Seeing a raven in the distance is concerning. Suddenly not seeing that raven is more concerning. Seeing the horizon light up with rocket artillery is greatly alarming. This is why I always have masc, AMS, and any EW stuff I can get my hands on installed. Because someone will pay me to poke capellans, and for some reason the battle cry of "STOP IT! THAT'S EXPENSIVE!" fails to scare them off.
You've got to give the Capellans a lot of credit for their ingenuity. Where the other Successor States stagnated before the spread of the Helm Memory Core information, the Capellans focused on real R&D. Redeveloping LosTech is no small thing.
A minor point. What really made the Raven stand out for it's original era is that new Mech designs were rare, and its cutting edge technology was advanced in more ways than one might think. The supposed weakest and smallest of the great houses, Liao introduced this Mech well before the discovery of the Helm memory core. And it was a completely new design, not a made over existing one. It was these facts that made the Raven stand out more than anything else. It also proved that House Davion wasn't the only one capable of inovation as of 3025.
So that Raven MechWarriors won't be easily "replaced" by a Maskirovka commissars in their Urbanmechs with its AC20 shells on their backs for a "perceived insubordination", let alone being a valuable operatives for the intelligence agency
As someone who jump into the PC Battletech without any knowledge about the lore, discovering this unit in a heist mission involving urban areas was a banger moment.
Utility mechs always seem to get less glory or exposure than they deserve. I remember using this in MechCommander 2, it served well for over 10 or so missions before I got access to the Cyclops, which had an equivalent EWar/utility package. Being able to detect and pinpoint exact models of enemy mechs was a very useful ability for a first time player going in blind.
The raven is definitely a favorite. In my mind it was the first mech to really begin reversing of the "Cappies suck ass forever". Yeah the cataphract was certainly a strong start but it was more of a desperate measure to staunch the bleeding.
Nah, Cappies still suck and always will. The Raven just proves that the only reason a Capellan pats you on the back is to check where to stick the knife :P
@@MultiKbarry What are you talking about, Cappie's literally threaten to kill you as you work for them LMAO. They are straight up snakes. Ask the Taurians about whether Cappie's ever keep their word 😂😆🤦🏻
@@jdmmike7225 The bulls betrayed Capella during Jihad. The Capellans never lied to them once. As a merc working with the CC you have a unique position of being needed greater than any other house. You are their first and last line of defense. They know not to mess with the contract otherwise they lose access to mercs.
In Irish mythology there is supernatural being called the Morrígan who foretells doom, death, or victory in battle. She often appears as a Raven offering heroes advice on how to win battles, and destroying the enemy's moral with he foreboding. Sometimes she will appear as a hag washing the hero's own blood stained clothes foretelling his death in a coming battle. I think the Raven is an apt name for this pint-sized technological terror.
@@Sapper21b10 What? That doesn’t even make sense. That mech doesn’t have the design or equipment that makes the Raven one of the most important mechs of its era, but it’s somehow better simply because it’s older? If age is the only criteria my 1978 Monte Carlo is the best mech ever produced.
Both of them vie for the title of most important because they signified the end of the succession wars, the seemingly inevitable backslide of technology, and were the first new engineering projects undertaken in the inner sphear in centuries. And seeing as the raven was a lot more innovative in terms of novel technologies, I would also call it the more important one.
Raven is such an adorable light 'mech. Instantly recognizable, full of history, not to mention a real game-changer with it's experimental electronic warfare suite. Even if Helm memory core would be discovered 4 years after it's introduction. Crucis Lancers Mechwarrior: "It's difficult to get a hit with all this sensor interference! Somebody take out those Ravens!"
The Capellans main mistake on the original Raven was treating it like a battlemech with ECM capabilities, rather than fully specializing it as an ECM support mech thats not intended to be proficient at doing any actual fighting. Ditching the SRMs and investing that weight into siginificant armor upgrades and some extra engine power would have made it a far better mech.
Reading through the Alternate Eras Operations book and all its gimmick-y options, I see that EMP weapons are a thing, including some kind of tight EMP bean, so maybe could be used in later eras?
I remember when toy line K'nex had the Battletech licence and produced a mix of Clan and Inner Sphere sets that were sold at a local toy store. I tried hard to get a Mad Cat or Mad Dog but wound up getting a Raven. I don't have it anymore, but I still think fondly of the Raven.
I love the Raven, one of my top 3 favorites. It embodies everything a light mech should be in my opinion and can serve as an excellent hunter-killer with the right modifications.
I have a Raven equipped with four light ppcs in MWO. The little dude is one hell of a harasser. I can basically chain fire them forever as long as I make each shot with a half second interval.
My chronic illness+ projesterone super tiredness almost made me miss the premiere; oh and also I would look up "Ghost Targets" they provide a definite defensive weapon for anything equipped with an ECM system.
I’ve grown to love this ‘mech, both in video games and on the tabletop. It also just looks great! If House Liao did anything right, it was definitely designing the Raven.
The Raven really came into its own using the Double-Blind rules in the old Tactical Handbook. Especially if you had the Angel ECM and could run both ECM and ECCM at the same time. People rarely seemed prepared for that. In MechCommander 2, a Raven with a pilot with extended range sight and Swarm LRM’s could lay to waste most anything before anyone even knew you were there. Sure you needed all your battlefield supports for ammo reloads, but that is the cost of basically never being shot at.
Fun fact, in the 80s, the F-111s Raven electronic warfare aircraft was put into service in the United States.I saw a young American general who, in a video from the 80s, also talked about this aircraft, also calling it sophisticated. Man, like military nerd i want to say that you told about fictional military tech better than real so-called experts talking about real military equipment on UA-cam or TV. IMHO this is a very correct view of the Battletech universe.It's very lucky that Battletech has a fan like you. It's a pity that I'm from Russia and it's not very clear to me how to donate to you, maybe I'll think of something.
