The Penetrator was first introduced in 3053 as an attempt by Kallon Industries to emulate the Nova OmniMech. The original PTR-4D model proved popular with MechWarriors in the Federated Commonwealth. During the Civil War a decade later, the PTR-6T variant was introduced as a field modification made by the Davion Guards. It replaced the original’s medium pulse lasers with ER medium lasers and then used the weight savings to add more heat sinks and a targeting computer. While that reduced the accuracy of the Penetrator at short range, it improved its ability to hit with its large lasers.
Since its introduction, the PTR-6T has continued to serve the Federated Suns but has remained exclusive to that nation into the ilClan era.
Read This First
- Use your jump jets to outmaneuver your enemies
- Generally fire either your large lasers or your medium lasers, not both
- It’s okay to push your heat levels a bit since your jump jets let you stay mobile even when hot
- But be careful about pushing your heat too high or taking center torso internal damage, your anti-missile system ammo is a weak point
Penetrator PTR-6T
- Role: Skirmisher
- Tech Base: Inner Sphere (3066)
- Chassis: 75 tons
- Movement: 4 / 6
- Jumping: 4
- Armor: 208
- Heat Sinks: 14 (28)
- Weapons:
- ER Large Laser × 2
- ER Medium Laser × 6
- Equipment:
- Anti-Missile System (ammo: 12)
- Targeting Computer
- Design Quirks:
- Good Reputation
- Stable
- Cost: 7,929,250 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 1,994
Mobility
The Penetrator PTR-6T’s ground speed is average for a 75-ton ’Mech, but its jump jets allow it to outmaneuver many machines in its weight class. It’s 4 walking MP and 6 running MP mean that in clear terrain it can manage a +1 or +2 target movement modifier. When jumping it should also hit a +2 modifier. Generally, a MechWarrior should be fairly mobile in a Penetrator in order to get into a good range to use its medium lasers, so running and jumping are often better choices than trying to stay in defensive terrain.
Durability
The PTR-6T is fairly durable for its weight class. It is a little below average with only 90% of the armor that a 75-ton ’Mech can carry, but other design choices make it harder to take out. It is equipped with a standard fusion engine, so it is able to lose a side torso without taking any engine hits. The anti-missile system both adds to its durability and is a weak point. It helps protect the Penetrator from missile salvos, but the ammunition is the one component in the entire design that can catastrophically explode and take it out of a fight. While there is only a roughly 8% chance that a critical hit to the center torso will hit the ammo, it means that the MechWarrior needs to be more careful about pushing heat levels than if the design avoided ammunition entirely.
Weaponry
The Penetrator PTR-6T’s armament is built around ER lasers linked to a targeting computer. Two large lasers allow it to engage targets at a maximum range of 19 hexes, and then its six medium lasers come into play at 12 hexes.
The arrangement of weapons for the PTR-6T gives it a good arc of fire, but it has some drawbacks. The large lasers are arm-mounted, so they can be fired in almost any direction. The medium lasers are more restricted due to their position in the torso. Despite its appearance, the Penetrator’s arms have an actuator arrangement that prevents flipping them, so it is only able to fire one of its two large lasers at targets that get behind it. Generally for close in fighting, a MechWarrior would also prefer the medium lasers to have a wider arc while the large lasers are used at ranges where it is less likely an enemy can get quickly behind the Penetrator.
None of the PTR-6T’s offensive weapons require ammunition.
Heat Management
The downside of the Penetrator’s abundant lasers is that it runs hot. Its 14 heat sinks can dissipate 28 heat every turn, but its weapons and jump jets can generate as much as 55 heat points. In practice, a MechWarrior will most often be choosing to fire either the Penetrator’s large lasers or its medium lasers. Firing the larges lets the ’Mech cool off a bit as long as it isn’t also jumping, but firing all of the medium lasers will build up at least 2 heat per turn. Luckily with six of the weapons, it is easy for a MechWarrior to control their heat levels by dropping 1 or 2 of the medium lasers to cool back off as needed.
Brawling
While the Penetrator is built for short-range fighting, it isn’t an optimized brawler. When it finds itself at point-blank range, the arrangement of its lasers and the inclusion of lower arm actuators helps out. It can fire all of its medium lasers at a target and then follow up with punches from both arms. Punching prevents it from firing its large lasers, but heat management usually means not firing them when using the medium lasers anyways. Without hands, the punches are less accurate than they could be, but they will still deal 8 damage each. Alternatively, it can kick for 15 damage. The kick will be more accurate, but also higher risk because a fall after a missed kick can severely impact the Penetrators ability to be in a good position the following turn.
Cost & Upkeep
The PTR-6T has a low price tag for a heavy ’Mech from the Civil War. Thanks to using a standard fusion engine and limited advanced construction options, it only costs about 20% more than a Marauder MAD-3R. Its focus on energy weapons also means that it will only require ammunition supplies for its anti-missile system.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the Penetrator PTR-6T:
| Action | Cost |
| Purchase | 1,500 SP |
| Armor Repair | 75 SP |
| Structure Repair | 150 SP |
| Reload | 0-10 SP |
Miniature
The plastic Penetrator is included in the Hansen’s Roughriders Battle Lance pack. The miniature matches the loadout of multiple Penetrator variants including the PTR-6T.
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