@@jeremysaklad6703 Depends on the set up. Hide the infantry in buildings and the mech might not even know it is in danger until it is swarmed by attacks. It's the same tactics that kill tanks in modern combat.
Many of the early Battletech novels make numerous references to Inferno SRM armed infantry being a Mechwarrior's worst nightmare, especially in built-up terrain like cities or forests. It's also important that infantry are relatively cheap to train and equip compared to mechs and mechwarriors.
Cheap in cbills starts going out the window a bit when you get past a bare bones foot rifle platoon. But they are cheap in terms of their other requirements. Basically any industrialized society pumps out people, food, rifles and light vehicles. You can more or less have as many grunts as you feel like paying for. Meanwhile mechs, and to an extent heavy combat vehicles can only be produced at a trickle and require rare and expensive resources worked in complicated ways. This is basically the case now comparing production of modern MBTs to Infantry. ...of course it takes ~20 years to 'manufacture' a human soldier, and it might only take weeks for a factory to make a mech. But the cool thing is we produce other humans massively in parallel from home.
"Take on a 'Mech with a satchel charge? Sure, it's been done. But they don't know how often some hotshot 'Mech pilot does see someone hiding in a bush and goes ahead and steps on the guy because he just might be carrying an inferno launcher, satchel charge, or a portable SRM - or just for the hell of it!" -Sergeant Ramage, Grey Death Legion infantry (from Mercenary's Star by William H Keith, Jr.)
And this is where being 'sneaky' comes in to play. You leave obvious heat sources that 'look' human for the Mech to stomp or waste heat firing upon, and ambush from covered positions. 'Getting inside the head' of the Pilot, can often sway the battle in your favor.
@franksmedley7372 I distinctly remember reading an article talking about insurgent forces in Iraq attempting to ambush US convoys at night. Now, the insurgents had a problem- the convoy escorts were equipped with thermal imaging that could pick up on the heat signatures of ambushers out in the cool desert nights. So what did the insurgents do? They simply covered themselves with layers of blankets to insulate their body heat and make them harder to spot. Infantry will always find some hairbrained scheme to outsmart a fancy gadget, if you give them enough time.
@@angryscotsman93 Reminds me how the Yugoslavian army hid their tanks in railway tunnels while using logs and burning barrels to fool NATO. To quote Malcolm Reynolds - "Advice from an old tracker. You want to find someone? Use your eyes."
@117Aster yeah, that'll do it- modern tech really is amazing, and it can be a serious war-winner in the right circumstances, but clever bastards with a lot of time on their hands can find some surprisingly ingenious countermeasures. And speaking of, have you heard about the Marines fooling DARPA tech with cardboard boxes?
I actually use infantry fairly often in city fights. Nothing turns your opponent's stomach more than realizing that his Assault Mech's heavy autocannon, gauss rifles, and heavy lasers are only exploding one grunt at a time as they get their armor pecked off from ten different directions simultaneously. Sure, I may not win if there's a time limit, but neither is he. "Tarpit" is my middle name.
Armor? Who cares about armor? If a leg attack hits, it deals a crit. Doesn't take many leg crits to make the whole leg not work anymore. Do it again and the mech's inoperative, and better yet, if you have mech techs it won't be too much time before they can restore it to operation working for your side (after you drag the pilot out of the cockpit of course).
@@44R0Ndin, exactly I remember playing in a mission back in 04-05 hidden infantry crippled one of my mechs legs forcing me to fall back least I get destroyed
Or you hit em with enough infernos that it either becomes very very very uncomfortable for said pilot inside, they can’t fire their primarily weapons due to the residue heat, or your cooking them that much the reactor and ammo starts going crazy.
@@dmaxcustom Flamers are nice and all, but small lasers or machine guns kill Elementals and other battle armor just as well as normal infantry. If you wanna be really mean, you use Inferno SRMs. But I'm not that mean, and I'm not in the business of shutting down mechs with heat (that causes ammo explosions more often than I'm comfortable with, much rather take out the legs with infantry of my own or the cockpit with a high damage weapon like a PPC, AC-20, or gauss rifle instead)
Battletech Infantry: When the Awesome with 3 PPCs is considerably less terrifying than the Locust 5T (Moving at 129 km/h with 6 light machine guns paired up to arrays).
No joke! I was running an Awesome and it took a CT crit (snake eyes location) from an infantry SRM and gave me 2 engine hits before the mech fight even began. That tuned infantry turned its firing capabilities into a medium mech with 2 points of damage.
Against Infantry, I would prefer the Locust 4M UV (LCT-4M UV). Which mounts EIGHT ER Small Lasers and a single Medium Laser, for a total of 27 damage potential. With 10 IS-DSHS, it can 'run and gun' all day and never overheat. Yes, I know, actually 'running' and using all weapons would generate 21 heat, but my point stands. 8 small lasers would devastate Infantry, even in 'cover'.
@@franksmedley7372 Lot of wasted tonnage really, just get an ER Flamer, 1t 2d6 dmg at 7 hex vs 4t 8 dmg at 5 hex. You can then put the other 3t into ERMLs to better deal with armor.
@@KageRyuu6 Why go with ERMLs when you could choose small VSP lasers instead? Who needs range when you're fast enough to get into an enemy mech's back arc, fire, and get back out of their range, all while having such a high TMM that you're nearly impossible to land a hit on unless they have something like a targeting computer AND clan pulse lasers?
@@franksmedley7372 That's less damage than the standard Locust when fighting Infantry though, you'll be killing 9 Infantry for 21 heat, where the stock LCT-1V kills 4d6+1 infantry for 3 heat. If you really want to shred infantry though, the Locust 5T and 1Vb are where it's at. 6d6+1 with the 5Ts 6 LMGs, and 4d6+7 from the 1Vb's twinned small pulse and medium pulse lasers (and a single standard medium which doesn't contribute much).
Always listen to Captain Ramage of the Grey Death Legion: "Your training as an infantry recruit involves rifle practice, trench digging, and hole digging. Here is your rifle, and here is your shovel: Dig a damn hole, infantryman!"
Always loved how they had games for different forms of combat for that extra level of granularity. BattleTroops for Infantry, BattleSpace for WarShips/DropShips, BattleForce for hex and counter style games and Succession Wars for Strategic level play.
One of my favourite things about Infantry in Battletech's ruleset is that they're not treated as disposable fodder for pitched fights (though you can use them for that if you so decline). Instead they're amazing for holding ground, and utility purposes. Combat Engineers let you lay down bridges, clear minefields, and do a great number of other things that Mechs and Vehicles can't do easily. That same infantry unit can spot for indirect fire, load ammo/cargo, and more.
