Lostech in Mechwarrior 5

Lostech In Mechwarrior 5

Lostech is a term frequently bandied about during the main campaign and many side-activities in Mechwarrior 5 but the subject is never really explained in depth in the game. Therefore I felt a need to go into the subject and explain what lostech is in general and give a list of lostech equipment and mechs that can be found in Mechwarrior 5.

First thing first lostech is a portmanteau word of lost and technology and means just that, technology that has become lost. In the roughly three centuries since the fall of the Star League and the beginning of the secession wars a great deal of the advanced technology that was the hallmark of the Star League has become lost to the current inhabitants of the Inner Sphere. Even before the Star League completely collapsed and Alexandr Kerensky took the bulk of the Star League Defense Force, or SLDF, into a self-imposed exile beyond the borders of the known galaxy, the Amaris Civil War and the Reunification War caused enormous damage to the galaxy. Mass orbital bombardments from rare and powerful interstellar battleships, the mass deployment of atomic weapons, direct attacks on infrastructure and the extermination of populations were hallmarks of these conflicts as well as the first secession war. The matter was further complicated by the fact that the Star League and it's rulers in House Cameron, had purposefully restricted the technology that they made available to the various competing Great Houses. With the Star League in collapse, House Cameron all but exterminated and the SLDF fleeing known space a great deal of the knowledge of the Star League had vanished from the Inner Sphere. It didn't help that on their way out the SLDF had taken everything they could and destroyed, buried or hid whatever they couldn't take with them. Once the fires of the first secession war burned out the noble houses of the Inner Sphere found that a great deal of the technological achievements of the Star League era had been all but completely destroyed. Examples of these advanced technologies remained but the knowledge and technology to replace or even repair much of it had been lost completely. The advanced orbital mech factories capable of building light and durable endo-steel chassis were all gone, the knowledge of ferro-fibrous armor, advanced ECM suites, anti-missile systems, pulse lasers and gauss rifles was all lost. Whole patterns of Mech could no longer be replaced and those that remained often had to be downgraded, stripped of their irreplaceable advanced technology and outfitted with less advanced replacements. 

Over the next few centuries the slow decline of technology in the Inner Sphere would continue, the development of new technology slowed to a crawl and few new designs of mech were created or built with the great houses forced to rely on aging arsenals and dated designs to continue their conflicts with each other. Fortunately perhaps the advanced warships and extremely powerful weapons that had done so much damage had also suffered from the loss of technology and what remained was too precious to risk so the wholesale devastation of entire worlds slowed. It was still not uncommon for whole urban centers to be razed to the ground or factories blasted to rubble but the rate of such losses was noticeably lower than in the earlier apocalyptic conflicts. This slow decline would halt and then slowly reverse with the discovery of an ancient star league data core on the world of Helm. Known as the Helm memory-core this precious artifact would unlock a wealth of blueprints and knowledge from the Star League era and allow the engineers and scientists of the great houses to begin reproducing many technologies lost over the last three centuries. By the mid thirty-first century not only were rare lostech weaponry like pulse lasers and gauss rifles being produced once more but many aging patterns of mech were being re-armed with these powerful weapons. This would prove a fortunate turn of events for the Clans, the descendants of Kerensky's exodus fleet, were about to storm into the Inner Sphere and bring with them a wealth of advanced technology to savage the forces of the great houses. 

List of Lostech in Mechwarrior 5

Anti-Missile System

-Known as the AMS for short this advanced weapon combined a rapid-fire rotary cannon with a sophisticated targeting system capable of intercepting and destroying incoming missiles. Mounted on a Mech these devices provided their bearer and it's lance-mates protection from long-range missile bombardments, reducing or eliminating incoming barrages of hostile munitions before they could land on target.

 

Artemis Missile Systems

-Rare missile launcher systems fitted with advanced targeting systems, these weapons were capable of putting more of their fired missiles on target at the cost of being generally heavier than their simpler counterparts. 

 

Beagle Active Probe

-These star-league era systems provided a mech with more powerful sensor technology capable of spotting and tracking targets even through obscuring terrain and hazardous environmental conditions. 

