MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries by Piranha Games - now on Steam and GOG

[Fedora Master]

After playing some more (a lot more) I must say: The game isn't really the best, but it certainly is endearing. The buttrock soundtrack, the weird VOs... It all fits perfectly somehow.

 

[Matalarata]

I agree. I'm forcing (moar liek corrupting) one of my pnp players into buying this, I can definitely see myself playing it again, especially if mods raise difficulty and add a variety of missions. The damage model can't hold a candle to previous titles and the lack of infantry (and later on elementals) is painful but it's still a pretty solid simulation with a lot going on.

Also, feel my pain bros

Spoiler

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

it's all very limited. builds are even more limited than mw4, mekpak and roguetech in the past spoiled us with countless weapons and mechs, other than beach head the missions are limited and feel the same, pilots stats are limited and of very limited influence, songs are limited in being all only loud and just too loud, spawns variety is limited and predictable. hell, i have the feeling that even missions in career mode are limited in number, on an eternally immutable map.
the whole game feels like a well working prototype, but still nowhere near a full featured game.

 

[Cael]

No Inferno SRMs? They are basically long range flamers that can be mounted on missile 'mechs.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

I agree. I'm forcing (moar liek corrupting) one of my pnp players into buying this, I can definitely see myself playing it again, especially if mods raise difficulty and add a variety of missions. The damage model can't hold a candle to previous titles and the lack of infantry (and later on elementals) is painful but it's still a pretty solid simulation with a lot going on.

Also, feel my pain bros

Spoiler

Eh, Awesome-8R is pretty shit anyway.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

it's all very limited. builds are even more limited than mw4, mekpak and roguetech in the past spoiled us with countless weapons and mechs, other than beach head the missions are limited and feel the same, pilots stats are limited and of very limited influence, songs are limited in being all only loud and just too loud, spawns variety is limited and predictable. hell, i have the feeling that even missions in career mode are limited in number, on an eternally immutable map.
the whole game feels like a well working prototype, but still nowhere near a full featured game.

Par for the course for PGI - "minimum viable product".

Mods elevated MW5M significantly for me and I'm hoping against hope that PGI unfucks mod support in a hurry for the DLC as most of the issues described are resolved by the modding scene.

Recommended mods list to improve the experience: MW5 Mercs Reloaded, Yet Another Mech/Weapon, Realistic Weapon Velocities/Lightning PPCs, TTRulez Enemy AI/Lancemate AI, NavidA1's 3D HUD, Mork's Sound Pack, Renegotiate mod, Remove Jumpship Animation, Scary Tanks, MW5 Compatibility Pack, More Levels, Max Level Unique Pilots (entirely optional but makes the unique pilots you get from missions worth keeping around long-term), MW5 Load Order Manager, and the Spawn Fix mod. Easily the hardest part about all this is identifying and quashing any conflicts via Load Order Manager, but with a little trial and error you should be able to get it working (once, you know, PGI gets off their ass and resolves the issue of mod support not working at all post DLC/patch - this is part of why I'm not dropping any cash on the DLC yet).

 

[Perkel]

Is expansion out yet ? I had this game on radar since i bought joystick but installed some mods and played it and it was lovely but back then which was last year they announced huge update that would change a lot game and then they delayed delayed and delayed it again...

 

[Shitty Kitty]

Is expansion out yet ? I had this game on radar since i bought joystick but installed some mods and played it and it was lovely but back then which was last year they announced huge update that would change a lot game and then they delayed delayed and delayed it again...

DLC did finally drop, patch broke mods because PGI can't stop fucking up for one minute. Waiting for things to improve on that before I consider the DLC.

 

[Perkel]

DLC did finally drop, patch broke mods because PGI can't stop fucking up for one minute. Waiting for things to improve on that before I consider the DLC.

Nice. I mean it was huge change so for sure it would break mods but at the same time it should expand game a lot which would reduce need of mods in first place.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

DLC did finally drop, patch broke mods because PGI can't stop fucking up for one minute. Waiting for things to improve on that before I consider the DLC.

Nice. I mean it was huge change so for sure it would break mods but at the same time it should expand game a lot which would reduce need of mods in first place.

I'd be much more forgiving if I wasn't very familiar with PGI's history really

 

[Matalarata]

I've been using flamers to personally shut down and kill mechs, just delimb a hunchback.

K' I'll give this guy a try!

Spoiler

You were right, I was wrong. Flamers go pfsssssssh

 

[Shitty Kitty]

I've been using flamers to personally shut down and kill mechs, just delimb a hunchback.

K' I'll give this guy a try!

Spoiler

You were right, I was wrong. Flamers go pfsssssssh

Flamers are also nearly on par with MGs for best Demolition weapon, to the point where if I am doing Defense and I see a Firestarter on the field he dies IMMEDIATELY.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

what's the need for extremely short range antibuilding weapons when you can just walk through them? even with lights.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

what's the need for extremely short range antibuilding weapons when you can just walk through them? even with lights.

Some of the larger buildings are impassable, though you can collide with them to do damage - this takes a lot longer though and will chip at your armor a bit. Some are stompable only with heavies and assaults. Demo runs are generally not a great place to spend time whacking enemies for salvage as they can bog you down really bad. Warzone is best for "salvage farming", Assassination can be good for that too as assassination targets sometimes have some pretty good stuff - just make sure you go all-out on salvage rights with your negotiation points on those, though the general rule is you always angle for salvage first and foremost, then a point or two in damage coverage for Warzone especially, then leftovers in Cbills if applicable. Defense missions can sometimes be too frenetic to spend time angling for shots more likely to yield salvage, on Defense you just want to kill super-fast and do it away from the buildings you're defending (and wrangle your lancemates away from them because they're stupid and WILL walk/shoot right through the buildings they're defending to kill aggressors).

