LoreWarrior Online - The Arctic Fox

[@YalelingOz]

I can only imagine the most important thing called for in the design brief is "I require a 220° panoramic view of the battlefield, but under no circumstances should I see the shoulders or legs."

[@CriticalRocket]

haha I think you might have nailed it there :D

[@das_gruuben]

I'm a recent fan of Battletech, with MW5 and TTB bringing me into the universe. (I played MW3 when I was a wee babby.) I gotta say, I love your videos. Short-form and to-the-point. I can tell that I'm listening to someone who knows their stuff, and I'm glad to have the input on all of these mechs and combined arms. Keep it up, lad, and I'll keep watchin'!

[@derekburge5294]

Welcome aboard! I'm always envious of you new folks... You're in for a wild ride.

[@CriticalRocket]

Welcome to the Battletech universe :) My older Lore videos don't have my post video ramble but one day I will get round to remaking them with the ramble so all of them are consistent. Any questions about the universe or 'mechs or the such feel free to ask here in the comments or on discord.

[@das_gruuben]

@@CriticalRocket I have many questions, but I'll hold myself to a request: Could you cover the Muckraker? It's a niche case of an industrial 'Mech being turned into a fighting 'Mech, but it's one of my favorites. One of my friends just 3d printed one for me that I have primed and mounted on a base. It'll definitely be painted up in Caterpillar colors. I feel that I like it because it reminds me of the gun trucks of Vietnam. Vehicles that weren't intended to be armed and armored, but the people running them had to. I understand if it doesn't fit into your schedule. I just think they're neat.

[@georgesulea]

It looks angry, and the WarPenis PPC is quite intimidating...FEAR ME!!! GRRRRR!

[@CriticalRocket]

Now if the Hounds had called it the war penis it would probably scare more of your opponents away for you :)

[@sovietalex]

I can see what the art team were thinking: Make a Kit Fox chonky because IS tech is bulkier. But if you can get past the looks, the long-range load-outs can keep their distance & hammer targets whilst brawlier light lance-mates close in. 😋

[@CriticalRocket]

Yeah a low tech version of the Kit Fox does make sense like the Black Hawk KU but this seems like it was approved after the first art draft.

[@franksmedley7372]

Hello CR. I faced the Arctic Fox several times, when the Clans were introduced to the tabletop game. Somehow, ending up in a Contract against the Kell Hounds. I was able to get away with a 'tie', by dealing enough damage to cover my expenses and leaving the battlefield with most of my forces intact. The Arctic Fox is fairly fast, and able to maneuver pretty well. And, if it uses available cover intelligently, it can easily do a lot of damage without taking much in return. I must note here, that when I got my 'dirty Merc hands' upon a pair of Arctic Foxes, I played around with the design for some time, before finally settling upon an 'all Energy' build. This freed the Mech from any logistics train, and allowed it, along with several other 'energy boat' designs, to roam around and cause havoc in an enemy's rear areas. I liked the idea of the 'C' variant, but the ER PPC 'broke the bank' as far as I was concerned. Instead, I swapped the ER PPC for another Large Pulse Laser, and added Ferro-Fiberous Armor, instead of the 'standard' armoring the Mech came with. 6-9-0 movement profile, with twin Lrg Pulse Lasers, 10 IS DSHS, and an additional 9 pts of armor due to the armor swap, and the Mech was still fairly 'cheap', yet improved enough to be a real danger. I usually paired up 'upgraded' Phoenix Hawks with the Arctic Fox Mechs. A 'Lance' being a pair of PH's and a pair of AFs. The Phoenix Hawks draw attention to themselves, leaping around, and firing off their ER Lrg Lasers. Allowing the Arctic Foxes to run into their 'best' range and remain there, firing their Lrg Pulse Lasers. Which, I don't really have to remind you, have a bonus 'to hit' their targets due to the 'pulse' nature of their weapons. Even Locusts and Spiders, who generate a LOT of 'delta vee', go down quickly when hit by up to four Lrg Pulse Lasers, and up to a pair of ER Lrg Lasers. Heavy Mechs, which are 'caught' behind the lines, are usually returning from battle damaged, or fresh from quick, battlefield repairs, and not really 'back up to spec'. These go down fairly quickly to a Lance my little 'harasser' style, backfield, chaos inducers. It was hilarious to ambush such Heavies, due to them usually being alone, or at most, having a very light 'escort' of one or two 'Light' Mechs. So, freeing up the Arctic Fox from the logistics train helped me to make my raiding forces far more of a 'pain in the rump' to my opponents. And, when they, too, went 'all energy boat' designs, I 'changed up' to Ballistics, or LRM heavy units. The Arctic Fox D makes for a great 'harasser' Mech, for those forces attempting to close to the 'line of battle'. Showers of LRMs degrade their armor enough that by the time they engage the Heavies and Assaults, they are easily dealt with due to 'paper-thin' armoring left over from surviving the LRM 'rain'. Gods Above! How my opponents howled that I HAD to be 'cheating'! And then there was the Clanner Player, who hated me for not facing him 'like a man', and using multiple LRM equipped units to basically 'sandpaper' his Mechs to where a single hit would cripple them. Of course, flanking a full Lance of all Arctic Foxes into his rear and then speeding into Medium range and ripping apart his heavier Mechs with Pulse Laser fire was NOT appreciated either. Warfare is NOT 'fair'. If you are playing 'fair', you are not using for forces to maximum effect. The Arctic Fox is pretty good at getting around the 'slow foot' Mechs, and harassing them to the point they forget that you have heavier forces, yourself. An old adage comes to mind, as to how one should use the Arctic Fox. "If you are not cheating, you are not trying to win". And I, like to win.

