My first exposure to the Grasshopper was in MW5: Clans. I managed to never see one in Mercenaries or ever even see the model on tabletop. Seeing it in Clans, I kinda thought it was a joke, because of how easy it was to just click on it's head with lasers and suddenly it dies. That is, until I ignored one in favor of a Marauder and had it kill my assault mech in one barrage to the rear center torso. I have grown to appreciate the strength of insects since then.
1. Drop L laser, drop lrm 5, install m and s lasers everywhere. 2. Assign all weapons to group 1. 3. Push the trigger 4. Melt the Atlas, and the planet behind it 10/10 would melt shit again.
@@myklegeorge8663 this is exactly what I do in the HBS video game, and I make a point to upgrade the lasers every time I find a better one. I keep it in any lance as a supreme bug hunter, and against larger 'Mechs its purpose is to jump behind and core a heavy or assault from the rear.
I remember it well... first time playing a grasshopper was back in the 80's. My friends thought it would be funny giving me the 'Hopper while they took things with big guns. And they laughed right up until I pulled off my first successful Death From Above. And landed a headshot. We named the mech "Boot To The Head".
just reminded me of the blurb in the Highlander data sheet. something about and we reinforced the legs cos if we give a big mech jumpjets some bugger will use them to flatten something else
I love the lore that the name comes from a suggestion from one of the workers on the prototype who later was killed but hid away vital information that prevented industrial espionage and ensuring the project could be completed by the original company with the codename being in her honour.
The HBS Battletech Grasshopper is a thing of utter absurdity. I took out the LRMs, swapped the Large Laser for another Medium, and filled the freed-up weight with six machineguns, upgraded arm actuators, and even more armor. I think there might have also been an additional medium laser or two. Also, a hit defense+ gyro. Most fights started with the Grasshopper sprinting directly at the enemy, drawing all their fire which would miss because of the evasion and hit defense+. It would then jump jet behind a heavy (sometimes even an assault) and instantly kill it with a called alpha strike to the rear CT. At this point, it would generally be nearly overheated, but that wasn't a problem since it could punch for over 200 damage. Thunderbolts were always the easiest prey, because of the ammo in their CT. To this day, I still have trouble taking them seriously.
Similar to what I termed 'The Foot Ninjas': Lightfoot, Hotfoot and Leadfoot. Same mech, swap MGs for flamers or small lasers and turn HBS Battletech in to the RRF (Robot Rasslin' Federation)😆
I've been running one with my assault lance. Maxed ML and MG with a 60+ damage arm mod, maxed armor/jump jets and the evasion gyro. It regularly gets the most kills in a mission. Dekker gets it done.
Ah, the Grasshopper! I love this mech in Succession Wars era play. I also would recommend the anthology book "Legacy", which tracks the life of a single Grasshopper throughout the eras of Battletech. It is is a great read, one of the better offerings in the fiction line.
I always liked the Grasshopper. The mobility and protection is great, and while it doesn't have the punch of some of it's peers it can actually USE it's full firepower potential without turning itself to slag. Pairs well with a Guillotine and other medium to heavy jumpy backstabbers.
In MW5's recent DLC- I found a Grasshopper with a melee weapon mount- thus I put a massive battle ax on it- renamed it the "Grass Chopper" and a massive oversized engine while cutting back on the laser weaponry- and play it running directly at the enemy lances to rip n tear them apart with extreme ease- with a movement speed of 100 kmh ~ that easily reaches 150~200 while in the air- its absolutely unstoppable once it gets in melee range.
The Grasshopper was my first ever Mech. My cousin's friend had the game. He had each of us pick one Heavy Mech from TRO:3025 for a three way battle. They both went for the Marauder. I wanted to be different so I skimmed the other 70 and 75 toners before settling on this beast. The battle was glorious but by the end I was losing. When I ejected my cousin and her friend both decided to fire a PPC at my ejecting pilot. He decided they would hit on a double six roll..... They both rolled double sixes. Still the Grasshopper will always have a special place for me.
@@csmead209 Naw. I was just starting to learn the rules, it performed well, it was an uneven fight being a three way, and it had a glorious end. Something similar happened to one of my favorite D&D 2E characters as two Shadows jumped out of the walls to surprise attack the rear line of the party and they both rolled crits on me with their opening attack. I was like "yeah I'm just going to lay here, curled in a ball for the rest of the fight, while the rest of you take care of that." Good times those.
The simplest refit I can think of is removing that LRM altogether. Advanced refits would involve double heat sinks swaps and making it a walking, flying disco ball of pulse lasers.
My standard is just pulling off an M Laser for a Flamer, usually rear mounted. That lets it jump between a supporting infantry or light vehicle and its primary target. The flamer wipes out the supportive element, the main weapons gun down whatever is in front of them. It makes it even better at disrupting formations and lines, jamming itself into very uncomfortable locations, and it has the rear armor to take an M Laser or SRM or something from behind, if something goes wrong. It also makes it handy for starting tactical fires in forests, while sacrificing little. If no combined arms, swing the flamer forwards, and it gains a light stun effect on whatever its primary target is, making it better at disrupting heavier Mechs, while very nearly as deadly to smaller ones. The Grasshopper is one of the few Mechs that I actually really like the random LRM 5 taped onto, because it can often secure crucial motive crits on vehicles with it, thanks to repositioning via jumps. That said, pulling it off for heat sinks, and the ER L Laser also isn't too bad. Similar effect, with the added bonus of being better at jumping and shooting everything it has at the same time, and not blowing up from ammo. I like it because it's a versatile little roughneck that handily deals with a lot of little problems very effectively, and is very good at multitasking, and forcing bad decicions. The rear flamer is the cherry on top of that style, that really lets it menace entire formations, with relatively minor loss if it winds up not being useful. It really capitalizes on nearly everything a mech can do over other units in combined arms, and really can't be replaced with a cheaper, more specialized vehicle that does the same thing, like a Catapult, Urbanmech, or Javelin can. I like it a lot less outside of combined arms, but it's still pretty good.