I'm just painting two Urbanmechs fielding Arrow IV launchers to give my TAG-equipped Raven something to do. Looking forward to painting enemies with the TAG laser to then lob missile-death upon them! ☺️
The Raven can not be spoken of without dusting of Poe, which is why mine is call sign "Lenore" and well partnered with a pair of Vindicators and a LRM boat. One of the few pieces of current lore that doesn't make me twitch is the CCAF getting stealthy as a force multiplier. Agreed, even more so than the Cataphract, a very critical Mech of it's day and the first step forward the Capellan military took to regain their reputation and their value to their masters. Without it, the Confederation probably would be extinct. .
Rarely has a mech been given a name as fitting as the Raven, it literally looks like one... IF painted black... But jokes aside, with the Helm Core tech unvieled, this mech became pretty much THE best scout mech and electronic warfare fighter in the entire Inner Sphere.
One big question that's been bugging me ever since my introduction to the franchise via MechCommander. How the heck did that Raven pilot, Panther, miss that Mad Cat in his Raven?
Love the looks of the Raven,the torso kinda looks like the body of a small fighter craft. Always have to pick them up, generally in a violent manner, from the Cappies when available. Considering my MW 5 company has a bit of a raven theme they just had to 'collect' a few. Also cool to see the nevermore quote.
I remember having two distinct datasheets for "Nevermore" one specifically for the RP campaign 2nd for regular games as the RP version wouldn't normally be table top legal oh all the times I've spotted for fire support and watch an opponent roll devastating criticals 😂
One of my favourite 'mechs. Something I would feel is a missing opertunity is more house specific variants especially with Marik and Kurita. Could you imagine something like a Kuritan RVN-4K with a pair of LPPC's, ECM, and a Streak SRM 6? The vast majority of the variants are Liao and though that makes sense I think only 2 variants are not which is strange considering how it looks like such a widespread design especially following the clan invasion.
An excellent video on an excellent Mech. The Raven 3L is useful in any era, and with the addition of semi-guided ammo, is an exceptional force multiplier for any unit.
Thank you for the nostalgia... I've been playing "battletech" since it was called battle droids. Cover the Fire bee, and the Behemoth and you will make me a happy man.
I think this video highlights a difference between Battletech with and without God's Eye view of the battlefield, and why it made things that disrupt that interesting, but not very good early on. I don't mean rules level, either- just that there are optional rulesets for a fog of war that really change the game in cool ways. Later on, it's a damn decent scout; but not a force multiplier. Smart design, venerated in flavor. At least passable for the shitbrickhouse the Panther built, and clans blew into kingdom come by halving the weight of LRM launchers, and having light mechs with good heat sinks.
I remember the Raven showed up as an early game boss in Mech Assault 2. The little bastard had a video game invisibility cloak and ran rings around me!
Sorry to tell you man. That was the Raptor 2 not the Raven. There was 2 versions of the Raptor 2 in the game. The Raptor and the Stiletto. Not a Raven.
I didn't find the Raven to be a particularly special mech. But then again, I didn't exactly play them in mech commander for their firepower. It was only during the Battletech game did I found their anti-missile/anti-detection ability to be super OP. If you go against any base or many units with indirect fire capability, this mech will make their missiles near useless. Like the Spartans said: Hide in the shade.
This might be my new favorite video of yours. It has one of my Favorite Mech and a lovely Edgar Allen Poe reading. Cheers the 4L is the apple of my eye even if I play the Fed Suns
Despite the failure of military cooperation in the 4th Succession War, at least there were a few good things came out from the Kapetyn Accord, and the exports of Ravens to the Draconis Combine was one of it that later demonstrated Ravens' incredible performances in recon & electronic warfares during the 3039 War & Clan Invasion
In the retrieve the Raven mini campaign on the Harebrained Schemes Battletech Game; the Raven is really hard to use. I can imagine that using the Raven defensively would kick ass. However in the mini campaign, which I eventually managed to beat after like the sixth attempt. The problem was that you need to set up the Raven in the right place, have the thing march at the right speed with the rest of your unit so that it has ECM cover and then launch the attack against the final base which is in the city and lure defenders into a kill zone inside your ECM fied. But if you are in the wrong position by only a little bit; you get killed. Not only that in a city environment since there are only so many roads eventually once someone figures out which road you are in then they can just bum rush you and your toast. The Raven however was done very well in Mechwarrior Mercenaries 4; as in if you do not use the Raven to complete the recon mission on the Talon Mech works (this is the pro-Steiner side version of the mission) you are screwed and it is impossible to do that mission (I have tried to do it with the Locust, Fire Ant and Owen even with max armor, max engine and almost no weapons I still end up getting killed because the Raven has the ECM)
RVN-7A Full 3050 Clan Tech Redesign 35 tons, clan Endo-steel, XL+DHS, standard cockpit and gyro, 6 full tons of clanner Fero-Fiberous, TAG, AP, and ECM built into the chassis, and 16.75 tons of podspace. PRIME config: Streak SRM-6 with 2 tons of ammo, NARC with 2tons of ammo, twin MPL, and a clanner MG with a half ton of ammo. ALT-config: 4 Streak SRM-4's with 2 tons of ammo between them, 3 MPLS, a single MG and half ton of ammo.
Venture into the chaos mark... AWW! That hurts. It only became the chaos-mark after the war. When Victor begged for help and Kathy said: "No!" and instead she retreated her troops and formed the Lyran Alliance. After the clan invasion most of the FedComs Jumpships were in the Lyran half and Katherine did not hand them back for free - these factors led to a loss of control in the new terretorries aquired in the fourth succsession war - but that happened after the attack of Thomas Marik and Sun Tzu.
