Orion
| Orion | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Class: | Heavy Mech | |
| Faction: | Inner Sphere | |
| Ticket cost: | 10 upon destruction | |
| Tier: | 11 | |
| Tonnage: | 75 tons | |
| Speed: | 65 km/h | |
| Torso yaw: | 250° | |
| Torso pitch: | -28° to +31° while standing -28° to +41° while crouching | |
| Variant Armament | ||
| Variant | Weapons | Equipment |
| Prime: Price: 83 900 CBills Total armor: 70 257 Engine Size: Light Fusion Vlar 300 |
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| Armor Points Distribution | ||
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All stats current as of release 0.15.3
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The Orion is Inner Sphere Heavy Mech. Though in production for well over 500 years, the Orion remains a mainstay of the Free World’s heavy ’Mech forces, as its mix of firepower and resilience appeals to a wide range of MechWarriors. Over the centuries countless thousands have poured off the production line, but the last two decades have seen something of a renaissance for the Orion as the inclusion of recovered technologies has allowed the design to push its way to the forefront of the FWLM’s military exports. The Orion is a dependable workhorse design that can handle almost any combat role, thanks to its mix of long and short-range weaponry and its Valiant Lamellor armor. Unlike other Mechs that have diverse engine options, the Orion actually has different max speeds based on which engine each variant is equipped with. Orions with the more common XL engines travel at 76 km/h while Orions with the less common compact light fusion engine travel more slowly at 65 km/h, but benefit from greater survivability. Between the engine options and the Orion's 14.5 tons of armor (tied for the highest armor of any Inner Sphere heavy Mech) the Orion is a very durable Mech.
Contents
Roles and Gameplay Hints
Prime
The Orion Prime is a solid self-NARCing Mech with its LRM20 and NARC. But unlike most other self-NARCing assets, the Prime has enough independent weaponry to contribute in medium- and short-range engagements. It can use it's NARC to self-target enemies or to support allies. Between its 3 MLs and UAC10 the Prime is equipped like an aggressive light Mech so long as it's in medium range. The Prime has 2 free tons of ammo and generally one ton of LRM ammo and one ton of UAC10 ammo is called for. Although it slows the Prime down to 65 km/h, it is also equipped a compact light engine making it one of the most durable Inner Sphere heavy Mechs.
Variant A
With it's three Tbolt5s, the Orion A is a hotbox. Unlike the similarly-equipped Argus E the Orion A struggles to accommodate its dual PPC energy weapons. Players will have to weigh the speed of the Argus vs the armor of the Orion, especially since the Argus E boasts superior range. While the Argus E dips into long-range, the Orion A is more solidly in medium-range. For anti-BA activity, the A should chain fire its trio of Light AC5s and be prepared to use its B-Pod. Although it slows the A down to 65 km/h, it is also equipped a compact light engine making it one of the most durable Inner Sphere heavy Mechs.
Variant B
The Orion B can serve multiple roles. Its SRM4 and SRM2 compliment both a poking- or staring-playstyle. Meanwhile, the B's HPPC lends itself to poking and it's pair of RAC5s lend themselves to staring. Additionally, all the B's weapons can be conserved while its RAC5s are on cooldown allowing the B to damage spread in some situations. The B has 4 free tons of ammo and all four tons should be dedicated to the ammo-hungry RAC5s. The B differentiates itself from other double RAC5 heavies with a modest top speed of 76 km/h allowing it to get in and out of combat more easily.
Variant C - "Imperator-6"
The Imperator-6 is a formidable short- to mid-range asset. While it does have 2 Mguns, the Imperator-6 doesn't benefit from staring at all, and is a full-blown twist-fighter or poking Mech (if cover is available). Both of the Imperator-6's main weapons, the Binary Laser Cannon and HGauss have long recycle times, and while the recycle time of the Imperator-6's pair of MRM10s isn't as long, they are easily saved up for a single alpha strike before damage-spreading resumes. Both of the Imperator-6's free tons of ammo are best saved for HGauss ammo. While the Imperator-6 doesn't have the durability of the compact light engine variants, its poke-and-hide playstyle, coming from it's high burst damage weaponry and modest top speed of 76 km/h, can dramatically improve its staying power.
