![]() which at the time, initiated it into the small, hallowed company of 'Mechs capable of snapping someone's cockpit off with a single shot, joining such luminaries as the Victor, Hunchback, and Atlas. ![]() The centerpiece of the armament was and remains a real eye-opener, a Gauss rifle in the right arm, the only one mounted by any of the TRO2750 'Mechs. The first Highlander to appear was the HGN-732, still a classic, and it set both the pattern for the 'Mechs to come and a high standard to live up to, one that by and large, the Highlander series manages, unlike some designs where you have a "fluke" variant or three. Don't bother trying to escape, security locked the doors after you came in, especially the ones for your box, Waldorf.) I'll cover the variants in historical order for the universe, rather than game history, so the oldest and one of the newest will go in back-to-back. (Yes, Statler, I know they all are, but this one's going to be a long one even for me. That says about all you need in a short reference in an encyclopedia, but I'm not an encyclopedia writer, so buckle your seatbelts, this is going to be a long one. No Highlander has outstanding heat issues, although a few can run a touch hot if you aren't smart about your weapons bracketing. All of them are tough bastards with strong armor, and all of them have a heavy ballistic mount of some kind along with missiles and supporting medium lasers. That's a smidgen inefficient, right above the 85 ton cutoff on 1 ton jump jets, but the Highlander doesn't suffer much from it even though all but one variant sticks with a standard fusion engine. The basics of the design are shared among all variants, all of them 90 tons with a 3/5/3 movement curve. That's a lot of face time, especially for a 'Mech that isn't one of the universe's superstars, but the Highlander lives up well to this scrutiny, as you'll see. Two more variants came to light in RS3039 Unabridged. ![]() Since the original posting of this article, RS3060 Unabridged and TRO3085's Old is the New New section both added a new Highlander IIC variant while an early Clan model was seen in Operation Klondike's attached record sheet volume. ![]() TRO3025R replaced the Unseen with technologically stunted versions of some of the Star League's own 'Mechs, at least one version of the original TRO3050 includes the Highlander and its fellow Star League 'Mechs, the Highlander IIC was found in TRO3060, TRO3050U consolidated the mentions of the Star League's 'Mechs, tanks, and fighters into one place with TRO2750 long out of print and outdated, TRO3039 reissued the HGN-733 model from the Succession Wars, and like many other 'Mechs, the Highlander got the Royal treatment in TRO3075's historical section. In the game's history (as opposed to the IC, which we'll get to in a bit), the HGN-732 Highlander was first introduced in TRO2750 alongside other bits and pieces of Star League technology and combat units, making it part of only the second TRO in the game's history, and has gone on to find a place in more TROs than almost any other 'Mech can claim. I'm going to put some weight on this time and move up to the assault 'Mechs with a venerable, classic 'Mech, one of the oldest in the game outside the Unseen and their companions in TRO3025, the Highlander. Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. Author's Note: Updated and reposted since people were asking about the Highlander IIC. ![]()
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