Great video as always, Red. Not surprisingly, this is one of my favorite mechs out there. There's just something awesome about the Raven, even in it's OG days where the ECM didn't really do much. And of course, it adds to the glory of the Confederation! Xin Sheng!!!
A very fun quirk of this little guy in MWO was with the 3L, at least at the time (may have been changed these days, I've not played MWO in years, much more interested in Harebrained's Battletech) the way MWO handled missile hard points as having appropriate launch tubes and the 3L was supposed to have a single tube NARC launcher. If you crammed an LRM 20 into it, they would come out in a stream of single missiles over the course of around 6 to 7 seconds and looked absolutely ridicules. This would prompt many a 'What the heck is THAT?!' from team members thinking I was using some kind of mysterious new weapon. This was in no way effective, mostly due to having to strip everything out of the Raven to cram in an LRM 20 but was good for jokes.
I love the mission they introduced this mech in for the 2018 Battletech. So much changes about how the game works so quickly that you need an entirely new UI for it to make sense. The soundtrack was great too, it made diving to rip apart an absurd number of LRM defenses feel incredible.
Probably my favorite light mech out of all of them. Always try to have either a large laser or ER/PPC equipped because it's absolutely hilarious when someone tries to bully me and I blow out their leg _AND_ Tag/Narc them for some extra reaming. Absolute terror in BTA3062 with a pilot whose specialization is building evasion counters. Nearly unstoppable and just ramps the entire lance's DPT through the roof.
Whenever I play MW-5M I hunt these down in the market and on the battlefield to collect as many as possible for a full lance or two and got to town with them. I even gave them a try on MWO and the variant I had for that time was very fun. Ever since I started playing the battletech games on pc and clapped eyes on the Raven i've never looked away as once you've figured out how best to use them, you will know how great they can be.
My work is a 30x30ish foot shack. Occasionally i have to go outside and play nice with the customers. Going back in my shack I pretend it's a cabin in the woods, crank the heater on (its winter time with a squall alert active) and pour myself a cup of almost hot coco. And mentally relax untill the next customer and then play podcasts like this one. Only thing missing is the red lumberjack shirt. Not part of the uniform sadly. Keep up the good work. Crusader next?
Battlemaster, Crusader, Stinger and shadowhawk. When I was a kid i picked them because of their looks. Years later Maurader and Maurader II PGI versions have my Fave mech look. I remember reading a novel where one of the characters bemoaned about his mech not having hands. Kinda stuck. Which is why handless mechs would not be my first choice. But you don't go to war to shake mech hands.
my first encounter with the Raven must have been 2 decades ago (or atleast close to iirc) in Mechwarrior 2 game, yes the arcady one on XBox360 * ^^ * while the game had its flaws, it was my entry into MW games after reading a good few books about BT beforehand... all of a sudden i feel a little bit older thinking back to that time... XD thx for a another great vid on another awesome and interesting mech ^^
Hey Big Red 40k! I was going to ask this question at your Live video; With the vast resources and technologies in the BattleTech universe, were there any mass produced weapons, such as hypersonic missiles, that are specifically made to destroy or at least cripple Mechs? And if there are, why have they not been produced more since a one-shot-kill missile is significantly cheaper than the smallest Mech?
@@BigRed40TECH Thank you. Then what is stopping Cruise Missiles from being mass produced to out pace mech production? What's stopping the clans from converting a droppod into a missile bastion carrying more missiles than mechs? What defenses do mechs have against Cruise Missiles? Could the clans produce weapons similar to that of TOMA Hawk missiles made specifically to swarm attack mechs? Since most battle are in wide areas, are there satellites with heavier and more accurate fire power such as massive railguns? Are the mechs capable of destroying fighters in the air? Is there an aircraft similar to an AC-130 using long-range, Air-to-Ground weapons? Could the mechs carry a close support weapons like a CIWS turret? I'm sorry if I ask a lot of questions. I just can't settle with "because it's about mechs" as an answer.
@@edwardbryan9501 Cruise Missiles are launched from ships or structures. It is not so easy to just have them. They also aren't the easiest things to use on the battlefield.
I gotta say, this video and the Cataphract episode kinda cemented a certain amount of respect I have for the Capellans. They got the piss beaten out of them, only to eventually rise back up and help drive the wedge into the Federated Commonwealth. I'll freely admit I dont know much else of the lore of the Confederation, but that amount of history is pretty cool
One of my all time favorite lights from looking at specs.... though that's largely because of how much better it can make fire support assault mechs and vehicles. Still, even on it's own, it's packing respectable firepower potential for what was built to be a spotting scout.
Whenever I squad up with friends for MW5, I'm driving this. If the available tonnage for heavies and assaults are filled by newer players, I claim the Raven. What a great tool to both protect your allies and scout enemies, and ironically, it's low maximum damage means I rarely get focused.
The TAG, NARC, and electronic gear are the most important parts of the mech. Wish it was a little faster, but later variants help with Stealth Armor. Best deployed with Copperhead-armed artillery and guided Arrow IV.
Playing the BTA mod, Ive found that the Raven is pretty solid, but its variants are even scarier. The Sha Yu in particular, as it has stealth armor and a similar speed on a heavier chassis, with improved protection and firepower. I love it as a Medium Mech fighter, and heavy scout.