Also re: Demolition, quantity is more important than quality for property damage. If you're spending time just wailing on one building for a minute straight you're setting yourself up for a bad time. Flamers and MGs are fantastic for just raking across a lot of buildings to thrash them a bit. Angle for knocking down stuff that goes down fast - fuel/water tanks, small sheds that can be walked over as you shoot at another building, radio towers, all of that. Demolition isn't a precision mode, it's a "become an unholy, chaotic natural disaster on legs" mode.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

thanks for mansplaining basic mechwarrior stuff to the world best mw4 player.

 

[Shitty Kitty]

thanks for mansplaining basic mechwarrior stuff to the world best mw4 player.

no problem, any time

 

[someone else]

So my last play took me a while to get a Firestarter, decided to restart a new career as DC, the first sector I jump to has Firestarter with 8 energy slots, had to sell my starting Spider to afford it.
My first mission is in a Firestarter, shutdown a Phoenix Hawk with my starting 4 flamers. ^_^

 

[Matalarata]

I've a newfound apreciation for flamers and Flamestarters in general, but I'm still to shutdown a single 'mech with it. Granted, I do have a couple MG on my build, but even Assault 'mechs are destroyed before shutting down. In any case, the sheer destruction they cause compared to their tonnage + easy exploitation of your target's dead angle makes it a nasty little fucker. It's fun because, the heavier your target is, the easiest is for you to beat it.

 

[Cael]

I've a newfound apreciation for flamers and Flamestarters in general, but I'm still to shutdown a single 'mech with it. Granted, I do have a couple MG on my build, but even Assault 'mechs are destroyed before shutting down. In any case, the sheer destruction they cause compared to their tonnage + easy exploitation of your target's dead angle makes it a nasty little fucker. It's fun because, the heavier your target is, the easiest is for you to beat it.

Heat is a really nasty. Infernos are insanely powerful in tabletop, for example. Take a Kintaro and load it up with Inferno missiles and basically kill assault 'mechs with one salvo with ammo explosions and/or shutdowns.

 

[Matalarata]

Infernos are insanely powerful in tabletop, for example.

I agree, I played my fair share of TT back in the days (my last game was just before controlavirus). But this is a different game, with much less going on under the hood. Flamers shred away armor, machineguns have a bonus damage vs exposed structure (I think?). That's probably why I never managed to shut down anything, I just shave assault 'mechs' legs away before heat buildup is a thing.

I seriously hope mods will fix this.

 

[Cael]

Infernos are insanely powerful in tabletop, for example.

I agree, I played my fair share of TT back in the days (my last game was just before controlavirus). But this is a different game, with much less going on under the hood. Flamers shred away armor, machineguns have a bonus damage vs exposed structure (I think?). That's probably why I never managed to shut down anything, I just shave assault 'mechs' legs away before heat buildup is a thing.

I seriously hope mods will fix this.

That was the case in MW2. Flamers and Infernos dealt DOT on top of continuous heat damage. My Kodiak was basically 1 ERLL, 4 ERML and 8 SRM2I with maxed out heat sinks. Land the SRM2I and your target is dead. I have made 'mechs explode from Inferno hits to the feet.

 

[someone else]

It does make a nice BOOM! with echo when fired.

 

[Matalarata]

Have you managed to succesfully build around heavy and med rifles? Damage and precision are top notch but the combination of ultra slow reload and extremely limited ammo is a dealbreaker... I do use the light model on some smaller mechs with decent, if limited, results.


Another question, open to anyone. I salvaged a Raven-X, how do active probe/countermeasure perform in the field, when piloted by AI lancemates?

Edit: it works bretty gud.

Also edit:

Spoiler

This thing...

 

[someone else]

Have you managed to succesfully build around heavy and med rifles? Damage and precision are top notch but the combination of ultra slow reload and extremely limited ammo is a dealbreaker... I do use the light model on some smaller mechs with decent, if limited, results.


Another question, open to anyone. I salvaged a Raven-X, how do active probe/countermeasure perform in the field, when piloted by AI lancemates?

Heavy Rifles do more damage per shot than Gauss, good projectile speed of 1500 and since it is med size you can have multiple rifles for sniper headshots but they are hot.
I ran Medium Rifle on Vulcan, it works but I'll rather pay 3 tons more for an AC5 or Heavy Rifle since it uses a medium slot but there isn't much weight left.
Use the Function keys where you order your lancemate to tell the mech to change to disrupt.

Read why faction mission reputation gain drops to +2 later, apparently when you take missions below your merc rank.

Loving those 4 mission multi-ops, 75% extra salvage means lots of mechs and C-bills. I got 10 mechs in one run.

 

[Matalarata]

Use the Function keys where you order your lancemate to tell the mech to change to disrupt.

My understanding is, when you switch to disrupt you are reducing enemy ECM, while normal operation is ECM on an area around the carrying 'mech. You should get notifications under your minimap to tell you in which mode you're in.

Read why faction mission reputation gain drops to +2 later, apparently when you take missions below your merc rank.

Yes and it sucks a lot, since you're pretty much forced to either go back to previous zones, halting rep progress, or take work against faction you wish to befriend.