My favourite stunt was stripping the stock weapons out, stuffing in TSM, a supercharger, an XL350 and five jump jets, and then putting a Clan LPL and two ERML under both of the shoulder hatches, maxing the armor with Ferro Fibrous, and upgrading the murder mittens to proper Battlefists. _And then hiding it in a fire support lance with another stock Archer_
You are quite an evil mech designer. Then again I did something similar with the Rifleman in HBS's Battletech game. Two Snub PPCs,two Medium lasers and two MGs. Then I slapped a lot of armor on. The AI keep charging it until it fires for the first time in a mission,then they start backing up.
There is just something about the Archer that speaks to me. I love the Warhammer and Marauders but I feel like the Archer is that jack of all trades mech that just does it for me.
The Archer is just the epitome of the quietly useful mech. Not too flashy, will probably not be a priority for your opponent but will get the job done. The ARC-4M is just so sensible it probably got its pension sorted out before it was 20.
From the perspective of the MMO age, it's the Drake battlecruiser of Battletech. It does one thing so well every company should have one, and every battalion had better have several.
People also forget that the mech has fully articulating hands allowing it to carry external cargo, act as a repair or construction mech and loader mech as well. All very useful things when you are doing a campaign. One of the novels describes an Archer using the hands to lift and the arm mounted laser to weld structural members for a skyscraper under construction. Personally I see it more as loading ammo onto or off of transport vehicles, repairing other mechs, or preparing field emplacements with those fully functional hands.
@@williamjanak2013slow, way more expensive and only 2 lrm5 more. Might be clutch in some cases but honestly archer is more than enough for most fire support. More BV for a good frontline and a trooper to protect the archer.
@@williamjanak2013 25% slower, and two LRM-5s? Yawn. Maybe a version with Clantech, where you can get Six (6) LRM-15s you could make the argument the Longbow is better, but not for long until that runs out of ammo.
Also, lance leader, you know I like to hear the thunder before I bring the rain. You know I need to play my song as I bring the rain down little. A little Led Zeppelin always brightens the mood.
The CityTech box with the Archer on front was the first Battletech product I ever owned. It was in 1988 and I purchased it from a local video rental store that also stocked shareware, Warhammer and Anime.
I absolutely ADORE the Archer. Playing MW5 with friends was my entry point to the franchise, and I'm not kidding when I say it was love at first sight. I usually treat it as a long-range command mech, but I also enjoy getting in mechs' faces when they try and flank me and discover just how much damage two heavy fists can do.
The Taurian 6W variant deserves some love for its sheer lunacy: 8x RL20s and 2x rear-mounted RL10s. It is no longer fire support, it is a claymore mine with legs. All four lasers became arm-mounted. Imagine being in a command mech and seeing that thing looking at you.
The Archer is a timeless classic. Raining down a 40 LRM volley on your enemy will never go out of fashion. The Archer is simple, easy to understand and very good at it´s job. Every item has it´s purpose and is well placed.
The Archer so was first-in-class for the full package of torso-missiles and I'll forever love it for it. One of the originals, it'll always be a great one to field. Loved it since it being featured on the cover of City Tech.
Moving the CTR lasers to the arms is the most common field refit for Archers I see. Thanks to torso twisting, you can still shoot em to the rear of you really need to.
I remember one time I watched an Archer draw first blood in a 2v2 match not with its missiles but by nearly ripping my teammate's overconfident locust in half in melee
There are 4 chassis that have been in my Command lance since this game started in 1984. Marauder, Warhammer, Archer, and Phoenix Hawk. Since TRO 3025 came out I switched the Mad to the 3D and the Hammer to the 6D. I've kept the Archer ARC-2R and Phoenix Hawk PXH-1 as they were. That's 40 years using the same 4 chassis and 2 even being the same variant in 3025 era games. I've never felt the need to replace the Archer with anything else. It's that good. In later eras I use newer variants but if I have the Battle Value I'll still have an Archer.
I have an unhealthy love of fire support and the Archer is one of my favourites. The design is so cool but my bad design habits will have me swap out the lasers for more ammo. The theory is that other mechs will keep enemies at range but in the event that they can't, well that's what the fists are for.
I think the ARC-5S was designed not only to fend off the clan light mechs that are often sent to neutralize fire support mechs, but also, elementals. The multiple pulse lasers, two in the rear, and the streaks makes for a very dangerous approach for elementals or battlearmor to get in close and tangle with.
Back in the day, what always stuck out about the Archer for me was that, despite being an LRM boat, it has 2 of the best battle fists shy of an Atlas. So i made an urban brawler varient to lean i to that. 1 Lg Laser, 4 SRM 6's, jump jets, plus some wight saving tech, can't remember it was endo steel or FF. It was fun covering a hunchback with inferno jelly then smacking it with an I-beam.
Honestly, an icon. A pure classic from the dawn of the game to this very day. Personally, I have to sign the praises of the 4M and 4M2; just a sprinkle of advanced tech to get some CASE and double heatsinks in there, plus some extra bells and whistles, and you're good to go. Keep It Simple Stupid.
There's one factor to the Archer that I feel should also be highlighted. Battlefists. Mad Ducks mentions being able to flip enemies off while raining missiles, which is valid, but I have yet another take. Earthwerks didn't leave the thing with regular hand actuators, they built the thing from the start as a mech that can square up on, rush in at, and absolutely STARCH any flanking or scouting elements that get a little too close. I play the HBS game and Total Warfare on tabletop regularly, and I get giddy every time I have a chance to surprise the OpFor with an unexpected haymaker from the "fire support" mech. It's also a great way to cool down 😁
The additional 3 tons of space on Morgan Kell's archer was taken up by the JK-420 main character suite, consisting of 1.5 tons of ferro-literary plot armour protecting the cockpit and center torso, as well as a "Lucky Shot" FU-69 main character targeting computer weighing an additional ton. No clue what he did with the last half ton, my guess is a two-in-one ice cream/espresso machine in the cockpit. Fantastic vid as always, thanks MechFrog!
