LogFAQs > #952011279

I'm still trying to wrestle with the Mech Vs. Tank dilemma. There's pretty much no situation where a Mech would outperform a Tank given the same power/weight ratios.

The easy answer is that they wouldn't have the same power/weight ratios. The only way mechs would make sense is as an over-gimmicked specialty combat unit. Otherwise if you have two things of roughly the same power and comparable performance, you're going to default to the cheaper one.

A mech being worthwhile comes down to more than just special terrain, it also needs to vastly outperform other combat vehicles so it obviously wouldn't have the same ratios.

shadowsword87 posted...

One thing that isn't immediately clear when looking at tanks is that they constantly need repairs. Those treads are awful and break a lot. If a mech had decent systems on the bottom of the feet, they can withstand a lot more. With solid supply lines like the modern military complex, it's totally fine.

But when you're dealing with a BattleTech-sorta universe where you have the production facility 500 star systems away, and your treads snap and you need the perfect match otherwise it breaks, then a mech is looking a lot better.

You're going to have other upkeep issues with mechs. Just because they don't have one issue doesn't mean they aren't going to have others.

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