My favorite feature of the locust comes after 3010 when they started including a small printer that automatically prints your will when one of its legs gets disabled
I was showing my 7yo daughter the various mechs I'd printed up, and she fell in love with the Locust, especially when I told her it was the fastest mech I had. Her paint job is a gloriously blotchy blue-green with gold, with a big red viewscreen. It's not standard Marik Militia colors, but it'll do just fine. 😀
When my daughter was very small (maybe 2 or 3?) she wanted to play "nobots" (clickytech) with me. At the same time there was a Transformers miniature game that had spring loaded missiles and melee weapons that we collected together. Then, sometime between preschool and first grade she came home with an art project that was a silverish vaguely humanoid figure on a piece of red paper. I had old film cannister lids for eyes, little bolts for shirt buttons, and various other bits of mixed media for details. She'll be 21 this year and I still have the nobot art she gave me stashed away.
my daughter is 5, she plays BTA and is looking forward to TTBT that I will start teaching her soon. She really really loves physical attacks ... she loves kicking them and watching them fall to then cry out "Welcome to the Floor!!!"
The Locust 1E is one of my favorite units. It's where I earned my nickname "Droptop". Behind the controls of "Gump", there have been shenanigans of the highest order. It's deployment has taught two fellow players the value of Lights.
My favorite Locust is 'Roadrunner' piloted by Russel Madison. An ER Medium Laser in each arm, and an ER Small Laser in the head, has MASC, and moves 14/21 [28]. Good luck to the coyotes trying to keep up with that!
I've learned to never underestimate the Locust it can be either a annoying pest nipping at your soft backside or a useful scout spotting for your missile boats
@@MechanicalFrog I did read somewhere that two locusts can fit in one drop bay or drop pod. If games operated by drop space you could have something quite terrifying. Going by clan doctrine you could potentially be fielding ten locusts and fifty elementals.
@@MechanicalFrogMy Mom on a camping trip would prove you wrong ;) (She got one stuck in her hair and absolutely flipped out, talking running around the campsite screaming.) Oh, the Cicada *mech*, right...
The LCT-1Vb shows how good a Locust can be. But the LCT-1V can be a damn nuisance to mechs that have been damaged or the long range missile boats when suddenly outflanked.
I just started playing this year, and our tables refer to the Locust as Godslayers. Twice we've had them get behind an assault mech and score a solo kill. The 1e I had got behind an undamaged Daishi and both mlaser hit head, the crit roll was cockpit. Best salvage of my life.
"ABM" isn't enough, you need to HAAAT. Haul ass at all times. Joking aside, I love the "strength, utility and fun" bars with the frogified armor diagramm. As for the Locust, that Mech is a tough little rascal, hard to hit and hitting hard, when the stars align. The way I see it, the Locust either manages to harass much heavier Mechs by zipping about and evading fire like a Grammaton Cleric or it gets an AC20 right in the face. Either way, you get a great story to tell afterwards.
The Locust is kinda like a classic 70s VW Beetle: no one really wants to drive one, but everyone smiles when one drives by. 😂 ...now I need to paint a locust up as Herbie the Love Bug Mech!!
The Locust is easily one of my all time favorite mechs. I often ran one with XL engine, DHS, ECM, stealth armor, 1MPul and 2Spul. I loved running up behind an Atlas for a back armor shot and whispering "He touched the butt!"
One of my favorite Late Succession Wars uses of the Locust is as the Hunter-Killer pair of a "standard lance" (2x Heavy/Assault, 1x Medium, and 1x Light) with a Archer or Longbow out of LOS and Locust as the spotter. Add the other two members of the team, say a Marauder-D and Wolverine-M, and you have a dangerous nut to crack.
My favourite thing about the Locust is that it's one of the few mechs with the Compact ’Mech quirk. Being able to fit 8 mechs into a Leopard dropship is quite fun.
The Locust is a light mech that I have admired for a long time. Like so many of its other 20 ton breathern, it is dangerously versatile and deceptively lethal in the right hands and with the right loadout.
The locust is a true classic. 8/12 was so fast back in the day. I always loved the version with 2 LRM 5’s. Even less armor but with speed and range you could plink away at enemies and be a real pain.
@@MechanicalFrog My custom Refit of the -1M downgrades the Medium to a Small Laser for that extra half-ton of armor, because the -1M should not get into Medium Laser Range if it can help it.
@MechanicalFrog I've seen people be skeptical if it even works and it definitely does. Enemies take a significant accuracy penalty and far fewer LRM vollies hit you and your Lance.
@@bryy2053 In the 400 ton missions, I def like to give at least an upper tier heavy ecm (cataphract or archer) with my Nightstars, Higlanders, and Atluses (Atli?)
My favorite thing about the Locust is how hard it hit in Mechwarrior 1. I used a locust through the whole campaign because you could run behind heavy and assault Mechs and shoot their legs out from under them with the machine guns that fired nonstop.
A lot of people malign the machine guns on the older Mechs, but they don't hold the locust back - and if you're using the rapid fire machine guns advanced rules, it is perhaps one of the best mechs to use them on, though it does make the mech a lot more toasty.
I just like the Locust. Especially after my son's frustration with them in MW5, lol. The 1V will always be my favorite. The LCT-1ISM uses Clan tech for the internals, armor (FF), and engine (which is an XL). Heat sinks are Clan DHS. It carries a Clan Light Tag and 4 clan MGs with 400 rounds. Its main gun is a Medium Re-Engineered Laser. My favorite custom variant isn't quite custom: it's a Locust-1V that mounts the arms of a Stinger (minus the Medium Laser in the Stinger's right arm). It's called the "Gun Angel"; Bishop Steiner did a drawing of it, too.
Ahh the Locust, the most heavily produced battlemech in Battletech Lore. Hard to imagine a single army, even among the Clans, that doesn’t have at least one!
The Locust sticks eith me in memory not because of its performance as a speedy light mech, but because one was the catalyst to shit hitting the fan in The Periphery. Long story short: Your average Locust is probably a nusiance at worst to a decently equip lance, but still a giant biped to civilians.
Locust will always have special spot in my heart. It was one of the first mechs i saw as my first encounter with Battletech was Crescent Hawk's Inception game.
thanks for the video! the MechFrog variant is scary my favorite showing of the Locust is as the sorta-protagonist of the excellent MechWarrior: Bulldogs animatic by D.C. Bruins on Renegade HPG
@@MechanicalFrogAnd if you have DHS, 2 ER Mediums are heat neutral. Fire them all day, every day, if needed. Even at full sprint. It's not a great loadout, but it is useful in most every situation, right?
The one variant of the Locuat I find most interesting is the LCT-1L. It is one of the few Mechs I know of from the IntroTech era that features Triple Strength Myomer. While this feature is reliant on the burst fire machine guns rule to actually get that heat up; the thought of a Locust running up to a mech and kicking it with the might of 40 tons seems fun. I have yet to give it a try so the effectiveness in battle is still on paper for me.
You can disable heatsinks so you don't necessarily have to use weapon heat for TSM. In MegaMek I use the coolant failure rule so every TSM design gets oversinked so I can turn on more heatsinks as coolant fails, makes TSM more fun for me but might be too much micro for most.
