Thank you for watching! Let's get into the credits and resources: The Longbow will be available in Mechwarrior 5: The Dragon's Gambit, which comes out in September: mw5mercs.com/dlc/the-dragons-gambit store.steampowered.com/app/2489020/MechWarrior_5_Mercenaries__The_Dragons_Gambit/ The Longbow can also be found in the Inner Sphere Fire Lance, from Catalyst Game Labs: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-forcepack-inner-sphere?variant=39841951154210 Eldonius Rex was great in letting me use his art of the Longbow, (and thank you to Tex as well), and he has a great website where you can buy prints of his work, check them out, they are amazing: astray3.bigcartel.com/ His regular Site as well: www.astray3.com/author/astray3_k8851t/ MacabreDerek was kind enough to also let me use one image he made of the Longbow as well, these are his socials: twitter.com/DerekMacabre instagram.com/stmacabrederek/ For other RUclipsrs, don't forget to check out - Sven Van Der Plank, and his new Succession Wars series: www.youtube.com/@SvenVanDerPlank Mechanical Frog: www.youtube.com/@MechanicalFrog The B33F: www.youtube.com/@th3b33f And Black Pants Legion: www.youtube.com/@theblackpantslegion Who also has a new website too: theblackpantslegion.com/ The resources I used to make this video, check them out for yourselves!: The Star League (1988): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-star-league-pdf Experimental Technical Readout Primitives Volume 3: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-experimental-technical-readout-primitives-vol-3 Recognition Guide: Ilclan Volume 20: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-recognition-guide-ilclan-vol-20 Technical Readout 3058 (Original) Battlemech Manual (For Quirks) Technical Readout: 3039: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-3039-pdf Record Sheets 3039 (variant references): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-3039-unabridged-pdf Record Sheets 3058 Inner Sphere (variant references): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-total-warfare-style-3058-is-pdf Technical Readout: Project Phoenix: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-technical-readout-project-phoenix-pdf
I can imagine it. Walking to the microphone during the internal PR meeting the Starcorp engineer simply shuffles his papers and says. 70 LRMs. Artemis 4. The listening telecom crowd erupts. The Engineers looking at AMSs erupt in joy.
@@eddyrusou4507 it's not there to brawl with heavies and assaults, but to give a real nasty surprise to some unsuspecting lights or mediums hoping to pick off some poorly armed and armoured fire support mechs.
Not to be confused with Longshot, Crossbow, Bowman, Archer, Arbalest, Catapult, Trebuchet, Sagittaire, Shootist and especially not with the f*cking Bombardier.
See, you guys made me go downstairs into the basement and find my old notebooks, Yes dammit I kept ALL my Battletech stuff all these years, fought with my wife, mother and mother in law not the throw any of it away. The Longbow I came up with carries 4 LRM 15s with a total of 7 tons of ammo in total. 22 single heatsinks, 255 rated engine for movement 3-5 and 10.5 tons of standard armor. All she is meant to do is sit relatively still and rain missiles on the enemy, her lancemates do the rest. I loved this mech, alot!!!
@spacetaz3382 it gets even more confusing for other unseen design since there's also a mech called the Tomahawk, which is weird since the unseen design the Warhammer's based on is also called the Tomahawk lol
@@thesilentninja9255Everything got their names changed in Robotech. Though I'm not sure how much of that was HG and how much was Paladium, which made the RPG.
Pods. Pods make a warmachine. The Longbow has pods for arms and the mighty Stalker assault mech is effectively a pod in and of itself. Pods. Tell your friends. FYI I still remember seeing the Longbow for the first time in the BattleTech magazine back in the day.
The Longbow is far and away one of my favourite Assault mechs in Battletech, only narrowly beaten out by a few exemplars like the Banshee. I love its visual design, I love its base loadout and many of its variants, and maybe most of all, I love how it feels like something real-life militaries would actually design and use. A heavily armored, mobile, all-terrain missile platform with weapons in place of arms.
I like how the Longbow with the biggest armour problems is the "OW" model. I never used the Longbow, but this vid convinced me to change that stance. Thanks Red!
Missed the release due to my manager having the nerve to want to meet to talk about work. Great job as always, I for one really enjoy the longer form content but understand what a time investment they must be. Looking forward to your next release.
There will still be long-form stuff coming to be clear! It's just the 3055 stuff is gonna mostly be short-form. The Grand Titan and Berserker, are likely to be longer.
Mainly correct. My usual loadout was 6CLRM20/2ML. Maxed the armor as well as possible too. My top rating loadout was something else though, since i was on a server that didn't allow cross teching, i had so many different IS LRMs combined trying to replicate the CLRM20 punch not only did it have no backup weapons but differing reload times made getting into firing rhythm a bit touchy. Spent quite some time as a Fire Support specialist before venturing down into brawling lighter classes. @@GhostBear3067
I’m ngl that naming convention has always irked me, the Trebuchet being the lightest of the bunch confused me so much when I first came up against it Battletech
A long bow and a strong bow, and let the sky grow dark! The cord to the nock, the shaft to the ear, and the king of Koth for a mark! -- Song of the Bossonian Archers.
It is fascinating how the first thing I notice about this video is how the Inner Sphere map was in its more simplistic form that I recall from a dozen or more years ago...as I would recall, the lines are based mostly on drawing straight between systems jointly held between the Terran Hegemony and Successor States. Ah, memories.
"I've got Missiles for Days!" "Eat it!" "I'm bringing the thunder!" "Time for you to go Boom!" Potential quotes from Cedric Sveinson of the Draconis Combines Sorenson's Sabers (I had to look this guy up because there is not only nothing on him but I know of no big memorable named characters that piloted it.)
It's great learning the historical breadth this mech has with the BT background. I recently witnessed the commanding barraging overwatch of this unit, turning opposition mechs unfortunate enough to succumb to it into pockmarked salvage for our side. [Edit] Fighting for Purple Bird, of course.
I had no idea the longbow reached back so far! Always great to do a walk through time, touching on some new stuff as we do. I just remembered cramming as many Clan LRMs into one as a youth playing MW4 Mercs and marvelling at the lines of smoke I could carve across the sky as they unleashed.
