Why Do We Love The Locust?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Correction: Locust C's were still in use in Clan toumans at the time of the Clan Invasion. They were even deployed on Tukayyid.

[@michaelkimberling7307]

Pretty sure the locust c record sheet is in the BOT supplemental

[@MichaelMiller-by4vi]

672BV is a lot for a Locust but really important for filling out that Clan list.

[@lexington476]

I can see Frog piloting his Locust C at the Battle of Tukayyid probing ahead of the Falcon Guards 😎.

[@thomasgiles2876]

"Oh, you're a state? Where's your locust production line? Yeah, thats what I thought, walk away."

[@MechanicalFrog]

Well played... well played...

[@Heatx79]

Yup

[@OmniMontel]

I have stingers in production.... Out worlds are mostly mountainous and forested...

[@FunkThompson]

@@OmniMontelStingers? They are doomed now... :D

[@duanewong1527]

We specialise in production, repair and refit of urbies

[@sinjin8576]

My favorite feature of the locust comes after 3010 when they started including a small printer that automatically prints your will when one of its legs gets disabled

[@MechanicalFrog]

Convenient... You can pin it to your coolant vest with a bobby pin.

[@joshuaharper8957]

@@sinjin8576 Jesus Christ loves you

[@Psychohistorian42]

I was showing my 7yo daughter the various mechs I'd printed up, and she fell in love with the Locust, especially when I told her it was the fastest mech I had. Her paint job is a gloriously blotchy blue-green with gold, with a big red viewscreen. It's not standard Marik Militia colors, but it'll do just fine. 😀

[@MechanicalFrog]

Cherish it.

[@Brigand231]

When my daughter was very small (maybe 2 or 3?) she wanted to play "nobots" (clickytech) with me. At the same time there was a Transformers miniature game that had spring loaded missiles and melee weapons that we collected together. Then, sometime between preschool and first grade she came home with an art project that was a silverish vaguely humanoid figure on a piece of red paper. I had old film cannister lids for eyes, little bolts for shirt buttons, and various other bits of mixed media for details. She'll be 21 this year and I still have the nobot art she gave me stashed away.

[@catboxvideo]

my daughter is 5, she plays BTA and is looking forward to TTBT that I will start teaching her soon. She really really loves physical attacks ... she loves kicking them and watching them fall to then cry out "Welcome to the Floor!!!"

[@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey]

Parenting done well.

[@DynamoNED]

Ah, the Locust. The original "Gotta go fast!" mech. It's all fun and games until you run out of room to keep running.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Don't get cornered. **Writes that down**

[@louiswilkins9624]

Then you have to tip toe

[@NutjobGTO]

Alacrity is an imperative

[@Lunarice98]

You didn't put a plasma rifle in your custom variant. I'm proud of your restraint.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Not for lack of trying.

[@mikegould6590]

The Locust 1E is one of my favorite units. It's where I earned my nickname "Droptop". Behind the controls of "Gump", there have been shenanigans of the highest order. It's deployment has taught two fellow players the value of Lights.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Excellent that it's still teaching.

[@Logan912]

That’s a fun variant to mess around with in MechWarrior 5 too. It’s like a drive-by laser attack.

[@brothersgt.grauwolff6716]

I've learned to never underestimate the Locust it can be either a annoying pest nipping at your soft backside or a useful scout spotting for your missile boats

[@MechanicalFrog]

No one expects the Locust MVP.

[@dwwolf4636]

Kick assault mechs to the ground.....

[@juangalton999]

100%. I love using it with NARC and Flamers in support of a Catapult Lance.

[@TygerYasha]

My favorite Locust is 'Roadrunner' piloted by Russel Madison. An ER Medium Laser in each arm, and an ER Small Laser in the head, has MASC, and moves 14/21 [28]. Good luck to the coyotes trying to keep up with that!

[@MechanicalFrog]

I am a fan of the emotional support small lasers...

[@lexington476]

Fast as fast can be 🙂.

[@asgrahim9164]

Meep meep!

[@DoomStarRequiem]

I'm fairly new to tabletop Battletech, where can I find the record sheet for this variant? Sounds fun to field on tabletop.

[@TygerYasha]

@@DoomStarRequiem Heya, and welcome to the game! You can find it in Starterbook: Wolf and Blake.

[@rylian21]

The Locust is easily one of my all time favorite mechs. I often ran one with XL engine, DHS, ECM, stealth armor, 1MPul and 2Spul. I loved running up behind an Atlas for a back armor shot and whispering "He touched the butt!"

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's a fun wildcard mech for sure.

[@mikaelhansen246]

My favourite thing about the Locust is that it's one of the few mechs with the Compact ’Mech quirk. Being able to fit 8 mechs into a Leopard dropship is quite fun.

[@omegavulture8379]

A swarm of locust is a threat of biblical proportions.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Fact Check: True

[@thomasgiles2876]

Certainly scarrier than a swarm of Cicadas running around and donking off of everything.

