Why Do We Love The Wolverine?
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- Today, we spend some time with an old reliable friend. The Wolverine.
Wolverine-1MF Record Sheet: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ak9kmj...
Sources: 3025, 3039, 3050, 3085, Project Phoenix TROs. XTRO Primitives 4, First Succession War Sourcebook, Combat Manual Kurita, IlClan Rec Guide 18, Gray Death Legion Campaign Book, House Davion Sourcebook.
Thank you to Dwane Loose, Anthony Scroggins, Matt Plog, Bishop Steiner, Flying Debris, Alan Blackwell, Chris Lowry, Dale Eadeh, Harri Kallio, Loston Wallace, and all the other BattleTech artists that have brought the IP to life through their amazing work.
BattleTech imagery and mech info remains the property of Topps.
Concept Art from Mechwarrior Online and game art from MW5 is owned by Piranha Games.
Imagery from HBS BattleTech
Some imagery/video from Pixabay
Background Music: Purchased rights to use from Fanatical
#BattleTech #Mechwarrior #CatalystGameLabs #lore - Ігри
Why Do We Love The Wolverine? or “Suck it, Harmony Gold!”
What's funny about it is that HG never owned the rights to Fang of the Sun Dougram or Crusher Joe. Their lawyers tried convincing the court that mechs from those series were owned by HG under the Robotech banner.
Those guys are friggin' clown shoes. Sunrise productions made Dougram and Crusher Joe, and never sold the rights for these to HG. So having Shadow Hawk, Griffin, Wolverine, Battlemaster, Scorpion quad, Goliath, Locust, Galleon tank and Crusher Joe's "Minerva" (as well as a few aerospace fighters) joining the "Unseen" really made no sense.
@@GojiKaichou There is Revell kit #1153, Talos, but Revell's Robotech Defenders and Robotech Changers kits predate Harmony Gold's involvement in things. In fact, Harmony Gold had to license the use of the Robotech name from Revell.
@@radwolf76 yeah. Typical HG fuckery.
@@radwolf76 From what I recall, HG turned around and sued Revell and DC comics not long after, claiming they originally came up with the Robotech trademark. This is why Revell stopped selling the kits, and DC scrapped the comic books. HG only got rights to use the Robotech name, not the rights to the mechs themselves. Those rights were still held by Revell.
@@GojiKaichou Exactly.
"I'm the best at what I do. And what I do, isn't very nice." Wolverine
Certainly, Nicky K didn't think it was very nice.
A plasma rifle? In a Wolverine? I did NOT see that coming... I'm lying, I totally expected that ...
Glad we are on the same page.
The Wolverine is one of the major reasons that the medium mech class is my favorite in battletech.
It is a wonderful example of a medium.
I believe in 55 ton supremacy
Yeah officer,
this one right here, with the correct opinions
My love for the Wolverine began when one stood face to face with half a Star of Clan Heavy mechs and refused to die for two turns.
This is the way.
There's something... enjoyable... about using a Wolverine against the Clans. The knowledge that the Mech shares the same name as the so-called 'Not-Named Clan' make using them satisfying in so many ways!
Pretending not to be upset on the open com link...
For added disrespect, if you capture a Hellhound/Conjurer you can rename it as a Wolverine IIC and broadcast this to the clans. This will result in you being considered exempt from the Clans' rules of honor and you *will* be annihilated by their superior technology as soon as they find out, so be prepared.
@@jacksonbowns1087 Dude, now THAT is an idea...
or you could use it to bait a trap. i'm sure the demolisher crews will be happy when we do that right?@@jacksonbowns1087
@@jacksonbowns1087 Unfortunately for the Clans, the Inner Sphere has a lot more experience with committing war crimes than they do...
Wolverines are almost always great mediums for starting out a mech company, due to them being "pocket heavies". This basically means that the Wolverine can very easily punch above its weight. It's a medium that fights like a heavy, and has on average more armor than others in its weight class.
True that.
Also better mobility than most heavies. It can either outrun or out-fight an opponent. Armor tends to hold up well.
The 6R is somewhat undergunned for a pocket heavy, for that role I would go with Enforcer or Hunchback...
I found the standard Wolverine such a high intensity fighter in a way that may not be immediately obvious on paper. It's one of the few designs that does well with an AC 5 as the primary weapon. The ability to fire all its weapons and jump with little to no heat concerns allows it to keep up the pressure on even larger targets. Overall a nasty design in most of its variants.
I'm actually surprised that there are few Helm variations that double down on the design's survivability by not using an I.S. XL Fusion engine.
It's definitely a mech that performs better on the tabletop than it should at first glance. Largely because of things like splitting weapons across torsos and being largely heat neutral. You feel like you're getting a lot out of it on the table.
Wolverine 7d does not XL I believe...
The Wolverine
For when Capellan paratroopers start falling from the sky.
Now there's something I haven't seen depicted in BT lore before...
Wolverines!
In my second-last game of Alpha Strike, my opponent was focused on my Kingfisher, Huntsman - the bigger, flashier mechs. The next thing I knew, my next two attacks with the Wolverine were crits. I'm not saying it's easier to roll a through-armor crit with a Wolverine. But at the very least, with heavies and assault mechs about, a lowly medium may be overlooked.
Just dangerous enough to pull off these moments of greatness.
