BATTLETECH: The Atlas II

[@BigRed40TECH]

Resources Post: The Atlas II is apart of the Star League Command Lance in Plastic, and is coming out this month most likely. If you can't wait for that, it is out with Iron Wind Metals as we speak: www.ironwindmetals.com/index.php/categories/cat-battletech/cat-bt-ncm/product/battletech-bt-473/category_pathway-2 For Books I used to make this video: Technical Readout Jihad: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-technical-readout-jihad Recognition Guide 24: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-recognition-guide-ilclan-vol-24 Battletech: Jihad Final Reckoning: (for some portions) store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-jihad-final-reckoning-pdf Operation Klondike: (some references): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-historical-operation-klondike-pdf Battletech Legends: (Major Resource) store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-legends Bonfire of Worlds (Some Lyran points): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-novel-bonfire-of-worlds Era Report 3145: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-era-report-3145-pdf The Star League Sourcebook: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-star-league-pdf Technical Readout 3025: (For Atlas) And there were a few more that I lost in my notes. :(

[@beskar66]

(Joking) THOSE MISSING RESOURCES MUST BE SARNA

[@scytheseven9173]

There's of course also the footage you use from the HBS game BattleTech (fittingly, given Kamea Arano's Atlas II)

[@Gigas0101]

Thanks again Big Red!

[@GojiKaichou]

"ATLAS II: SON OF ATLAS" ~ Professor Tex of the BPL

[@PeachDragon_]

"when you're in an atlas, you can fight the storm, you can win"

[@johngavin3180]

Until an extremely, almost blindingly stupid, lucky Urbie armed with an AC20 gives you the mother of all vibe checks and relegates you to a joke.

[@catsndogs98]

*guitar solo*

[@scytheseven9173]

I like Kamea Arano's Atlas II AS7-D-HT, which as far as we know is an AC/20-armed one-off in a forgotten Castle Brian on the opposite end of the Inner Sphere from the Exodus

[@ZontarDow]

Seeing a map of Star League with all its members at its greatest extent feels like seeing a map of Rome at its peak.

[@rattyratstuff7125]

"Yes we're familiar with the world. We own it."

[@D-GM-Snyper2]

43:28 *chuckles* "Remember idiots, pay your phone bill or Interstellar AT&T will come a knockin' with bullets and blade."

[@johannesbowers7467]

Ja, ich wir haben klienes tott gehweg, und spielen mit der hertzblut. 🫡

[@uption5]

Space AT&T don't f*** around😅

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

"You cut The King, you'd better kill The King!"

[@damendobis2532]

I thought the quote was if you swing at the king, you better not miss?

[@thomascraiker6449]

The version I grew up with was; "If you want to take the ring of the King, you better kill him first."

[@Szoki86]

Yes, yes, new and improved, but can it shrug?

[@AtreidesT660]

Bu Dum Tss

[@mattmaple7032]

I’d name mine cloud

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

@@mattmaple7032 I’d name mine urbie

[@GrammarTron3000]

"If Atlas so good, where is Atlas II?" "...Oh.."

[@BigRed40TECH]

"BUt what about 3rd Atlas?"

[@dietplain7542]

​@@BigRed40TECH The Fatty's Fart Four is coming down the pike.

[@gsthomas187]

Within weapons range

[@AlphaAurora]

@@BigRed40TECH I love HAG-30 Atlas III! Even if it has the silly hockey mask.

[@abucket14]

​@AlphaAurora the Atlas III is what got me into Battletech. I pulled it from a Mechwarrior Dark Ages Salvage Box equivalent, it was my first Mini ever.

[@dietplain7542]

A testament to your craft and pursuit of quality, a real gem of a video, Tx Big Red-40TECH!

[@thomascraiker6449]

Sweet video and letting us know about this juggernaut.

[@bruenor316]

“A burnt bag of dehydrated meat” - a fitting tombstone epithet for Evil Nicky K 🍻

[@spartana1116]

A fitting fate that the amaris fan boy gets killed "accidentally by maybe a clan wolverine planted agent"

[@ChuJungyin]

The Widowmaker Khan piloting a Highlander killed Nicky K while he was piloting an Atlas II. Highlander > Atlas II. Q.E.D. /JK

[@K3flyn]

I'm just finishing the 4th sourcebook of the Jihad series... this mech info vid came at the right time - thanks!