[@MechanicalFrog]

No one is scared of a Cicada.

[@alexanderwhite298]

​@@MechanicalFrog I did read somewhere that two locusts can fit in one drop bay or drop pod. If games operated by drop space you could have something quite terrifying. Going by clan doctrine you could potentially be fielding ten locusts and fifty elementals.

[@FunkThompson]

@@MechanicalFrogMy Mom on a camping trip would prove you wrong ;) (She got one stuck in her hair and absolutely flipped out, talking running around the campsite screaming.) Oh, the Cicada *mech*, right...

[@th3b33f]

I'm glad you included some in-cockpit footage. The Locust is one of the most fun (and stressful) 'mech to pilot.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm terrible at it, but an attempt was made. I'm much more of a Heavy mech person.

[@WhitecollarZombie]

I'm glad that MW5 added recon missions so i have reason to but my locust boots on. And Locust is always going to be my number one recon mech.

[@dwwolf4636]

Biggest advantage of a locust: The ability to stuff 2 in a single mech bay. Though I'm sad for you if that occurs on a Union dropship.

[@mathewkelly9968]

The first mech that teaches you that speed has a value all of its own , and there's a variant that does anything you want except carry artillery

[@MechanicalFrog]

Absolutely.

[@derptomistic]

A while ago I created a horrid abomination of a Locust variant that started as a 1V, but I stripped out almost all of the armor, reduced it's speed, swapped it's frame with clan endo steel, and threw in an XXL engine all for the purpose of putting an AC20 on a Locust with 1 ton of ammo. It was the most expensive Locust I'd ever seen, and it could easily die to a single small laser. I loved it.

[@Cobalt-60]

One of my favorite Late Succession Wars uses of the Locust is as the Hunter-Killer pair of a "standard lance" (2x Heavy/Assault, 1x Medium, and 1x Light) with a Archer or Longbow out of LOS and Locust as the spotter. Add the other two members of the team, say a Marauder-D and Wolverine-M, and you have a dangerous nut to crack.

[@M0rtunodos]

I just started playing this year, and our tables refer to the Locust as Godslayers. Twice we've had them get behind an assault mech and score a solo kill. The 1e I had got behind an undamaged Daishi and both mlaser hit head, the crit roll was cockpit. Best salvage of my life.

[@MechanicalFrog]

That had to be frustrating for the Dire Wolf player. heh

[@rotwang2000]

The LCT-1Vb shows how good a Locust can be. But the LCT-1V can be a damn nuisance to mechs that have been damaged or the long range missile boats when suddenly outflanked.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Quite true. The 1Vb is special.

[@Nostroman_Praetor]

The Locust sticks eith me in memory not because of its performance as a speedy light mech, but because one was the catalyst to shit hitting the fan in The Periphery. Long story short: Your average Locust is probably a nusiance at worst to a decently equip lance, but still a giant biped to civilians.

[@dutchvanderlinde248]

That situation in the Periphery is what the art at 6:18 is depicting I'm pretty sure.

[@andyeaton1736]

The locust is a true classic. 8/12 was so fast back in the day. I always loved the version with 2 LRM 5’s. Even less armor but with speed and range you could plink away at enemies and be a real pain.

[@MechanicalFrog]

While I'm not personally a big fan of the 1M, I understand why people do like it.

[@WolfHreda]

​@@MechanicalFrog The only way to improve the -1M is to take a JumpShip over to Steiner space and buy a -1S instead.

[@DonaldWWitt]

@@MechanicalFrog My custom Refit of the -1M downgrades the Medium to a Small Laser for that extra half-ton of armor, because the -1M should not get into Medium Laser Range if it can help it.

[@shade8816]

3V has been my go-to mech for the tabletop. Working as a pair, one is always aggresive while the other tends to be more cautious. The aggressive ones' greatest moment was getting behind a King Crab that had lost its gyro. A swift kick actually caused the machine to topple over. Didn't win the battle, but still a great moment.

[@bryy2053]

The Locust is my 7 yr old son's favorite mech. In MW5 the Hero Locust PB with ECM is by far his go.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'll have to try the ECM in MW5.

[@bryy2053]

@MechanicalFrog I've seen people be skeptical if it even works and it definitely does. Enemies take a significant accuracy penalty and far fewer LRM vollies hit you and your Lance.

[@keebbles]

Pirate's Bane rocks.

[@ursulcx299]

very based

[@thomasgiles2876]

@@bryy2053 In the 400 ton missions, I def like to give at least an upper tier heavy ecm (cataphract or archer) with my Nightstars, Higlanders, and Atluses (Atli?)

[@andrewfsheffield]

My favorite thing about the Locust is how hard it hit in Mechwarrior 1. I used a locust through the whole campaign because you could run behind heavy and assault Mechs and shoot their legs out from under them with the machine guns that fired nonstop.