The Battletech Heavens have opened up and both heavy rain and the Longbow falls onto me, thank you for both in equal measure. The Longbow will make my enemies cry and the rain will wash away the pee from my pants because I laughed so hard🤣😂😅👍
I have to say this is probably the best intro you've done for any of your essays. I wish you could give more than one like on this platform because you'd get one just for the intro and anotther for the video following (also the entire thing is one of your best videos to date -- loving the history surrounding the mech design that is the subject).
Thank you Sable! I hope to do more in the future like this. Though I'd argue the Timber Wolf's opening is pretty solid too. The subject of the video helps with the openings of course.
I always liked the idea of an upgrade for the 7q replacing the lrm5s with mml5s and giving them 1ton of srms to eat. It would be a great way of wording off lights.
StarCorps really does make my favorite Mechs from Succession Wars era. Warhammer, Longbow. Interesting thing is it is rather hard to improve on a Longbow. Increasing tonnage or upgrading lrm5s to anything beyond 10s require too much sacrifice. It really is the best LRM-boating assault you can buy with the technology available.
Ah, but improved it can be! 4 LRM-15s with six tons of ammo. 18 single heatsinks. Two medium lasers. 216 points of armor. Standard 255 rated engine for 3/5 movement. I can't take credit for that design, it's courtesy of the unofficial TRO-2866 and is designated as the 7T variant. I highly recommend the sourcebook as it's free and contains very interesting takes on classic mechs.
@@StarlightSocialist i know you can do lrm 60, just not 70 without too much sacrifice. Also, you're not gonna be able to fire 4xLrm15s with just 18shs, weapons alone require 20 heat, and you got movement on top of that. That is why i said, it is hard to improve on it. Longbow fires 50 missiles all day. Quite a bit of endurance too. And it is stock mech, which means horribly optimized for majority of designs so Longbow got quite lucky.
Because the Archer is for leading, the LRM Carrier is to take advantage of deployments. The core design purpose of the Longbow is dedicated fire support that doesn't have to constantly move like the LRM Carriers; and has to stay in a backline, unlike the Archer.
The Longbow is such a storied machine. It still could have been further optimized but it's still such a fun design with one being an absolute LRM monster. A great design for IS players. I keep wondering what a IIC variant or one with clan tech would be like. I'm seeing one with over 100 LRMs...
I was hoping you'd get to this one before the MW5 expansion came out! The Longbow is iconic, but man, the 0W was as huge a mistake as the BNC-3E, if you ask me. As you pointed out, once you factor it all in (internals, engine and gyro), it only has 1.5 free tons over the 70 ton archer, but how much more would it cost? Those fusion engines get pricey fast as the ratings go up. There's also the logistical side of a much heavier machine. If we where talking about real world military procurement here I'd expect there to be an investigation that uncovered all sorts of backroom deals and kickbacks to get that thing greenlit! I think the 7Q is clearly superior, where it's role as a fire support assault mech feels more clearly defined. If you're worried about keeping pace with the Warhammers and Thunderbolts, use that Archer or Catapult! Great video, man. I skip the Clan ones, that's my deal, though, but I enjoy the deep dive into the pre-Clans history of these Inner Sphere mechs that you do.
The longnow has been one of my favorite mechs for a while. The 12c is an amazing variant, becsuse its hard to argue with 70 missiles equipped with Artemis IV. Glory to Marik!
An excellent long form video about the under reported and under appreciated history of the Longbow assault mech. I greatly enjoyed this as a long time player who appreciates LRM equipped mechs, LRM support platforms, but have never actually piloted the Longbow in a game. I have just been admiring it from afar...
An excellent video on Marik's greatest weapon, BigRed40Tech. The Longbow peforms well in all of its incarnations, especially the Rec Guide updates to it. I'd argue that the 7Q doesn't need to fast giving it's role as a fire support unit, and is better then the 0W in every way. I've never found its 3/5 move speed to be a hindrance, especially when pared up with the League's other typical assault units, the Stalker, Awesome, Battlemaster and Thug.
Great video. It's remarkable how good HBS's soundtrack was for Battletech. I really hope the new game innovates here more than the original MW5, because new soundtracks for your videos would be great.
This thing works great in Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries where you can use mixed tech. Stuffing it full of Clan LRMs, which are lighter than the IS version, allows you to carry even MORE missiles.
It is going to be in the next MW5 DLC. . . which means they did the models and work and it WILL be coming to MWO, just like the Crusader and the Hatchetman in the past. Whoever at PGI runs the forums alluded to this as well.
Thanks for covering my personal mech of choice and for doing it such justice. Because in introducing your enemies to the concept of steel rain, COMPROMISE IS FOR LOSERS
I love the Longbow. The only upgrade it needed to be awesome was DHS. With SHS the heat was 24/22 with DHS 24/44. That means you only need 12 DHS (10 is Free) to be heat-neutral. I took the LGB-7Q variant to switch to the 12 DHS. I have freed up 10 tons and have 58/78 slots! I use light engines instead of XL on Assault Mechs making it 72/85 tons. Added Endo Structure for 68/85 tons without striping weapons. Now for my variant Refit. LGB-6G: Ranger Prick 4x MML 9's two in LA, LT & RA,RT. With 2 tons of MML 9 LRM Ammo, 2 tons of MML 9 LRM Swarm Ammo, 2 tons of MML 9 SRM Ammo with CASE to protect the ammo. For backup weapons 2 Medium Lasers. Movement of 4/6 with a 340 Light Engine. DHS 14 [28] for a heat of 28/28. All for BV: 1,616 and Cost of 16,521,425 C-bills. Endo Steel fills in the rest of the slots. 16 tons of standard armor. Another build with my LGB-7G: Death Cactus. Added a MASC, 2x MRM40 in the LA & RA, 2 tons of ammo, 2x MML 3 in the LT & RT, 1ton of LRM ammo, and 1 ton of SRM ammo, standard armor dropped to 13 tons. The heat is slightly hot on 30/28. Movement: 4/6(8) It can keep up with the Charger. Lol I broke missile tradition with my LGM-8G: Star Bright. 2x Heavy PPC's! in the LA & RA, 8x MED Lasers! 3 in LT, RT, & 2 in the CT "Not your alpha type" MASC is gone. Added a guardian ECM, DHS: 18 [36] Heat: 56/38! Standard Armor of 15.5 tons. (Hell if it worked of the catapult it will work for the Longbow. lol) You have enough cooling to cover firing the both Heavy PPC's at range. Then switch to Alpha striking with the 8 Med lasers.