In the PC Game Battletech, with it's latest DLCs, you have a Mission where you have to steal a Raven X1 from a Capellan World. It is a very difficult Mission, because you have to destroy a Lance of light Mechs before you can retreat, but with a Heavy Mech Lance and Tanks around the corner to back up the light one AND it is a City Szenatio. My first Time I had a Raven in Action, were in the Mech Commander Game and later in Mechwarrior 4 and 5. I really love this Mech as a light Scout, but when I use it, I change the SRM6 often against a LRM5 and take out the EW Systems, to bring in 2 Pulse Lasers instead of the Med Lasers and Power Up Armour and Missile Packs. When playing with Mods, I often Change the Armour and Skelleton to a different Type and give it Double Heatsinks, so I can use less of them. Also I than change the normal Med Lasers / Pulse Lasers to ER Med Lasers and switch the LRM 5 with an Artemis LRM 5 and reinstall the Bab and ECM Systems, but now with the real deal, not the EW Variant. In MW 4, there were some special Pulse Lasers, called the X Pulse Lasers. I can remember using 2 of them on a Raven Chassis, but they were way to hot to use in Tandem for a longer Time or I used Clan Weapons, making the Raven a mixed Tech Variant. ^^ And in Mech Commander were a Variant with 2 Med Lasers, an LRM 5 (Right Arm and Torso) and an SRM 2 in the left Arm. I can't remember if it had bab or ECM or if this even had a role in MC1. In MW 5 is the Problem, that you begin your Career way before the Raven X1 hits the Market, so you have to wait for it a looong time. Until it drops, I normally have a complete Lance of Marauders ready to roll out and often don't need any light mechs anymore, so it is very sad when I finally can get one, and have no use for it anymore. But as a Mech collector, you really HAVE to have one, even if you only put it in the Fridge. ^^
One of my preferred lights. If you use it for proper tactical fuckery they're fun. Drop one in when your opponent sinks all his BV into C3 systems and let the lamentations start. In the original, I drop the narc and put in some more armor and ammo. Lots of fun can be had with a ton of regular, and a ton of inferno SRMs. Or drop the narc for an LRM rack. Either way it improves the design a lot.
Seeing a raven in the distance is concerning.
Suddenly not seeing that raven is more concerning.
Seeing the horizon light up with rocket artillery is greatly alarming.
This is why I always have masc, AMS, and any EW stuff I can get my hands on installed. Because someone will pay me to poke capellans, and for some reason the battle cry of "STOP IT! THAT'S EXPENSIVE!" fails to scare them off.
That's my battle cry as well 😢
*Laughs in stealth Raven relaying targeting data to Long Toms in the next sector*
You've got to give the Capellans a lot of credit for their ingenuity. Where the other Successor States stagnated before the spread of the Helm Memory Core information, the Capellans focused on real R&D. Redeveloping LosTech is no small thing.
Wonder how many people they starved for it. And how much sooner they could have had it without purging people who weren't "faithful" enough.
@@bthsr7113 well they are kinda forced to do that due to facing, fed sun, Free league and later the combined fed
Remember when Maximilion built a huge mech force using captured tech . Unfortunately the triple strength myomar was faulty and burned in nitrogen.
Yup that's why I've always loved the cappellans particularly even considering that i like all factions
A minor point. What really made the Raven stand out for it's original era is that new Mech designs were rare, and its cutting edge technology was advanced in more ways than one might think. The supposed weakest and smallest of the great houses, Liao introduced this Mech well before the discovery of the Helm memory core. And it was a completely new design, not a made over existing one. It was these facts that made the Raven stand out more than anything else. It also proved that House Davion wasn't the only one capable of inovation as of 3025.
New Mech Designs are rare!
EXCEPT IN THE CAPELLAN CONFEDERATION! *drops mic* lol
@@BigRed40TECH with out a doubt.
Fun fact! The Raven has exceptionally strong rear armor. So as their fellow Capellans cannot stick a knife in its back!
More like it will run away most of the time
@@Alex-pj8nz why not both?
They know their own gotta give them that.
@@Alex-pj8nz Of course you run from a fight. It’s the best way to lure someone into a trap.
So that Raven MechWarriors won't be easily "replaced" by a Maskirovka commissars in their Urbanmechs with its AC20 shells on their backs for a "perceived insubordination", let alone being a valuable operatives for the intelligence agency
As someone who jump into the PC Battletech without any knowledge about the lore, discovering this unit in a heist mission involving urban areas was a banger moment.
I play a BTA and use the Raven as my primary scout, for little other reason then I like it
Facts
Utility mechs always seem to get less glory or exposure than they deserve. I remember using this in MechCommander 2, it served well for over 10 or so missions before I got access to the Cyclops, which had an equivalent EWar/utility package. Being able to detect and pinpoint exact models of enemy mechs was a very useful ability for a first time player going in blind.
Is the music from mech commander 2?
@@stephenfritz7493 Yes, its the House Liao theme
The Raven is a very nostalgic design full of personality. Since I’m venturing into building/painting a Liao company, this seems rather timely.
One of my favorite IS light mechs. Right behind the Panther.
It's only appropriate for a Liao mech to be right behind an unsuspecting machine.
Big Red 40k..."not the sick man of the Inner Sphere." That's the best piece of writing I've heard in along time in context of Battletech.
Managed to read this literally as it was said.
Excellent! Your Capellan Credits have been transferred!
This is actually my favorite light simply from the sheer nuisance moves you can do with it lol
This mech dies first in any Alpha Strike game I play.
Quoth the Raven, "Arrow IV"
@@toddkes5890 Now we're cooking with puns.
The raven is definitely a favorite. In my mind it was the first mech to really begin reversing of the "Cappies suck ass forever". Yeah the cataphract was certainly a strong start but it was more of a desperate measure to staunch the bleeding.
Nah, Cappies still suck and always will. The Raven just proves that the only reason a Capellan pats you on the back is to check where to stick the knife :P
@@MrGrimsmith If you see them readying the knife, you can beat them up, take it, and keep it, and the Raven is a good knife.
@@MrGrimsmith CC are probably the least likely faction to betray you. While FedSuns do it all the time.
