Starting Battletech - Revision history

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2023-06-22T17:09:13Z

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1d4chan>Applejack: Standardized terminology, linked to pages, and added description of the TechManual.

2023-05-31T02:49:35Z

Standardized terminology, linked to pages, and added description of the TechManual.

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2601:8C0:781:5900:B9B1:BBF0:53A1:41AB: /* What To Buy */

2023-03-06T19:21:13Z

What To Buy

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 6 March 2023
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	There's a few different ways to get into Battletech. As of this writing, the best way is probably the A Game Of Armored Combat (AGoAC) box set. Retailing at $60 USD (and easily available at Barnes & Noble if you're in the States), the AGoAC box is a complete game experience for two people. The eight 'Mechs included easily split into two Lances of four 'Mechs each(and most of them are both iconic and reasonable for use by any faction). The box includes two full map sheets (the standard number for a 4v4 game) and the box includes rules, dice, background info, and everything else you need.		There's a few different ways to get into Battletech. As of this writing, the best way is probably the A Game Of Armored Combat (AGoAC) box set. Retailing at $60 USD (and easily available at Barnes & Noble if you're in the States), the AGoAC box is a complete game experience for two people. The eight 'Mechs included easily split into two Lances of four 'Mechs each(and most of them are both iconic and reasonable for use by any faction). The box includes two full map sheets (the standard number for a 4v4 game) and the box includes rules, dice, background info, and everything else you need.

	The second choice, if you prefer to dip your toes in for pocket change, is the Beginner Box. A miniature version of the above. Two 'Mechs, one map sheet, and the quick start rules. It is mostly notable for currently being the only box where you can get the ~~Griffin~~ 'Mech in plastic.		The second choice, if you prefer to dip your toes in for pocket change, is the Beginner Box. A miniature version of the above. Two 'Mechs, one map sheet, and the quick start rules. It is mostly notable for currently being the only box where you can get the Vindicator 'Mech in plastic.

	The third choice is the Clan Invasion box set. This one is theoretically considered an expansion to A Game of Armored Combat, but since it includes a pair of mapsheets and five 'Mechs with two points of Elemental power armor, it's a good expansion if you want to play the Clans, just be aware that its ruleset adds on to what AGoAC offers and does not stand alone. Clan Invasion naturally introduces the Clans and their more advanced technology, including mentioned power armor. It also includes the Mad Cat, one of the favorite designs of the franchise. Just a note, if the Clans sound appealing to you, understand that you'll pretty much always be outnumbered. Thanks to their skilled pilots and advanced technology, a "Star" of five Clan 'Mechs is often balanced against two lances of eight Inner Sphere 'Mechs.		The third choice is the Clan Invasion box set. This one is theoretically considered an expansion to A Game of Armored Combat, but since it includes a pair of mapsheets and five 'Mechs with two points of Elemental power armor, it's a good expansion if you want to play the Clans, just be aware that its ruleset adds on to what AGoAC offers and does not stand alone. Clan Invasion naturally introduces the Clans and their more advanced technology, including mentioned power armor. It also includes the Mad Cat, one of the favorite designs of the franchise. Just a note, if the Clans sound appealing to you, understand that you'll pretty much always be outnumbered. Thanks to their skilled pilots and advanced technology, a "Star" of five Clan 'Mechs is often balanced against two lances of eight Inner Sphere 'Mechs.

2601:406:4C80:9F90:1754:29DA:D1A5:3D48: /* Combined Arms */

2022-10-17T10:15:55Z

Combined Arms

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:15, 17 October 2022
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	Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle Armored Infantry, Tanks (Combat Vehicles), Hovercraft, VTOLs (Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, Conventional Fighters, DropShips(Trans-atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.		Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle Armored Infantry, Tanks (Combat Vehicles), Hovercraft, VTOLs (Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, Conventional Fighters, DropShips(Trans-atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.

	*As of this writing (April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in ~~Fall '22~~.		*As of this writing (April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in March 2023.
	*Iron Wind Metals produces models for most canon designs. In addition, plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.		*Iron Wind Metals produces models for most canon designs. In addition, plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.
	*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.		*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.