@@MechanicalFrog That's what I keep telling anyone who thinks they're a simple target! :)
The K is a "invite the designer to use the garden" mech. Pulling the ACrap/5 is good (9to to play with). Adding the second M laser at the expense of jump - not so. Keep the 5/8/5, add a Ton or two of armor and 2-3 heat sinks. Pair with Griffin
Considering they're from the same family of animal, if there was to be a hero variant I would like to be called the Honey Badger.
The Wolverine is why I still love primitive mech tech.
I'm glad someone does. :D
The 6M is probably my favourite variant. It's got the best bits of 6K & 6R, but without the ammo needs of the R but the JunpJets of it. I'm okay with the 6R, just don't like all the ammo the thing packs.
This is one of my favourite Mechs. It stands alongside the Warhammer & Marauder for me.
There's a Wolverine for every taste. Part of its charm.
The 6M is the best medium 'mech of the succession wars era, and CASE and minor tweaks make it top five afterwards. I'm willing to die on that hill. >_
I ran a long campaign of BT where my two friends ran a Merc unit. One of them refused to give up his Wolverine for a heavier chassis. After playing a bunch of games, he earned enough C-bills to upgrade the AC5 to a gauss rifle and install an XL engine. He never took an engine hit despite that big reactor sitting in his mech. Good times.
A Gauss Rifle Wolverine! be still my beating heart...
I love these longer form videos, thank you for making it! The wolverine is my favorite medium for its versatility I like the 7K personally dual srms FTW!
This was a big project. Glad you enjoyed it.
Anything that causes the clans to have an aneurysm that easily is worth using. Particularly when it works that well.
This is fair.
The 6M is the quintessential Succession Wars medium cavalry mech, capable of deep penetrations into enemy territory for extended periods of time with limited needs for ammo resupply. The fact that it has two hands (and an ejectable LL) makes it effective as a raider because it can carry off looted supplies. The Command and Improved Comms Quirks make it the 55-ton version of the 45-ton Phoenix Hawk, perfect as the command mech in the medium cav lance. Pair with a GRF-1S, a PXH-1D, and a VLK-QA, and you have an exceedingly annoying force that an opponent will only trap through careful ambush or at the expense of most of their faster mechs and very careful play!
It's definitely a worthy mech I wouldn't turn down.
The 6M was one of the best medium mech during the Succession Wars.
It is quite solid.
The best, best, best medium Mech there is. I love fielding the -7D variant! ❤
It's a great one.
Wolverine: A mech you manufacture when you want job security. That is more than a lot of designs can say. Thanks for the video
True that. Thanks for giving it a go.
For people interested in a “next-gen,” version of the default loadout, the Wolf Empire’s -10D is really fun. IS XL hurts as usual, but a RAC-5, Medium X-Pulse, and Streak-6 packs a mighty punch, esp with CASE-2 to keep you safe. It’s a stopgap machine made so the Empire could quickly rebuild itself, but it’s a fantastic thematic take on the OG build in the ilClan era
It's solid. Nothing too wacky going on.
My merc company, The Monkeys, managed to recently salvage a Wolverine WVR-7D, to replace the loss of a Hollander III. Normally I would have kept a Hollander held back a bit... but 4 Long Tom artillery were harassing us so it was move or die. I'm glad I got a unit with MASC to replace the MASC unit I lost, but it's trading a long range unit for a closer range one, and now I need to learn how to use Ultra Autocannons.
Should be a fun upgrade.
Had a merc who built a custom wolverine out of most of a 7M and a good chunk of a 7k, mainly the masc from the M and the twin 6-packs from the K and a collection of lasers from both.
Eventually to fight the clans he added a supercharger and hollowed out the SRM mounts and jammed 5 medium lasers in each, then packed in as many heat sinks as he could.
Could close the distance in a flash and light up anyone with enough damage to be scary. It mounted a c3 slave too so it was feeding telemetry to the Nightstar on the hill to open you up for those laser shotgun shoulders.
Took advantage of the extended torso twist and moved all the weapons into the torsos and head (he added a clan ER small as a trophy). This had the added effect of keeping the hands free for melee when it got really close.
It was terrifying
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Well, after some messing about in MekLab, I came up with the WVR-DWGN-1.
-Internals: 275 rated Light Fusion Engine, XL Gyro, Endo Steel Chassis, 14 Double Heatsinks, 5 Jump Jets
-Armor: 12 tons Standard Armor
-Weaponry: 1x Large X-Pulse Laser (RA), 1x MML-7(LT), 2x ER-Small Lasers (Head and LA), 1x Laser AMS (LT)
-Ammo: 1 Ton LRM-ARTIV ammo, 1 Ton SRM-ARTIV Ammo; both in the RT protected by CASE-II
Analysis: Runs a bit toasty if you push all the buttons, but it should always be able to do something every turn, be it burning down infantry with the ER-Smalls, or "pelting" something bigger with the Large X-Pulse and MML-7. Smaller mechs need to be wary of approaching this thing since it retains the Wolverine's signature extended torso twist and is anything but helpless between the LXPL and MML7 packing ARTIV-SRM ammo.
The WVR-DWGN-1B is a "Field Refit" spotter configuration that removes the Laser-AMS and swaps one of the ER-Small Lasers for TAG and adds another ton of MML ammo (usually Inferno SRMs or more LRMs) for tactical considerations.
