In business and war you must always pick the right targets. Today would be no different.

It is the tasking and duty of any of the Warriors of the Delta Aimag to strike bargains before resorting to war. We were to be ‘bargainers first’, according to Shiv-trainer Zoya. We were not to waste that which we had. Not to make war when a deal could be struck. And to never back down where negotiation failed. This is the way of the Shiver, the way of Delta and the way of the Sea-Fox. 

I would not disgrace it with failure.

It was unfortunate these mercenaries saw it otherwise. They took our preference for a deal as weakness, our words for cowardice and our merchandise for an opportunity. This was their first mistake; one easily corrected would they have recanted, apologized and returned to the negotiating table for their acquisition. Such misunderstandings are not rare here in the periphery, the Taurians, the Canopans, the Froncs and the Marians had all suffered missteps before. It was to be expected.

Where those nations would back down, recognize their error and make well, these Mercenaries had pushed the issue. Their commander had elected to assault the Tempest and commit to a grave failing that would see them, and their command, dead and broken at our mechs’ feet.

“Star, Halt.” Star Commander Keelan’s growling voice snapped me from my stewing thoughts as he slowed Star Forger to a slow creep at the edge of the treeline, the Phoenix Hawk’s cockpit grinding around to look out across Brusett’s rolling plains. “Targets are inbound.”

“Aff, Star Commander,” Gwithian agreed from Anahera’s cockpit as the target data for the approaching lance of Mercenary battlemechs filtering into Whitetip’s systems, “let us show these Mercenary curs why they should have respected the Clan.”

“Indeed.” Keelan agreed, keeping his attention on the approaching machines as they plodded on towards us. It was an unsurprising, eclectic morass of heavy assets from all across the inner sphere’s many militaries; all manner of claimed salvage no doubt. By the Great Father that Thunderbolt was older than the Tempest herself. 

The Commander had always preferred to use the spheroid’s tactics against them, ambushing when given the chance and slamming through heavier forces like the deluge of an unbroken river. It was less than honorable, to be blunt. But Spheroid dogs like this held no honor to begin with; they would certainly receive none in return. Star Forger twitched, the tension in her actuators palpable as the hulking shoulderpads of the Mercenary Guillotine hoved into view, followed close behind by the familiar shapes of a Thunderbolt and a pair of Griffins. 

The whirling clack-clack of her cannons burst to life before rising to a deafening roar as the Commander pressed forward up the hill, sending a stream of shells, flame and death into the Thunderbolt’s torso, rending away armor and weapons alike. “GAMMA, ONWARD.”

Whitetip’s jump jets howled, churning my guts as they sent us high over the Guillotine’s rounded brow. Gwithian, Jaymie and Vallent followed the Star Commander into the fray as the eager burble of building energy coalesced in her shoulder. A crackling scream split the air as we passed our jump’s apex, Whitetip and I spinning lightly on the wind to put our sights on the Guillotine’s back. 

The bolt of energy slammed home square into the hulking machine’s, rending away rivers of molten armor and shattered chunks of steel. The Mech shuddered, knocking the beast off target as it let a rip of lightning free towards Jaymie and her Vapor Eagle, sending the crackling bolt off into the distant horizon. A plume of smoke sputtered and roiled from the stricken machine as we touched down behind it, the pilot within struggling to keep his charge upright against the damage that Gwithian was hammering home into its armor. He had not noticed us in the commotion, or if he had he certainly was not concerned we were there.

We could always fix that.

Mechwarrior Marama, Pack Hunter 2 pilot, Clan Sea Fox Delta Aimag. Brusett, August 3147.

—

Howdy Mechwarriors and welcome back to Mech Overview! This week I’m still in clan-land but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, maybe soon I can return to my periphery shit boxes and be happy. Until then I’ve still got that clan ‘advisor’ around and this week she’s quite insistent I take a look at the Pack Hunter, one of my favorite clan second liners!

