The Commando COM-2D was introduced by the Lyran Commonwealth during the Age of War as a reworking of the earlier COM-1D variant. It is a light striker that packs a lot of short-range firepower at the expense of mobility and armor protection.
The COM-2D was the primary Commando variant used by the Lyran Commonwealth from its introduction through the Succession Wars. After the recovery of more advanced technology, it began to be phased out in favor of upgraded designs such as the COM-5S. Despite that, it remained in use by the Lyrans through the Jihad and remains in use in the Periphery during the Dark Ages.
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- Keep up your target movement modifier and avoid rough terrain
- Hold fire with one weapon to avoid building up too much heat and being slowed down
- Favor enemies with light armor or locations missing armor to maximize critical hit chances with your missiles
Commando COM-2D
- Role: Striker
- Tech Base: Inner Sphere (2486)
- Chassis: 25 tons
- Movement: 6 / 9
- Armor: 64
- Heat Sinks: 10 (10)
- Weapons:
- SRM 6 (ammo: 15)
- Medium Laser
- SRM 4 (ammo: 25)
- Design Quirks:
- Exposed Actuators
- Narrow/Low Profile
- Cost: 1,891,250 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 541
Mobility
The Commado COM-2D has below average mobility for a light ’Mech. Its ground speed of 6 / 9 is only slightly below average, but it lacks jump jets. Without any jump capability, it is at a disadvantage in rough terrain or urban environments where it will not be able to effectively pursue light targets or move quickly enough to avoid enemy fire. In open terrain, it can achieve a +3 target movement modifier while running. Because it needs to get close to targets to deliver its own firepower, maintaining that target movement modifier is very important to keeping the Commando from being blown apart by return fire.
Durability
The COM-2D trades away armor in exchange for its firepower. It only carries 72% of the potential armor for a 25-ton chassis with 64 armor points. That armor plating is fairly evenly distributed across its body with every location able to withstand a medium laser shot, but none of them able to prevent a second from burning into the Commando’s internals. Both of the side torsos carry a ton of SRM ammunition with each having a 33% chance of a critical hit being explosive. The Narrow/Low Profile quirk gives the design a survivability boost by turning some incoming attacks into glancing blows that only deal half damage. On the other hand, the Exposed Actuators quirk means that the COM-2D is more vulnerable to anti-’Mech attacks from infantry than other designs.
Weaponry
The COM-2D’s offensive capability is short-range but has a lot of damage potential compared to contemporary light ’Mechs. All of its weapons have a maximum range of 9 hexes and an ideal range of 3 hexes or less. When firing everything, it can deal up to 25 points of damage, but cluster hit rolls mean that it is unlikely to actually deal the full amount even when all three weapons hit.
While the COM-2D tends to deliver small clusters of damage, it can potentially hit 11 different locations on a target. That means that it is well-suited to scoring critical hits if it is able to target an enemy with either low or missing armor in some locations. A good tactic is using bigger guns on another unit to blast some holes in a target’s armor and then having the Commando get close to take advantage of those weak spots.
The SRM 4 and medium laser are mounted in the Commando’s arms, so at least one of them can target enemies no matter which direction they are from it. The larger SRM 6 has a more restrictive torso firing arc.
Because the two SRM launchers are different sizes, the Commando needs to manage two incompatible ammo bins for them. The ton of SRM 4 ammo provides 25 shots while the SRM 6 can only be fired 15 times before running dry. Even that smaller number of SRM 6 reloads will generally be enough to last through a battle without any issues though.
Heat Management
The Commando COM-2D slowly builds up heat during combat. It is equipped with 10 single heat sinks. Firing all of its weapons will generate 10 points of heat, so it will tend to build up 1-2 points of heat based on movement each round. Generally, the COM-2D’s MechWarrior will want to make running passes and use their speed to be harder to hit. A good target is for it to fire everything when close and then hold back with one of the weapons on rounds when the Commando is farther from its targets.
Brawling
As a light ’Mech, the COM-2D is not very well suited to brawling. While it has a full actuator set in both arms, punching would require giving up on a medium laser or SRM 4 in exchange for only 3 damage. Either of those weapons will deal more damage and have a better chance to hit even at point-blank range. When the Commando kicks, it can deal only 5 damage and a fall at close range can prove lethal due to not being able to effectively evade fire the next round.
Cost & Upkeep
The COM-2D uses introductory tech, so it is very affordable. It will generally need to replace the SRM 6 ammo every battle, but the SRM 4 bin can usually provide enough shots for two engagements.
When using the Warchest Points system, these are the expected costs for the Commando COM-2D:
| Action | Cost |
| Purchase | 250 SP |
| Armor Repair | 25 SP |
| Structure Repair | 50 SP |
| Reload | 5-10 SP |
Miniature
The new plastic miniature for the Commando is included in the A Game of Armored Combat box set. A metal version of the new sculpt is also available from Iron Wind Metals.
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One reply on “’Mech Manual: Commando COM-2D”
First Time Reader! Great stuff you presented a way of looking at battlemechs in here that I hadn’t thought about before. Showing the damage potential based on the weapon placement really put in my head something that I knew but never really though about when it comes to positioning. Can’t wait to go through the rest of these!