Battletech is back!!!

[CptHowdy]

so are there missions you are supposed to fail? just had a defend the base well behind enemy lines. 10 mechs show up and just destroy the buildings. had two kills but no way to stop them from destroying the buildings. mission failed but i got about 340K for good faith effort!! im cool with that. easiest money ive made so far!!

There are no missions that you're "supposed" to fail.

But, fail you will. There are missions that get out of hand fast and you need to judge lost of damage vs good faith withdrawal.   

I just had one I pressed way too hard and lost Medusa for 40 days to the hospital and his Centurion was a scratch.  I'm going to have to repair it to sell.  But I got a heavy mech in return. 

It's all about playing your profit to loss and knowing when to holdem and foldem.

well there was no winning this one. they could take out the buildings with one salvo and a dropship dropped em off right next to the base!! contract guy said the arano restoration could chalk this one up to bad intel!! not sure if i gained or lost any rep. never checked. pretty close to 100 rep with arano. thinking advancing the story ramps up the mission difficulty considerably. probably should have done more side missions but those big payouts are tempting and the argo needed upgrades!!

[sandman2575]

Anyone else feel like the difficulty was pretty significantly toned down with latest patches?  In 2/2.5 skull missions, I'm not facing much challenge at all. The occasional heavy Mech but still lots of Locusts, Commandos, Panthers, etc.

It's frustrating cause I'm not getting any decent salvage at all.  (I've completed the Panzyr mission, in terms of where I am in the Campaign. My usual lance is:  Griffin, ShadowHawk, Jaegermech, Centurion.)

[SirAndrewD]

^Not that I have noticed.  It isn't in the patch notes if they did. 

I think it's just luck of the draw sometimes, but also in the developer AMA there was some indication that more was going on under the hood than the skulls accurately represented.  The dev said to pay attention to skulls plus payout.  If the payout was suspiciously high for a low rating, the rating was probably being fudged by bad intel.

Part of the roadmap he laid out was giving a more accurate indication of difficulty to the player in the big summer patch.

[acctingman]

Ok, just about to level my mechwarriors and I wanted to know what you all think are the skills to level at first? I've read online Guts and/or Gunnery.

Comments appreciated.

[DennisS]

Ok, just about to level my mechwarriors and I wanted to know what you all think are the skills to level at first? I've read online Guts and/or Gunnery.

Comments appreciated.

Depends on their expected role. Having multi-shot on a light mech that only has two medium lasers won't work. Same with bulwark.

Gunnery is useful for all mechs that have a lot of weaponry, especially if they are at medium or longer range.

Sensor lock has no value for your mediums or heavies...but is very useful for pilots for your light mechs.

Given all the headshots that are flying around, guts seems pretty useful. Personally, I have given gunnery to most of my pilots. I prefer to kill them faster than to prevent a head injury, possibly caused to a longer fight.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I noticed that most missions seemed easier post-patch as well.

I've been tinkering with some different builds for mechs.  The one that's been the most effective/fun is the grasshopper/flamer.  I stripped off everything and put in nothing but flares, jump jets, and heat sinks.  I hold it in reserve until all the enemy is gone then jump it next to one and torch them.  My pilot, Dekker, has unit bonuses so he usually actives early in the turn.  Most times he can torch the same mech right away and jump back out (can move after shooting) and can score a kill and then escape and avoid most return fire.

Weaknesses are low ammo count, short range, and useless against turrets and vehicles.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Got my Gauss Rifle.  All bets are off.

[CptHowdy]

Got my Gauss Rifle.  All bets are off.

just got mine as well. also the mech its equipped on is a beast!! cant wait to take it for a spin!

[Jarhead0331]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS -- WARNING

Any tips on succeeding on the ammo dump campaign mission without totally wrecking your lance?

I'm coming up against at least two lances of 8 mechs and most of them are not light ones. This in addition to the base defense towers is extremely formidable. I'm trying to use terrain to my advantage by screening my mechs from as much of the enemy as possible, but this is proving difficult to accomplish while also giving my units an opportunity to strike targets of their own. Furthermore, the longer the mission goes on, the more advantage the enemy gains in terms of firepower and position. It also doesn't help that those ammo transports force my mechs to come out of position and risk exposure to fire in order to stop them from escaping.

What strategies have you guys used to succeed in this mission while only taking acceptable loses. I'm trying the mission with a Blackjack, Griffon, Hunchback and Shadowhawk. All of my mech warriors are extremely experienced and skilled.