The WVR 6M is my choice for best medium mech of its era, but also remains competitive into whatever era you're playing in. The WVR 7M/M2 is a fantastic performer, and has a nasty habit of getting to places the enemy would rather you didn't.
"I really hope my enemy doesn't go there." Wolverine: Already there.
I love the 6M. When I first got into battletech the Wolverine was always the mech that I wanted to like, but just couldn't. (Largely because of the autocannon.) If the 6M had been front and center, it probably would have been one of my favorite mechs.
the wolverine is just so fun for me, no matter what, it just works
A quality producer.
One of the very few standard original designs that actually works as it is :D
Well put.
The 6M is the peak Wolverine. Now onto the red headed stepchild of the classic 55 ton mechs.
Dare we step into that meat grinder?
The Wolverine was my very first 'mech in table-top. I have loved it ever since. There's not much I haven't done with it. Generally my 'merc version is essentially a "IIC" version, with IS structure (base is a -6M) and clan-tech weapons. Also with Dual Heat Sinks fitted to manage heat. Awesome machine.
Sounds like a fun build.
This mech always makes me think of Delmar Clay from the GDL saga
Goat.
I love my -6H. It's a -6M that drops a medium laser, 2 heat sinks and a ton of armor. But then I added hatchet for some melee fun.
We love the Wolverine for being what the Shadowhawk was promised to be, a scout lance leader that isnt a waste of space. It has a real damage potential that is a threat to most heavies and lighter assaults, to say nothin about what it can do to any light it catches in concert with its lance.
It's a nice babysitter for lights.
It's ain't a Wolverine video without a Delmar Clay reference 👍
Truth.
One of my all-time favorites!
An excellent pick.
My start with Battletech was the 2018 game, and I learned to love the Wolverine there. Good speed, weapons that are solid apart and give it something to use at each range bracket, but shine together, the AC5 and the medium laser punching holes for the SRM (I adore SRMs). And being in the Beginner Box, it had to be my first official mech to pilot on the tabletop.
That head-mounted laser alone puts it above its peers, it would be annoying if every mech had it but I like always having one good weapon.
The Wolverine is a great boost in HBS Battletech in the early-mid game.
Why do I love the Wolverine? I had one forced on me for a 3rd Edition Mechwarrior campaign and fell in love with the combined mobility, durability, and versatility. Now it is my favorite mech in ANY age of play.
Forced into realizing how good the mech is... this is the way.
Wolverine, Shadowhawk , Hunchback, my favorite medium mechs, not even close.
@@MechanicalFrog This is the way
One of the most enjoyable MWO games I've played was when I arrived in the drop at the Gazpacho sea to find nothing but Wolverines, mostly 7K's, a couple large pulse laser monsters and 7D's. The other team was assaults and heavies. It turned out to be one of the quickest matches ever. We stayed together, kept mobile and focused fire. The other team didn't know what hit them. We didn't even lose a single mech. A buddy of mine was on the other side and he told me the chatter was hilarious with plenty of "They're coming outta the walls", "Run for your lives" and such. Good times!
The Wolverine has always been a favorite in all forms of the game.
The 8K is great in that it can manage a running alpha strike at 0 net heat, which is a rare feat, especially for a trooper medium.
Definitely a consistent quality producer.
It's the Dakka, jumpyness, twistyness, and nothing pisses claners off more than the name.
Fair points. :D
Thanks for a video! That WVR-1MF is scary, and I think a light fusion engine is a much better standard upgrade for Inner Sphere tech than an XL, both in cost and survivability.
It definitely makes the mech a tougher opponent. Even with significant damage, it can pack a whollup.
One of the mechs I'm running in our local campaign is a Wolverine, and I thought it would be funny to make a variant with claws. I've essentially turned it into a Inner Sphere version of a Kontio, complete with stealth armor, triple strength myomer, and an assortment of ER small and medium lasers to keep the TSM appropriately warm. As the campaign goes on, I hope to improve it further with reinforced structure, a bloodhound active probe, and harjel repair systems to mimic the abilities of a certain similarly-named mutant.
Sounds terrifying.
In BTA, I have a Wolverine 2PA that has many refits to improve the armor, speed and mobility, both heavy cannons removed, and replaced by a Silver Bullet Gauss rifle and 2 tons of ammo.
I also have a Wolverine IIC-7, but I still refuse to call it a "Conjurer". Clanners can "cope and seethe", I won't stop calling the mech exactly what it is.
Heh.
Excellent. Glad to see it's getting plenty of use these days.
@@MechanicalFrog I run the IIC-7 and 2PA "Canadian Gauss" in tandem. Both were refitted with improved jump jets and are very survivable now.
With jump jets and enough duct tape, we can improve any battlemech.
There are 2 medium mechs that I field the most often in early era games.
The Wolverine and the Phoenix Hawk.
These 2 just seem to have the greatest variety of uses compared
to the rest of the medium class.
BTW-The Wolverine WVR-6K has 2 tons of SRM ammo and nothing else in
it's right torso. The WVR-6K and PXH-1K are the only variants of these 2 that I avoid.
In one game I was short on BV and needed to cover that extra base of an anti-infantry unit,
so for that game I chose the PXH-1.
My opponent chose the Wolverine WVR-6K and openly mocked the PXH-1 as having
tissue paper armor and not enough heat sinks to do anything important.
