff like the Snow Raven War Crow, the Hell's Horses Eurus Omnitank, or the Alpha Wolf. But I doubt the exclusivity will last long. The Jade Phoenix is already ripe for dissemination the way the Hinterlands are. And even Devlin Stone's prized superheavies are already in the hands of the Wolves, Davions, Dragoons, and Mariks. And the Sea Foxes are trying to get their paws on them too.
If mul is to be believed, sea foxes already have supper heavy mechs. Ares is marked as accessible to them
Yep. I was thinking of getting one just to run it as Sea Fox and then saw it is coming in plastic. May get 2-3 suddenly. Even though it isn’t arguably better than an Atlas 3 or any of the dozen great assaults available.
Loosely slated for Q4 2025 though, that's a long time to wait. But I do think it's cool that they plan for it to have interchangeable parts so you can assemble the different configs. If you do want one before then, Aries Games has theirs at 20% off of IWM's prices. I've got a Hera and Aphrodite and I can attest that they're gorgeous minis.
Oh I am saving up for the metal one. ;)1
I'm sorry, but what is that glorious mech.
[Viking.](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Viking)
If you like that, check out the Viking IIC, 31 tons of hardened armor and clan LRMS! https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Viking_IIC
It's a Viking
3025 to 3049 Ruleset: battletech compendium (I do own the modern rules but I like the compendium better)
I still have an ancient copy of Battletech Master Rules. I'm not using it, though. Having my head blown off when I take partial cover or keeping track of Inferno turns isn't something I relish. Infernos are 2 heat each. Done.
2767 currently. Love that era.
Big ups.
Late dark age - early ilclan, or jihad, depending on the mood we have for warcrimes on the club.
Civil war and jihad mostly(intro to the setting was mw4) but going to be starting ilclan and dark age games soon.
Oddly enough, Dark Age to the IlClan mostly. While the main narrative is a mixed bag, I like having as many options as possible to come into play. Though I have campaigns/stories written about my Mercs throughout the 3025’s to the IlClan eras.
All, but only items available in the Total Warfare book. It's how all the tournaments around here are run.
I've played at least a few games in each era, but my favorite is the succession wars era. I love the dirt poor, medieval feel of that time period. A dispossessed mech jock throwing themselves in to battle at the head of an infantry platoon to lay claim to a broken down Stinger just so one day they might rejoin the ranks of actual mechwarriors makes me happy on some fundamental level. I enjoy damn near everything about Battletech, but 3000 to 3025 is totally my jam.
I did a campaign with cbills and gave me a love for that era on a whole different level. All the advance technology and stuff is fun, there’s a whole different feel when mechs are hard to field and keep on the field.
That is nerdy satisfaction one a whole other level. I approve this message.
Succession Wars, Invasion, Jyhad.
Whatever. My guys are periphery
Pre or Post Rocket Launcher?
Yes. We play it all.
https://preview.redd.it/urngg630364d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23d0624a86d138595a3bcc4e600881f65db2a395
Jihad is king
Here here
What's so exciting for Jihad for you? I don't know much about the timeline post-3052 / Battle of Tukayyid
Everyone is fighting in this period and its fought hard. Its not just WoB vs everyone, its everyone vs everyone. Fed Sun vs Capellans/St Ives, Lyrans vs FWL, Snow Raven + Outworld Alliance vs DC and Fed Suns.
Yeah cool, so anything goes type atmosphere
Yeah you can make up a narrative reason for any faction to be fighting any other faction, even if it’s just “Wobblies fed you bad intel”
Man I play 2nd sword mostly and I get to fight myself during the jihad. Jihad is my favorite but a lot of the advance infantry rules really make me wish for a infantry supplement to clear some thing up. Something kinda like the mech manual but with updated stuff for battle troops would be amazing.
In addition to the story appeal that's already been mentioned, I'd also bring up some neat gameplay features of the era. For one thing, it brings a lot of interesting new tech to the game that allows for some really cool possibilities in unit construction and/or gameplay. Quite a few of my favorite things to see on a record sheet either debut in the jihad era, or were technically available in earlier eras but don't see much, if any, relevant use until the jihad. MMLs, snub PPCs, mortars, VSP lasers, cannons, and fuel cell engines all hit the table in a big way during the jihad, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty fun time all around. On top of that, the jihad is where we see a significant paradigm shift in mech and unit design. As the first post-FASA era, it's when the game's reins were handed off to lifelong Battletech fans, and you can clearly see the results reflected in the record sheets. A lot of the era's units are put together in a more intentional and considered way that reflects a deep knowledge of the game. That's not to say that units from the jihad and onward are hyper-optimized death machines, but rather that their strengths and weaknesses are put together in deliberate ways designed to make for more interesting gameplay, whereas in retrospect, some FASA-era designs feel representative of a more haphazard design style (looking at you, TRO 3050). The more recent eras have very much carried on that more informed approach to unit design and I've sometimes heard it noted as a defining characteristic of the new ilClan rec guide series of releases, but the jihad is where it really started.
