Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
by Kasey Chang
released May 5, 2004
0 Introduction
This is an UN-official strategy guide and walkthrough for the game
Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance from Microsoft. This document covers the
single-player campaign in detail (how to approach each mission), as
well as a primer on multiplayer MW4 gaming, with discussion on
weapons, mechs, and tactics.
0.1 A word from the author
This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You won't learn how to play the game
with this document, and I'm NOT about to add it to ease the life of
software pirates.
This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that I have (and exist, at the time of this document's release).
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among many others.
If you like this FAQ, send me a dollar. :-) (See end of next
section)
0.2 Terms of Distribution
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2000-
2004, all rights reserved excepted as noted in the disclaimer
section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the following
conditions:
1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of this
document: "Mechwarrior 4: Unofficial Strategy Guide" is copyrighted
(c) 2000-2004 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as
noted in the disclaimer."
2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner without
prior permission of the author with the following exception: if you
wish to convert this document to a different file format or archive
format, with no change to the content, then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no HTML
borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more banner
hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list. [Small
exception: a small toolbar is acceptable.]
3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged for
its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling this
guide, let me know.
4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.
5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right to
archive and link to this document to share among the game fandom,
provided that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract. If
you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you in 5),
i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If you don't
follow them, then you did not meet the statutory contract conditions,
and therefore you have no right to display this document. If you do
so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This section was added
for any websites that don't seem to understand this.
For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of one
(1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you believe
this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so, please make your
US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of US stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and
send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
0.3 Voluntary Contribution
Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.
However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be very
appreciated.
If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth
of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6,
San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (52 at least count), I've
received exactly 27 dollars, and 5 sets of stamps, as of release of
this guide. So I'm NOT making any money off these guides, folks.
0.4 How and when to contact me
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark,
mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this game that
is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the address specified
below. I'll try to answer it and include it in the next update.
Please do NOT write me for technical support. I do NOT work for a
game company and thus I do NOT provide support.
Please do NOT ask me to send you a list of controls, the manual, etc.
If you borrowed the game without borrowing the manual, curse at your
own stupidity. If you bought the game without a manual, please blame
your own stupidity as well. If you copied the game without copying
the manual, you're scum in my book.
Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that were already answered
in this guide. It makes you look REALLY idiotic.
I will NOT answer stupid questions like the ones above unless I'm in
a really good mood. If you send questions like that, do NOT expect a
reply.
The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't use
spambots on it:
Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT Yankee-
Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike
To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word except
for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military phonetics" or
"aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering.
This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing was
done with Editpad (editpadclassic.com).
0.5 The Author
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like what
I did, so I kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for XCOM,
XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing Commander 3, Wing
Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior
3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4, Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight,
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout
Tactics, Starfleet Command Volume II, DS9: The Fallen, Dominion War,
Driver, and a few more.
To contact me, see 0.4 above.
0.6 Disclaimer/ Copyright Information
Mechwarrior 4 is a trademark of Microsoft. Mechwarrior and Battletech
is licensed from FASA.
This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Microsoft and FASA. The
information compiled in this USG has been gathered independently
through the author's efforts except where noted.
This guide includes strategies and tactics of approaching each and
every mission. If you need just a little help, don't read the rest!
0.7 Revision History
31-DEC-2000 Initial release
06-JAN-2001 Added multiplayer tips, more mech configs, more
weapon discussions
14-JAN-2001 Added even MORE multiplayer tips, weapon
discussions, mech configs
10-FEB-2001 More mech analysis, more configs notes, more mission
notes, difficulty rating,
misc. small updates here and there
01-APR-2001 Start of Daylight Savings Time, and it's time to get
another release out to cover
the point-release (patch) and a bit more updated info.
15-AUG-2001 Summer vacation's coming to an end, and news of MW4:
Black Knight is enough to warrant another update,
along with more detailed ratings.
05-MAY-2004 With launch of MW4: Black Knight and MW4: Mercenaries,
plus the mech paks, it's time to upgrade this FAQ once
again, with fixes here and there
0.8 The Most Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can you send me Mechwarrior 4 (or portions thereof)?
A: Of course not.
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: You're kidding, right? The README file would be a start.
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual, please!
Q: What's the latest version?
A: Point Update 3.0. Find it at
http://fasastudio.com/downloads/utilities/default.htm
Q: Is there a map editor? Mods? Inventory editor? Any hacks? More
mechs?
A: Map / Mission Editor is available from FASA Studio at
http://fasastudio.com/downloads/utilities/default.htm
No hacks, inventory, or mod mechs available for MW4. The expansion
packs are available.
Q: How about more multiplayer maps?
A: Go to the official Microsoft MW4 website for some. Mektek.net
should have more as they get more maps up and running.
Q: I got the new multiplayer map archive. Where do the individual
files go?
A: Didn't read the instructions, did you? If you installed in default
path, then it should go to
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\MechWarrior Vengeance\resource\miss
ions"
Q: Do mechs actually limp with leg damage?
A: Yes they do, though they need HEAVY leg-specific damage to show
that. The leg would be almost completely black. You can STILL walk
forward when one leg is "black", i.e. actuator destroyed. You just
can't walk in reverse. There's a very thin line between crippled and
destroyed, so you don't often SEE limping mechs.
Q: Can a mech be knocked down?
A: Yes, though the lack of extremely heavy weapons except LBX20s
means it's hard to find the right combo. This is remedied in later
MW4 games. For example, 3 LBX-20's in ONE concentrated salvo will
usually knock down Shadow Cats and anything smaller. Mechs heavier
than 50 tons doesn't seem to be knock-able unless they got hit by 4
gauss rifle bolts at the same time or something. (I've knocked down a
Mad Cat Mk 2 once, hit him with 2 Class gauss and 2 light gauss at
the same time). The heavier autocannons in Black Knight and Mercs
cause far more knockdowns.
Q: Will there be a Mechwarrior 5?
A: Who knows?
Q: Will there be an expansion pack?
A: MW4: Black Knight has been released. It contains another single
player campaign, more mechs, more weapons, and more multiplayer modes
(with more maps, of course). Mech paks and Mercenaries are also out.
Q: Are there any cheat codes?
A: No working cheat codes has been found. Previously listed cheat
codes appears to only work in the DEMO, not the real game.
Q: How do I get past mission X in the single-player campaign?
A: See the specific campaign mission walkthrough.
Q: Do your lancemates get better as they go on more missions?
A: Absolutely. At the end of every mission you'll see a little
improvement on their "ability bars".
Q: How do I find the repair depot or repair facility?
A: There is no command to find the MFB, unlike MW3. Try ordering your
lancemate to head for repairs and follow him/her. Some maps do NOT
have repair facilities.
Q: How do I repair?
A: That depends on the facility, as there are three kinds.
There's the mobile field base (red frames with brown "covers"). This
one, you just aim carefully (use external view) and walk in. You'll
automatically shut down and be repaired.
There are also the "roofless" mech repair bay, and the "enclosed"
mech repair bay. For either type, just walk into the slot, and
shutdown your mech, and you'll be repaired and reactivated when
repairs are done. If you didn't get repaired, try a different bay.
NOTE: your lancemates only seem to recognize the mobile field base as
a repair base, not the other types.
Q: How do I get a Daishi in the campaign?
A: That depends on the difficulty level. The only "sure" way is to go
on the "supply depot" mission instead of the "save sister" mission.
At RECRUIT difficulty you may salvage a Daishi before then.
Q: Why did you say the naval destroyer have LRMs when the manual says
it has Long Toms?
A: Because the manual is WRONG. When you fight the destroyers, watch
them and see if you see LRMs shooting at you. PLAY THE GAME before
you ask me questions like this!
Q: How do I "chain-fire" within a weapon group only?
A: You can't. Chain-fire cycles through all weapons. (Yes, this is a
change from MW3. No, I don't like it either.) [It's fixed in Black
Knight]
Q: Where doesn't my torso-twist work?
A: Was numlock on? [It's fixed in Black Knight]
Q: How do I disable/turn-off the auto-torso-return?
A: Press the SEMI-COLON (;) key to toggle. [It's fixed in Black
Knight, defaults to off]
Q: What is a "boat" mech?
A: A boat mech is a mech that's configured with only ONE type of
weapons. I.e. only missiles, only lasers, only AC's, etc. Usually
this requires you to use the Daishi, as that has the most "omni"
racks. Use of "boat" mechs is frowned upon by some players. See 8.2
for more details.
Q: What if I spotted something missing or more tactics?
A: Feel free to submit anything that can benefit this guide's
readers. However, make sure you have the LATEST version of this guide
(check gamefaqs.com), as chances are someone beat you to it. If not,
e-mail me above. Submissions will be included with your name attached
unless you specify otherwise. I reserve the right to edit the wording
or the reject entries. Feel free to submit your favorite mech config
as well. Please specify purpose/role and some of the reasoning behind
the config.
1 Game Information
Mechwarrior 4 is the latest in the Mechwarrior series, a game with a
long history.
Mechwarrior originally is the role-playing game based on the
Battletech boardgame. Battletech is a game of `mech combat, where
humanoid machines mounted with a lot of weapons fight each other.
(Battletech itself borrowed several mech designs from Japanese anime
"Macross", which is known as "Robotech" in the US, but that's a
completely different story.)
On the PC, Mechwarrior is an in-cockpit mech combat simulator where
you perform a variety of missions against other mechs, vehicles, in
various terrains.
1.1 A Brief History of Mechwarrior series
When Dynamix created the first Mechwarrior for Activision, it started
the whole genre of in-cockpit mecha-type combat simulation. Before
then, all Battletech games are either top-down turn-based or top-down
real-time. Mechwarrior changed all that. No one expected that a
simple 286 could support a 3D mech combat sim. Mechwarrior gives you
light mechs from Locusts (20 t) and Jenners (30t) up to Assault mechs
like Marauder (75t) and Battlemasters (80t). People were used to the
old 2D stuff (indeed, Activision had already published "Crescent
Hawk's Inception" and "Crescent Hawk's Revenge", both 2D).
Mechwarrior has plot, adventure, 3D in-cockpit combat, contract
negotiation, hiring/firing mech pilots, buy/sell/repair mechs, full
in-game economy (different prices in each system) and more. Each
mission is dynamically generated. The game was an instant classic.
When Dynamix was purchased by Sierra (and went on to created the
Earthsiege/Starsiege universe based on their mech experience),
Activision had to create the sequel internally, and that took them
much longer than expected. The result is Mechwarrior 2: The Clans,
where you play as a Clan warrior (of either Clan Jade Falcon or the
Clan Wolf) battling other Clans and the Inner Sphere forces. There
were plenty of missions for both sides. While the initial version did
not include multiplayer, it was promised in a free patch, which
became known as "NetMech". Mechwarrior 2 was followed by an expansion
pack that added Clan Ghost Bear, as well as a semi-sequel: MW2:
Mercenaries, where you play an Inner Sphere mercenary group taking on
different missions for various employers.
The release of MW2 just caught the beginning of the 3D-accelerator
revolution, and the different games and expansion packs were re-
released in Titanium Edition with 3D-accelerator support. Some API-
specific versions (3DFX GLIDE, Rendition Redline, etc.) were bundled
with some 3D accelerators.
Activision eventually lost the Battletech license to MicroProse in
the bidding war. Activision then licensed "Heavy Gear", another
"mecha" universe, from "Dream Pod 9". The first Heavy Gear game was
not well received, partly because the combat tempo was VERY different
from Mechwarrior. HG's weapons are much deadlier, as the Gears are
much smaller (maximum is about 18 tons, compared to Battletech's 100
ton behemoths). Heavy Gear II was much better, requiring 3D
acceleration graphics, but the damage was already done. Activision
went on to spend big bucks for the Star Trek license, abandoning the
`mech genre altogether.
MicroProse, on the other hand, was attempting to trim in-house
expenses, and they contracted FASA Interactive to create Mechwarrior
3, based on the Battletech Virtual World sims (those huge MW consoles
allowing 8 players at once). However, the game is HEAVILY delayed,
and Microsoft was in negotiation to buy FASA Interactive. MicroProse
then negotiated with Microsoft and brought in Zipper Interactive to
create Mechwarrior 3. The product being developed by FASA Interactive
was changed to Mechwarrior 4 and will be published by Microsoft.
Mechwarrior 3 featured improved graphics and excellent interface, but
the AI is pretty awful. The inventory management interface is
horrendous. It is also very short at only 20 missions total in the
campaign. The missions are pretty well designed, however, with
excellent briefing videos. It was successful enough that MicroProse
released an expansion pack titled Pirate's Moon, which added another
21 missions, plus several other improvements including more mechs and
more weapons, and better instant action. However, none of the real
concerns were fixed.
Pirate's Moon was not widely released, and copies can bid up to $100
on eBay auctions until MW3: Gold edition was released.
1.2 What's the setup this time?
You are Ian Dresari, a mechwarrior for House Davion, Federated Suns.
Your father is the Duke of Kentares IV. Crown Prince Victor Steiner-
Davion, rightful heir of the Federated Commonwealth, was away leading
the fight against the Clans, along with you (and a lot of the
expedition forces). Prince Victor's sister, Katherine (i.e. Katrina)
Steiner-Davion, usurped the throne of the Federated Commonwealth (the
biggest faction in the Inner Sphere), while Victor was away. She took
the title of Archon of Lyran Commonwealth, and started to invade
House Davion's territories, including Kentares IV, in the name of
"putting down rebellious elements". Your entire family has been
killed (apparently) except your uncle, Sir Peter Dresari. You have
just returned with your uncle in two dropships and several mechs. You
swear to take back the planet. Or die trying.
