BATTLETECH: The Stinger

[@gbprime2353]

I have a soft spot for the Stinger, not because it looks cool and not because its fast (which it is both of those things), but because of one of my first Battletech tournaments back in the day. 12v12, 600 ton team game, 3025 box-sets tech. I showed up late, and the tourney organizers were kind enough to let me participate, so they allowed me a lone Stinger 3R and put me on one of the teams. I soloed a Warhammer and a Rifleman in that little rattletrap, chewing through back armor and detonating ammo. I still have the "Brass Ones" trophy I got for the day. =P

[@senint]

Awesome tale! It reminds me of the demo game what introduce me into the Battletech in the first place. Edit Okay, here is the summary of it… In the demo game we picked the mech each of us got to play by ”a’la random card pull” method (at first there was three of us). I got Jaegermech, dude on my team’s side got jenner, but I cannot remember what third guy, our opponent, got… (fourth one jumped into the demo game later [”foreshadowing”]). With my team mate we instantly synced into me giving long range fire support while his jenner zoomed to flanks of our enemy, and we managed to do quite well… and then came the fourth dude who pulled out of luck the HBK-4G… and we got destroyed… 😂 awesome memories… especially when years back I personally held a demo game of Battletech out of my own 25th anniversary starter box’s mechs. In this demo game one curious fellow wargamer picked HBK-4G while I got Enforcer… and in first round I got a lucky headshot at that Hunchback with AC10… 🤣 Seriously, Battletech is the best game to have these ”bragging right tales…” 😂👍

[@elchjol2777]

Got to put my buddy's story here. Me and him are new to the setting only having MW 5 and Battletech 2018 as experience. Well he tagged along with an older player to a local tournament where one player on each team could only bring mechs and the other could only play conventional troops. I can't remember the BV but my buddy was the conventional commander using borrowed minis. They got far untill they ran into the Comguard team. My buddy managed to get lucky and down the Comguard's command Atlas with a Scorpion light tank due to the Comguard's mech player being rather dismissive of,and blind to, the rookie my buddy is and some lucky rolls. Turned what would have been a stomp in to a very Pyrrhic victory for the Comguards. My buddy's team got far enough that once the minis won due to their placement were divided,my friend walked away with a very light lance and good amount of conventional troops to paint up.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

Excellent story, comrade! Taking heavies with a stinger is cause to strut. Also you 100% proved why some heavies and assaults have ML in the rear torso.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

another fellow veteran I salute you o7

[@jiriz0r]

The issue mechs in the 20 ton slot face is that they make perfect sense as a useful military asset in the setting but are placed in a real world tabletop game and that its qualities don’t translate very well. A lightly armed fast scout is useful for a military but in the game you don’t need to find an enemy formation and radio back to command 40 miles away or do a policing action, you need to kill the other guy’s minis. You can compare them to armored cars in WW2. They were used by everyone and because new and improved models kept being made until May ‘45 you know they were valued. But in games like World of Tanks or War Thunder they’re entry level vehicles and useless later on. Because your goal in those games is to kill tanks and that’s just not what armored cars were designed to do. Just like the Wasp, Stinger and Locust weren’t designed to kill mechs.

[@locarno24]

Exactly. A medium laser and a pair of .50 cals on a 20 tonne chassis is about comparable to an M2 Bradley, not a front line battle tank. For what it's worth, they're way, way better in Alpha Strike, Battleforce and especially Strategic Battleforce than 'proper' Battletech. The bigger the game gets, and the more spotting for indirect fire and recon for hidden units becomes a common thing, thr more scout lances actually become something you need to spend points on.

[@errolwhitaker596]

If all you're playing is kill-all brawls, then yes, light mechs will almost always be on the bad side. If you can find or make scenarios where you have to play objectives, maybe with hidden objectives, then light mechs become very important.

[@NicholasMarshall]

And that is why in battletroops 20 ton Mechs where terrifying.. Until you meet elementals.

[@macdallanzero2145]

You clearly haven't played World of Tanks recently. The clown cars are OP.

[@dragonslair951167]

Another point in a light mech's favor is cost- it's usually much cheaper to field five 20-ton mechs than it is to field one 100-ton mech. A smart commander might simply buy a bunch of Fleas, UrbanMechs, Locusts, Commandos and overwhelm the enemy's bigger, fancier mechs with sheer numbers. Assuming they don't have a pilot shortage, of course.