I gotta say, I love the smaller channels like yourself and theses been something so satisfying as I play MW5 to listen to your videos of the different mechs. Even though I'm probably trash cause I'll run almost any missions with a single assault mech before I go down to a medium Lance 😅 it wasn't till I started watching your videos I realized if I run the nightstar with two lvl 5 gauss I literally one-shot atlas if I aim 🤣🤣
I couldn't agree more. I know the primary focus here game wise is the tabletop, but similarly to 40k, I love the videogames, media, and the setting primarily, which makes these videos a fantastic accellerant for both - A situation that is PARTICULARLY striking for Battletech, as the surface of it's VAST multimedia potential has barely been scratched as yet. Thankfully that seems to be changing, and this channel and it's peers are a vital reason for it! 🤘😁🤘
A bit longer than I was expecting, but that's always a good thing. Thank you for such an indepth look into a mech I really wasn't that interested in prior to this other than the fact it is an ancient design & fills the role of a missile boat that pales most other attempts. It is a glorious time to be a BattleTech fan!
Always liked this mech. The Robotech version was the first time I saw it. Have yet to take it out on tabletop. That might change soon. 50 missiles downrange every turn is nothing to sneeze at.
really happy to find this as the im new to Battletech and the longbow is already my favorite mech to field i think all my lances have been built around it to the annoyance of my friends
Enjoyed the video, nice to get back to the inner sphere mechs as I think they just have more interesting stories and how the mech deals with there flaws just makes the videos more interesting
This mech was such a succes it even jumped over to spinoff franchises such as the much beloved Exosquad and Gundam animated series even though its was a HG and Macross collaborative design.
I like the idea of replacing the LRM5s with SRM4s for self defense. The 5s are decent smoke or incendiary launchers, but they really don't work well with the 20s. For later eras, MMLs seem like a no-brainer. Go heavy on the LRM ammo but pack just enough SRM to blow to pieces anything that thinks it can get close.
You did a good job comparing the Longbow to the mech it was intended to rival, the Archer, but I feel like other comparisons are begging to be made: the Stalker, the Awesome (AWS-8T in particular), and, most crucially, to the LRM Carrier (vehicle) which shares several traits with the Longbow 7Q.
Are one hour videos going to be an ongoing thing now? As a lore junkie myself, I am over the moon at snorting the battletech mojo, but I do worry if 40k might be overworking himself.
The Longbow; let's make a bigger Catapult and see how well it works. Honestly; when I first played the PC Battletech game I usually had a missile boat mech (Treb, Cat, Archer or Stalker) aimed to just knock down foes.
Still not my favorite missile boat, but I can respect it for the seniority and reliability. My first love of missile boats of the still the Catapult, and my greatest, the Kraken 3, but you have shown me that the Longbow is a venerable tool in this, one of my favorite weapon focus categories.
The two things I always forget about this thing whenever I see it 1) for whatever reason my brain wants to photoshop another pair of arms attached to the ends of the arms and call it the longer bow 2) that they decided to make this things arms look like a cross between the DK bongos and the DK barrels Although in all seriousness thank you for making this video. I really haven't seen anyone try and cover this thing despite how it's one of the oldest mechs in universe and one of the first ones of the artillery/lrm boat type that i know of.
Wonderful video, I really like the feel of this video, the introduction and overall pacing was very good. I've never really liked the Longbow, preferring to use Crusaders, Trebuchets, and Whitworths for that fire support role, but this video has caused me to reconsider my position. Well done!
I do love your use of music from the mechwarror games. I noticed you mostly use music from 2 mercenaries which is arguably the most popular of the original games. It was the first one I played and was a very well made, thought out, and easy to play and understand game. While 3 had superior graphica and game engine, the Story, Music, Tone, Progression, etc in 2 mercenaries was by far much better. I still have the Discs for the mechwarror series up through 4 Mercenaries (a Christmas gift from my late dad who wasn't into the franchise but still supported my interest in it which is why I'll never get rid of the discs) sitting around but 2 Mercenaries holds a special place in my heart with it being the first one I played.
And now the ultimate change: equip the Longbow with Clan tech LRM racks. Not only are you saving some serious mass and space you also turn anyone into swiss cheese in close combat.
Great vid of a great support fire mech :-) there are some variants with far to little armour for its speed but when you get the right one it can be useful in any lance :-)
PGI alluded to the fact that the Crusader and Hatchetman were in MW5 DLCs before coming to MWO when they were asked if it was coming the MWO. Think it is pretty safe to say it will be.
Love me a good Longbow. When paired with an Awesome and either two brawlers or a brawler and a scout you have a Lance that is pretty difficult to take down.
"Hey StarCorps what's your great fire support mech idea?" "We will just make it big, decently armored, give it a bunch of missiles, and put some of the launchers in the arms for better fire arcs." "Oh come on! That is stupidly simple!" "Yes and..?" - starts counting checks
Apparently I accidentally made a variation of the 14V using the spitfire: twin LPPCs and 8 MRM10s with endo, light ferro, and a light fusion. Horrifying to face against if it gets the first word in, especially with how quickly the MRMs can cycle.
The Longbow is the mech in which the installation of an XL reactor (IE) or an XXL really makes sense, (although what the XXL demands for spaces calls it into question). The scope of the Arrow IV makes it possibly going to be a hammer unless it has a Naga of the clans also with Arrow IV (in this case the introduction of the XXL is more justified and not so painful and the additional scope of a map on the I.S. version makes it a deadly insurance). The Longbow is always a safe as long as it is used carefully and is protected at a distance with other mech that prevent the enemy from approaching it at sufficiently short distances. That's easier said than done, as soon as the clans enter the scene. Even so, even if they do not survive the battle, they may have opted for victory if they have had a little luck.