[@tomrowlette9573]

I liked it for the same reason, but it was so short that at close range you couldn't get a cockpit hit on a Battlemaster :)

[@orkloven]

The Locust is kinda like a classic 70s VW Beetle: no one really wants to drive one, but everyone smiles when one drives by. 😂 ...now I need to paint a locust up as Herbie the Love Bug Mech!!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Agreed. Make it happen.

[@DonaldWWitt]

But what about Herbie the Urbie?

[@juangalton999]

​@@DonaldWWitt😂

[@ArawnNox]

The animation Mechwarrior: Bulldogs has the best showing of a Locust.

[@MechanicalFrog]

A fun one, for sure.

[@Aceman52]

The Locust is a light mech that I have admired for a long time. Like so many of its other 20 ton breathern, it is dangerously versatile and deceptively lethal in the right hands and with the right loadout.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I haven't run across very many people who don't like it.

[@raedien]

@@MechanicalFrog eh, I prefer the Flea. So cute.

[@h.a.9880]

"ABM" isn't enough, you need to HAAAT. Haul ass at all times. Joking aside, I love the "strength, utility and fun" bars with the frogified armor diagramm. As for the Locust, that Mech is a tough little rascal, hard to hit and hitting hard, when the stars align. The way I see it, the Locust either manages to harass much heavier Mechs by zipping about and evading fire like a Grammaton Cleric or it gets an AC20 right in the face. Either way, you get a great story to tell afterwards.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Short but glorious lives...

[@h.a.9880]

@@MechanicalFrog "Predators don't die old" is the motto of the Mechwarrior after all.

[@haileysaint5443]

I just like the Locust. Especially after my son's frustration with them in MW5, lol. The 1V will always be my favorite. The LCT-1ISM uses Clan tech for the internals, armor (FF), and engine (which is an XL). Heat sinks are Clan DHS. It carries a Clan Light Tag and 4 clan MGs with 400 rounds. Its main gun is a Medium Re-Engineered Laser. My favorite custom variant isn't quite custom: it's a Locust-1V that mounts the arms of a Stinger (minus the Medium Laser in the Stinger's right arm). It's called the "Gun Angel"; Bishop Steiner did a drawing of it, too.

[@nichweidman7858]

It's amazing how much of a part of my weekly YouTubing this channel has become.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I hope this is a good thing. :D

[@lucindalockhart]

I introduced my boyfriend to battletech, and it took forever to get him to not pilot a locust in the videogame format or in MW5

[@MechanicalFrog]

"There are other battlemechs, you know..." No...

[@ernestyoung5516]

That 3M reference totally caught me off guard, good one sir. Loved it.

[@scytheseven9173]

thanks for the video! the MechFrog variant is scary my favorite showing of the Locust is as the sorta-protagonist of the excellent MechWarrior: Bulldogs animatic by D.C. Bruins on Renegade HPG

[@MechanicalFrog]

I recall it. Great animation.

[@Peter_D_77]

Don't forget the 6M! Possibly the fastest production mech in canon, it makes the 7M look sluggish in comparison. I brought one out to one of the big official Mercenaries kickstarter events last March, and hilarity ensued - I hit play on the William Tell Overture every time I activated the MASC, skirting the edge of death and surviving nearly unscathed through my primary match, and got an early release Viper (Black Python) for my efforts.

[@sci_fi_file875]

It's probably one of my favorite variants too. 14/21[28] is just ridiculous. I've only used it in megamek so far, but just dropping xmec battle armor wherever I want to is too cool.

[@jenbak2]

The one variant of the Locuat I find most interesting is the LCT-1L. It is one of the few Mechs I know of from the IntroTech era that features Triple Strength Myomer. While this feature is reliant on the burst fire machine guns rule to actually get that heat up; the thought of a Locust running up to a mech and kicking it with the might of 40 tons seems fun. I have yet to give it a try so the effectiveness in battle is still on paper for me.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Kick... kick... kick... headbutt.

[@Salesman9001]

You can disable heatsinks so you don't necessarily have to use weapon heat for TSM. In MegaMek I use the coolant failure rule so every TSM design gets oversinked so I can turn on more heatsinks as coolant fails, makes TSM more fun for me but might be too much micro for most.

[@jenbak2]

Oh that did actually not occur to me. Thank you for letting me know :D

[@Orcimedes]

A lot of people malign the machine guns on the older Mechs, but they don't hold the locust back - and if you're using the rapid fire machine guns advanced rules, it is perhaps one of the best mechs to use them on, though it does make the mech a lot more toasty.

[@oh_snarf]

First thing that came to mind was my favorite lore tidbit about the Locust. That fact that their pilots are usually chosen from the insane and the suicidal, in either case usually they were on copious amounts of drugs during every deployment.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Light mechwarriors live short but glorious lives.

[@jonathanj.3695]

_"Move fast. Speed is one of your main advantages over large competitors."_ - Sam Altman

[@MechanicalFrog]

Always be Zooming.

[@WhitecollarZombie]

Locust will always have special spot in my heart. It was one of the first mechs i saw as my first encounter with Battletech was Crescent Hawk's Inception game.