The Pack Hunter is a longstanding favorite of mine, being the absolute epitome of the little bastard zone which means I use them quite a lot! They aren’t the cheapest of little bastards but few ‘mechs that have any claim to the ‘zone are truly built for so much purity of purpose. The Pack Hunter can get a touch expensive for the job, ranging from 1,257 BV up to 1,794 BV. This in mind many of the expensive ones are that way because they have some un-godly movement options available to them while also often packing in some extra armor which helps protect the investment.

Also Pack Hunters are adorable, look at him down there! probably snackin’ on combos and waiting for a target, I mean coworker, to show up to work! He’s a whole ass dude with a mortgage and a family to feed! Love a good Pack Hunter, great little dudes.

Chassis

Since I’m out of the Omni-mines for now there’s only really one thing in common across all of the Pack Hunters, and the Pack Hunter II, and that’s weight. Pack Hunters are 30 ton lights with a rough movement profile of around 7/11 or ‘better’, only one of them drops below that and he’s got IJJs to make the difference, have middling or better armor and an amount of heat sinks.

The central point of all Pack Hunters is the gun, prominently and proudly mounted in the right torso. Its grand opulence and steadfast decision of destruction is the hallmark of all Pack Hunters. Most of them are cERPPCs or equivalent, gives real good old world Tank Destroyer vibes.

All Pack Hunters have a job and a plan, shoot that guy wayyyyyyy over there while not getting shot in return about it. They are quite happy to just keep doing that until such point as their target is dead or really well and all bored about the whole thing and fucks off. Playing a Pack Hunter right means a long game of a lot of missed shots on both ends that will inevitably see a Pack Hunter having whittled down a bigger ‘mech by sheer virtue of not getting hit by them.

Variants

These mechs have all been reviewed based on a standard F through S scale, which you can find described on our landing page here (along with all of our other ‘mech reviews, the name of the box you can buy to get any of the mechs we have covered, and our general methodology).

Pack Hunter

Fit for holy purpose.

The standard Pack Hunter is a ‘mech with a singular goal, jump seven hexes, fire off its sole cERPPC, go up 2 heat and repeat until target dead, Pack Hunter broken or heat unbearable. At which point it disengages, sinks the heat for a turn and then re-engages in the same order. It’s simple, straightforward and, mostly, effective. The thickest armor is 10 on the CT so you really don’t wanna get hit but with a consistent +4 TMM, or +3 on the run, you’re going to have your pick of position and engagement against the Pack Hunter’s preferred targets, Heavies and Assaults.

While quite vulnerable to light hunters, 1,369 BV is honestly kinda cheap for a 7/11/7 head chopper, especially in the clan toumans. Additionally the Standard engine can help to keep it alive through the loss of the, hopefully not gun carrying, side torso which might let it get away from, or at least near deterrents to, whatever just got ahold of it.

Liberty’s Rating: C+. It’s a good machine that’s doing a good job but this vulnerability to getting whacked by a Wraith or really any near equivalent priced light hunter is kinda disappointing. Needs more armor and some backup weapons.

Pack Hunter 2

By God! They’re in my walls again!

The 2 does exactly what I wanted, beefing up the armor to 10 or greater everywhere but the head, adding in an extra heat sink, mounting eight ER Micro Lasers in the side torsos to help pad out your more important equipment while retaining that healthy 7/11/7 movement profile. All this at the expense of a clan XL engine?

Honestly worth it on a ‘mech like this.

Now, cost wise this does bump us up a good bit, bringing the 2 to 1,598 BV while making it an incredibly diet medium that craves backs to stab. With the upgraded cooling you will only build heat from jumping the full distance and rippling off the mediums, meaning you jump 8 heat and disengage only to do it next round. This many amassed tiny lasers is a pretty effective way to have one machine be able to blow open a spot on an enemy ‘mech and then try to gouge out its internals.

Think of this Pack Hunter like a weird Piranha whose priority is ranged combat right up until it sees a real juicy target to go full dive into. Keep her safe, plinking, and fed, and she’ll serve you well.

Liberty’s Rating: B. Honestly just a better standard. The BV reflects that but I think it’s worth it for something with the ability to meaningfully threaten ‘mechs thrice its size.

