In the BattleTech world, the Warhammer is one of the most formidable of the early Inner Sphere mechs. Weighing 70 tons, it is typically configured with two large PPCs, one on each arm, a short range missile launcher capable of six rounds per shot, and some small lasers. After the war with The Clans, the Inner Sphere badly needed to do more R & D on weapons. Their innovations when incorporated into the Warhammer upgraded the PPCs to more extended range PPCs (ERPPCs), in addition to upgrading the missile launcher to a 'streak' type which has computer guidance which locks the missiles onto a target. To protect from ammunition explosions, Case was added to the mech's torso.
This mech's key danger was its PPCs, with each hit scoring large amounts of damage. The short range missiles increased the firepower as it closed with more dangerous foes, and its easily recognizable form would instill fear in the hearts of its opponents. It has two key problems. The first is speed. It is a slow mech, lumbering along next to more nimble mechs of lesser weight. The second is heat. Firing both PPCs (of either variety) tended to build up a lot of heat, and unfortunately the mech lacked a sufficient amount of heatsinks to handle constant firing. While there were attempts to fix this problem with modifications (removal of armor, weaponry, downgrading weaponry) they typically made the mech less capable.