This has always been one of my favorite Heavy Mechs. Barely needing to worry about heat ever helps. Best to get into that 9 hex range or closer so you're not pop-gunning the enemy, but once you're close, it's Disco Time!
Favorite mech of all time. In Battletech 2018, you can run it with 6 small and 7 medium lasers. Light, medium, and heavy mechs melt from the front. Once quick hop and assault mechs melt from behind. Also the best melee platform in game. Run two +++ arm mod to deal a 210 damage melee hit that could in theory be followed up by six ++ s pulse lasers for 45 damage a pop, that's 480 damage in total while sinking heat in the same turn.
and just for shiggles, put in a couple leg mods to either increase DFA damage, or reduce self-damage (my preference). You don't want to try DFA's often, but its still a melee attack and there's nothing more gratifying than roflstomping an enemy mech and delivering the deathblow with a flurry of small lasers.
One of my top 5 'Mechs of all time. How I set it up is typically 6 medium lasers, 5-6 machine guns with lots of ammo. Just hop around the battlefield with those jump jets and evaporate those light 'Mechs with a close range alpha strike.
Been doing this on a battle tech playthrough right now. Just got my first two adults, and it got bumped For two headshot maurders….. But I don’t like it has much. It’ll be back.
This is a mech I didn't really use when I was younger. I didn't appreciate the weapons load when compared with its heavy equivalents of the Warhammer, Marauder, or Orion. As I continue to play this game, I've come to appreciate the unique ability of this mech and niche role it fills. I completely agree with @Faith McClosky in highly recommending the anthology "Battletech: Legacy" which unlike every other battletech book I am aware of follows a mech vice a pilot. I also enjoyed the Grasshopper and Atlas fight detailed in Shrapnel Issue 2. Either way the Grasshopper is a great mech to use or read about in lore! Highly underrated.
A fantastic close-in brawler. The LRM5 is nice to crit-seek at range, but it really shines by using its jump capability and heat neutrality to get in behind an enemy and devastate them with a barrage of lasers and a follow up kick. I use this mech A LOT, and it consistently delivers. Definitely a solid choice as a lance leader.
Hugely underappreciated mech. In 3025 it was the best pick for a heavier jump capable mech. Maybe a tad light on ranged capability, but certainly a fearsome close in fighter. With Star League tech, you can turn this into a true killer.
The Grasshopper was one of my favourite mechs, although I did tweak the design a little by removing the ER MG (aka the LRM-5) and mounting an extra 2 medium lasers and a heatsink. Jumping and firing all 6 medium lasers was fun, especially if two or more hit the same rear torso location..... 😈
In hbs battletech. This is my linchpin scout. Sooò much damage in hand to hand when all the support weapons go off. The high movement from jumping and high survival for a scout mech. Put in a pilot that gets to act with medium mechs. It gets in and drops something and gets out.
I forget exactly why, I think it was for a BattleTech/MechWarrior game a friend was running that never happened and one of the players picked/rolled a Grasshopper, but I ended up with a Grasshopper mini. I don't think I'd been all that familiar with it before, but I really liked the look, especially the "eyepatch" LRM 5. Haven't used one in the latest video games, but maybe I should.
The grasshopper was my favorite heavy mech when I first played battletech back in 2000. It seemed like to me back then, like a warhammer but with jump jets and just enough weapons that it could use them all.
I have no explanation why I didn’t use this mech more back in the day. There is literally no negatives when fielding this mech in its stock version-which is exceedingly rare in the 3025 era.
Every time I meet a Grasshopper, it becomes an instant high-level target. It's not a mech taken lightly due to the speed and firepower it can bring to the battlefield, and anything lighter than it is extremely vulnerable.
In my recent MW5 playthrough I decided to finally give the grasshopper a try and it turned out to be my go-to work horse heavy mech. All I did was swap the LRM 5 for an SRM 4 and it was great even for ai pilots
A good upgrade of the 3025 grasshopper to start early technology in like 3050 would be something like FF armor, drop a few heat sinks upgrade them to double, medium pulse lasers, ER large laser, and artemis on the LRM 5. With four medium pulse lasers, you can then go Leeroy Jenkins 🙂!
Love this thing due to the artwork from the CCG, the one that looks all armored core. Plus, it reminds me of the Guillotine, another mech I have a fondness for. Mobile, durable, get to poke at range, and squash cowardly light mechs!
Got to love long endurance light and lighter half of medium clubbing the Grasshopper provides. I love that the universe has so many niche combatants instead of having everyone just try to lumber around in an Atlas
Simply one of the best raiders out there. Well armed and pretty much ammo independent I've paired them with victors and guillotines also with wolverines and phoenix hawks. If I want assaults dead and resources limited in assaults this is the mech I go to. As for variants would just add double heat sinks and call it day. Hard to improve on near perfection.
It took a long time for the Grasshopper to grow on me. It doesn't have quite the punch of other heavies, jump jets are usually wasted on a heavy, and it doesn't benefit from heat cycling. The thing is that while I wouldn't want a whole lance of Grasshoppers, it's nice to have one mech that can sustain fire while the rest are heat cycling, or to have one mech which can jump, and with the Grasshopper's armor it's really good for getting stuck in and staying glued to a target for as long as it takes. I still prefer heavy mechs with a bit more firepower but a requirement for heat cycling, but the Grasshopper helps to fill a gap in capability.
The Grasshopper is one of the games best zombies. Up there with the Thug. You hate seeing one of these on the other side, because you know you are going to have to core it out to bring it down, but while you are doing that, you'll probably lose more than they will.
Lot's of fond memories here. Growing up my best friend and I played years of tabletop battletech, and over time we each developed stables of favorite mechs. The Grasshopper was his signature mech, and always something to be reckoned with.
