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Is Hyper-Assault Gauss worthless?! Or is it secretly GOATed? Battletech weapon review.
Hello mechwarriors! This is a review of one of the least used weapons in the game: Hyper Assault Gauss (or HAG for short.) I think …
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Hello mechwarriors! This is a review of one of the least used weapons in the game: Hyper Assault Gauss (or HAG for short.) I think …
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I just like HAG's because rule of cool and a few games where I strapped a 30 to a hellfire and cleaned light mechs out. That being said, you really want to run a targeting comp. leading to a skyrocket of BV. Fun to use, but expensive.
The ammo comparison at the end was a little… unfair.
Yes, the HAG has 2.4x the chance of being crit (assuming all are even), but the LRM ammo bin when hit is 120 damage, 6 times more internal damage, and that is for only 1 bin, so depending on where you put the other bins, after the explosion, you still have other bombs in your mech.
Even without CASE, the HAG crit stinks because you lose the weapon, but your mech is likely alive.
A LRM ammo bin hit kills your mech. Even with CASE, the chance that multiple Bins being hit turns your pilot into a vegetable, with is still a dead mech.
The bigger hags are better on a cold night.
the hag 40 exists for the same reason the mrm 40 does. no one is going to use it but if you do, and it hits, woo baby is it going to be fun.
Looks like I wasn't the only one thinking about this.
I was discussing the Bane/Kraken when this came up. The Bane 7 is one of the most BV expensive units in the game because the HAG40 is the most expensive weapon in the game. The question was is it better than the Bane 3 (no). One 800 BV cheaper and gives 120 LRMs per round for 16 salvos. The other gives 80 HAG rounds for 18 salvos with laser back up.
The HAG systems definitely outclass IS LRM systems but fall behind Clan LRM systems slightly once you consider additional heat, explosive ammo, and Artemis systems.
So the takeaway from this video is never use BV for your games. You're not playing inflated WH40K.
We could really use a revised BV3!
Just like dumping ammo, shutting down Gauss rifles can save a lot of headache.
Would you make a mech that has hags and lrms? LRMs for long range hags for closer targets. Artemis 4?
Or Srms?
Your calculations are based on ISLRMs with Artemis IV
LRM5βs are the most optimized LRM launcher, not 15βs.
For the most part, with the way my play group builds lists and actually plays, i tend to think of it like cluster rounds for the LBX ac's. Basically just don't even use it until theres some holes punched to crit seek. And that's specifically because almost everybody i play against tends to build lists for survivability unless its a structured objective style game of some sort. HAG's are still powerful mind, but i personally prefer to punch holes, not sandpaper armored targets.
HAG SUCKS
I know this video covers mostly the Mech side of things but i wanted to share how it works in aerotech where HAG's get the full range brackets that AT gives and a -1 to hit all air targets in a game where there is not much you can do to get lower numbers makes it a pretty scary weapon.
You have a point. however.a dire wolf with dual hag 40S makes for one of the absolute best potential distractions you can have. its prohibitively expensive but your enemy cant ignore it. Its amazing for objective play in my experience because you have to basically sic an entire lance on the dire wolf to kill it
I distinctly remember making an "Urbie Horde" roster and discovering an UrbanMech with a HAG on it, getting really excited because I'd heard they were the new hottest toy in-universe, then getting really disappointed when I discovered it was just an LB-Gauss Rifle instead of an instant-mech-deletion button
I've always thought of the HAG the same way I think of the snub-nosed PPC. Its primary selling point is the huge short range for outboxing other brawlers. And unlike the Snubby, the HAG gets a really good Medium Range for reaching out to punch on your way in. I mostly just don't consider firing them at long range because of how bad long-range shots are (especially since my local group tends to prefer avoiding gunnery improvements). They also get a huge extra edge in campaigns with SPAs since there are a lot more SPAs that benefit direct-fire weapons, but that's a lot more niche.
Gatling Gauss goes Brrrt.
I see classic battle tech but nothing about alpha strike.
Good video on a comparison of HAGβs to LRMβs. When youβre saying that the larger HAGβs are not BV efficient. I would take two HAG 40βs and up the gunnery skills on my pilots. As the 4 gunnery is responsive with more guns the 2 or 3 gunnery would is greatly more responsive with fewer guns. Agreed the -4 to hit flack bonus is always a good reason to love a HAG.