[@captaindcode]

I used to play Battletech as a kid in the 80's. I'm so glad to find people still interested. I'm getting back into it. Think I'll even paint a mini :)

[@MechanicalFrog]

Welcome back to the fray, Mechwarrior.

[@SulliMike23]

Ahh the Locust, the most heavily produced battlemech in Battletech Lore. Hard to imagine a single army, even among the Clans, that doesn’t have at least one!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Good to have a few dozen around.

[@blktom]

I know a lot of folk would laugh at this, but I am a fan of the 1M version with 2 LRM 5s and a medium laser. I hate losing 3 tons or armor, but in a light lance, this has a nitch role of Fire support that can run away. Run 3 of them with that energy version as a spotter and for 80 tons you have a nasty little lance. Personally, this version tricked out in Clan gear with Clan weapons kind of solves that armor problem because this can easily bring back that missing armor (or even more) with even a extra ton or half ton of additional ammo. I do agree that CASE is a waste in a light mech, as the real issue is not getting internal damage versus just having that entire location vaporized.

[@Psychohistorian42]

That 1M got a fierce "Nope" from me at first. Then I realized that between Indirect Fire, high speed, and the ability to be in the next area code over meant that taking fire in a 1M means you're not using it correctly. Also, the 1M's stats in Alpha Strike are pretty solid.

[@jonathanrogers8342]

Love your videos man. "The Locust should really run." Damn thing better run, they really fly apart when you catch them with an AC 20 shot. You learn to target them after getting shot in the back a few times.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I prefer all my Locusts to be raised Free Range. Run!

[@Tellos]

I enjoy the 3V twin MGs and twin Medium Lasers always a good succession wars mech to have.

[@MechanicalFrog]

A little bit of zap and a little bit of ratatatatat.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I approve of this. Go! Run! Be free!

[@KeystoneCarcajou]

I'd have probably gone with standard medium lasers- ease the heat curve and undersink it for that single engine hit.

[@MechanicalFrog]

But the ERs are fancy!

[@FunkThompson]

@@MechanicalFrogAnd if you have DHS, 2 ER Mediums are heat neutral. Fire them all day, every day, if needed. Even at full sprint. It's not a great loadout, but it is useful in most every situation, right?

[@koosman23]

My wife and I had our first game of battletech end in her Locust 1e using speed and terrain to out play my Griffin the whole match. the only damage it took was after it had landed the killing blow on said Griffin.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Looks like it's still teaching lessons today.

[@trathanstargazer6421]

Locust really is my favorite mech. I am one of those insane people who have the locust as a main. In Mechwarrior 5: Mercnaries, Pirates Bane became my ultimate Locust and I feel like I want to share the sheer insanity that is what I built. Just keep in mind the game is heavily modded to add a bunch of things, including Clan Tech. Gonna try to be in depth so going to be wordy. Locust LCT-PB (C) Tonnage - 19.8 Armor - 187.95 Alpha damage (no melee) - 33.55 Weapon Heat / s - 1.48 Alpha heat - 5.4 No Jump Weapon range - Max 220m/286m / Optimal 110m/143m Structure - 75 Damage / s - 12.79 Cooling heat / s - 1.3 Heat capacity - 48 Speed (km/h) - 162 or 324 Sensor range - 1625m Quirks - Compact Mech (-50% Upkeep) / Narrow Profile (15% Change to completely avoid incoming fire) / Cramped Cockpit (-7% to Torso twist rate, Turn Speed, Acceleration, Deceleration)/ Locust (-20% to Weapon Cooldown, Weapon Heat Generation) / Weak Legs (-2 Leg Armor) / Pirate's Bane (Weapon Heat generation - 20% / Energy cooldown -10% / Machinegun damage +50%) / Locust Hero Armor (+5 Armor to each Torso / +9 Armor to each Leg) Weapons - 4 Heavy Small Laser (C) / 2 Heavy Machine Gun (C) / Laser Anti-Missile System (C) Armor Spread - 31 Head / 31 Center Torso / 25 Left/Right Torso / 13 Left/Right Arm / 25 Left/Right Leg Okay, now for the fun bits. What the hell did I put into this thing. Engine - 200 XXL Double Heat sinks Ferro Armor (C) Endo Steel (C) Gyro Ultralight Stabilized Head - Cockpit Small (+1 Critical Slot / -1 Ton / -7% to Torso twist rate, Turn Speed, Acceleration, Deceleration) / Active Probe (C) / ECM (C) / Sensors Sniper (Enhanced IR/Thermals, Sensor range bonus +500m) / FCS Ballistic ( -20% to Ballistic Spread Radius, +20% to Ballistic spread distance, +10% Ballistic projectile speed modifier) Center Torso - 2 Heavy Machine Gun (C) Right Torso - L AMS (C) / 2 Heavy Small Laser (C) / MASC MK 1 (C) Left Torso - 2 Heavy Small Laser (C) /SuperCharger Mark 1 / C3 Client Unit Left/Right Arms - N/A (Room for Endo and Ferro) I use it as spaced armor. Right Leg - 1.5 tons of Heavy Machine gun ammo Left leg - 2 Light Heatsink (C) The biggest thing some of you might have noticed is that everything is Clan, that insane speed I put up top and that I put both MASC and a SuperCharger in this thing. Both MASC and a SuperCharger is crazy I know for tabletop, but in Mechwarrior it is quite useable. Sense the button is the same for each, they are used in conjunction. Because of this, the speed goes absolutely insane at 324 Km/h. So fast that the legs should be flying off at the seams. I built this thing to be FAST and boy does it work. Allowing me to move across the battlefield in no time at all. Thanks to all the additional weight I get I managed to bump up the armor to Medium levels giving this thing a chance at taking hits. With this baby I have been able to fight Assaults. The cost of this one mech could buy you multiple Assault Mechs with quite the insane repair bill. It is absolutely insane and not viable for ANY tabletop board, but boy do I love it.