When I got hold of a Grasshopper I put all meduim lasers in the center torso, that aloud me to take some of the armour off the arms to put on the torso. Accurate was dropped a tad but it very hard to take out any of its weapons my first heavy mech in the battletech computer game :)
Only real thing I can say the Grasshopper has going against it is the LRM5. Outside of abusing line of sight to peck away at static targets using indirect fire, it really doesn't do anything but open the mech up to ammo explosions if you take a good hit or overuse the jump jets (Kinda hard to zombie when your ammo det migrates RT to CT). Hell even in the lore they describe pilots not bothering with the system or commanders reallocating the LRM ammo to a more dedicated missile platform. They figured it out with the GHR-5N where instead of a wasting 3 tons on an LRM system you can instead hop around freely firing 5 medium lasers or 3 mediums and the PPC.
The LRM-5 is best used, not as a source of damage, but as a way to place LRM-FASCAM minefields or Smoke LRMs or other special munitions. That said, it's still tonnage better spent elsewhere.
Where the Black Knight has too much weapons (4 ML, 1 PPC 2 LL for 20 Heat Sinks), the Grasshopper looks missing firepower (4 ML, 1 LL, 1 LRM5 for 22 HS).
Having had a little bit of hands on with the Grasshopper I would be lying if I said I did not appreciate it. In a 110 ton fight this thing is a monster, turning light mechs to scrap and flanking heavier foes to become a menace for anything foolish enough to be preoccupied.
I like the grasshopper a lot when I was a kid, still have my mini. It's got fantastic armor, with those jumps its still pretty maneuverable. Even though it's not really that heavily armed, with as many heat sinks it can fire until the barrels melt.
I like the Grasshopper, solid mech. Very much my style, mobile&reliant on energy weapons to avoid shortage&explosion. Depending on my mood, I swap out the big lasers for meds or PPC. A dozen mediums every turn generally only lasts 1 or 2 turns.
My fave mech in the HBS battletech game. I like to go full disco with it. Max med lasers max mg. Basic arm mods. Close to max armour and charge the buggers down.
Finally getting around to collecting for tabletop and thinking of running a lance of Ostpods and Grasshoppers, I feel like two Grasshoppers and either two Ostsols or an Ostsol and an Ostroc could be a good combination. Turn the battlefield into my very own Coney Island disco palace.
I like the idea of the grasshopper, I couldn't get on with the standard variant, the 5H, didn't realize it was liked so much in the Lore. Since call to arms is out I'm thinking a melee weapon or 2 would be amazing! Oh, the hero mech is fantastic, easily one of the best ones to acquire on MW5, a gauss rifle and PPC Mjolnir right? Incredible...
ANY 70-ton 4/6/4 machine is going to be effective on table-top if used correctly. I love the MechwarriorTactics image on your "cover" btw. :-) When you can mod it with some DHS and an ER-PPC, this becomes a special ride to have in your heavy lance.
Hippety hoppity. Photons are property. Which Grasshopper invests in the very lucrative locust explosion exports market. Bottomless mags = mucho denarii.
Great overview of a great mech :-) for a heavy mech with mainly lasers it's easy to ignore but those that do quickly regret it :-) this is a true zombie mech that once you dump the ammo is really difficult to put down...a great heavy that can complement any lance :-)
The Grasshopper is an absolute monster in HBS Battletech, especially if you grab one early on. I have reduced multiple Lances of Lights to molten slag with this beautiful machine.
A fantastic mech, really brutal for its tonnage and always very flexible to look for weak points in close combat thanks to its jets. The one thing I've never ingratiated myself with is the LRM5... normally when the closest combats begin, I end up ejecting the ammunition, because there are many missiles that can do incredible damage when an internal detonation occurs, when one sees that the armor begins to falter. Perhaps, another medium laser and two additional radiators... or swap the Large Laser for a PPC, although that would reduce the maximum possible damage at point-blank range, also it would increase the basic range and the LRM5 would not be missing. An always interesting mech, capable of doing respectable damage even in addition to being able to hit melee with guarantees in same turn. A bug that becomes a beast if the initiative is in its favor.
There are other mechs that rival it's ability- specifically, the Guillotine. But the 'Hopper is one of my favorite sleepers- minimal ammo dependence, enough heat sinks to turn the other guy into a slag puddle, and enough armour to keep hating long after most others rust in peace. Serious zombiemech. And yes, there are more heavily armed mech, ones who's pilots can fry eggs on the floor of the cockpit while they are waiting for their overheated reactors to reboot. Where it is superior to Madame Guillotine is that it has hands, making it a superior raider. As such, it not only qualifies as a heavy trooper, but maybe even as a supertrooper.
Yeah, the default loadout is quite an effective zombiemech. That large laser in the CT means it's going to keep being a problem until it hits the dirt.
good pairing is the eridani thunderbolt (tdr5se) since the thunderbolt can provide extra long range support as the hopper closes, but both keeping pace to get into cqc
I don't use the 5H much for one simple reason. It doesn't really pack enough punch to take on mechs of its weight class or better. Though it does have a lot of armor for its size, I find that to be a necessity due to its lack of weapons. Just for shits and giggles, I put this mech against 2 BJ-1's. It won but was missing a torso and both arms. FYI, this is tabletop. I didn't have to worry about my heat at all but having ONLY an lrm-5 and a single large laser for long range meant I had to constantly sprint to avoid fire. In lore, I hear it does much better.
Respectfully, you are using it all wrong. It's got plenty of firepower to do what it's intended to do - close with the target and shred it. How a Blackjack could do that much unto you is beyond me. You probably weren't sprinting _toward_ it, to get within its minimum range. Better still, jump behind it and core it. It's not just lore, it's learning to use a 'Mech for its intended purpose.
