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

[Fedora Master]

Never read any guides, but from my experience the AI always tries to prioritize the mech that deals the most damage so if you're playing a light nodamage spotter for your AI-controlled lurmer

True, and a good point.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2557144161
This is the guide I was referring to. It's old but I doubt the DLC changed much about the AI behavior.

The "Intelligence" has been programmed with a few basic rules that include getting into optimal range for EVERY weapon you give them, running through their assigned weapon groups in order, and not overheating.

 

[MjKorz]

Never read any guides, but from my experience the AI always tries to prioritize the mech that deals the most damage so if you're playing a light nodamage spotter for your AI-controlled lurmer

True, and a good point.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2557144161
This is the guide I was referring to. It's old but I doubt the DLC changed much about the AI behavior.

The "Intelligence" has been programmed with a few basic rules that include getting into optimal range for EVERY weapon you give them, running through their assigned weapon groups in order, and not overheating.

Thanks, that makes sense based from my personal in-game experience. AI treats all weapons as primary offensive ones and the idea of backup weapons doesn't exist to them. I usually get one AI-controlled LRM mech on my team just to create a "balanced" tactically flexible lance, sometimes the AI manages to deal decent damage. Still, seems like piloting lurmer mechs is best left to the player.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

if you go really fast in a light, the AI can't hit shit and you'll have more survivability

not that i know of, no. lighter mechs on heavier missions die in instants.

 

[MjKorz]

if you go really fast in a light, the AI can't hit shit and you'll have more survivability

not that i know of, no. lighter mechs on heavier missions die in instants.

Are you using chea- I mean *mods*? I did some difficulty 90 raid missions in a Firestarter solo and survived just fine. The Firestater doesn't even go THAT fast. I've seen plenty of people on Youtube doing solo missions in a light mech as well, although their games weren't vanilla.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

no, 100% vanilla, updated few months ago. enemy hit chance is flat.

 

[MjKorz]

no, 100% vanilla, updated few months ago. enemy hit chance is flat.

AI accuracy is definitely not "flat", it is affected dramatically by multiple factors with movement speed being one of them. There was a balance patch released along with one of the DLCs that buffed AI accuracy, but the heavy dependence on target movement speed is still there. The good news is that AI lancemate accuracy was buffed as well.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

did they prove it or it's just words on a sheet of paper? because experience shows that bringing lights in heavy missions means losing those lights. the best i can concede is: roll on shooter precision - target dodge and that's it, no other modifier worthy of note. not size nor speed, all the other wingmen, with similar stats (but often even with wildly different levels) take about the same amount of hits.

 

[MjKorz]

did they prove it or it's just words on a sheet of paper? because experience shows that bringing lights in heavy missions means losing those lights. the best i can concede is: roll on shooter precision - target dodge and that's it, no other modifier worthy of note. not size nor speed, all the other wingmen, with similar stats (but often even with wildly different levels) take about the same amount of hits.

I think modders figured it out through datamining. For me, my own practical in-game experience is all I need. Just upgraded the 8x machinegun arena firestarter variant with speed tweak which allows it to go up to 130kph and the AI can barely hit it as long as I don't run into walls. Also fought a free for all light arena match at 97 mission difficulty with an older firestarter that goes only up to 90+kph and the enemies were still missing a huge chunk of their shots. It wouldn't even be possible to win missions like that if the AI hit with 100% precision, I really don't know what game you're playing.

Alternatively, there is also a much simplex explanation as to why you're having problems piloting lights: you're just shit at the game.

 

[Jason Liang]

Well. Here's gameplay. What else did you expect - it's MW5 Mercenaries, with more dakka.

I kind of want Mad Cats to move just a nudge or two faster - seeing a Mad Cat at full run should feel unnerving.

Some Battle-nerds are complaining that Smoke Jaguars shouldn't even have access to Timber Wolfs and Summoners LOL. As if that was ever a possibility for this game kek Be glad if you aren't piloting a star of Kit Foxes and Mist Lynxes for most of the game

Still would be great to see some mechs that aren't the 3050 stock Omnis. Show us some Stone Rhinos, Mongrels and Ebon Jaguars ok?