Pack Hunter 3

Why is this so much more exp- MAAAAAAASC

I hate Masc. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. This is a 2 but you lose four ER Micros for a MASC. That’s it, that’s the difference. The armor is the same, the sinks are the same, the rest of the guns are the same and the jump is the same. You are now 7/11(14)/7. 7/11(14) is a good movement profile for a lot of striker ‘mechs and this certainly adds some flexibility to your exit or entrance strategy if you don’t want to, or simply can’t effectively, jump in. On the other hand it also brings the cost of the 3 up to 1,747 BV.

Liberty’s Rating: C-. It’s still good, it’s still a Pack Hunter, it’s still angry and it still fixes some problems the Standard has; but being this much more expensive is just not okay for a light like this.

Pack Hunter 4

Cheap cheap cheap!

The 4 goes in the exact opposite direction of the 3, downsizing the engine to give it a 6/9 movement and dropping the cERPPC for a cERLL instead while maintaining 10+ armor where it counts. All these cuts net you a swell cost of only 1,257 BV!

‘But Liberty,’ you cry, concerned about this significant reduction in both firepower and movement, ‘What of the divine purpose! How is Mr. Pack Hunter going to get home to feed his children their helping of delicious, nourishing heavy-mech-o’s now?’

To this, I answer: Nine Improved Jump Jets, an ECM suite and a targeting computer.

The 4 is going in on fixing a different problem of the standard, not hitting as much as you want it too while also posing a question: What’s better, occasional big head chopper hits or slightly more consistent can opener hits? That decision is up to you but I often find that that consistent damage is more likely to win games than banking on being lucky.

Liberty’s Rating: C+. Like a Standard sidegrade, I dig it. Funny lil dood.

Pack Hunter 5

I’ve got the need, Star Commander. The need for increased velocity… What? Is that not the right line?

The 5 takes the 2 and, instead of using the weight bought by the… IS XL engine? Huh, okay, interesting. Anyhow, instead of using the weight bought by the use of an XL engine to mount a bunch of extra guns and heat sinks it instead uses it to do the same boost to armor and to pump up the base movement speed to 9/14/7. This is fast, blisteringly so for what it is. Well, and kinda expensive at 1,644 BV but this isn’t terribly far off from the 2 so it makes sense.

Retaining the original ten double heat sinks a jump and fire of the cERPPC will still result in a +2 on the heat scale but with this increased speed the 5 can pretty comfortably just run around slinging heavy fire at things while retaining a fairly consistent +4 TMM or good enough positions to not really be worth targeting!

Liberty’s Rating: C. Another oddball change that kinda messes with the Pack Hunter rhythm but one that I think does a fine job of  presenting a good alternative for what the standard is meant to be doing!

Pack Hunter II

Originally imagined by the wolves as an Omni Pack Hunter, the II just became an upgraded Pack Hunter due to the necessities of the time. I’m not entirely certain I’d call it an upgrade, at least from a gameplay perspective, as it really does have a bunch of random extra ‘stuff’ in it.

The II, not to be confused with the 2 or the II 2, retains the standard’s 7/11/7 movement profile while mounting up the usual cERPPC in the right torso, a pair of ER Medium Lasers in the arms and a pair of B-pods in the legs supported by the standard ten double heat sinks.

B-pods are good for dealing with battle armor that get the swarm on you but if BA are managing to climb on your Pack Hunters there’s something very wrong going on.

At 1,794 BV this is the absolute most expensive Pack Hunter and it really doesn’t feel worth it to me, I can see no reason I would pick this over a different Pack Hunter given the choice unless I was BA hunting. At which point go get a Baboon and load it up with Infernos or a Nova T and turn the squad inside out with 5 pointers.

Liberty’s Rating: D. Too expensive for too little, sad to see because Pack Hunter IIs look cool as shit.

Pack Hunter II 2

Infantry are fucking lame, you should beat them with the hammers we’ve kindly installed in your legs.

The II 2 is a II but with a Light engine, for some reason, a cERPPC, 10 or more armor everywhere and a pair of A-pods in your legs. A-pods kill infantry, that’s it. That’s all they do. This is just another instance of someone making a weird Pack Hunter for some reason that I just don’t know.