a mech I use in concert with Archers and Crusaders to rain unspeakable hell upon those in my path. for the most part updates and upgrades are more swaps for Clan Tech that is smaller, lighter and generally more efficient, meaning I'm going to bring the pain and then some! a 255 rated Clan XL engine beats in the heart of this beast while Clan tech Endosteel makes up it's frame. Clan Double H.S. make sure this mech NEVER gets hot. the Gyro and cockpit remain unchanged. armor is slathered on to the maximum the chassis can carry meaning this mech can take a hit or three. Clan Tech LRM's replace the I.S. ones and the 5's get replaced by yet another pair of 20's for a scary total of 80 tubes. CASE is applied as is standard for ammo dependent designs and those racks get fed plenty of missiles such that this engine of death can continue to rain death when nearly all other units have run out of ammunition! when operated in groups for line breaking, this mech is guarded by Marauders, Awesome 9Q's, and King Crabs toting the deadly Gauss Rifles. Schreks & Alacorns bring conventional support making sure any foolish enough to stand their ground pays the ultimate price! Yellow Jackets buzz around looking for trouble to Snipe out of existence. close in weaponry like Medium Lasers aren't needed because anyone dumb enough to get in this Mech's face will disappear in a hail of missiles as Clan Tech LRM's have no minimum Range penalty. they might be slow, but they are VERY well protected!
I like to think that the 10K variant is mixed in the LRM variants in a lance lol I imagine a flanking force trying to take out a lance of these only to be met by a hail of UAC20 being flung into their mechs and cockpits. Also can't wait for it to appear in the new DLC.
When I ran across these in MW 4, I would refit the LRMs to Clan variants, and if I remember correctly, I either could double stack 20s, or do 20 and a 15 in each. I didn't use xl engines when I had the option, and go for the slower speed and high ammo counts. Slap in a couple mediums for a flea run up, as thy did regularly, and it was good for low skill lancemate pilots, as I preferred more rounded personal mechs, or laser/ppc focuses. I hate stopping fire with a working weapon. I would say the the arrow 4 option would have interest in some points, but most games you rarely have the good range to really capitalize on it. Tho, there was a case of the mad dog/vulture in the collesium in MW4 carrying an arrow 3 and a 4 and about nothing else as grand melee dueling mech.
I remember tinkering with these for the MW4 Mercenaries Solaris missions. I think at one point I shaved most of the armor off to make room for quad LRM 20's in the arms and LRM 5's in the torso. I ended up glitching out the game with so many missiles they'd collide on launch and blow up right in front of me damaging the mech if I tried to alphastrike instead of ripple fire. 😆
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for watching! Let's get into the credits and resources:
The Longbow will be available in Mechwarrior 5: The Dragon's Gambit, which comes out in September:
mw5mercs.com/dlc/the-dragons-gambit
store.steampowered.com/app/2489020/MechWarrior_5_Mercenaries__The_Dragons_Gambit/
The Longbow can also be found in the Inner Sphere Fire Lance, from Catalyst Game Labs:
store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-forcepack-inner-sphere?variant=39841951154210
Eldonius Rex was great in letting me use his art of the Longbow, (and thank you to Tex as well), and he has a great website where you can buy prints of his work, check them out, they are amazing:
astray3.bigcartel.com/
His regular Site as well: www.astray3.com/author/astray3_k8851t/
MacabreDerek was kind enough to also let me use one image he made of the Longbow as well, these are his socials:
twitter.com/DerekMacabre
instagram.com/stmacabrederek/
For other RUclipsrs, don't forget to check out -
Sven Van Der Plank, and his new Succession Wars series:
www.youtube.com/@SvenVanDerPlank
Mechanical Frog:
www.youtube.com/@MechanicalFrog
The B33F:
www.youtube.com/@th3b33f
And Black Pants Legion:
www.youtube.com/@theblackpantslegion
Who also has a new website too:
theblackpantslegion.com/
The resources I used to make this video, check them out for yourselves!:
The Star League (1988): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-star-league-pdf
Experimental Technical Readout Primitives Volume 3: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-experimental-technical-readout-primitives-vol-3
Recognition Guide: Ilclan Volume 20: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-recognition-guide-ilclan-vol-20
Technical Readout 3058 (Original)
Battlemech Manual (For Quirks)
Technical Readout: 3039: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-3039-pdf
Record Sheets 3039 (variant references): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-3039-unabridged-pdf
Record Sheets 3058 Inner Sphere (variant references): store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-record-sheet-total-warfare-style-3058-is-pdf
Technical Readout: Project Phoenix: store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-technical-readout-project-phoenix-pdf
that art of the atlas killing a summoner with a laser through the cockpit goes hard
I can imagine it. Walking to the microphone during the internal PR meeting the Starcorp engineer simply shuffles his papers and says. 70 LRMs. Artemis 4. The listening telecom crowd erupts. The Engineers looking at AMSs erupt in joy.
Like Tony Stark saying "I am Ironman."
That dual-UAC20 variant would be great to include in a lance of regular longbows. Real nasty surprise to any mech trying to stop the fire support.
So its a holy shit its gotta die after a single kill
@@eddyrusou4507 it's not there to brawl with heavies and assaults, but to give a real nasty surprise to some unsuspecting lights or mediums hoping to pick off some poorly armed and armoured fire support mechs.
If your fire support units need close defense, you screwed up big time.
If it were to have twin gauss rifles instead of the AC-20's, it would still provide it's long range fire support roll.
Not to be confused with Longshot,
Crossbow, Bowman, Archer, Arbalest, Catapult, Trebuchet, Sagittaire, Shootist and especially not with the f*cking Bombardier.
Missiles for Days my friend, missiles for Days.
Bombardier: You ever feel like you just have too much ammunition?
But if pilot doesn't have proficiency in martial weapons has to use a short bow
That's why it's important for Mechwarrior's to take the soldier background to give them more martial weapon proficiency.
See, you guys made me go downstairs into the basement and find my old notebooks, Yes dammit I kept ALL my Battletech stuff all these years, fought with my wife, mother and mother in law not the throw any of it away.
The Longbow I came up with carries 4 LRM 15s with a total of 7 tons of ammo in total. 22 single heatsinks, 255 rated engine for movement 3-5 and 10.5 tons of standard armor. All she is meant to do is sit relatively still and rain missiles on the enemy, her lancemates do the rest. I loved this mech, alot!!!
Purple Rain! Purple Rain! lol
"imagine the honor in killing the enemy in direct combat" Former 7V Pilot turned bondman to his clan captors explaining his new surroundings.
HAH!