"Kerensky Bills" LOLOLOL

 

[Serious_Business]

That spasmic part where they show the customisation interface is getting me pumped. I love customisation, and I love spasms

Some kind of strategy layer too?

 

[Gumsmith]

Not a fan of this engine, but nice to see aircrafts and actual missions. Feels like a small miracle after the slop presentation of Mercenaries.

Smells of present day writing, talking about ending tyranny and of the facist Kuritan regime in the previous trailer, will be surprised if they don't have a "Maybe we were the real facists all along" moment in the game.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

"Kerensky Bills" LOLOLOL

They're just called Kerenskies. Though the number in the trailer probably just means credits of some sort since Kerenskies are only used by the merchant caste. It's not even legal for your guy to possess them.

Smells of present day writing, talking about ending tyranny and of the facist Kuritan regime in the previous trailer, will be surprised if they don't have a "Maybe we were the real facists all along" moment in the game.

That's pretty in character. Crusaders genuinely do see themselves as heroes who are coming to liberate the Inner Sphere. And the DC actually is pretty fascist. That's not to say Smoke Jaguar are any better, but that doesn't stop the DC being awful.
That said, the boss giving briefings is the guy who ordered a city destroyed from orbit, and the trailer even showed off Sabre Cat as what's almost certainly a deliberate HEY THIS IS THE SPACESHIP THAT BLEW UP THAT CITY thing, so the game is probably going to deal with your guy figuring out he's not actually doing good.

 

[Gumsmith]

"Kerensky Bills" LOLOLOL

They're just called Kerenskies. Though the number in the trailer probably just means credits of some sort since Kerenskies are only used by the merchant caste. It's not even legal for your guy to possess them.

Smells of present day writing, talking about ending tyranny and of the facist Kuritan regime in the previous trailer, will be surprised if they don't have a "Maybe we were the real facists all along" moment in the game.

That's pretty in character. Crusaders genuinely do see themselves as heroes who are coming to liberate the Inner Sphere. And the DC actually is pretty fascist. That's not to say Smoke Jaguar are any better, but that doesn't stop the DC being awful.
That said, the boss giving briefings is the guy who ordered a city destroyed from orbit, and the trailer even showed off Sabre Cat as what's almost certainly a deliberate HEY THIS IS THE SPACESHIP THAT BLEW UP THAT CITY thing, so the game is probably going to deal with your guy figuring out he's not actually doing good.

It's a fair thing to say but the phrasing is very on the nose. Just feels amateurish. Would a Smoke Jaguar commander even care about the oppression of Spheroid proles?

 

[lightbane]

Why would clanners know or care about opression when they literally live in an oppresive caste system with no way of improving your station besides birth? The BTech setting is as grimderp as WH40k at times, with few good guys, but some VERY evil guys that are not annihilated because of lore. Ie: Space commies.

 

[Gumsmith]

Why would clanners know or care about opression when they literally live in an oppresive caste system with no way of improving your station besides birth? The BTech setting is as grimderp as WH40k at times, with few good guys, but some VERY evil guys that are not annihilated because of lore. Ie: Space commies.

They could be "liberated" into the superior society but yeah, they're writing it in a 21st century way so the protag can go "noooooo not like this!!1"

I'll laugh if he deserts or does something equally retarded

 

[Spark Mandriller]

It's a fair thing to say but the phrasing is very on the nose. Just feels amateurish. Would a Smoke Jaguar commander even care about the oppression of Spheroid proles?

Yeah, their writers just aren't very good in general. Even the neutral generic text for mission descriptions isn't very well written.

Why would clanners know or care about opression when they literally live in an oppresive caste system with no way of improving your station besides birth? The BTech setting is as grimderp as WH40k at times, with few good guys, but some VERY evil guys that are not annihilated because of lore. Ie: Space commies.

