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Caddage
Draconis Combine
Hojuhei
Joined: 05-Mar-2025 21:06
Posts: 2
Location: United States
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 Posted: 06-Mar-2025 18:54 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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Hello all. Old-school (and old, for that matter...) Battletech player here diving back into the deep end after a 20ish year hiatus (life happens). Early 2000s I was fairly active on sarna.net (known as widowmaker), but I only recently discovered this excellent site.
To keep this post relevant to the forum, I have a question. 20 years ago I firmly held that the AC/2 is the most useless weapon in the game, and any 'Mech that carried one (or more, the horror) was hindered by it. The game has evolved drastically since then, but does my assertion still hold?
I look forward to arguing minutiae with you all.
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Mordel
Mordel.Net
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| Posted: 06-Mar-2025 20:21 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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You'll get no argument from me. When I used to design more, an AC/2 was never something I even considered using!!
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mekkatgirls
Magistracy of Canopus
Commander
Joined: 11-Dec-2023 02:15
Posts: 538
Location: United States
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| Posted: 06-Mar-2025 23:17 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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The old AC/2 is still the same but, hold on to your hat their is a Rotary Auto cannon 2 that can fire up to times in the attack phase of the game.
Also a ultra Ac/2 that fires twice and a little auto cannon 2 as well.
You will need to catch up on these rules for these weapons systems each, but there is a lot of fun in that.
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Caddage
Draconis Combine
Hojuhei
Joined: 05-Mar-2025 21:06
Posts: 2
Location: United States
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| Posted: 06-Mar-2025 23:52 Post subject: Re: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| mekkatgirls wrote: | The old AC/2 is still the same but, hold on to your hat their is a Rotary Auto cannon 2 that can fire up to times in the attack phase of the game.
Also a ultra Ac/2 that fires twice and a little auto cannon 2 as well.
You will need to catch up on these rules for these weapons systems each, but there is a lot of fun in that. |
RACs were new right around when I stopped keeping up. It's all the jihad, dark ages, and ilclan stuff I'm only vaguely familiar with.
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chihawk
Clan Blood Spirit
Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 8088
Location: United States
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 06:56 Post subject: Re: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| mekkatgirls wrote: | The old AC/2 is still the same but, hold on to your hat their is a Rotary Auto cannon 2 that can fire up to times in the attack phase of the game.
Also a ultra Ac/2 that fires twice and a little auto cannon 2 as well.
You will need to catch up on these rules for these weapons systems each, but there is a lot of fun in that. |
Sorry, no. Those are trash too.
RAC2 is 8 tons and figure 2 tons for ammo, and now you're at 10 tons. You've used 5 crit spaces, two of which can explode. On top of that, when you hit with a RAC you have to roll on the missile table to see how many you get, so you rarely get the maximum benefit. Total trash.
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mekkatgirls
Magistracy of Canopus
Commander
Joined: 11-Dec-2023 02:15
Posts: 538
Location: United States
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 13:44 Post subject: Re: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| I did not say they were not weapons but RAC/2 is not that bad but not that great, I need to take so time to type my point better.
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mekkatgirls
Magistracy of Canopus
Commander
Joined: 11-Dec-2023 02:15
Posts: 538
Location: United States
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 13:46 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| No matter if the Ac/2 is trash or not welcome back, please stir the pot with hot and bad takes, it can get a little boring here.
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chihawk
Clan Blood Spirit
Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 8088
Location: United States
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 13:46 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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You don't have enough time to make a post that could convince anyone who's played the game for a long time that any version of the AC2 is good. 
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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 14:05 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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The AC/2 is not worth it on MOST designs, but has a place on long range harassers such as the Blackjack or AA units such as a Partisan tank. The constant plunking gets super annoying and can maneuver a player into a trap.
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Thunder
Clan Blood Spirit
Star Captain
Joined: 22-Feb-2024 01:39
Posts: 239
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 17:58 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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In general true.
There are use cases though.
First, any unit with an AC-2 gains the "provoke skill". The enemy will find themselves automatically attempting to close the distance to the AC-2. This can be used to your advantage.
Air defense. At level 1 tech the AC-2 has the largest umbrella for plinking at fighters and causing lawn dart rolls.
Infantry field guns. AC-2s can be deployed to individual squads. Which is helpful when you're stacking defensive to hit modifiers. Also given their long range a lot of AC-2 squads can focus fire. Sure light guns also work, but range is defense too. Access to specialty ammo helps too.
Aim high. If you use the aim high rules, the long range of AC-2s can be exploited to knock out enemy mechwarriors at lower risk. Which mostly comes from "how would I employ pikes." Because honestly, I'd still prefer an LRM system instead.
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Mordel
Mordel.Net
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| Posted: 07-Mar-2025 20:44 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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I'm not sure where "Provoke Skill" is from, but I've never heard of it before. Definitely not a thing in Total Warfare though, which is what a vast majority of BT players are familiar with; or at least us old folks.
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Vagabond
Mercenary
Mr. Referee
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 08-Mar-2025 00:50 Post subject: Re: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| Mordel wrote: | | I'm not sure where "Provoke Skill" is from, but I've never heard of it before. Definitely not a thing in Total Warfare though, which is what a vast majority of BT players are familiar with; or at least us old folks. |
Its not a literal ability. Its the effect where players tend to rush AC2 equipped units.
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chihawk
Clan Blood Spirit
Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 08-Mar-2025 05:39 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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Because any smart player knows to do that...
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mekkatgirls
Magistracy of Canopus
Commander
Joined: 11-Dec-2023 02:15
Posts: 538
Location: United States
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| Posted: 08-Mar-2025 11:07 Post subject: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| who wants to play smartly when table top glory awaits?
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2761
Location: United States
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| Posted: 08-Mar-2025 18:11 Post subject: Re: Greetings and AC/2 question |
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| chihawk wrote: | | You don't have enough time to make a post that could convince anyone who's played the game for a long time that any version of the AC2 is good. |
Back when the variant munition types were popular, I came up with a few light, fast AC/2 - armed conventional vehicles that could find a spot and snipe.
That was their entire mission, drop those variant munitions - especially the armor-piercing AC ammo - onto targets from long range, staying put to minimize their to-hit from moving but then fleeing for their lives once the enemy units closed within a certain distance.
I think the pinnacle of my designs was a VTOL with an AC/2 on it, giving it the speed to rapidly run *and* the +3 to-hit modifier that any ground-based unit would have faced when trying to shoot it down.
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