@@kalashnikovdevil Yeah in 40k titans don't tend to last very long in the battlefield once there void shields pop. Once there gone they bassicly usually get pelted into becoming molten slag. The seige of vraks and the invasion of Armageddon are 2 good examples.
My love for BT infantry was born when I saw a dude in SRM Squad hit a Wolverine in the back and straight into the feelings, doing 3 Engine Crits. 60 BV well spent.
The Mech Myth: Most leaders in Battletech pay careful attention to the mech forces on each side. When the mech forces of one side are routed, the other military assets are either pulled back to cover them, or thrown at the enemy to create an opportunity to recover and repair the retreating mechs. Mechs are powerful, and they are the spear of any strike force. That said... both the military and civilian leaders in the Battletech universe put too much emphasis on mechs. Often, when the mech forces are routed, the leaders will give up without considering the use of tank and infantry. While using just conventional military to defend against a mech force will lead to a huge number of casualties, conventional forces will grind down mech units and force them to retreat for repairs, or over commit and lose mechs. On lightly populated worlds, such casualties should stop the leaders from using infantry to stop an invasion. On worlds that have populations in the millions on the other hand, as long as the leadership is determined to win infantry can hold until the invaders grind themselves to dust. What stops that from happening is hundreds of years of mech tactics taught to every commander in the inner sphere, which is ironic since there are plenty of notable exceptions. Especially in the history of the Cappellan Confederation during the succession wars where it used poorly armed but desperate infantry units to prevent the loss of strategically important words when the Cappellan's own mech forces couldn't do the job.
i once ran into an infantry using the MW5 infantry mod, all my CN9-ALs lasers were on cooldown but it was modified i dont think the PPC left much of that poor man behind, R.I.P. MW5 infantryman
". . . full strategic mobilization does its own wonders to warfare so infantry did then what all infantry do when time gets hard they dug a hole and they started stacking bodies. If anything other than infantry showed up these weapons were their patron saints: the Demolisher, the SRM carrier, the Manticore . . ." ~tex
I just imagine mechwarriors hesitating at the sight of infantry. Not because they're the biggest threat on the field, but they're weighing which weapon system they can waste the least amount of combat power on, against the possibility that they're missing the squad with the Inferno SRMs lining up on their ass from some window.
Catyalyst Games really needs to invest in artworks to 'update' the looks of the various House and Mercenary Infantry uniforms and their gear. The original artworks are, indeed, horrible.
@franksmedley7372 Well, we have the updated Force Manuals and the BattleTech Universe book coming out. Let's hope those cover the infantry to some extent.
no matter how advanced technology gets during combat you will need boots on the ground to hold ground or go into areas the big toys simply can't get into
I loved using infantry versus other players on tabletop back in the day. It annoyed them something crazy and made me smile. *Great lore channel, thanks.*
I've never played the tabletop game so I don't know anything about it, but would you just use infantry or did you have a mix of vehicles and mechs as well but heavily based you army around your infantry?
@@theQuickining I would supported my mechs with annoying infantry and a little armor. It was just fun, plus I loved painting mini's. Been doing table top since the 80's, started with Micro Armor Tackforce.
Infantry has to be without a doubt an essential feature in our group’s Alpha Strike and Classic games. I have fond memories of printing out a jump platoon for my buddy and then later tearing my hair out as the buggers leapt from building to building when I tried to pin them down with my mechs in the next game.
For as long as there is war; there will be the infantry. For as long as there is infantry, they shall walk in the mud. All hail to the infantry, most flexible of all military forces
One of my favorite examples of infantry in Battletech comes from the novel, "Ideal War," where a member of a newly christened order of mechwarrior knights under House Marik is sent to investigate a dirty, old-school guerrilla war with none of the honor they were meant to promote, and where mechs had been mostly useless. It's a pretty brutal story in parts, but the grizzled infantry it portrayed as the only ones having any sense was pretty funny at parts, with them looking at most mechwarriors as naive idiots and crazies while they are left busy doing all the real work. The audiobook version is something I could put on at any time, and considering it is one of the few that can be found here on RUclips I frequently do. Highly recommended.
The one thing that I enjoy more than anything about playing with infantry, is the fact that regardless of what the weapon is, it does one point of damage to a mech. Whether it be an assault rifle, a pistol, a laser rifle, or even a recoilless rifle.
With those rules, might as well just throw a bunch of AKs into the hands of peasants, blow a bugle, and have them run at the enemy going full dakka. (I think the technical term is "crit seeking.")
I remember playing in a TT Battletech VIP Capture/Assassination mission were we had to prevent the VIP from escaping in a transport shuttle at the spaceport it was players vs the GM we had to move through the city to get to the spaceport hidden infantry units would make it difficult I had to fall back after suffering crippling damage from a swarm attack but we won when a teammate remembered we could attack the launch rail itself damaging it so the VIP couldn't escape
i love the image of infantry fighting mechs so much that its actually what convinced me to try get into tabletop tbh, and im pretty sure ive 3d printed more squads of infantry (and APCs to carry them) than actual BattleMechs so far 😅
Oh! Bruce Patnaudes creations are freaking AWESOME! I found him while looking up Battletech line art. Been following Renegade HPG since if found the video titled “ Tex, Michael Stackpole, Blaine Lee Pardoe and Renegade HPG Talk BattleTech.” I’m currently reading “Warrior: En Garde”
Jayden Morris also did the art piece too, I just forgot to mention in the artwork. Though he doesn't have any social media accounts for me to reference :(
In my houserule battletech games, infantry gain bonuses when fighting 'mechs in urban settings. Nothing quite like losing a Highlander to a platoon of srm troopers hidden on the 7th floor.
All glory to Cassandra "Cassie" Suthorn, member of the 17. Recon "Camachos Caballeros". The one man Army who kills Mechs for fun! Best example how infantry can indeed overcome the threat of Battlemechs.
Back in the early days of BT when infantry/combined arms were first implemented in the game we jumped at the chance to do that. And we did so because we knew how much of a deciding factor combined arms and especially infantry would be. We did so because my whole playing group were infantrymen themselves.
Yes! Been waiting on your take on PBI. The most common and least appreciated element of 31st and 32nd century warfare, and proof that life in the Inner Sphere is cheap.
As a Mercenary Combined Arms Player,. Knowing the capabilities of your Infantry, Battlearmor and Light Armored Vehicles in a city or forested area is very important when supporting one another. Hopefully, more than your opponent. Compared to most, I enjoy dense city or forested environments. Hopefully after a rout or victory, there is enough salvage to compensate for the repair or losses.
