Technical Guidelines: Direct Fire

The Role of Direct Fire Support

Direct Fire Support has been one of the Gatekeeper's key units from almost the outset.  Dedicated to bringing serious damage and suppressive fire to the battleground, the Direct Fire 'mech pilot must be able to recognize vantage points and position his machine where it can do the most good for the battle plan.  Often comprising a portion of the Exploitation Echelon or Maneuver Group, a Direct Fire 'mech can scan the horizon for approaching enemies and keep them from maneuvering where they would get a better attack vector on the Attack Echelon.

When working within a lance formation such as Battle Line or Engagement, a Direct Fire 'mech is kept near the rear of the formation to protect it from contact fire.  In this manner, as long as the Direct Fire unit is kept away from the main engagement and relatively safe from enemy fire, these pilots will be able to rack up some serious damage scores as they are allowed to hammer away at the opponent.  However, the specialist nature of these chassis means that a few design guidelines are required to make sure that pilots assigned to this role are able to fulfill the Drop Commander's orders easily.

• Any Medium or Heavy chassis can be outfitted as a Direct Fire Support 'mech.
• The principle design should revolve around a Main Weapon System that's not a missile system.
• Armor and Speed are secondary concerns and can be sacrificed to accommodate the main systems and support for that system.
• Support systems (especially Defensive Weapons in many cases) are critical to the design.

Direct Fire Support 'mechs always mount long range energy and ballistic weapons.  For this reason, they are sometimes called "snipers".  Large lasers, PPC's, Gauss Rifles and the smaller autocannons are the favored tools of this design.  As with all builds, if Quirks or Modules take your expressed range (the one displayed on the HUD) to 450m or higher, your weapon qualifies as a Main Weapon.  Ancillary Systems are not accepted without a 450m expressed range.

Frequently mounting double heatsinks to help with the heat generated by long range energy weapons, Direct Fire 'mechs tend to have more defensive weapons as well.  C.A.S.E. will find its' way into most ammunition-based builds, since Direct Fire 'mechs tend to lean heavily on ammo reserves.

In some group compositions, Direct Fire 'mechs will also often benefit from Interceptor, Close Support and Hunter-Killer Escorts being assigned to them, especially in smaller Drop Groups.  However, the pilot shouldn't always count on this support and make sure that his 'mech is entirely vulnerable to close-quarters assault.  In most cases, regular lance / echelon support will suffice as long as the Fire Support 'mech maintains his position and reacts to orders to reposition in a timely manner.

Direct Fire Support 'mechs deal most of the damage, most of the time.  That's what they are designed for.  Ideally, your team-mates will protect you with the 'mechs in the main thrust while you in turn support the Battle Line with debilitating suppressive fire.  However, this role takes some patience to do well at.  The pilot must sometimes sit in one area covering another grid with his guns.  Likewise, response time can be even more critical to Direct Fire 'mechs, since they are frequently lighter on the armor than many other builds.