The last half ton is the EGO storage locker, you have to have room for that oversized NeuroHelmet for "THE BIG HEAD". LOL I mean really plot armor so thick you can make your mech disappear off scanners completely, at near melee distances !!!
Good to know about the leg ammo on the CS variant. We have a Tukayyid campaign starting up this weekend, and I think the local school bus is going to drop off some Elementals for a field trip by it. 😊
Remember that Com Star had prepared field defenses, that almost always hid the lower portion of the mech. So adjust incoming damage / hit locations accordingly. Especially for those mechs with ammo in the legs.
Having played the 4M, that beast is scary. It has massive firepower, is comparably cheap, is heat efficient and very survivable. Thanks to its Art. IV, it has a missile barrage comparable to the larger Salammander. By far my favorite recovered tech version.
That Comstar variant is brutal, I hadn't seen it before. I think if I was building the CS I'd do 4xLRM15s without the Artemis and 3 or 4xSSRM2s for backup. The Artemis is only useful when you have direct fire on target, but in general you should be sitting it behind and forcing the Clans to advance into your forces to hunt them down. If you're Comstar and you're going all out you should have NARC-guided munitions available to you. The streaks offer a bit of pew to savage Elementals if they somehow get within range, and if you have multiple Archers in a lance they can focus down a point easily each round.
The archer has one of my favourite tabeltop loadouts ever, the ARC-4M Ismail. It forgoes any pretence of fire support for 2 Medium Pulse Lasers, some extra armour and 8 SRM4s. It's glorious, it's hilarious, it's the one that makes people stomp out of the building in a blind range. SRMs, MPLs and Battlefists, come a little closer, I'm only an Archer... But seriously, the Archer is an excellent long range mech and useful in any era, but the shotgun variant is just too much fun.
I've seen dice nearly go through the windows on several occasions, due to a well placed SRM Archer dropping more than a just a surprise on players with short tempers.
Been a Kell Hound fan for years . Morgan Kell and his Archer has always been my favourite mech and I also tend to use an Archer in MW5 : Mercenaries . Just so useful
We love the Archer because it's a solid fire support mech, and as one of the original ten BattleDroids it's been part of the franchise from the very beginning. And if you were a Macross/Robotech fan, it (or one of the other Unseen) were probably part of your entry into the franchise.
ah wonderful to listen to while painting mechs and yeah the Archer has always been a go to for me the return of the unseen has greatly upped my game both in PCs game and table tops.
My first-ever tabletop mech! Love it. Such fond memories. I stomped forward into the fray, and my 'teacher' had to explain why the Archer was supposed to stay back. I discovered the pain of minimum-range fire the hard way. Haha, good times. I like the MF-variant's laser configuration. Rather than having two lasers stuck rearward, you can torso twist to shoot two into that rear arc, and have two more to hit somewhere forward... but if you do need all four in the front arc, you have that option available. Good choice! #ButThereAreNoPlasmaRifles *gasp* ;)
Thanks Frog! For a support mech the Archer is a favorite especially if piloting it in an an RPG campaign as hands sure useful even outside of pugilism or to swing an improvised club. The Archer is just a classic good looking mech that works as designed.
It has to be that iconic look. Like a clan Vulture but better because its IS. One of the very few mech where old art also holds up. And those launching bay doors just a cherry on top. Gotta buy it at some point in my campaign.
Archer has always been one of my favorites since the early 90s when I first started playing, I have always done my own refits, usually opting to simply move the rear arc lasers into the arms for better firepower. My personalized helmtech variant features DBL heatsinks and endo steel to save weight and upgrade the sustainability of firepower and armor. IMO the archer is one of the best mixtures of mobility and purpose in the game, it does one thing very well and thus can fit into a mixed lance that covers all bases very well. I play a lot of modded battletech 2018 still and it's always one of my favorite mechs to find.
I am truly devastated that we didn’t get to see you put three to four Plasma rifles in each side torso. This unprecedented design philosophy is truly disturbing. Great video. Loves to see you finally cover this iconic Mech
I'm SO upset you didn't cover the custom ARC build I made in '95! Seriously, I've been waiting for the Archer video for a long time. It's been one of my faves since I discovered the game, and I'm glad it's as popular in-universe.
... honestly: one of the most beautifully-designed... in the history of the setting, and certainly top-5 when rating the setting's most "iconic" mech's within the original Macross Variants. There really is no-better command-mech (perhaps the Highlander) at every level of the command-cycle, whether "tip-of-the-spear" or "cavalry and supporting artillery"; there's a "command-fit" for every-need. I love it...
The Archer is just a really solid design, great at fire support, useful hands, acceptable ride for a company captain. Even with all the variants, the Arc-2R is one introtech model that's still made and sold in current day, and I think that says a lot.
In MW 5:Mercs I have an Archer with two LRM-15s,two (or four,I need to check)Medium lasers and a rather large sword for discouraging anyone from getting too close. A sword the size of many light mechs tends to be good at making mechs reconsider close combat with this archer.
The Archer is one of the mech with the greatest amount of iterations, not just because it´s one of the oldest, but also one of the most recognizable mechs in the BT franchise. And it got several depictions in great novels as well, cementing its fame even further. I really like your MF version, it stays true to the original idea of the mech and improves on just the right spots, plus the jump jets can help getting to nice shooting positions.
My favorite Archer variant is the Royal Archer-2Rb. It switches to endosteel structure and removes one of the rear-firing medium lasers to add 10 double HS, Artemis IV, CASE, and an extra ton of LRM ammo for a total of 5 tons of ammo. The fully Clantech Archer Jaime Wolf variant is also quite good.