Awesome video on my favorite units in any setting, the humble infantryman. Never underestimate well-positioned and well led infantry to ruin your mechs day!
Agreed. Although, one should keep in mind the saying of General Lee in the Civil War. 'To be a good General, you must love your troops. To be a great General, you must risk that which you love'.
I remember the lovely crunch that infantry made under your mech's feet in Crescent Hawks Inception. I also remember that every once in a while a lone infantryman will survive a direct hit by a medium laser. I can't imagine he looked very pretty after, though.
Good stuff. Nice to see the art for FWL Achileus battle armour in there (Purple Bird Strong!). If you do dive deeper in the future I’d love to hear about different units/regiments, models of battle armour, etc. Keep up the good work👍
This video was an excellent overview of the role infantry units play in Battletech. the PBI rarely gets the spotlight, but if they're not present then nothing is ultimately at stake. It should be noted that combat infantry units were present in the Gray Death Legion trilogy early on in game history. So, the grunts have a pretty deep legacy in the game. Being able to use infantry well to harass and hinder the enemy force is the sign of a veteran Battletech player.
Big reason I love combined arms battles, a company or 2 of infantry with arty support & some IFVs, tanks and maybe helos can take on lances of mechs for the same point value or if using C-bills punch way above its value
I played a game of classic BattleTech against a friend that loved using infantry, we usually play by BV and unit organization (ex. 8000 bv2 and lance V lance) in this game we decided to just do whatever, I brought 3 locusts 2 phoenix hawks, a Warhammer, and some aircraft for bombing, he brought, only infantry. I won because of a few lucky rolls, but it was a slug fest. I wouldn't do it again, but the game was fun.
I love this video and I'm excited to see what comes next. I find that infantry keeps mech deployment honest in my campaigns. We all love PPCs, but they don't do much against a platoon of 28 dudes. My players know that they have to bring a lighter mech or two with MGs and flamers just in case.
Jump infantry, SRM troops and Mechanized atv spotters are among my favorite. Can't say how often atv spotters have ruined some ones day. Can't take ground till you have boots on it.
Good video, There are a lot of people who need to be reminded that these integral unis exist in Battle tech. Best example is the The Battletech (2016) vidoe game. in base capture or recovery missions a mech rolls up to a building waits a round and whatever needs to happen, happens. Would they not need troops to enter the building to capture it or to recover the prisoner, to get them to the mech. I really hope there is a mod for the game that will add Infantry units.
IIRC in the early days of the Clan Invasion the Inner Sphere was so thrown by Elementals that people legitimately wondered if they were fighting aliens.
All infantry in the Inner Sphere must have dropped to their knees and thanked Kerensky when Elemental armor was captured and reverse engineered to the Inner Sphere Standard :)
If you look at the energy of 'Mech weapons, even a small laser has enough power to turn a human being into red mist. Think about what that must be like for the ground troops. A 'Mech even looks in your direction and one or more of you just don't exist anymore.
Even worse, if it's a normal laser, the mech can sweep the beam across a position and possibly take out multiple infantry with a single pass. Imagine watching an entire fireteam just get burnt out of existence by a weapon that most Mechwarriors wouldn't even bother to laugh at. Of course, the fact that your platoon probably has some crew-served or throwaway launchers on-hand that can ruin said 'mech's day might make the loss a little easier to bear. I wouldn't be surprised if there're some INFAMOUS light infantry units from the Inner Sphere that specialize as 'mech hunters.
As a grunt who loves grand strategy myself I appreciate this video and its viewpoints and explanations. Goes back to an old adage of mine "The war isn't over until some Grunt's boot is in someone's chair"
Combined arms makes for the best Battletech games, IMHO. Sure, mechs are sexy; but including infantry, tanks, artillery, and VTOLs into a force make it much more flexible.
Great as always! The uses of infantry really puts the Gùn video into context by outlining the sort of forces it might come up against and be used in support of.
Yes! I love this. Now I also NEED a battletech / mechwarrior game where I am playing as an infantry soldier. Could be an awesome experience. Can't wait for you to reach air fighters / space fighters. So hyped for some air/space supremacy lore.
Infantry running at ~11 kph, while the slower assault Mechs move at ~30 kph. You are not going to catch up with them. Instead you should grab a laser designator for your LRM buddies, and hope nobody fires lasers at you (lasers because they have no ammo limits so can random-fire for the entire game).
@@andrewamann2821 It's very old but the game that in my opinion gets closest to battle armor is Terra Nova Strike Force Centauri. while I would not say that it aged well it is definitely worth a look since it is cheap and feels a bit like visiting a museum.
I understand the emphasis on man portable weapons yet I wonder if towed variants of existing heavy weapons are considered in this rule set. Howitzers, mortars and field guns might be utilized by militias that don't have the financial backing needed to field 'mechs. Just asking. S'been a while since I played the TTMG. Still have my old Ral Partha figs somewhere around here.
Yeah. Infantry are overlooked for the big stompy robits, but they are just as deadly in the right circumstances. I got a Merc company put together, finally. One version is just 'Mechs for simplicity's sake, while another has a Behemoth tank and a handful of battle armor dudes. Not quite infantry, but close enough for a start, I suppose. Anyhow, great work as always, BR40K.
Wow, I was trying to look up infantry rules and tactics about 2 days ago and it's a desert out there. Then this comes along! Colorful, educational, and timely. Cheers!
Field Guns, the great equalizer, it's all fun and games till the PFI reveal a Gauss Rifle pointed back at you. Especially if those PFI are Dug-In to Heavy Woods with Camo Sneak Suits, for a +7 Hit mod. Though don't discount Ballistic Plate either, being able to cut a Flamer down from 24 max damage to 12 can be a godsend.
I'd rather be an infantryman than a member of a vehicle crew. At least an infantryman has a chance of being beneath the notice of a battlemech. A tank/vehicle crew is either at least somewhat of a threat, or target practice.
Great video! I kinda thought HBS Battletech could use some infantry in it. You could just have the infantry squad represented by a hex or square and only typically fight in urban areas hoping between different covers. As the mech you just need to get close enough to know where they are and just destory the building to wipe out the squad. Maybe Battletech 2? Haha
@Big Red 40k Thats a real shame! Battletech was one of the few PC games I happily bought all the DLC for and the one PC game I come back to every other year. Well at least they got mods haha
Thousands of feet march to the beat It's an army in despair Knee-deep in mud Stuck in the trench with no way out Thousands of machineguns Kept on firing through the night Mortars blazed and wrecked the scene Guns in the fields that once were green
The exotic types of infantry are pretty cool too. The FWL has their own unique troop variant called the Branth Irregulars. While rare and largely restricted to their home planet, they ride giant flying lizards named Branth into combat. On top of the traditional infantry weapons, Branth themselves are strong enough to damage light Battlemechs, to say nothing about the standard infantryman on the ground.
