THE TIMBERWOLF | Sledgehammer of clan wolf & the greatest clan mech | Battletech lore.

Generic greetings and welcome to the timberwolf. An amazing mech built by the totally not plot armored clan wolf, designed to be the last word in heavy mech design. The good old madcat is the sledgehammer of the clans and arguably the most iconic mech in the setting. Having its face plastered on some of the most well known books, manuals and game boxes.
So settle in and enjoy a breakdown of this legendary ‘mech.
If you’d like to support Science Insanity check out our patreon and buy me a coffee or feed steve:
patreon.com/ScienceInsanity

[@thomasscroggs4410]

Another fun fact about the Timberwolf and the reason it is so OP, is that of all the first wave Clan machines it is the heaviest to use all four of the Clan's major weight saving techs (XL Fusion, Endo-Steel Frame, Ferro-Armor, and Double Heat Sinks.) Other heavy and assaults' Clan 'Mechs use at most two of those techs, many only have one. To the Inner Sphere, this was a 140+ Ton Assault 'Mech squeezed into a 75 Ton Heavy 'Mech sack. The only weapon on it not flat superior to the Inner Sphere stuff most people had was the machine guns on the default configuration.

[@cesaravegah3787]

yup, on the computer games I always replaced the MGs first, never liked those, people on tabletop games however like to keep solid anti-infantry capacities

[@sumotacular3681]

​@@cesaravegah3787 As they should. In lore, the Clans learned to fear infantry with incendiary missiles on Tukayyid. My friends and I learned to fear them playing Battletech RPG.

[@cesaravegah3787]

@@sumotacular3681 Indeed, on the new editions of the game infantry is even stronger, wich is more "realistic" I suppose, I dont know if the current PC games also make the ground pounders more of a Challenger, I stopped playing at Mechwarrior 4 and Mechcommander 2, very fine games, on all of them infantry, even Elementals were just targets quite easy to deal with any weapon, again, no need for MGs.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

​@@cesaravegah3787 i suggest giving Battletech 2018 with the RogueTech mod pack a try if you want a close to tabletop computer game experience 😁

[@cesaravegah3787]

@@SonsOfLorgar Thanks for the info, hope to have some gaming time, life Is busy lol

[@MrPikaGammer]

Fun fact, Inner Sphere infantry contantly runied the Clans day throughout the invasion. In Battletech never underestimate infantry.

[@AGTheOSHAViolationsCounter]

Yeppers nothing like batshit insane infantry with copious amounts of Angry Putty, battlefield Stims, and a Can-do, "hippty-hopity-Get-Focked-for-stepping-on-my-property" attitude!

[@anuvisraa5786]

false elementals kill infantry like it is going out of stile

[@KillerOrca]

The Draconus Combine reinvigorated the ancient cry of "Banzai" and many a Clan mechwarrior died from underestimating the rage of the Mustard Soldiery.

[@johntan4997]

Even in real life, never a good idea to leave your armored units without infantry support.

[@CallofDutyBlackOps28]

it's why when the SLDF came up with the 'Scarecrow' Vulture mech. even then, having to make something when you should have already known infantry can be a pain to deal with means everyone at anytime'll think they're invincible in their heavy suits are armor, and the little guy comes up to ruin your day.

[@ulrickts]

It was the featured mech of the box art for MW2 and MW3. It enriched my childhood. Ergo: it is best mech. Wolf is best clan.

[@Morrodin182]

We are Clan Wolf, Children of Kerensky. We carry the honor of his name on our shoulders as our fathers did before. The Remembrance speaks to us of the evil in man's will, of the reasons for Exodus, and the rights of the traveler. Arcadia is our destiny and our right.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

86 kph is 55 mph, and this machine is 75 tons of well armored, properly cooled, death dealing insanity moving at these speeds. At the time of the Clan invasion the Inner Sphere would have been hard pressed to get an assault class mech (25 tons heavier) to match the firepower, or a medium to match the speed of the Timber Wolf. Much less a single mech to do both, let alone be properly cooled in order to use those weapons effectively, as well as have any mass left for armor. When Phelan Kell first encountered a Timber Wolf he mistakenly thought the mech would overheat due to the weapons fire he saw it performing. He attacked (falsely) thinking it could not have any real amount of armor after seeing it's weapons and speed. To his absolute horror he found out not only was it fast, accurate, deadly, had longer range weapons than his Wolfhound (a state of the art Inner Sphere mech) but is also had thick armor and massive cooling capacity as well. Knowing he was basically the walking dead he transmitted his sensor data and video to his unit in hopes they could escape with the information. Kell saw it as a threat not to his unit, but to the entire Inner Sphere, and knew no one would believe the stories of this mech without proof.