I've got a bit of a story with my Archer model. About a week back, I was playing a game of Alpha Strike. I was running the 7C model, and in the very 1st turn, it shot and basically head sniped a Banshee 3S. Very next turn. Same thing against a Centurion. The Archer racked up about 4 kills effectively that game. It was 8 IS mechs against 8. After that game, I thought it was a one off and luck of dice. Next day, playing with a friend. It was my IS stuff against Clan. I hear sniped a Timber Wolf very first round. We were playing FedCom War era FYI. Since then I've cancelled an order for a new Archer. Because golly I love mine. Awesome mech.
Ah the Archer, my second favourite mech because its surprisingly hard to kill, first being the Catapult because I like the jumpjets and I love how it looks, and third being the Hellspawn despite it being an ugly little goblin that likes to explode.
Another solid model that well-deserves its good reputation. Versatile and dependable; just how I like 'em. I also appreciate how it has more flexibility for diverse loadouts compared to its Catapult counterpart.
I just adore the the -2S in 3025 play. Never let me down. If the time progresses just add double heatsinks and point all lasers in the proper direction and it stays a menace. Add Endo or a light engine to get some more tons for artemis, case and armor. If you have some left add (special) ammo.
Hilariously, I am sitting here painting an Archer right now. I need to find a reason to love Archers because I recently realized I have 5 of them, unpainted and needing a good excuse to field them all. :P
Only 5? That's not nearly enough Archers. I want a full company of them to drop like the Urbanmech box set. Call it the "LRMageddon" box set, and sign me up.
Why do we love the Archer? Two reasons I can think of. 1) Spotting. Three Archers and a relatively fast, well-armored spotter will make life miserable for a surprised opponent. Later on in the timeline, TAG with semi-guided LRMs can be especially deadly. 2) 70 ton battle fists and boots for someone who thinks: "Oh, I'll just get under his minimum LRM range." Oh, and rear mounted lasers for those jerks that keep trying to scratch your back without permission.
I forgot to point out that, prior to TAG, a good modification was to replace the two LRM 20s with eight LRM 5s. This freed up tonnage for additional ammo and/or heat sinks. It tended to be a popular mod among our battletech group.
Another fun watch :-) we love the archer because it's an awesome support mech and when the bins are empty it can rush a target and punch the crap out of them :-)
At the risk of heresy, to me the archer is a MRM platform, started that on the BHS game and later MWO. There's something about that sleek looking guy opening the missile doors and unleashing a barrage of ouchies
Archers are just a all around solid package for the weight class. It's not a pure missile boat of all missile boats like the Longbow. But at the same time most Archers can toss long range fire enough to matter. And if needed most can get up close, and throw mid/short range fire,and hands if needed. Even if you hate it somehow. It's still far better than the Bombardier that was suppose to replace it.
Quick Response, because it looks cool. Its one of the best looking missile Boats. It doesnt have mismatched parts like the Trebuchet's 1 side-torso+1 hand missiles. It doesnt have hand-missiles(how do you get ammo to the launchers?) at all. Its got 2 big missile bays, and they are armored. Its got fists which are very good for defense up close range and maybe just picking up more ammunition. Now its not without flaws. The original has rear-mounted guns which are often useless. It doesnt carry much ammunition. It overheats. Still its a very good companion for its sister-mech, the Warhammer. While the Mad Cat is externally a Catapult+Marauder, with its equipment in the Prime Configuration its more like an Archer+Warhammer. Custom jobs are all over the place. The most basic thing i would do is moving its rear Medium lasers to the front, doing something to increase its ammunition level(maybe downgrade to LRM-15s), and improve its heat balance. Thats a basic change. There's way too many mid-point ideas. Maybe use C3 networks, change the Medium Lasers for ER version, MMLs if you like to surprise you enemies with 30-40 SRMs If you want an advanced version I would basically turn it into a Mad Dog with better lasers instead of focusing totally on the missiles. Now a version that is fun is the ARC-9R. It uses a C3 slave and Extended Range LRMs. It doesnt have the best firepower, but being able to launch missiles from almost double the range of regular Long Range Missiles and with with high accuracy is nothing to ignore. The real shame is no version uses Arrow IV artillery missiles. Save those for the Longbow.
The Archer is one of those mechs where you have few bad options. Most variants will do the job quite well, though there is an unconventional variant I'm quite fond of: the Archer-9K. Swapping the LRM launchers for 4 MML-5s might look strange, but those combined with 3 light PPCs offer roughly comparable long range firepower while also giving the option of firing 20 SRMs at close range. I do enjoy a fire support mech that is also happy to blast away at close targets. It even has C3 if you feel like using that dark sorcery.
The Javelin is another missile mech worth taking a look at, wether it wield srms, lrms, or the out of place laser barrage, it's a descent machine that usually chants the same mantra as the Hunchback IIC; Death or Glory
Ah the Archer, lord of the rain of fire that starts early and goes on il someone makes it stop. Stoppin it ain't likely to be easy. It's just never gonna go out of style.
God I just found this channel because I need a lore dump before the new clan game about to drop. I genuinely wish MW5 allowed two "squads"...lances? Idk my infantryman brain is smoking trying to remember what their unit designations was. But the ARCHER! I kid you not I love this damn mech so much I'll run two or three of them for the AI and I'll bring the dakka boats or Brawlers. This is a awesome channel gunna be browsing for awhile.
Love the Archer. I think i own 4 now, but just ordered another one. They are perfect for Fire Support lances or just to fill out places in any lance that needs another mech.
One of the evergreen Mechs. There is a debate wether one wants the catapult or the Archer as a long range fire plattform. The catapult is more agile, the archer has more armor and slightly more firepower. Both CAN defend themselves at short ranges. Though the archer also has a mean punch thanks to its battlefist quirk, wich can also be used for all kinds of logistical purposes.. like picking up containers full of loot or digging improvised foxholes/trenches. Speaking of: The archer also comes with the Command mech quirk so if you like to sit back and fire massive LRM volleys while commanding your lancemates.. the archer got you covered. Logistics wise the Archer is ubiquitous so spare parts are readily available basically everywhere and the chassis was kept up to date with variants throughout the years so you dont needs to be worried that your mech becomes obsolete. The archer is a solid choice for a fire support mech, and CAN even fight off lighter mechs and vehicles if pushed but should not get to close to other heavy or assault mechs cause those medium lasers wont cut it against those oponents.