[@DevianID]

Mechs like the stinger shine in a few circumstances. In a double blind game, you want stingers hopping around locating the enemy and cleaning up infantry, which it does better then fast vehicles who can't go everywhere and often blunder into the enemy as part of their movement. In BV balanced games, you want 364 BV stingers grabbing objectives and sinking initiative for the expensive mechs in a lance. In narrative games, stingers are great "goon" mechs for players to kill before getting to the "boss". Lots to love in the stinger when used in the right place/right situation.

[@lukedudley5030]

I use it similarly as a forward expendable scout :-) get tag or c3 computer on one and it might be useful

[@RJWoodMoroseTenacity]

If only using stock, stinger is a nice scout. In any other situation, the firestarter completely outclasses every other light mech in everything other than jump distance.

[@CRAZYUNCLE117]

Every time I hear a mech with a bug-type name, like the locust, wasp, or stinger, I remember the old phrase, "One bee sting may only hurt, but a thousand can kill". Maybe this was the true idea behind "the charge of the horde".

[@locarno24]

It's not bad in Alpha Strike - in that scale there's no visible difference in stats at all between a WSP-1A and an STG-3R. I'd still rather bring Locusts though: the higher modifier to hit is a BIG deal and even without jump jets an extra 4" move makes a big difference to Light Mech Tactical Doctrine #1: "And Then We Shoot Them In The Ass"

[@lukedudley5030]

Lol apart from the head there's not much difference between them on TT either....variants may vary but they are basically them same mech :-)

[@rylian21]

*looks at the Atlas* I'mma touch it's butt!

[@Colonel_Overkill]

Ah yes, everyones favorite game Poker up the butt....

[@magni5648]

Don't forget Compact Mech. Makes the Locust stupidly efficient in terms of logistics.

[@michaelmills8205]

I think the Stinger does well as a garrison/urban pacification unit when compared to it's main competitors: The Locust and The Wasp. The Stinger's jump jets make it much more mobile in an urban environment than the Locust and it's dual machine guns make it much more effective against infantry than the Wasp's SRM. So, if you goal is to commit a war crime, the Stinger is your 20tonner of choice. Otherwise, get something else.

[@jacksonbowns1087]

Ah, I love the VF-1A Valk- *intense coughing fit* I mean the Stinger! Yes, the Stinger! I like *THAT* one, not some other thing. *Nervously looks at the Wasp, Phoenix Hawk, Marauder, Warhammer, Rifleman, and Longbow*

[@axsprime]

Hears Dogfighter playing in the distance.

[@LuoSon312_G8]

don't forget about the crusader...

[@jacksonbowns1087]

@@LuoSon312_G8 Thank you for informing me of the Crusader, I now have a new favorite Unseen design.

[@mogaman28]

VF-1A Valkyrie, VF-1S Valkyrie, VF-1A Super Valkyrie, Tactical Pod Glaug, Destroid Attack Tomahawk, Destroid Defender and Destroid Phalanx.

[@LuoSon312_G8]

@@mogaman28 VF-1A/S Armored Valkyrie ("the Crusader) VF-1A Valkyrie (the Stinger) VF-1S Valkyrie (the Phoenix Hawk) Zentradi Officer Pod (the Marauder) Zentradi tactical pod (the Cicada) Destroid Spartan (the Archer) Destroid Tomahawk (Warhammer) Destroid Phalanx (Rifleman) Destroid Defender (Longbow)

[@charlescraft5582]

My brother was very into Battletech when I was younger so naturally I was too. Helped me expand my mecha fascination, especially when I realized the lost designs could be seen in a large amount of anime.

[@brianhenry152]

The Stinger has Jump Jets, and those are it's best asset. Since it's weapons don't generate much heat, it has incredible endurance barring an engine crit. Get in, hit your enemy from behind, and jump away behind cover. Rinse and repeat. If a Stinger becomes the most viable target, it's dead

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

That's how to win in a light mech in one easy lesson, yeah.

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

I've always liked the Stinger more than the Wasp. The MGs are more interesting to me than the SRM launcher, and the aesthetic is better IMO. I like it as an urban warfare militia ride, with the MGs for taking on infantry (or rioters) and the laser for demolition or anti-armor work.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Oh its got its strengths, but in Mech on Mech violence that the WSP's got a real advantage in, and its extended range ability.