[@KillerOrca]

The machine guns were added for two reasons; first being that the lack of weapons in EVERY possible slot you could put them infuriated Clan Wolfs warrior sensibilities and they considered an empty torso "wasted space", and secondly, a Jade Falcon crapped on a Timberwolf once and, after failing to kill the green parkeet with its lasers (because something that small that close in is hard to hit to begin with), the mech warrior asked to have machine guns installed so the next bird that shit on his mech could be properly Batchall'd.

[@jamescarroll6881]

Birds are not allowed to shit on Clan tech, it's.....dishonorable.

[@korvettenkapitanmetzinger8382]

Those machineguns are "fixed" to the torso so go all Captain Ahab on your enemies - can you imagine a drill sergeant "aim at them with your tits, numb-nuts"(deep south accent). Better to use a fast chin mounted turret approach slaved to the gunner's head movements like a modern attack helicopter - "look at it and it dies".

[@KillerOrca]

@@korvettenkapitanmetzinger8382 Thats what the neurohelmet is for. The body of the mech can turn the same amount that a humans torso can more or less, so you can point the entire body "up" or "down" as if you were leaning forward or backwards while standing. Mechs are eminently flexible.

[@korvettenkapitanmetzinger8382]

@@KillerOrca that's my point actually, Put a laser pointer in each armpit and use them to point at things for a day let me know how it works out for you.

[@firestorm165]

Sounds like a reasonable response

[@TherealSBlair]

Everybody knows that virtually all Clanners have said "Thank the stars I had those anti-infrantry weapons. Really saved the day." 😁

[@Deadsnake989]

22:05 "Feel free to fight me in the comments, I will die on this hill." As a massive fan of the Madcat, it being my favorite mech visual design in *ANY* mech media. I will die along side you on this hill. The modern madcat just looks so incredibly appealing. It has a much more future millitary look to it, and just looks like it'll beat the brakes off anything smaller than itself, and most things larger.

[@gilde915]

the timber is the perfect combination of armor, firepower and mobility.....i normaly reduce the LRM 20 to 15 and beef up the energy weapons or go for a target comp:)

[@fistan5447]

i'll agree with him too. Mad Cat artwork looks sick on redesign. I mean considering the original artwork of Battletech, Clan mechs were already a significant improvement in quality, but Alex did it even better.

[@centurion7398]

I'm with you bud, it is gorgeous. perfect example of western mechs as opposed to japanese. More machine then man shaped, bristling with deadly weapons, b e a utiful.

[@aquarius5719]

Rolls dice for PPC... Gets a 12... Headshot...😂

[@cp1cupcake]

As someone who was pretty unfamiliar with Battletech, the Timberwolf was what I thought of as the 'classic' Battletech mech.

[@aquarius5719]

It has always been the iconic image of the franchise. Not even the Atlas made it to that level.

[@dubuyajay9964]

No, only post-Clan Invasion. Before that it went between the Warhammer and the Atlas.​@aquarius5719

[@JenosIdallian]

Narrator: "Rearward facing SRM's" Me, a Dragonfly C (Viper) pilot, who's sole purpose is to speedily get behind anything classified as heavy or assault and drill holes in it before it knows what happened: "N... no.... that's illegal..."

[@gmradio2436]

"That's war."

[@cousin_okri]

6:00 "Clan soup stock that's just better than the other clans" oh so Clan wolf is the Ultramarines, got it

[@Year_of_the_Dell]

Kinda yeah but uh with a few that are actually pretty interesting characters

[@beanman929]

Or space wolves

[@beanman929]

Due to plot armor and wolfines

[@oldgamesinvestigator7852]

Seriously, the Mad Cat was my favorite mech in every MechWarrior game I ever played. This was interesting.

[@aquarius5719]

It has as much space for weapons as a Vulture, but without the heating problem.

[@hentaioverwhelming]

Inner Sphere House: I want a Mad Cat! Inner Sphere engineer: Honey, we have a Mad Cat at home The Mad Cat at home: (Rakshasa)

[@Akabans999]

And when Mad Cat at home stops trying to be Mad Cat it can be decent mech not good mind you decent. (I know its a meme)

[@cesaravegah3787]

A Rakshasa is what you get when ordering your Mad Cat through Wish.

[@NemFX]

Honestly, they could have done worse. I mean, they could have put both arms on one side!

[@aaronhuff2813]

The machine guns are for clearing trees, and buildings, and anything else that might not bow at the majesty of this machine

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

The Gauss Rifle is more a coil gun than a rail gun. Harder to make, but more powerful and with far less wear and tear under use. When it comes to salvaging a Mad Cat, the first thing that always comes to mind is MechCommander. Mission 3, IIRC, has a Mad Cat near the exfiltration point. If you're careful and more than a little lucky, you can get line of sight with a Raven and pop its head with artillery (or just use all your artillery to blow it up outright and hope enough survived to avoid totaling it), or lure it onto a bridge and then blow some explosives (which auto-kills it without destroying it). If you're crazy you can even try to fight it straight up, though it's clearly placed there to be an unbeatable boss if you try to take your Inner Sphere light 'Mechs into a head-to-head battle. Regardless of how you do it, if you can manage to salvage the thing, the game is pretty much on easy mode from that point onward, even on the original difficulty (or after the updates that added a difficulty slider, Hard).

