The Dominator is a new ’Mech that was designed at the request of Khan Alaric Ward of Clan Wolf. It was ready for deployment ahead of schedule in 3148. Compared to other heavy ’Mechs available to Clan Wolf, the design trades away raw firepower in exchange for mobility and accuracy.
As a new design, the Dominator has not yet become common amongst Clan Wolf forces and has not been fielded by any other faction.
Read This First
- You are light on firepower compared to some other Clan Heavy ’Mechs, so you need to make good use of your mobility and accuracy
- Your jump jets and supercharger let you make yourself harder to hit and control the range of the engagement
- Be careful about taking damage to your right side since the large laser can easily be knocked offline
- If an opportunity presents itself, take an aimed shot with your targeting computer to concentrate damage on one location
Dominator
- Role: Skirmisher
- Tech Base: Clan (3148)
- Chassis: 65 tons (Endo Steel)
- Movement: 5 / 8 (10), XL
- Jumping: 5
- Armor: 201 (Ferro Fibrous)
- Heat Sinks: 18 (36)
- Weapons:
- ER PPC
- ER Large Laser
- Streak SRM 6 (ammo: 15)
- ER Small Laser
- Equipment:
- CASE
- Targeting Computer
- Supercharger
- Design Quirks:
- Battlefist (Left Arm)
- Exposed Weapon Linkage (ER Large Laser)
- Reinforced Legs
- Cost: 22,936,292 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 3,018
Mobility
The Dominator starts with an above average ground speed for a heavy ’Mech and then pushes its mobility further with a supercharger and jump jets. It has 5 MP when walking and then either 8 or 10 MP when running depending on whether its MechWarrior uses the supercharger. In ideal situations, that top speed can give it a +4 target movement modifier, but any rough terrain or a need to turn will push that down to +3. The supercharger also carries the risk of causing engine damage, so it should be used sparingly when it will allow the Dominator to either bump up its defensive modifier or push into a more advantageous range bracket. The design’s five jump jets allow it to retain good maneuverability in rough terrain or urban battlefields.
Durability
The Dominator is a well-protected design. Its 201 armor points is above average for a heavy ’Mech. The armor is fairly evenly distributed with the one exception being that the right arm has 5 more points of armor than the left in order to protect the PPC mounted there. On the other hand, the large laser in the torso is more vulnerable than normal to damage due to the Exposed Weapon Linkage quirk. That vulnerability means that any hit to the right torso has about a one in six chance of knocking out the laser.
Weaponry
The Dominator has three main weapons. An ER PPC and ER Large Laser provide energy attacks that can punch holes in the armor of targets out to long ranges. Both are linked to a targeting computer for improved accuracy. Then at shorter ranges, a Streak SRM 6 can exploit weak spots left from the other weapons. The design also features a rear-facing small laser, but a MechWarrior will only rarely have a reason to make use of that weapon.
None of the Dominator’s weapons suffer from minimum range penalties, so it gets more dangerous as it gets closer to targets. That said, it can make use of its improved accuracy and ammo efficiency to work as a harasser at longer ranges. If a MechWarrior can keep their enemies at about 13-14 hexes away, then they can take fairly accurate medium-range shots with both energy weapons while using mobility to remain harder to hit.
At shorter ranges or against easy-to-hit targets, the Dominator’s targeting computer can allow it to concentrate its energy weapon damage on a weak location. Because it can be outgunned by many other heavy ’Mechs, this can be a good option to try to get the most out of its limited number of shots.
The layout of weapons on the Dominator gives it the ability to fire at targets in most directions. The large laser and missiles are only able to fire forward, but the PPC can cover the right side. Then the small laser can be fired behind it. After a torso twist, that lets it cover all directions, but an attacker that can manage to get into its rear left arc will only face minimal return fire.
The Dominator is very ammo efficient. Most of its armament is energy weapons, and the missile launcher’s Streak system means that it will not waste any missiles. It carries 15 shots which will be enough for almost any battle.
Heat Management
The Dominator has enough heat sinks to allow its MechWarrior to focus on the battle rather than their heat scale. Its forward-facing weapons can generate 31 points of heat, and its heat sinks can dissipate 36 points of heat. That means that even when jumping, it is not going to build up any heat unless it also fires its rear-facing small laser.
Brawling
Reflecting the changing beliefs of the Clans a century after their return to the Inner Sphere, the Dominator has actually been designed with brawling in mind. Its left arm lacks weapons and benefits from the Battlefist quirk to allow it to punch for 7 damage with improved accuracy. Its right arm is poorly suited to punching though since it lacks a hand actuator and a MechWarrior would need to not fire the PPC to get in a punch. The Dominator can also kick for 13 damage. Its tonnage, jump jets, and Reinforced Legs quirk also make it a good platform for delivering Death from Above attacks against vulnerable targets.
Cost & Upkeep
While not an OmniMech, the Dominator still makes use of expensive advanced tech including an XL engine, ferro fibrous armor, and endo steel. During a campaign, its ammo efficiency means that it can sometimes make it through multiple engagements before its SRM launcher needs a reload.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the Dominator:
| Action | Clan Cost | Inner Sphere Cost |
| Purchase | 1,300 SP | 2,600 SP |
| Armor Repair | 65 SP | 130 SP |
| Structure Repair | 130 SP | 260 SP |
| Reload | 0-10 SP | 0-20 SP |
Miniature
Iron Wind Metals sells a metal miniature for the Dominator.
Scott's Game Room 