Because they think their caste system is good. Everyone thinks they're good. If they thought they were doing things the wrong way then they'd stop and do what they considered right. DC think they're the good guys because the coordinator does deserve to rule everything, and it's wrong for everyone else not to submit. FedSuns think they're the good guys who are bringing freedom to their neighbours by invading them, and if they don't want to be annexed then that's their problem. CapCon think they're good and their state deserves to succeed, and so on and so on for everyone else.
Jags think the caste system is the proper way to organise society so everyone can work towards the common good. You get assigned a job based on what you're good at, you do it, everyone benefits. Much better from their point of view than having people randomly stumble around into positions they might not be good at, or get to be put in charge on the basis of "my dad ruled the planet so now I get to". Again, not saying they're the good guys, but it's reasonable for them to think they're the good guys. Especially since you're playing trueborn warrior caste so your guy gets all the benefits without seeing most of the drawbacks.
Also, as a side not, it is possible to test into a different caste if you're suited for it. There are freeborn warriors. They're not treated as well as trueborn ones but they're still warrior caste with all the privileges that entails. Your life isn't determined entirely by the circumstances of your birth.

 

[lightbane]

Because they think their caste system is good.

I know, but some of the factions are hard to defend, like the space commies who are evil by design. Or the weaboos with excessive edge.

, it is possible to test into a different caste if you're suited for it.

Huh, I didn't know that one, I thought that wasn't possible. Either way, how many times have they done the clan stuff in games so far?

 

[Yosharian]

The writing: absolute garbage. Who talks like this? Not fucking clanners that's for sure. This guy sounded like a fucking pussy.

The sound design: embarrassingly bad. The mechs sound like they are toys, and the weapons fire SFX had all the impact of a wet fart.

The music: the usual generic trash that PGI puts out, instantly forgettable.

The visuals: some aspects are 'ok' but mostly the visuals are being carried by the excellent mech design artists that PGI somehow managed to hire, everything else is just mediocre or worse.

This franchise deserves better.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

I know, but some of the factions are hard to defend, like the space commies who are evil by design. Or the weaboos with excessive edge.

Well, as long as they're fun to play, right? Or fun to play against. Though I guess a lot of people don't like Clans like that because their stuff is so overpowered. At least the DC are good enemies. Everyone likes shooting them.

Huh, I didn't know that one, I thought that wasn't possible. Either way, how many times have they done the clan stuff in games so far?

It's part of the general testing they do for everyone. Usually you get assigned whatever profession in your caste you're suitable for, but if they think you'd be better off doing a job in another caste then that's that, you're moved. Warriors who fail their trial/trials get kicked into a lower caste too. Though that's a bad thing for them so maybe that doesn't count.
As for games it's just 2, GBL, 3, and the first MechCommander that have a Clan focus. Mechwarrior 2M does and doesn't since they only invade halfway through the game, though obviously they become the big thing once they do show up. Some of the other games have Clan mechs, but only as salvage that's being used by Inner Sphere guys to fight each other. So overall there aren't that many games that focus on them, but they were all consecutive so sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

 

[Cael]

It's part of the general testing they do for everyone. Usually you get assigned whatever profession in your caste you're suitable for, but if they think you'd be better off doing a job in another caste then that's that, you're moved. Warriors who fail their trial/trials get kicked into a lower caste too. Though that's a bad thing for them so maybe that doesn't count.
As for games it's just 2, GBL, 3, and the first MechCommander that have a Clan focus. Mechwarrior 2M does and doesn't since they only invade halfway through the game, though obviously they become the big thing once they do show up. Some of the other games have Clan mechs, but only as salvage that's being used by Inner Sphere guys to fight each other. So overall there aren't that many games that focus on them, but they were all consecutive so sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

This patently untrue. The trueborn/freeborn divide is huge, and few Clans allow freeborns to get too high. Marthe tried it with Diana and nearly got a riot on her hands. She was only saved by the stupid Vipers who allowed the freeborn to prove themselves beyond a doubt.

In the Clans, unless you are decanted as a warrior, you don't get to be a warrior. And if you test out, you're out for good. That was what made Aidan Pryde's story so compelling, and it took a lot of deceit and political backing to get him there. The Smokes are the worst of the intolerant lot, and mobility into the warrior caste is non-existent. There is no testing. If you are freeborn, forget it. Clanners are morons, and the only ones who succeeded and survived are those who bucked the trend. Wolf, Ghost Bear, Diamond Shark/Sea Fox, Scorpions, even Falcons (for a while). The rest died or became inconsequential.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

I didn't say you could be freeborn and become high ranked. I said you could be freeborn and become a warrior. You're not part of a bloodhouse so it's impossible to get a bloodname and therefore achieving high ranks is impossible (unless the writers really like you), and you'll be looked down on, but it's still possible to become a warrior in a lot of Clans. The shitstorm over Diana was only because she wanted a bloodname. Before then she was just another freebirth, whatever. And similarly, when Aidan was pretending to be Jorge he was allowed. They gave him shit but he was still a warrior.
But yeah, now that I refresh my memory, Jags don't allow freeborn warriors at all. But that puts them in a minority, and it has its issues. They needed to start giving their cadets a second trial of position if they failed their first, because they were running into manpower issues. Other Clans don't need to do that, because they're fine with using freeborn when appropriate so they have enough people. Allowing them in is the normal thing.