I agree with all you said. As for the medium lasers, you just need more of them, refit them with Clan ER mediums (3 per arm seems about right to me, gives you basically LBX20 like damage per turn, per arm) and you have a nice brawler especially if you add some 3x Myomer to increase the damage from those fists and a bit of armor.
@@Dang_Near_Fed_Up Ofcourse replacing everything with the more damaging and lighter weapons is a no brainer since clan stuff is just better in every aspect. That being said: I allways make my arguments from the position of an actual in universe commander of a merc unit. Clan equipment is allmost impossible to come by pre current time line for merc units, and impossible to repair and replace should something break. Lets say you salvage a timberwolf.. it has one side torso and arm missing. Where do you get the replacement parts? You now have a VERY expensive paperweight the price of 2 IS assault mechs. At that point its better to outright sell the wreck
The custom Archer variant I'm gonna talk about changes it from a fire support unit to an accurate, in your face brawler. The ARC-BRWLR-2 utilizes a lot of Clantech. It has a Clan XL engine, Clan Hardened armor, 12 Clan DHS, and Clan CASE II. For punch, each side torso contains 3 Clan Streak SRM-4s each with one ton of ammo, along with an IS medium re-engineered laser. It also has IS TSM, and each hand wields a 5-ton hatchet.
I've had a series of Archers as my favorite mech, all named Barbarella. Barbarella II is my favorite; 4/6/4, 4x SRM6s, 2x MLs, 2 tonnes of SRMs, 15 HS, and an extra half tonne of armor. All 3025 compliant as well. Its a suprise to turn an Archer into a close ranged brawler. I've also run a 1K with double heat sinks for a lot of fun now that the heat was under control.
I ran a 5R in a Mechwarrior campaign. we weren't all that strategic as players, and that was my first tactical RPG. I did survive until I made the mistake of using that mech on Solaris.
The command 'mech of choice of many of the Inner Sphere's finest. And a damn fine missile boat. The only thing it needs to be perfect is double heat sinks, CASE, and Artemis IV. No need for engine upgrades or fancy Ferro-Fibrous armor, though you'll need to choose something to help make room for the CASE and Artemis.
Sorry about the bug with the green text on the 2S. Not sure why it didn't hold its formatting.
Would you consider doing a behind the scenes video? I'd love to see how you build these videos.
Happens to the best. Rest of the video is still great.
It happens. It's still a good video
Stiener is just too big to show all at once
Software is like seawater- it hates everyone and everything equally.
The ideal teammate for a Warhammer. The Classic Heavy Duo for starting a Sphereoid Heavy Lance or Secondary Star.
Archers are like steak fries. It goes well with everything.
Great combo, particularly if supported by mobile mediums for flankers.
@@tenchraven Insert WVR variant here
I would prefer a Marauder MAR-3M (the laser variant) or even one that drops the AC/5 for maxed armor and two more heat sinks.
@@mbr5742 Well, in a Lance you would have two more slots and three in a Star.
My favourite stunt was stripping the stock weapons out, stuffing in TSM, a supercharger, an XL350 and five jump jets, and then putting a Clan LPL and two ERML under both of the shoulder hatches, maxing the armor with Ferro Fibrous, and upgrading the murder mittens to proper Battlefists.
_And then hiding it in a fire support lance with another stock Archer_
Sounds like fun.
Works well for me as well.
Tasty
Sounds like a former hunchback pilot.
You are quite an evil mech designer. Then again I did something similar with the Rifleman in HBS's Battletech game. Two Snub PPCs,two Medium lasers and two MGs. Then I slapped a lot of armor on. The AI keep charging it until it fires for the first time in a mission,then they start backing up.
There is just something about the Archer that speaks to me. I love the Warhammer and Marauders but I feel like the Archer is that jack of all trades mech that just does it for me.
The Archer is just the epitome of the quietly useful mech. Not too flashy, will probably not be a priority for your opponent but will get the job done. The ARC-4M is just so sensible it probably got its pension sorted out before it was 20.
From the perspective of the MMO age, it's the Drake battlecruiser of Battletech. It does one thing so well every company should have one, and every battalion had better have several.
People also forget that the mech has fully articulating hands allowing it to carry external cargo, act as a repair or construction mech and loader mech as well. All very useful things when you are doing a campaign.
One of the novels describes an Archer using the hands to lift and the arm mounted laser to weld structural members for a skyscraper under construction.
Personally I see it more as loading ammo onto or off of transport vehicles, repairing other mechs, or preparing field emplacements with those fully functional hands.
@@Dang_Near_Fed_Up Good for petting Locusts for being good boys.
When you need to put warheads on foreheads, the Archer. Accept no substitute
Well put.
I will counter your statment with the Longbow. The Archer is still a good mech, but I just love the Longbow.
@@williamjanak2013Dang I was about to say the same!
@@williamjanak2013slow, way more expensive and only 2 lrm5 more. Might be clutch in some cases but honestly archer is more than enough for most fire support. More BV for a good frontline and a trooper to protect the archer.
@@williamjanak2013 25% slower, and two LRM-5s? Yawn. Maybe a version with Clantech, where you can get Six (6) LRM-15s you could make the argument the Longbow is better, but not for long until that runs out of ammo.
Your lance leader to the Archer pilot- “Make it Rain”
Roger dodger... LRMs on their way.
Also, lance leader, you know I like to hear the thunder before I bring the rain. You know I need to play my song as I bring the rain down little. A little Led Zeppelin always brightens the mood.
Putting Warheads on Foreheads.
The "Agincourt" model in Mechwarrior 5 is so stupidly good it's insane. Morgan Kell really knew what he was doing with his re-fit, as well.
Crazy cool paintjob too.