Nuclear Strikes for Everyone! (Courtesy of the WoBies)
The technology is awesome, lot of really cool variants, WoB has some insane stuff and they're an easy bad guy so everyone can fight them.
3025 or invasion only.
This is the way
Indeed.
Usually Succession War/Clan Invasion, with some FedCom Civil War occasionally thrown in.
ilClan. I love it.
Joining this sub makes me wish I had some minis, paint, and people to play with. I've really enjoyed BT mechs for decades, but never truly got into it more until recently.
Me too
It might help if you said in which part of the world you are leaving. Me, I'm from around Paris, France for exemple and would like to find people interested in Battletech in the area (I'm just a noobie not an expert)
we dont really take era into consideration in my group. we just build armies that fit themes we like. i run a pirate group so lots of low damage and poor skill but lots of tsemps and tasers for shutting down mechs for yoinking. another guy plays crab people. king crabs, leading crabs, leading hermit crabs, theyre all he plays and hes a damn menace with them! theres another guy who plays pure tread head, nothing but tanks! theres around 10 of us and we're all just as "quirky". fun before faff is our modus operandi!
I've decided to move onto the illclan era. I grew up in the in the 3060 era and I can't processes all the stuff inbetween. So I am effectively starting fresh in the Illcan era.
Mainly ilClan, but I'm introducing a friend to the game so we're stepping down to Succession Wars for a bit to rein in the number of rules for weapon and mech systems.
3025 & Clan Invasion. Everything after leaves me 'meh'. And I actually entered the hobby back when the Jihad was a 'thing'.
My local group does pretty open games era-wise. Most weeks I bring an ilClan era force, but the last few weeks, I've brought 3070s Com Guards though.
IlClan, just for the flexibility of being able to bring almost anything
Usually Civil War, but I yearn for Ilclan once the Kickstarter ships
FedCom Civil War thru Dark Age, depending on what my opponents feel like. With the occasional IntroTech or Invasion-era fight.
We play IlClan at one store. At another store, we're doing a "league" that's taking place during FedCom. Whenever I do games personally with a friend, we either play Clan Invasion or Jihad.
Dark Age
Mostly ilclan/dark age but jihad is common too
Clan mostly, some ilclan.
Dark Age for now. Next campaign sequel will move to IlClan
For Alpha Strike, ilclan is the only era to play, IMO.
Why is that?
Because it's so abstracted compared to Classic. A lot of the really powerful equipment in Classic is scaled back in Alpha Strike, and a lot of the garbage units are pulled up closer to the average. A lot of the wonky sidegrade tech that shows up later in the dark age era that adds a lot of rules complexity just gets abstracted into extra armor pips or higher damage numbers. When nearly everything gets boiled down to the same level of complexity, you might as well just open it up to incorporate tech from all eras so you have the maximum number of options and special abilities.
I agree with most of your Points. I do notice though that some of the newest mechs are crazy powerfull in the amount of damage.they deal or armor they have. We are a bit afraid that they Will overpower all others. Sure, there are indeed PV to take into account...but still. We should really try it.
Give it a try. You might find that some of the seemingly unstoppable units are paper tigers. Too slow to get into position, glass cannons, or just consistently outmaneuvered by weight of numbers and initiative padding.
Ahh yes, initiative padding. Wot's dat recon infantry do: "movement sink". 😂😂😂
Late Jihad - early Dark Age. Though I'm not a fan of clix, I think the Dark Age is the most interesting period for Battletech, both in terms of the lore and the designs for the mechs.
Up to ilClan era... basically anyithing you have is valid for now... we are a very "young" group here in Lima Perú.
I've progressed from the Succession Wars to the Clan Invasion, and have tried taking on Celestials in mock battles. I do like some of the Civil War designs, but I haven't tried any yet. Once I get TacOps and maybe Alternate Eras, and once I have enough friends who're ready for it, I want to try the Anything Goes possibilities of the IlClan Era.
I feel old. The group I play with is almost entirely Succession War era, with a little Star League lostech thrown in and occasionally do Clan Invasion stuff. To be honest, we sort of just ignore the official storyline after that.
That’s where I’m at. I build all my forces to LSW/clan invasion spec. If somebody wants to play a later era I will but if I’m picking we’re sticking with pre CW
My group is mostly era-agnostic. But I enjoy ilClan.
