BattleTech Faction Signatures

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What is this?

This tool explores faction identity in BattleTech through mech usage data. It answers questions like "What mechs define the Draconis Combine?" or "Who should I paint this Griffin for?"

How it works

Data comes from two sources: MegaMek's force generator (community-curated mech availability tables) and the official Master Unit List (canon confirmation).

Each faction has a weight (1–10) for each chassis — how likely they are to field it. Higher = more common. Each +2 on this scale doubles the probability.
Signature measures how much a mech belongs to a faction. It combines usage (do they field it a lot?) with distinctiveness (does anyone else?). A mech only one faction uses scores very high. A mech everyone uses scores low.
Distinctiveness ratings (T1–T5) group mechs by natural breaks in the data. T1 = the faction's totemic mechs.

Key assumptions

MegaMek data is the primary source. It's community-curated and richer than the official MUL, but may include reasonable extrapolations beyond strict canon.
Mode B (default) filters by canon. If the MUL says a faction doesn't have a chassis in that era, it's excluded. Mode A shows everything MegaMek has.
Weight class distribution matters. Factions that invest heavily in heavies get more sig credit for their heavy mechs. A Lyran Atlas counts more than a Lyran Locust in the identity ranking.
Unit quality is averaged by default. Some mechs are elite-only or garrison-only. The default view averages across all tiers. Use rating=A or rating=F to focus on a specific tier.
Signature is global and stable. Adding or removing factions from your query doesn't change any faction's distinctiveness scores.

Quick start — try these

Columns — What am I looking at?

Column	Description
Chassis	Mech name (or family name if merging is on). Click to see variant breakdown.
Tons	Chassis tonnage with weight class badge (L/M/H/A).
BV	Battle Value range across in-scope variants (min–max).
[Faction] DR	Distinctiveness Rating (DR1–DR5) and raw score. DR1 = faction-defining.
[Faction]	Raw MegaMek weight (1–10 log scale). Heat-colored. Each +2 doubles probability.
[Faction] BW	Biased Weight — effective probability including weight class distribution. Hidden by default (☰).
Spread	Difference between highest and lowest raw weight across scoped factions. Hidden by default.

Distinctiveness ratings

DR1 — Faction-defining. The totemic mechs. Start here if painting for one faction.
DR2 — Strong identity markers. Clearly associated.
DR3 — Moderate association. Above-average usage.
DR4 — Weak association. Present but not distinctive.
DR5 — Incidental. The faction has access but it's not "theirs."

Tiers use Jenks Natural Breaks — a statistical method that finds natural gaps rather than arbitrary cutoffs.

How signature is computed

z = (weight - mean) / stddev    (across ALL factions, non-fielding = 0)
signature = weight × max(0, z)

The z-score measures how unusual this faction's usage is. Non-fielding factions count as 0, so a mech only one faction fields produces a very high z-score. Weight class distribution is applied before the z-score in mixed-class views.

Heat map

Faction weight cells are colored cool-to-warm based on raw weight. Weight 1 = coolest, weight 10 = hottest. Independent of signature — a cell can be warm (high usage) but low signature (everyone else uses it too).

Query Language

Filters

Filter	Example	What it does
`faction=`	`faction=DC`, `faction=GreatHouses`	Which factions to compare. Codes, names, or groups.
`chassis=`	`chassis=Dragon`, `chassis!=Locust`	Show or exclude specific chassis. Partial match works.
`class=`	`class=Assault`, `class=(Light OR Medium)`	Filter by weight class.
`tons`	`tons>50`, `tons=75`	Filter by tonnage.
`bv`	`bv>1000 bv<1500`	Filter by Battle Value range.
`spread`	`spread>3`	Only chassis where factions disagree by more than this.
`sig`	`sig>5`	Only chassis with signature score above threshold.
`weight`	`weight>5`	Only chassis with raw weight above threshold.
`year=`	`year=3039`	Set the target year.
`era=`	`era=ClanInvasion`	Select an era by name.
`rating=`	`rating=A`, `rating=F`	Unit quality tier. A = elite, F = garrison. Default = cross-tier average.
`mode=`	`mode=A`	Data mode. A = MegaMek only, B = MegaMek × MUL.
`family=`	`family=off`	Toggle chassis family merging.
`industrial=`	`industrial=show`	Show IndustrialMechs (hidden by default).

Operators

=, !=, >, <, >=, <=. Text fields support OR: class=(Light OR Medium).

Sorting

sort by spread desc — any numeric field, ascending or descending
sort by DC sig desc — a specific faction's distinctiveness
sort by DC weight desc — a specific faction's raw weight
sort by DC sig desc, tons asc — multi-sort

Faction groups

Shortcut	Factions
`GreatHouses`	DC, FS, FWL, LC, CC
`Clans`	All Clan factions
`InnerSphere`	All IS factions
`Periphery`	All periphery factions

Faction-specific filters

DC-sig>5 — only chassis where DC's distinctiveness exceeds 5
DC-weight>3 — only chassis where DC's raw weight exceeds 3

Settings

Setting	What it controls
Chassis families	Related chassis (e.g. Dragon + Grand Dragon) scored as one entry. Per-family toggles available.
Show incomplete	62 chassis with unknown tonnage (mostly IndustrialMechs) hidden by default.
Data Mode A/B	A = raw MegaMek. B (default) = filtered by MUL canon availability.
Column visibility (☰)	Show/hide individual columns. BW and Spread hidden by default.

Settings

Chassis Families

Related chassis merged for scoring (e.g. Dragon + Grand Dragon). Toggle individual families below.

Enable family merging (global)

Data Completeness

Show incomplete chassis (unknown tonnage)

62 chassis lack tonnage data (mostly IndustrialMechs). Hidden by default.

Data Mode

Mode B — MegaMek × MUL (canon-filtered) Mode A — MegaMek only (broader)

Mech Roles

Alpha Strike roles from the MUL. Add, rename, or delete roles. Reassign individual variants in the drill-down view.

Clears all saved preferences (column visibility, families, data mode, roles) and reloads.

DR = faction distinctiveness · Prob = battlefield likelihood

DR (Distinctiveness Rating) — How strongly a mech is associated with a faction. DR1 = iconic, DR5 = incidental. A mech only one faction fields scores high; a mech everyone uses scores low.

Prob (Probability Weight) — How likely this mech is to actually show up in a faction's forces, accounting for both availability and the faction's weight class preferences. Higher = more battlefield presence.

For the full breakdown, hit the ? button above.