@@MultiKbarry What are you talking about, Cappie's literally threaten to kill you as you work for them LMAO. They are straight up snakes. Ask the Taurians about whether Cappie's ever keep their word 😂😆🤦🏻
@@jdmmike7225 The bulls betrayed Capella during Jihad. The Capellans never lied to them once. As a merc working with the CC you have a unique position of being needed greater than any other house. You are their first and last line of defense. They know not to mess with the contract otherwise they lose access to mercs.
In Irish mythology there is supernatural being called the Morrígan who foretells doom, death, or victory in battle. She often appears as a Raven offering heroes advice on how to win battles, and destroying the enemy's moral with he foreboding. Sometimes she will appear as a hag washing the hero's own blood stained clothes foretelling his death in a coming battle. I think the Raven is an apt name for this pint-sized technological terror.
Morrigan also roughly translates to Phantom Queen, which is a further excellent descriptor/title
One of my favourite Mechs visually (the predatory bird aesthetic is just cool, I guess).
Smart Ass Fact: Actually, the Raven is not counted as a predatory bird, but among the song birds.
@@AGS363 I meant it looks predatory and bird-like, and both things are cool.
@@leeroyjenkins7325 I know, and you are right!👍
I'm sure Clan Jade Falcon must have been jealous of the design when they first saw one.
Ah the Raven. The single most important mech created in the Inner Sphere since the Mackie.
I would argue the hatchetman is more important. Being as it came out on the scene before the raven. Granted, it doesn't have the toys the raven does.
@@Sapper21b10 What? That doesn’t even make sense. That mech doesn’t have the design or equipment that makes the Raven one of the most important mechs of its era, but it’s somehow better simply because it’s older? If age is the only criteria my 1978 Monte Carlo is the best mech ever produced.
Both of them vie for the title of most important because they signified the end of the succession wars, the seemingly inevitable backslide of technology, and were the first new engineering projects undertaken in the inner sphear in centuries. And seeing as the raven was a lot more innovative in terms of novel technologies, I would also call it the more important one.
@@Sapper21b10 As much as I love the Hatchetman it is nowhere as influential as the Raven.
Raven is such an adorable light 'mech. Instantly recognizable, full of history, not to mention a real game-changer with it's experimental electronic warfare suite.
Even if Helm memory core would be discovered 4 years after it's introduction.
Crucis Lancers Mechwarrior: "It's difficult to get a hit with all this sensor interference! Somebody take out those Ravens!"
Quote the Raven: Never more.
Love your work, just finished vanilla campaign in the Battletech PC game, starting the BTA mod career. It's re-energized my interest in this universe.
“The Raven isn’t well ARMED. Though it has merits for its PUNCHING power…” 😂😂
i really like the aesthetics of the raven looks like a bird tbh jaja
@@PrimoRocker i know but i was talking about the mech
The Capellans main mistake on the original Raven was treating it like a battlemech with ECM capabilities, rather than fully specializing it as an ECM support mech thats not intended to be proficient at doing any actual fighting.
Ditching the SRMs and investing that weight into siginificant armor upgrades and some extra engine power would have made it a far better mech.
The SRM does seem like the first thing I'd drop.
Reading through the Alternate Eras Operations book and all its gimmick-y options, I see that EMP weapons are a thing, including some kind of tight EMP bean, so maybe could be used in later eras?
I remember when toy line K'nex had the Battletech licence and produced a mix of Clan and Inner Sphere sets that were sold at a local toy store. I tried hard to get a Mad Cat or Mad Dog but wound up getting a Raven.
I don't have it anymore, but I still think fondly of the Raven.
Hey I had those too! If I recall correctly I had a locust or a catapult. But not so sure now. Memory has faded since I was about 7 or 8
I love the Raven, one of my top 3 favorites. It embodies everything a light mech should be in my opinion and can serve as an excellent hunter-killer with the right modifications.
I have a Raven equipped with four light ppcs in MWO. The little dude is one hell of a harasser. I can basically chain fire them forever as long as I make each shot with a half second interval.
My chronic illness+ projesterone super tiredness almost made me miss the premiere; oh and also I would look up "Ghost Targets" they provide a definite defensive weapon for anything equipped with an ECM system.
Is there a way to DM you, I'd like to send you my Tiger Lily readout.
If you're on discord, my DM's should be open to anyone who is on the discord.
Best team support mech, from the frigin Capellans! The Cappies understand teamwork, it's just that they have funny ideas about who is on the team
I consider the Raven an elite type of Mech. Pretty darn cool little bugger.
I’ve grown to love this ‘mech, both in video games and on the tabletop. It also just looks great! If House Liao did anything right, it was definitely designing the Raven.
I refit one of these with clan tech and was able to fit an erppc, lrm20 and 2 heavy small lasers in it, thing was a head popper in MW5.
How many salvos did you get?
Owwww?!
@@bthsr7113 I think either 2 or 1 and a half tons of lrm ammo.
@@TheStrayHALOMAN So 9 or 12 volleys. Impressive. Very impressive.
Now let's see Paul Allen's loadout
The Raven really came into its own using the Double-Blind rules in the old Tactical Handbook. Especially if you had the Angel ECM and could run both ECM and ECCM at the same time. People rarely seemed prepared for that.
In MechCommander 2, a Raven with a pilot with extended range sight and Swarm LRM’s could lay to waste most anything before anyone even knew you were there. Sure you needed all your battlefield supports for ammo reloads, but that is the cost of basically never being shot at.
Fun fact, in the 80s, the F-111s Raven electronic warfare aircraft was put into service in the United States.I saw a young American general who, in a video from the 80s, also talked about this aircraft, also calling it sophisticated.
