BattleTech Guide

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Advanced Guide

The Basic Guide covered the game beginning, the player interface and the various control screens. The Advanced Guide is about getting the best outcomes with a particular Lance setup, Load out and Pilot configuration.

Again, this is for the vanilla game with no Mods where Salvage is the name of the game. Also, several undisclosed or hidden features were briefly mentioned, but are covered here in more detail.

Examples of the Mercenary Companies I use are detailed in the Master Guide featuring four Commanders with all female crews, building a formidable lance, custom galleries, and the all important 75 ton Marauder.

Advanced Sections;

Mid/Late Game

*A MERCENARY'S CAREER*
You have everything an industrious mercenary commander could want: a crew of talented misfits, a lance of ancient BattleMechs, and a derelict cargo ship to call home.

It's one thing to finish a mission in one piece, more or less. But it's another to keep your MechWarriors happy and healthy, your 'Mechs patched up and ready for action, and your balance sheet firmly in the black.

As the rumors of another war of succession intensify, the Mercenary Review Board announces new evaluation protocols to assess the mercenary companies of the Periphery... with a score.

Below this point contains spoilers to the main campaign. Proceed after being employed by the Arano Restoration,
and preferably before your pilots reach level 4 in skills.
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The Argo Derelict

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If playing the Campaign mode, you will have a mission that you acquire the derelict cargo ship, the Argo, through an intense battle. Playing in the Career mode, you start with the gutted-out ship. You still have the Leopard Dropship which is used to deploy your lance to the planet-side battlefield and is docked to the Argo. The Argo will require many repairs and a lot of C-Bills to get it functioning properly. Then there are the various upgrades to consider.

A new side button has been added to the menu, the Engineering Section. How you go about the maintenance and upgrades is up to you, but you should get the basic System & Support components repaired first. Many upgrades will not be available until some of those basics are taken care of.

This is now your home, which is a whole lot more spacious then the cramped dropship.

ENGINEERING

SHIP UPGRADES
-System & Support
[ Power System (3) - Structure (3) - Drive System (3) - Habitat Pods (3) ]
-Combat & Deployment
[ Mech Bays (3) - Repair & Refit (5) - Training Modules (3) ]
-Personnel & Medical
[ Med Bays (4) - Recreation (8) ]

(( More information to be added ))

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Crew Manifest

Your Mechwarriors play an important role in the game. Their individual skills and abilities have obvious effects on the battlefield. Matching up the right pilot with the right 'Mech can make the difference. Whether finding replacement pilots or adding to your roster, scouring the Hiring Halls can get you Unique Mechwarriors.

(( More information to be added ))

Classes:
LANCER
TACTICIAN
GLADILATOR
SHARPSHOOTER
FLANKER
OUTRIDER
SCOUT
SKIRMISHER
SENTINEL
GUNNER

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Skill Progression

Upgrade your pilots skills. You can level up skills evenly up to level 4, but after that careful application of XP is a must. Once you activate a skill to the bonuses, it will lock out other skill trees. You can only have 2 primary bonuses and one secondary within the primary.

SENSOR LOCK seems pointless since opponent 'Mech has to be in line of sight and can already be targeted anyway.

Skill Tree
(hover over skill marker for more information)

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
GUNNERY


PILOTING


GUTS


TACTICS

Ability
	Multi-target	Able to target upto 3 opponents and select which weapons to use. Does not indicate what penalities apply to additional targets past the first. [need citation]
	Breaching Shot	Ignores opponents Cover and Guarded with 1 weapon type.
	Sure Footing	More stable on uneven terrain and +1 Evasion
	Ace Pilot	Able to move after firing if no movement was used
	Bulwark	Uses a self-defense posture to reduce incoming attack damage
	Coolant Vent	Manually opens vents to immediatly reduce heat. +8 heat for next 3 rounds
	Sensor Lock	Put a tracer on opponent to increase targeting by friendly units.
	Mstr Tactician	Gain +1 Initiative. -1 Stability damage when reserving.

Each skill level have bonuses to combat. Not all shown.

