Battletech's Vindicator, House Liao's Might On Display!

[@roberthill5549]

You aren't actually considering ejecting when you have a functional laser, are you... Comrade?

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

You'll never run into just one Vindicator. In lances of four they can be deadly. 4 lrm 5's plus four PPC's .

[@robin6469]

Despite its drawbacks, the Vindicator is probably my favourite 'mech. You can't beat its capabilities for the price, and they're easy enough to maintain as well, even with the difficulty of reliably sourcing spare parts.

[@hermes7587]

The Vindicator 1R is very useful and versatile support / sniper Mech for 3025 games. The Vindicator works best as bodyguard for heavier units. It is cheap, has a good punch, heat mangement, armor plating and staying power. The mobility is acceptable for the role and it has a PPC of course! I consider it to be a very solid workhorse and a good choice for a wide range of missions. It is one of the better medium Mechs of the TRO 3025.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

This is as solid a post as we can get!

[@WolfHreda]

I'm not a big fan of the CC, but I can't help but love the Vindicator. It's like a Panther that wished to grow up. And, if you feel like rubbing it in the faces of Marik or Davion, you can use some cheap Star League tech upgrades to transform a Centurion into an even bigger Vindicator.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

It is a common thing in HBS BT or Mech5 where I have a pilot in a Panther and they graduate into a Vindicator.

[@LazykidsWorld]

What upgrades do you use to make to change a Centurion into a Vindicator +

[@WolfHreda]

​@@LazykidsWorld Alright, so you start with the CN9-AL. It's got maximum armor and 16 heat sinks. By dropping the Large Laser and 4 heat sinks, you can upgrade the rest to double heat sinks and fit a PPC (or ER PPC) in the right arm and 4 jump jets in the legs. The last upgrade is to switch to Ferro-Fibrous armor to save just enough mass for CASE in the left torso and an extra medium laser in the head. For extra Vindicator flavor, take the Small Laser from the right arm and move it to the left arm.

[@robbybarbera]

The Vindicator is a great trooper mech and even better no that expensive.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

When it gets expensive is when it starts being outclassed by bigger 'mechs, to be honest.

[@Doribi117]

Got to love the Capellan Confederation, without them we wouldn't have such fun wars or mechs like the Vindicator

[@kausalkraken5951]

I love the vindicator. The T34 of the setting.

[@thorshammer8033]

My favorite medium from the 3025 book.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

It has its advantages, but I still prefer the 275 Mafia Mechs in the end.

[@DIEGhostfish]

The Firestarter Omni's PPC configuration may be a faster Vindicator but it has an IS XL, making it utterly awful as a trooper bodyguard which the normal Vindicator is intended as. Also I think possibly less armor.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Yes, but costs 10 million Reserve Currency, rather than 3.1 million. Add shipping, handling, maintenance kits, additional omnipods... That makes companies like Ceres and LAW very happy to sell the Firestarter O instead.

[@mathewkelly9968]

The Chancellor be praised

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I can't blame the Capellan industry for the Chancellor's actions.

[@daduronronron3955]

House Liao's Pocket Battleship. I heard one Vlogger say that the Vindicator is the lightest mech to have the possibility of defeating an Atlas.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I mean... I can do it in something smaller. Just need a bit of luck and a good pilot.

[@cyanidecologne9018]

It holds up on the tabletop, until clantech and the firemoth-h really light mechs do have a hard time being a real threat to assaults.

[@Axzealot]

As long as you can keep your distance you have a chance. The Atlas will never get near you with its short range weapons except the lrm20 but you can tank that.

[@lexington476]

For the Chancellor!

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

*because that's the only thing the Chancellor could build. BOOM t. Rimward Periphery inhabitants

[@primafacie5029]

I know it reduces long range capabilities such as it is, but I’m fond of replacing the LRM with an SRM4

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Yeah, same. I think the PPC is enough for range firepower on it.

