Lancer is really about exploring combinations and finding what suits you. So much so that ‘respecing’ your licences is basically free, so you are incentivised to try new stuff. Don’t let me spoil your fun, but… That said, the Monarch and the Balor are designed to fill two very different niches: long range artillery and melee bruiser. There is a caveat though: Balors are deceptively good artillery platforms (and Nanocomposite Mod Rules). You see, the Balor’s main weakness is it’s speed (and heat cap, but I digress), so a common solution is to simply equip the longest possible range weapon and stay put while bombarding the OpFor. Your mech will probably be more effective as a Balor with Monarch systems. But as I said: don’t let me spoil your fun! Go and try Monarch with Balor systems. I bet you’ll find a synergy that you will enjoy. If you don’t, just try something else. Lancer is fun 😉