Why Don't We Love The Urbanmech IIC?

Today, we take a quick look at one of my least favorite battlemechs due to popular request.
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Urbanmech IIC MF Record Sheet: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/c1yc66...
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[@MechanicalFrog]

If you're unsubscribing due to this video, I would suggest you take some time to reflect upon the emotional investment you've put into this specific battlemech. This is just bizarre. You know this is all pretend, right? BattleTech isn't real life...

[@Nick_L.]

People are seriously unsubscribing? That's hilarious. Imagine being so hopped up on copium for something that is not only objectively bad, but isn't even real. Those people need to get a life. With that being said, everyone knows that the Timberwolf is by far the best mech in existence and you better not say anything mean about it or i'll tell mom.

[@fmailaender]

The only thing you managed was that I looked up the Pricetag of the IIC (1.8 Million C-Bills) and to compare that with the Demolisher (Defence, the one with the internal combustion engine (2.1 Million C-Bills) I think these 16% more are worth it. Also I think maintainence is so much cheaper it will be worth it any day.

[@killerpeaches7]

I mean ..it does seem you put a lot of emotional investment into how much you hate the Urbie.

[@CaptainBanjo-fw4fq]

Is that an actual thing?

[@mirrorsandstuff]

Seriously - unsubbing? I love the creepy little thing but even I can accept it's a bit of a rubbish mech. I don't have the contempt you have, but that's cool - you justified it pretty well honestly.

[@MichaelJCaboose013]

The Urbanmech: if the phrase "oh, bless your heart" was a mech

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm just thankful it didn't have 8 official variants...

[@Temeluchas]

To be fair. Urbie IIC has one and only one application where it excels. Step 1: have a handful of them collecting dust in a dropship Step 2: when in trouble, negotiate to surrender a handful of clan-tech mechs in exchange for safe passage/

[@MechanicalFrog]

They can strip the UAC10s and put them on good mechs.

[@andrewrose3748]

The Urbie has a second use. When that one pilot who is always complaining about what he's piloting starts up again, the commander just has to point at it to shut him up.

[@Temeluchas]

@@andrewrose3748 Broom. mop and bucket do the same thing, but cheaper =)

[@tv_tim]

What about stripping the weapons, setting the reactor to self-destruct and "air dropping" them over enemy positions from really high up?

[@v4skunk739]

It's good in mechwarrior online.

[@Szoki86]

I rember running a test game against the AI in Megamek for my friend. He chose a Timber Wolf and Urbie IIC for his team and ran against two IS Assaults. The Mad Kitty took all the aggro while the Urbie DFA'd both IS Assault mechs to death - pushing one off the map and the other off the cliff. The Urbie broke it's tiny legs during the second DFA, but the Devastator fell down 3 levels, hit it's head and killed the pilot. On that day, the Urbie has earned his pilot a bloodname.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It tests my suspension of disbelief, but that's a grand story.

[@Szoki86]

​@@MechanicalFrog what can I say, the stars were just right on that day. No way in hell this will ever happen again, but we had a good, long laugh after that game. Worth mentioning that by the end the Timby was shot to hell, crippled, immobile and missing one arm. My friend has won his fist Megamek game with what was supposed to be a meme list (the most famous mech and the most infamous mech working together) and both of those machines couldn't walk at the end. Which made us laugh even harder.

[@revenvrake7412]

Clearly we need an indepth look at the Urbanmech, how to deploy one, especially the variant that can toss nukes at people (which was invented at a Con to nuke the Kell Hounds into radioactive dust and was canonized on the spot)

[@MechanicalFrog]

I think this one should cover it for the foreseeable future.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@MechanicalFrog PLEASE no more Urbie videos, I don't think my monitor can withstand another hit.

[@jarekmace1536]

What I've not heard you mention is that the Urbanmech was NOT meant for urban pacification and anti-rioting. It was meant to reassure the people that they would not need to fear their military. The mech has an intentionally slow speed that can be outpaced by a bicycle. The main gun, and its limited ammo, are vastly overkill against any soft target, and the small laser is nearly useless against a crowd with how it cycles, vs. a pulse laser. The Urbie was meant to be cheaply stationed around cities as a tripwire against raiders and invaders. Of course it can't fight off an Atlas, much less a Marauder. However, it CAN slow them down long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Well played.

[@Tomyironmane]

The top speed of an Urbie is the top speed you could go in a city under the old tabletop rules without taking a piloting roll and penalties. It's designed to be waiting when some asshat in a locust stumbles around the corner, and introduce them to their god. Against an assault mech, it's designed to hit and fade and coordinate with other urbies, and be an insufferable murderous little trashcan. An Urbanmech would not be usually firing at a mech's frontal armor, but, if they coordinated right, they'd be getting shots against their thinner back armor and kneecaps, and really causing problems.

[@klortikterra4423]

so in short. it's not the ment to be the main show, it's the small opening show to the main show.

[@anorouch]

@@Tomyironmane Second this. Put the same BV worth of assault mech in a square mile of urbanmech territory (grid after grid of cover) and suddenly the 7-15 urbies becomes a terrible nightmare inducing horror to fight.

[@THECHEESELORD69]

@@klortikterra4423more like the little gremlin minions of the villain that kills one of the side characters for some reason.

[@johnnylancenese]

I agree that the usefulness is often over stated, and it is a shame that better more interesting mechs can feel they are left by the wayside. However, I don't agree that there being a joke mech receiving attention means is hurting the others. I don't think a casual fan is unaware there are other mechs. I also do agree that there are some cool mechs that just have outdated art and i would love to see updated designs.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's not the end of the world, but opportunity cost spares no one. That 10,000th piece of urbanmech fan art could be a Calliope, or Vakyrie, or Oni battle armor.

[@user-RetardedMonke]

same

[@MegaDrunkViking]

@@MechanicalFrog Or for some of them it's fan art for some unrelated property because the person never heard of battletech. Having flaghship faces with a ton of content behind them to enjoy is a great hook for making people aware of a piece of media with some going on to become invested in the wider media and some not. Hey here is a really cute meme about a mech for a media property you've never heard of. It's kinda funny, and if you google it you get a ton of cool well done art for what looks to be something interesting, and there's a ton of it so this must be a really active community is a fantastic recipe to get eyes on battletech.

[@christopherpurches2774]

Frankly, I believe the cultic devotion to the Urbanmech irl is a reflection on what likely is a similar worship in universe. There's literally no good reason otherwise.

[@BigRed40TECH]

How can the Urbanmech be a trash-can, when you can't fit an Urbanmech, inside of an urbanmech?

[@MechanicalFrog]

The burned out husk of an urbanmech takes up less space.