[@isaacrubin9606]

I find the 7L endearing for sheer durability (assuming it has the proper structure), and the x-pulse gives it reasonable anti-infantry power for the 45 ton trooper it is. I have also heard some weird things about a drone version of the 3L, but it doesn’t seem like anything was done with it long-term.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I would have done with a regular small pulse for anti-infantry work.

[@MrDecelles]

It feels like a mass produced 'mech with alot of compromise. It's an iconic 'mech that feels liao!

[@TravisWilliam-m7k]

Straight forward, Great refit advice, no sugar coating if you're ideas are horrible. I only bring my mech related needs here. 9/10, would recommend.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

We strive for excellence and getting repeat customers.

[@Cytl-bu3nq]

the 1SIC is the standard variation of the St. Ive's Blue

[@WolfHreda]

So, I got onto a bit of an obsession with modifying the VND-1AA, and the 3025 tech version is one of my favorite bits of 'mech customization I've ever done. You remove the Small Laser and 3 heat sinks and put it all back into armor, netting you 8 tons. It runs a little hotter, but it's got good enough armor and mobility to keep you alive for a while. Edit: Almost forgot an important bit of bookkeeping. The VND-1AA has 5 jump jets, and my modification has 13 heat sinks. The engine only has room for 9, so I rearranged the jump jets so there's one in each leg and one in each torso. Then I put one heat sink in each keg, amd the kast two go into the left torso to help pad those LRM rounds from crits.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

The 1AA tries to do too many things at once, and that leads it to be not good enough at the most basic thing, which is SURVIVING.

[@Axzealot]

Vindicator is a surprisingly good mech. I love its mobility and range.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

An interesting design, even if it is not the fastest ever, with jump jets it gets where it needs to get.

[@rotwang2000]

It's not a great mech, but it's a solid trooper mech. Carries a significant punch, it can cover most ranges, it's still more mobile than average thanks to jump jets and has decent armour. You can accuse the Capellans of many things but their mech lineup going into the 3030's is pretty funky. The Vindicator, the Raven and the Cataphract ... Not bad for the Successor State that had to come back from the brink. It's a scrappy underdog that can punch hard if needed and act as an anchor or a brawler if needed.

[@ogrehaslayers605]

In intro tech, i would prefer a Vindicator to a Shadowhawk... Unless i wanted to look cool instead lol. The new art for the Vindicator looks pretty cool though

[@joshuamidgette4846]

Honestly, I look at the Vindicator 1R as a heavier Panther. Remove the stupid LRM 5, LRM 5s should not exist, and Add SRM 4 or SRM 6. Up to you if you run inferno srms but it is definitely an upgraded, heavier Panther.

[@DIEGhostfish]

Going for the overcooled wyvern.

[@mikeheimlich1303]

I own 3 of this guy for table top. The 1R is solid but once you get up close its firepower really falls off; the 1SIC swaps out the weapons so you have the Large Laser to brawl with the LRM 10 to make up for the fall off in long range firepower. That tiny change makes it much more efficient; the 3R and its successors utilize the ER PPC's lack of minimum range to create the same effect. The 3Lr is even more brawly with snubnosed ppc & mml 5 w/ srms. At that point you just have a really cheap trooper mech with no obvious weakness.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Inner Sphere ER PPCs really suffer from overheating so quickly. It's not a bad gun, but the pilot has to be a lot more careful for the small impact it has.

[@mikeheimlich1303]

@@ProfessorHeyTeeEn the Vindicator 3L sinks 30 heat but only generates 28 if you shoot everything and jump. Most Vindicators run pretty stone cold.

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@mikeheimlich1303 The Vindicator SIC is the Wyvern for cowards afraid of the heat gauge.

[@mikeheimlich1303]

@@DIEGhostfish the Vindicator 1SIC is a copy of St Ives Blue, a hero mech that the St Ives Compact put into mass production. If you are Rebels against the Capellan Confederation (and/or want models for the tabletop that don't look awful) sometimes you go for Wyvern we have at home.

