The range issue is a killer. Regardless of whether the listener desires to remember or not.I find myself thinking of them as the "default" melee weapon, partly for the TSM reasons already covered in this thread, but also because they're available in all eras and can supplement ordinary punches and kicks rather than replacing them.
The mech is fragile, so you have to be careful, but I have had good luck with it. And that was the end of it.To add another angle to the conversation, the only other type of environment where I could see the small laser surviving is in the type of campaign game where money is tight and supplies of bigger weapons aren't always readily available. I normally do not like small lasers very much, as I prefer to stay out of knife-fighting range, but on mechs like this they are good.Really, the Small Laser should have been 2-4-6 range and the Large Laser should have been 6 heat.
Like all Lasers, Large Lasers enjoy a baseline accuracy bonus over other weapons. To get more money in Battletech you can sell a cheap item at a higher price. Small lasers do 20 damage per HALF ton.
Also even getting in behind someone it seemed that a few times they just torso twisted and punched me in the face. For the clans, the ERSm took over to the point of rendering it obsolete, and you can see why. The Snub PPC is to a Particle Projector Cannon as a sawed-off shotgun is to a shotgun. Because of this, at least one can be found mounted on most units that cross the battlefield. An improvement upon standard Medium Lasers, Medium Pulse Lasers use pulses of light instead of a single beam. Click here to get yourself up and running!As someone who has won every tabletop Battletech tournament I have participated in, I have very little experience, including zero tournaments, but I've had a couple of cookoffs like I assume every one has. An improvement upon standard Medium Lasers, Extended-Range Medium Lasers extend their effective range at the cost of considerable heat generation. To do so: Edit the cost of a cheap item, e.g., a Small laser; Sell it, Edit the cost back down. They can't replace a Hatchet or Sword of course, but neither of those club-like weapons can do what a bank of splattery beams does either, which is kinda important to successfully having multiple options. Particle Projector Cannons fire streams of energized lightning at their target that deal substantial damage and stability impact. But only when it's actually used by the Clans themselves; they could instead make a mint selling it to the IS as a replacement for the small laser, heh.Have I ever deliberately used Small Lasers? ER PPCs also generate a mild EM field that degrades the firing capability of their target (-1 to Accuracy for one turn). Like all Lasers, ER Medium Lasers enjoy a baseline accuracy bonus over other weapons. The final category of weapons comprises anti-personnel or small weapons.This includes the machine gun , the small laser , and the flamer . Another good candidate is any mech that relies on standard PPCs, AC5s or Gauss Rifles as its primary armament. Anything that can weather the fire close enough to use a small laser is slow enough to make it hard to get close enough to do so, and those that are fast enough tend to get badly hurt by things like enemy fire, stiff breezes and very small rocks. I was constantly trying to jump and backstab with it. Like all Lasers, ER Large Lasers enjoy a baseline accuracy bonus over other weapons. Rediscovered by the Draconis Combine from a Star League concept that didn't take off at the time, this version of the PPC is slightly lighter than a standard PPC, but its energy discharge trails off considerably faster, leading to shorter range and reduced damage capacity over range. Most people would probably jump at the opportunity to swap it out for an extra half ton of armor.Well, if I'm swapping out a design's machine gun(s) and the crater-making ammo supply, and I can't cram on any more armor, or a heat sink, or that medium laser... Yeah, then I'll go with the small laser.
If there's one things that small lasers should be, they should be available almost anywhere you go that has a modicum of technology.Need help getting started with Against the Bot in MekHQ? Battletech money cheats. Hell yeah, on every TSM mech. An improvement upon standard PPCs, Extended-Range PPCs greatly extend their effective range at the cost of incredible heat generation. Small lasers with +dmg will hit as hard as a medium laser. The only reason no one loads smalls up on every mech is that few mechs have lots of support points and support weapon range is incredibly short. Similarly, change other small laser variants (heavy small, re-engineered small, chemical, etc) to 2/4/6, switch the ER small to 3/6/9 (or less), and nerf down the IS pulse version to something that looks like, say, 2/3/4 or 1/3/5, something marginally worse than the new small laser. Can you use them against Canners without breaking Zellbrigen, also? Now if the range was 2/4/6 I might reconsider.By far the best use of the small laser is in mechs with TSM and melee weapons like a hatchet, sword or mace. But it seems it has to be in very enclosed and heavy terrain (like a city or heavy forest).
"“Eternity is a long time, especially towards the end.” -- Stephen HawkingSmall Lasers are too short ranged to be effective main guns. The compact size of the Small Laser allows it to be equipped and used efficiently on practically anything; however the reduced firepower means that Small Lasers are not usually used on heavier combat devices such as 'Mechs or tanks. If you're close enough to … An improvement upon standard Large Lasers, Extended-Range Large Lasers extend their effective range at the cost of massive heat generation.