@@HeadHunterSix Sprinting is how I lost the torso. Since I couldn't return fire while sprinting, the one off to my right was able to free-fire. The one I was charging just kept backing up into water to stay cool. Even though I could eventually take it out, I had lost an arm and most of the torso plating. Honestly surprised I didn't lose the leg. My true saving grace is the second one was overheating BADLY, so I could lay into him. FYI, I did shoot him in the back which caused an internal ammo explosion. The fight didn't last much longer.
Looking at this again, the only thing I would change from the stock version is getting rid of the LRM 5. That would remove the worry of an ammo explosion. Replace that system with another laser or heatsink. Maybe increase it's speed by making it lighter once newer tech is available, but keep it a standard engine. Other than that, it's perfect.
They should have called it the Spotted Katydid. You take a grasshopper, a regular grasshopper you catch in your yard. You then enlarge it, and give it mandibles that shear through a carapace like a hot knife through butter. And a very oversized dose of bad attitude. This is a predatory katydid.
I always like taking those rare & pricey PPCs in the HBS game, and slapping them into that central torso of a Grasshopper Typically dropping the LRM 5 + ammo to get that weight. Makes these guys surprisingly decent secondary snipers, given their cooling. You basically can just switch to the laser the moment things start coming into range.
Always loved the Grasshopper. Mobility and laser fire power. Only thing I did not like was the LRM-5 until we started playing with lrm mines. It’s amazing how effective even 5 mines can be at channeling forces. With the mobility you can dictate where forces go.
We played a few games on the table top where we had to survive a raid gone wrong. This guy was my favourite as your low ammunition LRM load out didn’t matter in the end. You had lasers and lasers and lasers
Swapping the LRM-5 to an SRM-4 is really the only tweak I ever made. The standard loadout is pretty well balanced across the ranges it can engage. The LRM-5 was just a plinking weapon, but an SRM-4 can be genuinely useful.
I love this absolute disco-ball of a unit. Never fails to bring the funk. And by funk I of course mean burny-laser-facemelting-doom. (Mind you - take off that missile pod. Commit! Commit to the funk!)
i like putting the easy to find SSRM2 into its head and set it on autofire its not like its going to go through a halfton of ammo and you need to be carefull, great for hunting down locusts and other quick mechs in the early game mostly because its fired from headheight. Also It looks damn cool
Playing the 2018 BattleTech game the Grasshopper was an awesome mech if you stripped it out of most of its weapons, max out the armor give it a PPC, MGs and Flamers, using the PPC for softening the target and getting in close and open up with MGs and Flamers
nah, use your other 'Mechs for softening it from range. You want to be sprinting and jumping this thing to close on the target and make best use of its ability as a knife-fighter. And pass on the flamers - heat is irrelevant if the target is _dead_ . The Shadow Hawk is a turd for a reason - it tries to do a bunch of things and succeeds poorly. Commit to making the Grasshopper a close-up killer and shred anything it gets close to. Anything.
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The Grasshopper is like two Firestarters standing on top of each other.
And wearing a trenchcoat
Its so they can get into r rated lances
Two Vulcans standing on top of eachother in a trenchcoat gets you a Charger.
Lol it would take 4 commandos in a trenchcoat to make an Atlas
You mean same as how an annihilator is 4 urbanmechs welded together?
When a locust runs home to get it's older brother to come beat you up you know you've fucked up.
"Run away little Locust! You got nuffin! HAHAHA LOSER!"
*huge figure appears behind them* lol
My first exposure to the Grasshopper was in MW5: Clans. I managed to never see one in Mercenaries or ever even see the model on tabletop. Seeing it in Clans, I kinda thought it was a joke, because of how easy it was to just click on it's head with lasers and suddenly it dies.
That is, until I ignored one in favor of a Marauder and had it kill my assault mech in one barrage to the rear center torso.
I have grown to appreciate the strength of insects since then.
The ultimate bug-mech. lol
1. Drop L laser, drop lrm 5, install m and s lasers everywhere.
2. Assign all weapons to group 1.
3. Push the trigger
4. Melt the Atlas, and the planet behind it
10/10 would melt shit again.
7 medium & 6 small lasers is horrifying, and I do this same thing
The only true Grasshopper build.
>when you only get one shot, you make it count. also go out in a bang. im down. :D
@@myklegeorge8663 this is exactly what I do in the HBS video game, and I make a point to upgrade the lasers every time I find a better one. I keep it in any lance as a supreme bug hunter, and against larger 'Mechs its purpose is to jump behind and core a heavy or assault from the rear.
I remember it well... first time playing a grasshopper was back in the 80's. My friends thought it would be funny giving me the 'Hopper while they took things with big guns. And they laughed right up until I pulled off my first successful Death From Above. And landed a headshot. We named the mech "Boot To The Head".
70-tons of fun landing on you can't be all that great. lol
just reminded me of the blurb in the Highlander data sheet. something about and we reinforced the legs cos if we give a big mech jumpjets some bugger will use them to flatten something else
@@themisspultone A bit like my 3/5/3 Cyclops then. GR; LRM15; SRM4; 4xML;Flamer; Guardian ECM. BV:2252
@@semperatis That payload I doubt much gets close enough to jump on.
That is a truly beautiful story.
The Grasshopper is one of the OG zombie mechs, and deserves respect.
I love the lore that the name comes from a suggestion from one of the workers on the prototype who later was killed but hid away vital information that prevented industrial espionage and ensuring the project could be completed by the original company with the codename being in her honour.
The HBS Battletech Grasshopper is a thing of utter absurdity. I took out the LRMs, swapped the Large Laser for another Medium, and filled the freed-up weight with six machineguns, upgraded arm actuators, and even more armor. I think there might have also been an additional medium laser or two. Also, a hit defense+ gyro.
