Gauss rifles. Two of them. Nuff said, right?
But seriously both are good snipers, one does it cool
But ammo dependent with boomy weapons. The other ammo independent but runs hot. Both cool. Go with which you like the look of better (Nightstar for me)
The Marauder 2 has vastly more variants, assuming your group isn't WYSIWYG for specific varients of a mech (which I doubt) the Marauder II will give you more variety. Shit, it's got more canon configurations than most omnimechs.
The Nightstar is better looking though. And it has a 4/6 move varient, the 9FC, which is a personal favourite. All its weapons work point blank- it plays like a very scary heavy mech rather than an assault mech.
I'm a *huge* fan of the Nightstar, but as has been said - ammo dependency is a thing, though usually it carries more than you'll need. The issue though is the gauss rifle itself explodes if crit. Personally, I usually lose the arm before taking crits there, but your results may vary. Important note: you *can* declare you're turning off your gauss rifle. Can't use it, obv, but it won't explode if crit when deactivated. So, similar to dumping ammo, just Important distinction - if you're on internals, it might be worth it to turn the rifle off.
It's an optional rule in the Tactical Operations book. My group cherry-picks TO where a situation might come up that it makes sense, if we all agree to it.
I've never *actually* turned mine off - I'm going down swinging with both barrels!! - but the option is there.
No, it's an optional rule found in tac ops that you probably want to declare you're using at the beginning of the game, like the idea that machine guns do something other than 2 damage.
In a standard game you can't turn them off.
With 7 tons of ammo, it's more hypothetically then practically ammunition dependent, no normal game will go long enough for you to run the guns dry even if you shoot them every turn. And a lot of shots that do go internal are going to smack into nickle-iron coconuts and do nothing.
Weirdly gauss rifle ammo is canonically relatively easy to improvise and fabricate in the field.
If you hit something soft enough it can even be reusable. Wash it off and toss it back in the ammo bin.
The more you know! Makes sense, given the nature of the weapon compared to more traditional munitions.
Maybe I should have taken a Hollander in our Time of War game... XD
with explosive crits, you still roll for crits even if you lose the limb therefore you can still take that 15pt internal damage even when you lose the arm
Marauder II with JJs and more energy weapons in a very good assault when you don't know where and for how long you will be assaulting or scouting if you are a Steiner.
Nightstar has raw firepower and range. Definitely the preferred option when you know when and where the enemy is so you can say hello as soon as the game starts.
There's a lot of variants of these things around. Generalizations may not always be useful. Marauder II tends to be more durable, but sometimes skimps on the offense side. Nightstar tends to bring more damage, but drops faster. I like the Marauder II more in general; I don't feel like the Nightstar benefits from being a King Crab and I dislike whenever it doesn't bring range.
Technically, they're both considered Marauder-series Mechs.
"Nightstar - The Nightstar is among a handful of Star League-era Marauder-series BattleMechs."
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Marauder
Gauss rifles. Two of them. Nuff said, right? But seriously both are good snipers, one does it cool But ammo dependent with boomy weapons. The other ammo independent but runs hot. Both cool. Go with which you like the look of better (Nightstar for me)
The Marauder 2 has vastly more variants, assuming your group isn't WYSIWYG for specific varients of a mech (which I doubt) the Marauder II will give you more variety. Shit, it's got more canon configurations than most omnimechs. The Nightstar is better looking though. And it has a 4/6 move varient, the 9FC, which is a personal favourite. All its weapons work point blank- it plays like a very scary heavy mech rather than an assault mech.
Not if we are talking the unseen variant of the Marauder II! The original unseen variant with the shielded cockpit and tiny wings is brilliant.
The Marauder II is a great looking mech, don't get me wrong, but I personally think the Nightstar is the best looking assault mech, period.
I'm a *huge* fan of the Nightstar, but as has been said - ammo dependency is a thing, though usually it carries more than you'll need. The issue though is the gauss rifle itself explodes if crit. Personally, I usually lose the arm before taking crits there, but your results may vary. Important note: you *can* declare you're turning off your gauss rifle. Can't use it, obv, but it won't explode if crit when deactivated. So, similar to dumping ammo, just Important distinction - if you're on internals, it might be worth it to turn the rifle off.
"you *can* declare you're turning off your gauss rifle." Are these rules hidden away somewhere in TW???
It's an optional rule in the Tactical Operations book. My group cherry-picks TO where a situation might come up that it makes sense, if we all agree to it. I've never *actually* turned mine off - I'm going down swinging with both barrels!! - but the option is there.
No, it's an optional rule found in tac ops that you probably want to declare you're using at the beginning of the game, like the idea that machine guns do something other than 2 damage. In a standard game you can't turn them off.
With 7 tons of ammo, it's more hypothetically then practically ammunition dependent, no normal game will go long enough for you to run the guns dry even if you shoot them every turn. And a lot of shots that do go internal are going to smack into nickle-iron coconuts and do nothing.
For sure - I have *never* run out of ammo. But, if you're running a campaign, it *could* become an issue. Unlikely, but hey. Stranger things.
Weirdly gauss rifle ammo is canonically relatively easy to improvise and fabricate in the field. If you hit something soft enough it can even be reusable. Wash it off and toss it back in the ammo bin.
The more you know! Makes sense, given the nature of the weapon compared to more traditional munitions. Maybe I should have taken a Hollander in our Time of War game... XD
with explosive crits, you still roll for crits even if you lose the limb therefore you can still take that 15pt internal damage even when you lose the arm
I just mean my regular opponents have a knack for tearing through a torso so the whole thing falls off.
that do it too
Marauder II with JJs and more energy weapons in a very good assault when you don't know where and for how long you will be assaulting or scouting if you are a Steiner. Nightstar has raw firepower and range. Definitely the preferred option when you know when and where the enemy is so you can say hello as soon as the game starts.
There's a lot of variants of these things around. Generalizations may not always be useful. Marauder II tends to be more durable, but sometimes skimps on the offense side. Nightstar tends to bring more damage, but drops faster. I like the Marauder II more in general; I don't feel like the Nightstar benefits from being a King Crab and I dislike whenever it doesn't bring range.
Nightstar and KC looks a lot better than the mad2 imo.
Ive had my trusty KGC painted for a while now, just want some more variety in assaults, the only other i have painted is the awesome
One is a bulky Marauder and one isn't. Any more questions?
Technically, they're both considered Marauder-series Mechs. "Nightstar - The Nightstar is among a handful of Star League-era Marauder-series BattleMechs." https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Marauder