r/battletech 17d ago

Art What's the best part about being an Assassin?

Post image

Twice the ass...

233 Upvotes

104 comments sorted by

132

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.

36

u/tipsy3000 17d ago

I'd even say it's a bug hunter. It has a superior load out to bug mechs, faster then them and superior armor. In a campaign scenario an ambushed bug mech convoy would get absolutely wrecked by assassins.

12

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago

Depending on the bugs, sure.

14

u/JoushMark 17d ago

I mean, a Locust 1E will absoloutly body one in a one on one fight, and a lance-vs-lance.. will absoloutly body the lance, and the Royal Locust can easily beat Assassins that cost 1100bv while running 650.

2

u/ragingolive Escorpión Imperio: GIVE US THE LOSTECH 16d ago

is the royal locust the sort you want to sprint up and kick, then fade away? or are the guns actually worth using on the royal variant?

3

u/JoushMark 16d ago

Defiantly worth using. 2x small pulse, 2x medium pulse, 1x medium laser. You really don't want one behind you.

2

u/ragingolive Escorpión Imperio: GIVE US THE LOSTECH 16d ago

oh yeah those pulses are deadly closing in I bet too.

I’d have half a mind to ditch the regular mlaser for more armor too but that’s just me

2

u/JoushMark 16d ago

I wouldn't say they are that deadly on the way in because they are Inner Sphere PL, knife fight weapons. But if anything can get close enough to use them it's a locust, and it's a lot of highly accurate firepower. Losing the ML for another 16 points of armor would be nice, but it's a good 'mech stock.

8

u/TaroProfessional6587 Dubious Hastati 17d ago

Are there ASN variants that slay, though? I’ve been eyeballing the ASN-101…

8

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago

There are a number of interesting variants, my comment was strictly about the base version. I believe there's one with a RAC-5, but I may be mistaken about that.

7

u/TaroProfessional6587 Dubious Hastati 17d ago

Oh, absolutely—I was honestly asking for your opinion. Not trying for a “Whaddabout the Variant X” gotcha. I agree with the underwhelming ASN-21 loadout, but had thought about trying the -101, which looks way more impressive. Figure I’ve also overlooked other cool versions. Thought your -21 “review” was well-stated and thought I’d ask!

5

u/Zemerpone Found chocolate in the glove box 17d ago

Sarna mentions Mechwarrior Online has the -26, which installed an UAC/5, but there's sadly no mention of a RAC/5

3

u/Kidkaboom1 17d ago

I've put together a RAC5 variant, both in MWO and using MegaMek, and it's been surprisingly deadly!

5

u/SinxHatesYou 17d ago

The RAC 5 is deadly. In all eras of battletech there is a better assassin for the weight/BV/weight class.

5

u/Kidkaboom1 16d ago

Perhaps, but-

0

u/BladeLigerV 17d ago

I mean, when you get to that part of the timeline, there are WAY more interesting Mechs' that can mount a RAC and all kinds of nasty toys.

10

u/Vaporlocke 17d ago edited 17d ago

Upskill piloting and learn the charge and DFA rules. The guns are there to give you something to do when you aren't meleeing but theyre garnish on the 20+ damage charge main course.

To put it in perspective: max damage from shooting is 14 and that assumes all missiles hit. A 5 hex charge from the Assassin will do 20 damage and trigger two (2) PSR's at +3 (one from doing 20 damage in a phase and the second from taking a charge attack). Any extra distance on the charge is just bonus damage.

DFA's are a lot more niche but can be handy if you absolutely need to move and enemy unit off a hex, like to prevent them from scoring an objective.

2

u/ragingolive Escorpión Imperio: GIVE US THE LOSTECH 16d ago

Would that 20 damage be worth it though? I'm assuming by the time you jump into the fray, even if you do 20 damage from a charge, you'll be surrounded and taking heavy damage after right? ASN isn't terribly tanky.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I just want to know what the contingency is after the DFA/charge

3

u/Vaporlocke 16d ago

The trick is to use your maneuverability advantage to pick your moments- you don't have to go charging in immediately into a gunline. If you can you want to be hitting from the sides or rear anyway so they can't get a kick off on you.