At 1,457 BV if you’ve got a hankering to turn a platoon of infantry into ground chuck while retaining the Pack Hunters usual TD style of gameplay, the II 2 will do it for you, but I’m not sure you should listen to the Infantry guy as he whispers sweet nothings into your ears. It’s probably not great for your psyche.

Liberty’s Rating: C-. I mean… it’s fine? It’s just a more expensive Pack Hunter Standard to mount up some armor and A-Pods which is cool? I guess?

Pack Hunter II 3

Oh now we’re talkin’. Thanks Hell’s Horses, whenever you’re in the avail I just know it’s gonna be funny.

The II 3 returns to the Pack Hunter’s original armor profile, armament and heat sinks while still mounting up a clan XL engine. But what was done with the saved weight, you ask?

Ten IJJs.

This is a ten hex jumping heat-neutral cERPPC for 1,438 BV. This is a very funny machine that is always going to have a better shot and a dictated battlefield over its adversaries. If it gets caught by a light hunter it’s because you fucked up and should feel bad about it because, with this this much jump on tap, it is definitely not the ‘mech’s fault. As well, because IJJs, the II 3 is entirely heat neutral on a full jump which does wonders to improve the Pack Hunters longevity and engagement in the fight. See, Wolves, this is what you should’ve started with when you tried to improve the Pack Hunter.

Funny dude and for only 69 BV more than the OG pack Hunter it really is a worthwhile upgrade. This much mobility with a big gun can do wonders for putting a threat somewhere your opponent does not want it to be which can really help to spook them out into a kill box or force them to rethink their course of action when a god particle slams through their cockpit at an appreciable portion of C.

Liberty’s Rating: B. Just a dude that wants to go to the trampoline park to play bouncy dodge-ball every weekend.

Pack Hunter II 4

Okay but why?

The II 4 is a II that lost the B-Pods and the ER Mediums to replace them with AES’ out in the arms and legs. But why?

AES is great in the legs to help keep the II 4 upright, I get that, but in the arms it’s only really helping with punches which this long range sniper doesn’t want to be making… I’m confused. That in mind it is still in the 1400s at 1,447 BV so it’s not that bad, but for the price I’d rather just have a II 3, if you’re worried about PSRs after being hit in a ‘mech like this I think you might have bigger problems to worry about.

Liberty’s Rating: C+. Another weird side grade to the OG.

Pack Hunter II Isis

Damn… that’s cheap, cool!

Our first, and only, named variant with a record sheet, the Isis coming out of the Rasalhague Dominion, takes a Pack Hunter II and sprints very far away from the original role of sniper right into being a light hunter/oddball diet medium. To do this we’ve reshuffled the armor a bit, gaining full head protection while losing the 10 gate on the arms, retained the 7/11/7 profile then dropped the cERPPC and replaced it with a lot of new options.

A pair of Medium Pulse Lasers fill out the arms backed up by an SRM 6 with Artemis IV in the right torso and a quartet of ER Micro Lasers. The Standard Ten Double Heat sinks are doing their best to keep the ‘mech cool and do a good job of it on a running alpha strike. With a jump in the mix you go up +3 heat firing everything off. That in mind this is a fairly competent light mech hunter and I quite like the look of it, especially for 1,276 BV!

Liberty’s Rating: B. Different role than the usual Pack Hunters but this would be a fairly effective light hunter or heavy harasser! If you want a fun bit of flavor for a Rasalhague Dominion force then the II Isis might just be the pick!

Conclusion

There’s quite a few Pack Hunters but they’re all pretty uniform in purpose and there’s something about that I can appreciate. None of them are necessarily bad but a couple are certainly outshone by their brethren. If you want a good plinker to help your force out there’s probably a Pack Hunter in here that will strike your fancy. I’d personally recommend the II 3, the 2 or the 4! Granted there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the OG, she’ll serve you well, if you’re willing to tolerate the fact that she’s going to miss a lot if you just jump her all over the place.

Fair weather, good seas and happy hunting!

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