[@Doomer1984]

Machine gunning food riots Your Capelan, arent you?

[@GnarledStaff]

Is it a SRM2? I hear those were designed for fire based warcrimes.

[@kathilmechworks4895]

It just simply is. Become a weekly thing of me lancing them with ppcs in my games. Like the wasp I look at it as a militia mech. Good for scouting and urban pacification and that's about it. Least the wasp has range.

[@clydecraft5642]

In lore it could lay down like a sniper with a LL on its arm

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

@Clyde Craft Then they should’ve brought a combat vehicle, not a goddamned battlemech.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

I remember this old girl back in the FASA days I recently got the new model and I'm having a friend paint it in Max Sterling's colors from the Macross/Robotech anime

[@jmannthemarine2407]

Great video as always, keep em coming.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I have to, to appease Algoroth lol

[@donaldcampbell3043]

Back in the day playing the table top game I preferred the Stinger for the MG's, and its mobility with the jump jets over the Locust.

[@rmcdudmk212]

Great mech if you can keep if from getting hit. That said the Stinger and the Wasp are two of my favorite mechs in the light mech weight class.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Nice.

[@warrmalaski8570]

I have this mech in its VTOL mode. And it has a jet fighter form. If that sounds fermeture its the princable desine of the Valkyrs form robo-teck and macross.

[@theduchyofmilanball3157]

Ah yes, the land-air battlemech. First neglected, then utterly busted, then quietly taken out behind the shed and shot.

[@captaingeneralconch]

Assault mech pilots to each other: Rufus: Hanz do who feel that .... like a light sting? Hanz: Yes I do feel a light sting on my right leg... I wonder what is causing it??? Both pilots tilt head down Both: OHHHHH its a wee baby stinger!!!!

[@OR1ON220]

Float like a butterfly, sting like a… stinger..?

[@connorriggs1518]

I must say that unfortunately my view on the stinger in slightly tainted after it’s less then stellar performances in the first half of Decision at thunder rift

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's like a Wasp, but worse! :D

[@billrich9722]

Headshot.

[@MrPayne616]

To be fair that was probably more due to poor piloting and he was up against the protagonist Grayson Carlyle.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

The Gray Death Legion's Stingers fight hard and heroic though in the rest of the original trilogy.

[@OptimusWombat]

Anyone else remember Mercer Ravannion's "horde"? That might be older than a lot of the viewers here, it was in one of the first B'Tech scenario packs (Fox's Teeth: Tales McKinnon's Raiders) published in the 1980s. He was a crazy Kuritan officer who theorized that you could take down heavy and assault mech lances with "hordes" of fast light mechs such as Wasps, Stingers, and Locusts (this was before TR3025 was published, so the only 'mechs available were stock mechs from the boxed set).

[@OptimusWombat]

@@robertmorea3446 there's an entry on Sarna re: Mercer Ravannion as well if you want to look him up.

[@datrux]

Wasn't the horde destroyed by a lance or company of Blackjacks?

[@MehOhWell222]

.... it just occurs to me that in both MW5 (modded) and the 2018 Battletech game I never actually processed that the stinger and wasp were different mechs. They both just existed as the same non-entity I worried about less than turrets and APCs. Ye gods these things are trash tier.

[@BigRed40TECH]

WASP is definitely a bit better.

[@lukedudley5030]

The wasp with a shed load of small lasers is better but the rest are basically the same with the wasp edging it on range :-)

[@jordansimpkins8784]

Great video, keep up the good work

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thanks, will do!

[@franksmedley7372]