1.3 What do I need to run Mechwarrior 4?
From the box
* Pentium II 300 or higher CPU
* Win95, Win98, WinME, or Win2K
* 64 megs of RAM
* 650 megs of HD space, plus 125 megs for swap file
* 8X CD drive
* Mouse or compatible pointing device
* DirectX 8 (it says 7 on the box, but the game will install DX8
any way)
* DX7 compatible sound card, Direct3D 7 compatible video card
* Speakers or headphones for audio output
* SVGA 16-bit color monitor or better
Multiplayer further requires:
* 96 megs required for Win2K
* 28.8 Kbps modem or LAN with TCP/IP or IPX protocol
* Narrowband hosting is limited to 8 players, broadband is limited
to 16 players
* Internet access required for internet play and is your
responsibility
* Microsoft Zone.com play needs IE4 or Netscape 4 for initial
registration.
Typical install takes about 550 megs. Full install takes 1.1 gigs.
I personally recommend at least 400 MHz CPU and a good video card
with at least 16 megs of RAM, and at least 128 megs of RAM.
1.4 Where are the patches?
You can download the patches from
http://www.microsoft.com/games/mechwarrior4/.
Latest release is Point Update 3.0. You can also find it at
http://fasastudio.com/downloads/utilities/default.htm
1.5 How is MW4 different from MW3?
Lots of differences. Primarily, the combat tempo is faster and
there's a lot of movement.
The default joystick config is different, with three of the buttons
firing one weapon group each.
There are more weapons and more mechs (7 never before seen). Bombast
lasers, LAMS, machine gun arrays, etc.
The mechlab is now very restricted, as the mechs now have hardpoint
restrictions for each type of weapon. You get limited options to
mount extra equipment (only one AMS or LAMS per mech). While this
sounds bad, the mechs now actually have "personality". Some mechs are
beam heavy, while others are ballistic- or missile-heavy. Clan mechs
have "omni" hardpoints that can mount any type of weapons.
The game moves much faster, and the AI seems to be improved, as they
WILL use their jumpjets if they have one, and they will circle around
a building to try to attack you in the back.
1.6 What game modes are there?
Single player: campaign, training, instant action (which includes has
multiple options, such as play ANY of the campaign missions with any
config/mechs, face random waves on any map, and so on).
Multiplayer: attrition, team attrition, capture the flag, team
destruction, destruction, escort, king of the hill, steal the beacon
(on any map)
1.7 Is there a campaign tree? How about different endings?
There is ONE branch near the very end where you need to make a big
choice, and that affects the ending you get. I won't spoil the
surprise yet, but you can read the campaign walkthrough.
1.8 What's the difference between difficulty levels?
On recruit level you can salvage mechs that you did not even
encounter (i.e. you can fight one type of mech and salvage an
entirely different type). The enemy mechs are easier to kill. You may
also encounter less mechs.
On regular level, you can only salvage mechs that you DID encounter.
Some of the missions also see heavier enemy mechs. The enemy also
causes more damage.
On higher difficulty levels, you counter heavier mechs, you get less
salvage, and you need to inflict more damage to kill enemy mechs.
1.9 Expansion packs and sequels?
MW4 is followed by an expansion pack: Black Knight with its own
campaign.
2 Mech Paks, one for Clan and one for Inner Sphere followed MW4.
These added a weapon or two plus a set of mechs picked by fans in
online voting. It requires the game, of course.
Finally, the "stand-alone expansion" Mercenaries is also available.
You do not need MW4 to play Mercenaries. It features a branching
campaign where you engage various mercenary contracts and grow your
outfit from one with few mechs to a powerful with a full load of
assault mechs. You can even fight on Solaris for "fun". Mech Paks are
compatible with this game as well.
2 Weapons
There are basically three types of weapons, as explained in the
manual. I'll just go over the types and their general applications.
Each weapon has a usefulness rating. A is "excellent", F is "forget
it".
2.1 Ballistic Weapons
Ballistic weapons include AC's (5 and 10), Ultra AC's (2 and 5), LBX
Scattershot (10 and 20), Gauss rifle (regular and light), and machine
gun array (MGA). Some have clan versions which are lighter or have
more extended range, but not all. There's also the Long Tom, which is
a special weapon.
Cannons are rather heavy even though their hardpoint is rather small.
Get the Clan version if available, as they are lighter and produce
more damage.
The cannons need ammo. While ammo is available, you can pump out a
lot of firepower, but when you're out, you're left with nothing. On
the other hand, cannons don't produce much heat.
Ballistic weapons only fit in ballistic hardpoints (yellow in
Mechlab).
2.1.1 LBX Scattershot
Usefulness: A- / A
LBX cause a lot of damage at close range, esp. the LBX20s. In fact,
the LBX20s are the only true knock-down weapons (besides gauss
rifle). However, they don't do much damage at longer ranges. They
are also very heavy therefore hard to fit in a smaller mech.
The smaller LBX cannons are not as useful, though they do decent
damage at close range.
A good combo is multiple LBX20s. In a Daishi you can fit in three
LBX20s (two in torso, one in the center omni rack). Together that's
enough to knock a Shadow Cat flat on its behind, enough time for you
to kill it with your other weapons.
The Clan version of the LBX cannon is lighter and is therefore more
desirable.
2.1.2 Machine Gun Array
Usefulness: F / F
The machine gun arrays doesn't really do enough damage, even the Clan
version. It's like washing the floor with a toothbrush. Leave it
home. Bring a heftier weapon. If you just have two tons to use up,
add heatsinks or more speed or more armor.
2.1.3 Gauss Rifle
Usefulness: A / A
The best sniper weapon is the gauss rifle. Use the zoom to get good
shots at the head or one of the legs. The main problem is the long
reload time and finite amount of ammo. Bring reloads if possible.
Atlas can mount three light gauss rifles. A Mad Cat Mk II can mount
FOUR, two Clan and two light (or 4 light). Daishi. Can mount just
about anything.
The Clan version is lighter than the IS version, but takes up 3
contiguous ballistic hardpoints.
The light gauss rifle causes somewhat less damage, but it reloads
faster, only takes 2 hardpoints, carries more ammo, and is the same
weight as the Clan gauss rifle. If you have limited hardpoints, the
light gauss is more desirable.
2.1.4 Autocannon
Usefulness: B / B+
Respectable range and punch, the problem is they don't come in big
sizes for true knock-down power. Clan mechs prefer Ultra or LBX
cannons, but AC is a good compromise. The bigger version is better.
2.1.5 Ultra AC
Usefulness: C-
In MW4 Ultra AC is just too small to do any significant damage. Even
when you put 5 of them together it's not significant. The same weight
in LBX or even regular AC causes far more damage. Their only saving
grace is they only take up one ballistic hardpoint each.
2.1.6 Long Tom
Usefulness: C+
The Long Tom cannon is basically a huge mech-mounted mortar. Its BIG
shell causes a lot of splash damage, IF it lands on land. A few shots
can take down a building. It is an Inner Sphere-only weapon.
It is VERY hard to aim, as it has very low muzzle velocity. You'll
need to aim up in order to "lob" the shot. It does cause a lot of
splash damage, but the number of shots is very limited, and firing
rate is VERY slow. Also, do you REALLY want to use up 20 TONS for ONE
weapon?
If the shot lands in water, nothing happens. Therefore don't use this
in swampy maps.
Using it in multiplayer is NOT recommended unless you're lobbing it
past a hill, and even then, you'll need a "spotter". Using it in
melee is. Hmmm. Dangerous. It CAN be done (lob shots at passers-by
and rely on splash damage) but you may be better off with more
"conventional" weapons.
2.2 Energy Weapons
Energy weapons include lasers, PPCs, and flamers. Lasers vary from
small, medium, to large. Pulse laser fires more shots, thus causes
more damage, but also weighs more. PPC is half-ballistic and half-
energy, as the shot itself travels like ballistic weapon but the
weapon itself is energy-based and generates heat. There's also flamer
(point-blank heat weapon) and bombast laser (discussed later).
The Clan versions (if available) are either lighter or have longer
range (sometimes both), but also generate more heat. If you don't
need the extra range, use the IS version.
Energy weapons generate heat, so you can't fire them too much, or
you'll overheat and shut down. You will need to increase the amount
of heatsinks to keep up with heat dissipation. You generally want the
heat dissipation bar to be in the green or high yellow. You may be
able to temporarily avoid the shutdown by doing either override or
coolant flush. On the other hand, energy weapons do not require ammo,
so you can fire them as long as you don't overheat.
The bigger the weapon, the longer the time it takes to charge up for
the next shot.
Energy weapons (beam weapons in the Mechlab) use red hardpoints.
2.2.1 Small Laser
Usefulness: F
I don't find much use for the small laser at all. They simply don't
do enough damage to be worth their weight. For the same weight you
can probably mount a flamer or add more armor instead. Technically
they are the most heat efficient (3:1 ratio of damage to heat)
weapon, but you can't mount enough of them as they take up a whole
beam hardpoint.
The Clan version has slight increase in damage for even more heat.
(Ratio of 1.75:1)
2.2.2 Medium Laser
Usefulness: A
Medium lasers produce good medium and close range firepower, and you
can mount a lot of them if you have the hardpoints, and can afford
the heat build-up. Damage/Heat ratio is 2:1
The Clan version exchanges slight increase in damage and range for
even more heat. (1.3:1)
2.2.3 Large Laser
Usefulness: A-
Large lasers have good range, but generate a lot more heat and weighs
a lot more. (1.5:1). They do decent amount of damage.
The Clan version exchanges increase in damage and range for even more
heat. (1:1)
2.2.4 Small Pulse Laser
Usefulness: F
I don't find much use for the small pulse laser at all. They simply
don't do enough damage to be worth their weight. For the same weight
you can probably mount a flamer or add more armor instead.
2.2.5 Medium Pulse Laser
Usefulness: B+
Medium pulse lasers produce very good medium and close range
firepower. However, they're quite a bit heavier, and generate more
heat.
2.2.6 Large Pulse Laser
Usefulness: B
Large pulse laser is basically an improved version of the large
laser. The multiple pulses produce more damage (3 pulses), at the
expense of even MORE heat. The Clan version is a little lighter.
2.2.7 PPC
Usefulness: A
PPC is a good general-purpose weapon. Most non-mech targets need only
about two shots to take out. It's also good for long range sniping.
Zoom in and let them have it! It generates quite a bit of heat
though.
The Clan version trades increase in damage and range for even more
heat.
Remember that the PPC "bolts" takes a little time to travel to the
target, so you will have to "lead" the target slightly to get good
hits.
2.2.8 Bombast Laser
Usefulness: C- / B
Bombast laser is a new Inner Sphere development. It can cause a lot
of damage if you can learn its firing mechanism. I personally haven't
quite got the knack for it yet. It's also relatively light for the
damage it can cause. However, the time between you held down the
trigger and releasing it the enemy mech would have moved away. It's
VERY hard to get good hits with this weapon.
Always keep the laser charged. Once you got it charged, hold on to
it, then wait for the right moment to unleash it.
Never "hold down" the trigger with Bombast laser. You'll just create
lots of heat for no appreciable damage.
Bombast laser cycles VERY fast and it's VERY easy to overheat when
you're using it. If you have two of these onboard, leave out any
other beam weapons.
If you know how to use it, it becomes more valuable / desirable.
Otherwise, leave it off.
2.2.9 Flamer
Usefulness: B-
The flamer is a point-blank weapon that adds heat to the enemy mech.
It takes two beam spaces, even though its weight is negligible (1 ton
for IS, 0.5 ton for Clan). Add this to your point-blank assault. This
is great for city use where range is often extremely short.
Flamer is useful in multiplayer games that involve flag or beacon
running. In most cases, disabling the mech carrying the object (shut
down) will cause an ejection of the object, allowing another to
capture it.
2.3 Missile Racks
This family includes SRM (2, 4, or 6), MRM (10,20,30, or 40), LRM
(5,10,15, or 20), and Streak SRM (2, 4, or 6). There's also the T-
Bolt missile, Artillery beacon, NARC beacon, and flare launcher. The
Clan version of Streak SRM and LRM are lighter than the Inner Sphere
equivalent.
2.3.1 SRMs
Usefulness: B
SRM munitions are not guided. They fly toward your crosshair. The
target needs to be still for you to get good hits. They cause decent
damage.
Fire just as the target comes to a stop for best effectiveness, or
while the target is down. Leave the smaller launchers at home. The
SRM2 and SRM4 are not worth carrying unless you want the maximum
amount of SRMs for two missile hardpoints (2x4 instead of 1x6).
There is no Clan version of SRM. Clan use Streak SRM instead.
2.3.2 MRMs
Usefulness: B+
Quite a bit of firepower is packed into these hefty launchers. It's
hard to fit them in due to their weight, but if you can, they do a
LOT of damage, esp. the bigger versions.
MRM is not guided. The target needs to be still for you to get good
hits. Fire just as the target comes to a stop for best effectiveness,
or while the target is down.
MRM is an Inner Sphere only weapon.
