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Locust pilots are crazy -- just the right kind of crazy. Nothing will teach you good mech skills like the constant threat of being obliterated by weapons fire, strong breezes or harsh language. One of my fav fast scouts in TT -- if you aren't going full throttle, you're dead.

Having tried it now on Megamek and on the tabletop, can confirm that the proposed 3 Medium Laser Locust is a great little pest. However, i think the best way to address the weaknesses of the Locust is an add-on that's nearly as cheap: TWO Locusts. You can flank and pincer with them, tag one in when the other is damaged, and annoy the heck out of your opponents. And since 2 of them can fit in 1 Mech bay, you can just bring a lance of 5 mechs without having to trade your Leopard for something bigger.

The 3xML Locust is a lovely little bundle of snark. Head to head, all it can do is die defiantly, but as a back stabbing little gremlin it has served me so long I sometimes forget it isn't a cannon design.

I once saw a 1V get a lucky shot through a gap in a fresh Thunderbolt's armor with its laser. Hobbled the gyro and nearly pierced the reactor shielding in a single shot. He had to retreat immediately for repairs just as the battle started. That's probably the angriest I've ever seen a pilot. I do feel a little sorry for the Locusts who cross his path nowdays though. They tend not to survive.

Why is a gummy candy telling me about the locust?

One of my favorite Mechwarriors was Winston Nearon of Snord's Irregulars, who piloted a Locust. He even was able to actually overheat his Locust in combat...granted his was the variant with the two medium lasers. While the Mech was shut down he popped open the canopy and shot at the enemy with every weapon he carried with him. He didn't affect the battle, but he said he had a lot of fun.

LOC-1V2, succession wars locust with a med laser in the nose and pair of rocket 10 pods on each side. A very nasty surprise for anyone expecting a couple machine guns.

In my lance(Mw5 Mercs coop), we have a Locust that has gained a nickname of 'Wrecking Ball', because of how it is set up. It only has 4 small lasers for self defense, but it has traded having guns for the ability to run over 270 kph(Due to its massively up scaled engine, super charger, and endo armor) and zoom by entire armies to ram its way through buildings, artillery, sat arrays, and more making it a must take mech for Beach Head missions to stop Arty strikes and call the reinforcements by disrupting anti air defenses, as well as getting Raids done within two to three minutes. We are just waiting on finding XXL engines and getting it a career trait speed boost to see if it can hit 300+. Its our speediest mech by far and we adore any chance to pilot it at its insane speeds.

Just got back into Battletech, love to see a new channel making great content :)

You have to love the little Locust. It's still one of my favorite Mech. Talk about a crazy locust pilot I once saw one run across a field of battle Mech. They all stopped turned try to shoot at The Locust and expose their backs to the rest of us. In theory if he would have gotten shot by any of them he would of course been destroyed. But got away with only being hit by an SRM2 from a thunderbolt. For only 2 points of damage. But still them all turning their backs to us was kind of funny trying to shoot at him.

as a light mech enthusiast, the locust is a favorite of mine. as you covered, parts are easy to come by no matter where you go, and its cheap to repair. its also easy to mod, meaning theres a speedy scout locust for every battlefield. my own personal steed is a locust with 2 SRM4s, a medium pulse laser, and double heat sinks to reach the same heat capacity, using the savings to add armor to the arms and legs. only one ton of srm ammo, but honestly, if the fight goes long enough i need more than that, i shouldnt be in a locust anyway its also pretty fun in mw5 for raids and demolition missions. your heavier lancemates keep the enemy busy while you run in behind the lines and shred the facility. and if a light mech does break free and try to catch up with you, a medium pulse laser and 2 srm4s is pretty good at convincing them to maintain a safe(for you) distance to handle the situation at your leisure. its not a brawler by any means, but in true locust fashion, its a scout, or light cavalry skirmisher