[@Reverb154]

This is where a Large Pulse Laser would have worked better then the Autocannon

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

I disagree, after a Highlander funeral you can fit 10 Urbanmechs inside another Urbanmach, with room to spare.

[@mdsx01]

I feel the Urbie was concieved as an intimidating infantry support mech. It brings a big gun to a small gun fight.

[@chekovsgunman]

It was designed for urban combat. Hence the name.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Show up with heavy machine guns and support away. Rolling into town with an artillery piece with 10 shots is not a recipe for success.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@MechanicalFrog Small to medium pulse lasers and machine guns for pure anti-infantry operations within a cityscape would make far more sense for something like this travesty of a mech.

[@AlphaAurora]

You have the RNG with the AC-10 to do well. If i wanted to do that, I'd take the Hollander? Guess the only thing that "Urban" is the 360-degree torso twist, but that's irrelevant for most part on TT.

[@patchpatch4008]

The Urbanmech I don't even think fulfills this roll well either. It's slow speed means it can't help security detail and tracking down suspects. It's large size while intimidating, is ultimately a tinfoil tiger. It's roll can just as easily be filled in by an armored fighting vehicle. Literally anything but the Urbanmech. It's funny and sad how embarrassingly bad this mech is. It's Literally better to use a flea or any of the other light mechs than the urbanmech.

[@Zetasphere]

Just remember, you can buy 2 and a half Hetzers for the price of one Urbanmech, and 3 whole Hetzers for the price of an Urbanmech IIC. You know what those Hetzers can do? Flips. And also defend urban centers. And travel faster than half the speed of smell. Dump the trashcan on the curb and invest in Hetzers.

[@KillerOrca]

It would rule if you covered some of the aerospace fighters. Some of the best Sarna-Diving I've done has been chasing down stuff like the Torrent super-heavy bomber. I've always wondered how the Urbie got so popular. Was that just a result of the huge gap in lore and material during the "Dark Age" (hehe) between Clickytech and the more recent era?

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm willing to do an aerospace fighter video but I guarantee it'll get about 25% of the views a mech video does.

[@jeremysaklad6703]

@@MechanicalFrog I'd really love to see the Torrent too, actually. I think it's the oldest named fictional unit in the setting.

[@connormclernon26]

I’m gonna go with “it’s so derpy and the stats are so awful we just feel kind of bad for it and cheer whenever it somehow gets a victory.”

[@imperialistgondola3488]

The point of the Urbanmech isn't to have a oversized gonk droid frog. Its to have a subtle way to get that one guy no one likes to die faster.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Expensive way to frag someone.

[@imperialistgondola3488]

@@MechanicalFrog If you ever had someone you REALLY hate, then any price is a good one.

[@jamesricker3997]

When a Hunchback IIC won't do it fast enough

[@Sierra026]

Or slower, since, y'know, 54 kph and all

[@TheBloodedCat]

Very Draconis Combine of you

[@dajerkfromurk8713]

Well done, buddy, I think you nailed it! XD "That was the saltiest thing I've ever tasted. And I once ate a heaping bowl of salt!" -Phillip J Fry

[@MechanicalFrog]

Lots of salt mining today.

[@biggestboss1756]

Finaly the respect the urbie deserves

[@MechanicalFrog]

Exactly zero.

[@sharlin648]

Indeed, a very good kick round the back of the head.

[@robrib2682]

How dare you, I will have you know in emergency situations this thing can be used as a slightly mobile power plant when the enemy shoots something that is actually valuable inside the city :P

[@aeronnelson8479]

I feel both sides, but I've had some dumb and great times with the trashcan. I run a lot of pirates so urbie/suburbies are seen alot and they kill steal from the assaults alot. My own dumb.

[@ogrehaslayers605]

Hahaha

[@scytheseven9173]

It's true a lot of 'Mechs are quote underserved. There's a lot of art between Tukayyid and the Dark Age which really should be redone-the early Inner Sphere OmniMechs, for instance, and just about every 'Mech from TRO 3075.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's quite shocking just how little coverage some mechs have gotten.

[@philippauli8162]

@@MechanicalFrog I bet a MechFrog series on the IS Omnis would be outstanding. But I trust you to pick the metal that you can best spotlight!

[@lukedudley5030]

So true the urbanmech is a one shot glass cannon....jump over bulding to shoot a target and then die is its usual battle contribution :-) i did a urban mech swarm table top game and so many of them died before even getting close enough to get a shot off...they managed to kill the odd medium through sheer numbera but they lost the battle badly....nice to see the clans gave it some love but god knows why theyd bother :-) another fun watch and nice to see im not the only pilot that steers well clear of the urbie

[@MechanicalFrog]

Good times had by all... except the pilot of the Urbanmech, who died screaming.

[@monostripezebras]

I think the necessary improvment for the Urban Mech is to make it a LAM

[@Eulemunin]

It’s a great mech for the prestige of having a mech, for those people who know enough not to buy Quicksell, but don’t know what a mech really is.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's the Dane Cook of battlemechs.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@MechanicalFrog It's the Yugo of Battlemechs. The bluebook on a Yugo allows you to double the trade value if it has air conditioning, on a 3 to 5 year old car no matter the number of FEET it has traveled in those years. Since Biden got in office, I think a full tank of gas would double that trade value again.

[@leroyottersberg7151]

A Savannah Master is a better option than an Urbie IIC for urban combat.

[@MechanicalFrog]

More fun.

[@nitesy381]

"better to train tank-crew" smirks in demolisher

[@bthsr7113]

Until you give it to a rookie pilot who can't corner at speed.

[@andersalbertsson215]

For just slightly more Cbills or BV you could have a Demolisher and have something truly fearsome in urban combat

[@MechanicalFrog]

So many other better options.

[@tcideh4929]

16% isn’t slightly more.

[@atmosdwagon4656]

​@@tcideh4929 You're right. In terms of sheer improvement per capita, "Slightly" is too mean of a word; that's an amazing bargain.

[@tcideh4929]

@@atmosdwagon4656 I meant that he said its only "slighty" more Cbills. But 16% isnt slighty more. 1/6 isnt slighty "To a small degree or extent; somewhat." A slight increase in Cbills would be 5% at most.

[@atmosdwagon4656]

@@tcideh4929 Whatever. "Slightly" is a relative term; not one with a specific mathematical amount or range and a trivial point at best. The sheer cost-efficiency of upgrading to a Demolisher over an Urbanmech IIC is anything but "slight". For 16% more Cbills, you get a rather large increase in armor (66%), speed (68.5%) and a tremendous increase in available firepower. Standard Demolishers run a pair of AC/20s; that's twice the firepower of the Urbie IIC's UAC/10 if it double taps every turn. (The overbearingly pedantic will say that I forgot the small pulse laser. I will retort that I do not care one whit about one little pissant pew-pew.)