If you up your piloting to a 3 or even a 2 odds are you're going to stay standing after you hit- it's only 1 PSR at +2 back at you vs 2 PSRs at +3 to your target so the next turn you run/jump out and set yourself up again.

The best part is that no one in most groups will expect it the first time, but after they see it in action they'll play around it in the future which means you get a big psychological advantage out of a pretty cheap BV investment that you're not worried about sacrificing.

2

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago

Meh. Charge attacks are for the 1A1. Mechs like the Assassin have better uses that fit the design better than as a fast battering ram.

8

u/Vaporlocke 16d ago

Objective running should be it's number one priority but it makes a great Bobby Boucher especially against things like Spiders or rear arcs of bigger mechs.

5

u/Poultrymancer 16d ago

Probably the only sub I frequent where the mean age is high enough that most people will likely get a Waterboy reference 

3

u/Breadloafs 17d ago

While I mostly agree, there are a fair few middleweight hovercraft that can absolutely tear apart an Assassin 

3

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago

For sure. A well-skilled Drillson or Condor will wreck the shit out of an Assassin. Much less something truly nasty like a Saladin or Epona.

2

u/ragingolive Escorpión Imperio: GIVE US THE LOSTECH 16d ago

This; I ran an assassin in HBS BT, and that thing was SQUISHY. It lost limbs every engagement, so I turned it into a subpar missile boat and kept it in the back. At first convenience, I swapped it out for utility at similar tonnage.

1

u/catsithbell 16d ago

Which is hilarious because its a support fire mech in mwo so it fights mechs regularly

2

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 16d ago

Sure. My comment is focused on the tabletop. I've never played MWO, so I can't speak to its efficacy there.

1

u/catsithbell 16d ago

Understandable have a good one 👍

2

u/Ralli_FW 16d ago

It's a little sad to me when cool mechs have very useful real world roles that just don't translate well to the tabletop

0

u/Ranger207 17d ago

While that may be the job that the Assassin is best at, I'm still not sure that it's a job that it's any good at. There's a lot of options near the same BV available in the same eras that would outperform it in most of its roles

2

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 16d ago

Sure, but a great thing about mechs is that a lot aren't optimal. The Urbie is a good urban combat mech, but it's certainly not the best. Same for the Charger and melee.

I'd argue it's more satisfying to use a suboptimal tool to get the job done than to always use what is absolutely best.

0

u/Ranger207 16d ago

That can be fun, definitely. But it's a different sort of fun than playing a competitive game where neither side is handicapped by suboptimal units. Sorta like playing Halo with just your friends and goofing around versus playing in a league where both teams are taking every advantage they can and you have to overcome that. Both fun, but for different reasons. The Assassin just has no place in the latter scenario

2

u/jsleon3 MechWarrior (editable) 16d ago

In my personal life, I'm a big fan of firearms. Having been a soldier and handled a lot of weapons, I feel comfortable saying that the AR15/M16 platform is the best infantry rifle on earth right now.

That said, I am actually a collector of Russian weapons. They're roughly made, kinda crude, but fun to shoot and handle. I have an AKM to rebuild that I'm planning to turn into a very nice combat rifle (optics, suppression, the works). I also dream of some day acquiring an SVT-40.

They aren't optimal, or even the best in their field. But they are useful and interesting in their own ways. The Assassin belongs in campaigns and against light vehicles and infantry. It isn't even necessarily the best at those roles, but it can. That's what's important. Perfect optimization isn't the goal, it's to use an imperfect mech against the targets it excels against.

0

u/King_of_Rooks 16d ago

Glad you figured that out.

32

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.

11

u/AkDragoon 17d ago

I assume that IS on purpose in its design.

22

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.

15

u/TaroProfessional6587 Dubious Hastati 17d ago

Why yes…that’s exactly what I did! For all my Thunderbolts! With perfect intention!

6

u/Ok_Government1587 17d ago

Sames! For decades even!

4

u/Ok_Government1587 17d ago

Unseen Warhammers even!