[@Arvyn992]

Someone can use both Atlas II, and Atlas III to be laying down some suppressing fire while the Standard Atlas goes around and force an enemy out of cover that would be terrifying tactic if used correctly

[@bthsr7113]

And an Akuma to round it out as the most famous Atlas knockoff in the sphere. Or if you're a Clanner, Kodiak and Kodiak 2.

[@Phoney72]

​@@bthsr7113There's a Kodiak 2!?! I gotta look that one up

[@alecseuslev9054]

I'm afraid to imagine what the other side will put on the field, considering how much BV/PV these three are worth together.

[@Disastromatic]

Your reading of the passage at the end, pertaining to Kerensky's death, was particularly well-done.

[@meining-mech4378]

Thank Blake this mech got an updated mini! The metal version looks great, but it’s still metal, and therefore colossally fragile. Nice to see it in plastic. - I have no particular loyalty to this mech vs the normal Atlas or other designs, but it does look cool.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Praise Blake! As this was a Blakist mech. lol

[@rho1581]

At Lasssss My love has come along 🎶

[@Cygnus610]

Amazing Video Red! Thank you for all your wonderful videos!

[@BigRed40TECH]

My pleasure!

[@mattmaple7032]

If I was in the Battletech universe I would want an Atlas ll. I’d have it reconfigured for long range support. I’ve always liked playing at long ranges with mechs

[@sa-amirel-hayeed699]

Dual gauss cannons, dual Clan LRM 20s, quad ER M laser? Yes please

[@rattyratstuff7125]

Mechs just seem like extreme range and extremely close range vehicles

[@rattyratstuff7125]

​@sa-al-hayeed699 in two I regularly run a fafnir with 2 heavy gauss, 3 xpulse med lasers

[@armwulfpiloteer3255]

The rotary AC5 configuration seems up your alley then. RAC, Dual clan er large lasers, and an LRM20. You got a good balance of armor stripping sand blasting and raw alpha potential. Combine that with the increased speed for the defensive boost and positioning, you've got a compelling package for medium-long range.

[@mattmaple7032]

@@armwulfpiloteer3255 I tend to favor energy weapons over ballistic weapons.

[@Vic-fj3qs]

Blake praised! May the day the Celestials get the BigRed treatment be fast approaching

[@deadgodbirk6991]

Big Stompy Fun Video!

[@jamesbeard5513]

Very nice, and I can't wait to get this box as well. I did enjoy how you balanced the appeal and history of both the major figureheads that piloted the Atlas II. You gave the history of Nikolas as his ugly history we all know it for, but you gave a quote from the perspective of a person that loved him, and then did almost the opposite for Devlin Stone giving a quote from the average person torn from his home and abandoned by his leader for this new upstart that thinks he knows better while giving the history of a pretty good (at least for BattleTech) leader. Whether that shine continues remains to be seen, though I suspect, and hope, the Tucker Harwell story may bring closure to some of the Dark Ages unanswered questions.

[@Mavairo]

I was going to have one of these for my new lyran force. Now there might be two. You did again red, you've sold me on a mech!

[@swazimagic]

I wonder if Nicholas had that ECM system turned on and whether that contributed to Jorgensen identifying him as a hostile.

[@tomtheconqerur]

Nicholas is a Fursuit-wearing, sociopathic hostile to existence.

[@tapioperala3010]

Took me ages to get to this video, but I really enjoyed it. Superb work!

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

I killed one of these with a heavily modified Davion Shadowhawk and it’s the proudest moment of my boardgaming carrier.

[@StarJudgeGaming]

Always worth waiting for content on this channel as it's so good!!

[@Discount_blackbeard]

Legit using this as a time for my work out, excellent work as always red

[@calumdeighton]

Certainly eager for the new plastic. Painted some old plastic minis, horrible. So definitely eager for new stuff. Also eager for Clan Star Adder stuff. And content on the Wars of Reaving.

