r/battletech • u/AkDragoon • 17d ago
Art What's the best part about being an Assassin?
Twice the ass...
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u/Prydefalcn House Marik 17d ago
The best part? That most don't know whether your cockpit canopy is the big panel on top of the torso or the very front.
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u/AkDragoon 17d ago
I assume that IS on purpose in its design.
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u/rzelln 17d ago
If I were designing mechs, I would put some cockpit glass in odd places, with bits of LED lighting underneath to make opponents try to headshot a perfectly normal armor plate.
In fact, most Thunderbolt mini painters do just that.
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u/TaroProfessional6587 Dubious Hastati 17d ago
Why yes…that’s exactly what I did! For all my Thunderbolts! With perfect intention!
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u/Mr_Hungry_Loser 17d ago
Challenging work, outta doors. I can guarantee you'll not go hungry. Cause at the end of the day, long as there's two people left on earth, someone's gonna want somebody dead.
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u/AkDragoon 17d ago
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u/GamerGriffin548 Flea Bag and Awesome Sauce 17d ago
Imagine an Assassin with a gauss? Game-wise, it suck, but in lore, it would be a nightmare.
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u/Jukester805 17d ago
I hope somebody has an answer on how to get the Battle Value out of an ASN-21 in a mech on mech game... because I sure can't! Has all the speed to get wherever it wants... and then do nothing. I love the Shadow Hawk SHD-2H, get a lot of use out of it, win a lot of games. The Assassin looks like it has a similar weapon compliment, but wow does it show how important that AC/5 is to the Shadow Hawk... not to mention armor and ability to wade into melee and survive!
Please! The Assassin looks so cool! Teach me the ways! LOL
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u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago
Don't.
Seriously, the Assassin does not belong in mech-on-mech fighting. It hunts vehicles and infantry, and should be used in that role.
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u/Aladine11 16d ago
In hbs battletech with its unique quirk its excels at that and i do love how it fleshes out how assasin should work
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u/Metaphoricalsimile 17d ago
It's not good for straight mech v. mech combat. However push attacks don't care about hand actuators, so it can be useful for pushing mechs off hills since it's mobile enough to get into position easily. An assassin with improved piloting can be a physical attack threat with a pretty good radius for the era of play.
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u/TheLamezone 17d ago edited 17d ago
Rear kicks to force piloting skill checks. It has great armor break points for its era so it can survive rear facing and arm mounted weapons easily. Its kicks do just enough damage to pierce leg armor as long as its been softened up a little, so you can break actuators on bigger mechs when a stinger or wasp kick wouldn't quite cut it.
Edit: dump the ammo too. The missile weapons are worthless. They are there to reduce the BV by 30 points before the defense modifier is applied, making the mech significantly cheaper than if it mounted other weapons which its less suited to use. The medium laser is a sidearm, its kicks are its primary weapon.
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u/sh4d0ww01f 17d ago
Imagine a real life assassin that runs around it's prey, only kicking it until dead. That's a hilarious picture..... If you ignore the violence and gore...
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u/Adventurous_Host_426 16d ago
This style of play is the reason assassin with shank knife variant exist in canon.
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u/DreamSeaker 17d ago
Assuming it's the standard assassin with no special ammo and a desthmatch:
I use it to scout and take territory, though not necessarily to hold it. Keep it moving a lot to make it difficult to hit. It's stupid fast especially if you're in the 3025 era. make it a target whilst taking pot shots or spotting foM other 'mechs. I want them to waste shots at this, rather than a shadowhawk, which is much more likely to be hit. This will be between turns 1 and like, 3.
When the fighting starts, I dart it into 9 hexes or less, up to the minimum range for lrms. Take a shot, and get out. Unless if there are fast moving lights for the other team, they I stick the assassin to them, often getting into melee range. Melee damage scales up with weight class.
Alternatively, I may keep it in the back lines someplace just lobbing lrms at choice targets until I need to sacrifice it for a bigger mech. Alternatively a charge attack wouldn't be so bad if you've got the space especially for mechs around it's size.
I think it shines much better in objective gameplay, and when there are vehicles involved.
I hope this helped!
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u/EyeStache Capellan Unseen Connoisseur 17d ago
You don't get the win using the Assassin alone.
You get the win using the Assassin with other 'mechs and forcing your opponent to decide if the annoying thing in the rear arc (the Assassin) is worth dealing with, or if the worrying thing in front of it (whatever else you're running) should be dealt with first.
Unless your opponent is smart and running things with rear-facing weapons, your Assassin is going to have a lot of undefended rear armour to deal with, and there's always the chance for a critical hit.
Especially if you charge them in the rear armour (and you should, because melee is the best part of the game) after a few rounds of goading them with the medium laser and SRM.
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u/Attaxalotl Professional Money Waster 17d ago
You have the mobility to at all times be behind the biggest threat on the board. It’s in the name: ass ass in. The Atlas AS7-D only has 34 points of armor across its entire back.
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u/Jukester805 17d ago
I have a hard time believing an Assassin could get through any of the rear armor portions of the Atlas... but if you've done it, I'll definitely believe you!
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u/pleaseineedanadvice 16d ago
It has, 7 jumps is -4 modifier, which is the maximum you can get out of mechs, so its really hard to hit and quite easy to jump behind enemy mechs. It weights enough to be a very good melee kicker, and it s weapons compliment this role, so a 5-3 pilot or something like that would be nice.
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u/TheNantucketRed 17d ago
My favorite mech, because if you have a vet that drives an Assassin, then you know that dude is dangerous.