Now that I think about it I probably should have gone into more detail instead of just saying they're "not treated as well", because that is kind of an understatement, yeah.

 

[Cael]

I didn't say you could be freeborn and become high ranked. I said you could be freeborn and become a warrior. You're not part of a bloodhouse so it's impossible to get a bloodname and therefore achieving high ranks is impossible (unless the writers really like you), and you'll be looked down on, but it's still possible to become a warrior in a lot of Clans. The shitstorm over Diana was only because she wanted a bloodname. Before then she was just another freebirth, whatever. And similarly, when Aidan was pretending to be Jorge he was allowed. They gave him shit but he was still a warrior.
But yeah, now that I refresh my memory, Jags don't allow freeborn warriors at all. But that puts them in a minority, and it has its issues. They needed to start giving their cadets a second trial of position if they failed their first, because they were running into manpower issues. Other Clans don't need to do that, because they're fine with using freeborn when appropriate so they have enough people. Allowing them in is the normal thing.

Now that I think about it I probably should have gone into more detail instead of just saying they're "not treated as well", because that is kind of an understatement, yeah.

Try again, kid. The Jags weren't the only ones. You clearly do not know the lore and are only regurgitating what sarna.net says, not realising that sarna.net is deliberately vague in many areas due to legal reasons.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

Try again, kid. The Jags weren't the only ones. You clearly do not know the lore and are only regurgitating what sarna.net says, not realising that sarna.net is deliberately vague in many areas due to legal reasons.

I'm relying on Warriors of Kerensky.

Most Clans allow a potential warrior a single Trial of Position. This practice, however, is a custom rather than one of Nicholas Kerensky's dictates. On occasion, a warrior has failed the first test and is overtly or covertly retested. The Smoke Jaguars made retesting standard practice in order to make up for numbers lost by their refusal to use freeborn warriors; variants of the practice exist in Clans Blood Spirit, Ghost Bear, Hell's Horses and Steel Viper. In all the other Clans, a second Trial of Position can only be authorized by the Clan Council, and then only in exceptional circumstances (for example, if a technician's error caused a mechanical fault).

Page 62, the last paragraph in the education section.

Seems pretty conclusive to me. If Sarna says the same thing then good for Sarna, because that's correct.

 

[Fedora Master]

I doubt you get to see much of Clan culture in this CLAN-BASED GAME. It's just beeg robits shootan.

 

[Cael]

Try again, kid. The Jags weren't the only ones. You clearly do not know the lore and are only regurgitating what sarna.net says, not realising that sarna.net is deliberately vague in many areas due to legal reasons.

I'm relying on Warriors of Kerensky.

Most Clans allow a potential warrior a single Trial of Position. This practice, however, is a custom rather than one of Nicholas Kerensky's dictates. On occasion, a warrior has failed the first test and is overtly or covertly retested. The Smoke Jaguars made retesting standard practice in order to make up for numbers lost by their refusal to use freeborn warriors; variants of the practice exist in Clans Blood Spirit, Ghost Bear, Hell's Horses and Steel Viper. In all the other Clans, a second Trial of Position can only be authorized by the Clan Council, and then only in exceptional circumstances (for example, if a technician's error caused a mechanical fault).

Page 62, the last paragraph in the education section.

Seems pretty conclusive to me. If Sarna says the same thing then good for Sarna, because that's correct.

Your claim isn't a second trial of position. Your claim is that there is caste mobility. My retort is not into the warrior caste. You again trying to shift goalposts in order to "win" an argument and getting aggro when your lies are exposed. You didn't know shit back when hBSTech came out. You still don't know shit now. Grow up and read books for a change.