2.3.3 LRMs
Usefulness: A
LRMs produce excellent damage, and if you get a lock-on the hits are
virtually guaranteed. Once locked-on, the missile will seek the
target, so they can be used even at point-blank range, but best used
at a distance.
LRMs also works as anti-air missiles, though it's somewhat of a waste
to send a LRM20 salvo after one lousy chopper. Their range is too
limited for chasing fighters and bombers.
If you have jumpjets, you can try a "pop-up" launch. Hide behind a
hill, peek over just far enough to lock-on. Then jumpjet straight up,
launch, and land behind the hill again. Run somewhere else and repeat
the performance.
Another possibility is peek JUST over the edge to get a lock-on,
fire, then CROUCH (which takes you back under the edge). This will
not avoid the counter-battery LRM salvo though.
Definitely get the Clan version if they're available. They are much
lighter (as much as half the weight).
2.3.4 Streak SRMs
Usefulness: B+
The Streak SRMs seek their target automatically, so they're good if
you can't get hits with the regular SRMs or MRMs. Just shoot when
you're in range and you should score some hits.
Clan version is lighter.
2.3.5 NARC Beacon
Usefulness: B-
The NARC beacon is difficult to use properly. Basically you hit an
enemy mech, then all the subsequent lock-on missiles like LRM and
Streak SRM will seek the beacon instead.
You'll need to arrange for an OVERWHELMING salvo for the NARC beacon
to be worth the trouble, and the 4 tons it take is not worth its
advantages in my view, at least in single-player.
NARC beacon is more useful in multiplayer when you have more
teammates. Arrange for a smaller mech to run through the enemy
formation planting NARC beacons, then have multiple Catapults and Mad
Cats and any other LRM launchers lob LRM salvoes.
2.3.6 Thunderbolt (T-Bolt)
Usefulness: B
The T-Bolt missile cannot be shot-down by anti-missile system, which
makes them quite deadly, at 28 points per hit! It's just too bad it
takes 15 tons to put in a launcher, and 3 missile hardpoints. It's
also not guided, which makes them hard to get good hits. Fire them
point-blank and follow up with the rest of your weapons to get quick
kills. Put two of these in a Mauler and it's a point-blank killing
machine.
2.3.7 Flare Launcher
Usefulness: F+
While this is not a "weapon", it's listed in the weapon list, so here
it goes.
The flare launcher is used for illumination at night.
I personally don't fight at night so this to me is useless. If you
want to try some night ops, try light amp instead.
2.3.8 Artillery Beacon
Usefulness: D
Artillery beacon allows you to call in artillery on top of a target.
While this is cool, it's not really practical since the beacon
launcher weighs FIVE TONS, which can be used for far more productive
weapons than arty of questionable value. On the other hand, the
damage an artillery salvo produces is quite significant. If you load
up on several reloads (4 shots per ton) it can be excellent
stationary target killers.
It may be more useful in multiplayer where you spring some "ambushes"
over other mechs who thought they're "hidden".
Wonder if this is possible. Give the beacon/flag runner an arty
beacon. As it runs for the escape, it shoots a beacon at a target
ahead, timed so it'll be JUST out of the area when the salvo arrives,
hopefully catching any chasers in the rain of steel.
2.3.9 High Explosive
Usefulness: C ?
High Explosive is a kamikaze weapon found in multiplayer game only.
Basically, you mount it, and you get close to your target, and you
"launch" it. Consider mounting one or more in every mech, as this can
help you take out ONE more mech when you're near death.
3 Equipment and Armor
Special equipment can go on certain mechs. While they will not damage
the enemy mech, they will help you hit the other mech.
3.1 Armor
There are three types of armor in MW4. Ferro-Fibrous, Reflective, and
Reactive.
Ferro-Fibrous armor is the "default" armor. Each ton gets you 30 pts
of armor rating, and it works against any kind of damage: beam,
ballistic, or missile.
FF should be your "default" armor for all occasions, or when you
don't know where you'll end up.
I always use FF armor, and don't EVER use other armor. The only time
I had a dead lancemate, he was not using FF armor.
Reflective armor is a new type of armor designed to defeat lasers.
While each ton of this armor only get you 20 pts of armor rating,
this armor is extra effective against beam weapons. It is not so good
on ballistic or missile weapons.
Reflective armor is best used in colder climates, when most mechs
will be using energy weapons, or when you are expecting a lot of
energy weapons on your opponents.
Reactive armor is a new type of armor designed to defeat ballistic
weapons. Each ton of this armor get you 20 pts of armor rating like
reflective, but it's extra effective against ballistic weapons. It is
not so good on beam or missile weapons.
Reactive armor is best used in hotter climates, when most mechs will
be using ballistic weapons due to heat build-up.
3.2 Equipment
Equipment is the other stuff you can mount on your mech besides
engines, heatsinks, and the armor and weapons listed above. They
enhance your mech in some ways. Not all mechs can carry all the
equipment. See individual mechs for available equipment. All mechs
can carry light amp.
3.2.1 Beagle Active Probe
Usefulness: F
Also known as Beagle Probe or BAP, the Beagle Active Probe is
basically an advanced active sensor that "scans" the surrounding and
returns a stronger signal. This enhances your sensor range to 1250,
and can also detect shut-down mechs (which cannot be detected on
standard radar).
While it's nice to have that sensor range, it's not necessary since
no weapon reaches that far.
Update: received a reminder that light gauss rifle goes out to 1200
m, but my statement is still correct: 1250 is larger than 1200. Given
the short range of MW weapons, the range gained with a BAP is, in my
opinion, is not worth the hardpoint and weight you need to give up
for it.
Update 2: BAP may be more useful in MP, where you have no idea where
the enemy may be.
3.2.2 Guardian ECM
Usefulness: B
Usually just called ECM, this equipment makes your mech even harder
to find on sensors.
Smaller mechs should use this in order to sneak into range and get
some GOOD hits. One of the nastier tricks is to use ECM to get close
and slam a big salvo of missiles into the enemy's back. Another trick
is to use ECM to help you plant NARC beacons. Not useful on the
larger mechs.
Update: received a note that ECM seems to jam NARC beacons. If so,
this may prove to be more useful on larger mechs.
3.2.3 Light Amp
Do you fight at night? If you don't, then you'll never need this.
3.2.4 Jump Jets
Jump jets have different weight depending on the weight class of your
mech. They enhance movement by allowing you to jump over things
(buildings, hills, enemy mechs.) They also complicate enemy
targeting. However, they don't really slow down human shooters, as
while you're in the air you're nicely highlighted by all that flames
coming out of the jumpjets.
Jump jets are best used in hilly areas and on smaller mechs to
exploit their mobility advantage. On medium mechs, the jumpjets can
be used for pop-up sniper maneuvers, or for "overruns"
Overrun goes like this: run at the enemy mech top speed, fire all
weapons, then before you collide, jump jet straight over him, but
just enough to clear him. Hit the head/shoulders if possible. Then
keep running away.
3.2.5 AMS / LAMS
Usefulness: B-
AMS shoot down all GUIDED missiles (Streak SRM or LRM), but AMS can
engage only a limited number of missiles at a time. So the bigger the
launcher, the more shots will get through. There's also the Laser AMS
(LAMS), which generates heat but cannot run out of ammo.
AMS, and its cousin LAMS, will help you take LESS hits, but it won't
eliminate missile hits completely. LAMS generates slightly more heat,
but usually they are hardly noticeable. You just notice you take a
few less hits overall.
3.2.6 Flare Launcher
Flare launcher is equipment, but since it's listed as a missile
weapon in the MechLab, it's listed under missile packs.
4 Your Enemies
Know your enemies to best understand ways on how to defeat them.
4.1 Ground Vehicles
On the ground, you'll see basically Bulldog tank, SRM carrier, LRM
carrier, SKUD launcher, Vedette, and maybe Harasser.
Ground vehicles usually appear in swarms. Individually they don't do
much damage, though the Bulldog can be troublesome with those
autocannons. Don't let them get behind you. Stay back and snipe them.
You usually outrange them.
The most dangerous is the LRM carrier, as they shoot salvoes at you
from afar. Fortunately, one PPC shot is enough to take care of it.
Zoom in and fire one shot each.
Harasser and SRM carrier takes about one PPC each as well.
Bulldog needs 2 shots. Though two good hits from large laser will
also kill it.
SKUD launcher and other ground vehicles take only one shot each to
destroy.
4.2 Air Threats
The only ones that will attack from the air are Nightshade fighters
and the Peregrine attack choppers.
You MAY see Chippewa bombers in one mission. You can take them out
before they take off though, so they're not much of a problem. If
they take off. those bombs can do some real damage.
The fighters don't attack you in MW4, but they shoot missiles in
later games. .
The Peregrines don't do enough damage, as they carry puny SRM2s. They
are annoying though and can spoil your aim.
One shot from large lasers or PPC should take care of any of them.
LRMs also works, though fighters are too fast for LRM lock-on and
maybe the PPC shots. Zoom in and get good shots with your LLAS. If
you got good guns, like Ultra 2s that goes out to 900m, you can use
those also.
4.3 Naval Threats
On swamp or coastal missions, you'll see Condor hovercrafts, Patrol
Boats, and Destroyers. Harassers, being hovercrafts, may also appear
as naval threats.
Condors and Patrol Boats are easy to kill. Most need only one PPC
bolt each to go poof. You can use Ultra 2's if you want. LLAS would
also work fine, though you may need more than one shot.
Don't use Long Toms on water maps. The shots that land in water do
NOT explode.
The destroyer is armed with 2 LRM launchers each [in addition to
whatever it says in the manual]. It is quite well armored, and taking
it down will take a lot of long-range dueling, as you can't get too
close to it due to the beach. Remember, Long Toms don't do damage if
the shots land in water, so get in the water and let the destroyer
have it!
4.4 Dropships
You have several missions where you need to go after dropships.
Usually the dropships are not moving, but they are either powering up
or already powered up and firing back. Take out the APUs around them
(usually 3) then hit it a few more times. They will have a lot of
defenders around them though. Long Tom or artillery beacon may be
worthwhile as dropship demolition weapons, but any other weapon will
do.
The final mission requires you to take on a Hrothgar dropship ready
to take off. Just keep hitting it until it goes poof. This one shoots
back though, so stay back a little. See the mission notes for tactics
on dealing with it.
4.5 Light Mechs
The light mechs in the game are Cougar (35t), Raven (35t), and Osiris
(30t).
The Cougar is the most combat-capable of the trio, with 2 LLAS and 2
LRM10's, plus some smaller lasers.
Raven and Osiris are lightly armed and should not present a problem
to you at all. Watch them as beacon or flag runners in multiplayer
games though, or NARC beacon / artillery beacon planters.
4.6 Medium Mechs
The mediums are Bushwacker (55t), Shadow Cat (45t), Chimera (40t),
Hellspawn (45t), and Uziel (50t).
Bushwacker is the heaviest medium. By the time you see them, you'll
probably have salvaged heavier mechs. It's a very balanced mech but
lacks an overwhelming "punch", having too many weapons in its
inventory.
Shadow Cat is pretty dangerous. It can move very fast and keep
shooting. The LRM armed variants may also do the pop-up launch.
Hellspawn is more missile-reliant but you can fit in quite a few good
lasers and keep the speed up. You can think of it as a baby
Loki/Thor. Unfortunately, the small ballistic hardpoints are too
light.
Uziel is pretty dangerous with 2 PPC's as default config. Consider it
your primary threat when you see one.
4.7 Heavy Mechs
There are quite a few heavy mechs. Catapult (65t), Loki (65t), Mad
Cat (75t), Nova Cat (70t), Thor (70t), Vulture (60t), Argus (60t),
and Thanatos (75t).
Catapult is a fire support mech, as it looks like a small Mad Cat
without the arms. With jumpjets, it does the pop-up launch quite
often. Its close-in firepower is quite low, so get in close and nail
it.
Loki and Thor are very close cousins, with only 5 tons difference.
They are decent fighters in most ranges, and quite mobile with
jumpjets. They usually have no knock-out weapons though. Watch for
them circling.
Mad Cat is probably one of the best mechs around, but the default
config is too heat intensive, and they often shut down if you show
them too many targets. Those LRMs are pretty dangerous. Bring AMS
when you fight against them.
Nova Cat has too many energy weapons. They overheat constantly. When
you face them, try using flamers on them to force them to shut down
even more often.
Vulture is a LRM fire support mech like Catapult, but it's capable of
decent direct fire as well. You can think of it as a smaller Mad Cat,
and it's quite deadly in that role.
Argus has a weird mix of weapons, and doesn't seem to be too
powerful. It is heavily armored though. Those LRMs and Ultras can
ping you, but they can't kill you.
Thanatos. How here's a good match for Mad Cat. Heavily armored (only
Nova Cat boasts more default armor), and it has a good combo of
weapons, though mostly ammo based (LBX20, MRM20). Stay out of close
range and it can't do you much damage.
4.8 Assault Mechs
The heaviest of the heavy, these are real killer mechs. They are
Atlas (100t), Awesome (80t), Daishi (100t), Mauler (90t), and Mad Cat
MkII (90t).
Atlas has a lot of armor and slow movement in exchange for a LOT of
weapons. Though personally those weapons don't do too much good as
they're rather mismatched. It has a lot of hardpoints, but not
contiguous.
Awesome is the first assault mech you'll see/get, and the default
config of 3 PPC is too heat intensive. They shut down quite a bit.
Consider using the flamer on it.