[@jefffreese947]

That is an impressive group Mech shot!!! And LOVE the eye roll inserts!!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Had to properly convey the pain this video caused.

[@jefffreese947]

This is one of those mechs that you play to prove that you are not "ENTIRELY" a min/maxing POS power gamer! ;o)@@MechanicalFrog

[@MechanicalFrog]

"The mech for when you want people to assume you're a bad player." This works.

[@discipleofsound4565]

Thanks for talking about lesser known mechs. I wouldn't have opted to field some of the ones I have in my alternate history Dark Age campaign without your suggestion, and I'm always happy to see someone talk about my underdog favourites (Incubus, my beloved). As for the Urbie, he's done his time as the meme mascot. Thank you for your service.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Press F, to pay respect... and move on.

[@stephenfritz7493]

Early on during my mechwarrior playthrough, I had one medium and a bunch of lights. I sold them all for an Atlas. About 3 missions later, I had a damaged atlas and 3 urbies to drop with. The urbies are a lot better than locusts. Good times!

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad you had fun. That's what matters.

[@stephenfritz7493]

@@MechanicalFrog don't over extend. It took ages for the trash can team to catch up

[@MKmaki6094]

Tangent from the Urbie To See, this is the reason why I run obscure designs/add them to fiction I write. My current ilClan era merc commander helms a Republic Lament, and my MW:D character pilots an Agrotera. There are just some genuinely great and unique designs that don't get enough love and I'm glad my group's opened to playing in eras where they exist

[@MechanicalFrog]

That's awesome!

[@omegavulture8379]

This is why you never let all the engineers take a vacation at once. This thing was for sure designed by temps. I hear they give these out as toys if you buy a happy meal at the SeaFoxMart.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Not Clan Coyote's finest hour.

[@Fanatic808]

Great video as always Mr. Frog. Thanks to you I’ve finally made the decision to order a lance of the trashcans.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad they can bring you joy.

[@Boseeinsteinshake]

Old storty by now: An Urbanmech took my Marauder IIs head offf. at 14 hexes through woods, because it's player rolled laughable well. I hate those things, mostly bacause an overly lucky player can make a meme into a murdermachine.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Wonders never cease...

[@aeronnelson8479]

Love it I play a lot of Solaris styles games in classic and my fav urbie kill was a Skill 4 pilot successfully hitting a Jenner at long range with it's AC20 and then it blew it's head off. Glorious. . . Forget that it died afterward.

[@dubuyajay9964]

​@@MechanicalFrogBah, you know random head shots have always been a thing in Battletech. Along with exploding ammo.

[@Skadooch]

A lore bit I remember reading - Hell's Horses commonly use this mech. I pity the sibko rat that gets stuck in this rig, watching the cool kids get fast machines. I love bad mechs overall and never expected the Urbie to become what it is today - the mascot you don't want.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Like the Hell's Horses need yet another anchor around their legs...

[@KageRyuu6]

To be fair earlier editions of Battletech did have mech scale weapons do their full damage to Infantry, back in 1986, which is also when the original UrbanMech debuted.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Even then, it's so clearly not an appropriate weapon.

[@DocFlamingo]

Demolition derbies: actual use for the Urbie.

[@haileysaint5443]

Loved the video! And I'm tempted to use the IIC's variant and your own in a match, lol. Might create my own UrbanMech IIC variant whike I'm at it. 😉 Now to watch the vid of another of my favorite 'Mechs, the Clint.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks for giving it a go. I like the Clint IIC far more.

[@Digiarcstudio]

Your strength and willpower is admirable, O great Frog, to be able to put out this video. I salute you and pray this did not cause any permanent damage to your soul or psyche. o7

[@MechanicalFrog]

I need a nap.

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

I'm new to Battletech, my favourite mech is the hunchback, the variant with the ac20, just because it looks how i imagine a mech should look, and it looks physically imposing even if it's not the largest mech out there

[@MechanicalFrog]

Big boom. Welcome to the fray, mechwarrior.

[@antimuppet]

What I have never understood is why there isn't a laser version of the Urbie. Clantech large pulse lasers hit as hard as AC 10's and two of them together weigh as much as one AC 10. Yes, you'll pay for it in battle value, but 20 damage out to 20 hexes is solid. You could still add a couple of flamers or an ER flamer for that anti-infantry work.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I have no idea... This thing is just a mess.

[@warlok363]

... the UM-R80 has a snub nose ppc and a small laser with ECM and improved Jump jets

[@tuppytheducky]

🎶 Do you hear the people sing! 🎶

[@MechanicalFrog]

Right into the bin...

[@ericph9]

New-ish subscriber making my way through your videos, I saw this and thought "Urbie IIC? no way that's a thing. must be an April Fools video."

[@MechanicalFrog]

In a way, it is a bit of a prank on all of us... Welcome to the fray, mechwarrior.

[@andrewrose3748]

This was nearly as painful as when BigRed talks Clan Wolf. My condolences on the self inflicted pain you endured for our enjoyment. Knowing love for this mech exists doesn't explain it. Also, why does the peanut gallery sound like my cousin Cletus who lives with his sister wife in a van down by the river? It should sound like an ivy league professor rationalizing bad economic decisions

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad that people can find joy in it. I just want to make sure the hundreds of other mechs, tanks, and BA out there get some love too.

[@andrewrose3748]

@@MechanicalFrog I am here for that. Especially whoever gives me the first breakdown of Taurian mechs like the Marshal and Toros

[@matthewstrakna1537]

If you want to do what an urbanmech can do but you want it to be faster and better armored, you dont upgrade your urbanmech. You buy a hunchback.

[@MechanicalFrog]

At some point, the punch list for all the things you need to change to make the mech good gets so long that you may as well just have a different mech entirely.

[@saeklas]

Channel rule 3; positivity matters. And i for one love it when people enjoy this hobby, even if it is a silly love for a silly mech.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad that people find joy in that mech.

[@76macleod]

Great video. I stumbled across your channel awhile ago. I love Battletech, and just wish more people around here did. (Local store has a hard on for 40k for some dumb reason) I love your content, and this isn't a reason to leave your channel. Keep up the fun videos

[@MechanicalFrog]

All in good fun. I'm not going anywhere. I would ask at the LFGS if anyone else has asked about Battletech. If they have a posting board, leave a little card asking if players are around. I bet there are.