My wife and I had our first game of battletech end in her Locust 1e using speed and terrain to out play my Griffin the whole match. the only damage it took was after it had landed the killing blow on said Griffin.
Don't forget the 6M! Possibly the fastest production mech in canon, it makes the 7M look sluggish in comparison. I brought one out to one of the big official Mercenaries kickstarter events last March, and hilarity ensued - I hit play on the William Tell Overture every time I activated the MASC, skirting the edge of death and surviving nearly unscathed through my primary match, and got an early release Viper (Black Python) for my efforts.
It's probably one of my favorite variants too. 14/21[28] is just ridiculous. I've only used it in megamek so far, but just dropping xmec battle armor wherever I want to is too cool.
My favorite Locust story revolves around the 1M variant. I witnessed that little biest destroy an Atlas. The Atlas player had the opinion Assaults are the best solution for everything. So an experienced player took out the 1M and destroyed the back armor of the hulking assault mech. It wasn't all that dangerous to the tiny Locust once the LRM 20 ran out of ammunition. It was a glorious battle.
To be honest, considering the speed at which they operate, I wouldn't be surprised if multiple planets in the Battletech universe have Locust speed derbies (Complete with live weapons fire). Live fast, die young. My hat's off to you blazing meteorites of the battlefield.
Love your videos man. "The Locust should really run." Damn thing better run, they really fly apart when you catch them with an AC 20 shot. You learn to target them after getting shot in the back a few times.
The Locust was indeed in my first merc unit, and I remember when I was caught in some weird mazelike canyon, turned a corner, and encountered a mech twice its weight. Making a quick decision, I charged at the 40-ton medium (don't remember the type). Just ran at him, firing as I went. Since the canyon was too narrow, I decided to ram him...one piloting roll later, from both me and the other player, and his mech was on the ground and I was sprinting for safety. It wasn't a kill, and I kinda lost that contract (with caveats attached), but I will always remember that as the moment I fell in love with Battletech and the Locust.
It's still one of my favorite mech of all times the Locust. I have a friend who was an awesome tabletop Locust pilot. This one time at a gaming con, he took his Locust and ran it down a line of enemy battle mech and had them all turned their backs to us. All the eight battle mech offloaded on him trying to hit him, and he only got hit by one SRM 2. So the next time we played, they tried to bar him from playing a locust. He had a good reputation for playing with a Locust.
Somewhere in my stack of stuff is a Locust refit. Base model is an LCT-5W. The "lore" is that the unit was captured and repaired, but the C3i was destroyed. So the techs cleaned out the electronics compartment and stripped everything but the MASC to install three clan-tech medium pulse lasers. The armor is a bit thin but the movement profile is fast at 9/14(18) and the alpha is 21 points with -2 to-hit bonus. Which helps a lot when you're trucking along at full speed. :-) Great back-stabber and scout.
I know a lot of folk would laugh at this, but I am a fan of the 1M version with 2 LRM 5s and a medium laser. I hate losing 3 tons or armor, but in a light lance, this has a nitch role of Fire support that can run away. Run 3 of them with that energy version as a spotter and for 80 tons you have a nasty little lance. Personally, this version tricked out in Clan gear with Clan weapons kind of solves that armor problem because this can easily bring back that missing armor (or even more) with even a extra ton or half ton of additional ammo. I do agree that CASE is a waste in a light mech, as the real issue is not getting internal damage versus just having that entire location vaporized.
That 1M got a fierce "Nope" from me at first. Then I realized that between Indirect Fire, high speed, and the ability to be in the next area code over meant that taking fire in a 1M means you're not using it correctly. Also, the 1M's stats in Alpha Strike are pretty solid.
Some people just don't appreciate the true beauty of the Locust. If my 432 BV Locust can keep 1600+ points worth of the opforce's mechs busy then it doesn't have to fire a shot to help me win. I've always thought the variant with a medium and 4 smalls should have been canonized. It was published in several fanzines and unofficial sources. There's of course to many variants to cover, but I'm surprised you didn't include the strangest early variant. The LCT-1M.
I confess to having never had much love or use for the Locust. I got into the tabletop just after the Clan Invasion began, thus my high speed TAG equipped troll mech is and will always be the Firemoth. Hurtling past a Locust at 200kph will never get old, but good luck with the turning a corner on the next turn.
I know this is two months late, but I figured I'd share some of my own input. I actually have a battletech-based story concept with a character that pilots a Locust. (it's all WIP, so keep that in mind) Malcolm "Rotor" Rosen is a mechwarrior of Scarlet's Freelancers in 3067. He pilots a Locust heavily inspired by Lori Kalmar's LCT-PB Pirates' Bane from MechWarriors Online. Fitted with an ECM suit and Probe, (I'm not a knowledgeable mech builder, so any veterans please excuse my ignorance if this isn't possible ^^; ) Malcolm specializes in scouting, harasser, and ambush tactics. Utilizing his mech's stealth tech to keep hidden, while also gathering data to keep his company ahead of the curb on battlefield information. When not hiding in the bushes and trees tracking enemy units, Malcolm can be seen running between the legs of the enemies either to trip them up or shoot them in the back while the rest of his lance keeps the enemy's attention from the front. Malcolm himself is a bit of a brash pilot. Young and cocky, and likes to be a bit reckless with his piloting. A perfect attitude for a Locust pilot. Unfortunately, Maloclm's spirited personality is also a double-edged sword. He hales from one of the former Free Rasalhague Republic worlds that got taken over by the clans, and grew up on the bitter hatred of the clans invading his homeland. As such, Malcolm tends to be a bit of a powder keg whenever a clanner is present on the battlefield, foregoing reason and tactics for the sake of taking down one more clanner in the name of his captured home. The poor kid's got a lot of pent up emotions about that...^^;
I once used Locusts and Urban Mechs as point defense for artillery and snipers. The nice thing about the Locust is it was fast enough to scout and forward spot for the artillery.
I'm just realizing that a locust with 3 clan ER mediums could run around at 12 or more hexes, doing as much damage as a flashman at ten hexes. And that's crazy to me. could you imagine the trouble that would cause? Not that is likely to happen but all the same. The Locust is a mech i haven't gotten to field much but at the same time i respect, it is a problem if you don't deal with it, but is often the least amount of threat. it's a nice tool to use to force pressure. 10/10
A locust video? its not even my birthday :D this mech is my baby, and the only reason the marauder is second place. just love it. my favorite story for it is when playing against friends, i once knocked out their longbow with a headshot critical for the medium laser before scampering off to safety as fast as my skinny long legs could carry me. Its rare my locusts make it to the end of the match, but when has glory every waited for the patient? its also a pretty fun light cavalry mech. like you mentioned, running through a break in the line and causing chaos behind the lines. very high casualty rates, but invaluable for keeping the line broken until your heavy units can show up to exploit it. and no light mech pilot will ever turn down such a mission! None ive met anyway 16:24 couldnt agree more haha. definitely gonna need to try out the MF variant!
I did not know about the Locust 5V, as a Capellan/St Ives player I must say that it turned my head. Pairing it up with things like Marauders, Marauder 2s (Capellan version has 2 gauss rifles & an er ppc), Warhammers, Pillagers or the Night Star to dash forward and crit seek after an armor breach seems quite good.