Man, like military nerd i want to say that you told about fictional military tech better than real so-called experts talking about real military equipment on UA-cam or TV. IMHO this is a very correct view of the Battletech universe.It's very lucky that Battletech has a fan like you.
It's a pity that I'm from Russia and it's not very clear to me how to donate to you, maybe I'll think of something.
Thank you Raypath! :D
My fav light mech, stealth raven shenanigans in MWO was fun while my laptop was working at least
I'm just painting two Urbanmechs fielding Arrow IV launchers to give my TAG-equipped Raven something to do. Looking forward to painting enemies with the TAG laser to then lob missile-death upon them! ☺️
The Raven can not be spoken of without dusting of Poe, which is why mine is call sign "Lenore" and well partnered with a pair of Vindicators and a LRM boat. One of the few pieces of current lore that doesn't make me twitch is the CCAF getting stealthy as a force multiplier. Agreed, even more so than the Cataphract, a very critical Mech of it's day and the first step forward the Capellan military took to regain their reputation and their value to their masters. Without it, the Confederation probably would be extinct. .
Quoth the Raven, "Arrow IV."
Rarely has a mech been given a name as fitting as the Raven, it literally looks like one... IF painted black...
But jokes aside, with the Helm Core tech unvieled, this mech became pretty much THE best scout mech and electronic warfare fighter in the entire Inner Sphere.
A 3L was my first owned mech in MWO and Ravens in general my first to mastery in the old skill system.
One big question that's been bugging me ever since my introduction to the franchise via MechCommander. How the heck did that Raven pilot, Panther, miss that Mad Cat in his Raven?
It's just after the drop, he clearly has low XP and a low Sensor rating. Although with a MadCat kill to his name that rating's going to jump right up.
Fail as a scout, get demoted to bait.
Love the looks of the Raven,the torso kinda looks like the body of a small fighter craft. Always have to pick them up, generally in a violent manner, from the Cappies when available. Considering my MW 5 company has a bit of a raven theme they just had to 'collect' a few. Also cool to see the nevermore quote.
Whole video was excellent but I loved that chilling rendition of Poe at the end. Beautiful!
I really enjoyed narrating that portion :)
I remember having two distinct datasheets for "Nevermore" one specifically for the RP campaign 2nd for regular games as the RP version wouldn't normally be table top legal oh all the times I've spotted for fire support and watch an opponent roll devastating criticals 😂
Awesome video. Easily one of my favorite light mechs. Thank you. Nevermore...
One of my favourite 'mechs.
Something I would feel is a missing opertunity is more house specific variants especially with Marik and Kurita.
Could you imagine something like a Kuritan RVN-4K with a pair of LPPC's, ECM, and a Streak SRM 6?
The vast majority of the variants are Liao and though that makes sense I think only 2 variants are not which is strange considering how it looks like such a widespread design especially following the clan invasion.
Limited variants outside of Liao made ones. Contracts and licenses my friend :P
An excellent video on an excellent Mech. The Raven 3L is useful in any era, and with the addition of semi-guided ammo, is an exceptional force multiplier for any unit.
Thank you for the nostalgia... I've been playing "battletech" since it was called battle droids. Cover the Fire bee, and the Behemoth and you will make me a happy man.
Used them all the time in Mech Commander because it could mount the best radar.
One of the best light mechs, period.
I think this video highlights a difference between Battletech with and without God's Eye view of the battlefield, and why it made things that disrupt that interesting, but not very good early on. I don't mean rules level, either- just that there are optional rulesets for a fog of war that really change the game in cool ways. Later on, it's a damn decent scout; but not a force multiplier. Smart design, venerated in flavor. At least passable for the shitbrickhouse the Panther built, and clans blew into kingdom come by halving the weight of LRM launchers, and having light mechs with good heat sinks.
I remember the Raven showed up as an early game boss in Mech Assault 2. The little bastard had a video game invisibility cloak and ran rings around me!
How about in HBS Battletech, where ECM is an AoE invisibility, which from within you can fire without penalty and enemies can't target you? 😂
Sorry to tell you man. That was the Raptor 2 not the Raven. There was 2 versions of the Raptor 2 in the game. The Raptor and the Stiletto. Not a Raven.
I didn't find the Raven to be a particularly special mech. But then again, I didn't exactly play them in mech commander for their firepower.
It was only during the Battletech game did I found their anti-missile/anti-detection ability to be super OP.
If you go against any base or many units with indirect fire capability, this mech will make their missiles near useless.
Like the Spartans said: Hide in the shade.
This might be my new favorite video of yours. It has one of my Favorite Mech and a lovely Edgar Allen Poe reading. Cheers the 4L is the apple of my eye even if I play the Fed Suns
Glad you enjoyed it!
I got goosebumps from that brief bout of bird balladry.
The raven has always reminded me of the concord sst.
The mech that gave the killing blow to a Timberwolf in the MechCommander intro!
Typical Clanner behaviour to underestimate the cowardly light mech only to pay the price.
Dude that was one of your best vids, but I'm also a HUGE Edgar Allan Poe fan, and The Raven is one of a few fave's I have.
Despite the failure of military cooperation in the 4th Succession War, at least there were a few good things came out from the Kapetyn Accord, and the exports of Ravens to the Draconis Combine was one of it that later demonstrated Ravens' incredible performances in recon & electronic warfares during the 3039 War & Clan Invasion
It's my fav mech. You did a great job covering it!
Thanks! It was a lot of work :)
In the retrieve the Raven mini campaign on the Harebrained Schemes Battletech Game; the Raven is really hard to use.
I can imagine that using the Raven defensively would kick ass.
However in the mini campaign, which I eventually managed to beat after like the sixth attempt. The problem was that you need to set up the Raven in the right place, have the thing march at the right speed with the rest of your unit so that it has ECM cover and then launch the attack against the final base which is in the city and lure defenders into a kill zone inside your ECM fied. But if you are in the wrong position by only a little bit; you get killed. Not only that in a city environment since there are only so many roads eventually once someone figures out which road you are in then they can just bum rush you and your toast.