[@geemanamatin8383]

The locust 3V variant is my go-to version of my favorite battlemech. Having that extra laser to back up when the machineguns run out is quite helpful.

[@bthsr7113]

Reliable, effective, and ABUNDANT

[@egaroadkill8701]

I miss the days of Pyron and his Swarm on MPBT. Good times in locusts

[@MechanicalFrog]

"How many Locusts?" "All of them..."

[@Yacovo]

The Locust: the Pulp in a glass of Mech Juice. There is always a bit lying around. Thanks for the video.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Artistically put.

[@Outlawcarl]

I always feel Locust should be cheap and cheerful

[@MechanicalFrog]

This is a fair request.

[@Bomfunker91]

The Locust is one of the most fundamental mechs in the game. In fact, I would argue the Locust 1E is the essential light mech for any new player to get to know; it exemplifies the entire weight class and how it should be used, and I adore it. Incredibly fast for a Succession Wars design, surprisingly durable thanks to its armor and speed, and well-armed enough to be a serious pain the moment it gets in someone's rear arc. Which it *will* do.

[@richardnicholson3827]

It's still one of my favorite mech of all times the Locust. I have a friend who was an awesome tabletop Locust pilot. This one time at a gaming con, he took his Locust and ran it down a line of enemy battle mech and had them all turned their backs to us. All the eight battle mech offloaded on him trying to hit him, and he only got hit by one SRM 2. So the next time we played, they tried to bar him from playing a locust. He had a good reputation for playing with a Locust.

[@keebbles]

Point tournament. First match -I bring out my 20 Locust Swarm. 5 lg laser variants 5 double lrm 5 variant. Enemy had 6 mechs and 2 LRM carriers. "I forfeit. I don't have the ammo for this. " Judge is relieved as he won't have to officiate a match with 20 mechs on a side per turn. Twenty minutes into next match guy rage quits because of leg damage from mines slowing his mechs so the 5x lg lasers can snipe at his mechs 1 at a time. While my other 10 std E variants do circle of death. My 5 lrm locusts used 1 ton each of fascam to seed the field. Then last ton to use swarm for aoe damage on his clustered mech. I lost 1 reg locust to pilot error/failed role after last burst of ammo exploded from heat build up from engine crit +5 heat and me running and doing alphas. Rest had average total 8 to 9 dmg from lucky roles. None disabled. Any that had movement impeded moved out of LOS and slowly regrouped opposite mine fields to bait his 2 mediums into chasing. 4 minefields. Those mediums got led by nose through all of them. After that I was told to restructure battalion. So I went 5 lrm locust 5 sniper lg lasers. 3 oscouts tag. 6 lrm carriers- 3 with fascam and swarm in half and reg in other 3 And two pike ac2 spitters. I was still 15% below point total allowed. I could have added 3 panthers, but I didn't have models. There were objections, but when I showed my jumpy jumpy 35 mech wasps and stinger battalion, all painted and each with prepped stat sheets. They shook head. First time anyone placed in tourney using lights. I lost a couple matches on points, barely because they changed terrain at last second. Which is poor officiating. Crowd knew it too. Tourney had favorites and I'd made one quit in a tantrum in my second match. Shrinking table/map size was irksome. But I brought out 2 mobile HQs to add ecm coverage and mortars to mix. Still inside point max. Next day 10 mech max, attrition rules. I still went with 10 locusts 2 LRM 2 lg laser 6 E variants. Lasted 4 of 5 rounds with 7 locust on field and repairable. After that attrition became a problem. As I always got matched with opponents with the most mechs on table. Didnt do day 3 as I had to return to duty on ship. Never got my prizes from tourney, as they said I had to be present to receive them. Regardless of being active duty... That organizer never got invited back to local cons after that. Hampton Roads having army, navy and air force bases in area. I had fun though. Someone sent me a drawing of an opponent pointing and laughing at my swarm. Moments later showing a raving, hair pulling rage tantrum as his 3 remaing mechs huddled trying to cover rear of each other from the rodeo of death. My swarm had giggle bubbles, while his mechs were cringing and cowering. Sobbing tears etc. It was framed and put in my sponsors game workshop. If it's still open these 30 years later. I'd smile knowing that moment it etched in time.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I think you might be the best example of why I don't play competitive BT. :D

