Battletech

Vimeseh said:

I think I got put on the path to easy mode. Just did the mission where they reward you with a lostech highlander and then the very next merc mission spawned two of them. I got full salvage on both so I went from a two heavy two medium lance to a three assault one heavy lance in two missions. On top of that each is a different variant so I have one as a sniper, one as a missile boat, and one as an up close brawler.

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I got full salvage on the Zeus that attacks you in that mission by just repeatedly knocking it over lol

Gavinmad said:

I got full salvage on the Zeus that attacks you in that mission by just repeatedly knocking it over lol

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Yah I got a battlemaster from there too. After running some more missions I think I'm going to designate two of the highlanders as training mechs and run easier missions with low level pilots in them. Helps to make up for the shit aim and stability the pilots have. I wanted some difficulty in the game and running three Highlanders pretty much took any tactics away from my main squad. Just walk over things pretty much. So after some salvaging I'm running the sniper highlander mostly for targeted torso and leg shots to get salvage, the battle master from the escape mission, a catapult missile boat, and a bruiser orion. Still a very nice and probably over tonnage lance for the point I am at in the game but I actually have to be smart about two lance engages instead of just wading in and wrecking everything with a billion ton lance.

edit: It also means I'm actually looking forward to salvaging Viktors, Awesomes, Black Knights, and stalkers as opposed to my only upgrades being Atlases or King Crabs if I kept running with the Highlander lance.

double edit:

I'm a huge fan of the mods you can find. I've got a cockpit++ that gives me lead bruiser pilot 8 health pips so they are never in danger of dying outside of the insta death cockpit crit. Morale and range finder seem to be the other really strong mods. The range finder makes my gauss rifle an absolute monster and having morale boosts constantly for aimed shot/stability wipe is just too good.

Niiice, just picked up Rangefinder++ that gives +100m to view distance.

Vimeseh said:

Yah I got a battlemaster from there too.

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Same happened with me, Battlemaster + Highlander is a pretty fat game changer. Then a few missions later I headshot another Highlander and killed another, 4 salvage from 1 mission $$. Only problem is in that mission I lost my Gauss Cannon on the one I brought with me, so I had to think long and hard about it. Probably made the wrong choice, unless there's more options for LosTech weapons later on.

Fadaar said:

Same, Battlemaster + Highlander is a pretty fat game changer. Then a few missions later I headshot another Highlander and killed another, 4 salvage from 1 mission $$. Only problem is in that mission I lost my Gauss Cannon on the one I brought with me, so I had to think long and hard about it. Probably made the wrong choice, unless there's more options for LosTech weapons later on.

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Haven't seen one yet but then again I haven't done the next story mission. I do think the gauss is probably worth more then the mech TBH. Its stability damage and just straight damage makes for either easier take downs on leg shots or dissecting a mech for salvage on called shots.

I've temporarily kitted out the freebie highlander as a missile boat but with so much tonnage to work with and only two missile hardpoints it's not a very efficient loadout. Ended up filling the remaining tonnage with energy weapons for backup work but with that set of hardpoints a highlander is definitely supposed to have a more diverse loadout. Once I find a more suitable LRM platform I'll probably switch the highlander to PPCs for range and an AC20 for close in work. For now I'm definitely sitting on the gauss rifle and all the double heat sinks.

I do feel like the setting is much more interesting during the pre-invasion and early invasion eras. When the region gets so saturated with clan tech that every successor state is cranking out their own new Omnimech designs, it gets a lot more boring.

I do think that HBS has to tweak stability damage and what can cause it in some fashion. By far the most efficient approach is to run two LRM boats (one of which should carry a ppc or guass for sniping) and two bruisers that pretty much only run SRM6 and AC20. This is of course at higher weight levels. Then you hump a ridge/hill and wait for the enemy to come to you. Indirect fire with sensor locks as they come in will have any unit that does get in range of your bruiser almost at their stability threshold. Pop out, alpha strike with 4+ SRM 6 and an AC 20 and down goes the mech. Just rinse and repeat basically with no challenge.

Their stability model also makes it absolutely Zero fun to try and fight anyhwere except the closest hill or ridge because the computer seems to hate close range weaponry so every mid game and further mech is loaded out with LRM/AC/PPC and given that you are almost always fighting a double lance that means if you aren't ridge humping you will be the one with your lance on its back all map.

I'm not sure how to solve the issue. Anything ballistic should of course cause it because you are literally hurling tons of metal at the target. I think PPCs should either give no stability or cut their current output in half. Honestly the medium/light lance range was the most fun because you got to use evasion to negate most of the stability and stuff while having to single out targets and make sure not to get pinned down. Playing with assaults and heavies being abundant on both sides means you can never really pump evasion pips unless you full sprint which is lost damage and not worth it. It also pretty much bars medium or light mechs from being on the map to try and counter LRM spam when even your four pip evade braced Medium mech can get one shot by a decent roll from a heavy or assault.

Damn so this game has a slow start and a bit of a learning curve. But once I hit the campaign part was up till 3am on a work night ...

BTW, are there any early game mech refits worth doing? Played with the refit tool a bit but almost nothing seems worth it. Are there any "must-have" 30-50 ton mech loadouts?

Shmoopy said:

Damn so this game has a slow start and a bit of a learning curve. But once I hit the campaign part was up till 3am on a work night ...

BTW, are there any early game mech refits worth doing? Played with the refit tool a bit but almost nothing seems worth it. Are there any "must-have" 30-50 ton mech loadouts?