Somewhere around the 4th turn he won initiative but chose to move his Vindicator last
and moved his Wolverine before I moved my PXH-1. I ran into a position to the rear left of his
Wolverine where it couldn't return fire and behind heavy woods between me and the Vindicator.
The Vindicator had to jump to have any shot at all and missed. I put the Pixy's large laser right into the
rear right torso of the Wolverine and scored a crit with 2 possible choices-Ammo or more ammo.
BOOM! That's how I remember that the 6K has nothing but ammo there. Had it been any other
Wolverine variant I probably would have fled instead of pressed the attack.
I would never turn down a Phoenix Hawk and Wolverine. on their own or in tandem.
Unironically one of my favorite mechs in nearly every era.
These things can really take a pounding.
They are great for teaching new players as it does a little bit of everything, with enough movement and armor to allow for mistakes.
That MF version looks a LOT like a custom campaign mech I use, great minds and all that.
It seems to be nearly universally beloved. That has to be worth something.
Light engine. Uac5. Pair mp laser. Srm6 and srm4. Upgrade to double heat. Retain JJ. Trying to keep track of weight might be over by one. Drop a double should keep within heat scale still
Solid build. It just works.
Another classic mech. Thanks Frog.
Thank you!
Of the 55-ton mechs in the original TRO, The Wolverine tended to be the 2nd most popular pick among the game groups in my area. It's advantages are that it has excellent close to medium range combat power and little to no minimum range penalty (which the Griffin suffered from), good armor, good mobility and superior heat dissipation capability. One could actually make the case that the Wolverine had a few too many heat sinks as you could only begin (slowly) overheating by firing all weapons and jumping constantly. All of this made the Wolverine a superior city-fighter. Even the vaunted Urbanmech simply could not choose it's range vs. a Wolverine, and would therefore usually fall victim to the Wolverine's longer ranged autocannon. The only reason the Griffin proved more popular than the Wolverine was because of the raw, ranged firepower it could bring to bear. Outside of an Urban (or at least heavily forested) area, the Griffin simply could out-shoot and out-range the Wolverine. That said, Wolverines were incredibly deadly in cities, at least until their AC ammo ran out. Which is why in games where my local groups allowed "modifications", we would usually drop a heat sink to add a ton of ammo to our Wolverines. Some would drop another heat sink to install a 2nd medium laser. But that often led to overheating, so was not as popular as the extra ton of ammo.
It's hard to turn down the awesome drawing power of the PPC for pinpoint damage.
Nasty heavy medium. Outstanding survivor of the battle field.
100% Truth
-6M was my go to for a long time for a merc unit i had. in the end its SRM got ripped off and replaced with a Med Laser 3 heat sinks , it was dubbed the 6M-Disco by the techs.
Another great video sir
The 6M light show has arrived.
We love the wolverine cause its a tough soldier mech that's more versatile than a shadow hawk :-) great vid of a real classic :-)
Wolverine always felt a bit undergunned.
Tough, but undergunned.
Had the AC/5 been a PPC like originally planned, it would have been epic.
I just recently had a game where, after both sides lost multiple mechs, my Wolverine 6M and Firebee 2E were alone against a Warhammer 6D and Black Knight 7L. I unfortunately lost that fight but it was way closer than I would have thought. The Black knight had lost its leg and many of its weapons suffered critical damage, the Warhammer’s leg was almost blown off and was exposed on many locations, including the rear. The 6M is the perfect Succession Wars variant, it was its perfect balance of speed, resilience, and damage that allowed me to almost clutch it out against mechs that were way heavier
It's stronger than the record sheet would suggest.
Out of the Classic trio, I have to say the Wolverine is the best balanced of the 3. It hits at all 3 ranges, and has the mobility and armor to hang in there. The Placement of the AC on the Shadow Hawk doesn't do it any favors, and the Griffin suffers from a lack of short range weapons ( that and the LRM launcher doesn't have enough ammo). If you put all 3 together in a Lance though....Now you can have some fun!( Put a Hunchback as the 4th, cause you know, Big Gun).
I agree with this video, the Wolverine is just a good design overall. The 6R has good speed and armor, and while it's weapons load looks anemic, each weapon is a (almost) guaranteed five damage if it hits. Doesn't seem like much, but when it's spread out across the mech's whole frame, it means the 6R is going to be able to keep grinding things down even as body parts start to fall off. So while it doesn't get as much "press" as it's two brothers, I think it would be my first pick of the three.
I'm also going to send out a custom variant of the Wolverine. However, this one is going to be a custom one-off mech, because that's more fun.
This Wolverine was passed down in a Davion military family from generation to generation from as far back as the third or fourth succession war. It somehow has survived to the Ilcan era, earning the name "Metal Eater" along the way, with every new pilot adding or tweaking something when they inherited the mech.
Due to all these modifications over the years, almost everything has been replaced at some point or another. The only original elements that remain from the original 6R are the internal structure and jump jets. The engine has been swapped out for a light 275 and a heat sink has been added, with all heat sinks being upgraded to doubles. At some point one ton of armor was removed, but an upgrade to Ferro-fiberous has negated the loss.
