The Locust LCT-1V was introduced as a scout ’Mech in 2499. It is fast even compared to many other light ’Mechs, but it has limited firepower. Because it both excels as a scout and is inexpensive, the LCT-1V can be found in almost every military in the Inner Sphere and Periphery no matter the era.
Read This First
- Your best trait is your speed, use it to evade enemy fire and accomplish objectives
- You have the firepower to take on conventional infantry, but not much else
- Don’t fall over, you don’t have arms to help you get back up
Locust LCT-1V
- Role: Scout
- Tech Base: Inner Sphere (2499)
- Chassis: 20 tons
- Movement: 8 / 12
- Armor: 64
- Heat Sinks: 10 (10)
- Weapons:
- Medium Laser
- Machine Gun × 2 (ammo: 200)
- Design Quirks:
- Compact ’Mech
- Cramped Cockpit
- Narrow/Low Profile
- No/Minimal Arms
- Weak Legs
- Cost: 1,512,400 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 432
Mobility
The Locust LCT-1V is a very fast ’Mech. It has a walking speed of 8 and a running speed of 12 which gives it a lot of control over engagement distances and the ability to quickly chase down objectives. It lacks jump jets though, so it is important to avoid rough terrain when possible. As much as possible, a Locust should stay running and aim to cover at least 10 hexes of movement in order to maintain its +4 target movement modifier.
Piloting a Locust is more difficult due to its Cramped Cockpit quirk. That makes terrain that will require a Piloting Skill Roll, such as water, more dangerous. Making matters even worse, the No/Minimal Arms quirk will make it harder to stand back up if the Locust does fall.
Durability
As one of the lightest BattleMechs, the Locust is unable to survive much damage. It has 93% of the maximum armor for its tonnage, but that is only 64 points. Its arms have the thinnest armor and even a single medium laser shot will cause internal damage to them. The LCT-1V carries one ton of ammo in its center torso giving that location an 8% chance of a critical being explosive. Because of that lack of durability, it is especially important for the Locust to maintain its speed so that it can benefit from a high target movement modifier. The Narrow/Low Profile quirk adds a bit more survivability by turning some hits into glancing hits that will only deal half damage. The more difficult that a Locust’s MechWarrior can make enemy attacks with evasive movement, the more valuable that quirk will be in keeping their ’Mech operational.
Weaponry
The Locust LCT-1V carries a medium laser as its primary weapon and two machine guns as secondary weapons. That is enough to excel at fighting infantry, but it will struggle to have much impact against anything but the lightest of ’Mechs and combat vehicles. Due to the short range of the machine guns, peak damage potential is at just 1 hex, but getting within 3 hexes for the medium laser’s short range is generally good.
When the Locust is in a situation where it needs to battle with heavier targets, its best use is as a fast flanker. It can use its speed to be a difficult target and then get into the rear arc of enemies in hopes of being able to break through their lightest armor sections with its laser.
The Locust’s medium laser is underslung on its torso, and the two machine guns are in the arms. The minimal arms can also flip so that both machine guns can be fired into the rear arc. The short range on the machine guns does mean that it can still be hard to target enemies that get behind the Locust.
The two machine guns share a full ton of ammunition giving the LCT-1V a hundred rounds worth of shooting. That should be enough to last entire campaigns without needing to reload.
Heat Management
The LCT-1V runs very cool. It carries the minimal 10 heat sinks for a fusion engine, but when running and firing all of its weapons it can only generate 5 points of heat. That means that even with one critical hit to the engine, it still won’t overheat at all.
Brawling
The Locust is nearly useless in a brawl. It is unable to punch due to the No/Minimal Arms quirk. It is more vulnerable to kicks due to the Weak Legs quirk and more likely to fall over as a result of missing its own kick or being kicked due to the Cramped Cockpit quirk. When forced into a melee, it can kick for 4 damage, but it is better to avoid the situation entirely.
Other Capabilities
Thanks to the Compact ’Mech quirk, two Locusts can share a single transport cubicle. That can be helpful in situations where a force is working with a limited transport capacity.
Cost & Upkeep
As a 20-ton design built with introductory tech, the LCT-1V is very inexpensive. For upkeep, its ton of machine gun ammo can easily last an entire campaign.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the Locust LCT-1V:
| Action | Cost |
| Purchase | 200 SP |
| Armor Repair | 20 SP |
| Structure Repair | 40 SP |
| Reload | 0-5 SP |
Miniature
The new plastic miniature for the Locust is included in the A Game of Armored Combat set. A metal version of the same sculpt that can also be assembled as an LCT-1E or LCT-1Vb is available from Iron Wind Metals.
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One reply on “’Mech Manual: Locust LCT-1V”
Hey!
I only discovered your blog recently, and went through as much of your stuff as possible since!
Thanks for this post, I actually discovered the rule about flipping the arms!
And I absolutely love your last post on Port Arthur assault! So much memory from Mechcommander!