CGR-1A1 - the original. An 80-Tonner that mounts 5 small lasers and nothing else. As mentioned above, it is a SCOUT. Specifically it "was intended to be a heavy scout that could enter well-defended areas where it might have to take damage yet still be able to withdraw at high speed." This criteria is certainly fulfilled. While it certainly does not mount a lot of armour for an 80-tonner (at 10 tons it is on par with the Dragon or Hunchback and short of even the rather thin-skinned Victor or Zeus) that is still more than any other SCOUT I can think of out of 3025. You tell me if I missed anything. While 5/8 is also rather slow for a scout, that armour does make up for it and serves the dual function of protecting from unforseeable damage (like combined-arms ambushes). Oh, dear, the weaponry. Theoretically on par with only the Cicada (extremely undergunned itself) this is nothing, weaker even than the comparable Wasp-W. However, remember what this is intended to do. The weaponry was apparently chosen intentionally - "It is intended to discourage the Charger pilots from engaging in protacted fire-fights, for the Charger's job is to obtain data and do it quickly." Mission accomplished! This thing is just never going to fight. To reverse an old adage: Anything that it can close with will outgun it and anything that it outguns will outrun it. The Charger should not ever be fielded to fight, period. And don't start with physical attacks, either, you're still trying to think that you just "purchased" (or whatever) an 80-tonner - except for, you didn't. The Charger should only be used if the scenario allows for it to be fielded in its intended form: as SCOUT, as spotter or to fulfill scenario relevant mission objectives. In situations where that Locust may be more flexible and faster but just a touch to brittle to guarantee success. Just forget that the Charger weighs 80 tons.
Whoa, this is an unusal one - a rather longish paragraph on the base design that not even rates it. Really, what good is it to give this one a personal appraisal? You can't even speak of obvious flaws anymore - this one is defined by its idioc...erm idiosyncracies. Take it for what it is or leave it. But now that this is done, I can be more proactive in looking at its variants.
Before that, another quick note on its deployment. When looking at mechs - getting a feeling for them, deciding on which colour scheme to paint them in - I tend to ignore force faction tables and totally orient myself on their TRO entries. Hence, the Charger is described as having a recent combat history with Houses Liao (as heavy scout and stop-gap combatant) and Davion (as garrison mech in counter-insurgency work). Only Liao originally introduced a variant with Houses Kurita and Davion not bothering (suggesting that Kuritans also had a higher concentration of these than Marik or Steiner). Anyways these three houses have spawned the following configurations that all somewhat reflect the corresponding deployment (or design) philosophies.
CGR-1L - In a desperate bid to create a more balanced design, House Liao techs removed the SL and added 2 ML and 1 LL - wonderful! However, once it is realised that 4.5 tons of armour were dropped, this changes the picture. What is this thing? To me, it is still a SCOUT - the armour is extremely light (5.5 tons), the weaponry will make it overheat if fired at once on the move and yet isn't stronger than that of the Phoenix Hawk.
The first point means that the main original reason - to give scout pilots a bit more longevity - is nullified.
The second point is very important. Usually a maximum of +6 on the heat scale is nothing, by 3025 standards (look at my sig). However, depending on movement, this will overheat by more than +4 - at that stage (due to its lack of JJ) depriving it of its other biggest asset, to move faster than 4/6.
The third point should be the reality check. This one won’t even work as a SKIRMISHER. Seriously, this thing should not be up-gunned while the engine remains the same (which is what we’re getting to). So even though I really don’t want to say this I much prefer the -1A1, keeping in mind the original SCOUTing role.
CGR-1A5 - this one was given to us in Battlepack: 4th Succession War. The Liaos got sick of being everyone’s laughing stock and came up with the epitome of JUGGERNAUT. Mounting one AC20, 2 SRM6 and token Lasers (1S, 1M), it has nothing that hits outside of 9 hexes. Which is a major reason why I don’t like it (and why I hadn’t memorised it like the other configurations).