[@davemilner5504]

The best assault rig needs protective forces to cover it from anklebiters that can overwhelm it by sheer numbers.

[@gs1312]

This was an excellent video that really answered a lot of my questions that I had. Thanks for putting it together in such a concise way.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you!

[@cobalt968]

I like how the Atlas-II has its own distinct identity from the first Atlas, rather than being a replacement design. At least in their earlier variants, the Atlas-II seems to be more of an assault command mech that can fill a lot of roles with its varied long-range armaments yet lacks a knockout-blow. This contrasts heavily to the first Atlas, which was a battering ram or bodyguard mech that can also be a command mech while carrying the biggest gun around. It’s a bit of a shame that these differences in battlefield roles decrease as the timeline progresses and more variants are introduced.

[@nikoclesceri2267]

I mean, with how the succession wars treated specialized mechs in general it’s not a surprise that the specialized assault command mech became less differentiated from its bully brother

[@bthsr7113]

@@nikoclesceri2267 And any ones that are used well are going to be targeted as priorities for head hunting.

[@shinnasuka1005]

The lore you did on the Atlas II was beautiful. I enjoyed watching this video.

[@whatroad5652]

Your videos are by far my favorite in BattleTech lore. awesome video

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you so much! I apprecaite it!

[@jefffreese947]

Great video BR! Really appreciated the in-depth view of an icon!

[@l0rf]

Are there better assault mechs? Probably. Are there cheaper heavy mechs that can do something similar? Also likely. Does anything compare to the sheer badassery of the skull-faced horror of an Atlas grinning at you through shattered cockpit and broken armour as it breaks through your lines? I don't think so.

[@tomtheconqerur]

Probably can also imply that there aren't better Assault Mech.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

"Something, Something, so fear itself shall be my ally." General what's-his-name, the important one.

[@gamemonster436]

I have an atlas II middle, figuring that I painted like the Hulk Buster so now I’m definitely gonna try to paint this one as the phantom when I get it

[@nono2645]

The Commonwealth will not go quietly into the night

[@pa_gaming_dad2810]

Great video as always Red. Really enjoy listening while painting.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TroySeward]

Great video. I can't wait to get the SDL force pack.

[@mikewarden5777]

Great video, Red.

[@Gigas0101]

Yo, just wanted to say I'm a B.C. bro too! Hope the con was great and the post-con recovery was smooth. Great video! The Atlas 2 never being a 2C always felt really weird to me... Until I saw just how terrifying Unity was.

[@malusignatius]

It's a design I like in theory, but always hated the sculpt. I'm so happy it's getting a new one.

[@thomasrose4523]

In this house, we don't smash the like button. We pull a DFA on it! Always remember what Dead-Eye taught me: kill the meat, save the metal.

[@Ahrimancp]

Nice one Red goo video. I was going to make a joke about how congested you sounded be I decided that would “snot” be funny

[@shootermcgavin2067]

Hmm let's hope to see some of these Atlas II heroes as legendary mechs now in MWO since we're starting to see IS mechs with clan tech, now the Blackhawk, etc.

[@BigRed40TECH]

To do it justice it'd need a new model imo. I don't think that'll happen sadly.

[@shootermcgavin2067]

​@@BigRed40TECH Possibly, I think it would sell as a standalone, but if not, there could easily at least be custom geometry for the head and possible some other parts of the mech as we see on the Otomo Collection and a few others stand alone mechs; Grand Dragon, etc. Never say never!

[@CJamesGoode]

Awesome Video as always.

[@ih7729]

Amazing work, Loremaster 🫡

[@beskar66]

GODLY AS ALWAYS RED

[@mk-ultraviolence1760]

I feel like there is an analogy for the reason behind Nicholas Kerensky's death being blatant Clan Wolf favoritism and the IlClan Era.

[@thedocklighter]

Gotta love a mech so enmeshed with the lore.

[@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285]

I like how the Gatling gun it's modled with is not actually any sort of rapid fire autocannon in any of it's official iterations.