Huge fan of Locusts and IICs. Bergan Alshain are the IS production line for my favorite of the latter (the Ghost Bear 8). Bergan is also the production line for Kodiaks in the IS. I'm surprised you didn't bring up the 1L, as it was Bergan's test bed for TSM.
Point tournament. First match -I bring out my 20 Locust Swarm. 5 lg laser variants 5 double lrm 5 variant. Enemy had 6 mechs and 2 LRM carriers. "I forfeit. I don't have the ammo for this. " Judge is relieved as he won't have to officiate a match with 20 mechs on a side per turn. Twenty minutes into next match guy rage quits because of leg damage from mines slowing his mechs so the 5x lg lasers can snipe at his mechs 1 at a time. While my other 10 std E variants do circle of death. My 5 lrm locusts used 1 ton each of fascam to seed the field. Then last ton to use swarm for aoe damage on his clustered mech. I lost 1 reg locust to pilot error/failed role after last burst of ammo exploded from heat build up from engine crit +5 heat and me running and doing alphas. Rest had average total 8 to 9 dmg from lucky roles. None disabled. Any that had movement impeded moved out of LOS and slowly regrouped opposite mine fields to bait his 2 mediums into chasing. 4 minefields. Those mediums got led by nose through all of them. After that I was told to restructure battalion. So I went 5 lrm locust 5 sniper lg lasers. 3 oscouts tag. 6 lrm carriers- 3 with fascam and swarm in half and reg in other 3 And two pike ac2 spitters. I was still 15% below point total allowed. I could have added 3 panthers, but I didn't have models. There were objections, but when I showed my jumpy jumpy 35 mech wasps and stinger battalion, all painted and each with prepped stat sheets. They shook head. First time anyone placed in tourney using lights. I lost a couple matches on points, barely because they changed terrain at last second. Which is poor officiating. Crowd knew it too. Tourney had favorites and I'd made one quit in a tantrum in my second match. Shrinking table/map size was irksome. But I brought out 2 mobile HQs to add ecm coverage and mortars to mix. Still inside point max. Next day 10 mech max, attrition rules. I still went with 10 locusts 2 LRM 2 lg laser 6 E variants. Lasted 4 of 5 rounds with 7 locust on field and repairable. After that attrition became a problem. As I always got matched with opponents with the most mechs on table. Didnt do day 3 as I had to return to duty on ship. Never got my prizes from tourney, as they said I had to be present to receive them. Regardless of being active duty... That organizer never got invited back to local cons after that. Hampton Roads having army, navy and air force bases in area. I had fun though. Someone sent me a drawing of an opponent pointing and laughing at my swarm. Moments later showing a raving, hair pulling rage tantrum as his 3 remaing mechs huddled trying to cover rear of each other from the rodeo of death. My swarm had giggle bubbles, while his mechs were cringing and cowering. Sobbing tears etc. It was framed and put in my sponsors game workshop. If it's still open these 30 years later. I'd smile knowing that moment it etched in time.
The Locust is the crotch rocket of battlemechs- ridiculously fast, compact, cheap, easy to fix. So many good variants- 1V, 1E, pulling the MGs for MLs, twin MLs and a CT flamer (or TAG)... And don't even get me started with what can be done with endosteel and clantech ERLL. Normally despise XL engines in a light mech as I think it's great way to turn money to smoke, but the -5M is a fun zoomie bug, and the 7S looks to be the same even if from the ilClan period. But my favorite is a homebuilt model I saw a few years ago- it's creator called it "Knuckle Dragger" with a pair of Stinger arms. Looked awesome.
I haven’t played tabletop yet but using one for the first time in mechwarrior 5 was fun. Felt like I was driving a coked up machine gun mounted cartel Ferrari.
In our Mechwarrior ttrpg game (succession wars era), I had a custom variant of a Locust. I mounted 3 meduim lasers, and it was one of the funnest mechs I ever ran. Yeah, it could get hot, but as a hit and run backstabber, it was amazing.
The Locust design from the PGI/HBS games is just peak, and the CGL take is also great. It looks feasible while still being agile and fast. We need more chicken walkers.
Rolling a 2 for hit location is the Locust's fav hobby. Especially in 3025 before CASE it could easily kill a much heavier mech whose ammo bays were brimming with bullets. Lost a Marauder turn one to my brother's locust in one game that way
I have a soft spot for the Locust because Decision at Thunder Rift was my first exposure to Battletech and a Locust-1V was the first Mech the future Grey Death Legion possessed. the 1E is my favorite though. The 5M is my favorite higher tech version.. I like the MF variant but I think I would remove the AMS and ammo for either more armor or jump jets.
My favorite to use currently in mw5. Pirates bane got me more into it and I decided on the energy Locust with 2 S laser and 2 MPulse . As long as the mission is low enough to make dropweight with 2/3 other big mechs I have a good time. Oh yea I'm thinking of starting a new career in Liao territory so I can start with this chassis and be a 100% pure Locust career pilot
my unit model of the Locust is a pretty major departure from the LCT-1V. replacing the stock engine for a clan tech 200 XL unit and Endosteel for a serious case of the Zoomies at 10/15. Double HS are standard fit to make certain this mech never gets hot. armor is kept as thick as possible on a 20 ton chassis using Clan tech Ferro to get every last bit of protection. 3 Clan ER Mediums are the mainstay bringing 21 points of damage every combat round! I only have one speed for this Mech = Full Send, Full Throttle! and when backed up by swarms of Savannah Masters, most Mech forces don't survive first contact long before calling for help. or Surrender!!!! pricey = yeah. but you do get what you pay for so spend it well and get results!
The Locust is one of the most fundamental mechs in the game. In fact, I would argue the Locust 1E is the essential light mech for any new player to get to know; it exemplifies the entire weight class and how it should be used, and I adore it. Incredibly fast for a Succession Wars design, surprisingly durable thanks to its armor and speed, and well-armed enough to be a serious pain the moment it gets in someone's rear arc. Which it *will* do.
I have my own variant of the Locust with an armament loadout inspired somewhat by the 1E. It has two medium lasers and two magshot gauss rifles (selected due to shared range brackets) linked to a targeting computer, a 180 XL engine to bring its movement profile up to 9/14, ten double heat sinks, an XL gyro and endo-composite structure to save weight, and stealth armor paired with an Angel ECM suite. It's a bit fragile, but tha'ts only a problem if it gets hit in the first place, and since it can run and alpha strike with its stealth armor active without overheating...good luck with that. Alternatively, if you want something cheap, there's another one I came up with with two magshot gauss rifles and a medium X-pulse laser, endo-steel, ferro-fibrous armor, and triple-strength myomer, while using the same standard engine and single heat sinks as the basic 1V.
"Fast, annoying, and effective! 8 factories produced this mechanical ostrich at one time btw, me myself owning one! My Battletech "Dungeon Master" so to speak gave me the unenviable task of governing the "OUTWORLDS ALLIANCE", good god lol! They only have one mech factory and they only produced 3 peanut light mechs(12LCT,12STG,12WSP) soo, I hadda figure out sumthin'! Step One: To start, I doubled production of these whimpys lol! Step Two: The Locust. My own personal design has it with 8-12 movement and 10 standard heat sinks. Armed with 3 medium lasers(1 CT, 1/Ea.Arm aka nub lol). But I only kept the upper arm actuators giving it "flipping arms!" So it can attack coming and going, cool huh 😀! I also gave it 4 tons of ferro-fibrous armor. That's "15" ,1-9 medium range damage and a maximum of 69 armor points! POWER, SPEED, DURABILITY! Only drawback, it pisses out 1 (11) heat per attack! Oh well, best I can do 😕!"