Again, we thank and praise Shoji Kawamori and the Macross franchise for giving us the SDR-04 Phalanx.
I thought it was called a Spartan in Macross.
The spartan is what would become the archer
What blasphemy do you seek?!
Blessed be Blake
@spacetaz3382 it gets even more confusing for other unseen design since there's also a mech called the Tomahawk, which is weird since the unseen design the Warhammer's based on is also called the Tomahawk lol
@@thesilentninja9255Everything got their names changed in Robotech. Though I'm not sure how much of that was HG and how much was Paladium, which made the RPG.
One of the grandaddies of all missile boats in Battletech universe (the other being the Archer).
Funnily enough, it exists because the FWL wanted to have their own archer, but better. lol
Don't forget the Catapult.
@@BigRed40TECHand when critiqued about the speed the answer was "Don't worry, our enemies will come to us!"
On the subject of missile boats, I'm still holding out hope for a reworked modernized version from Catalyst for the Yeoman.😆
@@renegadeleader1 This does not bring joy. lol
Excellent video. The Longbow is one of my favorite mechs from HBS BattleTech
*looks around nervously* You mean modded HBS Battletech
BTA 3062 has destroyed my life, worth it.
XD@@theangryMD
Pods. Pods make a warmachine. The Longbow has pods for arms and the mighty Stalker assault mech is effectively a pod in and of itself. Pods. Tell your friends.
FYI I still remember seeing the Longbow for the first time in the BattleTech magazine back in the day.
Fire the missiles!!!
How many sir?
ALL THE MISSILES!!!!
missiles fired sir
FIRE MOAR
The Longbow is far and away one of my favourite Assault mechs in Battletech, only narrowly beaten out by a few exemplars like the Banshee. I love its visual design, I love its base loadout and many of its variants, and maybe most of all, I love how it feels like something real-life militaries would actually design and use. A heavily armored, mobile, all-terrain missile platform with weapons in place of arms.
I definitely like my purple bird missile machine :D
Ah yes, the Longbow. Basically what happens when a Stalker decides to take up danger bongo drums as a side hobby.
The 10k is probably my favorite mech in the whole setting.
I like how the Longbow with the biggest armour problems is the "OW" model. I never used the Longbow, but this vid convinced me to change that stance. Thanks Red!
Give it a try, you'll have fun! :D
Missed the release due to my manager having the nerve to want to meet to talk about work. Great job as always, I for one really enjoy the longer form content but understand what a time investment they must be. Looking forward to your next release.
There will still be long-form stuff coming to be clear! It's just the 3055 stuff is gonna mostly be short-form.
The Grand Titan and Berserker, are likely to be longer.
The mech that was my main ride for quite a while early on in the MW4Mercs days. Was actually was the top rated Longbow pilot one month.
You packed it full of Clan LRMs, quiaff?
Mainly correct. My usual loadout was 6CLRM20/2ML. Maxed the armor as well as possible too. My top rating loadout was something else though, since i was on a server that didn't allow cross teching, i had so many different IS LRMs combined trying to replicate the CLRM20 punch not only did it have no backup weapons but differing reload times made getting into firing rhythm a bit touchy. Spent quite some time as a Fire Support specialist before venturing down into brawling lighter classes. @@GhostBear3067
Given the reverse correlation with missile boat weight and the namesake's size i think we're due for a superheavy missile boat called the "slingshot"
I’m ngl that naming convention has always irked me, the Trebuchet being the lightest of the bunch confused me so much when I first came up against it Battletech
So a Stone Rhino with ALL the SRM's taped to it? I'd rock that.
Equipped with the devastating Pebble LRMs and guided by the Boogerflinger Fire Control System.
A long bow and a strong bow, and let the sky grow dark!
The cord to the nock, the shaft to the ear, and the king of Koth for a mark!
-- Song of the Bossonian Archers.
It is fascinating how the first thing I notice about this video is how the Inner Sphere map was in its more simplistic form that I recall from a dozen or more years ago...as I would recall, the lines are based mostly on drawing straight between systems jointly held between the Terran Hegemony and Successor States.
Ah, memories.
What a beautiful machine!
The UAC20 variant seems like a beast of an ambush predator or breakthrough mech.
"I've got Missiles for Days!"
"Eat it!"
"I'm bringing the thunder!"
"Time for you to go Boom!"
Potential quotes from Cedric Sveinson of the Draconis Combines Sorenson's Sabers (I had to look this guy up because there is not only nothing on him but I know of no big memorable named characters that piloted it.)
It's great learning the historical breadth this mech has with the BT background. I recently witnessed the commanding barraging overwatch of this unit, turning opposition mechs unfortunate enough to succumb to it into pockmarked salvage for our side.
[Edit] Fighting for Purple Bird, of course.
Purple Bird is in fact, strong.
I had no idea the longbow reached back so far! Always great to do a walk through time, touching on some new stuff as we do. I just remembered cramming as many Clan LRMs into one as a youth playing MW4 Mercs and marvelling at the lines of smoke I could carve across the sky as they unleashed.
Oh ye,a originally this was planned to be a 20 minute video, then I realized just how much there was and went "Shit" lol
The Battletech Heavens have opened up and both heavy rain and the Longbow falls onto me, thank you for both in equal measure. The Longbow will make my enemies cry and the rain will wash away the pee from my pants because I laughed so hard🤣😂😅👍
Watching this as I'm doing an HBS' Battletech campaign, what a soundtrack!
Nice!
You don't stay a common sight for 600 years without reason.
I have to say this is probably the best intro you've done for any of your essays. I wish you could give more than one like on this platform because you'd get one just for the intro and anotther for the video following (also the entire thing is one of your best videos to date -- loving the history surrounding the mech design that is the subject).
Thank you Sable!
I hope to do more in the future like this. Though I'd argue the Timber Wolf's opening is pretty solid too. The subject of the video helps with the openings of course.
I always liked the idea of an upgrade for the 7q replacing the lrm5s with mml5s and giving them 1ton of srms to eat. It would be a great way of wording off lights.
Or, trading out all the LRM and SRM launchers with MMLs. For when you want that one light mech very… *VERY* dead
StarCorps really does make my favorite Mechs from Succession Wars era. Warhammer, Longbow. Interesting thing is it is rather hard to improve on a Longbow. Increasing tonnage or upgrading lrm5s to anything beyond 10s require too much sacrifice. It really is the best LRM-boating assault you can buy with the technology available.