The Raven however was done very well in Mechwarrior Mercenaries 4; as in if you do not use the Raven to complete the recon mission on the Talon Mech works (this is the pro-Steiner side version of the mission) you are screwed and it is impossible to do that mission (I have tried to do it with the Locust, Fire Ant and Owen even with max armor, max engine and almost no weapons I still end up getting killed because the Raven has the ECM)
RVN-7A Full 3050 Clan Tech Redesign
35 tons, clan Endo-steel, XL+DHS, standard cockpit and gyro, 6 full tons of clanner Fero-Fiberous, TAG, AP, and ECM built into the chassis, and 16.75 tons of podspace.
PRIME config: Streak SRM-6 with 2 tons of ammo, NARC with 2tons of ammo, twin MPL, and a clanner MG with a half ton of ammo.
ALT-config: 4 Streak SRM-4's with 2 tons of ammo between them, 3 MPLS, a single MG and half ton of ammo.
That EW suite is a killer in terms of weight, but as a proof of concept the raven is phenomenal
RIP Falcons...
RIP :(
Nothing of value was lost
@@theomnissiah-9120 aww
Enjoyed, thanks!
Awesome :D
Always a great mech in the novels etc. and in the mech commander opening heh.
The tip of the Cappellan spear the Raven!
Amazing video thank you Red
Glad you liked it!
"Commander... I don't have jump jets."
Ah Mechcommander lol
one of my favorite light mechs, despite its relativly low speed for its size
I'm always happy af when I see you drop a new battletech video!!! You and Tex are battletech gods ❤️
Venture into the chaos mark... AWW! That hurts. It only became the chaos-mark after the war. When Victor begged for help and Kathy said: "No!" and instead she retreated her troops and formed the Lyran Alliance. After the clan invasion most of the FedComs Jumpships were in the Lyran half and Katherine did not hand them back for free - these factors led to a loss of control in the new terretorries aquired in the fourth succsession war - but that happened after the attack of Thomas Marik and Sun Tzu.
Great video as always, Red. Not surprisingly, this is one of my favorite mechs out there. There's just something awesome about the Raven, even in it's OG days where the ECM didn't really do much. And of course, it adds to the glory of the Confederation! Xin Sheng!!!
I have 2 of these... the best one are energy and missile armed. the ECM variant is also excelent.
A very fun quirk of this little guy in MWO was with the 3L, at least at the time (may have been changed these days, I've not played MWO in years, much more interested in Harebrained's Battletech) the way MWO handled missile hard points as having appropriate launch tubes and the 3L was supposed to have a single tube NARC launcher. If you crammed an LRM 20 into it, they would come out in a stream of single missiles over the course of around 6 to 7 seconds and looked absolutely ridicules. This would prompt many a 'What the heck is THAT?!' from team members thinking I was using some kind of mysterious new weapon. This was in no way effective, mostly due to having to strip everything out of the Raven to cram in an LRM 20 but was good for jokes.
I love the mission they introduced this mech in for the 2018 Battletech. So much changes about how the game works so quickly that you need an entirely new UI for it to make sense. The soundtrack was great too, it made diving to rip apart an absurd number of LRM defenses feel incredible.
A Raven 3L - With ECM and 2 Large Lasers is a really neat fire support and lance support mech. Not bad at all.
Probably my favorite light mech out of all of them. Always try to have either a large laser or ER/PPC equipped because it's absolutely hilarious when someone tries to bully me and I blow out their leg _AND_ Tag/Narc them for some extra reaming. Absolute terror in BTA3062 with a pilot whose specialization is building evasion counters. Nearly unstoppable and just ramps the entire lance's DPT through the roof.
What is that cool video playing as we wait for premier? It’s super neat!
It's just UA-cam's Sci Fi Premier
The Davion refit RVN-4X is an excellent fighting machine in case you get tired of looking for trouble and not being able to deal with it.
The mech I started with, and my all time avatar. Go Raven!
One of the best mechs in the setting. Love the Raven to death.
that reference to The Raven was very fitting and thematic
Say what you will about the Cappies, they make some great mechs.
The Men Shen is also an interesting upgrade of the Raven improving it to a 55 ton Omnimech.
Whenever I play MW-5M I hunt these down in the market and on the battlefield to collect as many as possible for a full lance or two and got to town with them. I even gave them a try on MWO and the variant I had for that time was very fun. Ever since I started playing the battletech games on pc and clapped eyes on the Raven i've never looked away as once you've figured out how best to use them, you will know how great they can be.
My work is a 30x30ish foot shack. Occasionally i have to go outside and play nice with the customers. Going back in my shack I pretend it's a cabin in the woods, crank the heater on (its winter time with a squall alert active) and pour myself a cup of almost hot coco. And mentally relax untill the next customer and then play podcasts like this one. Only thing missing is the red lumberjack shirt. Not part of the uniform sadly. Keep up the good work. Crusader next?
Battlemaster, Crusader, Stinger and shadowhawk. When I was a kid i picked them because of their looks. Years later Maurader and Maurader II PGI versions have my Fave mech look. I remember reading a novel where one of the characters bemoaned about his mech not having hands. Kinda stuck. Which is why handless mechs would not be my first choice. But you don't go to war to shake mech hands.
ua-cam.com/video/WlWll-Ojs6w/v-deo.html&ab_channel=BigRed40k
@@BigRed40TECH YAAASSS!! Thanks. Those customer trucks and employee pickups can stack till i'm done. Going to need more hot chocolate and Mnt Dew.
my first encounter with the Raven must have been 2 decades ago (or atleast close to iirc) in Mechwarrior 2 game, yes the arcady one on XBox360 * ^^ * while the game had its flaws, it was my entry into MW games after reading a good few books about BT beforehand... all of a sudden i feel a little bit older thinking back to that time... XD
thx for a another great vid on another awesome and interesting mech ^^
Hey Big Red 40k!