Variant D
More focused on long-range support than the Prime, the Orion D extremely focused. At 1500m, the HVAC2, and at 1400m the HVAC5 provide the D with significant long-range suppression. The hail of bullets these weapons lay down make many assets hide behind cover. Even though the D's primary damage is in the 1000m range pair of LRM15s, their effective range can easily be stretched out to 1300m with the use of TAG making the Orion D an excellent self-TAGing asset. Considering the TAG... The D's BAP seems almost unnecessary except for warning the pilot of incoming enemies a little bit sooner. This heads up can mean life or death for a Mech like the D when its weapons are so terrible at brawling. It needs every bit of warning and every single one of its 76 km/h to reposition before being charged and overwhelmed.
Variant E - "Tiberius"
Although moderate in speed, at 76 km/h, the Tiberius is an agile, stealthy, hard-hitting, seek-and-destroy Mech. The Tiberius is the only stealth armor heavy Mech. Except for its Improved Jump Jets, the Tiberius lacks the quick escape potential of faster heavies, hopefully its stealth armor will make sure that hit and run attacks don't turn into suicide runs. Unlike other heavies, though, the Tiberius is more than capable of getting in close to an enemy Long Tom or LRM Boat and eliminating them quickly before their allies can react. Thankfully, due to this seek-and-destroy-style of play, the Tiberius' poor SRM ammo supply isn't too punishing. Its singular free ton of ammo is best saved for its LBX20. When it comes to more typical brawling capabilities, the Tiberius can struggle with its limited ammo supply, pilots are advised to carefully aim their SRM shots. The Tiberius is just 100 cbills outside of the 98k c-bill rank. Players are advised to request a small donation from other players in order to purchase the Tiberius at this rank.
Variant F
Similar loadouts on most other Mechs would be accompanied with JJs. This is not so for the Orion F. The F sacrifices the ability to jump snipe for 4 Light AC2s that shoot out to 900m, perfectly matching it's pair of ERPPCs and Gauss Rifle. In lengthy engagements at long-range, few other heavy Mechs will give pilots as much direct fire firepower potential. The F, being a sniper, never needed the compact light engine that other Orion variants have and as such, has a modest speed from its XL engine, clocking in at 76 km/h.
Variant G - "Tacitus"
The Tacitus is a Mech that works well behind cover or in front of it. Most of its firepower is concentrated in a pair of Binary Laser Cannons with 650m of range, that solidly place the Tacitus as a medium-range poker. The Tacitus' pair of Light AC5s, at 600m, while somewhat lacking in DPS do augment the Tacitus' ability to poke. Since both of the Tacitus' other weapon groups excel in poking, its pair of Mguns serve little purpose except as a minor BA deterrence. When not poking, the Tacitus can serve well as a support asset since it is equipped with BAP, C3, and GECM. Additionally, due to its compact light engine, the Tacitus is a bit slow (65 km/h), but it also becomes an excellent tank and damage-spreading Mech when necessary.
Note: This asset has both C3 and GECM, meaning there is no benefit to using passive radar except when covered by allied AECM.
Trivia
As the folklore has been told:
Since his time of conception into the world of Mechwarrior, Invictus has felt the calling to battle with one of the most formidable mechs ever...
Thus the Orion was gifted to the project director to be included into MWLL.
According to CW/Γ Andrew co-director the reality is. "let me change this up a little: thus in october of 2019 CW/Γ Andrew started Project Orion together with [SA] Bird_Thing™ and [CJF] Leeko. Previous active artists (Nighthawk, Chezzar, Pajama Boy and Nathan) consulted and created the mech secretly over a time frame of roughly 2 and a half years. When it was ready it was gifted to project director invictus."
An as they say the rest is History!
Canon
Sometimes called “a poor man’s Atlas” since the introduction of that behemoth, the Orion is a venerable, general-duty heavy ’Mech—and a famous one. Everyone has seen the images of Aleksandr Kerensky storming Amaris’ last defenses on Terra, making the Orion one of the best known ’Mechs in history. Commissioned by the Terran Hegemony in response to improving ’Mech designs used by other Houses, the Orion is nearly half a millennium old. The roomy chassis has allowed it to be readily upgraded and maintained over the centuries. The Orion remains a mainstay of the Free World’s heavy ’Mech forces, as its mix of firepower and resilience appeals to a wide range of MechWarriors. Like the Marauder, the Orion's armor is Valiant Lamellor, less massive and better able to distribute heat and kinetic energy than other armor types, though the secret of its manufacture has been lost to time.
Date Introduced 2453 during the Era known as "Era Age of War" (2005 - 2570) - Unit Role: Brawler