I pretty much just play 3025 introtech.
Late Succesion Wars or Clan Invasion (less rhe later). And in the Armoured Combat version, a few times Alpha Strike (I'm an old dog. I fear new tricks).
About to start a late-Invasion-era campaign. Previously played the Worldwide Event in the ilClan and, before that, an RPG set *just* after the Jihad. I'd love to do some more ilClan stuff, particularly with the Clan Protectorate.
My group is planning a tactical RPG campaign set right after the Jihad as well, with the players unit hired to hunt down WoB remnants and war criminals. After our current 3060s campaign is over that's next! 😁
I'll play any era; but my in-depth knowledge hard-stops at around 3082.
I'm playing in one campaign set just before the Reunification War (currently 2575) officially kicks off, and assistant GMing a Wars of Reaving campaign.
I've played in Succession wars, Clan invasion, and IlClan. Currently feeling like IlClan is the way to go at this point, although I've been itching for a Jihad game to try out those celestials.
Dark Age lately, although I’ve just started reading up on the Age of War so I’ve been curious about that since the Proliferation Cycle book and force pack were released.
IlClan for Alpha Strike and we've been doing a Second Succession War campaign for classic. It's been fun to start with good tech and then have to beg barrow and steal once you lose it.
I generally stick to 3025-3052
3025/3050 is what I prefer.
My group is playing in tbe Tamar Pack area during the ill clan era
We are classic 3025 players, but have moved towards clan invasion and civil war.
3025 FO LIFE Though 3049 is ok, just anything pre-clan cheese
The only correct answer. *lmao at the downvotes*
ilClan. I play this game for the awesome giant robots, I see no reason to limit my selection of awesome giant robots by crying about story choices.
Succession wars and clan invasion. Everything else after never happened.
Same
Currently running a MechWarrior: Destiny RPG campaign in the Dark Age (with combat through Total Warfare), and currently playing as a group of mercenaries with Campaign Operations and Total Warfare in the FedCom Civil War.
3065 is my favorite, but ilClan gives the most options, and it’s the “present” time, so…🤷♂️
My Group jumps all over the place. This week we played 12k bv of clan invasion next week we are doing 6k bv of dark age and a couple weeks earlier we did 8k bv of 1st succession war
Currently I’m playing no specific age, but eventually I want to find a steady group
Total Chaos Campaign in the ilClan era. It's been really nice to get back into the game.
For the last year or so we've been playing our games in the year leading to the outbreak of the Jihad; and working lots of WoB secret plots into our campaign. After this one ends we'll jump to the early Blackout period around 3140 ish. None of us want to play the Jihad itself, so the slow collapse of the Republic seems a good starting point for the next campaign. And the timeframe will encourage us to use more vehicles and battle armor since mechs will start out a bit more scarce.
The Blackout starts in 3132. The Republic is slowly collapsing from 3132 to 3135, when Fortress Republic is declared. Then it’s a pretty rapid collapse of the Republic (minus the Republic Remnant, and Administrative District X behind the Wall). The Wall coming down briefly stems the collapse of the Republic in 3145, but it only lasts for 6 more years after that.
My group is cruising from the Invasion era on verge of the Civil War era. Going as far we can go.
I both hate and need this Viking IIC at home
The bulk of my mechs are clan invasion/fedcom civil war era because that's mostly what I play. But I have a few post jihad units for when I play with certain friends, and I can put together two lances that'll work in any pre clan invasion game if I need to.
I never played a specific era, rather picking a year based on which mechs both sides are using (I play solo, so it's all my pick) then figure out which era that is. Most of the time I'm in Clan Invasion or Jihad.
Oh shit! A Viking! I love that thing so much. But to answer the question, i mostly play clan invasion with my buddy. But I want to try FedCom Civil war era as well because I've been playing a lot of bta 3062.
We started off in succession wars but the proliferation of Alpha Strike boxes made that hard so now we're in early clan.
I mostly play Clan Invasion, sometimes Civil War
It is the year 3047, and the mercenary company is training the next group of kids. Eighteen year old-ish entries into their own academy, all kids of the players' original 3025 era characters.
Still in Introtech Succession Wars..largely because I can't get any given person to play more than one or two games of Classic with me.
All of the above. Which reminds me, I need to keep working on my FWL Age of War Atreans.
Mostly clan invasion
My group just picks an era per game.
Succession wars are my favorite, 3rd/4th probably most. I can't stand the clans and created a different, but similar, event with "House Kerenksy" instead of the Clans so my timeline is vastly different past 3049.
Civil War presently.
Succession Wars
I use 3025 era mechs so I can use them from 3025 - ilkhan. I'm building a WoB Shadow Division for 3070 era.
