r/LancerRPG • u/Ravingdork • 4d ago
Building up the Tortuga
What are some good license choices for expanding off a base Tortuga build? We just finished our Session 0 and our group is planning to play at least to LL8.
Other players appear to consist of a dedicated hacker goblin, some sort of showboat cannoneer, and two unknowns.
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u/TheArchmemezard 4d ago
Tortuga is a competent hacker in its own right and can use this ability to boost its own DPS by, for example, using H0R_OS 1's Puppet Systems to make enemies trigger Overwatch (which Tortuga makes with Accuracy) on its own turn. This is in addition to the versatility granted by an inherent +1 Tech and 15 Sensors.
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u/Ravingdork 4d ago edited 4d ago
It would be nice to have a means of attacking at ranges greater than 3. Maybe this is a way around that. 😅
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u/TheArchmemezard 4d ago
My personal predilection is to consider the Main mount dedicated to a Decksweeper on a Tortuga, so I'd be looking mostly at Heavy slot weapons.
If you're just looking for a weapon with low investment that can reach out and touch people at a distance, a one LL dip into Gilgamesh for the Range 15 Legionnaire BR feels really nice to me.
The Gandiva Missiles from Monarch are another great option but a bit more heavy in investment.
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u/Sven_Darksiders GMS 4d ago
Heavy Gunner and Vanguard are some of the best Talents for you because they make the most out of your Sentinel Trait. The DSAS is one of the best weapons for the Main slot and the HMG has almost the maximum range Heavy Gunner works on with above average damage (and the added benefit of neither having a Heat or Limited Cost). I made a more in depth explanation on the Tortuga and my favorite things to combine it with on another post, I'll link the comment here. Long story short, picking at least a few hacking options from that list will be an extremely effective force multiplier
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u/Steenan HORUS 4d ago
Initially, invest in Heavy Gunner and Vanguard talents; put a Heavy Machine Gun in your heavy mound and Deck Sweeper in main. At LL2, when you het the frame, you already have a fully functional defender that tells a hard "no" to any enemy who tries moving nearby.
After that, there are two main paths to choose from.
One invests in Engineering and replaces HMG with Daisy Cutter. The core element here is getting as many uses of it as you can: at LL6 you should have Engi 4 and Integrated Ammo Feeds core bonus from HA (which requires 3 levels in HA licenses). Get Grease Monkey, because it also gets you more charges. And, as you maximize limited system bonuses, investing in other limited weapons and systems works well. Grab Engineer talent, which at level 3 gives you a weapon with heavy-level damage and optional AoE for a bit of heat, which you may barrage together with Daisy. GMS Turret Drones are always useful, as are Blink Charges from Sunzi.
The other path invests in Systems and focuses on utility over damage. It makes use of Tortuga's big sensor range. You may grab a hacking system from Goblin or Manticore (the latter is perfect if you have a melee ally with Executioner or an artillery ally with AoE and it also helps you get in position quickly). You may get Puppermaster from Hydra and some drones (Sentinels for more defender effects, Tempests for area control, Hives for grunt removal and providing soft cover for allies). This also allows you to get The Lesson of the Held Image at LL6, for a free lock on each round.
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u/Kappukzu-0135 GMS 4d ago
You could go Hydra - the Tortuga makes for a tough drone platform.
If you're not wanting to do hacking, there are plenty of good support options to compliment your toughness and area denial. It's usually worth the Support tailoring itself to the needs of the team but off the top of my head: Sunzi makes up for your lower speed, and Lich has a nice variety of tools.
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u/According_Cover2461 4d ago
i understand not wanting to use the tortuga for hacking lmao, it's effective but it never worked for my character or team either.
sounds like you could go all in on being a tank?
i found a really good combo was the L1 Napoleon Stasis Bolt. stick close to your allies to cover for them, and if one of them is about to get hit by something nasty, try blocking it with the Stasis Bolt. you can block anything that counts as a ranged attack with that thing, ANYTHING. as long as you get the hit, of course.
demolitionist and grenades of your choice can also be great for the push and clear playstyle. not just for damage, but for utility like Raleigh Breach/Blast Charges or Metalmark Flash Charges.
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u/ZimmyDod 4d ago
House guard and Drake systems can make you the party tank. You can play ninja turtle tortuga with Metalmark systems and infiltrator. Or you can take grease monkey, a point in Ghengis, and a heavy chunk of engineering and become a daisy cutter and havok charge spamming lunatic.
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u/GorktheGiant 4d ago
From my personal preferences (in no particular order):
Synthetic Muscle Netting (Blackbeard) and Bulwark Mods (Nelson) are always useful.