@@MechanicalFrog Needs more fleur-de-lis :)
Oh yes, I loved the Agincourt, load it up with SRMs and watch it delete everything hahaha
@@duanewong1527 Did that. Cackled like a goblin the whole time.
Morgan Kells Archer had ecm installed if I am not mistaken which made him a Ghostpilot in the early classic days.
The CityTech box with the Archer on front was the first Battletech product I ever owned. It was in 1988 and I purchased it from a local video rental store that also stocked shareware, Warhammer and Anime.
One of the best pieces of classic Battletech art.
Iconic
I absolutely ADORE the Archer. Playing MW5 with friends was my entry point to the franchise, and I'm not kidding when I say it was love at first sight. I usually treat it as a long-range command mech, but I also enjoy getting in mechs' faces when they try and flank me and discover just how much damage two heavy fists can do.
The Taurian 6W variant deserves some love for its sheer lunacy: 8x RL20s and 2x rear-mounted RL10s. It is no longer fire support, it is a claymore mine with legs. All four lasers became arm-mounted. Imagine being in a command mech and seeing that thing looking at you.
IIRC on Roguetech when I found one of those I upgraded the fists, replaced the RL20s with SSRM2s, and gave it TSM. It was pretty hilarious.
That's fuckin unhinged I love it. Talk about committing to the bit
Everything in all directions around it cease being solid objects for a single turn.
The Archer is a timeless classic. Raining down a 40 LRM volley on your enemy will never go out of fashion.
The Archer is simple, easy to understand and very good at it´s job. Every item has it´s purpose and is well placed.
for Heat control 2x 15 LrMs is betta.
The Archer so was first-in-class for the full package of torso-missiles and I'll forever love it for it. One of the originals, it'll always be a great one to field. Loved it since it being featured on the cover of City Tech.
A great piece of art.
6 hours later, and I can finally sit down and watch the absolute CLASSIC get its due.
Hope you enjoyed it.
One of my best battletech memories is hitting a locust with 38 LRMs in a single volley and watching it slowly turn to scrap.
"Mistakes were made"
Moving the CTR lasers to the arms is the most common field refit for Archers I see. Thanks to torso twisting, you can still shoot em to the rear of you really need to.
The archer: Just because it’s An LRM boat primarily doesn’t mean it can’t be set to Brawl. like seriously Those Hands aren’t a joke
I remember one time I watched an Archer draw first blood in a 2v2 match not with its missiles but by nearly ripping my teammate's overconfident locust in half in melee
I remember always being confused as to where the cockpit was on the old sculpts of this mech, I’m glad that’s been cleared up on newer ones.
Thanks for the video! The Archer is a timeless design, and watching those missiles pour out of its launchers is always cool.
It's a great one.
There are 4 chassis that have been in my Command lance since this game started in 1984.
Marauder, Warhammer, Archer, and Phoenix Hawk.
Since TRO 3025 came out I switched the Mad to the 3D and the Hammer to the 6D.
I've kept the Archer ARC-2R and Phoenix Hawk PXH-1 as they were.
That's 40 years using the same 4 chassis and 2 even being the same variant in 3025 era games.
I've never felt the need to replace the Archer with anything else.
It's that good.
In later eras I use newer variants but if I have the Battle Value I'll still have an Archer.
I have an unhealthy love of fire support and the Archer is one of my favourites. The design is so cool but my bad design habits will have me swap out the lasers for more ammo. The theory is that other mechs will keep enemies at range but in the event that they can't, well that's what the fists are for.
I think the ARC-5S was designed not only to fend off the clan light mechs that are often sent to neutralize fire support mechs, but also, elementals.
The multiple pulse lasers, two in the rear, and the streaks makes for a very dangerous approach for elementals or battlearmor to get in close and tangle with.
Back in the day, what always stuck out about the Archer for me was that, despite being an LRM boat, it has 2 of the best battle fists shy of an Atlas. So i made an urban brawler varient to lean i to that. 1 Lg Laser, 4 SRM 6's, jump jets, plus some wight saving tech, can't remember it was endo steel or FF. It was fun covering a hunchback with inferno jelly then smacking it with an I-beam.
Well its an Archer, the OG-Big Boy missile truck you want when you grow out of a Catapult!
It brings the rain.
@@MechanicalFrog and it has those little shoulder trapdoors, which is a nice touch for weapon techs everywhere to almost shed a tear in appreciation
No one ever really grows out of a Catapult
Catapult was never a choice as I discovered the archer earlier and the extra weight is huge between the two.
My absolute favorite mech.. If it's good enough for Morgan and Jaime... it's good enough for me.
My Archer 5m dueled a clan executioner with only a blackjack as a lancemate and still came out on top. I will forever love the Archer.
I haven't gotten to use my Archer after my son got a hold of it. He's smitten!
He is a good judge of mechs, then.
Thank you for this. The Archer was the first mech I played with and it has always been my favorite LRM boat.
Honestly, an icon. A pure classic from the dawn of the game to this very day.
Personally, I have to sign the praises of the 4M and 4M2; just a sprinkle of advanced tech to get some CASE and double heatsinks in there, plus some extra bells and whistles, and you're good to go. Keep It Simple Stupid.
The 4M and 4M2 are both great. Can't quibble with them too much.
"Hey bro. I heard you like missiles."
There's one factor to the Archer that I feel should also be highlighted. Battlefists.
Mad Ducks mentions being able to flip enemies off while raining missiles, which is valid, but I have yet another take.
Earthwerks didn't leave the thing with regular hand actuators, they built the thing from the start as a mech that can square up on, rush in at, and absolutely STARCH any flanking or scouting elements that get a little too close. I play the HBS game and Total Warfare on tabletop regularly, and I get giddy every time I have a chance to surprise the OpFor with an unexpected haymaker from the "fire support" mech. It's also a great way to cool down 😁
The Archer; an essential part for a complete (and classic) Fire Support Lance.