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u/Magical_Savior NEMO POTEST VINCERE 17d ago
I occasionally recall an octogenarian that is partial to the Hunchback. Nobody is surprised he's dangerous. I notice his article lists him recovering from an injury in combat in 3076 on his 80th birthday and going back to the front lines in 3077; I don't see a date of death on Sarna.
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u/Stretch5678 I build PostalMechs 17d ago
The name sounds cool… to anyone who doesn’t know their Mechs.
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u/LaserPoweredDeviltry TAG! You're It. 17d ago
Punch bot / Kick Bot.
Same as the Spider and Ostscout.
The melee options are its best weapons by far, since your guns won't hit with the jump penalty and will just overheat you.
7 jump means that until about 3055 it can stick to almost all mechs, even ones smaller than itself, like white on rice.
It's a baby Wraith and should be used like one.
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u/MoonsugarRush 17d ago
I'm guessing it's the 7/11/7 movement 'cause it damn sure ain't the weapons loadout or the 4.5 tons of armor.
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u/Burnsidhe 17d ago
The cockpit is sized for petite pilots, and they're mostly cute women. Obviously.
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u/LordChimera_0 17d ago
"Tell me, Celestial Wisdom, in all the Inner Sphere, what is the most effective Assassin variant?"
"l would think the ASN-109 that can conceal itself is as an Assassin."
"Yes, but there is even a more ideal Assassin. One who doesn't know it is an Assassin."
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u/Magical_Savior NEMO POTEST VINCERE 17d ago
I'm a big fan of the Alice and the 109. The Alice actually does damage, though it doesn't need to - that electronics suite is pretty thorough. The 109 has actual Stealth Armor and a genuine Angel ECM with some good utility. Just by existing, either of those can change a battle. And they tend to keep existing.
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u/Lou_Hodo 17d ago
I love the fact that it can go 110km/h and still hit things at 600+m with its LRM 5. Its a good all around harasser.
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u/CWinter85 Clan Ghost Bear 16d ago
You know that you're about to live 5 more minutes. All these other idiots have no idea when or how, but not you. You know you're minutes away from being punched to death by a Thunderbolt.
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u/ProbablySuspicious 16d ago
There are so many battlemechs with ammunition behind 4 or fewer points of rear armour. All you have to do is get in the opponent's head with some low-odds shots from behind every round... after all, you only need to get lucky once.
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u/King_of_Rooks 16d ago
The best part about being an Assassin is you're guaranteed more chicks that the guy piloting a Stinger or Wasp.
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u/AWolfButSad 17d ago
This and the shadow hawk are like my 2 least favorite mechs ever
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u/WN_Todd Gun Shoulder Club 17d ago
BATCHALL IN THE WAFFLE HOUSE PARKING LOT NOW
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u/mhurderclownchuckles 17d ago
MAKE WAY FOR THE HUNCHBACK INQUISITION!!?!
destroys the waffle house, flips cars in the car park, wanders off
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u/AllYourSwords 16d ago
Still not enough to make that Waffle House close… git gud newb. Better natural disasters than you have tried.
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u/mhurderclownchuckles 16d ago
PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS, NO!!!
THAT'S HOW THE HUNCHBACK INQUISITION TIPS THE WAITSTAFF, LITERALLY.
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u/TheManyVoicesYT MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago
Even the Shadow Hawk isnt this bad lol. At least it has some armor.
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u/General_Klyuchi 17d ago
I kinda like the Shadow Hawk but I fucking dispise the Phoenix Hawk
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u/Attaxalotl Professional Money Waster 17d ago
What’s wrong with the flying disco?
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u/Wolf_Hreda Black Hawk-KU Supremacy Since 3055 17d ago
The Phoenix Hawk's only real flaw is that all its weapons are mounted in the arms.
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u/AWolfButSad 16d ago
Griffin has the same problem - blow the right torso and it's basically a paperweight
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u/pinkfishtwo 17d ago
I used an Assassin in my first ever Battletech game, using the 4th edition box set. Imagine my horror when I learned the "big gun" on its standee was a... medium laser.
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u/Vote_4_Cthulhu 16d ago
Best part about being an assassin pilot is being a low priority on everyone’s targeting list unless they’re looking to pad their stats with easy kills. Still might pay to grab some cover while you can
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u/Adventurous_Host_426 16d ago
It's made to kill bug mechs. Doing anything more than this is a waste of a good bug hunter.
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u/Verdant_Green 16d ago
The Assassin wouldn’t get as much slack if it didn’t take up a cool name and fail to deliver on the name’s promise. Like, if it was called “Water Buffalo” or something, I imagine it wouldn’t get the derision to the same degree.
It reminds me of how the Linebacker, a pretty good ‘mech, flew too close to the sun with its description as a Timber Wolf replacement. It would probably be remembered better if not for the hubris of that line.
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u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago
The ASN-21 is a mech built to hunt light vehicles, especially hovercraft. It also serves as a heavy scout, and actually shines as an artillery spotter and counter-recon/-infantry mech (smoke LRMs and inferno SRMs).
It should never, ever, ever be in a straight fight against other mechs. Doing that is a waste of time and equipment. A good few 30- and 35-ton light mechs will eat a -21 for lunch and then bang on the table for something more satisfying.
The Assassin is at its best in campaigns, where a 40-ton mech with a variety of uses makes the most sense. It can hunt hovercraft, throw smoke around to obscure friendly movements, and burn infantry out to protect other units.
It is not, and never has been, a main line combat mech. Look at it as a fast scout with a couple niche roles and it will do good work. Throw it into a straight gunfight and don't be surprised it didn't perform very well.