Most fights started with the Grasshopper sprinting directly at the enemy, drawing all their fire which would miss because of the evasion and hit defense+. It would then jump jet behind a heavy (sometimes even an assault) and instantly kill it with a called alpha strike to the rear CT. At this point, it would generally be nearly overheated, but that wasn't a problem since it could punch for over 200 damage.
Thunderbolts were always the easiest prey, because of the ammo in their CT. To this day, I still have trouble taking them seriously.
So you basically made a Vulcan that doesn't suck(although being able to shoot that many machineguns at a medium laser range is hysterical).
You made angry florida man: the battlemech.
Similar to what I termed 'The Foot Ninjas': Lightfoot, Hotfoot and Leadfoot.
Same mech, swap MGs for flamers or small lasers and turn HBS Battletech in to the RRF (Robot Rasslin' Federation)😆
I've been running one with my assault lance. Maxed ML and MG with a 60+ damage arm mod, maxed armor/jump jets and the evasion gyro. It regularly gets the most kills in a mission. Dekker gets it done.
I equipped mine with 7 medium lasers + TTS, and 6 flamers. It’s hilarious. I call it the Hellhopper.
Ah, the Grasshopper! I love this mech in Succession Wars era play. I also would recommend the anthology book "Legacy", which tracks the life of a single Grasshopper throughout the eras of Battletech. It is is a great read, one of the better offerings in the fiction line.
I loved that book, what a cool concept for a novel
One of the best 3025 designs. Love this mech.
I always liked the Grasshopper. The mobility and protection is great, and while it doesn't have the punch of some of it's peers it can actually USE it's full firepower potential without turning itself to slag. Pairs well with a Guillotine and other medium to heavy jumpy backstabbers.
I erased a light ‘mech with a single click on MWO for the first time with this ‘mech. Unforgettable.
In MW5's recent DLC- I found a Grasshopper with a melee weapon mount- thus I put a massive battle ax on it- renamed it the "Grass Chopper" and a massive oversized engine while cutting back on the laser weaponry- and play it running directly at the enemy lances to rip n tear them apart with extreme ease- with a movement speed of 100 kmh ~ that easily reaches 150~200 while in the air- its absolutely unstoppable once it gets in melee range.
The Grasshopper was my first ever Mech. My cousin's friend had the game. He had each of us pick one Heavy Mech from TRO:3025 for a three way battle. They both went for the Marauder. I wanted to be different so I skimmed the other 70 and 75 toners before settling on this beast.
The battle was glorious but by the end I was losing. When I ejected my cousin and her friend both decided to fire a PPC at my ejecting pilot. He decided they would hit on a double six roll..... They both rolled double sixes. Still the Grasshopper will always have a special place for me.
Ah... War crimes. I miss the simpler times.
I would have taken that pilot death as a sign to never play that mech.
@@csmead209 Naw. I was just starting to learn the rules, it performed well, it was an uneven fight being a three way, and it had a glorious end.
Something similar happened to one of my favorite D&D 2E characters as two Shadows jumped out of the walls to surprise attack the rear line of the party and they both rolled crits on me with their opening attack. I was like "yeah I'm just going to lay here, curled in a ball for the rest of the fight, while the rest of you take care of that."
Good times those.
@@frankb3347 I think you might want to get in touch with a dominatrix, if you haven't already.
If Battletech was an anime about mechs going to high school the Grasshopper would be the main character.
"Grasshopper and Blackjack with Urbie"
Grasshopper-chan: "senpai noticed me!" 😊
The simplest refit I can think of is removing that LRM altogether. Advanced refits would involve double heat sinks swaps and making it a walking, flying disco ball of pulse lasers.
But lrm eyes are great.
Pull the LRM, replace with AMS.
My standard is just pulling off an M Laser for a Flamer, usually rear mounted.
That lets it jump between a supporting infantry or light vehicle and its primary target. The flamer wipes out the supportive element, the main weapons gun down whatever is in front of them.
It makes it even better at disrupting formations and lines, jamming itself into very uncomfortable locations, and it has the rear armor to take an M Laser or SRM or something from behind, if something goes wrong.
It also makes it handy for starting tactical fires in forests, while sacrificing little.
If no combined arms, swing the flamer forwards, and it gains a light stun effect on whatever its primary target is, making it better at disrupting heavier Mechs, while very nearly as deadly to smaller ones.
The Grasshopper is one of the few Mechs that I actually really like the random LRM 5 taped onto, because it can often secure crucial motive crits on vehicles with it, thanks to repositioning via jumps. That said, pulling it off for heat sinks, and the ER L Laser also isn't too bad. Similar effect, with the added bonus of being better at jumping and shooting everything it has at the same time, and not blowing up from ammo.
I like it because it's a versatile little roughneck that handily deals with a lot of little problems very effectively, and is very good at multitasking, and forcing bad decicions. The rear flamer is the cherry on top of that style, that really lets it menace entire formations, with relatively minor loss if it winds up not being useful. It really capitalizes on nearly everything a mech can do over other units in combined arms, and really can't be replaced with a cheaper, more specialized vehicle that does the same thing, like a Catapult, Urbanmech, or Javelin can.
I like it a lot less outside of combined arms, but it's still pretty good.
This has always been one of my favorite Heavy Mechs. Barely needing to worry about heat ever helps. Best to get into that 9 hex range or closer so you're not pop-gunning the enemy, but once you're close, it's Disco Time!
Favorite mech of all time. In Battletech 2018, you can run it with 6 small and 7 medium lasers. Light, medium, and heavy mechs melt from the front. Once quick hop and assault mechs melt from behind. Also the best melee platform in game. Run two +++ arm mod to deal a 210 damage melee hit that could in theory be followed up by six ++ s pulse lasers for 45 damage a pop, that's 480 damage in total while sinking heat in the same turn.
and just for shiggles, put in a couple leg mods to either increase DFA damage, or reduce self-damage (my preference). You don't want to try DFA's often, but its still a melee attack and there's nothing more gratifying than roflstomping an enemy mech and delivering the deathblow with a flurry of small lasers.