The additional 3 tons of space on Morgan Kell's archer was taken up by the JK-420 main character suite, consisting of 1.5 tons of ferro-literary plot armour protecting the cockpit and center torso, as well as a "Lucky Shot" FU-69 main character targeting computer weighing an additional ton. No clue what he did with the last half ton, my guess is a two-in-one ice cream/espresso machine in the cockpit.
Fantastic vid as always, thanks MechFrog!
The last half ton is the EGO storage locker, you have to have room for that oversized NeuroHelmet for "THE BIG HEAD". LOL
I mean really plot armor so thick you can make your mech disappear off scanners completely, at near melee distances !!!
You cracked the code.
Thanks!
Good to know about the leg ammo on the CS variant. We have a Tukayyid campaign starting up this weekend, and I think the local school bus is going to drop off some Elementals for a field trip by it. 😊
Sounds like a plan to me.
Remember that Com Star had prepared field defenses, that almost always hid the lower portion of the mech. So adjust incoming damage / hit locations accordingly. Especially for those mechs with ammo in the legs.
I think there was an editing error with the Archer 2S, most of the text is cut off
12:21
Yep... it seems that the image didn't hold its formatting.
Love me archer, what else could a commander want in a chariot.
Well put.
Another great vid. The Archer’s a classic mech and one of the first I ever saw and could easily recognise when I first played the game.
A must-take for all your LRM needs.
Having played the 4M, that beast is scary. It has massive firepower, is comparably cheap, is heat efficient and very survivable. Thanks to its Art. IV, it has a missile barrage comparable to the larger Salammander. By far my favorite recovered tech version.
Absolutely a solid Helm Core refit.
That Comstar variant is brutal, I hadn't seen it before. I think if I was building the CS I'd do 4xLRM15s without the Artemis and 3 or 4xSSRM2s for backup. The Artemis is only useful when you have direct fire on target, but in general you should be sitting it behind and forcing the Clans to advance into your forces to hunt them down. If you're Comstar and you're going all out you should have NARC-guided munitions available to you. The streaks offer a bit of pew to savage Elementals if they somehow get within range, and if you have multiple Archers in a lance they can focus down a point easily each round.
I would definitely babysit the CS with some lights carrying pulse lasers.
The archer has one of my favourite tabeltop loadouts ever, the ARC-4M Ismail. It forgoes any pretence of fire support for 2 Medium Pulse Lasers, some extra armour and 8 SRM4s. It's glorious, it's hilarious, it's the one that makes people stomp out of the building in a blind range. SRMs, MPLs and Battlefists, come a little closer, I'm only an Archer...
But seriously, the Archer is an excellent long range mech and useful in any era, but the shotgun variant is just too much fun.
I've seen dice nearly go through the windows on several occasions, due to a well placed SRM Archer dropping more than a just a surprise on players with short tempers.
Glad one of the quotes highlighted the utility of variant ammo.
Been a Kell Hound fan for years . Morgan Kell and his Archer has always been my favourite mech and I also tend to use an Archer in MW5 : Mercenaries . Just so useful
We love the Archer because it's a solid fire support mech, and as one of the original ten BattleDroids it's been part of the franchise from the very beginning. And if you were a Macross/Robotech fan, it (or one of the other Unseen) were probably part of your entry into the franchise.
ah wonderful to listen to while painting mechs and yeah the Archer has always been a go to for me the return of the unseen has greatly upped my game both in PCs game and table tops.
The Archer is another of the classic designs that did what it was designed to, and did it well.
My first-ever tabletop mech! Love it. Such fond memories. I stomped forward into the fray, and my 'teacher' had to explain why the Archer was supposed to stay back. I discovered the pain of minimum-range fire the hard way. Haha, good times.
I like the MF-variant's laser configuration. Rather than having two lasers stuck rearward, you can torso twist to shoot two into that rear arc, and have two more to hit somewhere forward... but if you do need all four in the front arc, you have that option available. Good choice!
#ButThereAreNoPlasmaRifles *gasp* ;)
As a Locust/Light/Scout Pilot, I enjoy being the "eyes" for support mechs.
Step 1: Peek around corner
Step 2: Mark targets
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit
It's a tough job, but someone will enjoy doing it.
Refit for NARC / Tag, then let the LRM's roll in.
All you have to do is survive, and collect the paycheck.
Thanks Frog!
For a support mech the Archer is a favorite especially if piloting it in an an RPG campaign as hands sure useful even outside of pugilism or to swing an improvised club. The Archer is just a classic good looking mech that works as designed.
It has to be that iconic look. Like a clan Vulture but better because its IS. One of the very few mech where old art also holds up. And those launching bay doors just a cherry on top. Gotta buy it at some point in my campaign.
clan buster archer has never let me down and is one of my few undefeated mechs
It’s a great fire support command mech that can keep up with formations and survive a brawl. What more needs to be said?
Seems pretty straight forward.
Archer is the textbook Missile Boat. Having proper arms also means if someone gets too close they can get a wholloping from a 70 ton mech.
The ARC-4M2 is the Archer variant which I am using in our ongoing Chaos Campaign
It's amazing
along with the longbow my personal favorites of the Macross/Robotech inspired mechs
"Our lurms will blot out the sun!
"Then we shall fight in the... oh my, that is a lot of missiles, isn't it?
Archer has always been one of my favorites since the early 90s when I first started playing, I have always done my own refits, usually opting to simply move the rear arc lasers into the arms for better firepower. My personalized helmtech variant features DBL heatsinks and endo steel to save weight and upgrade the sustainability of firepower and armor. IMO the archer is one of the best mixtures of mobility and purpose in the game, it does one thing very well and thus can fit into a mixed lance that covers all bases very well. I play a lot of modded battletech 2018 still and it's always one of my favorite mechs to find.
I am truly devastated that we didn’t get to see you put three to four Plasma rifles in each side torso. This unprecedented design philosophy is truly disturbing.
Great video. Loves to see you finally cover this iconic Mech
I'm SO upset you didn't cover the custom ARC build I made in '95! Seriously, I've been waiting for the Archer video for a long time. It's been one of my faves since I discovered the game, and I'm glad it's as popular in-universe.