[@BigRed40TECH]

This isn't accurate. It has a RAC5 in the Ilclan era.

[@Sideshow819]

Not only that, but lore shows us that autocannons are classed by damage output paired with approximate ranges; projectile size, count, and rate of fire vary quite a bit even within those classes.

[@PeachDragon_]

​@@Sideshow819i have been told that AC classifications are only for gameplay purposes and every autocannon is different between caliber, mechanism, manufacturer and so on and so forth, kinda like real life guns. A scar and an m4 have the same caliber but not the same mechanism. Then again I've also been told that an ac/5 is a 120mm and an ac/20 is a battleship naval gun so I'm just kinda confused at this point

[@bthsr7113]

@@PeachDragon_ Ah, but AC5 is apparently 120mm BURST (3 round). So more weight thrown down range. And even more confusion.

[@sterner626]

Love the vid! And a standard LL? What a crap weapon to be ended by. The Great Father earned himself atleast a DFA

[@beskar66]

No he earned him self a boot party

[@sterner626]

@@beskar66 it would be a most honorable boot party worthy of The Remembrance

[@BigRed40TECH]

It was a Clan ER Large Laser to be fair. :)

[@ero9841]

Well done red and hail to lord of battletech the atlas 2

[@loreman2803]

If i can get my hands on this i shall enjoy adding it to my Fan made unit

[@Kaiju-Driver]

So very cool. Never discount the power these can weild. I've lost many a Lance to these monsters.

[@jeremyminch8202]

Glory to Marik

[@BigRed40TECH]

Glory to Marik!

[@jamesricker3997]

Purple Bird Stronk!

[@bbd121]

Glory to house Steiner. Glory to the Archons. :P

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

I overslept and missed the live release ; - ;

[@BigRed40TECH]

But you've not missed the Atlas II video entirely! lol

[@hobbstactv2571]

It ain't bad, but I prefer the original. AC/20 is love. AC/20 is *LIFE*

[@deforesttappan6478]

Well I learned something new.

[@Somewhat-Evil]

IMO the Atlas II's autocannon should have been made a prototype ultra-10 rather than an LB type. That multibarreled weapon just doesn't look like a battlemech shotgun to me.

[@renegadeleader1]

I wonder if the original intent of it was not to resemble a gatling gun where the barrel spins, but pay homage to weapons like the Nock volley gun from the 1800s where all the barrels fire at once creating a shotgun like spread, hence the LB.

[@bthsr7113]

Exactly.. Or they should have made the LB10XAC a single barrel.

[@Spartaner251]

Nicholas got the easy way out, imagine him growing old and being assassinated by a member of clan wolvorine or widowmaker.

[@BigRed40TECH]

He'd have probably died of natural causes tbh.

[@THWikiPodcast]

Hopefully ill get to grind a few under the feet of my dragoon and rampage Also that particular Phoenix Hawk variant has weak head armor as one of my pilots learned...

[@brobasticbroham446]

Ahh the epitome of the much feared Steiner scout.

[@lordilluminati5836]

Steiners have some of the best *actual* scouts, such as the commando

[@jamesgleason5810]

😶 Alright you've convinced me that the Atlas ii though a well done job is a late Star League retro insert 😥

[@floridaman3823]

I BLESS THIS! FLORIDA MAN!

[@gary9346]

FOR THE REPUBLIC OF THE SPHERE

[@AlphonseZukor]

Coincidentally Boston Dynamics just announced Atlas 2.

[@laoziandbacon]

What is this intro!? So awesome.

[@BigRed40TECH]

That's the "Sci Fi Premier" from KZbin.

[@ProstheticConscience]

I've got strong MADOX-01 vibes from that intro.

[@laoziandbacon]

I love it! Whoever made it is an artist!

[@kagetemplar]

Instead of asking to to smash the like button you should ask us to Alpha strike, or death from above the like button. more on theme.

[@BigRed40TECH]

KZbin itself likes the term sadly :P

[@pikachufantastic]

I would ride in a SL Crab, but i wouldn't turn down an Atlas 2 or an Atlas base.