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

Its a bird, its a plane, its a kit fox! Mmm, love this thing though that may be because I adore the kit fox.

[@rmcdudmk212]

I like the weapons load-outs but this thing is fugly

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@rmcdudmk212 I like it it's got this weird mix of walking boat and walking plane.

[@richmcgee434]

@@DIEGhostfish Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen an anime with a mech that transforms into a seaplane mode, pontoons and all. Not sure if that's a Good Thing or a Bad Thing, but it is vaguely surprising considering all the Transformer toys, weird Veritech knockoffs and other random stuff out there. Even the Go-Bots disdain to do a seaplane. And yeah, I know, seaplane development pretty much stopped with the invention of reliable helicopters and VTOLs, but when did practicality matter even in Gundam?

[@therakshasan8547]

Burns from The Simpsons , if he were depicted as a Mech .

[@Sierra026]

The ANGRY TORPEDO!! I wonder how this compares to its Clanner counterpart, the Kit Fox.

[@CriticalRocket]

Both have decent weapon payloads so they are likely close for damage but the Kit fox likely has the advantage due to better range and damage combined with more armour. Though on the table the die can randomly net you that CT crit or head shot. It would be a good fight though.

[@joshuamidgette4846]

It does appear something very heavy has squished a proper battlemech into this artist mistake.

[@richmcgee434]

Wait, the flavor text makes reference to its "snarling visage" there? Does that imply the toothy jaw is supposed to part of the armor plating itself, not just painted on the way it looks? They come out of the damn factory looking like that? Somehow that manages to make it even more silly, it's not like that kind of nose art was ever anything but paint IRL.

[@CriticalRocket]

It does seem to suggest the teeth motif is part of the actual design but it is an odd choice. You could imagine someone being shown the first digital images in universe and telling them you can paint the teeth on to which they blankly reply. Paint?

[@johnpinegar9277]

Better dog puns woobie fecal mater!

[@thomasludwigs2532]

Still say this needs to be in MWO.

[@michaelkimberling7307]

I’m going to dub this Mech the grumpy wolf.

[@antisocialmunky]

This is the thing from robocop right?

[@richmcgee434]

Have it race a Dalek down stairs, that ought to settle the question.

[@Lemonhead209]

Grrrrrrrrrr..... I said GRRRRRRR....!!!!!

[@dinodog6068]

I like this thing, but damn it needs an art update.

[@DIEGhostfish]

Personally I love it.

[@thomascraiker6449]

This needs that facelift.

[@PaganPilot]

yah, cute fierce arctic mammal and its mech looks like a toilet...

[@DIEGhostfish]

I like it it's got this weird mix of walking boat and walking plane.

[@pf6797]

Rocquette you’re going to simply have to do all the post-Wobbie era equipment and mechs too. Otherwise I will never learn them as the nuking of Gibson is the end of my lore level! Ty

[@CriticalRocket]

I shudder thinking about those later books and the sheer edge the Wobbite 'mechs bring to the table.

[@MrYobbo1]

I am validated ! ;)

[@CriticalRocket]

Indeed you are Yobbo.

[@Omniseed]

who the hell did this

[@derekburge5294]

It's basically a Linebacker But Small And Ugly. Yeech.

[@rmcdudmk212]

The inner sphere has a lot of ugly mechs. This Artic Fox is easily top 10 of the ugliest imo. 👍