Metal Eater's right arm boasts a interesting mix of weapons, a Light AC/5 and a pair of Clan-tech ER Medium Lasers. The LAC/5 draws from a two ton ammo bin in the right torso, with one ton almost always devoted to precision ammunition (or some other type of specialty ammo). The left torso trades the SRM6 for an LRM5 (with one ton of ammo) and a Medium Laser. It also holds a Coolant Pod, a hold over from when the Metal Eater had needed a emergency boost in cooling due to being fitted with a Large Laser. Both side torsos also mount CASE II to keep their explosive bits from getting out of hand.
The most interesting part of Metal Eater has to be it's head. The standard cockpit has been exchanged for a small cockpit, allowing a battlemech turret to be installed. Thanks to this, the head laser regains the 360 degree coverage of the original wolverine. It also doesn't hurt that the Medium Laser has been swapped for a Medium X-Pulse laser as well. So no matter what angle you come at them from, Metal Eater will always have something to hit you with.
Sounds like an interesting build. Finally giving the WVR that head turret.
Tanky, jumpy and a bit light on the firepower
The Wolverine is an excellent mech that can fill alot of combat roles, from straight up fighter to skirmisher to bodyguard unit
The basic Wolvering is as mentioned very light on firepower and thus has problems punching up, but its speed and maneuverability makes it great against lighter assets and vehicles. Alot of light mechs had their legs kicked out under them from one of my wolverines.
The armor on the wolverine will make sure that it can take some punishment, though it should not come into focus of heavier units.
For mecenaries the Wolverine is one of the premier go-to medium mechs. Readily available and with a no nonsense loadout you will get alot of service live out of one of these. Also the many variants over the years mean you will find plenty of upgrade and sidegrade kits on the market to suit your needs.
All in all a solid, well performing medium mech
Absolutely spot on.
The Wolverine is one of those rare mechs where I prefer the original Macross/FASA licensed visual design to the Pirhana Games' visual redux of the design. While I generally love the "construction catapillars go to war" vibe of the PG redesign for most other mechs, not so with this once.
But while I don't like the visuals, there's nothing bad to say about its performance, even with the AC/5. In Mechwarrior 5, there are few mechs more safe to train new pilots on than a Wolverine, courtesy of its painfully simple combination of three weapons that you have to basically stand on the triggers for in order to over heat the mech, all wrapped in a double-rolled burrito of space-steel.
As far as Succession War era midweight mechs go, there are a number of good designs and the Wolverine is among the best solely for its ability to apply enough pressure to matter while giving your pilot a fair chance at survival so they can continue to improve. In MW5, it's the combination of the SRM-6 and AC/5 that lets the mech earn its keep.
If there's any criticism I have with the stock, common 6R model, it's that the lack of weapons hardpoints elsewhere on the frame makes it very difficult to upgrade or change out weaponry. Thankfully that issue is solved quite thoroughly by most of its latter era variants, and as such, remains a solid investment for any irregular force mercenary lance going forward.
As for a more personal note, I have the Wolverine to thank as being the progenitor of my favorite mech in the entire setting: The Hellhound. Specifically, the Apocryphal MW4 re-seen version whose design was re-canonized into Battletech early last year as the Hellcat, which was then shortly thereafter backported into MW5 via mods.
Sufficed to say, I thoroughly enjoyed tearing through things in a wide variety of Hellcat configs this past year.
The Hellhound is an amazing mech. One of my favorites.
My fist Plastic mech, my first metal mech, my favorite to pilot and MW5, a workhorse in HBS, and a joy to run in a Lance on tabletop.
It's a joy to paint and play.
Agreed, agreed. It's a great one.
Hahaa! Im at the present categorizing and painting mechs for my custom mercenary group thats FRR/ CGB/ Rasalhague Dominion. They are gonna be all yellow with red+ blue detail colors. Using the three colors present in any of the Nordic flags. Not going blue since Steiner and Davion uses it alot and not red due to Kurita. Its yellow with red and bit blue as homage to the Kalmar Union flag. Mechs NOT used by FRR/ RD will have copper and teal stripes. Along with silver+gold if they are due to FRR and Clan Ghost Bear union and comradie🤝
There's bound to be a Wolverine you like, there's so many of them across most time periods that if you can't find one that'll do the job. You might be a bit too picky!
Personally I wasn't a fan of the energy variants but understand why they're there, the addition of things like ATM's and MML's makes the most sense to me for 'keeping up with the cool kids' in terms of upgrades along with the MASC to get yourself into trouble quicker. I don't think there was ever an official version with an LBX autocannon though which seems strangely lacking in this old gunboat.
A Wolverine for every taste. A Wolverine for every season.
The Wolverine seems to hit a sweetspot: Very fast and nimble, well armored but also packing quite a punch on medium and short ranges. Also, I love having something in the head-slot, be it heatsink or laser. It's not much, but given all the other crit locations in the head, it's nice to have one as a "freebie", that doesn't instantly kill your Mech or render it inoperable. It's only a tiny percentage in terms of probability, but it still helps.
I prefer the 6M variant, it's a little tougher than the 6R, doesn't carry the AC/5 (which is a bit anemic if you ask me) and it still retains the jump jets.
Well put. The 6M is a sweet pick.
I adore the Wolverine in almost all of it's incarnations, though I'm not a fan of any of the designs that remove the jump jets.