The Unofficial refit with the twin Arrow IV's (loaded with a variety of warheads, including the nuclear option) is a very Spicy Pickle.
An Awesome Standard Mech and a must for anyone who needs solid fire support. A great bit of lore, Most Learned Frogmaster!
... honestly: one of the most beautifully-designed... in the history of the setting, and certainly top-5 when rating the setting's most "iconic" mech's within the original Macross Variants. There really is no-better command-mech (perhaps the Highlander) at every level of the command-cycle, whether "tip-of-the-spear" or "cavalry and supporting artillery"; there's a "command-fit" for every-need. I love it...
The Archer is just a really solid design, great at fire support, useful hands, acceptable ride for a company captain.
Even with all the variants, the Arc-2R is one introtech model that's still made and sold in current day, and I think that says a lot.
My frankly ridiculous amount of time playing MW5: Mercenaries has led to the Archer being one of the mechs I've come to adore.
I have run an Archer with SRMs and a hatchet to great success in the past
Sounds fun.
In MW 5:Mercs I have an Archer with two LRM-15s,two (or four,I need to check)Medium lasers and a rather large sword for discouraging anyone from getting too close. A sword the size of many light mechs tends to be good at making mechs reconsider close combat with this archer.
The Archer is one of the mech with the greatest amount of iterations, not just because it´s one of the oldest, but also one of the most recognizable mechs in the BT franchise.
And it got several depictions in great novels as well, cementing its fame even further.
I really like your MF version, it stays true to the original idea of the mech and improves on just the right spots, plus the jump jets can help getting to nice shooting positions.
I’m honestly amazed that the Combine didn’t replace those LRM’s with PPC’s.
Seems odd now that you mention it.
It's a mech that with the right mods can do basically anything you ask of it
True that.
2k is peak Archer
:O
ARC-5CS is my favorite, anything with Comstar im about!
My favorite Archer variant is the Royal Archer-2Rb. It switches to endosteel structure and removes one of the rear-firing medium lasers to add 10 double HS, Artemis IV, CASE, and an extra ton of LRM ammo for a total of 5 tons of ammo. The fully Clantech Archer Jaime Wolf variant is also quite good.
So good that two of the IS Merc heros rode this machine into battle for decades.
I've got a bit of a story with my Archer model. About a week back, I was playing a game of Alpha Strike. I was running the 7C model, and in the very 1st turn, it shot and basically head sniped a Banshee 3S. Very next turn. Same thing against a Centurion. The Archer racked up about 4 kills effectively that game. It was 8 IS mechs against 8.
After that game, I thought it was a one off and luck of dice. Next day, playing with a friend. It was my IS stuff against Clan. I hear sniped a Timber Wolf very first round. We were playing FedCom War era FYI.
Since then I've cancelled an order for a new Archer. Because golly I love mine. Awesome mech.
Paid for itself quickly with that headshot.
Ah the Archer, my second favourite mech because its surprisingly hard to kill, first being the Catapult because I like the jumpjets and I love how it looks, and third being the Hellspawn despite it being an ugly little goblin that likes to explode.
Another solid model that well-deserves its good reputation. Versatile and dependable; just how I like 'em. I also appreciate how it has more flexibility for diverse loadouts compared to its Catapult counterpart.
It just works.
I just adore the the -2S in 3025 play. Never let me down. If the time progresses just add double heatsinks and point all lasers in the proper direction and it stays a menace. Add Endo or a light engine to get some more tons for artemis, case and armor. If you have some left add (special) ammo.
Hilariously, I am sitting here painting an Archer right now. I need to find a reason to love Archers because I recently realized I have 5 of them, unpainted and needing a good excuse to field them all. :P
It's strange how people seem to end up with so many. Between the new and old, I have five.
Only 5? That's not nearly enough Archers.
I want a full company of them to drop like the Urbanmech box set. Call it the "LRMageddon" box set, and sign me up.
Why do we love the Archer? Two reasons I can think of. 1) Spotting. Three Archers and a relatively fast, well-armored spotter will make life miserable for a surprised opponent. Later on in the timeline, TAG with semi-guided LRMs can be especially deadly. 2) 70 ton battle fists and boots for someone who thinks: "Oh, I'll just get under his minimum LRM range." Oh, and rear mounted lasers for those jerks that keep trying to scratch your back without permission.
Solid reasoning.
I forgot to point out that, prior to TAG, a good modification was to replace the two LRM 20s with eight LRM 5s. This freed up tonnage for additional ammo and/or heat sinks. It tended to be a popular mod among our battletech group.
One of my all time three faves!
Sweet.
My first Ral Partha mech. Love it.
Another fun watch :-) we love the archer because it's an awesome support mech and when the bins are empty it can rush a target and punch the crap out of them :-)
At the risk of heresy, to me the archer is a MRM platform, started that on the BHS game and later MWO. There's something about that sleek looking guy opening the missile doors and unleashing a barrage of ouchies
For me I love fire support and the Archer is one of those mechs that can bring the fear and the Hammer of the Gods
I love the Archer as a heavy support mech.
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Archers are just a all around solid package for the weight class. It's not a pure missile boat of all missile boats like the Longbow.
But at the same time most Archers can toss long range fire enough to matter. And if needed most can get up close, and throw mid/short range fire,and hands if needed.
Even if you hate it somehow. It's still far better than the Bombardier that was suppose to replace it.
Quick Response, because it looks cool. Its one of the best looking missile Boats. It doesnt have mismatched parts like the Trebuchet's 1 side-torso+1 hand missiles. It doesnt have hand-missiles(how do you get ammo to the launchers?) at all. Its got 2 big missile bays, and they are armored. Its got fists which are very good for defense up close range and maybe just picking up more ammunition.
Now its not without flaws. The original has rear-mounted guns which are often useless. It doesnt carry much ammunition. It overheats. Still its a very good companion for its sister-mech, the Warhammer.