My unit had a -1E at the start of the clan invasion was heavily damaged at one point and repaired with salvage ECM Suite (c), ER ML (c) and TAG (c) we eventually found a replacement clan xl engine to up its speed... it was used (purely) to call down the rain ... if it was threatened at all its pilot was giving standing orders to RUN... as we could not afford to replace the hardware or guarantee that we could find the salvage to repeat the modifications. ( it was painted to match its name - 'Forrest' )
I really like the old "Thunder Rift" era art for this thing, the old miniatures not so much. I think every force I have painted has 1 or more of them. Great variant, though the 7V is my go to these days.
We love the Locust because it's the first 'mech in the first TRO, it's cheap as chips and still very effective, and it's hilariously long-legged. With twin MGs it's also death incarnate against infantry. Run in and turn a platoon into a badly shaken and disorganized squad.
The Locust always has been one of my favorites, doesn't matter which version...except the first attempt at the reseen. It may be my favorite illustration from 3025 and I think the new one is a little cutey. : D
I'm actually partial to the 7V2, good reach and the same speed as the 7V, it packs a good punch and stays a difficult target outside of most weapons short range. Really surprised that you didn't mention the insane speed of the 6M. With a 14/21(28) movement profile it would be near impossible to hit as it can regularly have a +5 to hit modifier and when the MASC kicks in, +6 to hit. Add in the fact it mounts the maximum protection for its size and mounts an ER Medium in each arm and an ER Small in the head make it well armed. If it has one flaw, the small cockpit makes maneuvering on urban or rough terrain more difficult with the +1 to pilot skill checks. So look both ways before crossing the street for a Locust sliding at high speed. Oh, and of course the XL Engine and Gyro as well, probably going to be destroyed by those high speed slides.
Brilliant mech that i have loved for years :-) a lance of locusts are a threat and easily underestimated :-) great vid as always....i cant give any game wins of the locust however there are so many its hard to pick one that stands out....it is a mandatory light mech when building a company and theres a reason for that :-)
While I get why the Urbanmech is loved, I personally dislike it's mix of low speed, and low ammo. The Locust however, is my kind of ride. The 1E variant fixes my one complaint about the original, and is my favorite of that era's variants.
@@MechanicalFrogEh, depends. If you actually get a full hit, they asplode as expected. Dual Heavy Peeps or Dual Binary or the like. But almost anything that isn't brutal pinpoint seems to get shrugged off or mostly miss. Particularly missiles, other than streak which, as they should, absolutely murder light mechs.
I wonder why nobody ever seems to have thought of swapping the base loadout for 2 medium lasers, one per arm, and the CT gets one MG with ammo. Would significantly increase damage output while still keeping the anti-infantry without overburdening the single heat sinks.
Correction: Locust C's were still in use in Clan toumans at the time of the Clan Invasion. They were even deployed on Tukayyid.
Pretty sure the locust c record sheet is in the BOT supplemental
672BV is a lot for a Locust but really important for filling out that Clan list.
I can see Frog piloting his Locust C at the Battle of Tukayyid probing ahead of the Falcon Guards 😎.
"Oh, you're a state? Where's your locust production line? Yeah, thats what I thought, walk away."
Well played... well played...
Yup
I have stingers in production.... Out worlds are mostly mountainous and forested...
@@OmniMontelStingers? They are doomed now... :D
We specialise in production, repair and refit of urbies
My favorite feature of the locust comes after 3010 when they started including a small printer that automatically prints your will when one of its legs gets disabled
Convenient... You can pin it to your coolant vest with a bobby pin.
I was showing my 7yo daughter the various mechs I'd printed up, and she fell in love with the Locust, especially when I told her it was the fastest mech I had. Her paint job is a gloriously blotchy blue-green with gold, with a big red viewscreen. It's not standard Marik Militia colors, but it'll do just fine. 😀
Cherish it.
When my daughter was very small (maybe 2 or 3?) she wanted to play "nobots" (clickytech) with me. At the same time there was a Transformers miniature game that had spring loaded missiles and melee weapons that we collected together. Then, sometime between preschool and first grade she came home with an art project that was a silverish vaguely humanoid figure on a piece of red paper. I had old film cannister lids for eyes, little bolts for shirt buttons, and various other bits of mixed media for details. She'll be 21 this year and I still have the nobot art she gave me stashed away.
my daughter is 5, she plays BTA and is looking forward to TTBT that I will start teaching her soon. She really really loves physical attacks ... she loves kicking them and watching them fall to then cry out "Welcome to the Floor!!!"
The Locust 1E is one of my favorite units. It's where I earned my nickname "Droptop". Behind the controls of "Gump", there have been shenanigans of the highest order. It's deployment has taught two fellow players the value of Lights.
Excellent that it's still teaching.
That’s a fun variant to mess around with in MechWarrior 5 too. It’s like a drive-by laser attack.
My favorite Locust is 'Roadrunner' piloted by Russel Madison. An ER Medium Laser in each arm, and an ER Small Laser in the head, has MASC, and moves 14/21 [28]. Good luck to the coyotes trying to keep up with that!
I am a fan of the emotional support small lasers...
Fast as fast can be 🙂.
Meep meep!
I've learned to never underestimate the Locust it can be either a annoying pest nipping at your soft backside or a useful scout spotting for your missile boats
No one expects the Locust MVP.
Kick assault mechs to the ground.....
100%. I love using it with NARC and Flamers in support of a Catapult Lance.
Ah, the Locust. The original "Gotta go fast!" mech. It's all fun and games until you run out of room to keep running.
Don't get cornered. **Writes that down**
Then you have to tip toe
Alacrity is an imperative
I'm glad you included some in-cockpit footage. The Locust is one of the most fun (and stressful) 'mech to pilot.
I'm terrible at it, but an attempt was made. I'm much more of a Heavy mech person.
I'm glad that MW5 added recon missions so i have reason to but my locust boots on.
And Locust is always going to be my number one recon mech.
A swarm of locust is a threat of biblical proportions.
Fact Check: True
Certainly scarrier than a swarm of Cicadas running around and donking off of everything.
No one is scared of a Cicada.
@@MechanicalFrog I did read somewhere that two locusts can fit in one drop bay or drop pod. If games operated by drop space you could have something quite terrifying. Going by clan doctrine you could potentially be fielding ten locusts and fifty elementals.
@@MechanicalFrogMy Mom on a camping trip would prove you wrong ;)
(She got one stuck in her hair and absolutely flipped out, talking running around the campsite screaming.)
Oh, the Cicada *mech*, right...
The LCT-1Vb shows how good a Locust can be. But the LCT-1V can be a damn nuisance to mechs that have been damaged or the long range missile boats when suddenly outflanked.
Quite true. The 1Vb is special.
The first mech that teaches you that speed has a value all of its own , and there's a variant that does anything you want except carry artillery
Absolutely.