Daishi. The default weapon mix is a lot of stuff. The 4 LLAS is quite
hefty, but it's prone to overheating, and there are just too many
weapons with too many ranges.
Mauler is quite heavy and the 4 Ultra AC/2 is a lot of firepower on
paper, but it doesn't really do THAT much damage in one blow, giving
you more time to kill it.
Mad Cat Mk II. The gauss rifles are absolutely deadly. Great for
sniping, and LRMs and other lasers are just bonuses.
5 Lancemate Management
The mechwarriors do grow in skill as you use them, and the more you
use them, the better they get.
However, they DO get stuck behind buildings and such, and can take a
while to get to you, if you give them a chance.
NOTE: I don't list the skills as that depends on how much you use
each mechwarrior.
5.1 Casey Nolan
Casey is a thoroughly average pilot, though there's room for
improvement. He's a good backup, but as you don't use him much, his
skills will stay average.
5.2 Jen McQuarrie
Jen's skills seems to be piloting, not much gunnery. She's the best
pilot you got for a while, and good on sensors. Night-time she's
average.
5.3 Jules Gonzales
Jules is very good in gunnery, but not much on piloting. He's also
good at night fighting. Give him the long-range weapons.
5.4 Terra Risner
She joins you late (Op 5) after the rescue, and she's quite good in
all categories. She tends to overheat due to her aggressiveness, and
tend to get her mech damaged more than others. Give her a heavy mech
that leans toward ballistic weapons so she can last a while.
5.5 Damon Squire
This guy joins you for one mission in Op 6 and disappears, but while
he's on, he's good. He used to be one of Joanna's personal guards.
6 Your Mechs
Here's some discussion on each of the mechs available, as well as
some recommended configs for your mechs.
In general, you want mechs that delivers knock-out blows rather than
"death of a thousand cuts". You usually don't have time to fight over
and over.
For each mech, the weight is listed, then the hardpoints (E=Energy,
M=Missile, B=Ballistic, O=Omni). The number right next to the
hardpoint is size. For example, 2x2E means there are TWO 2-slot
Energy hardpoints.
6.1 Light Mechs
Light mechs don't do enough damage, and are suitable really only for
recon due to their high speed. Against heavier mechs, their only hope
is hit-and-run. They are great for flag/beacon running in mutiplayer
games, and for NARC and/or arty beacon planting.
6.1.1 Cougar
35 tons 2x2E, 2x2M, 1x2O
Available: BAP, Jumpjets, LAMS, Light Amp
Default cougar has too many weapons. With LLAS and LRM, it should
STAY at long range. Consider dropping the Beagle probe as well.
Replace with more heatsinks, speed, jumpjets, LAMS, and/or LRM
reloads. Use the superior speed to keep the range open and snipe at
the enemy with the lasers and LRMs. Consider carrying smaller LRMs if
you want more laser firepower. Keep running, and don't get close!
6.1.2 Raven
30 tons 1x2E, 1x2M, 2x1E, 1x1M
Available BAP, ECM, AMS, Light Amp
The fact hat Raven comes with a NARC beacon in the default config
should clue you in to the purpose of the mech: NARC planter. It has
Beagle probe and ECM to make sure it can get out from under the enemy
barrage. Its 360-degree torso twist is quite useful as it allows you
to shoot at chasers while maintaining full speed.
6.1.2.1 Raven Runner
Raven with ECM and max engines is a great mech to play multiplayer
"steal the beacon". Just watch out for those heavy "guard" mechs with
the knock-down weapons. If you're down, you can't run. And remember,
no jumpjet.
6.1.2.2 Raven Divine Wind
That's "Divine Wind" as in "kamikaze". NARC beacon, artillery beacon,
and high explosives. Enough said. Run around planting NARC beacons on
unsuspecting victims. If caught. Hit the high explosives and take the
enemies out with you!
6.1.3 Osiris
30-ton 2x2E, 1x2M, 1x1E, 1x1B
Available: Jump jets, AMS, Light Amp
Even faster than the Raven, and even LESS armed, its primary
advantage is the possibility to add jumpjets. Drop the MGA and most
of the weapons. Put NARC beacon and jumpjet on it for survivability.
Run REALLY fast, jump away from your enemies. It's only advantage
over the Raven is availability of jumpjets.
You should have only 2 LLAS on it. It's good for sniping, if you want
to play that game.
6.2 Medium Mechs
Consider using medium mechs as beacon runners. Uziel and Shadow Cat
are harder to knock down than the light mechs, and they CAN be
modified to achieve respectable speed and include jumpjets.
6.2.1 Bushwacker
55 tons 1x3B, 1x3M, 1x2B, 1x2M, 1x2E
Available BAP, AMS, Light Amp
A very "balanced" mech in its default config, it also means it's good
at nothing, though it's probably the heaviest mech you have in a
while until you get the Catapult. Modify it to mount less but heavier
weapons.
Try to squeeze an LBX or AC in the 3B and the 2B. The 3M and the 2M
should be filled with LRM launchers. The 2E hardpoint is good for a
LLAS.
6.2.2 Shadow Cat
45 tons 1x3O, 1x3M, 2x2E, 1x2B
Available BAP, Jumpjets, LAMS, Light Amp
A good balance of speed and weapons, the default config is not too
bad but a bit of a "spread". Try to squeeze in a gauss rifle or light
gauss and be a very light-footed sniper. Add some LRMs and some
lasers.
One possibility is 2 ER LLAS, and a LBX20 (yes, it'll fit). Use LLAS
for sniping, and save the LBX20 for those who wish for a close
encounter.
6.2.3 Chimera
40 tons 1x3B, 1x3M, 1x3E
Available Jumpjets, AMS, Light Amp
Good hardpoints, but too light to use them. Drop the MGA and MRM20
and try to shoehorn LRM launchers in there. Consider using a PPC
instead of LLAS and MLAS combo.
6.2.4 Hellspawn
45 tons 1x3M, 1x2M, 2x1B, 3x1E
Available Jump jets, ECM, AMS, Light Amp
Bad hardpoints, as you can't really mount any significant weapons.
Sort of light at 2 LRM10's and 3 MPLAS, it does have ECM. Replace
with Clan weapons ASAP for more weapons. Pulse lasers generate too
much heat. Replace with medium lasers and more heatsinks.
6.2.5 Uziel
50 tons 2x3E, 2x2B, 1x2M
Available BAP, Jump jets, AMS, Light Amp
Now this one is fun. Two PPC's is a lot of gun for a 50-tonner.
Forget the MGAs, as they're nearly useless. Replace SRM6 with Streak
SRM6 ASAP. Drop the MGAs and add more heatsinks or speed. If you cut
speed a bit, you may be able to squeeze in an LBX10.
6.3 Heavy Mechs
The workhorse mechs, they can move at a "decent" clip while packing
more firepower.
6.3.1 Catapult
60 tons 2x4M, 3x2E
Available BAP, Jump Jets, AMS
This artillery support mech relies upon its missiles to damage, not
the other weapons. Stay far away and lob missile salvoes, at least
with the default config.
6.3.1.1 Catapult Artillery
Use Clan LRM racks to fit in more LRMs than you would normally carry,
and keep the jumpjets. Cut down the lasers if you have to. Run in,
shoot, jump/run out.
6.3.1.2 Catapult GameGuide.com Fighter
Gameguide.com's MW4 guide recommends fitting in 3 ER LLAS and Clan
LRM launchers. Lose the jumpjets and a bit of missiles to fit.
Remember to add heatsinks as 3 ER LLAS generates a lot of heat.
6.3.1.3 Catapult Flanker
Instead of LRM racks, this one uses 4 Streak SRM6 racks with reloads,
and forget the lasers, all speed and jumpjets. Get in and make an
oblique pass, shoot the missiles, run/jump out of range.
6.3.2 Loki
65 tons 2x3O, 2x2B, 1x2M, 1x2E
Available BAP, ECM, Light Amp
The default config is pretty good. Combination of MLAS, MPLAS, LBX10,
and Streak SRM6s are deadly esp. point-blank, and the Guardian ECM
will ensure it get away for more shots. Rush in, do your alpha
strike, and run away. Consider dropping the BAP for more heatsinks,
and replace the MPLAS with regular MLAS to reduce heat build-up.
6.3.3 Mad Cat
75 tons 2x4E, 2x3M, 2x2O
Available BAP, LAMS, Light Amp
Ah, the infamous Timberwolf / Mad Cat. The default config has too
many weapons, IMHO. I'd consider dropping the MGAs for more
heatsinks.
One possibility is 2 LRM10s, 2 ER LLASs, and 2 LBX10s.
Another config is 4 LLAS and 2 LRM10s (consider lower speed to add
more heatsinks).
Another config is 4 LRM10s and 2 LLAS.
6.3.4 Nova Cat
70 tons 1x6E, 1x4O, 1x3E, 1x2E
Available BAP, LAMS, Light Amp
Nice mech for 70 tons, as it is VERY heavily armored and armed, but
it overheats too fast, as it's almost all beam weapons! Drop the
smaller weapons and one of the ER LLAS for more heatsinks. Separate
the weapons into 3 groups, and learn to fire them separately.
Definitely fill the omni rack with non-beam weapons. You can't afford
to waste your limited tonnage on heatsinks!
One possible variant is fill up the hardpoints with ONLY ER MLAS, and
as many heatsinks as you can fit. Use groups of 3 or 4 each. This
"laser boat" is absolutely devastating at close range. Get in close
and start circling!
6.3.5 Thor
70 tons 2x3O, 1x2M, 1x2B, 1x2E, 1x1O
Available ECM, Jump jets, LAMS, Light Amp
The big cousin of the Loki, the default mix doesn't have enough shock
effect.
A GOOD mix is the LBX and a PPC, which is where the name came from.
That mix is quite devastating at any range. Add some missiles and
lasers and stir for a potent mix.
Another possibility is 2 LLAS and 2 LBX10's.
Some use gauss rifle instead of PPC/LBX.
6.3.6 Vulture
60 tons 2x4M, 2x3E, 1x2O
Available ECM, LAMS, Light Amp
Vulture can be thought of as a smaller version of Mad Cat, and it
plays that way also, with LRM20s and good mix of lasers. On the other
hand, it DOES have more missiles than anything else, so it is
designed for long-range confrontations and fire support. Those lasers
work at closer ranges as well, but do try to stay out of range.
Vulture has 360-degree torso twist. It could surprise some people.
One surprise config would be 2 ER PPCs with missiles and an AC for
backup.
6.3.7 Argus
60 tons 1x5B, 1x3M, 2x2E
Available Light amp
This is one of those "good at nothing" designs. Emphasis on ballistic
weapons makes it quickly run out, and it's too light to keep a lot of
reloads. It's also too light to mount ENOUGH heavy LBX cannons to be
deadly. Fit 2 LLAS and a LOT of ballistic weapons, with some good
missiles.
6.3.8 Thanatos
75 tons 1x4B, 1x3M, 1x2B, 2x2E
Available ECM, Jump jets, AMS, Light Amp
Most people don't notice that Thanatos has 360-degree torso rotation.
The default mix is designed for mainly medium and close range combat.
The MRM40 should be replaced with T-Bolt or multiple LRM launchers,
and flamers with medium lasers for a "longer" punch.
6.3.8.1 Thanatos Puncher
Try T-Bolt, LBX20, and LLAS. You can even fit in AMS if you reduce
speed. Shoot LLAS from a distance, follow up with T-Bolt and LBX20 in
the face.
6.3.8.2 Thanatos Giant
Novasphere submitted this config: max armor, no heatsinks, 83 kph, 2
gauss rifles (1 light + 1 clan or 2 light), 4 MLAS, whatever LRM that
would fit.
"The Beauty of this Thanatos design is that you can do almost
anything with it depending on the needs of the missions. Just change
one of the main weapons to suit. This includes replacing the Gauss
rifles with LBX, along with an ECM and changing the LRMs to a set of
Streak SRMs. You can get in way close with sensors off and unload a
bunch of rounds into unwary enemies. This was originally just a
design to emulate the Titan from C&C Tiberian Sun (an RTS game to the
uninitiated), hence the variant's name."
6.4 Assault Mechs
There are your workhorses. While they don't kill light mechs in one
salvo, they do come pretty close (two salvoes to be exact).
6.4.1 Atlas
100 tons 2x4E, 1x4B, 2x2M, 1x2B, 1x2E, 1x1E
Available ECM, AMS, Light Amp
The quintessential assault mech, Atlas is a "jack-of-all-trades"
design that lacks enough contiguous hardpoints to deliver true knock-
out punches. With all those energy hardpoints, remember to use good
weapons, like PPCs backed up by MLAS. You will need some ballistic
weapons and missiles to shoot while you cool down.
6.4.1.1 Sniper Atlas
Speed at one notch above minimum, armor nearly maxed, ferro-fibrous.
One ER PPC, one PPC, one Clan Gauss Rifle with extra ammo, one LIGHT
Gauss rifle with extra ammo. The reason for the MISMATCHED set of
PPCs is they recycle at different rates, and thus cuts down heat
built-up. You can fire all weapons as fast as the weapons recycle.
Only need two weapon groups.
6.4.1.2 Sniper Atlas Too
A variant of this is 2 ER LLAS, and 3 light gauss rifles. Stay at a
distance and snipe with both sets of weapons. Stay out of range!
Group this up with another mech for protection.