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For medium/light mech lances you should strip all equipment and hit the max armor button. Then pick two bruiser style mechs (centurions/Grffins/Shadowhawks work well for this) and slap on as many srm6 and medium lasers as you can. Turn one light mech in to a sensor lock bitch so it doesn't matter what you fit the out with weapons wise. The last mech can either put on a lrm ten or ac10/20 for longish range and sniping although it isn't super effective at that tonnage.

I turned my Centurion (45 ton iirc) into a missile boat- 2 LRM 15s and an LRM 5, recently upgraded to an LRM 10. Works fine.

First serious glitch in the game- I kicked the head off a thunderbolt, took all 3 pieces as salvage and a cockpit++. The thunderbolt did not show up in my bay. Loaded a save, finished the mission, the thunderbolt showed up fine but the possible salvage list was different so no cockpit. Now I have to save-scum...

Edit- a bit of savescumming later the glitch may be related to selecting an item for salvage then removing it, or it may be a particular piece of salvage that is bugged (1/3 of an Orion that just *would* *not* *go* *down*)

Edit #2- more testing- Looks like its dragging something into the selected salvage box then removing it thats the problem. Not sure if its before or after selecting something else too or not.

I was so happy to get full salvage off a catapult until I realized it's the K2 variant. Does this game even have the standard LRM catapult? I've seen the K2 three times now, have never seen the basic missile boat version.

Vimeseh said:

For medium/light mech lances you should strip all equipment and hit the max armor button. Then pick two bruiser style mechs (centurions/Grffins/Shadowhawks work well for this) and slap on as many srm6 and medium lasers as you can. Turn one light mech in to a sensor lock bitch so it doesn't matter what you fit the out with weapons wise. The last mech can either put on a lrm ten or ac10/20 for longish range and sniping although it isn't super effective at that tonnage.

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I was using my 3rd shadowhawk as a lrm boat for medium. Could do a lrm 25 in total. If you had access to lrm 15/20 earlier it could be even better.

Varia Vespasa said:

I turned my Centurion (45 ton iirc) into a missile boat- 2 LRM 15s and an LRM 5, recently upgraded to an LRM 10. Works fine.

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My Centurion became a max armored closer quarters knockdown monster. It basically never takes structural damage, loaded to the tits with SRM6 & 4, and it packs a Gyro added mean punch. Renamed it the Gladius.

Sludig said:

I was using my 3rd shadowhawk as a lrm boat for medium. Could do a lrm 25 in total. If you had access to lrm 15/20 earlier it could be even better.

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I was also using a Shadow Hawk for my first LRM boat up until I got a Trebuchet.

I was all excited when I got my first Trebuchet but it was a severe disappointment. Its faster than my Centurion missile boat, but the Centurion is much better armored for the same weapon loadout, which is 2 LRM 15s and an LRM10, 4 tons of ammo and 1 heatsink. The Trebuchet cant carry 3 LRMs, so to get the same weight of guns its got to be 2 LRM 20s, which because of their extra weight means it literally cannot carry enough armor to stop a SINGLE medium laser hit. Not one. So the Centurion is better for almost all purposes.

I have high hopes that a Shadowhawk with be a better missile boat when I get one to modify- it *should* be faster (same speed as a Trebuchet) and a bit more armor than the Centurion but we'll see.

How the hell does your Shadowhawk only have LRM 25??

Varia Vespasa said:

I was all excited when I got my first Trebuchet but it was a severe disappointment. Its faster than my Centurion missile boat, but the Centurion is much better armored for the same weapon loadout, which is 2 LRM 15s and an LRM10, 4 tons of ammo and 1 heatsink. The Trebuchet cant carry 3 LRMs, so to get the same weight of guns its got to be 2 LRM 20s, which because of their extra weight means it literally cannot carry enough armor to stop a SINGLE medium laser hit. Not one. So the Centurion is better for almost all purposes.

I have high hopes that a Shadowhawk with be a better missile boat when I get one to modify- it *should* be faster (same speed as a Trebuchet) and a bit more armor than the Centurion but we'll see.

How the hell does your Shadowhawk only have LRM 25??

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Early game lrm 10 was biggest available. Once of its lrm mounts is also only 1 slot iirc. So 2 10s and a 5. I think i briefly had a 10/15/5 before moving up merch sizes.


Apparently your game ran different. Sounds like shadow rare but i see them almost every mission. Have 3 and sold like 2 and I'mnot even ti what you admins call midgame i don't think.

Sludig said:

Early game lrm 10 was biggest available. Once of its lrm mounts is also only 1 slot iirc. So 2 10s and a 5. I think i briefly had a 10/15/5 before moving up merch sizes.


Apparently your game ran different. Sounds like shadow rare but i see them almost every mission. Have 3 and sold like 2 and I'mnot even ti what you admins call midgame i don't think.

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I just got one as an enemy (and a centurion too) in my last "sending a message" mission, which naturally was on max cash because I need to make next payroll (Bloody Argo sucking all my money! ), so I'm currently save-scumming to try and get one of the pieces in my random loot to go with the 2 pieces I have in storage.

Edit- Save scumming complete. Results- disappointing. No way to maintain the LRM40 and not lose nearly half the armor. Refit bay says I can drop to LRM 35 and 640 armor, and go from speed 3 to 5. Not sure that the speed and 40 armor is worth it though for something that usually sits in the back.

I still don't know how anyone runs out of money. Half done with argo chaining upgrades and just did the ammo depot story mission. Sitting at like 7mill even after buying + weapons on sight and doing +2 morale budget. Yall paying upkeep on a ton of extra mechs and pilots or something?

I'm perpetually getting "omg we're almost out of cash reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" messages. I also only sell dupe mechs, so maybe that's it, dunno. I tried going all in on salvage for payments, with the occasional +rep, to see if selling mechs nets more cash, but I'm still up in the air on that.