The animation Mechwarrior: Bulldogs has the best showing of a Locust.
A fun one, for sure.
I just started playing this year, and our tables refer to the Locust as Godslayers. Twice we've had them get behind an assault mech and score a solo kill. The 1e I had got behind an undamaged Daishi and both mlaser hit head, the crit roll was cockpit. Best salvage of my life.
That had to be frustrating for the Dire Wolf player. heh
"ABM" isn't enough, you need to HAAAT. Haul ass at all times.
Joking aside, I love the "strength, utility and fun" bars with the frogified armor diagramm.
As for the Locust, that Mech is a tough little rascal, hard to hit and hitting hard, when the stars align.
The way I see it, the Locust either manages to harass much heavier Mechs by zipping about and evading fire like a Grammaton Cleric or it gets an AC20 right in the face. Either way, you get a great story to tell afterwards.
Short but glorious lives...
@@MechanicalFrog "Predators don't die old" is the motto of the Mechwarrior after all.
The Locust is kinda like a classic 70s VW Beetle: no one really wants to drive one, but everyone smiles when one drives by. 😂 ...now I need to paint a locust up as Herbie the Love Bug Mech!!
Agreed. Make it happen.
But what about Herbie the Urbie?
@@DonaldWWitt😂
The Locust is easily one of my all time favorite mechs. I often ran one with XL engine, DHS, ECM, stealth armor, 1MPul and 2Spul. I loved running up behind an Atlas for a back armor shot and whispering "He touched the butt!"
It's a fun wildcard mech for sure.
One of my favorite Late Succession Wars uses of the Locust is as the Hunter-Killer pair of a "standard lance" (2x Heavy/Assault, 1x Medium, and 1x Light) with a Archer or Longbow out of LOS and Locust as the spotter. Add the other two members of the team, say a Marauder-D and Wolverine-M, and you have a dangerous nut to crack.
My favourite thing about the Locust is that it's one of the few mechs with the Compact ’Mech quirk. Being able to fit 8 mechs into a Leopard dropship is quite fun.
I just like the Locust as a friend, but the one on screen at 6:30 is pretty darn cute.
One of the best pieces of BT art
The Locust is a light mech that I have admired for a long time. Like so many of its other 20 ton breathern, it is dangerously versatile and deceptively lethal in the right hands and with the right loadout.
I haven't run across very many people who don't like it.
@@MechanicalFrog eh, I prefer the Flea. So cute.
The locust is a true classic. 8/12 was so fast back in the day. I always loved the version with 2 LRM 5’s. Even less armor but with speed and range you could plink away at enemies and be a real pain.
While I'm not personally a big fan of the 1M, I understand why people do like it.
@@MechanicalFrog The only way to improve the -1M is to take a JumpShip over to Steiner space and buy a -1S instead.
@@MechanicalFrog My custom Refit of the -1M downgrades the Medium to a Small Laser for that extra half-ton of armor, because the -1M should not get into Medium Laser Range if it can help it.
The Locust is my 7 yr old son's favorite mech. In MW5 the Hero Locust PB with ECM is by far his go.
I'll have to try the ECM in MW5.
@MechanicalFrog I've seen people be skeptical if it even works and it definitely does. Enemies take a significant accuracy penalty and far fewer LRM vollies hit you and your Lance.
Pirate's Bane rocks.
very based
@@bryy2053 In the 400 ton missions, I def like to give at least an upper tier heavy ecm (cataphract or archer) with my Nightstars, Higlanders, and Atluses (Atli?)
My favorite thing about the Locust is how hard it hit in Mechwarrior 1. I used a locust through the whole campaign because you could run behind heavy and assault Mechs and shoot their legs out from under them with the machine guns that fired nonstop.
I liked it for the same reason, but it was so short that at close range you couldn't get a cockpit hit on a Battlemaster :)
A lot of people malign the machine guns on the older Mechs, but they don't hold the locust back - and if you're using the rapid fire machine guns advanced rules, it is perhaps one of the best mechs to use them on, though it does make the mech a lot more toasty.
It's amazing how much of a part of my weekly YouTubing this channel has become.
I hope this is a good thing. :D
I just like the Locust. Especially after my son's frustration with them in MW5, lol. The 1V will always be my favorite. The LCT-1ISM uses Clan tech for the internals, armor (FF), and engine (which is an XL). Heat sinks are Clan DHS. It carries a Clan Light Tag and 4 clan MGs with 400 rounds. Its main gun is a Medium Re-Engineered Laser.
My favorite custom variant isn't quite custom: it's a Locust-1V that mounts the arms of a Stinger (minus the Medium Laser in the Stinger's right arm). It's called the "Gun Angel"; Bishop Steiner did a drawing of it, too.
_"Move fast. Speed is one of your main advantages over large competitors."_ - Sam Altman
Always be Zooming.
Ahh the Locust, the most heavily produced battlemech in Battletech Lore. Hard to imagine a single army, even among the Clans, that doesn’t have at least one!
Good to have a few dozen around.
The Locust sticks eith me in memory not because of its performance as a speedy light mech, but because one was the catalyst to shit hitting the fan in The Periphery.
Long story short: Your average Locust is probably a nusiance at worst to a decently equip lance, but still a giant biped to civilians.
That situation in the Periphery is what the art at 6:18 is depicting I'm pretty sure.
Locust will always have special spot in my heart.
It was one of the first mechs i saw as my first encounter with Battletech was Crescent Hawk's Inception game.
thanks for the video!
the MechFrog variant is scary
my favorite showing of the Locust is as the sorta-protagonist of the excellent MechWarrior: Bulldogs animatic by D.C. Bruins on Renegade HPG
I recall it. Great animation.
I'd have probably gone with standard medium lasers- ease the heat curve and undersink it for that single engine hit.
But the ERs are fancy!
@@MechanicalFrogAnd if you have DHS, 2 ER Mediums are heat neutral. Fire them all day, every day, if needed. Even at full sprint. It's not a great loadout, but it is useful in most every situation, right?
The one variant of the Locuat I find most interesting is the LCT-1L. It is one of the few Mechs I know of from the IntroTech era that features Triple Strength Myomer. While this feature is reliant on the burst fire machine guns rule to actually get that heat up; the thought of a Locust running up to a mech and kicking it with the might of 40 tons seems fun. I have yet to give it a try so the effectiveness in battle is still on paper for me.
Kick... kick... kick... headbutt.
You can disable heatsinks so you don't necessarily have to use weapon heat for TSM.
In MegaMek I use the coolant failure rule so every TSM design gets oversinked so I can turn on more heatsinks as coolant fails, makes TSM more fun for me but might be too much micro for most.
Oh that did actually not occur to me. Thank you for letting me know :D
You didn't put a plasma rifle in your custom variant. I'm proud of your restraint.
Not for lack of trying.
I used to play Battletech as a kid in the 80's. I'm so glad to find people still interested. I'm getting back into it. Think I'll even paint a mini :)
Welcome back to the fray, Mechwarrior.
The locust 3V variant is my go-to version of my favorite battlemech. Having that extra laser to back up when the machineguns run out is quite helpful.
My wife and I had our first game of battletech end in her Locust 1e using speed and terrain to out play my Griffin the whole match. the only damage it took was after it had landed the killing blow on said Griffin.