When I was getting back into Battletech several years ago, I played a introtech game with a friend. He came at me with some good, reliable mechs, a Hunchback(though interestingly he used the AC/10 variant for reasons that I still don't understand), Centurion, Rifleman, and Wasp for the BV filler. I had an Enforcer, Panther, Valkyrie, and Wolverine 6M.
That 6M haunts his memories as it outflanked and outfought his mediums and the Rifleman while the Enforcer and Valkyrie pelted them from long range.
I've since used the 6M in a campaign and it is pretty much my favorite mech that isn't a Grasshopper and is part of the reason that I like to either play FWL or FWL expat mercs.
The 6M stories are plentiful. This means something.
Case on an XL torso is a waist of tonnage . When case deals with an ammo explosion the Internal Structure in that location is still lost ending the XL slots .
Still keeps the mechwarrior alive.
I wonder why no company went down the road of
Drop the two extra Heatsinks and switch to doubles
Use Endo Steel
Switch ACrap/5 to LB/X 10 and add a Ton of ammo
Switch SRM/6 to 2xStreak/2
Switch to FerroFib armor
Route. Cool runner without the XL engine problem.
We seriously need to get you a mech with 2-3 plasma rifles. Add jump jets and we call it the Leopard Frog. 🐸
Well, I did manage to slap together a mixed Il-Khan era Clan mech in short order:
- THE MAGMA FROG -
Model: MFG-1F, 55 Ton Clan Battlemech
INTERNALS: 275 Clan XL-Engine, Clan-Endo Steel Chassis, 13x Clan-Double Heatsinks, Partial Wing System (Clan), XL-Gyro (Clan)
ARMOR: 10 Tons Clan Ferro-Fibrous Armor (185/185 points assigned)
WEAPONS: 2x Plasma Rifles w/4 Tons Ammo (RA & LA), 2x Clan Medium Pulse Lasers (RT & LT), 2x Clan Flamers (RT & LT)
PERFORMANCE:
Movement: 5/8/7 Hexes
Offense: 38 (Alpha), 34 (max sustained; No Jumping)
Range profile: 1-3 (Opt vs Infantry), 8- 15 (vs armor)
Heat Management: 39 Heat (Alpha) / 29 Cooling
Cost: 11.25 million CBills (or sufficient Clan Honor)
NOTES: Never push all the buttons on this thing at once unless you seek a quick escape from Clan Society.
Use the Flamers and Jump Jets wisely; they're there for tactical flexibility, not Dezgra 'YOLO strats'.
I don't ask for much...
The Wolverine is a classic Unseen mech. As usual its a solid mech that while benefiting from better technology isnt totally outdated. Its fairly fast, jumps rather far, and its cheap. Overall like the Wolverine better than the Shadow Hawk, but it still got one of the cursed autocannons. Replace that with a PPC or Large laser and youre good. It is a bit bad in close range because its SRM-6 is an all-or-nothing weapon.
I like the Wolverine 7M. Its does use lostech which some rather large improvements. Double Heat Sinks allow it to use *Two* Extended Range Large Lasers, tripling its medium range firepower, and also functioning at Long Range. Im not one for Inner Sphere Pulse Lasers, but it does carry a couple for close range combat. It still has an SRM-6. It can go surprisingly fast when it triggers an MASC.
Its personal opinion, but I think its variants follow the original layout too much. They try to get a large gun in one arm and a missile pack in the shoulder. If they moved the gun to the torso they could free up an arm for melee combat, allow the primary weapon to also be used in close range, and make it less vulnerable. If I designed the Wolverine I would start with something like 4 Medium Lasers torsos, and big gun in the shoulder, maybe missiles in the other, and two battle fists.
Say what you will, the Shadow Hawk having a shoulder cannon is actually a better idea than the Griffin or Wolverine carrying their guns. Its about how Battletech rules work.
The 50ton clan Conjurer (Wolverine IIC) is a very solid medium mech for second line units. Its a standard, not an omnimech. Its use of a high power standard engine makes it fast, tough, and cheap.
The wolverine is the only one of the main 3 55 ton mechs that is self explaining on how to use it.
Instructions: Go be awesome.
It wouldn't be a -MF Variant if there isn't some form of Plasma Rifle involved. Classic 'Frog! The good old Wolvie really is a swiss army knife of a 'mech that can do most things reasonably enough to give the opposition some pause.
Ah the Wolverine, the best of the classic 3 55 ton mechs. Such a great mech with so many great variants. The 6k may be my favorite of the 3025 variants, loosing the jump jets is sad but the large laser adds quite a bit of punch.
True that. The 6K is almost good enough to forgive the JJ loss... almost....
@@MechanicalFrog I forgot about the FWL variant that keeps the jump jets, that one may be my actual favorite. I do enjoy that they don’t make perfect variants for everything. Makes evaluating the choices interesting.
Yeah I am not into min-maxing.
I have 5 variants for the Wolverine, though one is simply taking the MW5 6P and making it for tabletop. I'll go into the WVR-BB variant I made rather than the 3 ISM variants I've done. The WVR-BB is a devastating infighter, and cannot engage at longer ranges. It's only ranged weapons are 6 Medium Lasers split between all 3 torso locations and the head. This is to free up the arms which each carry claws. Otherwise little different from Succession War Wolverine models, it somehow seems to be able to be quickly repaired after any engagement.