[@ArcangelZero7]

"Local store has a hard on for 40k for some dumb reason." That's because somebody buying a starter box or a single fancy unit pays for the shop's lease that month LOL.

[@Accentaur]

Trashcan IIC- when it isn't broke, so you don't have to fix it.

[@MechanicalFrog]

So very broke.

[@jeremysaklad6703]

If someone manages to fit a 30-ton Long Tom Artillery Piece on a 30-ton UrbanMech IIC, I feel like they deserve the praise.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Through the magic of hyperbole, anything is possible! :D

[@jeremysaklad6703]

@@MechanicalFrog For a while in RogueTech you could actually do that sort of thing, due to their implementation of Patchwork Armor being components with negative weight, and not even restricting it based on whether you were already using ferro-fibrous.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Shenanigans.

[@atmosdwagon4656]

In strict terms of Mechwarrior usage, the Urbie does have some unique traits though I will qualify that with the following: *It is useful when the player isn't shackled to that useless barrel-bottom 060 rated engine and incredibly vulnerable meme-gun-pod.* First, that 360 degree torso twist is really good for pullaway shots, especially in conjunction with a solid engine to keep your (often larger) opponent at arm's length. I used to abuse this tactic liberally when playing my ER-Large Laser sniper variant back on MWO. In MW5, the Urbie is hands down the most common mech you will face, due to the Stinger and Wasp being the single biggest 'Sirs Not Appearing In This Game Without Mods' mechs ever. In the Urbie's defense, it is so common because you will find it doing its intended job: Guarding bases and cities. The very popular mod, Yet Another Mech Lab, offers Quirks to mechs ala MWO and gives Urbanmechs one of the most bluntly OP GENERIC quirks of mech: +12-+14 to every armor location (sans cockpit) across the frame. This makes it an INFURIATINGLY DENSE target, but also a superb early game brawler for, ironically enough, training up your first tier 2 (Captain or better) mech pilots. YAML also introduces the (obviously non-canon) R-63X model, which mounts twin Autocannon/2s and a pair of backup lasers to provide long range fire support; basically as a baby-Blackjack. It's a great sky-cleaner on the cheap on defense missions, but it really shines when you rip the weak rock-chuckers off and load up on 4x machineguns. (or more once MG Arrays become available) Machineguns are actually very effective vs light vehicles and light mechs early on, so with the YAML Armor Superbuff, this is a great mech for "ratting duty" and training the ballistic skill of your pilots. Beyond that, the K9-Hero mech is a godsend even in purely Vanilla MW5 with Heroes of the Inner Sphere DLC, since it can be bought early, cheaply, and then stripped for 8 Double Heatsinks and its UAC/5 (plus ammo). Resell it, then pick it up as you need DHS as necessary if you're still stuck in the pre-Helm era. That's where the end of the good stuff: Without the YAML quirk, it is TRIVIALLY EASY to blast off the gun-pod carrying it ubiquitous autocannon, and once that's gone, do whatever you want to the poor bastard because now it's just an unusually durable single small laser turret that sort of "moves". It is not an especially good mech for anything other than YOLO ambushes in its common configurations, though it is an okay missile boat on the cheap to fill out the ranks in BTA 3062 early on if you don't have the vehicle bays for LRM carriers or tanks or whatever. Finally, the memes: Yeah, they are pretty overblown, but that's just the ennui of the internet meme machine. You earned my subscription by having the balls to not just mindlessly regurgitate the memes and actually talk shop, though I can see others taking that as you being a killjoy. Sadly, it seems so many internet denizens forget that it's perfectly fine to talk about something or even dislike it without engaging in memes like it's a Pavlonian Response. Though I am glad you brought up the Atlas, because frankly, I'm more tired of the Steiner Scout Lance memes than anything involving the Urbie at this point. (I do not look at an Atlas and fear it; quite the opposite; I see a big dumb target with "Free back-stabs, here!" and a fat salvage payday every time I spot one. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the massive scrap pile of dozens if not hundreds of dead Atlases I've YOLO killed in MWO over the years. Learn to fear competent teams, not mechs, people.) If there is any "meme" I find amusing about the Urbie is as follows: The UM-AIV: A 100% canonical Arrow-IV equipped Urbanmech. Davy-Crockett ammo. This makes it the one and only Inner Sphere mech I know of that is capable of violating the Ares Conventions in the loudest way possible entirely on its own terms. I actually built one of these as a joke when streaming Battletech 3062, and it received the nickname "Urbanocide Mech".

[@MechanicalFrog]

If the argument is that the Urbanmech is useful when it is no longer the Urbanmech because of all the adaptations and fixes we have to implement to make it useful, I agree.

[@atmosdwagon4656]

​@@MechanicalFrog It's just the same mode of analysis and improvement I reserve for every other mech in the setting, regardless of the game. Instead of a long, drawn out explanation, I'll just say this: If the canonical Rifleman fit, Legend Killer, is still a Rifleman after shedding all of its god-awful core-design baggage (changing the internals, the weapons, armor...basically everything but the targeting system) and then taking advantage of its few innate strengths, then any bad mech could seek redemption in my eyes. Because holy hell is the stock Rifleman a terrifying bad mech to have to pilot. When a single LRM-10 parked behind a modestly tall rock is a significant risk to your 60 ton "sniper" mech, it's pretty bad.

[@rednecktek2873]

I can think of one perfect use for the Urbie that I've experienced quite a few times. When HBS released the new Battletech game for PC, many of us backers and early fans found that the Urbie was absolutely PERFECT for head shotting your assault mechs from off map and completely invisible to any kind of sensors, including the upgraded options! HBS really went out of their way to MUGA and made the Urbie great again. 🤨

[@MechanicalFrog]

I must be playing a very different version of this game.

[@rednecktek2873]

@@MechanicalFrog It was fixed in the first major patch but for the first few months I was playing 100% of the head shots I took were Urbanmechs, and most of the time they didn't show up on sensors. It was a frustrating time.

[@adam-di7rk]

Ive been comenting on these for the last few days lol needed a break from the death of star wars and all that. As you said in the intro alot of the machines you mention are unknown to me, i was first introduced to battletech with mechwarrior 2 on ms dos and eventually the books and mechwarrior 4 as well as mechcommander 2. In the past i always assumed for some reason the urbanmech was the clan version of an industrial mech. I see i was wrong and i cant help but wonder how a fight between an urbanmech and an indiemech would go.

[@thetyrantofsyracuse]

I use the urbanmech and centurion as a tag team. Together they do pretty well against anything sixty tons or lower for a similar BV.

