Firestarter FS9-H Bouncing Betty ML+5SL Melee Recon

5/5,

1 rating

I recommend prioritizing Firestarter salvage to grant earliest access to this great mech. It can support armor higher than many medium mechs, and is very fast. Use the ML to wear down target Evasion while you close for melee. This mech shines in melee, so assign it to a Mechwarrior with a high Piloting skill for best results.



Alternates: Move that ML from the center torso to an arm for increased accuracy or to allow room for a Gyro. Drop one HS to add 2 more JJ for amazing mobility at the cost of Heat management. Add a Rangefinder to the head!

Pros: Highly survivable for its class, Melee DMG + SL burst wrecks larger mechs, especially from behind.
Cons: Only effective in Melee, Alpha strike can only be used at very short range (125 dmg)

This build shown using standard equipment. Using + or ++ will greatly increase damage potential, but is recommended on torso hardpoints first.

I like this forum for reference, and thought I'd round out the lesser-represented mechs.

 

Here's a Career/Campaign example of this mech build, with upgraded components. Damage is significantly improved over stock components, obviously. 1HS was sacrificed to put a second ML onto this chassis, allowing the Gyro to be installed. It makes for better harass damage on the approach, pushes heat if you are close enough for an Alpha, but does not adversely affect the melee heat buildup. BTW, the short-range alpha is 180 with this recipe, and can be pushed above 200 damage if you use higher damage MLs and another +++ SL.



Alternatives: Use a reinforced Cockpit Mod instead of the Rangefinder to give your pilot some protection (I have used this mech to kite others around a map while my fire support mechs freely shred them from out of sight, so I keep the big view distance). Adding a Gyro with a bonus to Melee Hit instead of the defensive one shown can help a driver with low Piloting skill land the punches, albeit with decreased survivability.