LGB-12C says hi. 70 LRM's with Artemis means Macross Missile Massacre is in full effect all the time, every time
@@Doomrider47 i said in the era. Good luck trying to fit lrm 70s in 3025 tech.
@@fistan5447 Unless you're talking about the Kerensky cluster's tech at the time, yes. Even then, it's not exactly easy.
Ah, but improved it can be! 4 LRM-15s with six tons of ammo. 18 single heatsinks. Two medium lasers. 216 points of armor. Standard 255 rated engine for 3/5 movement.
I can't take credit for that design, it's courtesy of the unofficial TRO-2866 and is designated as the 7T variant. I highly recommend the sourcebook as it's free and contains very interesting takes on classic mechs.
@@StarlightSocialist i know you can do lrm 60, just not 70 without too much sacrifice. Also, you're not gonna be able to fire 4xLrm15s with just 18shs, weapons alone require 20 heat, and you got movement on top of that. That is why i said, it is hard to improve on it. Longbow fires 50 missiles all day. Quite a bit of endurance too. And it is stock mech, which means horribly optimized for majority of designs so Longbow got quite lucky.
I’ve always asked, “Why take a Longbow when the Archer & LRM Carrier are available?” Now I can make better informed decisions.
Because the Archer is for leading, the LRM Carrier is to take advantage of deployments. The core design purpose of the Longbow is dedicated fire support that doesn't have to constantly move like the LRM Carriers; and has to stay in a backline, unlike the Archer.
The Longbow is such a storied machine. It still could have been further optimized but it's still such a fun design with one being an absolute LRM monster. A great design for IS players. I keep wondering what a IIC variant or one with clan tech would be like. I'm seeing one with over 100 LRMs...
Optimization isn't always what's best for tabletop play tbh. But I do love it.
An Archer IIC would probably have a pair of ATM 12s.
I meant Longbow IIC. RUclips is bugging and won’t let me edit or delete my comment.
I was hoping you'd get to this one before the MW5 expansion came out!
The Longbow is iconic, but man, the 0W was as huge a mistake as the BNC-3E, if you ask me. As you pointed out, once you factor it all in (internals, engine and gyro), it only has 1.5 free tons over the 70 ton archer, but how much more would it cost? Those fusion engines get pricey fast as the ratings go up. There's also the logistical side of a much heavier machine. If we where talking about real world military procurement here I'd expect there to be an investigation that uncovered all sorts of backroom deals and kickbacks to get that thing greenlit! I think the 7Q is clearly superior, where it's role as a fire support assault mech feels more clearly defined. If you're worried about keeping pace with the Warhammers and Thunderbolts, use that Archer or Catapult!
Great video, man. I skip the Clan ones, that's my deal, though, but I enjoy the deep dive into the pre-Clans history of these Inner Sphere mechs that you do.
The longnow has been one of my favorite mechs for a while. The 12c is an amazing variant, becsuse its hard to argue with 70 missiles equipped with Artemis IV.
Glory to Marik!
Probably the best way to argue that is 120 swarm LRMs from a single mech's clan tech launchers.
An excellent long form video about the under reported and under appreciated history of the Longbow assault mech. I greatly enjoyed this as a long time player who appreciates LRM equipped mechs, LRM support platforms, but have never actually piloted the Longbow in a game. I have just been admiring it from afar...
An excellent video on Marik's greatest weapon, BigRed40Tech. The Longbow peforms well in all of its incarnations, especially the Rec Guide updates to it. I'd argue that the 7Q doesn't need to fast giving it's role as a fire support unit, and is better then the 0W in every way. I've never found its 3/5 move speed to be a hindrance, especially when pared up with the League's other typical assault units, the Stalker, Awesome, Battlemaster and Thug.
Great video. It's remarkable how good HBS's soundtrack was for Battletech. I really hope the new game innovates here more than the original MW5, because new soundtracks for your videos would be great.
One of my favorite Mechs to field in Combined Arms cause of the amount of TAG and NARC I can run for it
You have provided yet another great insight into Battletech as a whole, carried in the mighty shell of a BattleMech, as it should be.
The Longbow. Because the word “OVERKILL” just is doing it.
An amazing warhorse. One of the few to survive the meat grinder of time. Great job as usual.
Thank you kindly!
I love a good StarCorps mech. Thank you as always for giving your time and effort to quality content. Superb.
This thing works great in Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries where you can use mixed tech. Stuffing it full of Clan LRMs, which are lighter than the IS version, allows you to carry even MORE missiles.
I've used the Longbow in MW4 Mercenaries and I tell ya, it's one helluva missile boat! I wish it were in MWO so I can start using it.
It is going to be in the next MW5 DLC. . . which means they did the models and work and it WILL be coming to MWO, just like the Crusader and the Hatchetman in the past. Whoever at PGI runs the forums alluded to this as well.
It’s in MWO! I think it’s still premium-only for now, but it’ll fully release soon.
Thanks for covering my personal mech of choice and for doing it such justice. Because in introducing your enemies to the concept of steel rain, COMPROMISE IS FOR LOSERS
I love the Longbow. The only upgrade it needed to be awesome was DHS. With SHS the heat was 24/22 with DHS 24/44. That means you only need 12 DHS (10 is Free) to be heat-neutral. I took the LGB-7Q variant to switch to the 12 DHS. I have freed up 10 tons and have 58/78 slots! I use light engines instead of XL on Assault Mechs making it 72/85 tons. Added Endo Structure for 68/85 tons without striping weapons. Now for my variant Refit. LGB-6G: Ranger Prick
4x MML 9's two in LA, LT & RA,RT. With 2 tons of MML 9 LRM Ammo, 2 tons of MML 9 LRM Swarm Ammo, 2 tons of MML 9 SRM Ammo with CASE to protect the ammo. For backup weapons 2 Medium Lasers. Movement of 4/6 with a 340 Light Engine. DHS 14 [28] for a heat of 28/28. All for BV: 1,616 and Cost of 16,521,425 C-bills. Endo Steel fills in the rest of the slots. 16 tons of standard armor.