[@KamiRecca]

Locust 1Vb, quick little bugger, heat efficient, still packs a decent punch. my small favorite so far. Still rather new to the game. Also, The Penetrator. It looks like a carfront on legs, with attitude. And i love it. From Sweden with Love - Kami

[@Ironclockwork]

To be honest, considering the speed at which they operate, I wouldn't be surprised if multiple planets in the Battletech universe have Locust speed derbies (Complete with live weapons fire). Live fast, die young. My hat's off to you blazing meteorites of the battlefield.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'd pay to see that.

[@stephenknizek2651]

The Locust was indeed in my first merc unit, and I remember when I was caught in some weird mazelike canyon, turned a corner, and encountered a mech twice its weight. Making a quick decision, I charged at the 40-ton medium (don't remember the type). Just ran at him, firing as I went. Since the canyon was too narrow, I decided to ram him...one piloting roll later, from both me and the other player, and his mech was on the ground and I was sprinting for safety. It wasn't a kill, and I kinda lost that contract (with caveats attached), but I will always remember that as the moment I fell in love with Battletech and the Locust.

[@MechanicalFrog]

That's awesome. Great Locust story.

[@Melding]

I'm just realizing that a locust with 3 clan ER mediums could run around at 12 or more hexes, doing as much damage as a flashman at ten hexes. And that's crazy to me. could you imagine the trouble that would cause? Not that is likely to happen but all the same. The Locust is a mech i haven't gotten to field much but at the same time i respect, it is a problem if you don't deal with it, but is often the least amount of threat. it's a nice tool to use to force pressure. 10/10

[@MechanicalFrog]

Just good enough to be a problem. Not so much of a problem that it gets focus-fired immediately. Sweet spot.

[@DapperRaccoon]

I love all the modern CGL scults but the Locust in particular is *chef's kiss*, such a great light mech.

[@MechanicalFrog]

100%

[@Alpha_Digamma]

My favorite Locust story revolves around the 1M variant. I witnessed that little biest destroy an Atlas. The Atlas player had the opinion Assaults are the best solution for everything. So an experienced player took out the 1M and destroyed the back armor of the hulking assault mech. It wasn't all that dangerous to the tiny Locust once the LRM 20 ran out of ammunition. It was a glorious battle.

[@christopherpurches2774]

Huge fan of Locusts and IICs. Bergan Alshain are the IS production line for my favorite of the latter (the Ghost Bear 8). Bergan is also the production line for Kodiaks in the IS. I'm surprised you didn't bring up the 1L, as it was Bergan's test bed for TSM.

[@MechanicalFrog]

So many good picks.

[@Ratkill9000]

I enjoy using and modifying the 1M. I swap out the LRM 5s with SRM 4s to put the smack down on other Battlemechs are near point blank range.

[@moonman2423]

I haven’t played tabletop yet but using one for the first time in mechwarrior 5 was fun. Felt like I was driving a coked up machine gun mounted cartel Ferrari.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Fairly accurate.

[@SirSkud]

For MW5 my precious little gem is my hunter- killer LCT-1M that swaps out the LRM 5's for SRM 4's. With the med laser, that is a 21 dmg alpha strike.

[@MechanicalFrog]

21... dang respectable for an IS 20 tonner

[@mikeheimlich1303]

I did not know about the Locust 5V, as a Capellan/St Ives player I must say that it turned my head. Pairing it up with things like Marauders, Marauder 2s (Capellan version has 2 gauss rifles & an er ppc), Warhammers, Pillagers or the Night Star to dash forward and crit seek after an armor breach seems quite good.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Give it a try and I hope it performs.

[@zsewqthewolf1194]

There one model that can go above 200 mph, it goes so fast that I think in the lore they could not hit those speeds for a while until new myors was made to handle those speeds. And add to that someone made that said model to pack 9 smell laser or 6 med size one to really make sure you kill the user of that other mech and make him or her into cosmic ash

[@brooksroth345]

My variant replace the mg's with 2 medium lasers. I use it in slash then zoom away tactic. Speed is armor.

[@fix0the0spade]

I confess to having never had much love or use for the Locust. I got into the tabletop just after the Clan Invasion began, thus my high speed TAG equipped troll mech is and will always be the Firemoth. Hurtling past a Locust at 200kph will never get old, but good luck with the turning a corner on the next turn.

[@NTJ1984]

I once used Locusts and Urban Mechs as point defense for artillery and snipers. The nice thing about the Locust is it was fast enough to scout and forward spot for the artillery.