Hello Red. The often maligned Stinger. Yes, the 3025 version is rather puny, but even that can be 'improved'. The Marik variant swaps out the pair of MGs and their ammo for an AMS, ammo, and a flamer. The G variant is a bit 'better' in that it removes the MGs and ammo for another Medium Laser, and a heat sink. Thus doubling its damage output. For my Mercenary Group, the Ghost Lions Legions, I used the available tech from 3055, 3065, and 3067. The upgrading includes the replacement of the Internal Structure with Endo-Steel, while retaining the standard Fusion Engine, and thus keeping its speed at 6/9/6. MASC is added to boost this speed to 6/12/6 in the right circumstances. Weaponry is 6 medium lasers, and 10 IS DSHS. Yes, an 'alpha strike' can overheat this Mech design, but if you are in that kind of situation, you need all the firepower you can get, to get you out of it. Hopefully, somewhat intact. There is a sub-variant on this design, that 'only' has 4 medium lasers, with the 5th and 6th dropped in favor of two more IS DSHSs, pushing the total to 12, for a total dissipation of 24. Again, an 'alpha strike' can overheat this design, if the Mech Jumps to maximum distance and fires all weapons. The fact that the Mech is so cheap to produce and procure is a point in its favor. This fact alone makes 'tinkering' with the Mech, and fielding various variants on the basic design, something that Mercenary Commanders would, and often, do perform during the service life of any particular Stinger. Given any kind of rough terrain, the Stinger is well worth its C-Bill cost as a highly mobile Scout. But in 'flat' terrain, it is overshadowed by the Locust and Spider Mechs. The Stinger is far more 'available' than a Spider, so its value as a Scout is not threatened by the faster, and more nimble Spider Mech. The ease of repair, and availability of parts for the Stinger should also not be discounted as points in its favor. All the most readily available variants use weapons that are commonly available almost anywhere in the Inner Sphere, and even in the Periphery. It is not until certain concerns start putting Anti-Missile Systems, ECM, and such into Stingers, that that particular 'rule' is no longer 'valid'. And even so, the vast majority of Stingers will be of more 'conventional' designs. So, my overall 'take' on the Stinger is that it is a good Recon Scout Mech, and one able to raise all kinds of hell if it gets behind Enemy Lines, since many of its variants are 'non-ammo reliant'. This is also true for certain variants of the Locust, another of my favorite designs. Fast, Mobile Mechs, with no reliance upon an 'ammo train', and only limited by how much damage they take in their raiding of rear area forces. What good Commander would NOT want this kind of capability for their unit? Just my thoughts, speaking 'Frank-ly'. :)

[@yourseatatthetable]

I'm not sure which design is the most common, Locus, Wasp, or Stinger, but just about every faction; every size force; House, bandit, or private security outfit, fields at least a few of these machines. For me, light mechs used in the scouting role, are best utilized when you are running a campaign. Each engagement is meant as a piece of a larger whole. Perhaps that first engagement is between your recon unit(s) and your friends. Or to scout out a fixed location to figure out it's defenses and/or layout. Success depends on which side your on. Defending, then either your fielding light mechs as pickets, or searching for that attackers main force. In either case, the engagement protocols may be very different. My recon op is successful when my unit reports back it's findings, assuming it was able to avoid the OpFor's pickets or anti-scout mechs, and if there is an encounter, withdrawing in good order. If I am defending, then my light hunters are successful if they drive off or destroy my opponents recon force; or, maybe if my unit is able to follow the attacking OpFor's recon force back to their main body. In other scenarios, cannon repeatedly points out that most factions during most eras, are dominated by light/medium weight forces, supported by heavies, and then assaults. Outside of the Lyran Commonwealth, this is the norm. Doubly so when we're talking about Periphery powers and bandits. A typical makeup of one of these forces (using a company sized unit as an example), as I am sure most of your readers already know, would be two light lances with a medium in support or as anchor. Of course, if a given player group doesn't give a Capellen's nose hair for cannon and traditional BT flavor, then it doesn't really matter. There's a reason that so many light mechs have been (and are still being) manufactured, and it isn't because 40% of a given line unit is made up of recon forces. Just my opinion, of course...

[@BigRed40TECH]

Most common design is the WSP as a whole.

[@yourseatatthetable]

@@BigRed40TECH I seem to recall something being said in the 3025 tech readout that the Stinger was slightly more complex. All things considered, one might have thought that the Locust would be the most common, but for 20 tonners, the Wasp and Stinger's are fairly robust, and capable of many more roles. Some better then others, of course. I'd also imagine that because of the huge amount of production down the the centuries, that of all Mech designs, these two have the largest stockpiles of salvaged parts. For many of the minor powers, that popularity of over all production would mean that these two are either the simplest to construct or that their common factor makes the Wasp and Stinger designs the easiest to manufacture.

[@GnarledStaff]

Wait... 2479 to 2900... Thats 421 years. 200,000/421 is about 475 a year. Thats about 9 mechs a week. That explains the mech shortage.

[@OptimusJedi]

Can’t help but see Robotech in the Stinger but I live the Battletech lore about it.