119.160.169.16: /* Combined Arms */

2022-05-28T17:05:59Z

Combined Arms

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:05, 28 May 2022
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	Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle Armored Infantry, Tanks (Combat Vehicles), Hovercraft, VTOLs (Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, Conventional Fighters, DropShips(Trans-atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.		Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle Armored Infantry, Tanks (Combat Vehicles), Hovercraft, VTOLs (Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, Conventional Fighters, DropShips(Trans-atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.

	*As of this writing(April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.		*As of this writing (April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.
	*Iron Wind Metals produces models for most canon designs. In addition, plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.		*Iron Wind Metals produces models for most canon designs. In addition, plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.
	*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.		*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.

119.160.169.16 at 17:05, 28 May 2022

2022-05-28T17:05:06Z

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	}}		}}

	[[Battletech]] is a detailed, all-encompassing game(or family of games) focused on 31st-century warfare with massive machines known as BattleMechs. Check out the game's main article for more information on the game itself and the setting. However, since the game has been in production in one form or another since 1984 and has amassed a good 1200 years of fictional history in its timeline, it can be pretty daunting for a new prospective player. This page will be your humble guide on a journey, where the end point is giant robots tearing each others' limbs off and beating each other with them. Should be fun.		[[Battletech]] is a detailed, all-encompassing game (or family of games) focused on 31st-century warfare with massive machines known as BattleMechs. Check out the game's main article for more information on the game itself and the setting. However, since the game has been in production in one form or another since 1984 and has amassed a good 1200 years of fictional history in its timeline, it can be pretty daunting for a new prospective player. This page will be your humble guide on a journey, where the end point is giant robots tearing each others' limbs off and beating each other with them. Should be fun.

	As a quick note, this guide is only concerned with the Classic Battletech game system, and not the simplified spinoff Alpha Strike.		As a quick note, this guide is only concerned with the Classic Battletech game system, and not the simplified spinoff Alpha Strike.

2A00:79E1:ABC:C0F:9C4C:A29A:BA09:4E57: /* Basic Principles */

2022-05-19T21:49:15Z

Basic Principles

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:49, 19 May 2022
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	==Basic Principles==		==Basic Principles==

	If you're on this website, you're probably familiar with other wargames. Battletech behaves pretty differently from most of them.		If you're on this website, you're probably familiar with other wargames. Battletech behaves pretty differently from most of them. It's not a stretch to say it's a board game instead of a miniatures wargame.

	*The biggest difference is Factions. Most wargames require the player to choose a faction, such as the Orks in Warhammer 40k or the Empire in Star Wars: Legion, and those factions determine special rules and your access to units. Battletech doesn't do this - any player can use any unit and there are no faction rules. There are varying factions in the fluff and story, but these generally aren't reflected in gameplay. Some mechs are most used by specific factions, such as the Draconis Combine preferring the Panther, but captured units and battlefield salvage can justify any faction using any mech.		*The biggest difference is Factions. Most wargames require the player to choose a faction, such as the Orks in Warhammer 40k or the Empire in Star Wars: Legion, and those factions determine special rules and your access to units. Battletech doesn't do this - any player can use any unit and there are no faction rules. There are varying factions in the fluff and story, but these generally aren't reflected in gameplay. Some mechs are most used by specific factions, such as the Draconis Combine preferring the Panther, but captured units and battlefield salvage can justify any faction using any mech.
	*The next major difference is the level of detail. Battletech is light on abstraction. Rather than units having rough Hit Points, you track the individual subsystems of the mechs, such as their gyros and limb actuators, and you track individual shots worth of ammo. This level of detail requires less models on the field - a normal game will have four mechs per side, and a huge game will have twelve.		*The next major difference is the level of detail. Battletech is light on abstraction. Rather than units having rough Hit Points, you track the individual subsystems of the mechs, such as their gyros and limb actuators, and you track individual shots worth of ammo. This level of detail requires less models on the field - a normal game will have four mechs per side, and a huge game will have twelve.
	*No What You See Is What You Get. You don't actually need to use the right miniature to represent a mech. You could use a different miniature, a paper cutout, etc. All it really needs is to have a defined front and fit into one of the hexes on the board.		*No "What You See Is What You Get." You don't actually need to use the right miniature to represent a mech. You could use a different miniature, a paper cutout, etc. All it really needs is to have a defined front and fit into one of the hexes on the board.
	*Battletech has an evolving timeline. Every unit in the game has a year it was introduced, and individual pieces of equipment are the same. As a general rule, 3015 is the least advanced time period, and more advanced technologies are introduced as the timeline progresses, with the "current" of the timeline being set in 3151. Players generally agree on a time period or specific year when setting up a game. Generally, the majority of groups either play in the 3020s or 3050s, the Succession Wars or Clan Invasion eras.		*Battletech has an evolving timeline. Every unit in the game has a year it was introduced, and individual pieces of equipment are the same. As a general rule, 3015 is the least advanced time period, and more advanced technologies are introduced as the timeline progresses, with the "current" of the timeline being set in 3151. Players generally agree on a time period or specific year when setting up a game. Generally, the majority of groups either play in the 3020s or 3050s, the Succession Wars or Clan Invasion eras.
	*Every mech has multiple variants. To match with the advancing technology and fit them into the various factions' preferences, every Mech has multiple variants with different equipment and weapons. These can be simple changes, like swapping a targeting computer for a laser, or radical rebuilds that essentially make the mech a different machine entirely. What this means is that a given miniature can be many different units for you, changing to fit your tastes, your faction, and the time period you're playing in. There are also "Omnimechs", which can hot-swap between various configurations instead of being built as one.		*Every mech has multiple variants. To match with the advancing technology and fit them into the various factions' preferences, every Mech has multiple variants with different equipment and weapons. These can be simple changes, like swapping a targeting computer for a laser, or radical rebuilds that essentially make the mech a different machine entirely. What this means is that a given miniature can be many different units for you, changing to fit your tastes, your faction, and the time period you're playing in. There are also "Omnimechs", which can hot-swap between various configurations instead of being built as one.