If 4 medium lasers are nice, why not 6?
The Wolverine is one of my favorite 3025 era mediums, and
The 6M is hands down the best medium in the introtech ruleset in my opinion. What it cant outgun, it will out maneuver to backstap.
the 6M is absolutely a great design.
Hate the GD Kuritan's, but gotta love the 6K (and the 6M for the FWL). Really love the Wolverine in general, because you can always count on it to contribute regardless of mission or the demands place upon it. I also love the the 7M2, even if the XL engine scares me. My redesign would take the 7M2 and switch to a MML-5 and the MPL to ML.
It is the definition of 'quality producer'
While I like the Marik variants once the Heavy PPC came along, I also like the Dakka, so the 10D deserves a mention. A RAC-5 in the right arm with 3 tons of ammo in the right torso, a Streak 6 in the left torso along with its 1 ton of ammo and an Medium X-Pulse. With CASE II, even an ammo explosion won't take out the engine so it gives the warrior a chance to run.
Speaking of running, it has a 5/8(10)/5 movement profile with the Supercharger also in the right torso.
If the 10D has a flaw, it is the armor distribution. While technically maxed at 12 tons, it can only 'hold' 185 points of the 192 offered. Honestly, I would strip out one point from the center torso, reducing it to 11.5 tons of standard, and put an emotional support ER Small Laser in the left arm as that will probably be more beneficial.
And of course the (non-cannon) Snow Ravens deployed a Wolverine with a Plasma Rifle, just like their T variant for the Blood Asp.
It always hurts to leave armor points on the table.
It's a sign of great restraint on your part that you didn't make the MF model have claws, max armour, an active probe and the tendency to call other 'mechs 'bub'.
Of the classic Wolverines, I'm a fan of both the -6R and the -6M, but I've also grown to love the -10R. It's fast, carries a respectable amount of firepower and can weather an impressive amount of damage for a 55 tonner.
I figured someone else would do that for me, and sure enough, they did.
"What shall we call this mech now?" "The Not-Named?" "Nobody would use it." "I have no idea then." "Perhaps something to conjure images of hatred and anger?" "The name already does that." "Back to the drawing board." "Why not just call it the Conjurer." "Of what?" "Whatever people want."
I voted for calling it Mechy McMechFace but... it didn't win.
I literally left the middle of the aylist when I saw you dropped this. I'll go back to the Urbanmech IIC video when this is done. But I can't _not_ watch a video about my chosen machine for fighting Clanners.
The -6K is my chosen starting platform. I love jump jets, but that extra armor and Medium Laser are fantastic.
Ooh, MechFrog, that Wolverine of yours sounds nasty. You missed the head laser in the equipment list on screen and I was worried. Dual ATM-6s is nasty. I'd definitely give your variant a try.
The WVR-6K "Hreda"
275 LFE
10.5 Tons FF Armor
11 Double Heatsinks
1 Large Pulse Laser (RA)
1 Medium Pulse Laser (HD)
1 Medium Pulse Laser (CT)
1 SRM6 w/ CASE & 2T Ammo (LT)
1 ER Small Laser (LA)
Targeting Computer (RT)
Solid workhorse build. I'd run it.
I guess I need a Wolverine or two now. You’d have to be a blockhead not to like it!
Thanks for another great vid, MechFrog.
And that is a fantastic Wolverine by Tsuge in there!👏👏👏🤩
Quality producer.
The next mech video will have no less than 5 artist contributions from the CamoSpecs team. Looking forward to it.
Why do I love the Wolverine? In particular the 6K and 6M? Well, for one AC5s suck, but also, I will always take multi-capable mechs when I can. It has the right balance at medium range to cause problems for the enemy and it's the sweet spot on movement. I found that putting a pilot with medium-range master SPA in the mech lets you get the most out of it.
While the AC/5 is a bit of a meh weapon, the resiliency of the Wolverine makes up for it.
Damn, I am hyped that this is finally here.
Hope it's enjoyable!
For once the awesome redesign from Piranha games. For second as a pilot in MWO, its such a great distribution where the hardpoints are, hard to stop this beast from doing damage. For third its got that name, its hard not to shout 'Wolverines! Wolverines!' when unleashing them on the enemy - my country is behind 10years in cinema so I watched the hell out of the classic red dawn movie. And lastly its a 55t mech, as a medium pilot this is the max you're gonna get before you cross the line and can't boast 'Im no stinking heavy/assault lover I pilot a heav... erm medium mech' - Cheers, great vid as always.
It's definitely a fun one. Mech and movie.
There are few medium mechs in the game more perfect than the Wolverine 6K/6M. They'll go toe-to-toe with many Succession Wars heavies without a care in the world.
Well put. In the 55 ton category, they're hard to beat.
Want to clap bugmechs left and right while also doing some klepto shenanigans behind enemy lines, with weapons and armor good enough to deal with the occasional heavies, and also triggering the artificially inbred cosplayers from the ass-end of nowhere while you're at it?
This mech got your back.
The Wolverine, like its oft-stablemate Centurion, can display a versatility, both in employable tactics, as well as in situational suitability.
And, like the Centurion, the Wolverine is balanced in movement & armor, in addition to varied potential weapon layouts, which lends "survivability" to its mission flexibility.
Great tool for teaching rookie pilots/players, quite capable in most roles for an experienced driver/player, and potentially very lethal in *everyone's* hands.