[@mogaman28]

Macross*

[@OptimusJedi]

@@mogaman28 I’ve always known it as Robotech. When I rented the VHS from the library and saw the first episode it said Robotech on the box and Robotech in the intro. That’s how I saw it when I was six years old and that’s how I’ll always think of it.

[@WeOnlyEatSoup]

Agreed lol watched it on cartoon Network in the 90s it was my first mech anime and stuck with me

[@maxanderson2180]

Dang, from 200k to 5k... almost enough to make a grown man cry

[@BigRed40TECH]

Crying is for WASPs. Dying is for Stingers ;)

[@arrgylerawrgyle3784]

Target practice gets boring on urbanmechs and you do need a moving target to get better.

[@heirofaniu]

Great little mech for a PDF/militia force, and it's mobility combined with those MGs make it hell on wheels against infantry, and the ML ain't terrible against light vehicles either. Basically a Locust with jump jets. Personally I prefer it over the Wasp for the "cheap militia mech" role since I honestly think the MGs are worth more than the Wasp's SRM2, and the STG-3G trading the MGs out for a second ML makes it viable against other bug mechs and for harassing Urbies. Still not a spectacular mech on the table, but she's got her uses, and for the money you could certainly do worse.

[@lukedudley5030]

I'm a wasp variant that got its own name lol :-) don't understand how the wasp got more love when they both play so similar. I often pair them as scouts in a fast lance where you want the leader (whose in a locust) to escape and no one else :-)

[@b1laxson]

Wasp... built for Afghanistan and sent to Kursk. Target & Terrain, or why the Wasp is the middle ground meh. Target: Battletech and its derivative games are about blowing up giant robots which is better done with missiles. That is the Stinger or a variant Locust with missiles. In a more likely setting of needing to deal with lots of infantry, rioters and small lightly armored vehicles which is especially more the issue in times outside of the major wars the Wasp or Locust machince guns let you deal out without massive collateral risks while the medium medium laser is the all rounder. Terrain: If you have lots of flats, few rivers or canyons then the high run speed of the Locust is the way to move about. Such areas for gaming maps are actually pretty boring but if you are going to have a game with long range direct fire weapons then you need those long lines of sight. The original tabletop maps had a lot of weird hills, canyons and rivers where having jump jets actually kept you moving across the map, favoring the Stinger/Wasp types. Side note: Battletech never really gets into the uses of hands and proper arms. For example reaching into a crowd of rioters to lift up the riot for arrest or squeezing. Or for the use in construction like holding up things being built, espically if the medium laser was a weapon pod that could be unhooked from the power fed held position to be stored on the back. But... We play games about blowing up mechs and while we do have hills and things its still got long sight lines. Locust has the highest speed of the 20s and is often seen with missiles instead of MGs. The Stinger has the missiles and jump jets. So those two are the go to depending on the map. As for the Wasp, if you have to say this much to justify a mech its just "the wrong one to put on the table".

[@captaingeneralconch]

ahahahahahahahahaha

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

See my comments above on why the Stinger and Wasp can be useful in spite of their shootout deficiencies. However, despite the game's objective of "blow up giant robots", there's more than one way to skin a cat. Even in the original game the maps and published scenarios introduced factors into fights that encouraged players to use their 'mechs' good features and downplay the bad ones. I've known many players who did the "charge in and shoot" tactic, only to get their endo-steel butts handed to them by players who took a good look at the map, and planned accordingly.

[@Captn_Grumpy]

"The best ability is availability!" :)

[@karirostin8351]

The Stinger has a similar role like a Spider has: a objective grabber and carrier in scenarios. They have the hands to pick something up.

[@canderoussnurd4265]

The stinger is fine for what it is. Mostly I use em to harass and fade out. Definitely an easy mech to replace and in all honesty it’s very effective when used to swarm or harass supply lines. Though I prefer the wasp just for that little extra punch of the srm 2. I still kinda admire the underdog stinger and will always make room for at least one lance of them for raiding. Like you said. “If you lose one. Just get another”🤷‍♂️

[@furikuri6585]

Cheap, Bad against mechs/tanks but good against unarmored targets due to it's 2 mg's? *Slaps the armor of the mech: "you can fit so many warcrimes into this badboy!"

