Of all the mechs in this game, why choose the raven? Good question, and answers are not
easily forthcoming. MechWarrior 4 does an excellent job, much better than its immediate
predecessor, at avoiding the inclusion of nearly useless chassis, with no one chassis
rendering another effectively moot, as the Daishi did to the Annihilator in MechWarrior 3
(see our review for more thoughts on this issue). The Raven,
unfortunately, comes closer to mootness (mootitude?) than most others. Sharing a weight class with the Clan Cougar doesn't do this Inner
Sphere design any favors. The Cougar has more tonnage to play with and its weapons
slots configuration thoroughly trounces that of the Raven. Each has four beam slots, but
the Raven only has one group of two, with the two remaining slots separate. This
limits the mech to only one copy of some of the larger beam weapons like large and bombast
lasers. The Raven's three ballistic slots are one less than what the cougar carries,
plus the cougar has the two omni slots on top of everything else.
Statistically, the only advantages the Raven has over the
Cougar are the ability to carry an ECM suite, a faster base speed (which the cougar can
make up by expending its tonnage advantage), better acceleration and deceleration, and a
better torso twist radius. In terms of stats less easily measured, the Raven is
actually quite good at squeezing down some of the alleyways in city maps where even other
small mechs cannot go. It also has the option of sporting both a BAP and an ECM, which
makes it very good at playing hide-and-seek.
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Cougar
