The Owens

The Owens

An Inner Sphere Light class mech weighing in at 35 tons is known as the Owens. This interesting little pest looks like an attempt by the Inner Sphere to create their own version of the Jenner. IT has speed, electronics and a very small profile making the Owens a difficult target that can pack a decent weaponry load.

Lets take a look at what makes up an Owens. From the factory floor, the Owens comes with ECM, LAMs and IFF Jammer and a top speed rating of 102kph. BAP and Advanced Gyro are offered while the top speed ranges from 90 to 126kph. The stock weapons loadout consists of 2 Medium Lasers in the center torso 2 slot omni rack while each arm is packed with a LRM15 in the 3 slot missile racks. The arms also house a 1 slot beam rack that are not used in the stock configuration. The Armour is 7 tons of Ferro Fibrous on a standard frame.

IF you drop the LAMs and add BAP and AG while stripping the weapons, you have 14 tons to work with at stock speed settings and armour levels. With some creative3 armour shaving, you can mount up to 3 ALRM10s on this little troublemaker and you have a damn nice little missile boat. The problem with ALRM10s is that, even tho you get 24 rounds per rack, it doesn’t seem to be enough to kill much so you really need double the ammo and that really hard to manage with the Owens.

Again, getting creative with armour or speed, you can load up to 6 LRM5s or 2 MRM20s or 4 SRM4s and if you get real creative you can load up a couple of heavy rocket launchers. IF you want to brawl without missiles, you can load an LBX10 or AC10 and a couple of medium lasers. For real rip ‘em up action, put in a RAC5 with extra ammo and a couple of medium lasers or better, a couple of medium pulse lasers. For sniping fun you can put in a Lt Gauss Rifle or even a Mini Gauss Rifle. One of the better configs, other than missiles, I have found is to load a Large X-Pulse and 2 Medium X-Pulse lasers with a few heat sinks.

The Owens is versatile, but it simply cant pack a big punch. It is probably best used as a missile platform / scout mech.

In these days of Assault Mechs, the Owens doesn’t last very long once it has been hit. The Arms only hold .6 tons of FF armour (18 damage points) and the legs are double that. The majority of fire power for this mech is located in either the arms or the CT (33 damage points). It has speed and stealth on its side, but again, a well placed shot from a heavy or assault mech and the Owens is in trouble.

A player that goes by the name of Howling Chiken (yes, I believe that is how they spell their name) is probably one of the best Owens driver I have run across. I am not sure, but I think he runs the 3 ALRM10 version and he does a damn good job of it. He knows how to twist and turn to make damage spread on this mech and he seems to make it last much longer than others I have seen. Howling spends a lot of time in the cockpit of an Owens and he knows just where the little mech can go on a map and fire with minimum exposure. He has the old ‘shoot and move’ tactic down pretty good and he doesn’t spend a lot of time in one place. He makes the Owens a worthy adversary.

In weight restricted league play you see more Owens than you do in the open servers. At 35 tons, they can play an important role to your team. Offering BAP and ECM, the Owens can be a very effective scout. It offers enough speed to go out and seek the enemy, and if equipped properly, can even inflict some damage on them before making it back to the safety of the pack. They are versatile enough that they don’t have to be missile boats, other weapons fit and work.

I have tried using them and I am simply not talented enough to be effective. I still have that stupid tendency to stick my CT out like a proud ape or something and the pilots playing the game today have no problem hitting that CT, even if it is very small, from 900+ meters. I am just to dumb to fold it up and turn away. Much the same reason I don’t drive BKs very often…

The Owens is an interesting light mech. IT handles pretty good although I have noticed the turning on it is not so great for such a small mech and the twist ratio is only 90 degrees. IT does climb well and it has that ‘bobble run’ making it a bit difficult to hit as it runs.

I have to tell you that I am not a big fan of the Owens. Maybe its because I don’t drive one very well or maybe it’s the way they look. I don’t know, but I just don’t like them very much. As a light mech, it is decent and in the hands of someone that can drive one, they are actually a pretty good little mech. Low to the ground, good electronics and enough speed makes the Owens one of the better light mechs. I rate the Owens at 2 ½ minutes. Fair. Give it a run and see what you can do.