6.4.1.3 Pyro/Shotgun Atlas
Optimized for urban combat, fit in some LBX10's, Streak SRM6s, and
flamers. LBX10's to knock down the mech, flamers and Streak6's to
keep them down for the count.
6.4.2 Awesome
80 tons 3x3E, 1x2E, 1x2M
Available AMS, Light Amp
A very "hot" IS design, the SRM2s are useless, and with 3 PPCs
overheating is a BIG problem. A Clan Streak SRM6 would be a good
replacement. Definite drop one of the PPCs and replace with other
weapons. Consider keeping the regular PPCs as those generate less
heat, even though they weigh more.
6.4.2.1 Awesome Zapper
Remove the arm PPC, and replace with 2 medium lasers. Remove the two
pulse lasers on the other arm and replace with 2 medium lasers.
Replace SRM2s with Streak6s. Add heatsinks to fill out the
difference.
6.4.3 Daishi
100 tons 1x4O, 2x3B, 2x2O, 2x2E, 1x2M
Available LAMS, Light Amp
With this many omni racks, you can turn this into "any" of the "boat"
designs.
Daishi has far too many weapons in the default config, though those
four LLAS can be quite deadly. The Ultra5s and MGAs are nearly
useless, with very little "punch". Consider replacing them with LBX.
6.4.3.1 Shotgun Daishi
Daishi with 25 percent speed, no heatsinks, 2 large lasers (one in
each arm), and 3 LBX20's, each with one extra reload. Add one Streak
SRM6 pack for backup. This combo will knock lighter mechs (up to even
Shadow Cats) to the ground. Aim for the cockpit and you can kill a
mech in TWO SALVOS. The LLAS can be used for sniping if you want to
stay out of range. If you can't stay open, then charge in to 300 m
and open up with the three shotguns. This is a decent urban mech.
Hide around corners and as the enemy comes through, BLAM!
6.4.3.2 Sniper Daishi
Put in 2 Clan Gauss, 2 Light Gauss, and 1 ER PPC (just for fun). This
config has one hefty alpha strike. It has no close-range weapon
though. Would be one heck of a sniper mech. One salvo and the enemy
mech is almost toast.
6.4.3.3 Daishi Shake-and-Bake
Slight mod of Daishi shotgun. 3 LBX20, and "lots" of Clan flamers
(4). If you REALLY like flamers, drop one LBX20 and add two more
flamers. Shotgun to shake you up (or knock you down), flamer to bake
you to a crisp. :-) This one would be surprisingly light if you use
Clan flamers, allowing a lot of armor AND engine upgrades. Rude
surprise for city fighting.
6.4.4 Mauler
90 tons 2x3M, 2x3B, 2x2E
Available AMS, BAP, Light Amp.
The default config relies on the Ultra2s for the firepower, which is
not that great. Lots of missile hardpoints that needs to be filled
with Clan LRM launchers or 3-space launchers like T-bolts.
6.4.4.1 Shotgun Mauler
Here's a general purpose Mauler config: 2 Clan LBX20s with 1 extra
ammo each in torso. Two ER MLAS in EACH arm, add Streak SRM6 or Clan
LRM10's to taste. Don't need extra heatsinks at all.
Or you can fit in two T-Bolt launchers. That's 40+ damage if you hit!
Follow up with the rest of the guns and you'll get quick kills.
6.4.5 Mad Cat Mk. II
90 tons 2x3B, 2x3M, 2x2O, 1x2E, 1x2B
Available BAP, Jump Jets, LAMS, Light Amp
Interesting design, as Clan gauss rifle is a real pinpoint hitter.
It's quite "punch-y" as is, and quite balanced. You can't fill up
all the slots, so you'll have to decide what to fill.
6.4.5.1 Mad Cat Mk II Sharpshooter
One devastating config for Mad Cat Mk. II is cram in FOUR different
gauss rifles, 2 Clan that's built-in, and 2 more IS Light gauss
rifles, as they fit in the center racks. You'll need to remove all
the other weapons, as well as a little armor and the jumpjets to fit
them in. Of course, this only works on a map where sniping is
possible. Don't use this config in the cities.
6.4.5.2 Mad Cat Mk II Close Fighter
This is going to be a NASTY surprise for people expecting gauss
rifles. Put 1 light gauss in the 2B spot for sniping. Put 2 LBX20's
in the arms (same weight!) and you can fit in 1 more LBX10 in the
omni racks. At point-blank this mech is almost as deadly as the
sniper Daishi.
7 `Mech Tactics
`Mech combat, as all combats, have specific tactics, but some should
already be obvious to you.
7.1 Some structures you need to know
Mech Repair Bay - big warehouse. Go in, shut down, and you'll be
repaired.
Mobile Repair Bay - with mobile doors. Just drive in, and you'll stop
and shut down automatically to be repaired. The door will close. When
you're done, the door will open. Use it if you see it.
Turret Control Tower - these control the turrets and calliopes that
shoot at you. Blow it up and those turrets stop shooting. When
attacking a base, look for it first.
7.2 Concentrate Firepower
One mech never last long against superior numbers of equivalent
mechs. Just look at the intro movie. If you have two, three, even
four mechs firing upon the same target, it'll be toast very quickly.
It also seem to force the enemy to spread the damage around instead
of gunning for you personally all the time (except Castro's lance,
but that's another story).
Another way this works is go for "alpha strikes" instead of multiple
salvoes that hit all over the places. It seems that a single big
salvo is better than multiple small salvoes. There seems to be some
"penetrating" damage depending on the salvo size, and penetrating
damage is magnified.
7.3 Keep Moving / Torso-Twist / Circle of Death
Moving target is harder to hit, even for the AI. Moving and sudden
change of direction can also prevent easy hits from the unguided
missiles like SRMs and MRMs. It won't save you from the seeking
missiles (Streak LRMs, and T-bolt), but less damage is less damage.
Mechs don't side-step like the Quake's circle-strafing. However, most
mechs can torso-twist, which allows you to point the upper body
toward the enemy while the mech head in a different direction. This
effectively allows the "circle-of-death", which means you walk in a
circle around the target (moving at about 70% speed), torso twisted
all the way left or right, facing the enemy, and keep pouring in fire
while moving. Use right/left glance (view hat) to make sure you're
not running into something.
Remember that some mechs in MW4 has 360-degrees of torso twist
(Raven, Thanatos, Vulture) that can let you run really fast away AND
still hit the enemy.
7.4 Use the Terrain
Terrain can protect you while you recharge and dissipate heat. Jump
in the river/lake to cool down. Hide behind a hill to avoid returning
fire. Crouch to let the hill take the incoming missile salvo. Hide
behind a building with sensors off to snipe. All are ways to take
advantage of available terrain.
7.5 Go for the Weak Parts, like Cockpit or Legs
Definitely aim for a mech's weakened portions. You can see the torn
parts on the enemy mech: it's charred black. You can also see it in
the enemy status display. Hit those spots for extra damage.
Aim for the cockpit. Killing the pilot is the quickest way to kill a
mech, now that "legging" the mech is more difficult. A heavy dose of
LBX20 at point-blank range will reduce armor to scrap. Another good
salvo and the mech is toast. You can still go for the leg if you're
really good.
7.6 Passive Sensors and ECM
Sometimes, you may not want to attract attention to yourself, esp. if
you're a sniper `mech. Move around on passive sensors only to avoid
drawing attention to yourself.
Passive sensors mode is also good for setting ambushes. You won't be
visible until you're within 250 feet.
If you have ECM, you can sneak in even CLOSER. If this is at night,
you can get in some GOOD licks (like a NARC beacon) before you're
even detected.
7.7 Heat Management
Remember that there are additional ways to dissipate excess heat.
If there's bodies of water nearby (swamp, mountain lakes, etc.) then
stay inside to stay cool. Fighting at night also helps a little.
If it's an emergency, you can try the coolant flush, which does an
emergency vent of the coolant. It cools you down a lot, but you don't
have that much left, so use in emergencies only. Hold down the F for
a longer flush, or just a quick tap for a quick flush.
If you just need to keep moving and not shooting, you can OVERRIDE
the shutdown.
7.8 Consider Kamikaze
Suicide and/or high-explosives are valid weapons if not abused. If
you're heavily damaged, consider searching out a quite damaged enemy
mech. You know you won't survive long enough to kill it, but if you
do a suicide you just may do it. So get in there, and BOOM!
7.9 Jumpjet Overrun
One trick to try if you have jumpjets is run full speed obliquely at
your target. Avoid its shots, then turn toward it at medium range, do
your alpha strike, then JUMP STRAIGHT OVER him. Use the jets just
enough o clear him (or run into his head for a quick Death-From-
Above), and you'll end up behind him. By the time he turns around
you're already gone. :
8 Campaign Walkthru
There are two different endings (not counting your death in any
mission), depending on that "final choice" near the end.
This walkthru was created based on the RECRUIT level (the easiest).
Expect more/heavier mechs and less/no salvage on higher difficulty
levels.
Campaign note: When you capture a new mech, and you don't plan to use
it, STRIP IT. You can use the weapons on the other mechs, at least
early in the campaign when you don't have many selections.
8.1 Operation 1
You've just landed on the Kentares IV's moon as the initial strike
against the Steiner hold on the planet. You're vastly outnumbered, so
this is a guerilla action. You can't command any one yet, even if
there are other mechs with you. Just let them do their job, and you
do yours.
8.1.1 Op 1, Mission 1 Destroy Comm Array
Primary Objective: Take out the comm array at the nav point,
specifically the 3 HPG antennas. This will cripple Steiner
coordination.
Secondary Objective: Take out any escaping vehicles
Difficulty rating: 1 (easiest mission in the whole thing)
You are in a Shadow Cat, no weapons yet to reconfigure. You'll be
dropped with 2 Cougars.
There are no mobile defenders except some SRM carriers. There are
some turrets around the base, but those are easy to take out. You
should be able to blast one SRM Carrier or turret per salvo. Just
keep running around, pounding the closest ones, while you watch for
escaping vehicles.
When the radio message come in about the vehicles, find them and
blast them. Let the Cougars deal with the enemies.
When the escaping vehicles are toast, feel free to cook any turrets
in the area, or let the Cougars do them. Blast the three antennas,
and you're done.
8.1.2 Op 1, Mission 2 Destroy SKUD Convoys
Take out the SKUD launcher convoys as you follow the nav points
around the path. This will consolidate our position. Expect mech
escorts.
Primary: Take out the SKUD launcher convoys as you follow the nav
points around the path. This will consolidate our position. Expect
mech escorts.
Difficulty rating: 3 (Should be simple but a little bloody)
Jules Gonzalez will join you in a Cougar.
Nothing fancy, just destroy everything. There are two convoys, each
with one SKUD launcher, several ammo carriers, 2-3 SRM carriers, some
Swiftwind scouts, and 1 Osiris mech as escort.
Take out the mech first, then the SRM carriers. When dealing with
convoys, always take out the escorts first. You may be able to lure
the Osiris away from the convoy.
The smaller vehicles you can just "stomp" (i.e. walk into it), but
beware of leg damage. The other vehicles don't shoot back so they are
easy to destroy. Use your long-range weapons to snipe from a
distance, then charge in.
Be careful around the ammo carriers, as those explode pretty hard.
Don't get too close. Try to get the mechs next to them to blow them
up.
8.1.3 Op 1, Mission 3 Dropship Hunt
Destroy all dropships at the Steiner base. This will cripple their
operations.
Primary: Destroy all three dropships at the Steiner base.
Difficulty rating: 5 (blast all three before they "activate" require
fast/accurate action)
Those dropships have heavy weapons, but they are not powered yet.
Take out the three APUs next to each dropship to delay power-up.
Expect mechs and other mobile threats.
Take the heaviest mech you have. You'll have some friendly Hellspawns
following you in.
You cannot destroy the dropship UNLESS you destroy all three APUs
next to it first.
Nothing fancy here, go in and blast those APUs first. Keep running
around, taking out the APUs and some of the defenders. Circle around
the launch base works fine.
You'll run into Osiris's and Hellspawns as defenders.
After the APUs are gone, you can concentrate on the mech defenders.
Or just run around and avoid them. Osiris is not that dangerous. When
you take out all three dropships, you win regardless of the
defenders.
8.1.4 Op 1, Mission 4 Base Defense
Protect the dropship as we prepare to shift operations to Kentares
proper. Sir Peter will take off first.
Primary: protect the APUs powering your dropship
Secondary: destroy all attackers
Difficulty rating: 8 (Toughest fight yet, especially the mechs!)
This is probably your toughest fight so far, as enemies attack from
all directions. Run really fast toward the threats. There are two
other mechs around the perimeter keeping the enemy busy. Concentrate
on one and kill it soonest. Don't let the Bulldogs get past you, and
don't stray too far from the APUs.
Attackers include 2 Hellspawns, 2 Osiris's, 3 Bulldogs, 3 SRM
Carriers, and 3 LRM Carriers.
There are two APUs next to your dropship you need to protect, and the
main threat to them will come from the LRMs. Take them out first.
Shoot one, run over others. Then engage any other threat you come
across, probably run around after the SRMs and the Bulldogs. Then
help the other mechs destroy the attacking mechs.
You can let one of the APUs get destroyed, as the dropship will send
out another one, but no more than that!
Once you take out all the attackers, you win.