Another build with my LGB-7G: Death Cactus. Added a MASC, 2x MRM40 in the LA & RA, 2 tons of ammo, 2x MML 3 in the LT & RT, 1ton of LRM ammo, and 1 ton of SRM ammo, standard armor dropped to 13 tons. The heat is slightly hot on 30/28. Movement: 4/6(8) It can keep up with the Charger. Lol
I broke missile tradition with my LGM-8G: Star Bright. 2x Heavy PPC's! in the LA & RA, 8x MED Lasers! 3 in LT, RT, & 2 in the CT "Not your alpha type" MASC is gone. Added a guardian ECM, DHS: 18 [36] Heat: 56/38! Standard Armor of 15.5 tons. (Hell if it worked of the catapult it will work for the Longbow. lol) You have enough cooling to cover firing the both Heavy PPC's at range. Then switch to Alpha striking with the 8 Med lasers.
I gotta say, I love the smaller channels like yourself and theses been something so satisfying as I play MW5 to listen to your videos of the different mechs. Even though I'm probably trash cause I'll run almost any missions with a single assault mech before I go down to a medium Lance 😅 it wasn't till I started watching your videos I realized if I run the nightstar with two lvl 5 gauss I literally one-shot atlas if I aim 🤣🤣
Nice. XD
And thank you!
I couldn't agree more. I know the primary focus here game wise is the tabletop, but similarly to 40k, I love the videogames, media, and the setting primarily, which makes these videos a fantastic accellerant for both - A situation that is PARTICULARLY striking for Battletech, as the surface of it's VAST multimedia potential has barely been scratched as yet. Thankfully that seems to be changing, and this channel and it's peers are a vital reason for it! 🤘😁🤘
A bit longer than I was expecting, but that's always a good thing.
Thank you for such an indepth look into a mech I really wasn't that interested in prior to this other than the fact it is an ancient design & fills the role of a missile boat that pales most other attempts.
It is a glorious time to be a BattleTech fan!
Thank you! :D
Always liked this mech. The Robotech version was the first time I saw it. Have yet to take it out on tabletop. That might change soon. 50 missiles downrange every turn is nothing to sneeze at.
Honestly I feel like trading out the LRM 5s for extra heatsinks and ammo would be a better choice.
When you want a lot of missiles and you also respect your elders, you have the Longbow!
"The hidden wars were a thing that happened." Thats very good to know thank you lol
Just saying XD
Fired up BTA 3062 at the same time I started this video. Video lasted longer than my mission, strong work.
Thank you sir!
*Longbow:* "I'm here to kick ass and shake Hanse, and I'm all out of hands!"
Shake Hanse!? :P
@BigRed40TECH shake hanse like a baby from the missile impacts, force a PSR, and watch as he falls over and knocks himself out.
really happy to find this as the im new to Battletech and the longbow is already my favorite mech to field i think all my lances have been built around it to the annoyance of my friends
Very well done. Outstanding production quality.
Much appreciated!
"Victory or defeat for the side that won out in the end" I'm stealing this
Enjoyed the video, nice to get back to the inner sphere mechs as I think they just have more interesting stories and how the mech deals with there flaws just makes the videos more interesting
This video so far is outperforming most of the Clan videos I've done, we'll see if that holds true over the weekend though, lol
This mech was such a succes it even jumped over to spinoff franchises such as the much beloved Exosquad and Gundam animated series even though its was a HG and Macross collaborative design.
What a fantastic video. Red knocking it out of the park yet again!
I like the idea of replacing the LRM5s with SRM4s for self defense. The 5s are decent smoke or incendiary launchers, but they really don't work well with the 20s. For later eras, MMLs seem like a no-brainer. Go heavy on the LRM ammo but pack just enough SRM to blow to pieces anything that thinks it can get close.
You did a good job comparing the Longbow to the mech it was intended to rival, the Archer, but I feel like other comparisons are begging to be made: the Stalker, the Awesome (AWS-8T in particular), and, most crucially, to the LRM Carrier (vehicle) which shares several traits with the Longbow 7Q.
Just because its a similar weight, doesn't mean it fills a similar role. It's not really comparable to either the Stalker or AWS tbh.
Love the longbow! Great video as always Red.
Thanks 👍
Are one hour videos going to be an ongoing thing now?
As a lore junkie myself, I am over the moon at snorting the battletech mojo, but I do worry if 40k might be overworking himself.
No! There are a ton of shorter videos planned for 3055 going forward. Don't worry. lol
The Longbow; let's make a bigger Catapult and see how well it works.
Honestly; when I first played the PC Battletech game I usually had a missile boat mech (Treb, Cat, Archer or Stalker) aimed to just knock down foes.
Still not my favorite missile boat, but I can respect it for the seniority and reliability. My first love of missile boats of the still the Catapult, and my greatest, the Kraken 3, but you have shown me that the Longbow is a venerable tool in this, one of my favorite weapon focus categories.
The two things I always forget about this thing whenever I see it
1) for whatever reason my brain wants to photoshop another pair of arms attached to the ends of the arms and call it the longer bow
2) that they decided to make this things arms look like a cross between the DK bongos and the DK barrels
Although in all seriousness thank you for making this video. I really haven't seen anyone try and cover this thing despite how it's one of the oldest mechs in universe and one of the first ones of the artillery/lrm boat type that i know of.
I enjoy these long form videos. My thanks.
Glad to hear it, and more to come :)
@@BigRed40TECH
Excellent! I'll be around for them.
Really liked this one, Red. I think it's your best video yet.
Yea, I thought this one was a real winner. :)
When you need to level 3 city blocks, any version of the Longbow will do.
Great long form video Red! All hail long range BOOM BOOM! I
Boom!
Wonderful video, I really like the feel of this video, the introduction and overall pacing was very good. I've never really liked the Longbow, preferring to use Crusaders, Trebuchets, and Whitworths for that fire support role, but this video has caused me to reconsider my position.
Well done!
I do love your use of music from the mechwarror games. I noticed you mostly use music from 2 mercenaries which is arguably the most popular of the original games. It was the first one I played and was a very well made, thought out, and easy to play and understand game. While 3 had superior graphica and game engine, the Story, Music, Tone, Progression, etc in 2 mercenaries was by far much better. I still have the Discs for the mechwarror series up through 4 Mercenaries (a Christmas gift from my late dad who wasn't into the franchise but still supported my interest in it which is why I'll never get rid of the discs) sitting around but 2 Mercenaries holds a special place in my heart with it being the first one I played.
