Editing BattleMech (section)

== The utility of a BattleMech ==
An often asked question (usually by smartasses in the BattleTech general threads) is just how useful a Mech is in a universe that is harder science-fiction than say, [[Star Wars]] or [[40k]], given that they share a universe with Tanks, Hovertanks, AeroSpace Fighters, and Powered Armor. The Answer is largely in both the way wars are fought in BattleTech, and also in performance per C-Bill. 

The BattleMech has many advantages that Tanks and Fighters simply can't match in open combat; while an AeroSpace Fighter can absolutely fly better and move faster than any Mech, it's expensive, more resource intensive to use in ground warfare, and is generally better served in upper atmosphere trying to tie up DropShips and Bombers and the like. The Tank is venerable, cheap, mounts a lot of the same guns as a Mech, and hasn't been completely replaced by them and probably never will be, but even with the advances in Fission technology, many tanks are still dependent on comparatively archaic fuel sources and design methods (such as structural weakpoints set towards the roof of the tank that suddenly became much less forgivable in a time of big stompy mechs), and ultimately a devotion to how nice the terrain plays that keep them limited to support or artillery roles. The BattleMech, any of them at all, might be expensive and a big target, but they don't have to worry that much about fueling, all of their armaments are usually far more numerous and pack a much more painful punch than anything else can safely carry, and they have the very useful ability to effectively negate most difficult terrain due to their sheer size, weight, and ability to move in a humanlike fashion, and if they happen to run into some they can't immediately pass through, a good majority of Mechs can simply use Jump Jets to get around them. Most can even get shot to pieces and still run if they manage to keep all the vital shit together, though the company the MechWarrior works for will probably be out a good amount of C-Bills and time for repairs.

And regarding the warfare, BattleTech's universe has a mutually agreed upon set of rules of warfare in the Inner Sphere and also from the Clans that typically ensures that something that can hit a target hard, fast, coordinate with other units, and then protect that position better than the other side could, often many at a time, is more valuable than just firepower or maneuverability. Tanks might be able to do that if you sent a ''bunch'' of them, and as cool as squadrons of Aerospace Fighters can be, neither are built to handle that kind of combat with clear ground objectives that they must take and then hold like a lance of four Mechs, usually all around the same size and with varied payload description, could do on their own. There is a ''reason'' everyone who didn't have the tech at the time wanted one; it saves money in the long run to cut the logistics of a whole company of soldiers and tanks' and fighters' firepower down into four giant robots and their pilots that can shrug off (or at least not be downed by) being shot with an artillery cannon.

Also it's the [[AWESOME|fucking tightest shit imaginable]], and if you seriously need to ask the question "why would someone want to pilot a giant robot" then I'm afraid this game just isn't for you.