[@Ishlacorrin]

I loved that game / mission.

[@Mucsaman22]

That game was so good. I knew exactly where that Madcat was on the map through the fog of war and at the start of the mission dumped all artillery on it. If the right animation happened I finished the mission, if not it was a restart until it was right. In all playthroughs it was a must to get all Madcats.

[@hawkbat2001]

They also released a dlc patch that gives you the Armor variant from the opening cinematic.

[@steweygrrr]

The amount of time I spent on that mission trying to salvage that bastard...

[@Sorain1]

That mission also showcases a brillant game design decision: Making an optional 'boss' into both challenge and reward for skilled play. Love that game for it.

[@Evinthal84]

So "quick" note on the Mad Cat MK IV ("Savage Wolf"): The variant you mention in the video is essentially just a reskin of the Timberwolf D configuration with a few notable upgrades. Namely it has ferro-lamellor armor and an XXL (extra-extra-light) engine. In tabletop terms the ferro-lamellor armor is scaled down WARSHIP armor that the KEL-TEC'ish designers over in Clan Diamond Shark/Sea Fox decided to slap on there for shits and giggles after their last cocaine and everclear fueled bender. Said armor might be heavier than standard armor however it reduces incoming damage by 20%. Meaning a Clan ER PPC will only do 12 damage instead of 15 . It also makes the unit carrying it immune to the effects of Armor-piercing auto-cannon ammunition, Tandem Charge SRM warheads and battlemech scale taser systems. Oh, and FORGET about sandblasting the MK IV with LBX Cluster munitions as that 20% damage reduction has a minimum damage reduction of 1, so all those "little" shotgun pellets aren't going to do anything. The other fevered dream piece of tech sitting in the heart of the MK IV is the XXL engine. It might reduce the weight of the engine even beyond what an XL engine does, however they generate 10 heat per turn, make the MK IV vulnerable to side torso destruction (as they take 3 critical locations in each side torso, much like an IS XL engine does) and they make the MK IV HORRENDOUSLY expensive at 91 MILLION+ C-Bills. The MK IV is stupid, and I absolutely love it. And yes, the newest art for the Timber Wolf is the best.

[@themisspultone]

The Timberwolf is by far my default OmniMech. To me it sits in the perfect optimal spot of mobility/ defence / offence.

[@derekburge5294]

The Clan anti-Elemental weapon is the erPPC... Which is also a primary anti-mech weapon. Elementals are, uh, very scary.

[@Xithar_tri]

Use 2 Medium Pulse Lasers instead and Battle Armor gets at least a bit less scary

[@jep77ray]

Tabletop player. I took out a madcat with a locust IIc in the 1st turn. Ran full tilt across the map. Ran right up to it. Unloaded everything into the madcat. 1 head crit. Took out the computer. Madcat is now a statue. :) my locust IIc was now an armless convertible but lived to limp away!

[@Attaxalotl]

Real 'kill the meat, save the metal' moment!

[@TheBMan95]

As a person who only ever played mech assault and it's sequel I can't say much. But the Timber Wolf/Mad Cat was one of my favorite mechs to fight in when the games allowed me to drive one. The only other Mechs I loved to use other than them were the Thor/Summoner and the Uziel.

[@sleeplessknight99]

My favorite thing about the Madcat/Timberwolf is that other than the Atlas, it's one of the few iconic mech designs that FASA came up with on their own without having to appropriate someone else's IP.

[@jagdson2701]

The Atlas' tech readout drawing looked an _awful_ lot like a Votoms suit that had been traced over.

[@aquarius5719]

Atlas is a fat Jenner without jets. Outside of SRM range it is weak. Inside SRM range that is a different story. The key to fight an Atlas is to stay away from it.

[@Dragon_Werks]

FASA did not "appropriate" anything. They paid for the LICENSING of those images. That contract was torn up by the new owners of the company that was paid in good faith for those images when a little bird whispered dollar signs in their ears, leading to the infamous lawsuit. Later, CGL (new, current owners of the BattleTech IP) stomped said company into the dirt then victory danced on their nutsacs when the companies that actually did own the franchises those images came from revealed that HEY, those assholes never had the rights to license our images in the first place! Get your facts straight before mouthing off.

[@aquarius5719]

Studio Nue is the owner of the mecha designs. Big West is the owner of the audiovisual material of Macross. Tatsunoko productions only has distribution rights for Macross. Tatsunoko sold "all rights" to Harmony Gold (HG) so they believed to have all rights but they only had distribution rights. This is why HG sued everyone including FASA. FASA Iicensed mecha designs from Twentieth Century Imports believing they had the rights. As you can see no one owned anything. The whole thing got revealed when Big West sued Tatsunoko.