That's why MW5 doesn't allow "lots of small lasers" or "six machine guns" builds
One of my top 5 'Mechs of all time. How I set it up is typically 6 medium lasers, 5-6 machine guns with lots of ammo. Just hop around the battlefield with those jump jets and evaporate those light 'Mechs with a close range alpha strike.
Been doing this on a battle tech playthrough right now. Just got my first two adults, and it got bumped
For two headshot maurders…..
But I don’t like it has much. It’ll be back.
I love putting flamers or small Lazer and punch em in the face
This is a mech I didn't really use when I was younger. I didn't appreciate the weapons load when compared with its heavy equivalents of the Warhammer, Marauder, or Orion. As I continue to play this game, I've come to appreciate the unique ability of this mech and niche role it fills. I completely agree with @Faith McClosky in highly recommending the anthology "Battletech: Legacy" which unlike every other battletech book I am aware of follows a mech vice a pilot.
I also enjoyed the Grasshopper and Atlas fight detailed in Shrapnel Issue 2. Either way the Grasshopper is a great mech to use or read about in lore! Highly underrated.
My Fed.Suns attack lance: Victor VTR-9B, Grasshopper GRH-5N, Enforcer ENF-4R and Hatchetman HCT-3F. I love jump jets!
A fantastic close-in brawler. The LRM5 is nice to crit-seek at range, but it really shines by using its jump capability and heat neutrality to get in behind an enemy and devastate them with a barrage of lasers and a follow up kick. I use this mech A LOT, and it consistently delivers. Definitely a solid choice as a lance leader.
Hugely underappreciated mech. In 3025 it was the best pick for a heavier jump capable mech. Maybe a tad light on ranged capability, but certainly a fearsome close in fighter. With Star League tech, you can turn this into a true killer.
The Grasshopper was one of my favourite mechs, although I did tweak the design a little by removing the ER MG (aka the LRM-5) and mounting an extra 2 medium lasers and a heatsink. Jumping and firing all 6 medium lasers was fun, especially if two or more hit the same rear torso location..... 😈
Grasshopper with four light ppcs, an ER large laser, and an mml3 with artemis. Not to mention targeting computer for all the energy weapons.
In hbs battletech. This is my linchpin scout. Sooò much damage in hand to hand when all the support weapons go off. The high movement from jumping and high survival for a scout mech. Put in a pilot that gets to act with medium mechs. It gets in and drops something and gets out.
I forget exactly why, I think it was for a BattleTech/MechWarrior game a friend was running that never happened and one of the players picked/rolled a Grasshopper, but I ended up with a Grasshopper mini. I don't think I'd been all that familiar with it before, but I really liked the look, especially the "eyepatch" LRM 5. Haven't used one in the latest video games, but maybe I should.
The grasshopper was my favorite heavy mech when I first played battletech back in 2000. It seemed like to me back then, like a warhammer but with jump jets and just enough weapons that it could use them all.
I have no explanation why I didn’t use this mech more back in the day. There is literally no negatives when fielding this mech in its stock version-which is exceedingly rare in the 3025 era.
Thanks Big Red! This is my favourite Heavy Mech! Thanks for sharing!
It's a fantastic Heavy Mech :D
Grasshopper is the perfect scout mech for Assault Lances
Every time I meet a Grasshopper, it becomes an instant high-level target. It's not a mech taken lightly due to the speed and firepower it can bring to the battlefield, and anything lighter than it is extremely vulnerable.
This is my Headhunter, if there is an enemy unit essential to their mission/commander this thing is on it like a Piranha on anything in the water.
This is a perfect job for the Grasshopper. Great siggestion
Hey man. This is Chris, in Chilliwack. Same number. I love how Battletech had gotten big again
Oh hey! Yea, it's great. :)
Close Quarters Glow Beat-sticks... Love it.. stealing this term next time I'm fielding any heavy energy mech
In my recent MW5 playthrough I decided to finally give the grasshopper a try and it turned out to be my go-to work horse heavy mech. All I did was swap the LRM 5 for an SRM 4 and it was great even for ai pilots
A good upgrade of the 3025 grasshopper to start early technology in like 3050 would be something like FF armor, drop a few heat sinks upgrade them to double, medium pulse lasers, ER large laser, and artemis on the LRM 5. With four medium pulse lasers, you can then go Leeroy Jenkins 🙂!
There is one with 4 pulse lasers, the GHR-6K :)
Thank you! I'm new to Battletech and the Grasshopper is my favorite
It's a great mech
One of the most underrated mech of the inner sphere. This could even pawn a Warhammer or a Thor on a 1 on 1 duel
Love this thing due to the artwork from the CCG, the one that looks all armored core. Plus, it reminds me of the Guillotine, another mech I have a fondness for.
Mobile, durable, get to poke at range, and squash cowardly light mechs!
Got to love long endurance light and lighter half of medium clubbing the Grasshopper provides. I love that the universe has so many niche combatants instead of having everyone just try to lumber around in an Atlas
I love the grasshopper. Leaping into combat with a full energy loadout. Vaporizing enemies with lasers.
Bar none the Grasshopper has been my fav mech since 1990.
Simply one of the best raiders out there. Well armed and pretty much ammo independent I've paired them with victors and guillotines also with wolverines and phoenix hawks. If I want assaults dead and resources limited in assaults this is the mech I go to. As for variants would just add double heat sinks and call it day. Hard to improve on near perfection.
Grasshopper is a mech I came to love from HBS Battletech and MW5. This things a beast.
It took a long time for the Grasshopper to grow on me. It doesn't have quite the punch of other heavies, jump jets are usually wasted on a heavy, and it doesn't benefit from heat cycling.
