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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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 Posted: 04-Nov-2003 16:26 Post subject: out on a LAM |
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I've been playing Btech for quite a few years now, but until a couple of days ago had never been involved with a game featuring a LAM. I took out a medium lance consisting of
2 Commandos
1 Vulcan
1 Phoenix Hawk LAM
my opponent took out
1 Shadow Hawk
2 Jenners
1 Stinger
All of the technology involved came from the 3025 book.
The LAM totally unbalanced this fight. I was able to get a back shot on somebody every single turn (usually I choose to go after the Shadow Hawk). Due to my movement bonuses the LAM was almost impossible to hit, although the Shadow Hawk did get lucky early in the game and inflicted one engine hit against the LAM, so I was only able to dissipate 7 points of heat after that. Both Commandos were quickly overcome by the Jenners (one to a destroyed Gyro and the other lost it's leg), and the Vulcan went down pretty quickly too. So, I was left with one LAM with serious heat problems vs. an entire lance (granted both Jenners were in pretty shoddy condition by this point, but they were still plenty dangerous). The next round I proceeded to destroy the Stinger with a good Large Laser shot into the rear torso that hit paydirt on the MG ammo. A couple of rounds later I punched through the Shadow Hawk's weakened rear armor and hit it's AC/5 ammo. After that it took only a couple of rounds to finish the Jenners. At the end of the battle the Phoenix Hawk LAM had suffered no internal damage, and it's only critical hit had come from the lucky 2 the Shadow Hawk got on the hit location chart.
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Alexander
Heavy Horse Merc Brigade
Commanding Officer
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 828
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 04-Nov-2003 17:53 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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Never played a LAM... 
Alexander (Sucks to be me! )
_________________
War is God's way of teaching geography.
*******
Commanding Officer, North West Armoured Cavalry
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AWAD
Draconis Combine
Chu-sa
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 766
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| Posted: 04-Nov-2003 19:55 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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A really good player can make people suffer bad if they have a LAM. This is double true if going against a weak player. Iniative is important but not critical.
Lvl 2/3 rules do actual make LAMs a little easier to kill, with airborne radar, cluster rounds, Narc beacons etc. But LAMs are an anime idea and really cool but do not belong in Btech.
AWAD= Best way to kill a LAM, conventional Aerospace and VTOLs not far behind
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Nightmare
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 03-May-2002 00:00
Posts: 2214
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| Posted: 05-Nov-2003 00:19 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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LAMs are powerful if you know what you're doing. Still, that enemy lance should have been able to deal with one LAM just by their numbers and generally high to-hit modifiers. They had more guns to shoot with and good speed for everyone except the SHD. When everyone needs 11 or 12 to hit I'd put my money on numbers.
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A tree fall in the forest, and no one is around, and it hits a mime. Does anyone care?
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Jade_Dragon
8th Sword of Light
Sho-sho
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1325
Location: United States
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| Posted: 05-Nov-2003 09:45 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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That assumes that the lance is working together, I have the feeling that the enemy lance was rather spread out after taking down all but the LAM, thus allowing the LAM to pick them off one by one.
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The JadeDragon
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Daphne Wilde
Star League Defense Force
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 19-Sep-2003 00:00
Posts: 425
Location: United States
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| Posted: 05-Nov-2003 10:22 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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I agree about the smart pilot wreaking havoc with his LAM. I run them when I can and have loads of fun making people keep looking over their shoulder. 
_________________
Lt.Col.Daphne Wilde
504 Para. 82 Div.
Io
? & ?
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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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| Posted: 05-Nov-2003 15:47 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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| They really ought to allow you to gain a better tactical position with your other units as well, because a good player can use it to unbalance his opponent, but I had trouble doing that. For all of the power of the LAM, it wasn't able to keep it's lancemates from the ranks of the Dispossessed.
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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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| Posted: 05-Nov-2003 15:52 Post subject: RE: out on a LAM |
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I agree about using Aerospace fighters against LAMs; LAMs are powerful against the ground-pounders, but are only mediocre aerospace fighters. They're generally slower and don't mount as much armament.
About your comment that they don't really belong in Btech, remember that originally they were supposed to be ultra-flossy Star League technology (this was before the era of Double HS, Streak missiles, and Pulse Weapons). They were very powerful, but also extremely rare (each house had no more than a few dozen, and some only a company's worth), and virtually impossible to maintain and repair.
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