Although not ever specifically mentioned 'in game', old style Calvary, with satchel charge tipped 'lances' could take down Light Mechs fairly easily, and be hidden even from IR sensors with a little effort. Such an attack would be 'unconventional', and would usually take a Pilot by utter surprise... at least for the first few attacks. This would have the net effect of 'slowing' the advance of such fast moving Mechs, making them 'fear' such a 'charge', and allowing emplaced gun batteries to have a 'field day' picking them apart from range. Follow this up with Jump Infantry in buildings the Mechs have to pass by, or Battle Armor, and you can get away with mixing up these kinds of attacks and keep an attacker off balanced and on the 'defensive' as they attempt to press their attacks.
Field Gun equipped infantry dug in is a tough nut, and if Battletech reflected the effectiveness of Shoulder fired anti-armor weapons, elementals would be dead meat
Infantry is another realm in which the SLDF surpassed the Great houses and Comstar even through to the Dark Age. Theirs was a time when Mauser Pulse laser rifles were standard issue, infantry kits had 360° sensor coverage where comstar only retained 1/3 capability. Making them almost like ODSTs to the great houses militia
Just found this video, actually had a few fun games just using the Mechwarrior book and played as infantry and special ops kind of adventures rather than just stompy robot jocks... also used to convert another game systems stats and combat into these kind of games. The system was a game xalled Psi World. Its a great cover all game. Its one of the few games i still have from back then
One thing I've wondered about in Battletech, is do they have the equivalent of Special Operations for regular army forces. Stuff like the Rangers, the SAS or the KSK. As best as I can tell, Rangers existed in the FedCom, but I'm not sure what they were. I know DEST, MI6 (Rabid Foxes) and Loki exist, but those are black operations, more like the CIA or OGA than white SOF. Closest they seem to have is Jump Infantry, but again there are no units. Ofc Battletech is a place where the lords of the battlefield get focused on, but SOF are rad as hell lol.
@@BigRed40TECH 👍I figured as much. Every army has a need for commandos and operators, I'm more just surprised that they don't seem to have names in Battletech. But it's a super niche section of the table top game already, I shouldn't be surprised haha.
i would like to point out that BT also has space and xeno marines. While I'm not sure what the current rule set is for boarding operations on jump or warships infantry specialized in combat in zero gravity or airless moons are a thing.
Though our tanks and artillery are mighty, it is the vast ranks of Imperial Guardsmen that shall trample the enemy to dust - let them come.--Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)
God love the poor bloody infantry. I certainly do. In the right setting, with the right tactics, your grunts can absolutely shape and control a battlefield, punishing your opponent for daring to try to break out of the killing fields you've set up with your mechs and armor.
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You can blow up an objective, you can irradiate it, but you won't be able to control it until you send in infantry.
Cool
My Firestarter says otherwise.
@@jtjames79 : With the 'right' terrain, Infantry can easily 'take down' your Firestarter. And walk away for beers.
@@franksmedley7372 I don't think all of them would walk away.
@@jeremysaklad6703 Depends on the set up. Hide the infantry in buildings and the mech might not even know it is in danger until it is swarmed by attacks. It's the same tactics that kill tanks in modern combat.
Many of the early Battletech novels make numerous references to Inferno SRM armed infantry being a Mechwarrior's worst nightmare, especially in built-up terrain like cities or forests. It's also important that infantry are relatively cheap to train and equip compared to mechs and mechwarriors.
"Life is cheap, Battlemechs aren't "
@@jamesricker3997 Screw the meat, save the metal.
"Aim for the cockpits boys!"
Cheap in cbills starts going out the window a bit when you get past a bare bones foot rifle platoon. But they are cheap in terms of their other requirements. Basically any industrialized society pumps out people, food, rifles and light vehicles. You can more or less have as many grunts as you feel like paying for. Meanwhile mechs, and to an extent heavy combat vehicles can only be produced at a trickle and require rare and expensive resources worked in complicated ways. This is basically the case now comparing production of modern MBTs to Infantry.
...of course it takes ~20 years to 'manufacture' a human soldier, and it might only take weeks for a factory to make a mech. But the cool thing is we produce other humans massively in parallel from home.
@@jamesricker3997actually inner sphere ones generally are
Rpgs would be standard issue. At least in real armys.
"Take on a 'Mech with a satchel charge? Sure, it's been done. But they don't know how often some hotshot 'Mech pilot does see someone hiding in a bush and goes ahead and steps on the guy because he just might be carrying an inferno launcher, satchel charge, or a portable SRM - or just for the hell of it!" -Sergeant Ramage, Grey Death Legion infantry (from Mercenary's Star by William H Keith, Jr.)
And this is where being 'sneaky' comes in to play. You leave obvious heat sources that 'look' human for the Mech to stomp or waste heat firing upon, and ambush from covered positions. 'Getting inside the head' of the Pilot, can often sway the battle in your favor.
@franksmedley7372 I distinctly remember reading an article talking about insurgent forces in Iraq attempting to ambush US convoys at night. Now, the insurgents had a problem- the convoy escorts were equipped with thermal imaging that could pick up on the heat signatures of ambushers out in the cool desert nights. So what did the insurgents do? They simply covered themselves with layers of blankets to insulate their body heat and make them harder to spot. Infantry will always find some hairbrained scheme to outsmart a fancy gadget, if you give them enough time.
@@angryscotsman93 Reminds me how the Yugoslavian army hid their tanks in railway tunnels while using logs and burning barrels to fool NATO. To quote Malcolm Reynolds - "Advice from an old tracker. You want to find someone? Use your eyes."
@117Aster yeah, that'll do it- modern tech really is amazing, and it can be a serious war-winner in the right circumstances, but clever bastards with a lot of time on their hands can find some surprisingly ingenious countermeasures.
And speaking of, have you heard about the Marines fooling DARPA tech with cardboard boxes?
@@angryscotsman93 Mission accomplished! That's why you're the best, boss!
I actually use infantry fairly often in city fights. Nothing turns your opponent's stomach more than realizing that his Assault Mech's heavy autocannon, gauss rifles, and heavy lasers are only exploding one grunt at a time as they get their armor pecked off from ten different directions simultaneously. Sure, I may not win if there's a time limit, but neither is he.
"Tarpit" is my middle name.