I was going to ask this question at your Live video;
With the vast resources and technologies in the BattleTech universe, were there any mass produced weapons, such as hypersonic missiles, that are specifically made to destroy or at least cripple Mechs? And if there are, why have they not been produced more since a one-shot-kill missile is significantly cheaper than the smallest Mech?
I mean. There are Cruise Missiles. But they're launched from ground bases and ships.
@@BigRed40TECH Thank you.
Then what is stopping Cruise Missiles from being mass produced to out pace mech production?
What's stopping the clans from converting a droppod into a missile bastion carrying more missiles than mechs?
What defenses do mechs have against Cruise Missiles?
Could the clans produce weapons similar to that of TOMA Hawk missiles made specifically to swarm attack mechs?
Since most battle are in wide areas, are there satellites with heavier and more accurate fire power such as massive railguns?
Are the mechs capable of destroying fighters in the air?
Is there an aircraft similar to an AC-130 using long-range, Air-to-Ground weapons?
Could the mechs carry a close support weapons like a CIWS turret?
I'm sorry if I ask a lot of questions. I just can't settle with "because it's about mechs" as an answer.
@@edwardbryan9501 Cruise Missiles are launched from ships or structures. It is not so easy to just have them. They also aren't the easiest things to use on the battlefield.
The Sian Dagger!
One of my all time favorite mechs!
I gotta say, this video and the Cataphract episode kinda cemented a certain amount of respect I have for the Capellans. They got the piss beaten out of them, only to eventually rise back up and help drive the wedge into the Federated Commonwealth. I'll freely admit I dont know much else of the lore of the Confederation, but that amount of history is pretty cool
One of my all time favorite lights from looking at specs.... though that's largely because of how much better it can make fire support assault mechs and vehicles. Still, even on it's own, it's packing respectable firepower potential for what was built to be a spotting scout.
Whenever I squad up with friends for MW5, I'm driving this. If the available tonnage for heavies and assaults are filled by newer players, I claim the Raven. What a great tool to both protect your allies and scout enemies, and ironically, it's low maximum damage means I rarely get focused.
truely beautiful mech
can confirm , definatly murderised some clanners with a pair of ravens in MC1
I like the raven, solid light mech.
Visually probably my favorite light mech, right up there with the Clan variant Jenner.
The TAG, NARC, and electronic gear are the most important parts of the mech. Wish it was a little faster, but later variants help with Stealth Armor. Best deployed with Copperhead-armed artillery and guided Arrow IV.
Playing the BTA mod, Ive found that the Raven is pretty solid, but its variants are even scarier. The Sha Yu in particular, as it has stealth armor and a similar speed on a heavier chassis, with improved protection and firepower. I love it as a Medium Mech fighter, and heavy scout.
Quick question. What unit is that supposed to be in the opening picture of the red Ravens?
In the PC Game Battletech, with it's latest DLCs, you have a Mission where you have to steal a Raven X1 from a Capellan World. It is a very difficult Mission, because you have to destroy a Lance of light Mechs before you can retreat, but with a Heavy Mech Lance and Tanks around the corner to back up the light one AND it is a City Szenatio.
My first Time I had a Raven in Action, were in the Mech Commander Game and later in Mechwarrior 4 and 5.
I really love this Mech as a light Scout, but when I use it, I change the SRM6 often against a LRM5 and take out the EW Systems, to bring in 2 Pulse Lasers instead of the Med Lasers and Power Up Armour and Missile Packs.
When playing with Mods, I often Change the Armour and Skelleton to a different Type and give it Double Heatsinks, so I can use less of them.
Also I than change the normal Med Lasers / Pulse Lasers to ER Med Lasers and switch the LRM 5 with an Artemis LRM 5 and reinstall the Bab and ECM Systems, but now with the real deal, not the EW Variant.
In MW 4, there were some special Pulse Lasers, called the X Pulse Lasers. I can remember using 2 of them on a Raven Chassis, but they were way to hot to use in Tandem for a longer Time or I used Clan Weapons, making the Raven a mixed Tech Variant. ^^
And in Mech Commander were a Variant with 2 Med Lasers, an LRM 5 (Right Arm and Torso) and an SRM 2 in the left Arm. I can't remember if it had bab or ECM or if this even had a role in MC1.
In MW 5 is the Problem, that you begin your Career way before the Raven X1 hits the Market, so you have to wait for it a looong time. Until it drops, I normally have a complete Lance of Marauders ready to roll out and often don't need any light mechs anymore, so it is very sad when I finally can get one, and have no use for it anymore.
But as a Mech collector, you really HAVE to have one, even if you only put it in the Fridge. ^^
loved the poem at the end!
Liked how the Raven took down the mad cat in Mech commander intro.
I love the combined arms role that the Raven plays!
I also wonder why this mech didn't get the narrow profile quirk. 🤔 possibly would be vastly overpowered, but I think it fits.
One of my preferred lights. If you use it for proper tactical fuckery they're fun. Drop one in when your opponent sinks all his BV into C3 systems and let the lamentations start. In the original, I drop the narc and put in some more armor and ammo. Lots of fun can be had with a ton of regular, and a ton of inferno SRMs. Or drop the narc for an LRM rack. Either way it improves the design a lot.
I think the first Raven seen in print was the RVN-1X, as seen in the House Liao sourcebook - the only housebook that presented new battlemechs.
One of my favorite looking mechs I don't use
Excellent video!