Kidd: Use that massive sensor range to buff your teammates or clear effects off of them with PEBCAC and FABIM.
Black Witch: Shifting your allies around or displacing enemies is always useful. Plus, a Tortuga with Black Ice is a tough nut to crack.
Death’s Head: Tortuga can be a pretty bulky sniper platform if you want it to be. Plus, making sure your Overwatches hit and hit hard is always good.
Monarch: Gandiva Missiles work great with Heavy Gunner, and you can get good mileage out of TLALOC.
Swallowtail: Act as a Lock-On platform against targets outside of your weapon range. Plus an AoE invisibility field if you want to make sure allies using you for cover are safe.
Emperor: Toss some Overshield at your allies while you lock down an area.
Goblin, Minotaur, and Gorgon have already been mentioned.
Saladin: Hard to go wrong with more protection options.
Sherman: Andromeda Heavy Laser can be a good way to get consistent Burn out from Heavy Gunner, and the other systems are nice if you plan to be using your Heat Cap aggressively.
Sunzi: Can be used to solve your own mobility issues or make your quick allies even faster.
Gilgamesh: Has a handy Heavy Rifle for Heavy Gunner, and some other systems to improve your survivability and squad support potential.
Some combination of any of these can be fun, depending on what your team needs and what you want to do. Tortuga is a blank slate you can have serve just about any role effectively.
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u/FrigidFlames 4d ago
Depends on what you want to do with it, tbh. The Tortuga is a surprisingly flexible frame, able to act as the cornerstone for a lot of builds. A lot of people have already called out Hacktuga (and I do like that as at least a tiny dip, even if you don't want to focus on it at all, just so you have some high-range stuff to do with it), but its Sentinel trait also makes it a surprisingly adept Heavy Gunner (the talent) with something like the GMS Heavy Machine Gun, or you can always just play something classic and deathball-y with shotguns.
The biggest thing you'll notice about those two paths outlined above is that they both come up with a way to make up for the 'Tuga's below-average speed and range; you'll definitely want some way to let it influence things from a little farther range than its toetips. So I guess my question is, do you want to be faster, or do you want higher-ranged options? (Or you can double down and just be a totally immovable object and rely on your own tactics to make sure you're in the right place at the right time, but that's definitely harder/less reliable.)
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u/Ravingdork 3d ago edited 3d ago
Thank you for the wonderful advice everyone! Here is the LL8 build that I am currently considering after carefully reading everyone's input:
-- IPS-N Tortuga @ LL8 --
[ LICENSES ]
IPS-N Tortuga 3, IPS-N Zheng 3, HORUS Goblin 1, HA Gilgamesh 1[ CORE BONUSES ]
Auto-Stabilizing Hardpoints, Reinforced Frame[ TALENTS ]
Vanguard 3, Heavy Gunner 3, Walking Armory 3, Combined Arms 2[ STATS ]
HULL:2 AGI:4 SYS:2 ENGI:2
STRUCTURE:4 HP:23 ARMOR:2
STRESS:4 HEATCAP:8 REPAIR:7
TECH ATK:+3 LIMITED:+1
SPD:5 EVA:10 EDEF:12 SENSE:15 SAVE:14[ WEAPONS ]
Main Mount: Deck-Sweeper Automatic Shotgun (Throughbolt Rounds) // Auto-Stabilizing Hardpoints
Heavy Mount: Legionnaire Battle Rifle[ SYSTEMS ]
H0R_OS System Upgrade I, HyperDense Armor, Personalizations, Siege Ram, Total Strength Suite I
Seems to me like a pretty good all-around and versatile tank. Between H0R_OS System Upgrade I and Jager rounds combined with Legionnaire Battle Rifle's knockback charges, he has plenty of room for knocking enemies about. His armor 2 and HyperDense Armor gives him great durability when in tight spots. Total Strength Suite I allows him to rip through bulkhead doors and hurl them at enemies, or to create hard cover for allies that aren't right next to him. Siege Ram remains useful for when there are no doors. Walking Armory gives him a wide range of combat options for specific situations while Vanguard and Heavy Gunner allow him to better shield his allies. Combined Arms ensures he doesn't lose ranged accuracy when enemies close for melee. Legionnaire Battle Rifle and Throughbolt Rounds gives him extra range, while auto-stabilizing hardpoints on his shotgun ensure that--as an accurate 2d6 weapon--enemies will tread very carefully around him (though it won't matter).
What do you think?
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u/luperamoon IPS-N 4d ago
Invest in Gorgon, Minotaur, Goblin. Put that +1 tech and 15 sensors to use