Armor? Who cares about armor? If a leg attack hits, it deals a crit. Doesn't take many leg crits to make the whole leg not work anymore. Do it again and the mech's inoperative, and better yet, if you have mech techs it won't be too much time before they can restore it to operation working for your side (after you drag the pilot out of the cockpit of course).
@@44R0Ndin, exactly I remember playing in a mission back in 04-05 hidden infantry crippled one of my mechs legs forcing me to fall back least I get destroyed
Or you hit em with enough infernos that it either becomes very very very uncomfortable for said pilot inside, they can’t fire their primarily weapons due to the residue heat, or your cooking them that much the reactor and ammo starts going crazy.
Flamers. I put flamers on my mechs.
@@dmaxcustom Flamers are nice and all, but small lasers or machine guns kill Elementals and other battle armor just as well as normal infantry.
If you wanna be really mean, you use Inferno SRMs. But I'm not that mean, and I'm not in the business of shutting down mechs with heat (that causes ammo explosions more often than I'm comfortable with, much rather take out the legs with infantry of my own or the cockpit with a high damage weapon like a PPC, AC-20, or gauss rifle instead)
Battletech Infantry: When the Awesome with 3 PPCs is considerably less terrifying than the Locust 5T (Moving at 129 km/h with 6 light machine guns paired up to arrays).
No joke! I was running an Awesome and it took a CT crit (snake eyes location) from an infantry SRM and gave me 2 engine hits before the mech fight even began. That tuned infantry turned its firing capabilities into a medium mech with 2 points of damage.
Against Infantry, I would prefer the Locust 4M UV (LCT-4M UV). Which mounts EIGHT ER Small Lasers and a single Medium Laser, for a total of 27 damage potential. With 10 IS-DSHS, it can 'run and gun' all day and never overheat. Yes, I know, actually 'running' and using all weapons would generate 21 heat, but my point stands. 8 small lasers would devastate Infantry, even in 'cover'.
@@franksmedley7372 Lot of wasted tonnage really, just get an ER Flamer, 1t 2d6 dmg at 7 hex vs 4t 8 dmg at 5 hex. You can then put the other 3t into ERMLs to better deal with armor.
@@KageRyuu6 Why go with ERMLs when you could choose small VSP lasers instead?
Who needs range when you're fast enough to get into an enemy mech's back arc, fire, and get back out of their range, all while having such a high TMM that you're nearly impossible to land a hit on unless they have something like a targeting computer AND clan pulse lasers?
@@franksmedley7372 That's less damage than the standard Locust when fighting Infantry though, you'll be killing 9 Infantry for 21 heat, where the stock LCT-1V kills 4d6+1 infantry for 3 heat.
If you really want to shred infantry though, the Locust 5T and 1Vb are where it's at. 6d6+1 with the 5Ts 6 LMGs, and 4d6+7 from the 1Vb's twinned small pulse and medium pulse lasers (and a single standard medium which doesn't contribute much).
Always listen to Captain Ramage of the Grey Death Legion: "Your training as an infantry recruit involves rifle practice, trench digging, and hole digging. Here is your rifle, and here is your shovel: Dig a damn hole, infantryman!"
Always loved how they had games for different forms of combat for that extra level of granularity.
BattleTroops for Infantry, BattleSpace for WarShips/DropShips, BattleForce for hex and counter style games and Succession Wars for Strategic level play.
Aerotech for Space combat.
City Tech, for urban combat
@@franksmedley7372 RogueTech, for making you fear helicopters
We need scamtech for blockchain
@@Sk0lzky Oh absolutely lol
One of my favourite things about Infantry in Battletech's ruleset is that they're not treated as disposable fodder for pitched fights (though you can use them for that if you so decline). Instead they're amazing for holding ground, and utility purposes. Combat Engineers let you lay down bridges, clear minefields, and do a great number of other things that Mechs and Vehicles can't do easily. That same infantry unit can spot for indirect fire, load ammo/cargo, and more.
In 40k, charging *titans* with bayonets is a meme, because sometimes it works. At least battletech handles such conflict in a more plausible way.
To be fair, Titans make mechs look like tinker toys.
@@kalashnikovdevil Yeah in 40k titans don't tend to last very long in the battlefield once there void shields pop. Once there gone they bassicly usually get pelted into becoming molten slag. The seige of vraks and the invasion of Armageddon are 2 good examples.
@@kalashnikovdevil Imperators yeah, but the more common Warhounds are "just" the same size as an Atlas.
In at least one version 40k, a Titian was completely overmatched by a pack of orks with makeshift axes.
My love for BT infantry was born when I saw a dude in SRM Squad hit a Wolverine in the back and straight into the feelings, doing 3 Engine Crits. 60 BV well spent.
Infantry are just so damn effective, really.
The Mech Myth: Most leaders in Battletech pay careful attention to the mech forces on each side. When the mech forces of one side are routed, the other military assets are either pulled back to cover them, or thrown at the enemy to create an opportunity to recover and repair the retreating mechs. Mechs are powerful, and they are the spear of any strike force. That said... both the military and civilian leaders in the Battletech universe put too much emphasis on mechs. Often, when the mech forces are routed, the leaders will give up without considering the use of tank and infantry. While using just conventional military to defend against a mech force will lead to a huge number of casualties, conventional forces will grind down mech units and force them to retreat for repairs, or over commit and lose mechs. On lightly populated worlds, such casualties should stop the leaders from using infantry to stop an invasion. On worlds that have populations in the millions on the other hand, as long as the leadership is determined to win infantry can hold until the invaders grind themselves to dust. What stops that from happening is hundreds of years of mech tactics taught to every commander in the inner sphere, which is ironic since there are plenty of notable exceptions. Especially in the history of the Cappellan Confederation during the succession wars where it used poorly armed but desperate infantry units to prevent the loss of strategically important words when the Cappellan's own mech forces couldn't do the job.
@@Chris_Sizemore For the -Emperor- Chancellor!
i once ran into an infantry using the MW5 infantry mod, all my CN9-ALs lasers were on cooldown
but it was modified
i dont think the PPC left much of that poor man behind, R.I.P. MW5 infantryman
". . . full strategic mobilization does its own wonders to warfare so infantry did then what all infantry do when time gets hard they dug a hole and they started stacking bodies.
If anything other than infantry showed up these weapons were their patron saints: the Demolisher, the SRM carrier, the Manticore . . ." ~tex
I read this in his voice
@@Scriptedviolince SRM carriers are scarier than any mech
Is it bad that it took exactly three words to start hearing Tex?