8.2 Operation 2
You've arrived in the northern polar region. It's time to start
operations on the ground. You will get use of repair bases starting
in the second mission. (Not in the first mission, as your dropship
have not even landed yet!)
8.2.1 Op 2, Mission 1 Recon Area
You're being hot dropped into the area to secure an area for the
dropship to land.
Primary: explore nav Alpha, Beta, and Gamma
Secondary: destroy all enemies encountered
Difficulty rating: 3 (standard sweep, bring the right weapons and
it's simple)
You get your first lancemate. You can pick Casey or Jen. Jen is the
better of the two, so bring her along. Give her something pretty
heavy.
You'll see multiple Peregrine choppers as you hit the first nav
point. Snipe them using the zoom mode with the LLAS or PPC.
Then you will encounter 1+1 Osiris and a Bulldog. They'll charge
you, and they move quite a bit. Send Jen after it and help out as you
circle a little.
At the second Nav point. After that you will see 3+3 Bulldogs (3 in
the valley next to you, 3 down at the camp), and 2 turrets around the
vehicle bay. Take care of the 3 close to you, then use that hill and
snipe at the 3 down there. Then take care of the turrets.
Just 3 more Bulldogs at the last nav point. Snipe them all and you're
done.
8.2.2 Op 2, Mission 2 Raid Depot
Need supplies, so we're raiding this depot. There may be some mechs
to capture here.
Primary: Destroy all defenders
Primary: Destroy comm base
Primary: Convoy must reach warehouse 1, 2, and 3
Difficulty rating: 8 (getting repairs done on yourself is the key)
There is a repair base back at the starting nav point, so use it, if
you have to. There are also several repair depots on the enemy base
that you can use.
Follow the nav points again, but try to do it all in passive sensors.
Take out the comm base when you see it, then continue to the base.
Stay OUT of the base's passive sensor range (250m). Kill it ASAP. You
have no more than 60 seconds to blow it, so use ALL the weapons.
If you fail to knock out the comm base, the main base will be alerted
and you'll face a tougher fight.
You have a repair base, so use it now, before you go after the main
base. Look for the turret control tower, but keep sensors off as long
as possible!
Then it's time to take care of the depot. This is probably the
toughest fight so far, as you're going up against some heavier mechs,
namely Catapults and Hellspawns, and multiple choppers and tanks. You
may want to snipe the choppers first.
There are 2 mobile field bases and 2 mech repair bays on the depot
that you can use to repair yourself.
You'll be pretty beaten up at the end, but it's a standard kill-
everything scenario.
If you failed to take out the defenders, you'll have to escort the
withdrawal by protecting the evac chopper, and that's even harder. So
if you fail, start over.
8.2.3 Op 2, Mission 3 Escort Techs
Jules is pinned down with the techs. Sir Peter tried to draw the
chasers off, and they need some escorts to get away.
Primary: Relieve tech convoy, then escort the techs to safety to the
south across the bridge.
Primary: Blow up the bridge after everybody is across.
Difficulty rating: 7 (it's hard to blast the other mechs when you
need to stay in front)
As you approach the tech's nav point (nav alpha), you'll run into 1
Uziel and 2 Hellspawn, and 3 Bulldogs. You'll see 4 turrets blocking
your way to the techs. Blow them up.
When you find the techs (Jules in a Shadow Cat as escort) in the
corner of the map, another Uziel will attack. As they start moving, 2
Hellspawns will attack as well. There's a long way to go, but the
enemies are pretty far away so you can run really fast and catch them
before they get into range.
Multiple SRM carriers will attack at about the half-way point.
Finally, an Osiris (and another Uziel) will chase as you get close to
the bridge. Jules will stick with the convoy, so it's up to you and
your partner (probably Jen). After everybody cross the bridge, blow
it up, and that's it.
8.2.4 Op 2, Mission 4 Capture Base
Sir Peter did not survive. To avenge him, we're taking down the
Steiner base.
Primary Objective: clean out the defenders
Secondary Objective: defend the techs until they capture the base
Difficulty rating: 6 (if you capture the calliopes) / 7 (if you
don't)
Your job is to charge in, take care of all the defenders, namely
Cougar and Bushwacker, 2 turrets, and 3 SRM Carriers. The 3 SRM
Carriers are easy as they're in front of you. Then the two mechs
charge in. Concentrate on the Bushwacker first, then Cougar, and take
out the turret when you can.
Head for the back of the base and take out the TALL turret control
tower (ignore the calliopes, they'll go down when the control tower
goes poof, and you need them for defense later). REMEMBER, do NOT
touch the control center, just take out the TURRET CONTROL TOWER.
Once it's gone (or you took out one of the calliopes), the tech will
come in. The tower is taller and thicker, and to the left of the
satellite control center when you're heading there. Then send your
lancemates after the two guarding Uziels, and you can help them out.
The techs will head in as soon as one of the calliopes is destroyed
or the turret control tower is down. It'll take them a while (about a
minute or two) to arrive, and your mechs will keep the Uziels away.
Immediately head off to the base to ESE, and you should see 4 LRM
launchers there sitting still. Nail them with long range fire. If you
don't, they'll come after you and the satellite control center. So
nail them now.
Now head back north. Just north of the sat control you'll see hangars
with 2 Peregrine attack choppers on the ground. Take them out from a
distance. If you don't, they'll join in when the mechs attack, and it
gets really messy! Kill them now.
By now the two Uziels should be dead, though you may need to help
your lancemates. Order repair as there is a repair hangar there. Your
techs should gain control of the two calliopes, and those are great
for additional firepower.
Then it's just a matter of defending your site against 2 Cougars and
2 Argus from one direction, then 2 more Cougars from the other
direction. With 3 relatively fresh mechs (you did repair yourself,
right?) and 2 calliopes, the fight should be easy. Concentrate your
firepower on one mech at a time for quick kills. When you take them
all out, you win!
8.3 Operation 3
We're trying to find that other surviving Steiner dropship to cripple
their operations permanently.
8.3.1 Op 3, Mission 1 Sweep and Destroy
Scouts are out searching for the Steiner patrols, great for defeat in
detail.
Difficulty rating: 5 (the 2 Vultures are pretty tough to take on
without repairs for yourself)
Primary: Wait for scouts to report
Primary: Take out the mechs at nav alpha, nav beta, nav gamma,
Primary: Check out Delta for the missing scout
This is a simple sweep-all-nav-points-kill-everything type mission.
You should be in a relatively heavier mech, but you don't get repairs
on this mission. Be careful and let your lancemate do some work.
You'll find 2 Cougars near nav Alpha, 2 Osiris and 1 Raven at nav
Beta, Osiris and Cougar at nav Gamma, and 2 Vultures (dangerous!) at
nav Delta. Take them all out, and you win!
Use the hills to avoid being hit by LRMs. Hide behind hills and wait
until those enemies reach medium or close range. Jump into the lake
if you overheat.
You should capture a Vulture here after this mission.
8.3.2 Op 3, Mission 2 Capture Supply Convoy
We're going after this supply convoy.
Difficulty rating: 4 (not much to it)
Primary: Destroy escorts
Secondary: Destroy all Steiner forces
Chasing down the supply convoy require a fast mech. If you prefer
heavy mechs, consider turning back to cut through that "pass" behind
you. Just order your lancemates to nav alpha. They wouldn't cut
through the pass even if you order them to follow you. Give them
slightly lighter mechs as they have further to run.
Try not to blow up a mech right next to one of the cargo carriers.
That may take the cargo carrier out as well!
When you catch up, you'll run into 2 Cougars, a Bulldog, all trying
to delay you. Argus and Vulture will try to stay with the convoy, but
if you get close they'll go after you. There's one more Bulldog
leading the convoy. Take that out, and you got the convoy, even if
you haven't taken out all the mech escorts.
The quickest way to kill Bulldogs is by stomping it (walk into it).
You may take some leg damage.
8.3.3 Op 3, Mission 3 Destroy Dropship
We found that surviving dropship. Take it out.
Difficulty rating: 7
Primary: Locate and destroy Steiner dropship
The dropship is actually NOT that heavily defended, except for the
Mauler as a surprise. You should try the artillery beacon, but you
can do the mission without it.
Just head east, then northeast and follow the "road". You'll run into
multiple Arguses, then a Mauler, escorted by multiple Bulldogs (at
least 4), and several turrets.
The dropship has 3 APUs nearby. As in the earlier mission, take out
the APUs first to prevent the dropship from powering up. Then take
care of the defenders and finally the dropship itself.
Or you can go for the dropship directly. Let your lancemates keep the
other guys busy while you just blast the dropship with an alpha
strike, the circle it to death.
Definitely bring along some artillery as the dropship don't move. You
can also use arty on the APUs if you don't have time to hit them.
Shoot, and watch the incoming arty destroy it a few seconds later. As
each arty beacon only has 2 shots, definitely bring lots of extra
ammo.
If you destroy the dropship, even if the enemy mechs survive, you win
the mission. Even if you haven't taken down the Mauler, you may
salvage it any way.
8.4 Operation 4
We're in the desert, and heat will be a factor. Consider using
reactive armor, as most mechs will be using ballistic weapons to
minimize heat buildup. You'll want your mech to be "green" in heat
dissipation bar if possible. Use more ballistic or missile weapons.
8.4.1 Op 4, Mission 1 Raid Base
We're raiding a Steiner base for supplies. Resistance will take cargo
carriers into the Steiner base after we neutralize the defenders.
They'll have some tanks and Vedettes to take on the turrets. We take
care of the mechs.
Difficulty rating: 6
Primary: Escort convoy as they go through the 3 nav points
Bring close-range killer weapons, like LBX20's, drop speed if you
need to. Enemy mechs will come to you. Remember to order attack on a
single target for quickest kills.
There's a repair bay available at the base. So use it! You'll see
turrets and a few mechs (Cougar? Hellspawn?). Run in there and take
them all out. You can disable the turrets by killing the turret
control tower. Repair before heading out.
When nav Alpha is reached, 4 mechs (Shadow Cat, Chimera, and 2
Hellspawns?) will attack.
When nav Gamma is reached, 4 more mechs will attack (Vulture,
Chimera, and 2 Hellspawns?).
Take them all out, confirm convoy reached all 3 warehouses, and you
win!
8.4.2 Op 4, Mission 2 Defense Base
You get a third lancemate on this mission, and you'll probably have
to use Casey, as you haven't found any one better yet (not until Op
5, Mission 1 any way).
Difficulty rating: 6
Primary: Relieve friendlies at nav Alpha
Primary: Defend base at nav Beta
Primary: Destroy guerilla mechs
You are to relieve the friendly forces at nav alpha, then protect the
base at nav beta.
Run for nav alpha ASAP, tell your lancemates to go there. Shoot the 3
Peregrines that pops up, but don't slow down. You'll find 2 Shadow
Cats and an Uziel around nav alpha. These are the guerilla mechs.
Those Shadow Cats hide behind a hill, pop up with jumpjets, then fire
LRMs while in the air. They run really far and really fast, then
circle around. Take them all out (send one lancemate after each). You
have to destroy the guerilla mechs.
Watch the calliopes at nav alpha take out the approaching bombers, as
you run for nav Beta. Tell your lancemates to head there too.
You'll probably notice two more Shadow Cats running toward your base
at nav beta. You may get a few shots at their back before they get
out of range. Just go there ASAP. There are 2 Cougars and several
Bulldogs in the base to delay them for you. As you take care of the
Shadow Cats, another lance will attack: Vulture, 2 Uziels, and a
Cougar. Take them out too and you're done.
There's a mech repair bay on the base and a mobile field base at nav
Alpha so you can order repairs if you have time, as the second lance
don't show up until that last Shadow Cat is taken care of. Leave one
mech to tangle with it while the rest get repairs.
You will probably salvage a Mad Cat and a Thanatos on this mission.
8.4.3 Op 4, Mission 3 Capture Barges
Capture the barges by destroying all the escorts (boats and mechs),
then walk near each one. Capturing all six barges is possible.
Difficulty rating: 5
Primary: Capture 4 out of 6 barges
Primary: Destroy all defenders
Secondary: Capture all 6 barges.
Don't use LRMs near the barges! If you get all 6 barges you get a
bonus. If you use LRMs you may destroy one of the barges due to
splash damage. In fact, try not to bring any missiles. If you do,
bring Streak SRMs, and don't point them at the barges.
You'll be facing 10 patrol boats (maybe more?), 4 or more Peregrines
(that pop up behind rocks as you travel up the river). You'll also
run into 3 Argus and 1 Loki. As you'll be wading in water, heat is
not a factor. So nail them.
Tell your lancemates to follow you, then when you see the enemy
patrol boats, engage at will. They'll mop up for you. When you see
mechs, concentrate your lancemates upon one mech at a time, and add
your own. You take out the boats first since they are easy to destroy
yet has quite a bit of firepower.
When all defenders are gone, the barges will stop about 1.5 klick
from nav Alpha. Just walk up next to each of the surviving barges to
capture them. If you walk fast enough, you can stop them before they
get there.
8.4.4 Op 4, Mission 4 Destroy Factory
Destroy three munitions plant in the city. Shepherd, in a Swiftwind
scout, will be your guide. Weather is "extremely" foggy, and the
visibility is extremely poor.