[@IsonDaya]

My partner very kindly got me battletech for my birthday, so my first lance box was the Urbies. They're not good, but I understand the desire to have something to riff on, and the trashcan is just silly enough to make you want to headpat it. I also get wishing to see other mechs get more love, though.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's all good.

[@spectre111]

I think the Urbanmech's is one of those mechs that works better in the context of the battletech universe instead of mech vs. mech table top match. It's big advantage, like the Charger or the Catapult, is battlefield turnover. "Colonel, you want me to give up a Centurion for an Urbanmech?" "We have 24 hours before the enemy counter attack, it could take a week to fix the Centurion but the Urbie will be fully restored by tonight. It's either that or you get to stop an enemy lance with an assault rifle." "I'll take the Urbie, Colonel..." "Smart choice."

[@MechanicalFrog]

I struggle with the disbelief that it would even meet the lore justification. But I'm glad people find joy in it. I'm not arguing that it be erased or anything.

[@spectre111]

@@MechanicalFrog But I do agree that there are other, more interesting mechs to talk about, in terms of gameplay and lore. On that note, would you be willing to look at The Vindicator? It's one of one of my favorites and it does not get talked about much.

[@Triaxx2]

I originally fell in love with the Urbie both for it's solid look and it's underdog reputation. And if you maintain it's baseline, it's nothing that it doesn't pretend to be. It's slow, cheap and expendable. It's not going to be killing Atlas in a fair fight unless it's getting insanely lucky with boxcars. And that really can't be considered fair. At best you deploy these hunting damage mechs that have taken refuge in a city if you have to put it into a real battle. More likely this is the equivalent to cops bringing in a swat van, because it's got communications gear and a big gun if the baddies try to run in a vehicle. I don't know the exact size of an AC10, but I imagine it's going to do a number on the local equivalent of a Honda Civic as they try and book it. Of course... that's all the standard implementations. The 'long tom on it to make it good' comments are of course the Ace Customs. Look me, I own all the Urbies in MWO. I drive them all. But I also do stupid Meme BS with them. No armor, XL180 and 2xHPPCs? Yes. And it gets kills because people are dumb enough to laugh at the Urbie, turn their backs and take a lot of lightning to the CT rear. XL180 with 2 MRM10's and some lasers? Yes game I totally went down in rating even though I solo killed nearly three hundred tons of enemy mech before they took me down. (Seriously, Direwolf, Warhawk and Awesome. Then the rest of the team turned and vaporized me.) Riding the redline in a K-9 with MPL's? Yes, I can in fact duel down basically any opponent. Could I do it in other mechs? Absolutely. But that's not the point. I LIKE driving the Urbie. It's FUN. It's not necessarily GOOD, but it's fun.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad people can find joy in it.

[@theonionbro1349]

Firstly, I completely get how polarizing the memeification of the Urbie can be, and I definitely respect the idea that it's all a biiiit much, bordering into the lame and sorta cringe. So absolutely no hard feelings are felt at all when I see someone not really enjoying the mech and the culture that sprung up around it. That being said, I find the little dude endearing as it's kind of an abject failure but still managed to stick around for as long as it has. Also, it was an absolute mind-blowing moment to see my 3d-printed Urbie conversion kit show up at 1:02 on the google search. Holy shit.

[@meining-mech4378]

This is why the Coyote’s lost the Wars of Reaving, and subjected the HW Clans to an eternity of obscurity in future BT content. They got what was coming to them.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Brutal.

[@Takantwins]

Hey, at the very least you've got it done now and hopefully the people pestering you for it will be satisfied with your answer! And, bonus points, there wasn't a heavy laser variant!

[@MechanicalFrog]

The demands have already started for the next...

[@Takantwins]

Oh lord. Well wishing you the best in either batting those away or managing them. This video has raised another question for me though, if you don't mind. What are your thoughts on entirely custom designed mechs? Since there is this huge wealth of mechs that exist, many who do not see the light of day, do you think people hammering out their own takes away from that more, or can better enhance it by seeing what's available and filling niches?@@MechanicalFrog

[@starsiegeplayer]

I took some time to watch this one, because I saw the title and thought "why would a clan make an Urbanmech IIC?" I didn't even know it existed, nor did it seem to make any sense when you think of the resource lean Clan philosophy. Then I watched your video and ... yes confirmed it doesn't make sense.

[@MechanicalFrog]

And all was right in the world...

[@Commander_Nearsight]

I agree. I wish catalyst would have come out with another battle pack with unique mechs they haven’t done yet rather than the new kickstarter urbanmech battalion. They already have a lance why do we need 16.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I don't begrudge them too much for that. If it sells and makes enough money to make less popular models, fine. It's just getting a bit tedious.

[@michaelkimberling7307]

I think they did that as a test bed to see if battalion packs would even be viable. The fact that we haven’t seen it for other mechs says they probably didn’t sell as well as they hoped.

[@centblinde1450]

​@michaelkimberling7307 I feel that a company size pack with faction themes and limited repetition would sell much better than mass urban mechs. Ex. A fed sun's pack that has a couple enforcers, a centurion, a couple valkyries and javelins, and a mixture of one offs of other mechs filling out the rest. I would happily buy something like that, and I've bought a few hundred mechs already. As far as the urban mech is concerned, I picked up a single one on impulse and received a second for free because the store had to start giving them away to get rid of them

[@michaelkimberling7307]

@@centblinde1450 I like the idea of “faction companies” I agree that those would sell. I’m not sure full company boxes would sell well by far and large if they’re just a single mech. Lance/Star packs like the urbie lance though… that I could see. That and most of the modeling is done with the base mech just a few weapon swaps and different poses and your done.

[@thomasrobson6370]

I just downloaded all the flowers that I bought from drive-thru RPG and catalyst to my smartphone. I can screw through the files super quick with my smartphone, but it's nothing like having it on desktop with two screens. If I'm not mistaken my locust the standard version could run circles around this sucker and just blow the hell out of it.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I would take a Locust over an Urbanmech.

[@thomasrobson6370]

@@MechanicalFrog I'm relooking at the Lucas IIC I originally didn't like it, but I think it's growing on me. If you remember the locus is my go-to mech

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

The urbanmech is the Roboute Guiliman of the Battletech universe

[@MechanicalFrog]

Not sure if this is an insult to Roboute or to the Urbanmech.

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

@@MechanicalFrog I just mean within both communities it's a topic that's meme'd to death to the point where it's more annoying than funny. In 40k it's a constant joke that Roboute is mega depressed at the state of the universe and he has an alien witch girlfriend, just like all the jokes about the urbanmech

[@DapperRaccoon]

I didn't even know there was a IIC version!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, then.