Infantry: When you want to remind people why Light Mechs exist and heavier mechs carry machine guns
I just imagine mechwarriors hesitating at the sight of infantry. Not because they're the biggest threat on the field, but they're weighing which weapon system they can waste the least amount of combat power on, against the possibility that they're missing the squad with the Inferno SRMs lining up on their ass from some window.
I sometimes think about how some of the House uniforms and gear would look like
Many of the old sourcebooks have this artwork.
The newer House Handbooks has detailed descriptions of various battle dress. Sadly, there are fewer illustrations than the FASA books.
According to the old source books they look bad. They look really, really bad.
Catyalyst Games really needs to invest in artworks to 'update' the looks of the various House and Mercenary Infantry uniforms and their gear. The original artworks are, indeed, horrible.
@franksmedley7372 Well, we have the updated Force Manuals and the BattleTech Universe book coming out. Let's hope those cover the infantry to some extent.
no matter how advanced technology gets during combat you will need boots on the ground to hold ground or go into areas the big toys simply can't get into
Or caprure impotant objectives.
You know all those Machine Guns you ripped out of your Mechs...
Honestly though, nice to see love spread outside the machines in the setting.
How can I fit in the Flamer without removing the machinegun?
THINK, man, THINK
I mean, I did rip the machienguns out of the Firestarter? It's not been that much of an issue, tbh.
Small pulse lasers go brrrrrr
I loved using infantry versus other players on tabletop back in the day. It annoyed them something crazy and made me smile.
*Great lore channel, thanks.*
I've never played the tabletop game so I don't know anything about it, but would you just use infantry or did you have a mix of vehicles and mechs as well but heavily based you army around your infantry?
@@theQuickining I would supported my mechs with annoying infantry and a little armor. It was just fun, plus I loved painting mini's. Been doing table top since the 80's, started with Micro Armor Tackforce.
big red's intro is taking notes from sid meyer's civilization
Infantry has to be without a doubt an essential feature in our group’s Alpha Strike and Classic games. I have fond memories of printing out a jump platoon for my buddy and then later tearing my hair out as the buggers leapt from building to building when I tried to pin them down with my mechs in the next game.
For as long as there is war; there will be the infantry. For as long as there is infantry, they shall walk in the mud.
All hail to the infantry, most flexible of all military forces
Infantry shall always be needed to take and hold ground.
One of my favorite examples of infantry in Battletech comes from the novel, "Ideal War," where a member of a newly christened order of mechwarrior knights under House Marik is sent to investigate a dirty, old-school guerrilla war with none of the honor they were meant to promote, and where mechs had been mostly useless. It's a pretty brutal story in parts, but the grizzled infantry it portrayed as the only ones having any sense was pretty funny at parts, with them looking at most mechwarriors as naive idiots and crazies while they are left busy doing all the real work. The audiobook version is something I could put on at any time, and considering it is one of the few that can be found here on RUclips I frequently do. Highly recommended.
Let us remember and respect every brave soldier that fought valiantly against thousands of years of warfare.
o7
The one thing that I enjoy more than anything about playing with infantry, is the fact that regardless of what the weapon is, it does one point of damage to a mech. Whether it be an assault rifle, a pistol, a laser rifle, or even a recoilless rifle.
With those rules, might as well just throw a bunch of AKs into the hands of peasants, blow a bugle, and have them run at the enemy going full dakka. (I think the technical term is "crit seeking.")
@@Archangelm127 I'm suddenly reminded of that one scene from the Animatrix where massed infantry is up against one Machine
I remember playing in a TT Battletech VIP Capture/Assassination mission were we had to prevent the VIP from escaping in a transport shuttle at the spaceport it was players vs the GM we had to move through the city to get to the spaceport hidden infantry units would make it difficult I had to fall back after suffering crippling damage from a swarm attack but we won when a teammate remembered we could attack the launch rail itself damaging it so the VIP couldn't escape
i love the image of infantry fighting mechs so much that its actually what convinced me to try get into tabletop tbh, and im pretty sure ive 3d printed more squads of infantry (and APCs to carry them) than actual BattleMechs so far 😅
Get a GUN battlemech, ultimate Infantry Support Mech too :D
I love that the thumbnail is a picture of soldiers from Halo.
No mention of the founding of the Gray Death Legion? Such a prime example of infantry and combined arms.
Oh! Bruce Patnaudes creations are freaking AWESOME! I found him while looking up Battletech line art. Been following Renegade HPG since if found the video titled “ Tex, Michael Stackpole, Blaine Lee Pardoe and Renegade HPG Talk BattleTech.” I’m currently reading “Warrior: En Garde”
Jayden Morris also did the art piece too, I just forgot to mention in the artwork. Though he doesn't have any social media accounts for me to reference :(
@@BigRed40TECH Jayden Morris and Bruce Patnaudes can both be found on Artstation
In my houserule battletech games, infantry gain bonuses when fighting 'mechs in urban settings.
Nothing quite like losing a Highlander to a platoon of srm troopers hidden on the 7th floor.
Thank you so much for this. My group played a good amount of combined arms back in the day. Brought back many very good memories. Thank you for that.
Ditto here, my friend... ah, the fond memories of other Players howling that I was 'cheating'! *snerks*
Thank you for this video, as a FWL and DC player I feel that infantry and battle armor are key components of my light mech and Vega teams.
17:40 - the Mechwarrior 4:Vengeance music and the topic of infantry has me reminded of Melissa Steiner.
All glory to Cassandra "Cassie" Suthorn, member of the 17. Recon "Camachos Caballeros". The one man Army who kills Mechs for fun!
Best example how infantry can indeed overcome the threat of Battlemechs.
Atlas pilot: AWW look at the whittle infantry with aaAAA NUCLEAR DEVISE!!! AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
I remember this one crazy lady who ran into a mech fight with a sword and won.
I wonder if that’s about how the last words of the SLDF garrison was lmao
Back in the early days of BT when infantry/combined arms were first implemented in the game we jumped at the chance to do that. And we did so because we knew how much of a deciding factor combined arms and especially infantry would be. We did so because my whole playing group were infantrymen themselves.
Yes! Been waiting on your take on PBI. The most common and least appreciated element of 31st and 32nd century warfare, and proof that life in the Inner Sphere is cheap.
I actually still have my old "'Battle Troops" box set, though its been a loooong time since I've played. Really neat to hear about this again. :-)
As a Mercenary Combined Arms Player,. Knowing the capabilities of your Infantry, Battlearmor and Light Armored Vehicles in a city or forested area is very important when supporting one another. Hopefully, more than your opponent. Compared to most, I enjoy dense city or forested environments. Hopefully after a rout or victory, there is enough salvage to compensate for the repair or losses.
