Considering that BK comes with only five new chassis, the news
that two of them were to be light mechs was somewhat
disappointing. While the Uller at least has emerged as a very
useful design, the Wolfhound finds itself fitting only more
specialized roles in the game. It
would have been nice to have seen the expansion mechs fill in the
gaps of weight classes provided by MechWarrior 4, but both the
Wolfhound and the Sunder share a weight class and a tech type with
mechs from the original game. The Sunder shares with the Mauler,
and the Wolfhound with the Raven. The only real upside here is
that neither of those two original designs were exceptionally
strong.
While their appearances are very
different (the Wolfhound being especially tall for a light mech,
bearing a striking profile), there is little statistically to
separate the Wolfhound and the Raven. Both are capable of the same
minimum and maximum speeds. Both have the same acceleration,
deceleration and turning rates. Both are capable of carrying
nearly the exact same amount of armor, with the Wolfhound able to
carry 226 points to the Raven's 213. And both have identical
amounts of free tonnage for weapons, armor, and components when
configured to the same speed. The Raven trounces the Wolfhound in
two areas: it has a slightly faster torso turning rate and a much
greater range (360 degrees versus 120 degrees), and it has four
component options to the Wolfhound's two. The Wolfhound shows the
Raven up by having two more weapon slots.
It is in this latter statistic that
the function of the Wolfhound is defined. Nine weapons slots is a
fair amount for a light mech, but is really more than is usually
needed. In the Wolfhound's case, all of its slots are for beam
weapons. Needing no ammunition and generally being light weight,
beam weapons are a good match for a light mech, and the Wolfhound
seems tailor made to sport the new X-Pulse lasers.
Unfortunately, while the Wolfhound
is made to be a combat mech, it has trouble separating itself from
the pack. There are only five light mechs in the game, and the
Wolfhound is perhaps no better than third-best offensively. The
clan Cougar can sport more weaponry and better speed, and the
five-tons-lighter Uller can mount nearly as much offensive tonnage
with significantly better speed.
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| Chassis |
Weapons |
Armor |
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Uller 