Hello Nerdy. Your suggested 'field' refit, is the first, or amongst the first, alterations ANY good Mercenary Leader will choose to do to his stable of Mechs. Especially for a Locust. At least until around 1050 to 3057 or so. By then, things like Endo-Steel, Ferro-Fiberous Armor, XL Engines, And Inner Sphere Double Heat Sinks become available. Upgrading this design to have Endo, Ferro, and a 100-Vox XL engine, enables the owner to pile on the armoring, up to 'fully' armored status. It also 'frees' up enough space and weight to mount an ER Lrg Laser, and still have half a ton left to mount an ER Sm Laser in the 'head'. This results in a variant of the LCT-5M chassis, and makes for a deadly back-stabbing Mech in combat. The upgraded engine, even though 'vulnerable' to critical hit by placing engine 'slots' in the torsos, makes up for this by increasing the Mech's already speedy movement. From 8/12/- up to 10/15/-. Such an increase is 20% faster than the 'older' version, and may seem less effective for the additional weight, vulnerability, and space used. But, this is a 'false' assumption, in that it does not take into effect that space and weight are available to add TSM to the Mech as well. TSM, added to this already very speedy Mech, increases the speed yet again... from 10/15/- up to 11/17/-. Again, a seemingly insignificant increase... But, with the 11/17 speed, the Mech can run 15 hexes and generate a +5 against being hit, and STILL have 2 movement points left for maneuvering. Or, the Mech can run 12-14 hexes and still have at least three movement points to do one hex-side turns during its run. This still generates a +4 against being hit. As you can see, the speed of this design is very worth the additional C-Bills it will cost to re-design and re-build the Mech. On top of all this is the range of the ER Lrg Laser. With the 'hyper' speed of this Mech, one can easily run around a foe and near-always gain a 'back shot' against the opponent's rear armor. And with the ER Lrg Laser, such a shot does not have to be at 'close' range. Just a few points to ponder. Frank Smedley, Chief Mech-Tech for the Ghost Lions Legions Mercenary Unit. Post script: The upgrading of all HS to IS-DSHS does chew up some internal space in the Torsos (one in each side torso), but the Mech has the ability to 'Run and Gun' all day long, even firing its ER Sm Laser as well, and NEVER overheat in combat (unless it takes catastrophic damage). Should the Mech take such serious damage, the running speed of the Locust-5M variant allows it to vacate the battlefield in under a minute, and most often as little as 30 seconds.

The most dangerous use of Locust 1-V's I've ever seen was as spotters for artillery. Two lances of Locusts using point-coms to continually keep the network updated meant if the enemy stopped moving for half a second they would be flattened. The pair of Long Toms the commander had meant if the Thumper's couldn't crack it, they just had to keep the enemy marked long enough for the Tom's to zero in. The *other* really nasty modification took a LCT-1E, and swapped out the mediums for a pair of flamers. Actually made it very good for anti-infantry work.

Holy cow your quality is amazing instant subscribe

Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 0:19 Quick Stats 0:33 Summary 1:30 Availability 1:51 Offense Analysis 2:38 Defense Analysis 3:29 Mobility Analysis 4:04 Mercenary Tier Rating 4:58 Pilot Guide 5:45 Proposed Customization 6:28 Customization Benefits

Great video! It's not easy to make decent intro mech videos, and I think you did a spot on job of giving people a taste for the machine.

I really like your stuff so far, keep it going!

0:40 *Dedicated locust pilots:* Them are fightin words jelly boi!

Great video, and playing with the adv rule that it takes up a bay slot reall makes the mech and the way it's handled in universe make sense! Just need to add that the Star-League was founded in 2570. This design is predates it and is actually a Terran hegemony design.

Thank you, my gelatine compatriot, this information will do well for our company. - Klavan-sur-Nehi, notional Duke of the Detroit System, currently in the company of Geoffrey's Peripherals.

That will run a bit hot. I'd add only 1 Medium Laser and another ton of armor. Cheaper to convert and doesn't need to cycle fire weapons to stay cool. It also has across the board armor improvement. Excellent video.

probably my favorite episode

I made my own Locust variant, the LCT-2F. Drop a MG (either one) for a FT replacing it in the arm. Minimal heat gain, plus the Locust now can really annoy larger 'mechs by giving them extra heat. The flamethrower also makes it a true threat to infantry or vehicles. And the FT doesn't cost a lot of C-bills, which keeps the -2F affordable. It's probably better for tabletop than the video game, but I'll accept feedback on video game utility.

In MWO I loved the locust, pop the biggest XL in and either go 6ML's or 6SPL, if you were getting hit you were playing it wrong, this was not a mech designed to play nascar and face tank, the best hit and hide mech, little toasty but 30 damage every 2-3 seconds before going to hide did a lot of work or chasing down that lagging whale with pulse lasers, a lot of players drop most of their leg armour making it a matter of seconds to take them out.