I've never even considered Infantry in this game. Thanks for this video, you've given me something to think about. Good stuff!
Awesome video on my favorite units in any setting, the humble infantryman. Never underestimate well-positioned and well led infantry to ruin your mechs day!
Agreed. Although, one should keep in mind the saying of General Lee in the Civil War. 'To be a good General, you must love your troops. To be a great General, you must risk that which you love'.
I remember the lovely crunch that infantry made under your mech's feet in Crescent Hawks Inception. I also remember that every once in a while a lone infantryman will survive a direct hit by a medium laser. I can't imagine he looked very pretty after, though.
Infantry-- when you need to retain that terrain
Great video, Big Red. Thank you!
Good stuff. Nice to see the art for FWL Achileus battle armour in there (Purple Bird Strong!). If you do dive deeper in the future I’d love to hear about different units/regiments, models of battle armour, etc. Keep up the good work👍
Thanks!
Fantastic coverage of "the poor bloody infantry"
Thank you!
This video was an excellent overview of the role infantry units play in Battletech. the PBI rarely gets the spotlight, but if they're not present then nothing is ultimately at stake. It should be noted that combat infantry units were present in the Gray Death Legion trilogy early on in game history. So, the grunts have a pretty deep legacy in the game. Being able to use infantry well to harass and hinder the enemy force is the sign of a veteran Battletech player.
Big reason I love combined arms battles, a company or 2 of infantry with arty support & some IFVs, tanks and maybe helos can take on lances of mechs for the same point value or if using C-bills punch way above its value
I played a game of classic BattleTech against a friend that loved using infantry, we usually play by BV and unit organization (ex. 8000 bv2 and lance V lance) in this game we decided to just do whatever, I brought 3 locusts 2 phoenix hawks, a Warhammer, and some aircraft for bombing, he brought, only infantry. I won because of a few lucky rolls, but it was a slug fest. I wouldn't do it again, but the game was fun.
I love this video and I'm excited to see what comes next. I find that infantry keeps mech deployment honest in my campaigns. We all love PPCs, but they don't do much against a platoon of 28 dudes. My players know that they have to bring a lighter mech or two with MGs and flamers just in case.
Jump infantry, SRM troops and Mechanized atv spotters are among my favorite. Can't say how often atv spotters have ruined some ones day. Can't take ground till you have boots on it.
Good video, There are a lot of people who need to be reminded that these integral unis exist in Battle tech. Best example is the The Battletech (2016) vidoe game. in base capture or recovery missions a mech rolls up to a building waits a round and whatever needs to happen, happens. Would they not need troops to enter the building to capture it or to recover the prisoner, to get them to the mech. I really hope there is a mod for the game that will add Infantry units.
I love the "wait... WHAT?!?" when an enemy stumbles across elementals dropped off by speedy omnimechs!
IIRC in the early days of the Clan Invasion the Inner Sphere was so thrown by Elementals that people legitimately wondered if they were fighting aliens.
@@Archangelm127 especially when they shrugged off .50 cal fire like confetti.
Been waiting for this one for awhile
It has arrived! Thank the RUclips Members :)
I'd hate to be an infantryman in a universe of Battlemechs.
May as well get a free coffin when you join the milita as a bonus.
@@TimberWulfIsHere I unironically set up a Widows fund for my fallen men and women for my Megamek campaign.
I'd hate to be an infantryman anywhere! I flew for a reason.
There's tanks and bombers in this universe, not much better.
All infantry in the Inner Sphere must have dropped to their knees and thanked Kerensky when Elemental armor was captured and reverse engineered to the Inner Sphere Standard :)
If you look at the energy of 'Mech weapons, even a small laser has enough power to turn a human being into red mist. Think about what that must be like for the ground troops. A 'Mech even looks in your direction and one or more of you just don't exist anymore.
The MW5 Infantry mod shows this pretty well. Shoot an infantryman with a laser and he'll flat out disintegrate.
Even worse, if it's a normal laser, the mech can sweep the beam across a position and possibly take out multiple infantry with a single pass. Imagine watching an entire fireteam just get burnt out of existence by a weapon that most Mechwarriors wouldn't even bother to laugh at.
Of course, the fact that your platoon probably has some crew-served or throwaway launchers on-hand that can ruin said 'mech's day might make the loss a little easier to bear. I wouldn't be surprised if there're some INFAMOUS light infantry units from the Inner Sphere that specialize as 'mech hunters.
@@angryscotsman93 I think the Gray Death Legion had a few such infantry units.
Though it is star wars, I think this shows in amazing detail to what you're saying.
ruclips.net/video/9V5qP2J7hT0/видео.html
@@mill2712 Good one! Though I'd say dino-droid's weapon is more of a PPC than a small laser...
AMAZING video Red, as ever. Never underestimate infantry!
As a grunt who loves grand strategy myself I appreciate this video and its viewpoints and explanations. Goes back to an old adage of mine "The war isn't over until some Grunt's boot is in someone's chair"
Combined arms makes for the best Battletech games, IMHO. Sure, mechs are sexy; but including infantry, tanks, artillery, and VTOLs into a force make it much more flexible.
SO good! I am extremely excited to try combined arms play
Take a look at a srm or LRM carrier or two. For 800 ish points you get a piece that shoots 60 of either for which moves 54kph.
War, War never changes. It will always need boits on the ground. Great video.
Great as always! The uses of infantry really puts the Gùn video into context by outlining the sort of forces it might come up against and be used in support of.
that was AWESOME!!!! starting up battletech.
Ultimate fear as an infantry platoon, Firestarter. 🔥 🔥 🔥
Mmmm.
Rear mounted flamer and jump jets, for when there's infantry in every building
Yes! I love this. Now I also NEED a battletech / mechwarrior game where I am playing as an infantry soldier. Could be an awesome experience.
Can't wait for you to reach air fighters / space fighters. So hyped for some air/space supremacy lore.
Titanfall isnt a bad choice. Titanfall 1 and 2 are great games and have a semi-Battletech feel.
Mechassault (or maybe Mechassault 2?) had segments with Power Armor/Elemental armor, iirc...
Mechwarrior living legends if it is still going
Infantry running at ~11 kph, while the slower assault Mechs move at ~30 kph. You are not going to catch up with them. Instead you should grab a laser designator for your LRM buddies, and hope nobody fires lasers at you (lasers because they have no ammo limits so can random-fire for the entire game).
@@andrewamann2821 It's very old but the game that in my opinion gets closest to battle armor is Terra Nova Strike Force Centauri. while I would not say that it aged well it is definitely worth a look since it is cheap and feels a bit like visiting a museum.