[RyanE]

Seems a little weird to me that a player is limited to a single lance yet you go against a couple lances and other defenses.  Is that how they balance the AI?  Do you get any forms of support, like AFVs or Arty?

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

For the ammo dump, I went with a Grasshopper, a Jaegermech with 2 AC5s and 2 AC2s, an Orion, and a Wolverine.  I sent the Grasshopper out to the left to take out the transports with the Orion providing cover.  The Jaeger popped up over the ridge to take out the one ammo cache next to the two LRM turrets. Once those two turrets are gone, you can stay behind the ridge and let the enemy come to you.  Still a very tough fight but I was able to get through with both transports destroyed and 7/8 ammo caches saved.  Didn't lose any mechs but my jaeger and my Grasshopper both lost arms.

[Jarhead0331]

Seems a little weird to me that a player is limited to a single lance yet you go against a couple lances and other defenses.  Is that how they balance the AI?  Do you get any forms of support, like AFVs or Arty?

Sometimes you get support from allied AFVs and stationary base defenses, but its rare in my experience and they are never under your direct control. I do think that limiting the player to a single lance of 4 mechs is a weakness with the game, particularly when you can modify your drop ship to operate 12 mechs and 24 mech warriors at a time.

That being said, I do not see it as an artificial way to balance the game, or compensate for a weak AI. Its not like the AI in the missions where they possess superior numbers fails to utilize the advantage.

[Jarhead0331]

For the ammo dump, I went with a Grasshopper, a Jaegermech with 2 AC5s and 2 AC2s, an Orion, and a Wolverine.  I sent the Grasshopper out to the left to take out the transports with the Orion providing cover.  The Jaeger popped up over the ridge to take out the one ammo cache next to the two LRM turrets. Once those two turrets are gone, you can stay behind the ridge and let the enemy come to you.  Still a very tough fight but I was able to get through with both transports destroyed and 7/8 ammo caches saved.  Didn't lose any mechs but my jaeger and my Grasshopper both lost arms.

Where did you acquire those mechs? I haven't even seen a Grasshopper, Jaeger or Orion and I've only faced off against a Wolverine twice.

Also, this is only a two skull mission...in my experience, this one is much harder than most other two skull ops I've run.

[sandman2575]

Hey JH -- I just did that mission yesterday. Question: is one of your mechs a dedicated missile boat? Especially in this mission, I think one is indispensable in order to be able to hit enemies at a safe, hidden distance.

For this mission, I had: Thunderbolt, Kintaro, Shadow Hawk, and Centurion. In some ways, the Centurion is always my key mech. It can fire a total salvo of 40 LRM++ (in three banks, 15, 15, 10) that do substantial stability damage. My usual tactic involves my scout Shadow Hawk spotting and sensor locking for my Centurion, who then barrages the enemy from safe distance while my other 2 mechs close for the knockdown.

The supply depot mission is very much a 'let them come to you' type mission, though that's usually my SOP anyway. Ignore the cargo trucks; if you try to intercept them, you'll just come in sight of the Turrets, which you want to avoid at all costs. You also want to avoid being spotted by enemy mechs that act as spotters for the missile turrets.

So like you're doing, use the terrain and stay behind the rocky outcroppings and out of sight as much as you can. Use your scout unit to get high and spot -- yes he'll inevitably get spotted and shot at, but using Vigilance helps here. Meanwhile, use your missile boat to knock the hell out of mechs that stick their heads out. In addition to my 40-rocket Centurion, my Kintaro sports 20 LRM++ missiles. Being able to hit an enemy mech with potentially 60 LRMs in a round is key for me. I'm usually guaranteed a knockdown that way.

This is a tough fight. I ignored the cargo trucks but saved all the caches, and the payout was good. My Thunderbolt had an exposed core that made for some dicey rounds, but he survived. Also, because the mission is on an effin' desert planet, heat management makes things harder. (I find I try to avoid missions on deserts -- and esp. lunar -- worlds wherever possible; i look for tundra and polar whenever i can.)

Question for SDR -- I find the Jaegermech hard to use. Do you like yours? I have mine outfitted with one AC 5++ and one AC 10++. Decent armor and 4 jumpjets, so good mobility and heat management. I just find he never packs enough punch to be worth taking him on missions. I usually ignore the AC 2 but maybe I should try outfitting one.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

I got the Jaegermech and Wolverine via salvage very early on from side missions.  I think I've had the Jaeger since my 3rd or 4th mission. Same with the Grasshopper and Orion but those came later.  They were all pre-patch though when fights seemed harder.