The Hammerhead was created by Clan Sea Fox during the late Dark Ages. It is an unusual Clan design with a focus on durability and stability rather than mobility or firepower. Since its introduction, Clan Sea Fox has opened sales to all of the other Clans. Clan Ghost Bear has been particularly interested in purchasing the design.
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- Hardened armor gives you the durability of an assault ’Mech on a medium chassis
- You can act as a skirmisher using your mobility and pulse laser to engage at long ranges
- You can also brawl up close thanks to SRMs, accurate physical attacks, and your heavy armor
Hammerhead
- Role: Skirmisher
- Tech Base: Clan (3146)
- Chassis: 45 tons (Endo Steel)
- Movement: 6 / 8, XL
- Armor: 120 (Hardened)
- Heat Sinks: 10 (20)
- Weapons:
- Large Pulse Laser
- Streak SRM 6 (ammo: 15)
- ER Medium Laser
- Equipment:
- CASE
- Actuator Enhancement System
- Design Quirks:
- Battlefists
- Cost: 8,005,740 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 1,686
Mobility
The Hammerhead has fairly average mobility for a medium ’Mech. Its walking speed is just above average, but its hardened armor plating means that its running speed is just below average. Those speeds mean that a Hammerhead can achieve a +2 target movement modifier when walking and a +3 modifier when running.
The Hammerhead’s hardened armor would cause penalties to piloting skill rolls, but the Hammerhead’s actuator enhancement system more than compensates for that to give the MechWarrior an overall -1 bonus on target numbers for Piloting Skill Rolls.
Durability
The Hammerhead makes use of hardened armor to have exceptional durability for its weight class. While it only carries 78% of the maximum amount of hardened armor for a 45-ton chassis, that is roughly equivalent to the average armor of an 85-ton assault ’Mech. The hardened armor also reduces the chance of suffering critical hits through its armor. Internally, its XL engine makes the loss of a side torso painful, but it can survive that damage. It also carries a ton of ammunition in its left torso that gives a 20% chance of a critical hit causing an explosion. The torso is protected by CASE though, so the Hammerhead can survive the blast.
Weaponry
Due to devoting a third of its tonnage to armor, the Hammerhead’s armament is lighter than most Clan ’Mechs of similar tonnage. It carries a large pulse laser, an ER medium laser, and a streak SRM 6 launcher.
The large pulse laser gives it the ability to make accurate attacks at ranges out to 20 hexes which can allow it to be an effective skirmisher. At shorter ranges, it can then bring the medium laser and SRMs into play. It hits its maximum expected damage at ranges of 4 hexes or less. A MechWarrior can use its lasers at longer ranges to soften a target before closing in to make the most of its SRMs.
All of a Hammerhead’s weapons are torso-mounted, so its firing arcs are fairly constrained. That means that a MechWarrior will need to be more careful about keeping enemies in front of them since even with a torso twist, they cannot fire any weapons into their rear arc.
The Hammerhead needs ammunition for its SRM launcher, but the ton it carries should be sufficient to last through almost any battle. Thanks to only firing when it has a lock, the Streak system makes the most of its 15 shots.
Heat Management
The Hammerhead is capable of overheating, but that should be a rare occurrence in actual usage. Its heat sinks can dissipate 20 points of heat while its weapons can generate 19 points. That means it is heat neutral when walking and generates 1 point of excess heat when running. Because the Streak missile launcher only generates heat when it achieves a lock, on turns a lock fails, the Hammerhead will remain even cooler.
Brawling
The Hammerhead is well-suited to brawling despite being a Clan design. Thanks to the Battlefists quirks, it can make more accurate punches than other ’Mechs. With none of its weapons in its arms, it also can fire everything and still punch for 5 damage per fist. Its hardened armor also gives it an advantage by meaning that even an Atlas’s punch won’t breach its head armor. Its kicks are also more accurate than normal thanks to its actuator enhancement system and can deal 9 damage.
Cost & Upkeep
The Hammerhead makes use of advanced tech, but it is not notably expensive compared to other Clan ’Mechs in its weight class. The ammo efficient Streak system also can allow the design to go multiple engagements without requiring a reload.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the Hammerhead:
| Action | Clan Cost | Inner Sphere Cost |
| Purchase | 900 SP | 1,800 SP |
| Armor Repair | 45 SP | 90 SP |
| Structure Repair | 90 SP | 180 SP |
| Reload | 10 SP | 20 SP |
Miniature
The Hammerhead is available as a premium miniature from Catalyst Game Labs. It is manufactured by Monster Fight Club.
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