100% It's a great starter mech.
I'm going to disagree with you there. The Centurion, while a personal favorite is not an infighter like the Wolverine and only belongs in the same lance if it's providing fire support. Armor is too light, and it's too slow, unless you're running the XL engine varient that get the 6/9.
If I could only drive one mech, Wolverine 6M.
It's a beauty.
@@MechanicalFrogonly change I'd make is double heat sinks.
The Wolverine is mighty durable. Dig it and its IIC version... I mean Conjurer cousin.
Easily one of my favorite mediums. Plenty of upgrades and sidegrades available.
Plenty of options. Many of them useful.
I love pairing this mech with a shadow hawk or exterminator. The buddy system work and cover each of there weaknesses
I have a Comstar hunter-killer lance in a campaign that I've been running with a few friends that is composed of an Exterminator, Wolverine, Shadow Hawk, and Griffon. The players have yet to trigger the conditions to make it come after them, but I look forward to the day that they do.
It's a mech I want to be aggressive in and melee in, but the cramp cockpit hurts it for me outside kicks
Life is full of little challenges. :D
@@MechanicalFrog so is getting snub nose official variants
The name make's clan's rage. The best reason to use one.
Fair enough. :D
The wolverine is one of those trooper mechs you can't afford to pass over. I've long held that a lance with a griffin, wolverine, thunderbolt, and dealer's choice 4th can handle just about any situation. Will they be best lance for the situation? no, but they can handle it. up until the clan invasion, they are hard to beat at what they want to do. During the clan invasion they will struggle, but by the end of it you can get new ones that will be just as good at the trooper role, and maybe even better. toss them a merlin and you got a great mix of fighting roles they can cover that only the well prepared will be able to handle.
Put a Grasshopper in that 4th slot.
yeah, that's a solid choice. @@cnkclark
Because it lives up to the name, simple as.
Truth.
Great video! Looking forward to more videos.
Thank you!
I had a love hate with this Mech. When I was running this mech. I was able to customize it before the Moon Blitz Drop Champagne. I didn't know what I was dealing with so I took a little bit of everything at all ranges. I was expecting a speedy meat grinder and did very well. Fought my way into the moon base got to the core to set it in shutdown. To turn off orbital Naval laser defenses to win the objective but had to sacrifice the mech to hold it with very little room to maneuver. After that mission I've lost the mech 4 times in a row thank god my pilot survived each time.
This is my MVR-OZ
Mass: 55 tons
Chassis: Endo Steel Internal: 91 (clan)
Biped Power Plant: 275 XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph
Movement: 5/8/5 Laser Heat Sinks: 14 [28] Gyro: Standard Gyro
HEAT: 41/28
Cost: 11,352,407 C-bills or Battle Value: 2,682
Armor: Ferro-Fibrous 182/185 (clan)
Armament:
4 ER Micro Laser - two in LA & RA
2 Improved ATM 6 in LT & RT (4tons of ammo: 2 Standard IATM6 ammo: 20shots in the LT&RT. 2 High-Explosive iATM/6 Ammo: 20 shots in the LT&RT)
1 ER Large Laser in the CT
3 Medium Pulse Lase - One in each LA&RA and one in the HD
Now that's a warm and cozy Wolverine!
lol, the ER Large and ATM6's for fighting at long ranges, but once everything is in the medium pulses range you don't use the ER large for the rest of the fight, with out he ER laser your alpha heat is only 27. So easy to manage heat. :)@@MechanicalFrog
My only complaint about the MF variant is it's return to being nearly completely ammo dependent.
That said it does look like it will play well in game.
I guess we just have to win before we run out of ammo...
Your videos are the best!
Thank you!
FINALLY!
Shadowhawk: alright
Griffin: cool
Wolverine: 90's bowl cut aggresively pist pumping, while screaming "YEAH!!!"
Correct.
Since you've done the Griffin and Wolverine, can we expect the Shadow Hawk next? I love the Shadow Hawk.
Not next but very likely soon.
When introducing my friends to Battletech through Mechwarrior 5... once they start getting a bit too cocky... I find the Wolverine is an interesting test. On one hand, it is a remarkably capable machine that steps heads and shoulders into something I'd take rather than a Shadowhawk. It's not to be taken lightly as an enemy. On the other hand, since it ultimately shines in lance-on-lance actions but not soloing against heavier mechs... it seems to let me know who to suggest into Hunchbacks by how much they value said Wolverine mid-fielding...
Tough, but fair.
The best reason to field a Wolverine is so that you can say its name as often as possible when a Clanner fanboy is in hearing range.
Tough but fair.
Wolverines!!!
WoLvErInEs!
Heh. I have that painted across the center torso of my Wolvie IIC-7, just to piss clanners off. "Red Dawn" is a favorite on holovid night in Devil Ray Division's lounge on the dropship "Mobula".
@@GojiKaichou we managed to score a copy from Snord back in the day. The good one, not the...ahem "remake".
It's the only movie we own. Patrick Swayze should have gotten Oscar. 🤣🤣
@@craigmorris4083 our copy is a 40k remaster of the 20th century original film. We got it on loan from Hatchy.
The Scorpion Empires Surtur is probably my favorite variant. Though not officially identified as a wolverine because Clanners and their hate of the name.