Editing BattleMech (section)

== Types of BattleMechs ==
There are several ways to sort out each model from its contemporaries as shown below.

=== Weight Class ===
The most common classification of BattleMechs in-universe is by weight. How it's actually calculated is up in the air, as it doesn't appear to take into account the complete weight of the vehicle (since many Mechs have almost 10-20% of their tonnage taken up by armor), but it's generally agreed upon that this is the optimal "weight" of a fully kitted out BattleMech.

* '''Ultralight Mechs''': Any Mech under 20 tonnes. Mostly used to man garrisons and patrol colonies out in the boondocks for law enforcement and piracy deterrence, they’re basically an aluminum box on legs with some machine guns or grenade launchers wired to a joystick. Depending on your luck, they might be the fastest thing you have or the worst purchase you ever made. Marginally better than a regular armored vehicle for direct fighting, the difference between one of these and an IndustrialMech strapped with ordinance is very, ''very'' difficult to parse.
* '''Light Mechs''': Mechs between 20 and 35 Tonnes. They are normally cheap, easy to deploy, fast and lightly armored and are used for Scouting, Raiding, or in some cases urban defence. In-universe they are usually the most common type of BattleMech known. The [[Draconis Combine]] has used a tactic called "The Charge of the Horde": throw a large number of Light Mechs with Rookie pilots at a problem. They can run circles around enemy mediums and heavies, are cheap enough that you can eat the losses and MechWarriors who survive this trial by fire have proven their worth for heavier hitters.
* '''Medium Mechs''': Mechs between 40 and 55 Tonnes. Able to throw down better than a Light Mech while being faster and cheaper than a heavy. Also includes specialized support units, as the medium weight range marks the point where glass-cannon loadouts with the biggest boomsticks become practical. Mostly used for tactical needs on paper, but tend to be wildly flexible in practice. Many of the more useful and iconic mechs in the series are in this category if they aren't Heavy Mechs.
* '''Heavy Mechs''': Mechs between 60 and 75 Tonnes. The workhorses of most armies, affordable heavy power while still being able to move faster than a truck heaving forward. They are also just large enough that they can be used as the command units in any BattleMech formation due to the ability to mount specialty gear like C3 Master command modules. Several of the most iconic mechs in the series are in this class.
* '''Assault Mechs''': Mechs between 80 to 100 Tonnes. The heavy hitters; ponderous and pricey but durable with heavy weapons and armor to both take and dispense a serious beatdown.  When these hit the field it means some serious shit is going down, they're not committed casually (Lyran recon lances notwithstanding).  Most assault mechs instantly recognizable symbols of their respective factions; all except for the [[Banshee (BattleTech)|BNS-1S]].  Nobody respects the Banshee.
* '''Super Heavy Mechs''': Also called Colossal, they’re any Mech that is more than 100 Tonnes. Up until the 31st century, the general consensus was that Mechs more than 100 Tonnes were basically laughably bad penis compensators. After the [[Clan Invasion]] people are beginning to make them work, but logistics keep them towards being niche.

=== Combat Role ===
In terms of combat utility, BattleMechs can be split into certain categories based on their specifications. While some roles may be filled with conventional armored vehicles, they take either a higher weight class or a larger motor pool to compensate.

* '''Scout''': The fastest of the lot but mounting light armaments while armored with tinfoil. These speedsters rely on  agility and small size to scoot from place to place before transmitting intel from their sensors on the enemy back to their bigger partners. They also like to shoot the weak spots of any enemy unit they can outflank before running away to avoid crumpling under returning fire.
* '''Striker''': Second only to scouts in a race while sporting a short ranged arsenal and decent armor. These jocks are meant to run up to enemy units and let loose with all the firepower they can get into range. They work best while charging in a swarm with covering fire as well as concealment from terrain until they can get the jump on an enemy.
* '''Skirmisher''': Fast moving while outfitted with medium ranged weapons and reasonable armor. They’re generalists who can be flexible jacks-of-all-trades. Often times, they partner with other combat roles for both ends to compensate for each other's short comings. They can also be used for running battles where a scout's paper-thin armor is too light to survive but will crumple in sieges from units with a heavier arsenal unless they’re supported with covering fire.
* '''Brawler''': On the slower range of mobility while kitted with medium-to-long ranged weapons and heavy armor. These guys are the main component of an attack wave. While they're not good at long duration fights and running battles, they serve well as escort units for Juggernauts, as either defensive guards or offensive breachers during sieges, and can flush out hidden units out of foxholes.
* '''Missile Boat''': Sitting back from the front lines, these units seek to provide indirect fire in the form of missiles or artillery shells while hiding behind cover. Compared to snipers, they do not need to have a direct line-of-site on their targets but are more dependent on targeting data from scouts.
* '''Sniper''': Similar to the missile boat but with a long ranged weapon that requires direct line-of-sight, these guys are slower than skirmishers or strikers but their platform stability allows them to take pot-shots reliably. While escorts  with short-ranged weapons can make up for their lack of CQC capability, they're best used while hidden away from plain view.
* '''Juggernaut''': The slowest of the pack but possessing powerful short-ranged weapons with thick slabs of armor, these mobile fortresses rely in pure inertia to keep the ball moving forward. Tactically, they work in unison with other unit classes to get in range of distracted enemy units or fortifications before using their arsenal to delete said targets from the field.