Looks like it's still teaching lessons today.
I love all the modern CGL scults but the Locust in particular is *chef's kiss*, such a great light mech.
100%
The Locust: the Pulp in a glass of Mech Juice. There is always a bit lying around. Thanks for the video.
Artistically put.
That 3M reference totally caught me off guard, good one sir. Loved it.
Don't forget the 6M! Possibly the fastest production mech in canon, it makes the 7M look sluggish in comparison. I brought one out to one of the big official Mercenaries kickstarter events last March, and hilarity ensued - I hit play on the William Tell Overture every time I activated the MASC, skirting the edge of death and surviving nearly unscathed through my primary match, and got an early release Viper (Black Python) for my efforts.
It's probably one of my favorite variants too. 14/21[28] is just ridiculous. I've only used it in megamek so far, but just dropping xmec battle armor wherever I want to is too cool.
My favorite Locust story revolves around the 1M variant. I witnessed that little biest destroy an Atlas. The Atlas player had the opinion Assaults are the best solution for everything. So an experienced player took out the 1M and destroyed the back armor of the hulking assault mech. It wasn't all that dangerous to the tiny Locust once the LRM 20 ran out of ammunition. It was a glorious battle.
To be honest, considering the speed at which they operate, I wouldn't be surprised if multiple planets in the Battletech universe have Locust speed derbies (Complete with live weapons fire). Live fast, die young. My hat's off to you blazing meteorites of the battlefield.
I'd pay to see that.
Love your videos man. "The Locust should really run." Damn thing better run, they really fly apart when you catch them with an AC 20 shot. You learn to target them after getting shot in the back a few times.
I prefer all my Locusts to be raised Free Range. Run!
The Locust was indeed in my first merc unit, and I remember when I was caught in some weird mazelike canyon, turned a corner, and encountered a mech twice its weight. Making a quick decision, I charged at the 40-ton medium (don't remember the type). Just ran at him, firing as I went. Since the canyon was too narrow, I decided to ram him...one piloting roll later, from both me and the other player, and his mech was on the ground and I was sprinting for safety. It wasn't a kill, and I kinda lost that contract (with caveats attached), but I will always remember that as the moment I fell in love with Battletech and the Locust.
That's awesome. Great Locust story.
It's still one of my favorite mech of all times the Locust. I have a friend who was an awesome tabletop Locust pilot. This one time at a gaming con, he took his Locust and ran it down a line of enemy battle mech and had them all turned their backs to us. All the eight battle mech offloaded on him trying to hit him, and he only got hit by one SRM 2. So the next time we played, they tried to bar him from playing a locust. He had a good reputation for playing with a Locust.
Somewhere in my stack of stuff is a Locust refit. Base model is an LCT-5W. The "lore" is that the unit was captured and repaired, but the C3i was destroyed. So the techs cleaned out the electronics compartment and stripped everything but the MASC to install three clan-tech medium pulse lasers. The armor is a bit thin but the movement profile is fast at 9/14(18) and the alpha is 21 points with -2 to-hit bonus. Which helps a lot when you're trucking along at full speed. :-) Great back-stabber and scout.
I won't turn down Clan Medium Pulse Lasers...
I know a lot of folk would laugh at this, but I am a fan of the 1M version with 2 LRM 5s and a medium laser. I hate losing 3 tons or armor, but in a light lance, this has a nitch role of Fire support that can run away. Run 3 of them with that energy version as a spotter and for 80 tons you have a nasty little lance.
Personally, this version tricked out in Clan gear with Clan weapons kind of solves that armor problem because this can easily bring back that missing armor (or even more) with even a extra ton or half ton of additional ammo. I do agree that CASE is a waste in a light mech, as the real issue is not getting internal damage versus just having that entire location vaporized.
That 1M got a fierce "Nope" from me at first. Then I realized that between Indirect Fire, high speed, and the ability to be in the next area code over meant that taking fire in a 1M means you're not using it correctly. Also, the 1M's stats in Alpha Strike are pretty solid.
A locust video, my time has come.
Today is the day!
Some people just don't appreciate the true beauty of the Locust.
If my 432 BV Locust can keep 1600+ points worth of the opforce's
mechs busy then it doesn't have to fire a shot to help me win.
I've always thought the variant with a medium and 4 smalls should have been canonized.
It was published in several fanzines and unofficial sources.
There's of course to many variants to cover, but I'm surprised you didn't include
the strangest early variant. The LCT-1M.
Because I don't like the 1M. **sulk**
The last two variants are an excellent example of how Recognition Guide Vol.1 : Classic is well a classic TRO I believe
I confess to having never had much love or use for the Locust. I got into the tabletop just after the Clan Invasion began, thus my high speed TAG equipped troll mech is and will always be the Firemoth. Hurtling past a Locust at 200kph will never get old, but good luck with the turning a corner on the next turn.
I miss the days of Pyron and his Swarm on MPBT. Good times in locusts
"How many Locusts?"
"All of them..."
I know this is two months late, but I figured I'd share some of my own input.
I actually have a battletech-based story concept with a character that pilots a Locust. (it's all WIP, so keep that in mind)
Malcolm "Rotor" Rosen is a mechwarrior of Scarlet's Freelancers in 3067. He pilots a Locust heavily inspired by Lori Kalmar's LCT-PB Pirates' Bane from MechWarriors Online. Fitted with an ECM suit and Probe, (I'm not a knowledgeable mech builder, so any veterans please excuse my ignorance if this isn't possible ^^; ) Malcolm specializes in scouting, harasser, and ambush tactics. Utilizing his mech's stealth tech to keep hidden, while also gathering data to keep his company ahead of the curb on battlefield information. When not hiding in the bushes and trees tracking enemy units, Malcolm can be seen running between the legs of the enemies either to trip them up or shoot them in the back while the rest of his lance keeps the enemy's attention from the front.
Malcolm himself is a bit of a brash pilot. Young and cocky, and likes to be a bit reckless with his piloting. A perfect attitude for a Locust pilot. Unfortunately, Maloclm's spirited personality is also a double-edged sword. He hales from one of the former Free Rasalhague Republic worlds that got taken over by the clans, and grew up on the bitter hatred of the clans invading his homeland. As such, Malcolm tends to be a bit of a powder keg whenever a clanner is present on the battlefield, foregoing reason and tactics for the sake of taking down one more clanner in the name of his captured home.
The poor kid's got a lot of pent up emotions about that...^^;
I once used Locusts and Urban Mechs as point defense for artillery and snipers. The nice thing about the Locust is it was fast enough to scout and forward spot for the artillery.
I'm just realizing that a locust with 3 clan ER mediums could run around at 12 or more hexes, doing as much damage as a flashman at ten hexes. And that's crazy to me. could you imagine the trouble that would cause? Not that is likely to happen but all the same. The Locust is a mech i haven't gotten to field much but at the same time i respect, it is a problem if you don't deal with it, but is often the least amount of threat. it's a nice tool to use to force pressure. 10/10
Just good enough to be a problem. Not so much of a problem that it gets focus-fired immediately. Sweet spot.
Call me an interstate weigh station because I'm here for those scales.
Well played.
Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! -Battlecry of the sideways ejecting Locust pilot.
wwwwweeeee....
A locust video? its not even my birthday :D
this mech is my baby, and the only reason the marauder is second place. just love it. my favorite story for it is when playing against friends, i once knocked out their longbow with a headshot critical for the medium laser before scampering off to safety as fast as my skinny long legs could carry me. Its rare my locusts make it to the end of the match, but when has glory every waited for the patient?
its also a pretty fun light cavalry mech. like you mentioned, running through a break in the line and causing chaos behind the lines. very high casualty rates, but invaluable for keeping the line broken until your heavy units can show up to exploit it. and no light mech pilot will ever turn down such a mission! None ive met anyway
16:24 couldnt agree more haha. definitely gonna need to try out the MF variant!
Happy unbirthday!
Locust, the real urban mech!
I'd definitely take a Locust over an UM.
I did not know about the Locust 5V, as a Capellan/St Ives player I must say that it turned my head. Pairing it up with things like Marauders, Marauder 2s (Capellan version has 2 gauss rifles & an er ppc), Warhammers, Pillagers or the Night Star to dash forward and crit seek after an armor breach seems quite good.
Give it a try and I hope it performs.
Huge fan of Locusts and IICs. Bergan Alshain are the IS production line for my favorite of the latter (the Ghost Bear 8). Bergan is also the production line for Kodiaks in the IS.
I'm surprised you didn't bring up the 1L, as it was Bergan's test bed for TSM.
So many good picks.
For MW5 my precious little gem is my hunter- killer LCT-1M that swaps out the LRM 5's for SRM 4's. With the med laser, that is a 21 dmg alpha strike.
21... dang respectable for an IS 20 tonner
Point tournament. First match -I bring out my 20 Locust Swarm. 5 lg laser variants 5 double lrm 5 variant.
Enemy had 6 mechs and 2 LRM carriers.
"I forfeit. I don't have the ammo for this. "
Judge is relieved as he won't have to officiate a match with 20 mechs on a side per turn.
Twenty minutes into next match guy rage quits because of leg damage from mines slowing his mechs so the 5x lg lasers can snipe at his mechs 1 at a time. While my other 10 std E variants do circle of death.
My 5 lrm locusts used 1 ton each of fascam to seed the field.
Then last ton to use swarm for aoe damage on his clustered mech.
I lost 1 reg locust to pilot error/failed role after last burst of ammo exploded from heat build up from engine crit +5 heat and me running and doing alphas.
Rest had average total 8 to 9 dmg from lucky roles. None disabled.
Any that had movement impeded moved out of LOS and slowly regrouped opposite mine fields to bait his 2 mediums into chasing.
4 minefields. Those mediums got led by nose through all of them.
After that I was told to restructure battalion.
So I went 5 lrm locust 5 sniper lg lasers. 3 oscouts tag. 6 lrm carriers- 3 with fascam and swarm in half and reg in other 3
And two pike ac2 spitters.
I was still 15% below point total allowed. I could have added 3 panthers, but I didn't have models.
There were objections, but when I showed my jumpy jumpy 35 mech wasps and stinger battalion, all painted and each with prepped stat sheets. They shook head.
First time anyone placed in tourney using lights.
I lost a couple matches on points, barely because they changed terrain at last second. Which is poor officiating. Crowd knew it too.
Tourney had favorites and I'd made one quit in a tantrum in my second match.
Shrinking table/map size was irksome.
But I brought out 2 mobile HQs to add ecm coverage and mortars to mix. Still inside point max.
Next day 10 mech max, attrition rules.
I still went with 10 locusts 2 LRM 2 lg laser 6 E variants.
Lasted 4 of 5 rounds with 7 locust on field and repairable.
After that attrition became a problem. As I always got matched with opponents with the most mechs on table.
Didnt do day 3 as I had to return to duty on ship.
Never got my prizes from tourney, as they said I had to be present to receive them. Regardless of being active duty...
That organizer never got invited back to local cons after that.
Hampton Roads having army, navy and air force bases in area.
I had fun though. Someone sent me a drawing of an opponent pointing and laughing at my swarm.
Moments later showing a raving, hair pulling rage tantrum as his 3 remaing mechs huddled trying to cover rear of each other from the rodeo of death.
My swarm had giggle bubbles, while his mechs were cringing and cowering. Sobbing tears etc.
It was framed and put in my sponsors game workshop.
If it's still open these 30 years later. I'd smile knowing that moment it etched in time.
I think you might be the best example of why I don't play competitive BT. :D
Notin' quite like a locust to put some hair on your chest... and few near misses to burn it off again.
favorite mech I've ever piloted in vr
locust always performs well whenever i use it, and its a fun mech too. locust my beloved ❤
The Locust is the crotch rocket of battlemechs- ridiculously fast, compact, cheap, easy to fix. So many good variants- 1V, 1E, pulling the MGs for MLs, twin MLs and a CT flamer (or TAG)... And don't even get me started with what can be done with endosteel and clantech ERLL. Normally despise XL engines in a light mech as I think it's great way to turn money to smoke, but the -5M is a fun zoomie bug, and the 7S looks to be the same even if from the ilClan period. But my favorite is a homebuilt model I saw a few years ago- it's creator called it "Knuckle Dragger" with a pair of Stinger arms. Looked awesome.
I haven’t played tabletop yet but using one for the first time in mechwarrior 5 was fun.
Felt like I was driving a coked up machine gun mounted cartel Ferrari.
Fairly accurate.
I introduced my boyfriend to battletech, and it took forever to get him to not pilot a locust in the videogame format or in MW5
"There are other battlemechs, you know..."
No...
In our Mechwarrior ttrpg game (succession wars era), I had a custom variant of a Locust. I mounted 3 meduim lasers, and it was one of the funnest mechs I ever ran. Yeah, it could get hot, but as a hit and run backstabber, it was amazing.
Another Capellan Classic when you think about what mechs actually originate at a Capellan factory there's some mechs in that list .
Say what you want about the Capellans. They know how to make a mech.
The Locust design from the PGI/HBS games is just peak, and the CGL take is also great. It looks feasible while still being agile and fast. We need more chicken walkers.
Rolling a 2 for hit location is the Locust's fav hobby. Especially in 3025 before CASE it could easily kill a much heavier mech whose ammo bays were brimming with bullets. Lost a Marauder turn one to my brother's locust in one game that way
I always feel Locust should be cheap and cheerful
This is a fair request.
I have a soft spot for the Locust because Decision at Thunder Rift was my first exposure to Battletech and a Locust-1V was the first Mech the future Grey Death Legion possessed. the 1E is my favorite though. The 5M is my favorite higher tech version.. I like the MF variant but I think I would remove the AMS and ammo for either more armor or jump jets.
Lori Calmar is the goat.
My favorite to use currently in mw5. Pirates bane got me more into it and I decided on the energy Locust with 2 S laser and 2 MPulse . As long as the mission is low enough to make dropweight with 2/3 other big mechs I have a good time. Oh yea I'm thinking of starting a new career in Liao territory so I can start with this chassis and be a 100% pure Locust career pilot
my unit model of the Locust is a pretty major departure from the LCT-1V.
replacing the stock engine for a clan tech 200 XL unit and Endosteel for a serious case of the Zoomies at 10/15.
