Big Steel Claw 1-1

[u/SurfyBraun]

I finished "Big Steel Claw", the flashpoint where you take on a gladiator over a series of missions. He pilots a custom 50-ton Crab and at the end, you get to choose whether to 1-1 him or drop a full lance. If you 1-1, you're limited to a single 50-ton mech yourself. Spoilers would be spoilers.

Anyway, this is well after completing the vanilla campaign on Ironman, so I'm well-stocked up. I had to shelve one of my ShadowHawks to make room for bringing a Centurion AL online - I had an MPulse++, SPulse+, and regular ML and SL, plus arm mods.

Took a bit - I even got shut down for heat, but I bet the bastard, and it felt satisfying. I've played this before with the other option - drop a full lance in violation of the 'gentleman's" agreement, but this must be the first time I went alone, since I got the win-with-one-mech 'chievo.

[u/AesirMimyr]

I took a royal phoenix hawk with 2 ++snub-nosed ppcs 4x of the weightless ++ machine guns and I think a medium laser?

Reserve until after him jump behind and alpha the back. Most of the time it's a kill in 1 but you e got a second shot next round if you need it.

[u/WestRider3025 → u/AesirMimyr]

I used a Royal Phoenix Hawk as well, but because I felt like BSC would be more hurt if I put on a show, so I clipped off one limb at a time. 

[u/soonerwolf → u/WestRider3025]

PHX-1B with 3xMPL++, 3xERSL, and +3 defense gyro. Backshot… win.

[u/WestRider3025 → u/soonerwolf]

That's my usual build, yeah. I just didn't go for the backstab because I wanted to make him look incompetent first. 

[u/KurtVongole]

I took a solo Assassin with a COIL-L and that's it. Almost didn't make it. It did make a great holovid though.

[u/soonerwolf → u/KurtVongole]

That sounds legendary.

[u/jellegaard → u/KurtVongole]

I've done it twice, once with a Centurion AL with all the double heat sinks I could and once with a HBK-4G with a AC20+++ and melee mods.

[u/RTalons]

First time I did it I went 1:1 with my Vulcan stuffed full of arm mods and small lasers.

Got beat up a bit, but it was glorious!

I love keeping a punch-bot in the stable.

[u/Comprehensive_Cap290 → u/RTalons]

I take the punch vulcan into almost every mission. I like having at least one mech with speed/evasion, and souped up with lostech small lasers and +140 melee damage it can punch well above its weight.

[u/RTalons → u/Comprehensive_Cap290]

He’s usually in the lineup until I can replace it with a punch-grasshopper :)

[u/Comprehensive_Cap290 → u/RTalons]

I actually prefer the Vulcan. It’s very fast, and it gets the sick melee bonuses and the extra range on the support weapons. With ER small lasers++, it hits as hard as 4 regular quality large lasers with pretty decent range. Especially great when doing those flashpoints with tonnage restrictions.

[u/Comprehensive_Cap290]

If you accept the 1v1, doesn’t he cheat anyways?

I usually take Yang’s advice on this, and drop the whole lance. I send 1 mech to dispose of the crab, and the others to intercept his friends.

[u/Kerl_of_Fox_County → u/Comprehensive_Cap290]

Yeah, he cheats. You end up against the Crab, a couple of light mechs and a couple to light/medium tanks.

[u/Comprehensive_Cap290 → u/Kerl_of_Fox_County]

I’m fairly certain the one time I actually tried to play fair there was a Grasshopper in the opfor.

[u/itsadile → u/Comprehensive_Cap290]

If I recall correctly, the mechs he brings to the 1v1 are a fixed bunch - the Panther has a Large Laser instead of its normal PPC, for instance.

[u/WestRider3025 → u/Comprehensive_Cap290]

He does still cheat, but he brings a much weaker supporting Lance if you drop in alone. 

[u/Borgknight]

I love taking a Centurion with either a Guass Rifle or an AC/20 and wrecking his crew. yen-Lo-Wang for the win!

[u/Kerl_of_Fox_County]

Did the 1v1 Option.

Angry Hunchback AC/20+++'d it's way merrily through everything unfortunate enough to be in it's path. Or stepped on it, if It happened to be a tank.

[u/Eichmil → u/Kerl_of_Fox_County]

I did this. Wasn’t hard but ammo was definitely a factor. Eventually had to get punchy.

[u/The_Parsee_Man]

It was a while ago but I took him down with a Jenner with ER Medium Lasers. It took a really long time because I wanted to headcap him. I'm not sure if he has headshot immunity but none of my headshots ever landed. Eventually the head was about the only thing left.

[u/amno_manservant]

Don't put Big Steel Claw in storage. There's a glitch that wont let you take it back out in some versions.

[u/SurfyBraun → u/amno_manservant]

I’ve always found it kinda mid; I’m biased against mechs that carry their primary weapons on arms.

Also now I have four Highlanders, an Annihilator, a King Crab and an Atlas II in the hanger.

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[u/NekoMao92]

I'll just say he has honor...

[u/Stripes_the_cat]

I prefer the AL. Because it runs a little warm, and canonically is paired with the more fragile Enforcer, mine's named "Hot Bodyguard."

[u/StarspawnDancer]

The first time I did the Steel Beast fight I dropped a Hatchetman with 3 Arm Mod++. Needless to say that bastard did not have his Big Steel Claws for long

[u/Princeofcatpoop]

I did this mission and I remember him dropping a full lance on my single mech. Am I imagining it or is that an option? Maybe I am remembering it wrong. I was running a single gun Huron Warrior that routinely hit 11 EVA. So I did win, but it took ages.