Difficulty rating: 3
Secondary: Link up with local guide Shepherd
Primary: Destroy munitions plant 1, 2, and 3
This one is extremely easy, as you just follow the nav points and
kill anything that moves except that friendly Swiftwind. You'll run
into 2 Shadow Cats and 6 Bulldogs at plant 1, Nova Cat and Hellspawn
at plant 2, Awesome, Hellspawn, and 3 Bulldogs at plant 3. The mix is
somewhat randomized, so the composition may not be exact. Each plant
is also surrounded by 4 "guard tower" armed with large pulse lasers,
though they are easy to blow up.
There are also mech repair bays at plant 1 and plant 3 (not sure
about 2), so this one is VERY simple.
You should salvage a Nova Cat and an Awesome on this mission.
8.4.5 Op 4, Mission 5 Capture Convoy
James Qulan is about to execute the prisoners, so you need to get to
them before they do.
Difficulty rating: 6 (the only hard part is getting there and guard
the choppers)
Primary: Destroy air defense base at nav Zeta (to protect the chopper
flight)
Primary: Destroy convoy escorts
Secondary: Destroy Targets of Opportunity
Secondary: Break contact
Just one Uziel protecting nav Zeta, so take out the base (tower and
radar). Then head for the convoy, and take out all the convoy
defenders (multiple Bulldogs and Cougars).
Consider blowing up the fuel tanks when the mechs are near them to
use the collateral damage. If you do so, then make sure you blow up
the fuel trucks too as the secondary objective.
Once you got the convoy, cut through the mountains and get to the
pickup point FIRST. Tell your lancemates to guard the convoy (pick a
vehicle and issue "Defend my target"). There should be a Vulture in
the distance, and it may get closer. Send your lancemates after it,
as you continue to that spot.
When the convoy arrives, 2 Uziels will power up from the corner of
the map. Kill them (you ARE in a much heavier mech, right?) Your
three lancemates should take care of the Vulture with no problem.
When the convoy arrives, gets loaded, and choppers take off, you have
to break contact. Basically, that means no enemy mechs within 250m
meters of you. You'll get multiple contacts, like Shadow Cat, Cougar,
Uziel, and maybe a Vulture or two in the distance. Take care of those
that are close, then turn OFF your active sensors, and you've broken
contact.
8.4.6 Op 4, Mission 6 Liberate Camp
We've saved some of the prisoners, but it's time to get the rest of
them. We can use the manpower.
Difficulty rating: 8 (difficult to engage only ONE set of threat at a
time while preserving yourself)
Primary: Link up with Resistance mechs (2 Uziels, and maybe a
Shadowcat)
Secondary: Destroy all defenders
Primary: Destroy the two guard towers next to each of the prisoner
compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4
Primary: Destroy James Qulan's command lance
You've rescued Terra Risner, who's a better mechwarrior than Casey
Nolan, so use her.
When you start, head along the edge of the map and get to the
friendlies. You'll run into 3 Peregrines, just take them out. You may
run into 2-3 Cougars as well. Kill them. As you engage the Cougars,
you may run into 4 mobile turrets protecting the helibase. Take them
all out, and make it to the rendezvous.
As you rendevous, you may run into a patrol lance of Vultures and
Cougars. Take them out. Try to keep yourself in the back of the
fight, as you'll have to save yourself for later.
The dialogue says something about a "backdoor", but I haven't found
one yet.
As you approach Alpha, you should see a Catapult in the distance.
Tell all mechs to concentrate fire on one, and kill it ASAP, as more
are coming (total of 2-4). Do NOT approach the top of the plateau
yet. Fight at the bottom for now, until you kill all the Catapults
running around.
When you are ready, send all mechs to attack nearest threat, while
you head uphill and look for the turret control towers. It should be
easy to spot as they are usually on top of a hill. Kill them and the
nearby turrets will go inert, but NOT the guard towers you need to
kill! There should be more than one on that big hill.
You'll see periodic reinforcements of several Uziels (2-6). You
should be able to take care of them by concentrating your firepower
as you order all mechs to attack that one threat.
There IS a Mobile Repair Base in the camp, so make sure you repair
all mechs before you destroy the last guard tower. Keep your mechs
away from that last tower by telling them to form on you. The other
mechs won't cause much damage. Even if Denali loses a mech or more it
doesn't really matter as long as your lance lives.
When you take out all the towers, James Qulan and his command lance
drops in. Mr. Qulan is in his Steiner blue Mad Cat and 3 Vultures in
Steiner Purple. They should be no problem for you. Concentrate fire
on one Vulture at a time. Then take out Qulan himself. With multiple
mechs on him he's cooked in no time.
You should capture a Thor and a Vulture on this mission, maybe more.
(I got 4 mechs once.)
8.5 Operation 5
The city of Vale has been marked as a target for retribution, and you
must protect the city while the civilians are evacuated out to sea.
You'll be fighting in the swamps and the coasts.
8.5.1 Op 5, Mission 1 Destroy Bombers
Roland is ordering the bombing of Vale as a demonstration. We will
take out the bombers first.
Difficulty rating: 5
Primary: Destroy all eight bombers
Primary: Destroy the control tower
Secondary: Destroy all defenders
You'll run into a LOT of enemies, as there are missile towers and
gunboats everywhere. Just head north toward the lights. You may see
some patrol boats, Bulldogs, and Harassers on the way to the airbase.
Just snipe them from long range.
You'll run into 3 Shadow Cats, 3 Vultures, and one Nova Cat as the
defenders. They're spread all over the place so if you concentrate
your fire they're toast in no time.
When you get to the airbase, look at the map. There are THREE
runways, so you have to stand on the north-south one, and look all
around for the bombers. A good long-range shot should toast any
approaching bombers. If you can catch them on the ground, that's
great. If not, just shoot them in the air. They just circle around.
When you take out all the bombers, you're reminded to take out the
"air control tower". It's "green" to the reticule, not red like a
usual target. Just shoot it and you're done.
8.5.2 Op 5, Mission 2 Destroy Patrols
Burke is bringing in more patrol crafts. We're running a sweep and
the lance is split up to cover more ground. Destroy all enemies
encountered. There are four groups to take out.
Difficulty rating: 6 (mainly that fight at the end)
Primary: Destroy all four groups of hovercrafts. (each group has
about 10)
You do NOT get lancemates on this one. This is a SOLO mission.
The hovercrafts are easy to kill individually. Best way is find a
tall "hill" and snipe them with the long range PPCs or ER LLAS. Bring
some short range weapons though to deal with the surprise later. In
a Mauler, I'd put 2 ER LLAS in the arms, backed up by LBX20's and
Streak SRM6's in the torso. Speed is not a concern. Use only the LLAS
to hit the individual ships.
When you destroy the third group, you'll get a quick glimpse of a
Steiner mech. Duncan Burke? He quickly disappears off the radar
though.
There is a mobile repair base (the red hangar) just to southwest to
the center of the map. So use it if you need it. You will need to be
in good shape to handle that last group and Burke himself.
When you take out the fourth group, Duncan Burke shows up in a Thor.
Preserve yourself against the hovercrafts. Burke goes down easy if
you just circle him at a decent speed with the proper torso twist.
8.5.3 Op 5, Mission 3 Defend Exodus
The evacuation is almost done, but time is running out. Steiner mechs
have infiltrated into Vale. The patrol boats are targeting the evac
boats, and not just one but TWO naval frigates are heading to the
Vale coast on their bombardment mission.
Difficulty rating: 7
Primary: Defend refugee ships until they reach open sea
Secondary: destroy all nearby enemy units
Take long range weapons, like LRMs, gauss rifles, ER LLAS, ER PPCs,
etc. You'll need to refit all the mechs for long-range firepower.
When you start, you may run into about 6 Bulldogs. Stomp them if it's
necessary. A squadron of 4-6 Nightshades will also buzz your lance
firing missiles. Your lance should take care of them if they have
time, but you don't. Head into the city (nav Alpha) ASAP.
There are four mechs in the city you need to take out: 2 Nova Cats
and 2 Awesomes. Concentrate your fire and they should be no problem
to your veteran lance. Keep yourself relatively undamaged.
After all the mechs in the city are toast, head to the dock (nav
Beta) and start shooting the 6 patrol boats. The patrol boats are
easy to kill, one shot each. If you still haven't taken care of the
Nightshades, now is a good time. Call all the mechs to form on you
though, the frigates will show up any moment now.
Then Thunderchild and Indomitable sail in. They have a lot of LRMs
(yes, I said LRMs), and they are pretty hard to kill. As you're ankle
deep in water, heat is not a problem. Bring PPC's and ER LLAS, and
maybe some gauss rifles. Take them out, wait for the boats to depart,
and you win!
8.6 Operation 6
Urban fighting. Range is short, and fighting will be quick and
brutal. Heavy LBX rule! Don't forget to change your loadout before
heading out on the first mission!
8.6.1 Op 6, Mission 1 Recon In Force
Clean up the city for the Resistance.
Primary: Clear all five nav points (nav Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,
Epsilon)
Difficulty rating: 7 (no repair is the problem)
Standard sweep mission, wipe out everything you encounter, though
there are five nav points to go through. Preserve ammo and armor is
critical. Take the heaviest mech you got, and take a close-quarters
package, heavy with LBX's and mid/short-range weapons.
At nav Alpha you'll see Awesome, Mad Cat (who's patrolling), and
several turrets. You may notice an Argus in the distance. That is
actually nav Gamma's guard. Ignore the Argus. Kill the Mad Cat and
the turrets.
Continue to nav Beta, where you'll run into 2 SRM Carriers and 3
Bulldogs.
At Gamma, you encounter 2 (or 3) Arguses, more Bulldogs, and 2
turrets.
At Delta, you see 2 (or 4) Bulldogs and 2 Awesomes.
Finally, at Epsilon (the park), you see an Atlas (or 2), 3 SRM
Carriers, and more turrets. You can take out most of them from a
distance. Stay back from the Atlas by retreating into the city. Then
send the whole lance after it.
You should salvage at least one Atlas and one Argus from this
mission, maybe more.
8.6.2 Op 6, Mission 2 Rescue Pilots
Need to rescue some mech pilots holed up in one of the parking
garages, and there's five in the area. Check every one. A chopper
will be dispatched once you found them, but enemy mechs may attack
once they see the signal.
Primary: Locate pilots
Primary: Defend parking garage until the chopper is loaded
Primary: Defend the chopper until it departs the map
Difficulty rating: 8 (no way to repair, one against a horde)
This mission you run alone. The trick in this mission is do NOT go to
nav Alpha until the very end. Instead, go to all the OTHER nav points
and wipe out the opposition (Thors or Vultures, Shadow Cats, and
Cougars). THEN come back to Nav Alpha. As there's no more enemies to
bother the rescue, just wait for the chopper to land. Don't stand in
the landing spot!
At the easiest level, the pilots are ALWAYS at nav Alpha. On higher
difficulty levels, the location is random. Your best bet is to "lure"
out the defenders with some long-range shots, then kill them away
from the garages. Do this to every mech you come across, without
getting near the nav points. Once you killed all the mechs patrolling
you can explore the nav points.
NOTE: On higher difficulty levels you will see patrols with heavier
mechs. The listing below is based on Recruit/Regular levels.
Bring all close-range weapons. As many LBX as you can fit, and Streak
SRMs or MRMs. If you're lucky enough to obtain a Daishi so far, this
is a cakewalk, as the Shotgun Daishi is ideal for this.
One or more Thor/Vulture patrols the nav points. Remember NOT to go
to Alpha first! Go to Epsilon first. Then BACK track eventually to
nav Alpha.
Nav Alpha has a Cougar and a Shadow Cat.
Nav Beta has a Cougar and a Shadow Cat as well.
Nav Gamma has just a Cougar.
Nav Delta has just a Shadow Cat
Nav Epsilon has a Thor.
When you return, you'll find Damon Squire as an available pilot.
8.6.3 Op 6, Mission 3 Destroy Base
Steiner forces are holed up at the University. Take out the comm
center nearby so they don't know we're coming, then the nearby power
station to disable the turrets. Finally, destroy the defenders and
their base.
Primary: Destroy all units protecting the University base
Secondary: Destroy the comm center (Gamma)
Secondary: Destroy the power station powering the defensive turrets
(Beta)
Difficulty rating: 3 (abundance of repair makes this a cake walk)
You get to use Damon Squire on this mission. Do so. He's as good as
any one you got.
It is better to destroy the comm center and the power station before
tackling the base itself, but it's optional. If you want more of a
challenge, then go to nav alpha and take it out.
A Mad Cat Mk. II guards Nav Gamma. You'll probably salvage it. There
are also 2 mobile repair bases there. Repair after this fight.
Nav Beta has Vulture, Uziel, and 2 Bulldogs. It also has a mobile
repair base. Repair after this fight too.
Finally, at Alpha, you'll see 3 Uziels, 2 Vultures, and 3 Bulldogs.
With fully repaired mechs, the 5 mechs should be easy. The Bulldogs
will stay at the base so you can go back to Gamma for repairs after
you kill the mechs. Come back, nail the Bulldogs, and you're done.
You don't even have to destroy the buildings.
8.6.4 Op 6, Mission 4 Rescue Sister
You have a choice here, Ian Dresari. The path you choose here will
determine which ending you get, and how you'll be viewed. Choose
between 4 or 5.
You chose to go after your sister instead of the mechs. It's your
decision.
Primary: Locate your sister's command track (could be Nav 1, 2, or 3,
but actually Nav 3)
Primary: Escort the ambulance out of combat area
Difficulty rating: 8
You basically have to go through the various nav points, take out all
defenders. You'll run into Awesomes, Mad Cats, and lots of Bulldogs.