47.229.171.154: /* Combined Arms */

2022-04-28T02:10:49Z

Combined Arms

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:10, 28 April 2022
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	*As of this writing(April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.		*As of this writing(April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.
	*~~Plenty~~ of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.		*Iron Wind Metals produces models for most canon designs. In addition, plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.
	*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.		*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.
			*DropShips take up a full 7 hexes(a central hex and the 6 immediately surrounding it) and are 10 levels tall(five times the height of a mech), so they're really best represented with a paper cutout. IWM does sell resin ones, and printed ones are available, but game-scale DropShips are heavily out of scale with Mech miniatures, so having an actual model doesn't get you much.

	[[Category:BattleTech]]		[[Category:BattleTech]]

71.205.180.193: /* Combined Arms */

2022-04-28T01:14:25Z

Combined Arms

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:14, 28 April 2022
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	===Combined Arms===		===Combined Arms===

	Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle ~~Armor~~, Tanks, Hovercraft, VTOLs(Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, DropShips(Trans atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.		Mechs may be the stars of the show, but Battletech has more than just mechs. Once you've got Total Warfare in your hands, Battletech has rules for plenty of other unit types, including Infantry, Battle Armored Infantry, Tanks (Combat Vehicles), Hovercraft, VTOLs (Helicopters), Aerospace Fighters, Conventional Fighters, DropShips(Trans-atmospheric spacecraft) and even aquatic Naval Vessels. As a general rule, Aerospace Fighters and Naval Vessels aren't worth the effort, but the others can be valuable additions to your games after you've gotten Battlemechs under your belt. The issue, of course, is getting models to represent them with.

	*As of this writing(April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.		*As of this writing(April '22), The new Battletech: Mercenaries kickstarter was recently announced, and it will be bringing plastic models of various vehicles to market. It's coming in Fall '22.
	*Plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.		*Plenty of vehicles have 3d prints or STLs available on Etsy and similar places, just like mechs.
	*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today.		*The company GHQ Miniatures, which has been making wargame minis since 1967, has a huge line of models from the world wars through to today. They're the right scale for Battletech(1/285th) and both cheap and high quality. GHQ actually supplies NATO's military wargamers. The only issue is that many designs, especially WW2 and current ones, are immediately recognizable, and it might break immersion to put Battlemechs next to what's clearly a T-34, so try pulling obscure and lesser known models - the Cold War is a treasure trove of weird vehicles no one talks about today. That being said, kitbashing and molding with greenstuff works too if you have the time and imagination.

	[[Category:BattleTech]]		[[Category:BattleTech]]