Thunderbolt

The Thunderbolt, or TBolt, is a powerful, direct-fire Missile used by Inner Sphere units.

Overview

Thunderbolt launchers fire single heavy damage missile causing intense screenshake and splash damage. Tbolts can lock onto targets within 750 meters, and having no minimum arming range means that they can also be used in close combat, with or without a lock. When dumb firing, pilots should make sure to give enough lead ahead of the target as Tbolts are not fast projectiles. Tbolts can also be fired to marked (TAG, NARC) targets, or dumb fired, from nearly 2000 meter distance. Tbolt turning speed is quite low so hitting fast moving units can prove challenging and flicking should only be done at medium or long range.

Air Thunderbolts are quite different from their ground-based siblings in that they are primarily meant for AA, and deal reduced damage against ground assets.

Only Inner Sphere units use Thunderbolt launchers.

Weapon Stats

Weapon	Min Range	Max Range	Lock On Range	Lock On Time	Splash Damage/Shot	Damage Type	Splash Radius (prm/sec)	Shots /min	Sustained DPS	Max Speed (m/s)	Heat /Shot	Ammo /ton	Ammo cost /ton
TBolt5	---	1940m	750m	1s	327	Missile	1.5m	10	52	600	50	20	800
TBolt10				1.5s	654			10	105		100	10
TBolt15				2s	980			8.3	131		150	7
TBolt20				2.5s	1308			7.5	157		200	5
Air TBolt	---	5200m	750m	1s	160	Mgun	1.5m	10	44	600	50	20	800

	All stats are current as of release 0.14.10

Gameplay & Hints

• Upon impact, TBolts create large explosions, causing intense cockpit shake, and an intense flash, which can be blinding in Night Vision.

• One possible way to use TBolts is to fire them at Tagged Heavy or Assault Mechs from beyond 1000 meters, allowing the TBolter to avoid most enemy fire. These units are too slow to effectively dodge the TBolt, thus increasing the chance of a hit. One can also unleash a sneak attack by performing a dumb-fire of a TBolt barrage while in passive radar mode, as long as your target is either stationary or moving slowly and can't see the missiles coming.

Canon

First developed by the Federated Commonwealth in the mid-3050s for the Solaris arenas, the Thunderbolt launcher is an offshoot of standard LRM technology. Instead of firing a group of missiles, the Thunderbolt launchers fire a single missile that inflicts as much damage as an Autocannon/5, an Autocannon/10, a Gauss rifle or an Autocannon/20, respectively. This increased damage is made up for by the slightly reduced range and increases to the weapon's heat and weight. The Thunderbolt missile is also more vulnerable to anti-missile systems.

In CBT, Thunderbolt missile launchers cannot use Artemis IV or Narc guidance systems, but operate like LRMs in every other way.
BattleTech reference

Usage

The following Inner Sphere assets equip Thunderbolts:

Asset	Type	Faction	Tons	Tbolt5	Tbolt10	Tbolt15	Tbolt20	Air Tbolt
Commando F	Mech	IS	25		1
Anubis Prime	Mech	IS	30	2
Chimera D	Mech	IS	40		1
HollanderII C	Mech	IS	45	2		1
Uziel D	Mech	IS	50	1
Bushwacker F	Mech	IS	55	1	1
Argus E	Mech	IS	60	3
Catapult F	Mech	IS	65			2
Avatar Prime	Mech	IS	70		2
Warhammer D	Mech	IS	70	2
Mauler F	Mech	IS	90	2
Sunder F	Mech	IS	90	3
Atlas F	Mech	IS	100	2	2
Fafnir C	Mech	IS	100				2
Harasser C	Vehicle	IS	25	3
Goblin A	Vehicle	IS	45	2
Regulator D	Vehicle	IS	45				1
Rommel Prime	Vehicle	IS	65	1
Behemoth E	Vehicle	IS	100	6
Hawkmoth C	VTOL	IS	25	2
SparrowHawk A	ASF	IS	30					1
Corsair A	ASF	IS	50					2
Rusalka A	ASF	IS	65					2

	All stats are current as of release 0.14.10

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