[@swordmonkey6635]

The Timber Wolf put Battletech and The Clans into a much broader awareness space when it was released by FASA. It was the poster child for 90s era Battletech. Inner Sphere players hated them and Clanners loved them.

[@KatrinaLeFaye]

It is the Mech I recognize most for Battletech...

[@TheLawlessReaper]

The Mad Cat has been my favorite Mech in all of Mecha since I was a little kid playing MechWarrior 2, there hasn't been a design of the Mad Cat I haven't liked (almost).

[@mrmugatu1look638]

The Timberwolf is a solid mech for sure. Playing MWO, fighting against Timbers were always sweaty. Personally my favorite clan mechs are the Hunchback IIC-A and the Mad Dog.

[@schaddenkorp6977]

Executioner, Summoner, Storm Crow, and Arctic Cheetah were my favs in MWO. I often ran stock builds and made it a goal to try and place top 3 on the team in damage.

[@3vilSuperman]

It doesn't matter if its the OG aesthetic or the new beefier look, the silhouette of those giant racks of missiles and big arm guns standing on robot chicken legs is iconic and what drew me to the Battletech universe.

[@KageRyuu6]

Well in Classic BT, it's actually fairly easy to salvage a Madcat, you just need a 55t bipedal mech with two hand actuators capable of running at least 85kph, then proceed to sprint into melee range and start throwing fists until two of them connect with the head destroying it completely, both of which have a 1/6 chance of hitting the head each turn, as opposed to the usual 1/36 chance.

[@aquarius5719]

Basically a physical attack ambush... Clans are great for open spaces. For ambushes in hilly terrain or cities, their range and speed capabilities are neutralized. Only firepower advantage remains. Ambushing clanners concentrating fire is the way to go.

[@dubuyajay9964]

​@@aquarius5719 This is why I prefer flamers over machine guns.

[@Xithar_tri]

Don't forget Hatchets :)

[@zhaimorenn8273]

Timberwolf has been my #1 favorite Mech since I first started playing in the late 90s. It's nice to have something that looks cool and IS cool. Also you are not wrong about the appearance. OG Timberwolf looks sleek and beautiful for it's time, but the sleeker hardier look it has now is like finding a way to improve upon my favorite thing. I'm not mad about it

[@catgath9718]

Wolverine in wolf clothing appropriate wolf plot armor. Revenge, if indirect, is sweet.

[@justinjacobs1501]

Just be sure not to call any clanner a Wolverine...

[@Dragon_Werks]

​@@justinjacobs1501unless they're from the Minnesota Tribe

[@imdoobie80]

I absolutely love the Timberwolf Mech. I used it a lot as a kid playing MechWarrior 2 and 3. Also the Thor was another good Mech too.

[@chriscannon7065]

To be far, Primus Myndo Waterly’s wanting to add arms to catapults wasn’t her dumbest idea. She had plenty of others that were worse. Edit - Primus is the highest rank and head of ComStar for those wondering, which makes it even more laughable some of her plans were.

[@Ashaira]

Im still baffled that she did not suggest adding lrm pods to a marauder. At least that sounds somewhat more realistic.

[@gmradio2436]

I am guessing she had little to no engineering experience.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

I ronicalky till i get a Madcat, Catapult is my go to

[@Dragon_Werks]

​​@@gmradio2436@chriscannon7065 thank you for pointing out that Myndo Waterly was a WOMAN, from the Draconis Combine.

[@gmradio2436]

@@Dragon_Werks What? What are you on about?

[@chaosknight9131]

A few of the inevitable nitpicks from one Canadian to another Reason for the MGs: Infantry do cosplay the Imperial Guard a lot of the time in Btech, but instead of using Bayonets, they use grapple hooks and Satchel charges to target to weak points of a mech (Ie. the joints and cockpit) Clan ERPPC Damage: the Clan ERPPC does 15 points of damage, which is barely less than a single ton of armor not two Jump jets: While it can mount Jump jets thank to Omnipods, it does not come stock with it MIndo Waterly: Is a female

[@Ishlacorrin]

He was referring to *DUAL* ER PPCs at that point.

[@chaosknight9131]

@@Ishlacorrin ah that's fair

[@Ashaira]

The better joke would have been to keep switching between calling it a marauder and a catapault each sentence.

[@dabombinablemi6188]

I love playing the Timberwolf in MechAssault and MA2:LW . Because I found the Gaus Rifles and Crossbows to be more effective on most maps. Plus, the ability to occasionally knock an enemy mech over can be pretty funny.

