The MechWarrior PC gaming franchise has been going strong for decades now, thrusting players into futuristic battlefields where giant humanoid war machines, or BattleMechs, dominate. Classic titles such as 1995's MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and 1999's MechWarrior 3 helped put this sci-fi battle sim universe on the map, but which of these 'Mechs is the strongest?
BattleMechs come in four weight classes, with each class having its own combat role, from scouts and raiders to fire support and front-line brawler. The games reflect this, including the multiplayer-heavy MechWarrior Online, and players all have their own favorite 'Mechs. But one thing is for sure: the Dire Wolf, also known as the Daishi, is the biggest, scariest 'Mech of them all.
Where did the incredible Dire Wolf come from? It traces its origins back to the powerful warrior Clans, elite fighters from beyond known space, who eat and breathe battle. The Clans are always looking for bigger and better war machines, and in the 2900s, the clever Clan Wolf devised the ultimate weapons platform: the Dire Wolf, named for that Clan's lupine theme. At once, one of their rival clans, the Smoke Jaguars, challenged the Wolves to honorable combat and narrowly won the right to build this awesome new 'Mech for themselves. Thus, Clans Wolf and Smoke Jaguar became the main users of the Dire Wolf, though other Clans also had a few in their own armies.
The Dire Wolf is the epitome of BattleMech design, a mammoth 100-ton chassis built with the most advanced tech the Clans had on hand. It's an OmniMech, meaning it has modular pod space where weapons and equipment could be swapped in and out with remarkable ease. The enormous Dire Wolf had an unprecedented 50.5 tons of pod space, and its default configurations have more firepower than entire squads of Inner Sphere 'Mechs. The prime configuration features many effective weapons found in the various MechWarrior games, including four ER large lasers for long-range sharpshooting, an LRM 10 launcher, four medium pulse lasers for close-range brawling and two ultra autocannon 5's for medium-range sniping. This arsenal is enough to quickly pulverize anything that gets in the Dire Wolf's way, though as an assault 'Mech, the Dire Wolf is slow and easily flanked, so it needs escorts during a fight.
The Dire Wolf made a terrifying first impression when the warrior Clans invaded the Inner Sphere in March 3050. The Draconis Combine soldiers nicknamed it Daishi, loosely meaning "great death." It's a fitting name, and no Inner Sphere 'Mech, not even the legendary 100-ton Atlas, could stand up to a Dire Wolf and hope to win. By the late 3050s, though, Inner Sphere armies were reverse-engineering Clan tech, and they made their own version of the Dire Wolf, a 95-ton 'Mech named the Hauptmann. The Hauptmann can't outclass the Dire Wolf, but it's a powerful machine in its own right, and the armies of House Steiner are always happy to pilot it.
The fearsome Dire Wolf is powerful not only in the lore of the broader BattleTech universe but also in the games. MechWarrior 2 features Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon fighting one another. Whichever side the player takes, they can eventually work their way to the Dire Wolf in the campaign and blast their way to victory in later missions. Few enemy 'Mechs will stand a chance against it, and players can deeply customize and tinker with the Dire Wolf (since it's an OmniMech). This 'Mech's default loadout is just fine, but if the player has something special in mind, they can build their unique Dire Wolf and fight on their own terms.
The Dire Wolf returned in 1999's MechWarrior 3, which takes place during Operation Bulldog, the new Star League's campaign against the villainous Clan Smoke Jaguar. Enemy forces will start piloting the dreaded Dire Wolf in later missions, a true challenge indeed, but the player may destroy one, then recover it during salvage operations. If the player gets their own Dire Wolf, they can customize it with both Inner Sphere and Clan tech, as per the game's scavenger economy, and crush all Jaguar forces that get in their way. Notably, the game's final mission is actually a boss battle, where the player's team faces a team of five enemy 'Mechs on a small map, and the enemy leader is piloting a Dire Wolf. It won't be easy to take down Brendon Corbett and his Dire Wolf, but once he's slain, Clan Smoke Jaguar is done for, and the campaign is complete. The Dire Wolf was playable in MechWarrior 3's online multiplayer, too.
Finally, the Dire Wolf appears in the much more recent title, MechWarrior Online, as the ultimate Clan 'Mech. For balancing reasons, players have much more limited options when it comes to customizing the Dire Wolf, but all the same, this huge machine is sure to make a splash in any online brawl. Once again, the Dire Wolf needs its flanks protected; if a player wanders off in their Dire Wolf and gets surrounded, they're sure to go down, even though they're piloting the game's best 'Mech. Smart Dire Wolf users are team players and lay down heavy fire while their lighter allies cover their flanks. That's a sure route to victory in game after game.
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