Other weaknesses are a shortness of ammo (10 shots for the AC, 7.5 shots for the SRMs) and a slight heat inefficiency (only 13 HS). Now, why am I so anal about heat? Well, generally, I tend to think that a +20 on the heat scale isn’t (much of) a problem, as long as I have good long-range weapons (meaning that I’m a fair bit away when I hit that spike) or have JJ to get the hell out of dodge. I also like to have options to bracket-fire in any case. That won’t happen here, with its uniform range bracket of a bunch of weapons that shouldn’t be fired all at once. Granted, with 15 tons of armour its protection has increased to a point where it won’t care as much if it becomes sluggish.
All up, though this is just as much of a one-hit wonder in its intended role as the base model. Even if it has a higher damage potential than all the other JUGGERNAUTs of 3025 (with the exception of the King Crab), it mounts less armour than some and definitely no long-range options (which only the Hunchback lacks completely – and that is 30 tons lighter). I don’t really see a reason to go for this one, especially in a house where Hunchbacks aren’t terribly rare (3025 does describe a notable Liao pilot) and Hetzers are bread to the masses.
CGR-1A9 - I like this one best out of the lot! Introduced retrospectively in 3050 as the machine that evolved in the 30s in the Draconis Combine during their bid to create the Hatamoto-Chi (and ultimately was upgraded itself), this stays very true to several sources. It nicely fits in as the progenitor of the CGR-3K and yet reminds me more of the -1A1 than any others. Dropping its speed to the 4/6 that is already seen on the -1A5, it also mounts JJ. Other saved weight is invested in an upgrade of the lasers (4 of them become ML models) and the LRM20 that will later be found on the upgrade. Rather than increase the armour it stays true to the allocation of the -1A1 and invests the rest of the tonnage in HS. This makes it one heck of a massively oversinked design (or a comfortable alpha-strike jumper).
This truly is a SKIRMISHER. Jumping around the edges of combat, nimble enough to avoid the bigger brutes, able to contribute with long-range fire, just stong enough to speak for itself up close.
And in that role, I like it. Could it be improved? Heck, yes! Is it crap - dear me, no. Yes, it could still be 10 tons lighter (and then some), but it is actually a nice bridge between that which was and that which it will become. At the same time it fills out its SKIRMISHER role rather admirably (albeit one can debate the viability of an 80-tonner being a SKIRMISHER almost as much as that of one being a SCOUT).
CGR-SB - and this is what happens when veteran Davion techs have spare parts lying around. You know, the kind of parts lying around a normal RCT team that fields lots of Riflemans (yes, correct plural form): Pitban 240 engines, Magna MkIII LL, and oh, yeah, a few Chargers...
The Charger SB is really called the Challenger and is a sanctioned official field upgrade (the first tech's initials were "SB" - can't remember the full name). Its story is found in Battletechnology #0202 (aka #4) - one of the numerous instances where that magazine's content was incorporated in the canon BT universe. Superficially it looks very similar to the Awesome, yet the shorter range of the LL and the additional number (it mounts 4) mean it is more flexible and definitely not a SNIPER. This makes it a slow flashbulb of a BRAWLER - while other BRAWLERS rely on short range weapons and/or mobility, this one moves in like a JUGGERNAUT and then spreads out a considerable 15-hex bubble of doom.
Interestingly enough it has significantly stronger frontal armour than the Awesome (the rear being less obscenely armoured) and is as such really able to take on all comers.
I've never used it, it always seemed too....boring. However, it is good fun knowing its story and is really a very characterful design.
Obviously, there hasn't been a lvl2 follow up to this one.
Well, this one has been long enough. I hope you enjoyed it, I really wanted to look at this one in terms of role more than anything else.
And yes, I ignored the namesake role of the Charger. Fielding an 80-tonner for potential 60+ damage charges just seems excessively unrealistic and rather silly to me.
return to Holo-Tank
return to LosTech Cache