Double HS are standard fit to make certain this mech never gets hot.
armor is kept as thick as possible on a 20 ton chassis using Clan tech Ferro to get every last bit of protection.
3 Clan ER Mediums are the mainstay bringing 21 points of damage every combat round!
I only have one speed for this Mech = Full Send, Full Throttle!
and when backed up by swarms of Savannah Masters, most Mech forces don't survive first contact long before calling for help.
or Surrender!!!!
pricey = yeah. but you do get what you pay for so spend it well and get results!
Sounds like quite the ride.
The Locust is one of the most fundamental mechs in the game. In fact, I would argue the Locust 1E is the essential light mech for any new player to get to know; it exemplifies the entire weight class and how it should be used, and I adore it. Incredibly fast for a Succession Wars design, surprisingly durable thanks to its armor and speed, and well-armed enough to be a serious pain the moment it gets in someone's rear arc. Which it *will* do.
I have my own variant of the Locust with an armament loadout inspired somewhat by the 1E. It has two medium lasers and two magshot gauss rifles (selected due to shared range brackets) linked to a targeting computer, a 180 XL engine to bring its movement profile up to 9/14, ten double heat sinks, an XL gyro and endo-composite structure to save weight, and stealth armor paired with an Angel ECM suite. It's a bit fragile, but tha'ts only a problem if it gets hit in the first place, and since it can run and alpha strike with its stealth armor active without overheating...good luck with that.
Alternatively, if you want something cheap, there's another one I came up with with two magshot gauss rifles and a medium X-pulse laser, endo-steel, ferro-fibrous armor, and triple-strength myomer, while using the same standard engine and single heat sinks as the basic 1V.
I enjoy the 3V twin MGs and twin Medium Lasers always a good succession wars mech to have.
A little bit of zap and a little bit of ratatatatat.
I approve of this. Go! Run! Be free!
Whatever weird strategy you are into, there is a Locust variant for you.
"Fast, annoying, and effective! 8 factories produced this mechanical ostrich at one time btw, me myself owning one! My Battletech "Dungeon Master" so to speak gave me the unenviable task of governing the "OUTWORLDS ALLIANCE", good god lol! They only have one mech factory and they only produced 3 peanut light mechs(12LCT,12STG,12WSP) soo, I hadda figure out sumthin'! Step One: To start, I doubled production of these whimpys lol! Step Two: The Locust. My own personal design has it with 8-12 movement and 10 standard heat sinks. Armed with 3 medium lasers(1 CT, 1/Ea.Arm aka nub lol). But I only kept the upper arm actuators giving it "flipping arms!" So it can attack coming and going, cool huh 😀! I also gave it 4 tons of ferro-fibrous armor. That's "15" ,1-9 medium range damage and a maximum of 69 armor points! POWER, SPEED, DURABILITY! Only drawback, it pisses out 1 (11) heat per attack! Oh well, best I can do 😕!"
My unit had a -1E at the start of the clan invasion was heavily damaged at one point and repaired with salvage ECM Suite (c), ER ML (c) and TAG (c) we eventually found a replacement clan xl engine to up its speed... it was used (purely) to call down the rain ... if it was threatened at all its pilot was giving standing orders to RUN... as we could not afford to replace the hardware or guarantee that we could find the salvage to repeat the modifications.
( it was painted to match its name - 'Forrest' )
I really like the old "Thunder Rift" era art for this thing, the old miniatures not so much.
I think every force I have painted has 1 or more of them.
Great variant, though the 7V is my go to these days.
Since they're so small you can fit 2 locusts in one mech cubicle on a drop ship.
3 if you grease them up first.
We love the Locust because it's the first 'mech in the first TRO, it's cheap as chips and still very effective, and it's hilariously long-legged.
With twin MGs it's also death incarnate against infantry. Run in and turn a platoon into a badly shaken and disorganized squad.
The Locust always has been one of my favorites, doesn't matter which version...except the first attempt at the reseen.
It may be my favorite illustration from 3025 and I think the new one is a little cutey.
: D
Yeah... we don't talk about the first reseen...
@@MechanicalFrog I saw that. I never read through the variants on Sarna about the Locust, so some of them where news to me.
Certian controversial Alien birds really really love the locust😮
Fact Check: True.
Read Thunder rift
"Wow, the locust is pretty cool"
Play game
"WTF is this POS"!
aww...
I'm actually partial to the 7V2, good reach and the same speed as the 7V, it packs a good punch and stays a difficult target outside of most weapons short range.
Really surprised that you didn't mention the insane speed of the 6M. With a 14/21(28) movement profile it would be near impossible to hit as it can regularly have a +5 to hit modifier and when the MASC kicks in, +6 to hit. Add in the fact it mounts the maximum protection for its size and mounts an ER Medium in each arm and an ER Small in the head make it well armed. If it has one flaw, the small cockpit makes maneuvering on urban or rough terrain more difficult with the +1 to pilot skill checks. So look both ways before crossing the street for a Locust sliding at high speed. Oh, and of course the XL Engine and Gyro as well, probably going to be destroyed by those high speed slides.
Brilliant mech that i have loved for years :-) a lance of locusts are a threat and easily underestimated :-) great vid as always....i cant give any game wins of the locust however there are so many its hard to pick one that stands out....it is a mandatory light mech when building a company and theres a reason for that :-)
Cheap and shockingly useful. It's always good to have a few Locusts running around (on your side)
The LCT-1VB was my fist mech I made in MWO and got my first 6 kills streak in, it's so fun and can pack a pouch if played right 😁
Nice frogy mech thanks. Leona
Glad you like it
"ASSAULT MECH PILOTS WITH POOR AIM ALL HATE THIS 1 MECH!"
Aim small, miss small...
Personally I am more of a mongoose guy if I am taking a light without jump jets, but locust is a good second choice. Theirs would be the Mercury.
Mongoose can be fun. Definitely more niche.
While I get why the Urbanmech is loved, I personally dislike it's mix of low speed, and low ammo.
The Locust however, is my kind of ride. The 1E variant fixes my one complaint about the original, and is my favorite of that era's variants.
I'd take a Locust over an Urbanmech any day.
MWO / MW5 have allowed us to finally see what the Locust *should* have been capable of. In old school tabletop, oh god, they were so terrible.
Feels like you have to pump several hundred damage into a MW5 Locust to kill it, and several thousand worth into an MWO Locust.
@@MechanicalFrogEh, depends. If you actually get a full hit, they asplode as expected. Dual Heavy Peeps or Dual Binary or the like. But almost anything that isn't brutal pinpoint seems to get shrugged off or mostly miss. Particularly missiles, other than streak which, as they should, absolutely murder light mechs.
Streak MRM's for MWO, when? :D
I wonder why nobody ever seems to have thought of swapping the base loadout for 2 medium lasers, one per arm, and the CT gets one MG with ammo.
Would significantly increase damage output while still keeping the anti-infantry without overburdening the single heat sinks.
A question for the ages...
The 3V variant drops half a ton of ammo and armor to get that second medium laser in. I think the official date for those are 3007 or so.
@@Psychohistorian42 Even less armor on an already flimsy mech... no, i think my take is better.
Run Locust, Run!!
Run! Be free!