=== Other ===
Beyond weight and combat specialty, there are a few other specialized types of BattleMech, each with their own strengths and drawbacks.

* '''Bipedal''': A mech with two legs, most common type; broken down into three separate subcategories such as '''Humanoid''', '''Reverse Joint''', and '''Digitigrade''', however performance between the three is negligible as all three have both standout variants and regrettable variants alike.
*'''Tripodal''': An experimental three-legged variant that's only rarely been used, even when the design idea gained traction in the 32nd century, only four mechs in the entire canon have ever used this variant. What does make them stand out though is their ability to constantly move in any direction without braking and their proven ability to be built as Super-Heavy tonnage.
*'''Quadropedal''': A mech which has four legs instead of two. They have something of a bad reputation for allegedly requiring more crew and less armor, but on the other hand can loose a leg and still be in the fight. Are far less common than Bipedal Mechs, but are still fairly common as mobile fire-boats. Another transformable variant is "Quadvees" among Clan Hell's Horses that can change back and forth into tanks. While they can still fight if the gyro is damaged in tank form, the extra limbs and servos for transforming gives them the same weaknesses of being stuck in one mode after being damaged as their LAM relatives.
*'''SecurityMech''': Sometimes referred to as MilitiaMechs, PoliceMechs, or (if they’re field-modified off existing IndustrialMech chassis) MOD’s, these are basically up-armored and armed IndustrialMechs. Often used for internal policing, quelling riots, fending off giant wildlife, and anti-piracy deterrence, they're usually used for guarding critical infrastructure or facilities that are far from the front lines. Due to their less robust construction, lighter weapon load-out, and less energy intensive engine, they're marginally better than combat vehicles for front line combat. On the other hand, they’re cheap enough that any backwater planet can buy them if atmospheric aircraft and tank use for security isn’t enough and they’re good enough for preventing covert sabotage, banditry, and insurgent activity. Like mainstream BattleMechs, they have their own weight classes:  Light (10-15 tons), Medium (20-25 tons), Heavy (30-35 tons), and Assault (40-50 tons).
*'''FrankenMech''': more formally called HybridMechs, they're basically any [[Looted|ad hoc]] and [[Mekboy|non-standardized]] Mech created by cobbling together any spare parts from a dozen other BattleMechs that a mad engineer or desperate pirate can scrounge from their basement without any corporate support or standardized template. Deep in the Periphery, they're also called Corsairs. 
*'''[[Robotech|Land Air Mech]]''': sometimes called LAM's. Basically a light mech that can transform from an Aerospace Fighter into a regular mech. They got invented during the Star League as experimental reconnaissance units, but got phased out due to being more fragile than regular fighters and mechs while requiring way more maintenance (as well as needing pilots with both BattleMech and Aerospace skills). Out of universe, BattleTech developers decided it was too much effort to keep without lawsuits from Harmony Gold (as seen with the infamous "Unseen/Reseen" mech artwork from other IP's), so [[Robotech|Max]] ended up keeping his Veritech all to himself. 
*'''[[OmniMech]]''': the Lego/Swiss Army Knife variant of a regular Mech. Can change their loadouts as quickly as swapping ammo magazines, and can do other nifty things, like carrying [[Clan Elemental|armored infantry]] in battle. The flip side to all this awesomeness? They're way more expensive: One Mad Cat is roughly the same cost as three early-model Awesomes. That said, Three Awesomes to a single Mad Cat is weirdly comparable as a match-up. Clan tech is a wee bit overpowered.
*'''ProtoMech''': spanning the gap between Battle Armor that maxes out at 2 metric tons and UltraLight BattleMechs below 20 tons, ProtoMechs were created by Clan Smoke Jaguar to make the most out of their shrinking resource base after the Second Star League drove them out of the Inner Sphere. While the Clan ultimately died out in the end at the Great Refusal, the ProtoMech Concept remained in use by the Clans for some time. Instead of using a traditional cockpit, a embedded circuitry system grafted under the skin of the pilot (used by some Clan Warriors for traditional Mechs) enabled pilots to use a ProtoMechs’ limbs like their own in a fancy version of augmented reality hooked to mechanical limbs. Additionally, the smaller size and direct interface with a pilot's senses removed the need for a bulky gyro . However, such interfaces still shortened users’ lives and made them feel the loss of limbs as painfully as if it were their own being sheared off. Naturally, outside the Blakists incorporating the interface tech into their Manei Domini cyborgs, no Inner Sphere faction tried to reverse engineer them due to technical issues and ethical concerns. Thus, they remain an obscure niche within some Clans.