[@spacewolfblackmane19]

Don't you just love how this one mech has received more variants and sidegrades than literally any other mech in existence. Going up and down in size and weight, with some many different spin offs it's spin offs, got spin offs. Madcat 1 heavy, 2 assault, 3 medium, 4 heavy, and 5 assault. Each one powerful, expensive but cost effective for larger fights so long as it can bully smaller, or less mobile prey

[@huntermad5668]

All Mad Cat with Mk- are not Timber wolf derivatives. Not even Clan wolf product even

[@aragos32727]

Sledge Hammer of the Clans and proof why logistics wins wars.

[@anuvisraa5786]

That is why omnimecha are better suited for logistics, as they can be adapted to various situations.

[@aragos32727]

@@anuvisraa5786 not when your supply lines are hundreds of light-years away and your battle tactics are based off of hundreds of years of slap fights for honor while your opponents have been waging total war for generations. If you know anything about BattleTech, you know that the Clans lost. Bad. And they were close to losing before Tukayyid but the spheroids didn't know it.

[@anuvisraa5786]

@@aragos32727If you believe our supply lines are challenging, try negotiating with a hundred commerce families to accomplish anything. It's remarkable that we have conquered more than any successor state during not one, not two, but three wars. However, our tacticians struggle with the nepotistic practices of the successor states, as half of them only hold their positions due to connections. It's like clans versus successor states, which is comparable to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

[@aragos32727]

@@anuvisraa5786 none of that made any sense...?

[@Angel7black]

@@aragos32727 this was a problem for the other clans, but not for Clan Wolf or even Ghost Bear though. Its also pretty evident a big reason for the lose at Tukkiyad is because of Ulric Kerensky and the Wardens doing their best to thwart and sabotage the invasion. The point is sometimes there is no substitute for a mech as perfectly rounded as the Timberwolf, even if its not fielded as much. It’s not suitable as a fielded in mass workhouse no, but its definitely you want your Elite units piloting.

[@corwinstephenson3860]

I'm right there with you, I love the redesign of the Timberwolf. It looks amazing and I want one as a model for my desk.

[@danielvandersall6756]

Weirdly, always preferred the Vulture (Mad Dog)--especially when it had a massive med laser barrage. I'm a sucker for medium laser barrages.

[@DancerVeiled]

*Nods as it is referred to as the Timber Wolf* I acknowledge this freebirth is capable of understanding the most basic methods of omnimech classification. This may seem like a backhanded compliment, but it far exceeds the expectations placed upon fleshy-headed mutants like he in the current year. Would that all new warriors come to understand this mech commands a degree of respect. It is however, not a Night Gyr, and a totemic omnimech of Clan Wolf. However, due to the design's superlative performance, I will overlook this.

[@RomLoneWolf23]

I think that if you manage to kill enough Timberwolves that you can start rebuilding one from scratch, Clan Wolf will just gift you one out of pure respect.

[@cesaravegah3787]

My favorite mech until the War Crow was released, now is my second favorite and still cool as heck, not even the new fancy one with is ultraexpensive XXL engine compares with the old, reliable original Timber Wolf.

[@WolfHreda]

While there is only one canon variant of the Timber Wolf that mounted jump jets, it rightfully gained a legendary reputation, not in the hands of Clan "Best Boys" Wolf, but those of their bitter rivals, Clan Jade Falcon.

[@gentlemansuicide2184]

Happily charges forward with the bayonet. For the Emperor.

[@heavymetallabrat]

I love the use of the FTL soundtrack in this video. :) MadCat is best mech and not having a modern MW game willing to touch the clan war in a featured campaign is the real tragedy. MW6 needs to be in the Clan war era or post Clan war era.

[@lynnpitsinger]

Rear firing weapons were more common in earlier mechs. The OG Centurion had a rear firing medium laser if I remember correctly. It fell out of favor as “wasted” weapons in most player mods

[@craigmorris4083]

Funny, even when he's gone, I still here.....STEVE! :)

[@craigmorris4083]

Mmmmmm....Clan Soupstock. LD

[@timberwolf0122]

Mech warrior 2 made me fall in love with this bad girl. (Slaps roof) this baby can fit so many LRM-5’s

[@dustinporter1948]

The machine guns are for keeping birds from crapping on clan Mechs, Aff.

[@Rekishi12]

Nah, that's what ER small lasers are for. "Birds are not allowed to shit on Clantech. It's dishonorable."

[@MunitionsDudTester]

The only thing really holding the Timber Wolf back in mech-on-mech combat is the arms are just a bit too low slung meaning you essentially have to brawl with it.

[@lebe5894]

Madcat 1s are not in production by anybody else except the wolves. But mad cats 2-4 are all stock Sea Fox products available from your local khanate.

[@AMX0009]

Clan hell horse claimed the w7 plant and Alaric restarted production with kallion on Thermopolis

[@lebe5894]

@@AMX0009 Werent those being built in small nubers by hand? If so then i doubt the Hells Horses would have enough technical data to figure out how to produce them or any want to.