[@cerberuscypher]

Atlas II is cool , but when do we get the Atlas IV

[@BigRed40TECH]

We really need the Atlas V!

[@AlphaAurora]

Since every Atlas II pilot left with the Exodus, I'm really surprised the Clans never came up with a IIC or Omni variant. I guess we have Nicholas Kerensky's later variant.

[@BigRed40TECH]

The Atlas broadly doesn't match Clan-Warfare. Clans like duels, the Atlas is a midling Duelist.

[@AlphaAurora]

@@BigRed40TECH Yeah, the concept of a dedicated Commander's Mech shouldnt make much sense with Zellbrigen rules too. I really wish the clans lost. It kind of makes sense that their way of war had no focus on anything beyond raw firepower, but I guess the setting decided they wanted to validate the Clan way of war and life, after having initially repudiated it at Tukayidd.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm looking forward to Atlas VI: Atlas Harder

[@BigRed40TECH]

This time, its Atlas-Personal.

[@bthsr7113]

I'm surprised you managed to wring an hour and change out of the Atlas II. I didn't think there was that much history around this, and that it had a much smaller place in history. This feels like a much more natural and logical evolution of the Atlas than the Atlas 3... but that also goes to show why the Atlas 2 isn't as memorable or distinct as its own thing as the 3. It also doesn't hurt that the art for the 3 isn't misleading, unlike the 2, which looks like it has an UAC or RAC instead of an LBX AC... despite only one listed config sporting a RAC, and that one came after the Atlas 3 had one in its base version.

[@KillerOrca]

Honestlu the Orion being painted doesnr bother me cause what else would i paint it as other than Kerenskys door buster?

[@BigRed40TECH]

I like painting things as the units I want them to be to be fair.

[@NewGuy2534]

Imagine ordering two Atlases and getting an Atlas-II instead.

[@Uzeil21]

Finally, Atlas II...

[@BigRed40TECH]

Coming in plastic soon too.

[@stevegering4367]

Shame they never came out with a Unity Hero mech in MWO, would have been a power house during the initial clan release.

[@BigRed40TECH]

I don't think it existed, as far as rules go, when MWO first came out.

[@kierdalemodels]

Excellent stuff, BigRed!👍 I knew very little about the II. I ended up painting my son’s Atlas III (not II) in a skeletal scheme like Phantom years back. At the time I’d seen a lot of Atlas models with their heads painted like skulls, maybe I’d seen Devlin’s too. I knew little about BT lore then, just thought it’d be cool. Of course it got comments of “it looks like Devlin Stone’s”…which drove me to Sarna and got me deeper into the lore😄 BTW, what’s that mech in the art at around 1hr 9mins with the fist-of-missiles??

[@BigRed40TECH]

That's the channel mascot, the Roc.

[@kierdalemodels]

@@BigRed40TECH Aaaah! I’d heard of your Roc. Love it!👍

[@dubuyajay9964]

But does the Atlas II shrug?

[@hajrakoros]

Only when washed over 60°C :D

[@dubuyajay9964]

​@hajrakoros I said shrug...not shrink.

[@hajrakoros]

@@dubuyajay9964 Sorry, I missunderstood

[@Tallus_ap_Mordren]

Devlin Stone’s Atlas II should be renamed Hubris.

[@deleonfrancis60]

Hold my beer and Let me get my paintbrush I will paint it the phantom.

[@SHDW-nf2ki]

Idk why the Atlas 2 has ER large lasers because stock large lasers are 1: Cheaper 2: Cooler 3: Lighter 4: Have almost the same range as the LBX-10 My personal Atlas 2 in Mercs 5 also has regular medium lasers instead of pulse lasers just to keep it a little colder.

[@samikoivisto7705]

So a new Lyran Scout 'Mech.

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's only 10 years newer than the regular Atlas... and it was built by Terrans. :\

[@samikoivisto7705]

@@BigRed40TECH Dark Age/IlClan Era Lyrans

[@kythebengzon8023]

Ah yes Atlas II the Death's headening.

[@AtreidesT660]

Really well done Red. Love the artwork. Your script for this was better than the toddler squibble of the supposed script for episodes 1-4 of the Fallout show 😂 EDIT:- I want my time back for suffering through those episodes.

