OBT Forum

You have a couple options, and those options are dependent upon the scenario.  Ultimately, in a defensive situation they are going to be more effective.  Offensively, they're a bit harder to use.

Defensively you have a couple choices.  Personally, I prefer to use some dug-in field guns with body armor.  Their cheap and effective.  I'm a fan of the Light Gauss, since you get 2 LGRs and 16 shots to start the game off.  They're good on a flank for protection or on high ground for sniping.  UAC 10s or AC 10s w/ precision ammo are also very effective.  Another option, and this is really only effective if you are given the whole map as a starting zone, is placing your infantry out of LOS behind hills or deep in forests (preferably hidden).  These units will effectively negate useful terrain features for your enemy, as they will end up getting bogged down by the infantry if they attempt to use the terrain to their advantage.

Offensively your choices are a bit more limited.  They aren't extremely useful in terrain-less maps, but become increasingly more useful the more terrain there is.  When paired with speedy APCs, you can effectively use the same strategy I suggested above for terrain denial...it just takes a turn or two to position them. 

Conventional infantry tends to be very similar to Thunder LRM mines.  They're more effective as a psychological weapon than as an actual weapon in game.  But their low cost means that even if they never fire, the impact they have is nearly always with the couple hundred BVs you spend.   Additionally, use them in situations where you have good intel to suggest you're going up against the typical "Lyran Wall of Steel" who might not have good answers to conventional infantry which can become good tarpits for their big guns, forcing them to kill one guy per gauss or PPC shot. 

And as you mentioned, they shine in urban settings for sure.  Hope some of those ideas helped.  Really, the key is to start throwing a couple units of infantry into the mix in the games you play.  Once you play with them a bit, you'll start to see how they can be effective and ineffective and learn from those experiences.

You mentioned Light Gauss Rifles, UAC 10s and AC 10s with Precision Ammo. That's pretty high tech equipment for the type of infantry I'm talking about. Perhaps to be more clear, how about we say we're dealing with standard infantry from the 24th century or at the height of the Succession Wars in the deep Periphery - PBIs for sure.

What can we do with this?

Sorry if I'm a bit dense, but frankly...I don't play the game.

I'm not very familar with pre 3025 combat, but I'm going to make sum assumptions based on what I do know.  The one thing I do know is that in the inner sphere there tends to be a mix of tech levels, some Star League stuff and some of it is very low tech.  There's are my assumptions:

1. Deep Periphery = low tech
2. Opponent also low tech

First, as Ice pointed out, infantry's main use is terrain negation.  You identify some areas you want to keep clean of enemies, you hunker some infantry down there.  In low tech games, the dreaded inferno SRM infantry are very, very effective.  No double heat sinks, no weight saving armor for more heat sinks, and most 'Mechs are under sinked.  You can use your inferno infantry as "de-buffers", causing massive heat penalities (shooting and moving) to the point of multi-turn loss as the unit attempts to get it's heat under control. 

Additionally, I know the sexy field guns aren't around yet, but AC 5 field guns are still pretty nice given their range and the relative weakness of a lot of light and medium 'Mechs of the era.  Additionally, they can be loaded with flak ammo for anti infantry, VTOL, and Aerospace support, giving them a nice tactical flexibility to compliment your forces.

Yup.  Field guns can be any types of AC or Gauss weapon (ballistics only).  So basic ACs, Ultras, LBs and RACs as well as GR and LGR can be field guns.  If you happend to stumble onto some Ultra 5's you'd have some pretty nice field guns for your force.  Also, I'm not sure if megamek is any good with field guns....haven't tried myself.  I think their infantry options are pretty crummy.  Looks like you're gonna have to start checking out the local gaming scene....maybe even start your own campaign!

Thanks Klink. I'll give MM a go - see if it works at all. Insights were appreciated!

Beware the bot is not really clever.

but I was unaware of the AC/5 field gun.

Check TRO 3085 and the Taurian Concordat infantry units.

I'm thinking about going for some conventional infantry in IFVs to back up my stand-off lance I'm developing, of a type to be determined.

Hi MadCap, welcome to the boards, what sort of IFV's are you looking at Hover or Tracked?

Goblins would probably be ideal if I can get them, but I might have to settle on something else.  Considering the lance role, probably tracked.