The thing is that while I wouldn't want a whole lance of Grasshoppers, it's nice to have one mech that can sustain fire while the rest are heat cycling, or to have one mech which can jump, and with the Grasshopper's armor it's really good for getting stuck in and staying glued to a target for as long as it takes. I still prefer heavy mechs with a bit more firepower but a requirement for heat cycling, but the Grasshopper helps to fill a gap in capability.
The Grasshopper is one of the games best zombies. Up there with the Thug. You hate seeing one of these on the other side, because you know you are going to have to core it out to bring it down, but while you are doing that, you'll probably lose more than they will.
Nothing in the Inner Sphere says "smash and fade" like the 3025 Grasshopper.
This has been one of my favorite heavy mechs for a long time. I have a bias toward energy based mechs and this fulfills that preference perfectly
Always did like this mech, and now I'm really excited to make a custom one
Laser Blackjack > laser Hunchback > laser Grasshopper > laser Black Knight > laser Battlemaster
Lot's of fond memories here. Growing up my best friend and I played years of tabletop battletech, and over time we each developed stables of favorite mechs. The Grasshopper was his signature mech, and always something to be reckoned with.
It jumps like a Grasshopper, and hits like a sledge to the face. Underestimate it at your own peril.
When I got hold of a Grasshopper I put all meduim lasers in the center torso, that aloud me to take some of the armour off the arms to put on the torso. Accurate was dropped a tad but it very hard to take out any of its weapons my first heavy mech in the battletech computer game :)
Only real thing I can say the Grasshopper has going against it is the LRM5. Outside of abusing line of sight to peck away at static targets using indirect fire, it really doesn't do anything but open the mech up to ammo explosions if you take a good hit or overuse the jump jets (Kinda hard to zombie when your ammo det migrates RT to CT). Hell even in the lore they describe pilots not bothering with the system or commanders reallocating the LRM ammo to a more dedicated missile platform.
They figured it out with the GHR-5N where instead of a wasting 3 tons on an LRM system you can instead hop around freely firing 5 medium lasers or 3 mediums and the PPC.
The LRM-5 is best used, not as a source of damage, but as a way to place LRM-FASCAM minefields or Smoke LRMs or other special munitions. That said, it's still tonnage better spent elsewhere.
Probably the best heavy mech. Great mobility, strong armor, alpha strike nearly all the time,... A beast !
Where the Black Knight has too much weapons (4 ML, 1 PPC 2 LL for 20 Heat Sinks), the Grasshopper looks missing firepower (4 ML, 1 LL, 1 LRM5 for 22 HS).
Nah, it's just investing in maneuvering.
I swear this monster kicks more ass than Black Knight despite Black Knight having more free tonnage.
It's better at heat management :)
I swear I've cored a Black Knight at point-blank with a Grasshopper, so you are 100% correct.
Having had a little bit of hands on with the Grasshopper I would be lying if I said I did not appreciate it.
In a 110 ton fight this thing is a monster, turning light mechs to scrap and flanking heavier foes to become a menace for anything foolish enough to be preoccupied.
You have learned well, young Grasshopper!
I like the grasshopper a lot when I was a kid, still have my mini. It's got fantastic armor, with those jumps its still pretty maneuverable. Even though it's not really that heavily armed, with as many heat sinks it can fire until the barrels melt.
I like the Grasshopper, solid mech. Very much my style, mobile&reliant on energy weapons to avoid shortage&explosion.
Depending on my mood, I swap out the big lasers for meds or PPC. A dozen mediums every turn generally only lasts 1 or 2 turns.
My fave mech in the HBS battletech game.
I like to go full disco with it.
Max med lasers max mg.
Basic arm mods.
Close to max armour and charge the buggers down.
Finally getting around to collecting for tabletop and thinking of running a lance of Ostpods and Grasshoppers, I feel like two Grasshoppers and either two Ostsols or an Ostsol and an Ostroc could be a good combination. Turn the battlefield into my very own Coney Island disco palace.
The grasshopper is such a neat mech, will have to add one to the pile of shame lol.
I like the idea of the grasshopper, I couldn't get on with the standard variant, the 5H, didn't realize it was liked so much in the Lore. Since call to arms is out I'm thinking a melee weapon or 2 would be amazing! Oh, the hero mech is fantastic, easily one of the best ones to acquire on MW5, a gauss rifle and PPC Mjolnir right? Incredible...
The grasshopper is a great mech. Though, I do prefer to remove the LRM5 with 3 flamers, 1 in each side torso and head.
Snatch the SRM rack from my palm Grasshopper ... and your training will be completed
ANY 70-ton 4/6/4 machine is going to be effective on table-top if used correctly. I love the MechwarriorTactics image on your "cover" btw. :-) When you can mod it with some DHS and an ER-PPC, this becomes a special ride to have in your heavy lance.
Grasshopper feels comfy, makes Ravens go squish
I am glad the 2018 Battletech videogame finally gave this mech its due time in the limelight.
Hippety hoppity. Photons are property.
Which Grasshopper invests in the very lucrative locust explosion exports market. Bottomless mags = mucho denarii.
Great overview of a great mech :-) for a heavy mech with mainly lasers it's easy to ignore but those that do quickly regret it :-) this is a true zombie mech that once you dump the ammo is really difficult to put down...a great heavy that can complement any lance :-)
Always one of my favorites. It's a jumping Battlemaster!
Loving this series
The Grasshopper is an absolute monster in HBS Battletech, especially if you grab one early on. I have reduced multiple Lances of Lights to molten slag with this beautiful machine.
I remember getting one in my first campaign and really enjoying it. Hippity Hoppity, alpha strike that booty. makes plenty of mechs go pop.