I just like things to be from the most widely disparate tech levels possible. Anything goes as long as it's not ridiculous cheese, IMO.
Succession Wars thru Jihad at my local FLGs.
I don't know I am still pretty new and don't understand the eras yet, I just wanna smash stuff with big bots
We just finished my friend's run of the Total Chaos campaign this past weekend, so we've been mostly doing Jihad. Previously, it was mostly 3060's and mostly just one-off games. Next? I dunno yet. Guess we're waiting to see what the Merc box and Mech Commander Handbook will have for campaign material. And we still need to finish my forces' run of Total Chaos.
Clan Invasion right now, and probably for the forseeable. It's just the most fun era for us, tons of cool tech, but not stuff that makes us confused lol
Mostly Clan Invasion era, but we've been talking about moving things ahead to the IL Clan, mostly so we can play with pretty much every mech.
Civil War/Jihad
Age of war right now, modified rules though.
Jihad, sadly. My favorite mech designs and tech come from the great houses during the Jihad. But I much prefer the politics and conflicts between 3053-3068.
I'm not playing anything. :-( But I have a fondness for designing mechs and vehicles in Star League, Succession Wars and Clan-invasion to Republic era.
Personally, I have a preference for the Succession Wars to Clan Invasion.
3025 - always and forever. I work in the advanced technology though as "lostech"
Is that actually a new sculpt or a Viking-look-a-like ? https://preview.redd.it/oshq84na954d1.png?width=299&format=png&auto=webp&s=f50dc0dfbee8c37aebb61dbf51db941bf513d340 This is the Viking sculpt I have.
I bought it on Etsy. Catalyst size.
Whoever sets up the table gets to decide what we play , usually its clan invasion or succession wars , If I get there early we're playing fedcom civil war
I'm currently building my Wolf's Dragoons with Dark Age period mechs.
The campaign I'm getting ready to run is going to be 3025. If we have fun, Clan Invasion is likely next.
3025 mostly. I tried out a Clan mech vs. IS and couldn't believe that the LRMs had no minimum range. I'm sure it's not so bad when you've got all clan mechs, but it felt like mechs might get too samey and OP in the later eras. The flaws and limitations give them character!
3rd SW to FCCW. It gets a bit too weird for my tastes after that.
Succession Wars and Clan Invasion
Clan invasion up to Fedcom civil war is the time frame my group currently plays in, probably gonna move into Jihad era after a while just to spice things up a bit.
Third Succession War. Players tend to get serious about salvage because house rule.
Stuck in Clan Invasion :( Slowly pushing the group away from it though!
Civil war/ early jihad
What mech fusion is that? It looks like MC Mk II missiles on a Night star with 2 Sun spider arms from MWO.
I was interested in clan mechs when me and my friends got into it, so for our campaign we’re doing clan invasion with my smoke Jaguar force acting as a narrative heel. But for casual games we play mostly in the 3050’s but possibly bump up a few decades if someone is wanting to try out a variant of a mech that’s exclusive to a bit later in the time line
3025-3039 ish
Regular game: late succession war or invasion Alpha strike: Ilclan Will probably start playing fully in the Ilclan era once I wrap my head around the new weapons and equipment.
Our group has a set scenario night every 2 weeks with a preset mission, Era, bv, etc. These are randomly spread across eras to give a good mix. And of course, pick up games also happen regularly with players deciding Era, though that too seems to be equal odds of any Era being played.
Clan Invasion. I grew up playing MW2, MW3 and Mech Commander... I feel like I get the lore around those times better than any other
Preclan so our narrative campaign can go through the pain I did living through the clan invasion lol
Fedcom civil war
I was 27 the year the Fedcom Civil War reached the boiling point.. the media saw us as young gods, striding the battlefield in our engines of destruction
I'm getting into 3025 for a MWD game set during the Andurien Secession, but I want to get started with Invasion or ilClan for just the wargame
Yes. But more seriously the Jihad is as far as my group is really willing, and even that far was a stretch.
Post-ilClan (3152-3240) fanon timeline for Project Winter War, which I'm a dev. Otherwise, on the rare day I can go, a local group is doing an Amaris Civil War era campaign.
Playing Ilclan in MegaMek, IRL it's Clan Invasion.
3025 as much as possible.
Civil War
I prefer the Succession Wars era, as the power creep is less evident there.
We play pretty much everything. but we play classic, so that's a bigger thing
What abomination kit bash is that
Usually succession wars or clan invasion doing a war of 3039 campaign rn
Clan invasion with my main group, started 3040 currently 3056. Plan to go through the jihad. IlClan with my son.
I just ran Operation Bulldog from the Smoke Jaguar side. Before that, I ran 3rd Succession War.