[@AMX0009]

@lebe5894 possibly, but the horses still produce both the vulture and thor. So they would have the technical know how to up the production on older omnis.

[@lebe5894]

@@AMX0009 Yeah that would make sense, but then again the Horses built those back in the homeworlds (at least the vulture) so they would probably have kept those blue prints when they moved. But since Wolf never lost the Timbys production rights they might not be able to, of course they could probably reverse engineer it if they haven't already done so.

[@aunderiskerensky2304]

the timberwolf was a wolverine design and wolf just got lucky absorbing what was left of our foundries and tech. my head canon, you can't change my mind.

[@thorveim1174]

cant work if only because wolverines went poof LONG before omnimech technology was a thing

[@aunderiskerensky2304]

@@thorveim1174 you clearly don't know your lore. they are very much alive and kicking and have several canon references to them still remaining, just out of vision.

[@thorveim1174]

@@aunderiskerensky2304 what matters though is that at this point they were gone from clan space/in hiding. So overall they sure werent involved with omnimech technology, that wasnt even developped by clan wolf but by another clan that never really interacted with the wolverines. So no they cant possibly have had early drafts of the timby, not when most of the technologies at the core of the timby didnt exist at all at the time they were forced to run. That the wolverines still exist is irrelevant (and trust me i know they are still around), they just couldnt have contributed to the timberwolf, they just had to stop being a player in clan space way too early for that to have happened. If they had any drafts, the wolves wouldnt have waited 20+ years to start making timbies and would have been the first clan to come up with omnimechs, which simply isnt the case

[@VirtualHolocaust]

dude i think the episode was pretty cool. You know what this reminds me of is this one show i think its tactical imperialus or something. sorry tired. But they do this same format one guy that is being taught and is the stand in for us. Very cool! Maybe you guys could swap like the student or something some time.

[@ryanparrinello2272]

Had a nice custom with 4 ER LL and 2 LRM15's - worked in most of the games. Basically the best of snipers.

[@kwangsoo515]

The main functional difference between a rail gun and gauss rifle is that the rail gun pushes the projectile to the end of the barrel and the gauss pulls it. From what I've heard IRL rail guns are better at launching smaller projectiles faster but gauss rifles are better for larger ones but have more limited peak velocity.

[@jackthripper9989]

Great video as always Canadian looking forward to more, also if you have heard about the setting of rifts RPG I would love to hear you talk about its unique and wacky world almost no one talks about it, and I think it would be perfect for you to talk about because of your enthusiasm and quick wit.

[@davidnemoseck9007]

Ohhh... A Palladium fan I see. 😁. And yes, would love for you guys to talk about Rifts.

[@aquarius5719]

I play RPG using MechWarrior Destiny. I love the minimal mechanics as it allows beloved characters and high stakes without the bother of crunchy mechanics delaying the game.

[@XMK2CATX1]

Correction for you. The MC4/Savage Wolf, doesn't have 'rearward facing SRMs.' They are ATM Launchers, that switch out, between LRM/MRM & SRM Missiles. The Prime Version is what Alaric piloted for almost the entirety of the Conquest of Earth & most of his career as well. Natasha Kerensky also had them with the PPC Loadout, can't remember the version off the top of my head.

[@jamesperkins5468]

The "Mad" for Marauder makes a LOT more sense when you look at the OG Marauder from before it got taken away due to copyright.

[@derekhinger1343]

Machine guns are excellent short range supplemental weapons, especially for a loose 1-2ton gap. You use them WITH other weapons to add a bit of (constant) extra damage when somethings close range. You pull the trigger/follow with the reticle on them and blast with lasers/missles etc till down. No theyre not strong alone (unless you have ALOT, like the BJ-A) but theyre not particularly meant to be.

[@michaelbarnard8529]

It looks a bit like a Marauder that swaps the top cannon for missile pods. Note, the Abrams can drive over 60 mph.

[@mikealpha2611]

I ran a full 12 of these in modded battletech and it was insane.

[@Fadaar]

Mad Cat Mk2 my favorite mech of all time, its predecessor isn't far behind

[@justinjacobs1501]

As a clan enjoyer i do appreciate the Timberwolf... But my true loves are the Kit Fox and Cougar. Mechwarrior Online gave me an extreme love for light mechs and my Support Fox consistently outperforms mechs three times it's tonnage.

[@ojkaelo]

I am dissapointeed in the lack of steve.....

[@madnimrod2489]

I prefer calling it the Timberwolf, cuz that's what the inventors named it. XD

[@eddiebrock2803]

'Madfly'. I worked at a casting (lead casting) company as 3050 was being released. No miniatures at that point. By PARTS, the 'Mad Cat' was a Catapult body, Marauder arms, and FIREFLY legs. They were a bit 'thin', which meant some extra modding with putty and/or glue, but it LOOKED almost perfect. Vulture? Swap the body for an Archer top. These were all 'redos' to cover for the lawsuit that was going on with the Robotech/Macross groups over intellectual property rights (that's right; most Battletech mechs are ROBOTECH rip-offs).

