Finally Figured Out What To Do With That Puma/Adder

A couple missions back, I ended up salvaging a Clan Adder (Puma).  It was missing a leg, so I didn't really think of what I was going to do with it.  It's still missing its leg, but I hope I'll be able to fix it soon.  And sense it's in the repair bay, I was thinking of adding a few special modifications to it.  For those of you who don't run clan tech often, and don't know, the Adder/Puma is a 6/9 35 tonner, with 16 tons of Omni pod space, plus a clan flamer. 

The clanners use the 'Mech as fire support light 'Mech...which is possible when you have clan weapons.  The problem I was running into was Inner Sphere weapons are significantly heavier.  I really wanted to use this 'Mech in my recon lance:

Recon Lance - Pouncer Lance
2 Regulator Arrow IV Variant
2 Bandits (Custom)
Sha Yu 2B
Hellspawn 7L Custom
2 Fa Shih Platoons w/ Light TAGs
 
However, at 6/9, the Puma just isn't fast enough to hang with this lance.  Additionally, in order to pack decent firepower into this 'Mech, I will be forced to take a majority of short ranged weaponry, which is complementary, since I'll definitely want to include TAG on this 'Mech.  So I got to thinking about how I could make this 'Mech "better" or at least more suited for the purpose of this lance. 
 
First, I needed to fix the speed.  To do that, I could replace the engine, which would be stupid, since its a Clanner XL, which is lighter and has less crits.  My other two options are MASC or a Supercharger.  Rewiring for MASC is a little excessive, so it looks like the Supercharger is the answer.  My thoughts are to move with the main forces at normal speeds.  If I need to close the distance, I can sprint 12.  Once I've closed the gap, I can use the Supercharger to get into rear arcs, with a suprise burst.  I'll probably only use the Supercharger once, maybe twice a game.  It also gives the 'Mech some decent breakaway speed.  And the nice thing about the Supercharger, it only weights a half ton, which is a bargin.
 
One weapon I really wanted on the Puma was a Snub-nosed PPC.  It's a great weapon at 6 tons, and has a nice short range.  Its also helpful for punching holes in lighter 'Mechs and can ding heavier 'Mechs.  However, the pilot is most likely going to be a 5/5 pilot.  Since the accuracy is a little weak, I wanted to fine a way to improve the accuracy.  A TarComp wouldn't be weight effective, and they are very rare on the market, so that's out.  However, A.E.S. is available.  So I'll drop A.E.S. into the right arm.  It's not pod mountable, but that's not too bad.  In the future, I'll just have to mount weapons on the right arm.  So I'll plug the SN PPC and a TAG on the A.E.S.'ed right arm. 
 
To round out the weaponry, I want some more Streak SRM.  I have a hard on for Streak SRMs, I'm not sure why, but they just strike me as so efficient.  So I added two SSRM 4s with one ton of ammo.  Since there is clan CASE, I feel ok putting ammo in this expensive 'Mech. 
 
At this point, I have .5 tons left.  There's nothing I want to put on the Puma, so I'm going to dump it into more armor.  Since I have the crits to play with, so I added the half ton to the 6 tons of armor the 'Mech already had.  With 6.5 tons of standard armor gets you 104 of 119 armor points and 87.39% coverage.  However, if I upgrade it to Ferro-Fibrous, I can get 116 of 119 armor points and 97.5% coverage.  I'm not a fan of the FF armor, but the additional coverage is too much to pass up, especially for a 'Mech that's going to be in the mix of the close quarters combat. 
 
I finally got the Puma fitted up in what I'll consider my Prime configuration and in the end, this is what I came up with PUMA OF DOOM!

Based on the structural changes I made to the Puma, the A.E.S. and Supercharager, I wanted to create a second variant that could jump and still take advantage of those internal changes.  For a jumping TAG 'Mech, I wanted to max my jumping capabilities.  So I stripped off the two Streak SRM 4s and the corresponding ammo giving me 7 tons to play with to start.  I added 6 jump jets for 3 tons total, leaving me with 4 tons. 

I debate the merit of the SN PPC and decide to keep it, as well as the TAG in the A.E.S.'ed right arm.  So with 4 tons to play with, I consider medium lasers of all types, regular, pulse, and ER.  Since I'll be up close, jumping, and running a little hot, two medium pulse lasers look really appealing.  Pulses aren't great for 2/3 pilots, but they sure help 5/5 or 4/4 pilots, especially while jumping and running around.  This means that all of my weaponry will have a -2 or -1 to hit, which is pretty nice.  Additionally, this 'Mech is now ammo independent, which is good for many missions while on a campaign. 

So the end result is the PUMA Mark II.

Note: Due to available crit locations in the Arms, I've added lower and hand actuators. This adds to tactical flexibility. It makes available options like careful stand and other things.