[@kalixascsi66]

If you play later eras, there a some neat variants. The 5R has 30 rockets and a Medium Laser while the 6L has stealth armor, moves 8/12, and has two Medium Lasers

[@Beau74]

As others have said, the Stinger struggles in the vanilla stand-up fight depicted in a basic-rules game of Battletech. Sure, you might sometimes get lucky while going for back shots and criticals, but any significant return fire is going to end you. In a campaign, though, is where the Stinger really and truly shines. Destroy supply convoys. Raid ammo dumps. Carry off your enemy's stuff. Harass, scout, screen the flanks. Withdraw at will whenever you need to. Oh yes. Since most Mechs lack dedicated anti-personnel weaponry, the Stinger does perform another very important role which arguably makes it better than the Wasp. It is BRUTAL against infantry. Unless protected by heavy cover, a platoon's collective life expectancy is generally measured in seconds when a Stinger arrives to clear them out. As far as your common grunt is concerned, a Stinger might as well be an Atlas.

[@shagakhan9442]

Love the stinger

[@tony-leebrizzell2654]

Lost tech is a boon to this wee guy

[@BigRed40TECH]

It still just never gets any offense going. It's not terrible, in its weight class, it's just well... whelming. The WSP is definitely the better of the 2. We don't need a Stinger, we have a Stinger at home. :P

[@SeedemFeedemRobots]

i like the stinger more then the wasp because of it's head looking like a CCTV camera housing and also its machine guns on arms make more sense then the Wasp's hip mounted SRM2 (lmao goofy place). though i like the Locust (MWO and later redesigns) more as the bug. and to me the 20 ton bug mechs should not be attacking any mech that is a medium or more, but for either scouting with speed or bullying ground vehicles and infantry, which the Locust and Stinger's ML+2MG's best exemplify this role.

[@battletopia]

It’s a little guy but the killing shot of Aidan Pryde and his Timberwolf was done by a stinger! POW, you are dead!

[@AnthreasTheHoplite]

What is the audio track used in this vid? Its pretty epic.

[@Haloister]

Ah yes the Stinger, the similar to, but legally distinct from Wasp.

[@anthonyvogel9328]

Always wonder what one is best?

[@shellbackbeau7021]

Sting like a butterfly, float like a bee!

[@bartlester1667]

I really love you Chanel and would love to see the back story on my fav mech the one I started playing battle tech and mech warrior with the cataphact

[@BigRed40TECH]

we'll get there eventually. I'm doing them in order of the original TRO 3025, sans the Quad mechs which will be done last. Cataphract will be done after the original TRO. So we're a ways away, but we'll cover it eventually. :)

[@bartlester1667]

@@BigRed40TECH thank you

[@arrgylerawrgyle3784]

Swating bug mechs is fun..

[@BigRed40TECH]

There are 195,000 instances of joy that the Stinger has commited to this :D

[@Reverb154]

If you HAVE to run in a Stinger, use the one from TR 3085, that one has a light PPC.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

The Stinger gets no love, existing mainly as laser fodder. But in the older pre-Clan days they were everywhere! IIRC all of the original featured companies (Fox's Teeth, Black Widow, Snord's Irregulars, Gray Death Legion) had Stingers on the roster. Why? Bug mechs are cheap, reliable, and useful for things other than blowing up targets that can't outrun them. *coughassaultsareoverratedcough* That's the difference between munchkin grinders and campaign-style play though. The Stinger shines when the mission isn't just charging at the enemy and shooting until heat shutdown or ammo explosions stops things. In a linked-combat battle or a RPG-style campaign the Stinger and its fellow bugs have a chance to prove their worth as speed, maneuvering, and mission versatility gives them the chance to secure victory. And there's always DFA, which has let the Stinger and Wasp claim kills against larger foes. Never sneer at a 'mech with jumpjets, especially if the cockpit has already taken a hit!

[@dhoffnun]

For such a prolific mech, it seems under-represented in the video games.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

The video games have a tendency to favor gun busses, laser boats, and missile boats for quick FPS victory. If there was an actual RPG game where a player could develop *an entire company* then the bug mechs would become useful.

[@depth386]

i forget the designation number it ends with a G... STG-4G? Anyways 2 Medium Lasers and Jump Jets is total Meta in cooler environments

[@anthonyvogel9328]

Wisp vs stinger. What one is best?

[@BigRed40TECH]

WASP imo, for mech on mech fighting anyway.