[@lokust_pinrat]

not rip offs, licensed artwork

[@eddiebrock2803]

@@lokust_pinrat Sorry, but no. Wish I could show you the original miniatures we created to use BEFORE the release of the 3050 clan mechs; they were basically re-hashes of the Robotech rip-offs. Summoner? That was just a modded Thunderbolt. Hellbringer? Warhammer. FASA was TERRIBLE for that. That's why for a TIME, the 3025 miniatures weren't SOLD; the Robotech creators had an injunction against FASA, but FASA eventually won out, hence why in the video-games, you see a period where the 'old' (3025) mechs didn't appear, save for the very cheesy original ones.

[@robbunchanumbers]

Take a look at the original art of the catapult and marauder and they're much closer in appearance than the later remodels you show at 2:26 :)

[@nitesy381]

iirc on tex's vid on the catapult, there was a joke involving putting marauder arms on a catapult leading to the mad cat.

[@jumpinghunter9152]

Interestingly, the old FASA arts look like they arms are just like those lamps that you can redirect to point in any direction, that are held up by big bending "metal noodle" casing for the wires. Which implied to me that just like these lamps, Mad Cat could bend it's arms in any direction at all, literally strapping them around it's body in order to get better angle, surpassing even rifleman in ability to rotate his arms around.

[@fistan5447]

The reason why Timberwolf has such a weird weapons loadout is because due to how OP clan tech was when they were introduced, they had to prenerf the loadouts to make battles fun. Making a mech with all the clan weight saving systems + a good loadout ( like 2xERPPC + 2xLRM15 like they originally intended) would make them so OP, nobody would win against them even outnumbered. I mean clan tech vs IS tech can get absurd, ive seen Turkinas doing almost 1v8 by themselves even against star league tech.

[@Spartaner251]

rapid fire MG: up to 6 dmg, 6 heat and 18 ammo used in a turn. pretty good to shred armor and everything else that doesn't take bonus damage from MGs

[@joshuacrummie5596]

13:01 Just need to note all measurements in battletech are metric. So it’s 2,000 kg. Which converts to 4400 ish lbs.

[@liljenborg2517]

Who's "Tim Bearwolf"? OOOH, you mean a Mad Cat. The Rakshasa ain't all that bad a mech for a Marauder modified with a couple LRM 10s instead of the AC-5. The one thing the Rakshasa does show is just how OP the clans were when they first showed up. Their weapons and armor were so much lighter than the comparable inner sphere counterparts that the best the Rakshasa could do, even with the best tech the Inner Sphere could mount on it, was HALF the missile power (and none of the Clan Omnimech modularity) and lower ranges on all it's weapons systems (and even the ER large lasers could do only 80% of the damage). Even today, clan tech on your mech can nearly double its battle value. So, the best clan is still the Sea Foxes, because they're the clan dumping clan-tech weapons into inner sphere markets

[@seanbrazell7095]

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, 40k, AND Battletech?! Yes please! 😁🤘

[@sebastiang.5032]

Love the Timber Wolf. I've just painted an A & C for my Clan Sea Fox Spina Khanate.

[@america8706]

Y'know, with the amount of times that I get into the middle of a lance of enemies in my heavy mech, because melee SRM boat is fun, and get surrounded. Having rearward facing SRMs would be really useful.

[@fredlandry6170]

My favorite Clan Mech. Also Myndo Waterly was a female and was Primus of Comstar.

[@porkchop4401]

When i got my Timberwolf in MW2 I went almost to the end till I got the Dieshi

[@Talon1124]

I'd love to hear your take on another Clan Mech, similar niche to the Catapult but a bit more flexible. The Mad Dog aka Vulture.

[@JS-kr8fs]

If what happened to the Banshee has taught us anything, that this thing is a white elephant to anyone that can't replace or repair all the technology that allows it to fight like at least two mechs, if not three. Without all the mass-efficient tech, it's basically an Archer.

[@frosteyknight]

instead of slapping arms on a catapult why not put missile pods on a marauder?

[@paulrasmussen8953]

My loadout was 2 er large, lems 10s, 4 er meds and everything else to heat sinks and armor

[@greyjedi4794]

Great vid!!! And I agree..... The new look is better

[@dwminiboss511]

I played this in every MechWarrior game where I could get my hands on one.