A fantastic mech, really brutal for its tonnage and always very flexible to look for weak points in close combat thanks to its jets. The one thing I've never ingratiated myself with is the LRM5... normally when the closest combats begin, I end up ejecting the ammunition, because there are many missiles that can do incredible damage when an internal detonation occurs, when one sees that the armor begins to falter. Perhaps, another medium laser and two additional radiators... or swap the Large Laser for a PPC, although that would reduce the maximum possible damage at point-blank range, also it would increase the basic range and the LRM5 would not be missing.
An always interesting mech, capable of doing respectable damage even in addition to being able to hit melee with guarantees in same turn. A bug that becomes a beast if the initiative is in its favor.
Got to watch out for those zombie mechs they ain’t down till their dead
You have done well Grasshopper.
Chirp, mandibles...mandible....
Your killing it my dude
There are other mechs that rival it's ability- specifically, the Guillotine. But the 'Hopper is one of my favorite sleepers- minimal ammo dependence, enough heat sinks to turn the other guy into a slag puddle, and enough armour to keep hating long after most others rust in peace. Serious zombiemech. And yes, there are more heavily armed mech, ones who's pilots can fry eggs on the floor of the cockpit while they are waiting for their overheated reactors to reboot. Where it is superior to Madame Guillotine is that it has hands, making it a superior raider. As such, it not only qualifies as a heavy trooper, but maybe even as a supertrooper.
Yeah, the default loadout is quite an effective zombiemech. That large laser in the CT means it's going to keep being a problem until it hits the dirt.
good pairing is the eridani thunderbolt (tdr5se) since the thunderbolt can provide extra long range support as the hopper closes, but both keeping pace to get into cqc
I don't use the 5H much for one simple reason. It doesn't really pack enough punch to take on mechs of its weight class or better. Though it does have a lot of armor for its size, I find that to be a necessity due to its lack of weapons.
Just for shits and giggles, I put this mech against 2 BJ-1's. It won but was missing a torso and both arms. FYI, this is tabletop. I didn't have to worry about my heat at all but having ONLY an lrm-5 and a single large laser for long range meant I had to constantly sprint to avoid fire.
In lore, I hear it does much better.
Respectfully, you are using it all wrong. It's got plenty of firepower to do what it's intended to do - close with the target and shred it. How a Blackjack could do that much unto you is beyond me. You probably weren't sprinting _toward_ it, to get within its minimum range. Better still, jump behind it and core it.
It's not just lore, it's learning to use a 'Mech for its intended purpose.
@@HeadHunterSix Sprinting is how I lost the torso. Since I couldn't return fire while sprinting, the one off to my right was able to free-fire. The one I was charging just kept backing up into water to stay cool. Even though I could eventually take it out, I had lost an arm and most of the torso plating. Honestly surprised I didn't lose the leg. My true saving grace is the second one was overheating BADLY, so I could lay into him. FYI, I did shoot him in the back which caused an internal ammo explosion. The fight didn't last much longer.
Looking at this again, the only thing I would change from the stock version is getting rid of the LRM 5. That would remove the worry of an ammo explosion. Replace that system with another laser or heatsink. Maybe increase it's speed by making it lighter once newer tech is available, but keep it a standard engine. Other than that, it's perfect.
My favorite heavy . Pairs well with hatchetman.
Pairs well with a lot :)
very beam happy i have one of these. in MWO. Quite an impovement equipped with light PPCS. and LFES
They should have called it the Spotted Katydid. You take a grasshopper, a regular grasshopper you catch in your yard. You then enlarge it, and give it mandibles that shear through a carapace like a hot knife through butter. And a very oversized dose of bad attitude.
This is a predatory katydid.
this is one of the greatest designs...
I always like taking those rare & pricey PPCs in the HBS game, and slapping them into that central torso of a Grasshopper Typically dropping the LRM 5 + ammo to get that weight.
Makes these guys surprisingly decent secondary snipers, given their cooling. You basically can just switch to the laser the moment things start coming into range.
Always loved the Grasshopper. Mobility and laser fire power. Only thing I did not like was the LRM-5 until we started playing with lrm mines. It’s amazing how effective even 5 mines can be at channeling forces. With the mobility you can dictate where forces go.
The 5N variant is perhaps my favorite heavy mech.
We played a few games on the table top where we had to survive a raid gone wrong. This guy was my favourite as your low ammunition LRM load out didn’t matter in the end. You had lasers and lasers and lasers
Very nice mech, slap pulses on it and it becomes very powerful.
Love the Grasshopper.
Swapping the LRM-5 to an SRM-4 is really the only tweak I ever made. The standard loadout is pretty well balanced across the ranges it can engage. The LRM-5 was just a plinking weapon, but an SRM-4 can be genuinely useful.
I love this absolute disco-ball of a unit. Never fails to bring the funk.
And by funk I of course mean burny-laser-facemelting-doom. (Mind you - take off that missile pod. Commit! Commit to the funk!)
The Grasshoppers name is no accident or joke. It was originally literally designed to murder Bug Mechs.
i like putting the easy to find SSRM2 into its head and set it on autofire its not like its going to go through a halfton of ammo and you need to be carefull, great for hunting down locusts and other quick mechs in the early game mostly because its fired from headheight. Also It looks damn cool
Playing the 2018 BattleTech game the Grasshopper was an awesome mech if you stripped it out of most of its weapons, max out the armor give it a PPC, MGs and Flamers, using the PPC for softening the target and getting in close and open up with MGs and Flamers
nah, use your other 'Mechs for softening it from range. You want to be sprinting and jumping this thing to close on the target and make best use of its ability as a knife-fighter. And pass on the flamers - heat is irrelevant if the target is _dead_ .
The Shadow Hawk is a turd for a reason - it tries to do a bunch of things and succeeds poorly. Commit to making the Grasshopper a close-up killer and shred anything it gets close to. Anything.
Grasshopper are just fun to fight. It's one of the most best mechs from the success wars. I think
If Kamen Rider Zero One had a battlemech, this would be it.