 

Double-Heat Sinks

-Pretty much identical to the normal single heat sinks these systems provided substantially better heat management at the cost of roughly double the space of single systems. However they were not substantially heavier, just bulkier and many energy-weapon heavy mech patterns relied on these systems to prevent themselves from critically overheating constantly.

 

Endo-Steel Chassis

-These rare, advanced and expensive mech-chassis were custom built in orbital factories before the fall of the star league. Endo-steel requires zero-gravity to manufacture and each chassis is individually built for each mech. Lighter and more durable than traditional steel chassis endo-steel freed up more weight for additional armor, weapons, engines and heat sinks. 

 

Extended Range Lasers 

-Variants of standard laser weaponry these more advanced variants provided greater range at the cost of greater weight and heat generation. Nevertheless these negatives were largely considered to be far outweighed by the advantage greater range provided.

Extended Range Pulse Projector Cannons

-Like the extended range laser weaponry the extended range PPC weapons sacrificed greater weight and heat generation for a considerably greater range over the standard variants of these weapons.

Ferro-Fibrous Armor

-Advanced composite armor that is lighter and stronger than traditional steel armor-plate this technology provided a mech with much greater protection for the same weight or provided similar protection to other armor while saving weight and thus allowing for more weaponry to be packed into the same chassis.

Gauss Rifles

-These extremely powerful ballistic weapons are highly accurate over enormous distances. Using electro-magnets to accelerate solid-slugs to extreme velocities Gauss rifles are capable of stripping tons of armor off of their targets in a single hit and are easily among the single most devastating single-shot weapons available. Although powerful they are slow to reload and have their limits as well as being expensive and hard to maintain. An early casualty of the secession wars many mechs that had boasted Gauss rifles were forced to downgrade their arsenals to autocannons or ppcs.

Guardian ECM

-Advanced electronic counter-measure systems the Guardian ECM provided protection to the equipped mech and it's companions from hostile electronic warfare systems, fortifying sensor and communications technologies against interference.

LB-X Autocannons

-Advanced autocannons capable of firing powerful solid slugs or large-caliber scatter-shot these weapons were more versatile than their standard counterparts and highly prized among the mechwarriors of the star league and early secession wars. However they proved difficult to manufacture and repair and were quickly lost to the general technological decline of the secession wars only returning to the arsenals of the great houses and mercenaries alike following the discovery of the Helm memory core.

NARC Beacons

-These advanced systems were designed to provide target acquisition support for allied missiles, helping to guide long-range missile barrages more accurately onto their targets. When properly employed by Mechs such as the Kintaro alongside fire-support missile mechs such as the Catapult, Trebuchet or Stalker the NARC could help significantly improve the accuracy of LRMs and cause devastating impact on their selected targets. Unfortunately the chaos of the fall of the star league would take the knowledge of NARC manufacture with it.

Pulse Lasers

-Advanced laser technology that fired in rapid pulses of energy instead of a single continuous stream. These multiple rapid hits proved far more damaging to enemy targets without generating significantly greater heat. Although heavier than standard lasers the increased damage output meant that pulse lasers were popular armaments during the star league era.

Streak Short Range Missiles

-These advanced short ranged missile systems require lock-ons similar to long-ranged missiles instead of firing a burst of unguided short-ranged rockets. Effectively putting more munitions on target accurately for the cost of fewer missiles fired per shot.

 

Ultra-Autocannons

-These advanced rotary autocannon systems featured multiple-barrels and sophisticated loading mechanisms to allow for a near continuous stream of fire. This power came at the cost of frequent jamming problems leading to skilled pilots carefully monitoring their fire-rate to take advantage of the rapid-fire nature of the weapon without stressing the loading system too greatly.

List of Lostech Mechs in Mechwarrior 5

Annihilator - 1X

-The Annihilator was birthed in the last year of the Amaris Civil War but never officially entered production. However a handful of prototypes must have been developed and saw some use though none would survive the Amaris Civil War or remain on the battlefields of the Inner Sphere after the departure of the SLDF from known space. The design would remain extinct until the mysterious appearance of the Wolf's Dragoons mercenary outfit who would bring with them a number of rare and ancient patterns of mechs and commission several more such as the Marauder II. Despite entering production in 3009 with the ANH-1A the original and even more heavily armed 1X pattern would remain an extreme rarity.