[@argokarrus2731]

You know, to ease the pain, and cover one of my favorites of the more recent Mechs shown, why not do a video on the Doom Courser?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Will have to ponder that one.

[@Richy0326]

The Falcon being one such mech, getting little attention, being a similar cost to the urban mech, yet arguably better in an urban setting. The Urbie's only advantage over the Falcon is range, which is less of an issue in an urban environment. That having been said, I both agree and disagree with what you said. Objectively, the Urbanmech is a waste of money. If you're going to play the "but it's cheap" card, buy 16 Savannah Masters for the same price instead. Where I disagree is a strange point - I like the fact that Battletech has bad mechs. I'm a 3025 fanboy at heart, because not being able to min-max every mech means you have to make compromises, which gives mechs more character. It makes them more varied. It also makes the setting more real, as companies and governments in the real world don't always make good products, or good purchasing decisions. All that being said, there's a fine line between cheap and cheerful, and cheap and useless. The Urbanmech has both feet planted firmly in the latter category.

[@padrespeaks]

a shot across the bow at tourists and locusts alike

[@IronSuns]

Best thing about the urban mech is that its a free kill in any game video or tabletop

[@MechanicalFrog]

Pretty much.

[@R17inator]

I used to buy into the whole "durr hurr Urbanmechs cheap" and "lmao packs of Urbies tearing your lone Atlas apart" thing, then I realised that aff, these things are a waste of MechWarriors, and if you ever over-confidently bring an Atlas unsupported into an urban scenario, then you deserve what is coming to you, no matter the 'mechs in the opposition. Urbanmechs will always be terrible out-of-season April Fools' jokes, even the Arrow IV variant, if you want a cheap Arrow IV platform, just put it on, say, a milk truck or a missile carrier chassis, something that does not waste precious MechWarriors or Fusion Engines. Meanwhile, I find that the Charger 1A1 inspires more hilarity and feels more worthy of the status as meme king, and unlike the Urbanmech, does eventually get variants that are not terrible.

[@jamesbeard5513]

Kind of a poorer version of the Clint IIC I made before, but a Plasma Rifle with 2 tons of ammo in the right arm and two Small Pulse Lasers with a targeting computer and an additional half ton armor. Still better than the original two on the original mission, but no, I think I would rather have 2 Hetzers than the cheapest UrbanMech.

[@TheStraycat74]

Straycat full 3050 clan tech version, UMR-65A Urbie-durby 3/5/3 armor factor 105. 1.5 tons for xl engine and DHS 1.5 tons endo-steel 1.5 tons jump jets 5.5 tons fero-fiberous armor 4 tons for cockpit and gyro (standard) 16 tons of Podspace. (yes, I made it a clanner omni) Prime config has LB-10X in ra, 2t ammo cased RT, 3 erml LA, and a clanner active probe in the head for the clanner to straddle while sprinting at 54kph... Alt-A is UAC-20 in the RA because of course it does, three tons of ac-20 ammo cased in the RT because big badda boom., and a single erml in the LA. Alt-B is LPL in right And left arm, erml right and left arm, and two exta DHS because heaty boi needs cooling.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Even just the LB10x would be a big improvement.

[@tripwire31]

Now if you could please Frog, make a video on the real IIC Urban fighter, the Wyvern IIC. Also really glad you're one of the first bigger Battletech KZbinrs whosl doesn't feed the meme and actually shows people that there are far better options out in the wild, and you shouldn't pigeon hole yourself into memes so awful they make the Clint (the AC/5 version) look like a completely superior option.

[@MechanicalFrog]

"Soon" ie: It is in the research and prep phase.

[@franksmedley7372]

Hello Frog. The Urbanmech is a legend. The IIC version just makes the old classic better. My personal favorite is the Urbanmech IIC-2. Although, you know me, I just HAD to 'play' with the design. I created the Urbanmech IIC 2X variant. Just adding Endo-Steel and Ferro-Fiberous, and changing the Engine to a Clan XL engine, freed up 3 tons of mass. I used that to add 2 more tons of ammo for the HAG-20, upping the total shots available to 24. More than enough to last any foreseeable engagement. Additionally, I added 2 more Flamers. I kept the heat sinks to the 'standard' type, since Clan Doubles would just over cool the Mech and be more expensive. As a variant of the variant, the Urbanmech IIC 2X1 would have 'only' a single additional ton of ammo, and the pair of additional flamers and the extra ton of weight saved via ammo, would be put into a pair of ER Medium Lasers, keeping the single Flamer of the original design. The Urbanmech IIC 2x1 is a 'good' design for sniping at longer ranges, and can defend itself with the ER Medium Lasers and flamer at closer ranges. The only real 'issue' about the Mech, overall, is its speed. 3-5-3 is SLOW. So, the Mech should take advantage of any cover it can find, or be used in Urban settings.

[@MechanicalFrog]

The problem with "fixes" to make the mech better is that it requires so much fixing that it ceases to be the Urbanmech.

[@mistformsquirrel]

"Can you see the issue?" No, no I can't. R2-D2 with a cannon = friend. (I'm not unsubbing or anything though lol, you're allowed you're opinion. But I personally adore the lil guy.)

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad you still find joy in it.

[@sim.frischh9781]

For Urban environment combat i would go for a wheeled vehicle (more precise control than hover, faster than tracks) with either a single medium laser or two small lasers. Overall the weapons would be mounted in a turret that aims at whatever the pilot looks at, just like combar helicopters today have. The vehicle would be as light as anyhow possible, probably 5 tons considering the Savannah Master. Such vehicles, used en masse, will zerg down any enemy force trying to enter a city.

[@MechanicalFrog]

The Hell's Horses should be the kings/queens of urban combat.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@MechanicalFrog Probably, they have a bunch really nice vehicles with tremendous potential for urban combat. And their tradition of mixed units means they also use plenty of infantry which will be capable of entering the buidlings and using them for ambushes.

[@Fryepod3628]

When you don't want to make the video but video wants to make you... Urbanmech type thinking.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Like ripping off a band-aid, best done quickly and move on.

[@devianttoast5828]

I feel like the best role for an Urbie would be in the Periphery with Rifles or Rocket Launchers, considering how cash-strapped the Periphery traditionally is and the fact that if an urbie gets caught in a proper, pitched mech fight, it won't really last longer than the original alpha strike. Aside from that, take advantage of the 360 degree turn, throw a RAC-2 and use it as a light-weight AA mech. Outside of memes, I can find so many better uses for an AC 10 or 20 than the Urbie.

[@MechanicalFrog]

The "use whatever you have" argument is one I can sympathize with.