I understand the emphasis on man portable weapons yet I wonder if towed variants of existing heavy weapons are considered in this rule set. Howitzers, mortars and field guns might be utilized by militias that don't have the financial backing needed to field 'mechs. Just asking. S'been a while since I played the TTMG. Still have my old Ral Partha figs somewhere around here.
Yeah. Infantry are overlooked for the big stompy robits, but they are just as deadly in the right circumstances.
I got a Merc company put together, finally. One version is just 'Mechs for simplicity's sake, while another has a Behemoth tank and a handful of battle armor dudes. Not quite infantry, but close enough for a start, I suppose.
Anyhow, great work as always, BR40K.
Wow, I was trying to look up infantry rules and tactics about 2 days ago and it's a desert out there.
Then this comes along! Colorful, educational, and timely. Cheers!
War, war never changes
Great video, really interesting topic and really well delivered, I loved the care and humanity that went into it!
An excellent video, I was deployed with a Mech Inf unit in Iraq, bit different from these guys though! :D Superb stuff and great art too!
Most of the art in this video, sadly, isn't for Battletech :(
They have very limited art of infantry atm, at least that's not extremely dated
@@BigRed40TECH Aye but it still works fine and you did a great breakdown of the infantry.
Field Guns, the great equalizer, it's all fun and games till the PFI reveal a Gauss Rifle pointed back at you. Especially if those PFI are Dug-In to Heavy Woods with Camo Sneak Suits, for a +7 Hit mod. Though don't discount Ballistic Plate either, being able to cut a Flamer down from 24 max damage to 12 can be a godsend.
I'd rather be an infantryman than a member of a vehicle crew. At least an infantryman has a chance of being beneath the notice of a battlemech. A tank/vehicle crew is either at least somewhat of a threat, or target practice.
Just a thought: We may pay the butcher's bill, MechJock; but never forget, we also get the choicest cuts of the meat.
Ducimus!
Great video! Looking forward to more.
Great video! I kinda thought HBS Battletech could use some infantry in it. You could just have the infantry squad represented by a hex or square and only typically fight in urban areas hoping between different covers. As the mech you just need to get close enough to know where they are and just destory the building to wipe out the squad. Maybe Battletech 2? Haha
Sadly, I don't think we're getting BATTLETECH 2 :(
@Big Red 40k Thats a real shame! Battletech was one of the few PC games I happily bought all the DLC for and the one PC game I come back to every other year. Well at least they got mods haha
Thousands of feet
March to the beat
It’s an army on the March
Long way
From home
Paying the price in young men’s lives
What’s the price of a mile (sabaton)
Thousands of feet march to the beat
It's an army in despair
Knee-deep in mud
Stuck in the trench with no way out
Thousands of machineguns
Kept on firing through the night
Mortars blazed and wrecked the scene
Guns in the fields that once were green
Fascinating to see non-mech videos here. And I'm hear for it!
The exotic types of infantry are pretty cool too. The FWL has their own unique troop variant called the Branth Irregulars. While rare and largely restricted to their home planet, they ride giant flying lizards named Branth into combat. On top of the traditional infantry weapons, Branth themselves are strong enough to damage light Battlemechs, to say nothing about the standard infantryman on the ground.
Although not ever specifically mentioned 'in game', old style Calvary, with satchel charge tipped 'lances' could take down Light Mechs fairly easily, and be hidden even from IR sensors with a little effort. Such an attack would be 'unconventional', and would usually take a Pilot by utter surprise... at least for the first few attacks. This would have the net effect of 'slowing' the advance of such fast moving Mechs, making them 'fear' such a 'charge', and allowing emplaced gun batteries to have a 'field day' picking them apart from range. Follow this up with Jump Infantry in buildings the Mechs have to pass by, or Battle Armor, and you can get away with mixing up these kinds of attacks and keep an attacker off balanced and on the 'defensive' as they attempt to press their attacks.
Well Written and Explained!
Remember, there are rules that weren't mentioned, and some of the finer details. They are found in Total Warfare :)
Infantry are great fun. Add a real dynamic to games
Nothing can replace good 'old infantry!
Field Gun equipped infantry dug in is a tough nut, and if Battletech reflected the effectiveness of Shoulder fired anti-armor weapons, elementals would be dead meat
Another great video.
Great job, Red. love this video
Infantry is another realm in which the SLDF surpassed the Great houses and Comstar even through to the Dark Age. Theirs was a time when Mauser Pulse laser rifles were standard issue, infantry kits had 360° sensor coverage where comstar only retained 1/3 capability. Making them almost like ODSTs to the great houses militia
Fascinating that a game about large stompy robots is just as well (if not better at times) played like a conventional wargame.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😂😂👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 good!
Thanks for the video
"Infantry? I prefer the term Toasties" - Firestarter Pilot
Just found this video, actually had a few fun games just using the Mechwarrior book and played as infantry and special ops kind of adventures rather than just stompy robot jocks... also used to convert another game systems stats and combat into these kind of games. The system was a game xalled Psi World. Its a great cover all game. Its one of the few games i still have from back then
One thing I've wondered about in Battletech, is do they have the equivalent of Special Operations for regular army forces. Stuff like the Rangers, the SAS or the KSK. As best as I can tell, Rangers existed in the FedCom, but I'm not sure what they were. I know DEST, MI6 (Rabid Foxes) and Loki exist, but those are black operations, more like the CIA or OGA than white SOF. Closest they seem to have is Jump Infantry, but again there are no units. Ofc Battletech is a place where the lords of the battlefield get focused on, but SOF are rad as hell lol.
They do have special forces, yes.
@@BigRed40TECH 👍I figured as much. Every army has a need for commandos and operators, I'm more just surprised that they don't seem to have names in Battletech. But it's a super niche section of the table top game already, I shouldn't be surprised haha.
Just getting into infantry and tank from BT.
i would like to point out that BT also has space and xeno marines. While I'm not sure what the current rule set is for boarding operations on jump or warships infantry specialized in combat in zero gravity or airless moons are a thing.
Though our tanks and artillery are mighty, it is the vast ranks of Imperial Guardsmen that shall trample the enemy to dust - let them come.--Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)
Ah yes, the Doormats of Mechwarrior/Battletech.
Don't forget to wipe your feet.
God love the poor bloody infantry.
I certainly do. In the right setting, with the right tactics, your grunts can absolutely shape and control a battlefield, punishing your opponent for daring to try to break out of the killing fields you've set up with your mechs and armor.
Awesome video BTW
Thanks!
Outstanding subject and another example for combined arms warfare that 40k still only dreams of have this in there system.
I do consider doing. Every day. :P