Expect 2-3 mechs and 4-6 Bulldogs between each nav Point until you
find the command track and the ambulance. The exact number vary
depending on the difficulty level. Just approach each one carefully
and kill all attackers.
There is a mobile repair base on this map, however, you won't have
time to use it. If you don't get to the ambulance with the command
track within 5 minutes or so the roving Steiner patrols will destroy
it. You can try sending the lancemates to it while you work on the
enemies.
When you reach the ambulance, you are to escort them to the "exit"
of the map. This ambulance will "follow" you instead of you trying to
chase it down. Make sure you don't step on it!
Before you get to the exit, a lance of 4 Mad Cat Mk. II's will try to
stop you. These guys run around a lot so they MAY stomp the
ambulance. You MAY want to take the lance and CHARGE toward the final
nav point and take care of those cats BEFORE the ambulance arrives.
8.6.5 Op 6, Mission 5 Raid Depot
You have a choice here, Ian Dresari. The path you choose here will
determine which ending you get, and how you'll be viewed. Choose
between Mission 4 or 5.
You chose to go after the heavy mechs buried in a hidden base instead
of rescuing your sister.
Primary Objective: Find the weapons cache.
Primary Objective: Check All 3 Bunkers (shoot the doors)
Primary Objective: Defeat Castro and her command lance.
Difficulty rating: 8
As mission starts, you immediately run into "red lance", which is
lead by a Mad Cat Mk. II and 3 Loki's. Take them all out quickly, as
they try to concentrate on you.
Slowly approach nav Alpha and take out the Calliopes and the Bulldogs
surrounding the place. Then take a shot at the door. The calliopes
can be taken out by either long range LLAS sniping (ER LLAS would
help), or use the cover of buildings to get close in and unload LBX
shots in its face.
Total of 4 calliopes and 4 Bulldogs guard nav beta. Find a good spot
to snipe the calliopes, as you don't really want to fight them in the
open. Their LRMs really hurt.
When you take a shot at the door, the "blue lance" comes to play, and
this one is lead by a Mad Cat Mk II again, with 3 Mad Cats to follow.
If you have the 3xLBX20 option, you should kill those in no time. In
all cases, preserving your own mech is your top priority. Order your
lancemates to concentrate fire on one mech at a time, while you stay
a little further from the action.
As you get close to nav Gamma, Rhonda Castro herself shows up in a
Daishi and tries to finish you herself. Find an open spot where all
your mechs can engage. Just send all the lancemates after her while
stay out of reach of the calliopes. When she's gone, the supplies and
mechs are yours.
You don't gain too much though. Honestly, the only thing you'll
really gain here is a Daishi. It's not absolutely necessary for your
campaign, but it DOES help.
8.6.6 Op 6, Mission 6 End Game
The end. Assault on the Palace itself. Roland is trying to run and
his "elite guards" are trying to save his valuable hide. Someone will
kill the turrets before you go in, but you better toast the
generators to make sure the turrets stay down, or things will get
REALLY ugly.
Primary: Destroy all "elite" Steiner guards
Primary: Destroy turret power generator at nav Beta
Primary: Prevent Roland's dropship from escaping
Difficulty rating: 9 (there's a LOT of enemies, and repairs are hard
to come by)
Keep your mechs together, and concentrate firepower on one mech at a
time. Keep yourself relatively undamaged until the very end. Consider
carrying reflective armor.
At nav Alpha, you'll see a Nova Cat and/or Mad Cat Mk. II, but they
are patrolling the gate and they'll pass you by. Don't worry about
them.
As you head into the gate and head up to nav Beta, a Daishi and Mad
Cat Mk II from nav Delta will start jogging down. Keep your
lancemates together and concentrate fire while you head up to nav
Beta and take out the generator.
When you arrive at nav Beta, you will wake up the two Thors sitting
there. Kill the generator quickly before the turrets come back up.
Then kill the Thors.
By this time, all the Nova Cats and Mad Cat Mk II's will be attacking
one or two at a time (2-4 each?), but it's mainly just a matter of
concentrating your firepower on one mech at a time and kill one at a
time. The Nova Cats should overheat constantly and should be no
problem to your combined firepower. The Mad Cat Mk IIs and Daishis
should be your primary targets.
Once the odds are even, it's time to cook the dropship. That dropship
is on a timer to lift off soon. You can hit the dropship without it
hitting back by shooting it from the top of the plateau, and not get
too close to the edge. Just shoot at the top of the dropship. It'll
shoot back if you get too close, and a dropship is pretty deadly with
lots of big lasers and PPCs. Order everybody to attack if there are
no enemies left. You can keep hitting it as it lifts off. As long as
you kill it before it escapes it's a win.
Then it's off to the final mission.
Primary: Kill William Dresari, the usurper.
There's actually multiple repair bays on this map at nav Delta, so
repair yourself (if needed) quickly before William gets into range.
You should have enough time. He is heavy on pulse lasers. Don't fight
him point-blank as his explosion can take you out if you're damaged.
Best way to do this is mount up on weapons that EXCEED his large
pulse laser's range (600 m) and get a few shots in. Large lasers,
gauss rifles, ER PPCs are all good weapons to use.
8.7 The End
Well, looks like you won. Did your sister survive?
If she did, she's the duchess, and you're off fighting Steiner
elsewhere.
If she did not, then you're the duke, but Carl Soontag hates your
guts and leaves you. (Which sets up the stage for the expansion:
Black Knight.)
9 Multiplayer
Multiplayer nowadays is a very important part of any game, and MW4 is
designed with a LOT of multiplayer action in mind. Here's some
netiquettes and observations you should heed before joining the
games.
9.1 Some general multiplayer observations
Go for alpha strikes. While in the single-player campaign you would
engage enemy mechs at different ranges using a wide variety of
weapons, in net play you want an OVERWHELMING single strike, aimed at
ONE part of the mech for the quickest kill.
Missiles are generally useless in multiplayer except for softening up
certain parts for later pinpoint attacks by lasers, PPCs, or gauss
rifles. Therefore bring only LRMs, if the range supports it.
Otherwise bring Streak SRM6s for close range fighting.
A LOT of players prefer gauss rifle for a good reason: they deliver a
lot of damage, they generate virtually no heat, and by the time
you've used up all that ammo you're probably dead and respawned. Same
goes for the LBX20, except those don't have gauss' range. Some games
are known to outlaw clan gauss rifles, for good reasons.
If you have jumpjets, use them! Firing while jumping is difficult,
but it makes you that much harder a target. In urban maps, jump on
top of buildings and snipe from there.
Consider turning OFF active sensors. You only need them to fire lock-
on weapons like LRMs. If you are a sniper, this is esp. important.
Almost EVERYBODY play attrition or destruction on the Zone. There's
maybe one or two King of the Hill or Capture the Flag, virtually no
Escort or Steal the Beacon.
9.2 A note about "boat mechs"
Use of "boat mechs" is frowned upon on some servers. A "boat mech" is
a mech that's configured with only ONE type of weapons. I.e. only
missiles, only lasers, only AC's, etc. This is an exploitation of
Clan omni-rack rules. A mech that has ONLY energy weapons like the
Nova Cat is technically a boat mech by design, but since you're not
exploiting omni racks it's not a boat mech in spirit.
The history of the term is a little murky. Likely, the term came from
Star Fleet Battles, a boardgame like Battletech. One of the best
configurations is known as an "Orion Phaser Boat". Orions are similar
to the Clans in Battletech. Their ships have "option mounts" that can
be configured to almost any weapon subject to "size" restrictions.
The "Orion Phaser Boat" has only phaser-1s in the option mounts. It's
hard to explain why the phaser boat is so effective without
explaining the whole SFB game mechanics, but trust me, they are so
effective, that the "phaser boat" was subsequently outlawed in
tournament play.
Apparently the term migrated over to Battletech, where a "boat" is
described as a "game mechanic exploitation" using only a single type
of weapon on a single vehicle.
9.3 What NOT to do in a multiplayer game
Do NOT shoot your own side. It makes every body mad.
Do NOT constantly commit suicide. This ruins the score of your side,
even if you were able to get a kill by doing it.
Do NOT insult or boast. Just DO it.
Do NOT switch teams in mid-game unless there's a BIG disparity in
numbers.
Do NOT lag behind and avoid action, unless you told your team that
you're the sniper or LRM fire support. And DO mix it up once in a
while.
9.4 Destruction
This is straight and simple combat. Points are awarded for kills
only. Can be played in "team" mode (known as "Team Destruction"). The
rules and points are in the manual.
As only destruction is rewarded, you'll have to chase down the enemy
mechs until they are destroyed, but beware of kamikaze attacks with
high-explosives. The sides being damaged should seek to protect the
damaged mechs for as long as possible while getting kills.
There is no repair, so damage mechs will have to either play sniper,
or kamikaze. Turn off sensors. Take a shot, run, take another shot,
and contribute to the damage while not getting killed. Consider
mounting high explosives to "take one more with you" if the server
allows it.
Concentration of firepower is paramount, as it'll get you kills fast,
without giving the attacker a chance to cause more damage.
Stay together. You get mutual support and defense, as well as ability
to concentrate firepower upon a single target.
Stay back from the enemy team "respawn" point as they will appear
without notice.
9.5 Attrition
A looser version of Destruction, points are awarded for damage as
well as destruction of enemy 'Mechs. Can be played in "team" mode
(known as "Team Attrition").
As there is a bonus on destroying a larger mech, teamwork is again,
paramount. In fact, larger mechs should consider leaving the kills to
the smaller mechs to maximize the "bonus" factor. Instead of letting
the Daishi doing the final blow on another Daishi (for no bonus), let
an Uziel do it and you will gain an extra 5x50=250 pts,
theoretically.
All the stuff in "destruction" also applies.
9.6 Capture the Flag
This is a team only battle. Each team is assigned a flag. The flag
starts at the center of each team's base. The goal is to grab the
enemy flag and bring it back to your base.
As the objective is grabbing the flag, smaller mechs are needed as
the runners, escorted by other mechs. Heavy mechs should stay as
guards.
The "flag guard" heavy mechs need heavy knock-down weapons like
LBX20's to prevent the flag capture.
The runners / chasers need ECM to protect themselves. They should
probably be equipped with Streak SRMs as they're busy running and
have no time to aim. Remember the "eject flag if shut down" rule, so
load up on heatsinks and engines. Jumpjets would be a good idea in
general.
There should probably be more than one runner so that you can "pass"
the flag when one runner is too damaged to continue.
You COULD use medium or even heavy mechs as flag runners, which would
get you the firepower you need to blow past the guards, as well as
survive the flag guards.
You can even be sneaky as you attack from one side and your flag
runner gets in from the other side with passive sensors only and ECM.
9.7 Steal the Beacon
Hold the flag (a.k.a. the beacon) for as long as possible. Think of
this as a game of "tag". So steal the flag and keep running. Shutting
down / dying releases the flag.
There's two tactics you can use: either you RUN, or you FIGHT. Pick a
good brawler with decent speed like Uziel or Shadow Cat and you'll
surprise those players with light mechs like Cougar. However, pick
something TOO heavy and you won't be able to chase down the little
guys with the flag.
Don't forget the jumpjets. A mech with 360-degree torso twist like
Raven or Thanatos would be quite useful as you can shoot at all
comers.
9.8 Escort
Protect your team's VIP, while attempting to destroy the enemy VIP
and enemy 'Mechs. One pilot from each team must be the designated
VIP, while the rest are escorts. VIP maximum 'Mech tonnage is 35
tons. The VIP pilots are scored based on a Score Zone. If the VIP
reaches the SZ intact, then points will be awarded. The goal of a VIP
is to stay alive and reach as many Score Zones as possible.
The tactics are pretty simple: do what the American football players
do when they return a kick. The VIP stays in the back as the escorts
form a "flying wedge". Then the wedge charges forward into the enemy
defense, while the ball carrier looks for holes to get through. So
you need some solid fighters that moves fast, like Mad Cat or Thor as
escorts.
As attackers, you need two teams. One to push the escorts away from
the VIP, the other to charge in and take the VIP out. The anti-escort
team need to be heavy to handle the escorts, while the VIP kill team
needs to be light, yet have one set of close-range killer weapons,
like LBX20. Go in there, knock the VIP down, and blast it.
9.9 King of the Hill
Hold "The Hill" for as long as possible. "The Hill" is an area marked
by a beacon or building in the center of the map, and extends in a
100-meter radius around it. When your 'Mech is on "The Hill", an icon
will be displayed on your heads-up display (HUD.)
As kills do NOT matter, the only reason you want to make kills is
when you want to get the non-contested-hill bonus.
Heavy mechs rule in this game as they are heavy enough to last.
Smaller mechs sniping will take too long. Take close-range brawling
weapons, as enemies must come to you. The shotgun Daishi variant is
quite deadly for use in KOTH, but they will succumb to long-range
snipers.
10 Misc. Info
Any info that doesn't fit into above sections goes here.
10.1 Cheat Codes
Kyle Q. submitted these cheat codes, but I was later informed that
these ONLY work for the DEMO, not the actual game.
Hold down CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT all together, and press the following
keys to enable the power.
* IY Invulnerability
* UO Unlimited ammo
* HF Heat tracking off
* IB Destroy enemy mech
* ML Complete mission
-- THE END --