It's just narrative framing really. lol
And now the ultimate change: equip the Longbow with Clan tech LRM racks. Not only are you saving some serious mass and space you also turn anyone into swiss cheese in close combat.
Great vid of a great support fire mech :-) there are some variants with far to little armour for its speed but when you get the right one it can be useful in any lance :-)
Big fan of the fire support role, and thus I dearly hope we see this mech come to MWO. With it appearing in MW5 soon, it'll hopefully make the jump.
It should come to MWO. :)
Oh it'll be there
PGI alluded to the fact that the Crusader and Hatchetman were in MW5 DLCs before coming to MWO when they were asked if it was coming the MWO. Think it is pretty safe to say it will be.
Personally, I'd prefer not to see a return to the lrm meta in MWO.
One of my best painted 'Mech Minis. I like this one. Have yet to field it on the Tabletop though.
It'll be a blast when you do field it. :)
An absolutely terrific video!
The mech that teaches that over doing arm curls lets you bring the rain. The Thiccness!
Love me a good Longbow.
When paired with an Awesome and either two brawlers or a brawler and a scout you have a Lance that is pretty difficult to take down.
Amazing video on one of my most favorite 'mechs!
"Hey StarCorps what's your great fire support mech idea?"
"We will just make it big, decently armored, give it a bunch of missiles, and put some of the launchers in the arms for better fire arcs."
"Oh come on! That is stupidly simple!"
"Yes and..?" - starts counting checks
Funnily enough, it's older than Starcorp industries. lol
@@BigRed40TECH Shh, no one needs to know the Ford-Willy's Jeep was designed by the Bantam Car Company either.
In my opinion this mech and the stalker are the most common assault mechs in battletech
They are definitely 2 of them. I think the Stalker is likely the most common.
Sometimes it's good to enjoy the simple things in life, like being able to reduce a football field's worth of anything to rubble in a single salvo.
Apparently I accidentally made a variation of the 14V using the spitfire: twin LPPCs and 8 MRM10s with endo, light ferro, and a light fusion. Horrifying to face against if it gets the first word in, especially with how quickly the MRMs can cycle.
Longbow 10K: What if King Crabs were worse? Thanks, Steiner!
The Longbow is the mech in which the installation of an XL reactor (IE) or an XXL really makes sense, (although what the XXL demands for spaces calls it into question). The scope of the Arrow IV makes it possibly going to be a hammer unless it has a Naga of the clans also with Arrow IV (in this case the introduction of the XXL is more justified and not so painful and the additional scope of a map on the I.S. version makes it a deadly insurance).
The Longbow is always a safe as long as it is used carefully and is protected at a distance with other mech that prevent the enemy from approaching it at sufficiently short distances. That's easier said than done, as soon as the clans enter the scene. Even so, even if they do not survive the battle, they may have opted for victory if they have had a little luck.
Great video and wow the effort that you put into this.😮
You should see the Stone Rhino video XD
I will
very nice... you do a great Job with these lore Videos. 👌
Glad you like them!
The Longbow looks like someone merely redesigned and restyled a Catapult with circular and movable missile pipes instead of fixed missile cubes.
Ok this video convices me to upgrade my lance by one weight braket. But only if the longbow is the only assault mech in that formation.
Awesome job. Keep up the great work
Thank you!
Awesome video. Thanks
Glad you liked it!
MOAR. MISSILES.
Cheers
MOAR.
It's different from other Longbows: it won't hesitate to peg you
a mech I use in concert with Archers and Crusaders to rain unspeakable hell upon those in my path.
for the most part
updates and upgrades are more swaps for Clan Tech that is smaller, lighter and generally more efficient, meaning I'm going to bring the pain and then some!
a 255 rated Clan XL engine beats in the heart of this beast while Clan tech Endosteel makes up it's frame. Clan Double H.S. make sure this mech NEVER gets hot.
the Gyro and cockpit remain unchanged.
armor is slathered on to the maximum the chassis can carry meaning this mech can take a hit or three.
Clan Tech LRM's replace the I.S. ones and the 5's get replaced by yet another pair of 20's for a scary total of 80 tubes.
CASE is applied as is standard for ammo dependent designs and those racks get fed plenty of missiles such that this engine of death can continue to rain death when nearly all other units have run out of ammunition!
when operated in groups for line breaking, this mech is guarded by Marauders, Awesome 9Q's, and King Crabs toting the deadly Gauss Rifles.
Schreks & Alacorns bring conventional support making sure any foolish enough to stand their ground pays the ultimate price!
Yellow Jackets buzz around looking for trouble to Snipe out of existence.
close in weaponry like Medium Lasers aren't needed because anyone dumb enough to get in this Mech's face will disappear in a hail of missiles as Clan Tech LRM's have no minimum Range penalty.
they might be slow, but they are VERY well protected!
I like to think that the 10K variant is mixed in the LRM variants in a lance lol
I imagine a flanking force trying to take out a lance of these only to be met by a hail of UAC20 being flung into their mechs and cockpits.
Also can't wait for it to appear in the new DLC.
When I ran across these in MW 4, I would refit the LRMs to Clan variants, and if I remember correctly, I either could double stack 20s, or do 20 and a 15 in each. I didn't use xl engines when I had the option, and go for the slower speed and high ammo counts. Slap in a couple mediums for a flea run up, as thy did regularly, and it was good for low skill lancemate pilots, as I preferred more rounded personal mechs, or laser/ppc focuses. I hate stopping fire with a working weapon. I would say the the arrow 4 option would have interest in some points, but most games you rarely have the good range to really capitalize on it. Tho, there was a case of the mad dog/vulture in the collesium in MW4 carrying an arrow 3 and a 4 and about nothing else as grand melee dueling mech.
I remember tinkering with these for the MW4 Mercenaries Solaris missions. I think at one point I shaved most of the armor off to make room for quad LRM 20's in the arms and LRM 5's in the torso.
I ended up glitching out the game with so many missiles they'd collide on launch and blow up right in front of me damaging the mech if I tried to alphastrike instead of ripple fire. 😆
Starcorps Industries stay winning!