[@scytheseven9173]

If you want a cheap AC/20, use a Hetzer

[@tonyblitz1]

I think I'd just stuff a cloaking unit and a rocket battery in it. Park them in corners all over a city, vomit damage into unsuspecting targets, bunny hop away behind buildings to a resupply point. Their job done. Chasing after them will only result in more sprung ambushes. An Urbie can't confidently slug it out with, well, anything. So the best thing to do with it is make it a oneshot platform. (I have literally no idea if an Urbie can hold that kit)

[@MechanicalFrog]

Let's just move on. :D

[@dguy6798]

Bravo! Mech Frog, Bravo! You did the vid! If it is any consolation doing a vid on the Urbanmech, or any of its variants, means you have made it in my opinion. Its like going to a Rolling Stones concert, they are going to play I can't get no Satisfaction, no matter what. Plus, we all know the mech is bad, sometimes it is fun just to see how folks joke around about the little meme machines

[@MechanicalFrog]

It's over and done... like a root canal or appendix surgery.

[@leonasmith6180]

One polotician, one judge and 3 taxmen in the post, Enjoy. Leona

[@animortis0]

Last game I ran an Urbie in, I gave it an Arrow IV. It ended up shooting my Awesome in the face. The Awesome was standing behind it. Next turn, it was focus fired and died.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad it worked out for you.

[@animortis0]

I am not a wise man @@MechanicalFrog

[@aaronbosen6743]

I think it's worth noting that the real failure the Urbanmech IIC has is that it's just as limited in role as the original urbanmech while at least when catalyst game labs isn't misprinting game materials, being more expensive, sometimes being depicted as costing as much as an awesome or other, far more tactically flexible lights or mediums. Yes, you can argue it's got better verticality for cityscape fights under more advanced rules, and it's UAC-10 stock configuration arguably makes it better at countering light armored units then it's inner sphere original version. However it's worth noting that relatively few players these days play with those advanced rules or with infantry, armor, mechanized infantry, and artillery in play, often in favor of what's essentially mech versus mech combat. Both urbanmech variations make a certain degree of sense from an in universe perspective when you factor in the totality of how wars are fought in universe, as true combined arms conflicts. What they don't do is make a lot of sense for the mech versus mech combat that is the usual rule for actual tabletop. That said my real hate for the Urbanmech IIC is because it just looks pointlessly derpy even in model form.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I think CGL really missed an opportunity to make the Urbanmech IIC Alaric Ward's personal battlemech.

[@fanusobscurus4309]

The Urbie is a meme mech with fans, but its not a trash mech. The urbie was designed for actual garison work. It weaponry isnt a threat to civiess or infantry. It was made for hit and run ops in urban warfare. And in lore, IT WORKS WELL. Not to mention some of the variants. Big fan of missile urbies packing large numbers of SRMs

[@philippauli8162]

Bravo good sir. Thank you for tackling the meme-ry of the Urbie head on and pointing out the need for attention/humor/fanlove towards many other, neglected designs. I promise I won't tweet you any more Urbie pictures!

[@MechanicalFrog]

We both know you will keep doing that.

[@philippauli8162]

​@MechanicalFrog I've got a lot of other mechs in the painting queue. Also I think I said this elsewhere but your Marian Hegemony story the other day was worthy of Stackpole or Thurston. Well done there good sir!

[@dannythetoesmasher]

Unsung mechs you say....here's a couple for you, the Battleaxe, the Osprey both from the old BattleTechnology magazine

[@MechanicalFrog]

So many that deserve at least a little limelight.

[@jaywondergem7026]

I think that “I swear to Karenski…” will become part of my vocabulary. 😂

[@MechanicalFrog]

:D

[@piprdakota]

I can feel your visceral pain writing and reading this script!

[@MechanicalFrog]

The salt must be mined... I blame Tuppy for all of this.

[@victor227]

When it comes to human efficiency, the Urbanmech is kind of the inverse of a Superheavy mech. For a superheavy to be effective you need to put an absolute premium on the amount of tonnage per mechwarrior, to the point that you have so few you can't afford to put them in anything but the most disproportionately inefficiently huge mechs. With the Urbanmech, you have to be veritably drowning in mechwarriors, to the point that you don't care if you lose a few with this slow moving target. The Clan upgrades make it better in every way, but Clan upgrades make every mech better in every way, so that really doesn't matter, as it just means that it's bad compared to every other IIC mech as much as the original was. I'd argue it's still better as a suicide engine for aging Clan warriors than just making them infantry, but it shouldn't exist to begin with, so it's a moot comparison. I suppose arguments could be made about personnel expenses. Transporting people through space is expensive, so one mechwarrior trumps having to support a full tank crew, but the Urbanmech is explicitly a garrison unit. The only time they see the inside of a dropship is when they're being transported between bases, not as part of prolonged campaigns. Tank crews are easy enough to train up that you can do that on-location usually when it comes to planetary defence forces, so you're not moving those anyway.

[@MechanicalFrog]

We have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to justify its existence.

[@tenchraven]

Problem- everyone thinks the UrbanMech is an actual Battlemech. It isn't, it's own thing. It's a horrible weapon, but it's an great story telling device and decent to back up a SWAT team. I love the derpy little things but I understand their limits. The biggest thing they have going for them is that they are PTA friendly, they look like they should squish when hugged. For that reason, I'm amazed that the Clans actually made this, given they combine the worst features of North Korea and Plato's "republic". This is the machine they send to a riot and announce "this is an illegal gathering, disperse immediately", with a pair of Pirahnas and two points of solhoma Elementals waiting for people to not disperse. And in the Sphere, the Panther is better.

[@Gladius-XC]

Thank you for the dose of sanity! I’m one of those who scratch my head at the Urbie’ mascot thing. I mean, I get the ironic joke of it, but it’s gotten a bit overdone at this point.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Happy to take some fire today for speaking some reason.

[@randomnetsurfer]

The urbie is ... cute. That's it. I'd rather have a tank. Good video, appropriate commentary, hilarious delivery. I was actually expecting you to forego the MF variant, but when you didn't, I was expecting a plasma ri... err, cannon. :D

[@MechanicalFrog]

It was a fun video. Still the most downvoted on the channel. Sitting at like 94% up.

[@jerryshobbies8224]

In the HBS BattleTech, the Urbie can be dangerous on those 1 skull missions. They are so slow that I am fully committed to a strategy for the rest of the lance, then they appear and start removing torsos from my light flanking mechs... annoying, but not effective. Oh, and I put an Arrow 4 on one it was the best evar!!1! 😂😂

[@MechanicalFrog]

They can be useful in HBS, but usually aren't.