Your Loxust design was a blast from the past. My Mexhwarrior had the exact same configuration on our campaign back in the early 90s.

Pirate's bane in mwo was my favorite mech when I was still playing. dropped the mg for more armor and got all buddy buddy with something big like an atlas or a kodiak.

Great video. Just started to run a Mercenary campaign set in 3025 . I pointed a few players running Locusts to this video.

The locust is the big brother of the cow mechs from metal gear and I won't be convinced otherwise

Awesome guide as always!!

Love the work so far, keep it up! I really enjoy the refits section at the end for those looking to add some combat effectiveness without breaking the bank.

Incredible content. Keep up the great work.

That "Plague Bringer" refit is awesome

This is my favorite mech.

That hypothetical Locust brought up in the video was available in The Crescent Hawks' Inception (another modification downrated the engine slightly and added two small lasers on top of the aforementioned three medium lasers).

Superb video! Instant subcribe.

I admit, I command from a Locust. There aren't may substitutes when it comes to efficient distribution of my lances' ammo into the field.

I made a very similar variant of the locust. However, I also drop a ton of armor for a 180 fusion engine. This gives the mech an astonishing speed of over 140kph, or up to 14 hexes. In groups of 3-4 this mech can be a devastating raider or flanker.

With Twin Flamers and MGs you can equip 0 heatsinks and alpha strike nonstop at full speed while remaining heat neutral. The weight savings allows for max armor and more MG ammo than you could ever use. You can run up behind a mech engaged with allies, slow to match its speed and blast out its spine, or strafe literal circles around anything medium or bigger, again, while pressing all the buttons and every gun firing. (In MW5)

your work is awesome, as a new player i love it

after the "X1" starts to show its worth, more costly mods could be done to it. Such as replacing the standard 160 reactor with a XL 160 reactor, then use the "extra" tonnage for more armor (maybe jump jets), give it double heat sinks (maybe over the ten from the engine), give it er lasers. Note: "fiber armor" would either give tonnage for armor (or something else). This variant could be designated as "X1+".

Locust 1m (c). The Backstabber. Lfusion 160 engine 129kph 12 movement points table top. Max light Ferro fibrous armor, double heatsinks, endosteal. Arms: 2 er medium lasers and 2 Rocket Launcher 20s. 🚀. Battle value between 356/422. This Variant was designed for urban and rough terrain that gives plenty of cover for a swarm of these to maneuver to the backs of mechs slower and many times heavier than themselves. Though a hot alpha strike a skilled pilot will not fire the Launchers together nor in rapid succession but as designed to be a team player tactic. Using speed and cunning to stay out direct firing positions, the Locusts can close the distance to unload their deadly barrage. With 2 er medium lasers, it is still a vicious knife fighter as a force multiplier. Not only that it can stay out of range of Short Range Missiles that usually means the death of small mechs if caught too close. The down graded version is 2 RL 10s, 1 medium, 1 small laser. Standard 160 engine, standard armor maxed. This reduces firepower and range but is the basic downgrade from the Star League Defense Forces era and didn't go back to the optimal build till Word Of Blake and the Jahad revitalized its potential. If used with ECM countermeasure pods, it can make the battlefield a bitter harvest for enemies. Note, alot of pirate groups uses these for hit and run raids while others use them for enraging targets to fall into an ambush.

In AS the locust is a beast !!

Taking the laser arms from the -1E and the CT laser of the -1M is definitely a good move. The pilot will only need to worry about heat buildup for pushing the throttle past walk speed. I'd throw in another small tweak and move the external heat sinks out of the legs into the side torsos.

While the stock locust certainly should not fight infantry head-on, it is still quite competent at 'drive by' attacks against them. With it's speed and low profile it can reliably avoid retaliation - though it will suffer greatly if they are lucky. No matter what though, a locust should never stop to shoot.

Real good overview on the Locust.

Love the Locust!

"What is my purpose?" You kick mechs in the shin and hope your MG gets crits. "Oh. My. God." Yeah, you'll be seeing him soon enough.

