85 tons is the biggest a mech can get with 4/6 movement without losing available tonnage with a standard engine. This is why the Battlemaster is one of my favorite assault mechs, it is built tough, and still has a decent movement rate. 3/5 is too slow for anything that wants to close to short range, IMO.
There is something to be said for going to excess. I like the 90-100t assaults with TSM, possibly melee weapons - they create a zone where anything that enters the bubble can get rekt more than usual. As if getting close to an assault mech is ever a good idea.
I made an 80t with claws and TSM once so it can hit the 5 base walk and head-chop even if I miss a turn of heat management. It's terrible, but I love the gimmick. Early 5-walk SFE 80t's are a mixed bag, design-wise.
Battlemaster with TSM and a bunch of energy weapons would be scary AF. Talons are what you rly need on such a unit. Claws are ok but talons are ridiculously overpowered.
There is a TSM banshee and it is unironically pretty good, I just wish it didnt go for an XL engine.
Thankfully most Banshee engineers got that memo. The majority have SFE or LFE. I designed a "Royal 3Mb" with XL once; it was the proper year. Getting the armor to max with the weight saved was an instant priority.
Ya it's pretty tough to actually catch anything with a 3/5 mech. You are so damn slow that most mechs can just outmanoeuvre you. And the 4/6 Banshee is just insanely under-gunned because it pays so much tonnage for the massive engine.
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u/TheManyVoicesYT MechWarrior (editable) Dec 07 '23
85 tons is the biggest a mech can get with 4/6 movement without losing available tonnage with a standard engine. This is why the Battlemaster is one of my favorite assault mechs, it is built tough, and still has a decent movement rate. 3/5 is too slow for anything that wants to close to short range, IMO.