For in the case of the Cygnus in version 2 and 3. The Cygnus 2 would be exceptional with 3 gunners at 4,437 BV or a better marksmen and the Cygnus 3 would be a little under effective with a 4 or 3 gunnery for 2826 or 3391 BV. I like the larger guns as I consider them ammo economical. Also, the HAG 40 is one of the few weapons that may brute force Ferro-Lamellor or Ballistic Reinforced armor. I like the Cygnus 2 because I may armor strip a Kodiak or go crit fishing.
Hagmaxxer π
Id have to counter argue somewhat with the 2x 20s versus the Hag 40. Yes more likely to get SOME damage, but having to roll 2 hits versus just 1 hit, and since they are cluster weapons 2 cluster rolls versus 1 cluster roll, your average is that your going to have fewer hits with the 2 20s versus the HAG, because you have fewer points of failure, fewer rolls. Yes when you miss with the 40 thats a BIG Miss but the average of 1 is .5 rounded up to 1, where as the average of 2 is 1 so youll miss with one of the 20s most of the time.
Honestly i always compared the HAG to the inner Sphere MRM. Similar effect just different rules due to flak vs rocket box
I've never been a fan
I like the HAG-40 because big boomstick make brain do the happy tingle.
I have a Dark Age campaign in MegaMek where I put a HAG-30 on a Victor 12D in place of the usual gauss rifle. Combined with the 12D's targeting computer and three tons of ammo, that thing is an absolute monster; terrifying damage up close like the classic Succession Wars Victor, but with the ability to still reach out and touch somebody at decent range if it needs to like the later models can.
Funny thing is that the better comparison is between the MRMs and HAG, than the LRMs.
Ok here you go again with your 'numbers', 'charts', 'data', and 'facts' … you are once again correct, however I will again make my counter arguments of: RULE OF COOL! and Bigger is better!
Keep this killer analytical content coming.
My gut always said the HAG20 was good, good to see that validated.
the -2 cluster hit penalty is interesting…..but and i'm sure someone mentioned this and i haven't noticed, can't reduce HAG damge with an AMS
If you want to deal with flying things, take the SBGR. Not a lot of options for it, but there's the lovely Rifleman RFL-7G, and a couple Marauders that are nice. The Challenger XV has one SBGR and one GR, it's a nice but kinda costly tank.
SBGRs get the -1 natural, -1 for flying, and the Rifleman has the AA Quark(never play with quarks tho), for a total of -3 IIRC.
Add in the Gauss range profile and it's just so good a sweeping the skies.
It's not common on offical maps to have open lines of fire to 16 hexes tho, especially if your opponents aren't cooperative with it.
It doesn't get the -1 to hit that LBX / SBGR gets?
My impression, having never tested them, is that there's no great reason to use one over a PPC (or lrm) and they are also silly clanner stuff. Silver Bullet Gauss is a different story tho…
Let's see if your video changes my mind on them π
How often do Catalyst recalculate BV for weapons and mechs?? A HAG 40 looks like it might be good for crit seeking but jeez… there's just… better
A HAG does less damage than a ton of LRM ammo going off and can only go off once. And they come in about the same time as CASE II, iirc.
another benefit for hags, they benefit from the targeting computer. but lrms benefit from narc launchers.
The AA comparison is valuable, it'd be an interesting video to look at how different builds and 'Mechs with built-in secondary AA ability (like the Orion or Lancelot) compare to 'dedicated' AA platforms like the Rifleman and Jaegermech.
It would be interesting to go into the BV calculation for bigger HAG weapons to see exactly why they're so expensive. Range is one of the biggest things that makes a weapon more expensive, and the HAG 30 and 40 have by far the best range of any single weapon that can do 20+ damage a shot. Bigger HAG weapons certainly look wildly overcosted, but it's actually not that terrible when you factor in the +2 cluster at short range compared to extra weight and cost of upgrading a 30 or 40 LRMs with Streak or Artemis.
As far as official HAG mechs go, my favorite that I've seen on the table so far is the Battlemaster C. With a HAG 30 and 6 clan medium lasers all tied to a targeting computer, plus an ATM 6, it's a brutal close/mid range brawler that has enough speed to get to that 8 hex ideal distance without too much trouble. At around 3k BV, it isn't cheap, but actually does pretty well in cost compared to a lot of other HAG assault mechs which climb well over 3k BV if they have multiple HAG 30 or 40.
One thing about the higher tier HAGs, I think they're both stronger and therefore pay BV for being more likely to cause a PSR by themselves
I use it pretty frequently to great success. Especially if you're bringing a custom to larger point game. A hag 30 or 40 can be game changing.
Hag 40 is definitely very powerful in casual games. That being said i havent seen it used much in more competitive game's. Theres also very few competitive games set in the current era
Appreciate the analysis using actual statistics. Thanks!