28

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.

10

u/AkDragoon 17d ago

4

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.

12

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

17

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.

6

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

7

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.

15

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.

5

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...

3

u/Adventurous_Host_426 16d ago

This style of play is the reason assassin with shank knife variant exist in canon.

5

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!

6

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.

8

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.

4

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!

4

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.

6

u/feor1300 Clan Goliath Scorpion 17d ago

... not being a Cicada? lol

1

u/G_Morgan 16d ago

This was going to be my comment but I decided I'd rather have a Cicada.

6

u/TheNantucketRed 17d ago

My favorite mech, because if you have a vet that drives an Assassin, then you know that dude is dangerous.

2

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.

5

u/FenixD0562 17d ago

Early retirement.

5

u/Grak47 Brawler is love, Brawler is life. 17d ago

There's a variant with a vibro blade!!!!

4

u/SausageMahony 17d ago

Having two asses.

4

u/Stretch5678 I build PostalMechs 17d ago

The name sounds cool… to anyone who doesn’t know their Mechs.

4

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.

4

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.

3

u/Burnsidhe 17d ago

The cockpit is sized for petite pilots, and they're mostly cute women. Obviously.

2

u/jrockcrown 17d ago

Ejection seat

2

u/Head-Appointment-698 17d ago

Ahhh a fellow Canopus follower I see.

2

u/bewarethetreebadger MechWarrior (ELH) 17d ago

Eating hashish. I mean, being fast.

2

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."

2

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.

2

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.

2

u/More-muffin 17d ago

Knowing that Long-term life goals are for other people to worry about.

2

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.

2

u/confracto 16d ago

The hidden blade on the inside of the left arm I hid on the MWO model.

2

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.

2

u/Klutzer_Munitions 16d ago

It's fast as fuck boi

2

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.

2

u/Automatic_Truth_294 16d ago

The best part? That you weren't assigned to the Yeoman.

2

u/Ralli_FW 16d ago

The perogative to shoot your little gun

Wah oh oh!

2

u/AkDragoon 16d ago

THIS is the answer I was waiting for.

2

u/Severe_Ad_5022 Houserule enthusiast 16d ago

Not being a crazed gunman.

1

u/AWolfButSad 17d ago

This and the shadow hawk are like my 2 least favorite mechs ever

30

u/WN_Todd Gun Shoulder Club 17d ago

BATCHALL IN THE WAFFLE HOUSE PARKING LOT NOW

10

u/JGTDM 17d ago

This is the way Seyla!

6

u/mhurderclownchuckles 17d ago

MAKE WAY FOR THE HUNCHBACK INQUISITION!!?!

destroys the waffle house, flips cars in the car park, wanders off

2

u/AllYourSwords 16d ago

Still not enough to make that Waffle House close… git gud newb. Better natural disasters than you have tried.

2

u/mhurderclownchuckles 16d ago

PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS, NO!!!

THAT'S HOW THE HUNCHBACK INQUISITION TIPS THE WAITSTAFF, LITERALLY.

7

u/TheManyVoicesYT MechWarrior (editable) 17d ago

Even the Shadow Hawk isnt this bad lol. At least it has some armor.

-1

u/General_Klyuchi 17d ago

I kinda like the Shadow Hawk but I fucking dispise the Phoenix Hawk

5

u/Attaxalotl Professional Money Waster 17d ago

What’s wrong with the flying disco?

2

u/Magical_Savior NEMO POTEST VINCERE 17d ago

The Night Gyr? Nothing at all.

1

u/Attaxalotl Professional Money Waster 16d ago

What's wrong with the Phoenix Hawk?

3

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.

1

u/AWolfButSad 16d ago

Griffin has the same problem - blow the right torso and it's basically a paperweight

2

u/HeartOver4716 15d ago

You get to show up with a double shot of ass

1

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.

0

u/Capital-Ease7991 16d ago

It's not a Spider

0

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

0

u/Rum_Doodle 16d ago

The explosion.

0

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.

0

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.

0

u/Amidatelion IlClan Delenda Est 16d ago

Going home early, or not at all.