[@jeremysaklad6703]

RogueTech?

[@Andrewlik]

Genuinely, the best use I've gotten out of an urbanmech was in a double blind base defense mission where it could jump onto the castle wall and suprise someone with an AC/20 in the back it got two shots off, two that would've been devastating if we weren't playing a narrative game with edge. In that case, in that specific case, it's something. Otherwise, meh. Honestly, I like fielding it in alpha strike tourneys at skill 7 just for the psychological damage the opposing player - most of my play group are of the older generation and their cringe brings me joy

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm glad it worked out for you that time.

[@MrMyu]

The only saving grace I can think of for these trash cans are quirks. Narrow/Low profile, so you have a chance of doing half damage on hits. And I think it has extended torso twist as well? Though with the arm flip, that's kind of moot I guess. But otherwise... they're the world's smallest, slowest, derpiest pack hunters. It's like being stalked by a herd of cows.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I admire your optimism.

[@MrMyu]

@@MechanicalFrog Thanks! It's all the trauma! ... Maybe I shouldn't say things like that ... [ponders]

[@Thoth_7]

Having come back to Battletech after a LONG hiatus - TRO 3050 was current, TRO 3055 came out shortly before I fell off, and the Battletech Compendium was the current rule book at the time - I am utterly baffled at the meme status of the UrbanMech. Nobody in the 80s and 90s gave a hoot about the dumb thing. It was (is) a bad mech, and basically everything else in the same class did a better job at doing... anything. My take on a IIC UrbanMech is a bit less direct. Taking a cue from other IIC designs that are meant to be second-line redesigns rather than retrofits, I am built my UM-IIC as a 35-ton 'mech, moving at 4/6/4, with a standard engine, structure, and armor (6.5 tons, a hair under 1 ton off of maximum coverage). I stuck with the base of 10 double heat sinks. For weapons, an UrbanMech just doesn't feel right without putting something 'big' in the right arm mount, so we make the main gun a large pulse laser. In order to give it some actual anti-infantry bite, I came to the same conclusion as you - a cluster of 4 AP gauss rifles mounted in the left arm with 2 tons of ammunition in the torso. With our remaining tonnage, we mount 3 small pulse lasers (2 in the right torso, one in the head) to give us a solid, if scattered, close-in bite. Overall, I feel like it's pretty close to your build, just with a slightly different way to get there. The main difference (aside from 5 tons overall) is that my design gets the slight speed bump to 4/6/4 over 3/5/3, and the right arm mount being a single large pulse instead of 2 ER mediums. Amusingly, we both come in at nearly identical BV (1080 for the MF, 1070 for mine), but you definitely have the in-universe edge being roughly 700k cheaper in cost.

[@MechanicalFrog]

A LPL is always hard to turn down.

[@nexusdrop7863]

No. The Urban Mech is the pinnacle of perfection. Only a squad of Urban Mechs has the power needed to face a squad of Urban mechs.

[@DMXKonCur]

Urbie aside, what's the terrain you got there at the start of the video?

[@MechanicalFrog]

thunderhead-studio.com/blogs/news/hextech-battlefield-in-a-box-wave-2 Hextech Battlefield in a Box Terrain.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

Oof, yeah. Urbies are really overhyped at this point. The part of this video that surprised me was that you didn't put a plasma cannon on it. My first thought was to put in a plasma cannon (with a ton or two of ammo) so that it could devastate infantry and vehicles while hopefully slowing down anything else while the poor soul driving it screams for backup. The rest of the space would be medium lasers, small lasers, and MGs. But on another note, I do think there are defiantly a lot more mechs that deserve more attention. I found out about some obscure mechs when I first started getting into battletech when I went around looking for mechs that had a similar look and/or build to the blackjack, jagermech, and rifleman. My search introduced me to the Rifleman IIC and some more obscure mechs like the Bane, Lancelot, and Dragoon. I actually liked the Dragoon so much that when I had a friend teach me how to draw with pens, it was the subject of my drawing. (If your ever thinking of doing a video on the Dragoon, I can send you a link). But yeah, there are plenty of weird and wonderful mechs out there for artists to show and even meme with if you just look a little harder.

[@MechanicalFrog]

If I put plasma cannons and pulse lasers on everything, I'll start earning a reputation.

[@strcmdrbookwyrm]

@@MechanicalFrog True, though I wasn't nessisarally thinking pulse lasers.

[@joshuamidgette4846]

The only decent Urbanmech variant is the 100 ton battlemech, The Imp.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Best argument of the day.

[@mwhyte1979]

Come on guy's the Urbie has an important role. It can run up at the enemy with it's blistering speed and while the enemy is doubled over in helpless laughter the rest of your unit can sneak up on them from behind and blast them at pointblank range. Of course it sucks to be the Urbie but life always has it's little disappointments.

[@aeronnelson8479]

I humble accept the offer to suffer testing this bad boi. Let lots of death ensue. Urbie pilot death that is.

[@MechanicalFrog]

RIP Urbie Pilot...

[@tonydalimata]

Rest in pieces

[@jacobc3266]

And thank you for showing the lesser known mechs.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks for giving them a go.

[@jacobc3266]

@@MechanicalFrog You are welcome Frog.

[@malusignatius]

Admittedly, those egg-cups are pretty cute.

[@MechanicalFrog]

That's just your biology overruling your good sense.

[@malusignatius]

@@MechanicalFrog That and I do love me a good egg.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

I have questions regarding Clan Coyote's choice of armament. 1. Being a Clan, Coyote could've used a Clan LBX-10 autocannon, and used the weight savings to give themselves a ton of scatter ammo to go with the regular ammo, so that anti-infantry & light vehicles could be usefully pummeled without leaving the 'mech hindered when enemy 'mechs or panzers appeared. 2. A Pulse Small Laser is just a more accurate Small Laser, stats-wise. Even with a Clan version, there is no real damage upgrade. Wouldn't instead a Clan ERSL be more useful, and let the Urbanmech 2C secondary weapon range the entire length of the downtown street?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Both of those would have been better picks.

[@renegadeleader1]

Oh wow! I didn't even know this mech existed.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Hah!

[@NightSentinel51]

Whenever I face an Urbanmech, I shoot at it first. Not because it's the most dangerous thing on the field, but because it's an easy kill. Honestly, you need all the luck in the world to make an Urbanmech combat effective on the field.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Getting lots of, "But I got a headshot with it," comments. Yes, but you can get a lucky shot with any mech.

[@rednecktek2873]

@@MechanicalFrog That's because of a glitch in the HBS release of the Battletech video game where Urbies were regularly head shotting people from off map and not on sensors.