While the Mad Cat is externally a Catapult+Marauder, with its equipment in the Prime Configuration its more like an Archer+Warhammer.
Custom jobs are all over the place. The most basic thing i would do is moving its rear Medium lasers to the front, doing something to increase its ammunition level(maybe downgrade to LRM-15s), and improve its heat balance. Thats a basic change.
There's way too many mid-point ideas. Maybe use C3 networks, change the Medium Lasers for ER version, MMLs if you like to surprise you enemies with 30-40 SRMs
If you want an advanced version I would basically turn it into a Mad Dog with better lasers instead of focusing totally on the missiles.
Now a version that is fun is the ARC-9R. It uses a C3 slave and Extended Range LRMs. It doesnt have the best firepower, but being able to launch missiles from almost double the range of regular Long Range Missiles and with with high accuracy is nothing to ignore.
The real shame is no version uses Arrow IV artillery missiles. Save those for the Longbow.
The Archer is one of those mechs where you have few bad options. Most variants will do the job quite well, though there is an unconventional variant I'm quite fond of: the Archer-9K. Swapping the LRM launchers for 4 MML-5s might look strange, but those combined with 3 light PPCs offer roughly comparable long range firepower while also giving the option of firing 20 SRMs at close range. I do enjoy a fire support mech that is also happy to blast away at close targets. It even has C3 if you feel like using that dark sorcery.
The Javelin is another missile mech worth taking a look at, wether it wield srms, lrms, or the out of place laser barrage, it's a descent machine that usually chants the same mantra as the Hunchback IIC; Death or Glory
A bit light for my tastes but I get why people like it.
Ah the Archer, lord of the rain of fire that starts early and goes on il someone makes it stop. Stoppin it ain't likely to be easy. It's just never gonna go out of style.
The Archer C is my favorite. It puts in great work for its BV, and its just nice how it can still put in fantastic work with Single Heat Sinks.
Replace those singles with doubles, and you have a few tons to play with for other things.
God I just found this channel because I need a lore dump before the new clan game about to drop.
I genuinely wish MW5 allowed two "squads"...lances? Idk my infantryman brain is smoking trying to remember what their unit designations was.
But the ARCHER! I kid you not I love this damn mech so much I'll run two or three of them for the AI and I'll bring the dakka boats or Brawlers.
This is a awesome channel gunna be browsing for awhile.
Love the Archer. I think i own 4 now, but just ordered another one. They are perfect for Fire Support lances or just to fill out places in any lance that needs another mech.
One of the evergreen Mechs.
There is a debate wether one wants the catapult or the Archer as a long range fire plattform. The catapult is more agile, the archer has more armor and slightly more firepower. Both CAN defend themselves at short ranges. Though the archer also has a mean punch thanks to its battlefist quirk, wich can also be used for all kinds of logistical purposes.. like picking up containers full of loot or digging improvised foxholes/trenches. Speaking of: The archer also comes with the Command mech quirk so if you like to sit back and fire massive LRM volleys while commanding your lancemates.. the archer got you covered.
Logistics wise the Archer is ubiquitous so spare parts are readily available basically everywhere and the chassis was kept up to date with variants throughout the years so you dont needs to be worried that your mech becomes obsolete.
The archer is a solid choice for a fire support mech, and CAN even fight off lighter mechs and vehicles if pushed but should not get to close to other heavy or assault mechs cause those medium lasers wont cut it against those oponents.
I agree with all you said. As for the medium lasers, you just need more of them, refit them with Clan ER mediums (3 per arm seems about right to me, gives you basically LBX20 like damage per turn, per arm) and you have a nice brawler especially if you add some 3x Myomer to increase the damage from those fists and a bit of armor.
@@Dang_Near_Fed_Up Ofcourse replacing everything with the more damaging and lighter weapons is a no brainer since clan stuff is just better in every aspect.
That being said: I allways make my arguments from the position of an actual in universe commander of a merc unit. Clan equipment is allmost impossible to come by pre current time line for merc units, and impossible to repair and replace should something break.
Lets say you salvage a timberwolf.. it has one side torso and arm missing. Where do you get the replacement parts? You now have a VERY expensive paperweight the price of 2 IS assault mechs. At that point its better to outright sell the wreck
The custom Archer variant I'm gonna talk about changes it from a fire support unit to an accurate, in your face brawler. The ARC-BRWLR-2 utilizes a lot of Clantech. It has a Clan XL engine, Clan Hardened armor, 12 Clan DHS, and Clan CASE II. For punch, each side torso contains 3 Clan Streak SRM-4s each with one ton of ammo, along with an IS medium re-engineered laser. It also has IS TSM, and each hand wields a 5-ton hatchet.
Sounds like a nice brawler.
Clan tech is for people who like playing on easy mode.
@@hermes7587 And prefer to win.
LOL J/K kinda
I love tge Archer Agincourt from MW5 Mercs. Such a badass brawler.
And that paint job is great.
I've had a series of Archers as my favorite mech, all named Barbarella.
Barbarella II is my favorite; 4/6/4, 4x SRM6s, 2x MLs, 2 tonnes of SRMs, 15 HS, and an extra half tonne of armor. All 3025 compliant as well.
Its a suprise to turn an Archer into a close ranged brawler.
I've also run a 1K with double heat sinks for a lot of fun now that the heat was under control.
I ran a 5R in a Mechwarrior campaign. we weren't all that strategic as players, and that was my first tactical RPG. I did survive until I made the mistake of using that mech on Solaris.
i love a new frog video to wake up and watch
thanks frog
The command 'mech of choice of many of the Inner Sphere's finest. And a damn fine missile boat. The only thing it needs to be perfect is double heat sinks, CASE, and Artemis IV. No need for engine upgrades or fancy Ferro-Fibrous armor, though you'll need to choose something to help make room for the CASE and Artemis.
Endo Steel alone is good for 3.5 tons of new equipment, I believe that should cover almost all of the CASE and Artemis IV mass.