[@johnwiebe8581]

Hmmm... The Kerenski: Unity, The Word, The Stone: Phantom, or Lyran/Mercenary? How to paint it...

[@BigRed40TECH]

Paint it like Unity, just to agro everyone on the table! lol

[@bthsr7113]

Nah, United Phantom for maximum chaos.

[@scottwalker6947]

If you breed a superior human, you breed superior ambition.

[@R17inator]

If only Nicholas, in his overconfidence, did not inexplicably remove two points of head armor from Unity, he would not have been so thoroughly charred by that ER Large Laser. /j

[@BigRed40TECH]

He got head-crit to be fair. :P

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

What's going on?

[@heboric6136]

Wake up, new Big Red video dropped

[@Soulfruit260]

I don’t care what anyone says; Stone’s atlas II skull camo is the most high schooler edgelord thing in existence

[@venommwolf]

Where is the animation at the beginning of his videos from?

[@BigRed40TECH]

It's a KZbin intro piece. Its made by KZbin for premiers.

[@HYSXA2]

This is exactly why I think the Atlas II particularly the AS7-DK-H is better gunned than the Atlas III. I mean what can those dinky medium x-pulse lasers do when the latter runs out of ammo? Not to mention it can't even fire all 4 because it only has a pitiful 10 double heatsinks. I mean what self respecting assault mech only has 10 double heatsinks? Every assault mech usually has at least 14 or more. It's as if the equipment tonnage of the III is lesser than its predecessors. Why even bother piloting an Atlas III when the original "King of the Monsters" is already good as it is?

[@chrisjankay2488]

I know a good few people will probably disagree with me in this, but I’ll say it anyway, _in my opinion_ the atlas II is the perfect mech Great short range firepower (battlefists, srm, mp lasers and the LBX for emergencies) Good medium firepower (LBX, a good autocannon and not so big to the point where weight starts to take a toll, while still dealing good damage) And great long range firepower (LRM 20 for unprecise firepower and just whittling down armor, and er l laser for punching holes in said armor) Not to forget, of course, the stunning and enviable (around) 19 tons of armor 100 tons so if you’re not happy with the weapon load out you can probably put whatever your mind might have on it (within reason) Now sure, not great mobility with a top speed of like 54 kph, but it makes up for it for the overall strength in all ranges

[@BigRed40TECH]

I don't think a ton of people would disagree with that.

[@lexington476]

So is this the Electric Boogaloo of the Atlas?

[@BigRed40TECH]

Yes!

[@StarJudgeGaming]

Are you going to do a KerenskyCon video???

[@BigRed40TECH]

I didn't take any footage. I'm just not that kinda KZbinr. lol

[@scytheseven9173]

Wasn't Nicholas Kerensky not really involved in the resistence on Terra? (mostly due to being too young)

[@BigRed40TECH]

According to Legends, the primary resource I used for this video: "Nicholas joined his mother’s resistance cell as a youth, but keenly felt the absence of his father during those hard years."

[@Chris_Sizemore]

Psst. Want a better Atlas II? Remove both ER LL, replace with 1 PPC. Remove the 17 tons of FF and slap the Atlas' 19 tons of standard armor on there to make field repairs easier. Add an extra ton of LRM ammo because this design can afford the extra heat to fire that LRM-20 every round. Last step, rip out those 2 sucky inner sphere medium pulse lasers and replace them with 4 standard medium lasers. The standard medium lasers out perform inner sphere medium pulse at any range over 2 hexes, and even within 2 hexes the standard lasers have more damage potential even if they are less accurate. With this redesign of the weapons package you could rip out 4 double heat sinks and run cool most of the time. Or you could leave them and engage multiple enemies at different ranges on the same turn. Taking out 2 heat sinks to add 1 ton of AC/10 ammo and 1 more ton of LRM ammo seems like a good compromise.

[@bthsr7113]

Might be easier to uptech a basic atlas at that point.

[@duanewong1527]

Yes well, we have Atlas; but what about Second Atlas?