[@michaelpfister1283]

Somewhere in my stack of stuff is a Locust refit. Base model is an LCT-5W. The "lore" is that the unit was captured and repaired, but the C3i was destroyed. So the techs cleaned out the electronics compartment and stripped everything but the MASC to install three clan-tech medium pulse lasers. The armor is a bit thin but the movement profile is fast at 9/14(18) and the alpha is 21 points with -2 to-hit bonus. Which helps a lot when you're trucking along at full speed. :-) Great back-stabber and scout.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I won't turn down Clan Medium Pulse Lasers...

[@lordsherifftakari4127]

my unit model of the Locust is a pretty major departure from the LCT-1V. replacing the stock engine for a clan tech 200 XL unit and Endosteel for a serious case of the Zoomies at 10/15. Double HS are standard fit to make certain this mech never gets hot. armor is kept as thick as possible on a 20 ton chassis using Clan tech Ferro to get every last bit of protection. 3 Clan ER Mediums are the mainstay bringing 21 points of damage every combat round! I only have one speed for this Mech = Full Send, Full Throttle! and when backed up by swarms of Savannah Masters, most Mech forces don't survive first contact long before calling for help. or Surrender!!!! pricey = yeah. but you do get what you pay for so spend it well and get results!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Sounds like quite the ride.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Another Capellan Classic when you think about what mechs actually originate at a Capellan factory there's some mechs in that list .

[@MechanicalFrog]

Say what you want about the Capellans. They know how to make a mech.

[@radwolf76]

Call me an interstate weigh station because I'm here for those scales.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Well played.

[@anselmoffrisia2930]

I just like the Locust as a friend, but the one on screen at 6:30 is pretty darn cute.

[@MechanicalFrog]

One of the best pieces of BT art

[@JohnnySmithWhite-wd4ey]

Since they're so small you can fit 2 locusts in one mech cubicle on a drop ship.

[@MechanicalFrog]

3 if you grease them up first.

[@Folly_Inds]

Notin' quite like a locust to put some hair on your chest... and few near misses to burn it off again. favorite mech I've ever piloted in vr

[@GeofftheIronwolf]

Had I been the Periphery states, I'd of built this mech in Division level strength. Then used them in battalion level raids all over the inner sphere. Have them hit every soft target in sight all over the inner sphere forcing the. SLDF and house armies into dispersal to stop the raids.

[@GeofftheIronwolf]

Oh and as far as variants go, I'm taking the 1M as my favorite. But I'll give you all my variant. Call it the LCT-1MT. 3 tons of light Ferro Armor. XL160 engine. Two SRM4 packs 1 ton of ammo, 1 ER M Laser. This is the ALAKABLAM Locust.

[@MechanicalFrog]

"How many Locusts did they bring?" "All of them, Ma'am..." "...all of them?" "All of them..."

[@GeofftheIronwolf]

@@MechanicalFrog YES!

[@mattigator600]

My favorite to use currently in mw5. Pirates bane got me more into it and I decided on the energy Locust with 2 S laser and 2 MPulse . As long as the mission is low enough to make dropweight with 2/3 other big mechs I have a good time. Oh yea I'm thinking of starting a new career in Liao territory so I can start with this chassis and be a 100% pure Locust career pilot

[@HereBeDragonsYT]

In our Mechwarrior ttrpg game (succession wars era), I had a custom variant of a Locust. I mounted 3 meduim lasers, and it was one of the funnest mechs I ever ran. Yeah, it could get hot, but as a hit and run backstabber, it was amazing.

[@roguerifter9724]

I have a soft spot for the Locust because Decision at Thunder Rift was my first exposure to Battletech and a Locust-1V was the first Mech the future Grey Death Legion possessed. the 1E is my favorite though. The 5M is my favorite higher tech version.. I like the MF variant but I think I would remove the AMS and ammo for either more armor or jump jets.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Lori Calmar is the goat.

[@HouseDavieMerc]

Some people just don't appreciate the true beauty of the Locust. If my 432 BV Locust can keep 1600+ points worth of the opforce's mechs busy then it doesn't have to fire a shot to help me win. I've always thought the variant with a medium and 4 smalls should have been canonized. It was published in several fanzines and unofficial sources. There's of course to many variants to cover, but I'm surprised you didn't include the strangest early variant. The LCT-1M.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Because I don't like the 1M. **sulk**

[@sim.frischh9781]

I wonder why nobody ever seems to have thought of swapping the base loadout for 2 medium lasers, one per arm, and the CT gets one MG with ammo. Would significantly increase damage output while still keeping the anti-infantry without overburdening the single heat sinks.

[@MechanicalFrog]

A question for the ages...

[@Psychohistorian42]

The 3V variant drops half a ton of ammo and armor to get that second medium laser in. I think the official date for those are 3007 or so.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@Psychohistorian42 Even less armor on an already flimsy mech... no, i think my take is better.