[@Barga6464]

Ah the stinger. AKA the better wasp

[@wheturangi]

The STG with the WSP are just the same except for the weapon layout. Just there for recon and maybe a sneak attack from the rear. Not much to say about them. I see the STG as that backworld militia mech. Trying to be a real mech, but sadly never taken seriously. I prefer it over the WSP for the MGs. You can use those in urban encounters to keep those rioters under control. Though I always like to sub half a ton of ammo for another MG. 200 rounds lasts for forever.

[@sohmingjian]

It is e TIE Fighter of e Battletech universe

[@orionhan2431]

The most interesting thing about this mech (as well as the Wasp,PheonixHawk,etc) is the original design was stolen from Macross because FASA wanted to appeal to *weebs* . It and its brothers also have the ability to transform to planes aka LAM. FASA was *sued* , that's why these mechs suddenly became rare in canon until the redesign decades in real time later

[@BigRed40TECH]

Oh I know. I just don't get into the legal history behind it. I also like the new designs more anyway.

[@Kepora1]

"ApPeAl To WeEbS" Bruh a*LOT* of Battlemechs originated from anime. The Shadowhawk, Thunderbolt, and Locust are prime examples.

[@SeedemFeedemRobots]

or maybe cause 80s anime mechs just looked pretty cool for the 80s like how the Warhammer's original look still holds up better then some of the actual original designs that dont age well

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

FASA licensed the rights to the artwork, but Harmony Gold licensed distribution rights to Macros. Since HG had a much larger legal budget than FASA, the subsequent rights disputes boiled down to HG bullying FASA into backing down. The recent lawsuit HG brought against PGI, HBS, and CGL demonstrated that HG never had the rights to the images in the first place. HG's suit was dismissed with prejudice. This is why all the formerly "unseen" 'Mechs are being reissued with new artwork that hews very close to the original licensed images.

[@orionhan2431]

To the butthurt crowd. Look at my Chinese name if you think i'm biased against asians. FASA was literally trying to appeal to anime crowds at the time by putting Gundams & Macross into their game. It was plain theft and the company and IP got legally fucked because of it. Just because you "like the design" doesnt change; 1. their intent 2. it's theft

[@deweylipschitz1516]

Gotta admit, l really don't have that many of these. Wasp and Locust are just easier to aquire . A LOT easier . Heck,l have more Tarantulas than Stingers.

[@brettwerdesheim9767]

chance of dropping the grasshopper in the vote polls?

[@BigRed40TECH]

Grasshopper will come only when we hit that time in the TRO. It's gonna be a while, but it will be worth it :)

[@brettwerdesheim9767]

@@BigRed40TECH ic didn't notice going by time, but enjoy looking up info on the pillager.

[@BigRed40TECH]

@@brettwerdesheim9767 I'm going in order of the original TRO 3025, 1 by each weight category until that is done. After that I'm covering the Star League era mechs, then the 3058 era mechs (portion of the SL era mechs) then the war of 3039 specific mechs. And so on and so forth.

[@Demolitiondude]

Quanity over quality.

[@CRAZYUNCLE117]

Anyone else see the battletech rip-off called 'gallahad' before this video begins? It is such a rip-off, that you can name the mechs in the video (blackjack, warhammer). There is only ONE battletech!

[@GnarledStaff]

I didnt see it in this video but I have seen it recently. I noticed the add call a single mech a "lance". Sounds like its going to be a cashgrab crapshoot screw people over type of thing, but I guess we won't technically know for sure until its actually out. Technically.

[@kylebarrie2887]

Small bug mech but not much fire power just felt like to me a close clone to the wasp. It works but not a fan, prefer the locust.

[@DIEGhostfish]

Meanwhile the Stiger IIC "Dual tenpointer bullshit clantech goes zzzzap" if course if either one gets crit it blows up like a gauss rifle same goes for the gauss machine gun. But hey it's the unholy offspring of pirates and clanners, why wouldn't it walk arounf dual wielding bombs?

[@mathewkelly9968]

I love Stinger LAMs

[@boggycreekmonster6857]

It was the best of the LAM's, faster than the P Hawk and had a much better load out since the Wasp got stuck with the SRMs (rear mounted no less)

[@JulianVR4]

Good lord these things are straight garbage. These are basically the putties from power rangers. Just smack em good one time and they fold up like a paper clip. Too slow to be this lightly armored and armed. Would rather take a gang of savannah masters

[@neptunestrident4364]

The slow transitions are annoying