 

Black Knight - BL-6B-KNT

-Manufacture of the Black Knight would slow with the destruction of it's primary KIC manufacturing plants early in the secession wars but the popularity of the chassis would keep it in production over the centuries that followed, though none of the later models would possess the advanced technology of the 6B variant. Later iterations of the Black Knight would lose the beagle active probe and pulse lasers for more standard medium lasers and particle projector cannons. By the third secession war spare parts for the Black Knight had become so rare that the famous family mech of the McKinnons would be all but retired from active service, pulled out only for parades and demonstrations.

Crab - 27SL

-The crab proved a robust and reliable chassis from it's early inception but the loss of production facilities would leave the chassis without any new manufacturing source for centuries. Despite the lack of new crabs being produced the easy to maintain and the large numbers already produced would keep the crab in active service across the armies of the great houses for centuries, although these examples would largely be downgraded, losing their ferro-fibrous armor, jump jets and pulse lasers in the process.

Crusader - 2R

-Originally manufactured for the royal battlemech regiments of the Star League this pattern of Crusader would go almost completely extinct in the Inner Sphere when the bulk of remaining examples departed with Kerensky's exodus fleet. Only a few rare examples would appear in the Inner Sphere over the following centuries.

Firestarter - FS9-A

-The original production variant of the Firestarter the FS9-A would ultimately be downgraded with the advent of the FS9-H which would lose a flamer, the small lasers and the ferro-fibrous armor. By the third secession war the FS9-A would be an extinct pattern of mech completely absent from the battlefields of the Inner Sphere.

Highlander - 732

-The original production variant of the Highlander the 732 mounted a variety of powerful weaponry including a Gauss rifle mounted in the right arm. Although production of the Highlander would continue after the fall of the star league the loss of Gauss technology would mean later iterations of the mech and surviving 732s would need to be refit with autocannons or pulse projector cannons instead.

Kintaro - 19B

-Originally intended as a platform for deploying NARC beacons on target in support of long range missile mechs the Kintaro would be downgraded to a fire-support mech after the loss of NARC technology early in the secession wars leaving the 19B as an all but extinct variant of mech.

Nightstar- NSJ

-An early casualty of the secession wars the Nightstar was originally invented as an upgrade over the aging Marauder chassis. Given the popularity of the Marauder among command units the need for a larger and more powerful mech with similar capabilities quickly became apparent. Keeping the reverse-jointed legs and hunched profile of the Marauder the Nighstar features a pair of arm-mounted gauss rifles, a torso mounted ppc and a suite of medium and small pulse lasers. Extremely heavily armed, well armored, fast for an assault mech and well suited for use by battlefield commanders the Nightstar made a good impression on the battlefields of the Inner Sphere but the loss of both production facilities in 2786 the Nightstar would quickly disappear, the mech becoming an extreme rarity over the next few centuries.

Orion - ON1-P

-The protector variant of the popular Orion mech was produced during the latter years of the Star League and was very similar to the mech Alexandr Kerensky piloted during the final battles of the Amaris Civil War. Mounting a variety of powerful weapons including a torso fitted gauss rifle the ON1-P was exceptionally well armed but like many advanced variants the loss of technology following the fall of the star league and the outbreak of the secession wars would quickly make this mech extinct in the armories of the great houses.

Stalker - 3FB

-Manufactured in the later years of the star league this variant of the venerable stalker assault mech featured artemis missile systems, extended range large lasers and a guardian ecm system, all technology that would be lost with the fall of the star league and the devastation of the secession wars.

Urbanmech - K9

-Mounting an ultra-autocannon 5 and a large lasers as it's primary armaments the Urbanmech - K9 was a custom civil enforcement mech designed for urban pacification during the later years of the star league. With the fall of the league and the collapse of the institutions of House Cameron this mech would quickly become extinct, only a single surviving example remaining in the Inner Sphere by the 31st century.