[@squizzlor]

Arcangle is a export model, if Ive read up correctly. And well im sure bigger weapons and speed make it a good on paper mech for buyers.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

The Avenging Angel was not MEANT to be an export model, it just ended up as such because its performance were subpar and nobody really wanted to use it. Strip the LRM out and put 3 tons of armor on, it becomes very decent.

[@AkselGAL]

The solution for any problem is to asign a fitting number of Vindicators.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I mean, if you can buy that many...

[@AlexDenton0451]

"blackjack vs vindicator" IMO comes down to range. They have the same movement profile, but the Blackjack excels in a brawl, where the vindicator excels at longer ranges. It comes down to terrain in my opinion, if the Blackjack can close to 3 hexes it probably wins, but if the Vindicator keeps it at 4-18 it wins.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

It is a match-up I'd like to see, also this was a fight in a dense swamp if I remember correctly, so closing in would have been easy for Justin Allard...

[@teehasheestower]

A can get behind the AA. Otherwise its hard for me to like the Vindicator. Keep that cooling jacket fulla water!

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I'd take out the LRM 5 and stick more armor on the AA if I could.

[@teehasheestower]

@@ProfessorHeyTeeEn I like to do 4 ML srm4 or 6

[@8moebius8]

Evening.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Blessings of Blake, the Founder or Amotken upon you.

[@TheStraycat74]

3050 full clan tech rebuild VND-5A Vindicator, 5/8/5, 45 tons. 2.25 endo-steel, 5 tons XL + DHS, 6 tons standard cockpit and gyro, 8 tons fero-fiberous armor, 2.5 tons jump jets, 21.25 tons of pod space. PRIME Config: ERPPC (ra), 2 LRM-10 (r/lt) with one ton ammo each, 2 MPL (r/lt), 6 DHS, 3 MG (r/lt/h) half ton ammo (ct 100) ALT Config: 2 ERLL (r/la), 2 ERML (r/lt), 2 ERSL (r/lt), 9 DHS, 3 MG (r/lt/h) half ton ammo (ct 100)

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

It's not the same mech at this point...

[@DIEGhostfish]

Once you stick an XL in for 5/8/5 it's more of a Firestarter Omni.

[@TheStraycat74]

@ProfessorHeyTeeEn yeah, its rebuilt using full clanner tech. That's kinda the point. Max armor, as close to heat neutral as possible, and more firepower

[@verysilentmouse]

Lol would I buy one intentionally probably not

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

But when you have one, you're going to use it. That's the life of the Vindicator.

[@ChaosTicket]

The Vindicator is oddly popular. Statistically its a mediocre Master-of-None that has more weaknesses than strengths. Its slower than many Medium mechs of its era. Its firepower it underwhelming. Its strengths are that its main weapon is a PPC which requires no ammunition, has enough Heat Sinks to to fire that and use its Jump Jets, and its relatively cheap. I personally dont like using one or taking one. Medium Mechs should be faster than Heavy Mechs, and Heavy Mechs should be more powerful than Medium Mechs. Just be being 45tons instead of 55tons its got less tonnage to equip with, and has a lower cap on armor. Take a Griffin or a Orion instead.

[@spencerjones841]

It's a meh mech at best. But it's a mech that's decent in numbers

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Factories can pump them out fast enough, which why it it great.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Me as a Capellan player uuummm the Snake doesnt do the same role as a Vindicator

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

It doesn't at all. But it is the same 'mech with a different body kit in the end, if you look at the internals.

[@mathewkelly9968]

SNK-2Br can finally kill BattleArmour before that its a crit seeking skirmisher

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

Truly not sure why "Streak SRM 2 are great at hunting battle armors!" came from, but a lot of IS mechs have that setup...

[@rjpx947]

Of all the Houses, I hate the Crappies the most, but for early or lighter-tonnage merc campaigns, or other units, the Vindi is an alright 'mech. Really odd in its role, not quite Jack of All Trades as a Shadow Hawk, but successfully makes a ranged lesser tonnage platform.