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Missions and Reputation
Try to pick missions with a balanced approach to each faction at the beginning. It's a good idea to not make enemies too early, particularly with the Pirate faction. Even if you are not pursuing a Pirate background, keeping them friendly can lead to having access to the Black Market where many rare weapons and equipment are exclusively available. Skull ratings will determine the 'Mechs you will be facing and how many. For up to two , you will face a single lance and possibly one additional antagonist 'Mech. [need citation]		Pick missions that are in a favorable environment (the colder the better). Take the highest amount of Salvage Rights as you can without affecting the Reputation too much. With a decent Battle Lance, you will acquire more than enough salvage to make up the difference in C-Bills. Be sure to read carefully the Mission Briefing information. They contain clues about the enemy you will be facing and the on-ground conditions. Assigning 'Mechs and Mechwarriors; Assembling the right Battle Lance will depend on the mission. But typically you want at least one fast mech, two brawler types and an artillery 'Mech with Long Range Missiles. In early game play, a fast jumping mech will be the most help. This is particularly true where you have to retrieve something or someone from a base. But a heavy-hitter will usually be the right call to round out the lance. ~~Assigning pilots to the same class 'Mech has an undisclosed bonus or penalty where a Mechwarrior can gain an Affinity by becoming familiar with a particular 'Mech chassis and load-out~~. [citation: Jamie Wolf] Pilot 'tag' mechanics where left out of the finished game where combat is involved. Which is unfortunate, but BattleTech isn't really a role playing game anyway. However, some of the game mods did incorporate a select few of the Pilot Perks.

Combat Tactics
When starting a mission, look over the map to find alternate routes to get to your destination. The most direct path the game presents to you is not usually the best. Find locations with higher elevations (but not too high) with plenty of available cover (trees or whirlwinds). Move your strongest 'Mech to the lead with the lights flanking back a bit to the left and right. Have an artillery piece (missile launchers) hang back and find suitable cover in valleys and crevices away from where the combat will happen. If Darius tells you that it looks like a trap or a 'good place for an ambush', go either to the far left or right side of the map. This way you are the one doing the ambushing instead of getting caught in a planned crossfire. The OpFor (opposing force) will have some of their 'Mechs on the opposite side of the map and will take them awhile to reach where the battle is actually happening, thus giving you time to pick off the most dangerous 'Mechs. Remember that the first round of combat you only have about 30% of your max Resolve, so don't move up too quickly. Jump into tree cover whenever you can covering the most distance possible to increase your Evasion and getting 40-60% damage reduction. Having a slight elevation advantage over the opponent gives you a little bonus to your hit percentage. Too high and your opponent can target your torso and arms more easily. The game mechanics don't really tell you if doing an alpha strike will over-heat your mech until you have already moved and targeted a 'Mech. If an attack shows you may overheat, disable weapons with the lowest hit chance and least damage first, just remember to turn them back on before the next round. If an OpFor 'Mech gets knocked down, don't fire on it. Let it get back up. Not for honor, but firing on it will usually hit the center torso and destroy the entire 'Mech despite targeting the head or legs. Thus less salvage recovered, and salvage is the mainstay of the game. If a leg was already taken out causing the fall, wait for the opponent to get back up, then target the other leg. You will still get 3 salvage parts from it.		Don't end a mission by getting to the evac zone. Finish off all the opposing force and get an easy pickup by Sumire's dropship. 'Mechs taken out by a head shot or both legs get destroyed, you can get the entire 'Mech (3 parts) when picking your salvage. Of course, the higher the base tonnage, the higher the value when selling them at the store. Be sure to scan the entire list of available salvage. There may be rare components that you need or will bring a good price. POST MISSION; 1. Upgrade your pilots skills with the gained Experience Points. 2. Tend to damaged 'Mechs in the 'Mech Bay. Send any salvaged 'Mechs to storage. All weapons and components will be stripped and added to your Component inventory. While in storage, components, 'Mech parts or even whole 'Mechs take no space and will not cost you anything toward your monthly Financial Report fees. [need citation] 3. Visit the store and sell whole 'Mechs whenever you can and dump the armaments and equipment you don't need. Keep just 1-2 of each type of weapon system, 3-5 of components and ammo in your inventory. Sell everything else. Selling items is not effected by faction reputation discount or markup.

Remember; Many items will have additional information if hovered over.

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Advanced Battle Lance

Combat Role
Scout	Sniper	Brawler	Artillery

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Priority Missions (Campaign)
-
Liberation Of Weldry (+)
Liberate: Smithon (+)
Served Cold (+)
Grave Robbing
Raising the Dead (+)
Escape
Defense: Smithon
Extraction (+)
Liberation: Tyrlon (+)
Locura (+)
Showdown (+)

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[need citation]
Detailed features to include; Resolve, Experience, Skill Bonuses, Mission Reports.

Next Section: Master Guide >>