[@hmad898]

locust always performs well whenever i use it, and its a fun mech too. locust my beloved ❤

[@mathewkelly9968]

The last two variants are an excellent example of how Recognition Guide Vol.1 : Classic is well a classic TRO I believe

[@michaeldenz5196]

Rolling a 2 for hit location is the Locust's fav hobby. Especially in 3025 before CASE it could easily kill a much heavier mech whose ammo bays were brimming with bullets. Lost a Marauder turn one to my brother's locust in one game that way

[@catboxvideo]

My unit had a -1E at the start of the clan invasion was heavily damaged at one point and repaired with salvage ECM Suite (c), ER ML (c) and TAG (c) we eventually found a replacement clan xl engine to up its speed... it was used (purely) to call down the rain ... if it was threatened at all its pilot was giving standing orders to RUN... as we could not afford to replace the hardware or guarantee that we could find the salvage to repeat the modifications. ( it was painted to match its name - 'Forrest' )

[@spectrelead]

I made a nasty Locust with all kinds of fun stuff: Endo, 10 DHS on a 160 XL. 3 Martells per arm and one in the chin (yes, SEVEN Martell Mediums). Have a 3-gun version with one medium per arm and a large in the chin, and a 2-medium per arm, 1 medium in the head with a TC in the CT.

[@cmdrhatchy9611]

The Locust always has been one of my favorites, doesn't matter which version...except the first attempt at the reseen. It may be my favorite illustration from 3025 and I think the new one is a little cutey. : D

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah... we don't talk about the first reseen...

[@cmdrhatchy9611]

@@MechanicalFrog I saw that. I never read through the variants on Sarna about the Locust, so some of them where news to me.

[@tenchraven]

The Locust is the crotch rocket of battlemechs- ridiculously fast, compact, cheap, easy to fix. So many good variants- 1V, 1E, pulling the MGs for MLs, twin MLs and a CT flamer (or TAG)... And don't even get me started with what can be done with endosteel and clantech ERLL. Normally despise XL engines in a light mech as I think it's great way to turn money to smoke, but the -5M is a fun zoomie bug, and the 7S looks to be the same even if from the ilClan period. But my favorite is a homebuilt model I saw a few years ago- it's creator called it "Knuckle Dragger" with a pair of Stinger arms. Looked awesome.

[@marsar1775]

A locust video? its not even my birthday :D this mech is my baby, and the only reason the marauder is second place. just love it. my favorite story for it is when playing against friends, i once knocked out their longbow with a headshot critical for the medium laser before scampering off to safety as fast as my skinny long legs could carry me. Its rare my locusts make it to the end of the match, but when has glory every waited for the patient? its also a pretty fun light cavalry mech. like you mentioned, running through a break in the line and causing chaos behind the lines. very high casualty rates, but invaluable for keeping the line broken until your heavy units can show up to exploit it. and no light mech pilot will ever turn down such a mission! None ive met anyway 16:24 couldnt agree more haha. definitely gonna need to try out the MF variant!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Happy unbirthday!

[@stormthrush37]

I really wish the Battletech PC game started you with lower end light mechs rather than medium mechs. There's probably a mod to do that though.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Well, one of the issues that HBS Battletech has is that the early game is a massive slog until you can train pilots up enough to actually hit things. Giving at least one medium mech in the four at start is a way to mitigate that slightly.

[@stormthrush37]

@@MechanicalFrog Interesting, good to know!

[@nexusofice9135]

Whatever weird strategy you are into, there is a Locust variant for you.

[@bzarcher]

As someone who works at Scotch Tape Central, I had a nice giggle about your thoughts on the -3M. :D

[@MechanicalFrog]

Eagerly awaiting the Cease and Desist letter.

[@HouseDavieMerc]

I was wondering if anyone else would catch that.

[@kevinmulkey9774]

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! -Battlecry of the sideways ejecting Locust pilot.

[@MechanicalFrog]

wwwwweeeee....

[@anthonysmith7311]

The LCT-1VB was my fist mech I made in MWO and got my first 6 kills streak in, it's so fun and can pack a pouch if played right 😁

[@BCWasbrough]

While I get why the Urbanmech is loved, I personally dislike it's mix of low speed, and low ammo. The Locust however, is my kind of ride. The 1E variant fixes my one complaint about the original, and is my favorite of that era's variants.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'd take a Locust over an Urbanmech any day.

[@EdmondHiggins]

I really like the old "Thunder Rift" era art for this thing, the old miniatures not so much. I think every force I have painted has 1 or more of them. Great variant, though the 7V is my go to these days.

[@fmailaender]

A Friend of mine is a big Locust Fan. Because they were hard to get in the late 90s I gave him my Locust from the 4th Edition of the Game of Amored Combat Box. Because he is an awesome fellow he did give me a Viper / Dragonfly Omnimech, so I again would have a fast runter. Just one not as cool as the Locust (but with a certain punch)

[@lukedudley5030]

Brilliant mech that i have loved for years :-) a lance of locusts are a threat and easily underestimated :-) great vid as always....i cant give any game wins of the locust however there are so many its hard to pick one that stands out....it is a mandatory light mech when building a company and theres a reason for that :-)

[@MechanicalFrog]

Cheap and shockingly useful. It's always good to have a few Locusts running around (on your side)