I like the 1M even at the cost of armor. The LRM5s allow it to pepper targets at long range. The only problem is that you need to Pilot it well and avoid being out of position. In other words, avoid giving it to your lance mates in MW5 lol

I'm a big fan of the Locust with two LRM5s, despite that version being heavily flawed as well.

Recommend a locust with a pair of SRM4's in mw5. You can do a lot of damage quickly, even with only 1 ton of ammo.

I would love to see a video on the Shadowhawk.

I surprised many light foes with the Locust that I have. I mounted a light rifle in place of one of it's MGs. Many a foe has fallen to my Backstabber.

Great video ngl

The locust's 2 machine guns totally threaten an infantry platoon. Each gun does 2d6 extra damage against infantry, ignoring infantry damage reduction. That damage is doubled if the platoon isn't in cover. Plus it can step on them. If you're playing with forced withdrawal rules, then the infantry platoon is totally getting taken off the field. If you're playing with the battlefield support stat cards for infantry, that infantry platoon is DEAD.

The locust is a lot better if your opponent doesn't know what mechs are in what position, or better yet, not knowing there's a mech there at all.

What about the LCT-1M? Paper-thin armor, but it can dash around at range with volleys of missiles!

Replace the machine guns with S.lasers, add 1 ton of armour

Given the locust's great speed allowing it to dictate the range at which it fights, how about ditching the 3 medium lasers of your refit and instead mount 6! small lasers? This, in theory, allows to increase the potential damage. Or if you want more utility, 4 small lasers and a flamer!

Personally I prefer to shuffle two medium lasers in place of the machine guns and then replace the one in the torso with a TAG to double down on its scouting role and spot for my archer and our LRM carriers lobbing as much death as we can physically pack into a missile rack from over the horizon.

Work best with LRMs. Run 12 shoot from 7. Good for crit seeking

6 medium lassr locust is very powerful.

Screw that, take all the lasers away, give me 4+ machine guns. You can even have ALL the armor if you give me 2 more.

I would like to see more variants that does not immediately drop all of the anti-infantry & ballistic weapons to maximize energy weapons.

The only thing I have ever seen a Locust do is Get Cored, Get Legged, or in the most generous cases lose an arm or a torso and an arm

Sorry if this was already mentioned in the comments (I didn't see it) but what is the Battle Value of the Triple Laser Locust? Our group ran a Lance of these little monsters back in the early 90s. Thank you, Nerdy, for your excellent videos.

I'd like to see a periphery version where all of its weapons are replaced by rocket launchers.

You should add a few seconds before the end credits song. It was really jarring for your lecture to immediately change to rock.

8 head armor keeps an AC10 or PPC hit from being a guaranteed kill. I know it's relatively unlikely but it really feels bad when it happens.

burst fire MGs ftw

Source for the refit Rules please? And If anyone know source for % which House have % of the mech?

Based

Honestly surprised 3 ML wasn't a stock varient. Seems like an easy goto for mechs with little to no tonnage to work with.

"2 Machine Guns makes it ineffective against Infantry"... Only against Battle Armor. 2 Machine Guns put out the same damage against a Conventional Platoon as a Flamer does, at a MUCH lower Heat cost. If you catch them out in the open, you can pretty much kiss that Platoon good-bye. With 2, you can even put 2 Platoons in to Forced Withdrawal if you catch them in the open.

ZAP "Why..." ZAP "Won't..." ZAP "You..." ZAP "Stay..." ZAP "STILL?!"

Wow you worki is impresiv!! In what order do you plan to reviu mechs?

How do you determine refit time? I'd love to learn more for my writings. These are amazing analysis pieces

Yea.... Everyone who inherits a mech is happy to not be piloting a locust *Cries in Vulcan pilot*

Ok I have to ask has anyone played a “swarm” of Locusts ?

Little help please. In this video you mentioned some locust quirks, like compact mech. Where are the rules for these quirks?

Ok but what about the flea?

The locust literally just melts under enemy fire i swear in MW5 one was in my lance and it just suddenly dropped dead

Is it me or is this farely fast buildup for a new channel? Especially for a niche interest. Or maybe because it's a niche interest.

You are wrong on mg's they kill 2d6 x2 infantry in open and 2d6 in cover they are a good infantry killer.🤬

Anyone who suggests fixing a mech by replacing all its weapons with medium lasers demonstrates that while they understand the game mechanics they fail to understand the game.