[@alexs5814]

adding my voice to the choir of those who love the newer design: I'm a very late fan of the franchise, basically having started playing the computer game about 5-8 years ago. Throughout all my loredives and other research of the battletech lore, i would be stumped by the fanatical love for the OP Timberwolf design due to the fact that, in my mind, the anemic noodles for arms of that thing should not have been able to, A, be strong enough to support the weight of the weapons they bore and, B, not be able to stand up to even a slight sneeze from anything above a casual touch by a weaker laser. Redeeming it has been a brutal slog in my mind but it's getting there.

[@Dies1r4e]

random little pew guns are 14.5 kord equal murder daka that can and have often killed light vehicles and elementals. also Gauss rifles are not rail guns, they are closer to coil guns, but they are a particular type of magnetic accelerator weapon.

[@GeraldLassaline]

Yeah Clan Wolf is basically the Ultramarines of the Clans.

[@VirtualHolocaust]

No man you are 100% right. I played a mechwarrior game on the pc i think this was late 90s early 00s and i remember not using the madcat just because of its stupid metal noodle arms. I literally would use a bushwacker instead. Now with that said im not huge into mech warrior like you are. But i like world building and lore. So thats why im listening to this video playlist while i build in space engineers. Im big into 40k lore also. I have played some mechwarrior since but im not going to pretend a lot and ih ave learned most of what i know about the nuance stuff from this channel. With that said this channel is also making me consider playing mech warrior cause yeah. i like the AC 10s tho i like big daka. PS you think you would ever do 40k?

[@tertiaryobjective]

It's a tertiary goal of mine to parlay a music career into building my own Timberwolf.

[@llynellyn]

I remember when MWO came out there were loads of threads on the forum with people asking where the Madcat was and hardcore fans flaming them for not knowing the lore xD (basically it was a mix of casual fans confused as to why the most popular/well known mech wasn't in the new game and die hard fans disgusted by the idea it would be at launch lol).

[@Hinokaze]

You forgot that the Jade Falcons used a single Timber Wolf to fight a draw with Com Star.

[@Fix_Bayonets]

My favorite is the Dire Wolf or the Diashi!

[@RyanEX2000]

I wonder which clan could have come up with a mech called the Timber-WOLF!

[@135forte]

The Timbee is mean, but far from unkillable. The Mad Dog is similar at 10t lighter for instance. And the IS decided Gauss was fun and that plasma was hilarious.

[@thorveim1174]

to be fair, while the mad dog is comparable to the timby firepower-wise, it has more heat issues, and its also kinda under-armored for its weight by clan standarts, making it less of an all-purpose mech and more of a fire support.

[@135forte]

@@thorveim1174 With an equivalent weapon loadout, 10t lighter and 9 million C-bills cheaper (15ish vs 24ish), something has to give and for the Mad Dog it was the armor. Though at least the Mad Dog has full head armor, unlike the Weak Head Armor (1) Tomber Wolf.

[@XaviusNight]

For all that you made fun of the infantry, they actually did a LOT of damage during the Clan Invasion, because they're hard to track, can carry the equivalent of an SRM-6 and take out even a Timberwolf's knees, and are able to just disperse into tunnels and stop being shootable very, very quickly. Clanners realized fast that they need to be able to gun them down as soon as they show up, not wait to shoot something 'more their size'.

[@sindra77]

A bit late, but I think that earlier point on using machine guns on Elementals fully justifies the F variant, just hit em with anti-infantry gauss fire!

[@zalin2000]

Timberwolf is my favorite mech! I mean LOOK AT IT! And yea I like all the modern redesigns over the old ones better.

[@wun1gee]

Omnimechs can use MASC. See the Shadow Cat. But by default the Timberwolf didn't have MASC.

[@MiriOhki]

MASC can't be podmounted, so the Timberwolf can't add it, while the Shadow Cat has it built in. What you can do, in the jihad era or later, is add a Supercharger. Think MASC, but if you fail the roll, you take an engine hit instead of a leg crit.

[@aircraftcarrierwo-class]

While my first exposure to this franchise was Mechwarrior 2 and thus I was introduced to this mech under the name Timber Wolf, "Madcat" just has such a snappy flow to it that I kind of prefer. I kinda flip-flop between the Inner Sphere and Clan designations for Clan mechs depending on which has the better mouth feel. For instance I do prefer Dire Wolf vs Daishi and Nova vs Black Hawk.

[@bakaultima]

Mech assult made this my favorite mech of all time

[@NRSGuardian]

MASC has to be hard mounted to a Mech, so it can't be pod mounted to the Timber Wolf, however a Supercharger that functions similarly to MASC can be pod mounted, so Timber Wolves like the W configuration can go over 100 kph. Also, Myndo Waterly isn't a dude she's a woman and she was the head of Comstar until Operation Scorpion.

[@acetraker1988]

Night Gyr D* > Timberwolf Fight me.... * - L Pulse Laser, + Missile Ammo + M Pulse Laser.

[@chrisbritt4266]

I will join you on that hill.The original timberwolf to me look rather silly the new one looks really cool