Mechwarrior 3 Release v1.0 `It's Always A Work In Progress` Last updated: 07/14/1999 Written by: Moises `Vulkan` Sanchez (vulkan4@hotmail.com) Note: This document will look a lot better if viewed with Microsoft Word using a `Normal` view. Disclaimer: This document is to aid in informing the public about the game Mechwarrior III. In no way should this promote your killing of innocent people, or killing in any other fashion. Additionally, I claim NO responsibility should it cause your computer to explode in a very violent fashion as if it's fusion reactor had overheated, any questions regarding the content of this document should be sent to me and not FASA Corporation, Zipper interactive or Hasbro entertainment. Trademark Information: All specific names included herein are trademarks of the FASA Corporation and are so acknowledged: Mechwarrior, Battletech, Battlemech, Mechwarrior 2, Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries, Mech, Jade Falcon, Thor, Madcat, Daishi and Owens, Any trademarks not mentioned here are still hypothetically acknowledged by the author of this document. Copyright Notice: You are granted the following rights: I. To make copies of this work in original form, so long as (a) the copies are exact and complete; (b) the copies include the copyright notice and these paragraphs in their entirety; (c) the copies give obvious credit to the author; (d) the copies are in electronic form. II. To distribute this work, or copies made under the provisions above, so long as (a) this is the original work and not a derivative form; (b) you do not charge a fee for copying or for distribution; (c) you ensure that the distributed form includes the copyright notice, this paragraph, the disclaimer of warranty in their entirety and credit to the author; (d) the distributed form is not in an electronic magazine or within computer software (prior explicit permission may be obtained from the author); (e) the distributed form is the NEWEST version of the article to the best of the knowledge of the distributor; (f) the distributed form is electronic. Contents: Topics marked with a > are new for this version. [a] Introduction 1.- Control Schemes 1a.- Necessary Commands 1b.- Example Configuration 2.- Battle Tactics for the Pilot 2a.- Feel of the Weapons 2b.- Aiming Modes 2c.- Fire Modes 2d.- Heat Management 2e.- Lancemates 2f.- Component Targeting 2g.- Weapons 2h.- The `Perfect` Mech 3.- Tactics for the Commander 3a.- MFB Management 3b.- Arming your Mech 3c.- Arming your Lancemates 3d.- Mech Statistics 4.- Preliminary Mission Walkthroughs 4a.- Mission 1 Op Zone 1 4b.- Mission 2 Op Zone 1 4c.- Mission 3 Op Zone 1 4d.- Mission 4 Op Zone 1 4e.- Mission 1 Op Zone 2 4f.- Mission 2 Op Zone 2 4g.- Mission 3 Op Zone 2 4h.- Mission 4 Op Zone 2 5.- Epilogue a.- Introduction: This document was originally written by myself with the intention of helping my fellow lancemates learn a few things about how to master a Battlemech in combat, it eventually grew into something along the lines of a contribution for the Mechwarrior 3 public and for those struggling pilots out there who are just learning the inner-workings of a Mech, I've written a few texts on the world of Battletech and 2 of it's games: Mechwarrior 2 and Mercenaries, unfortunately these were originally written for my lancemates and are for the most part not very well laid out, so I'm afraid I can't release them for the public. Besides, if you, the reader, were to ever face me in combat, I wouldn't stop firing to tell you `A few pointers` now would I? This document is the first of 2, what you are reading now is intended as a `General Tips` text along with quick walkthorughs for the first 2 Op Zones, the second will be something along the lines of a more detailed walkthrough for each of the game's missions, this is how I've always done it, and it's how it'll be done in the future. Very well, with that in mind let Us proceed, first and foremost I highly recommend you to read the manual that came with the game so you at least have an understanding of all the systems that comprise a Battlemech, I won't delve too deeply into explaining all of the equipment and Mechs since that's covered in the manual and would just be redundant, I will however, point out when a weapon requires some sort of strategy to effectively employ and use in the battlefield. For those who have played the previous Mechwarrior games, keep in mind that there are some important changes, the Mobile Field Base has been introduced, Pulse Lasers behave a lot more like they should now, the much anticipated `Swaying Arms` have been finally added for those who asked so much for them and jumpjets have been made much less powerful now, but all in all, veteran Mechwarriors shouldn't feel alienated playing this third installment, a few tries should be enough to get you acquainted with the new systems and features. 1.- Control Schemes: 1a.- Necessary Commands One of the elements of being a good pilot is mastering all of the controls available to you, you should take the time remapping the default control configuration to something that more suits you, although you can utilize a combination of Keyboard/Joystick, any Mechwarrior 2 veteran will tell you that the best combination is the Keyboard/Mouse configuration, I will now list the controls that are absolutely required for you to effectively utilize a Mech, along with a small description of the command: Throttle up, down and Turn left, right commands: Pretty self-explanatory, these 4 commands will be your basic movement commands, Throttle up will make your Mech walk forward, Throttle down will make your Mech slow down or walk in reverse, Turn left and right make your Mech turn around. Twist left/right, Pitch up/down: These 4 commands will make your Mechs' torso to rotate and pitch in the direction applied, and are therefore, needed for aiming your weapons. Center Torso to Legs: This command will make you torso align with the direction you are walking. 0% Throttle: This command will make your Mech come to a complete stop, you should have this key near your basic movement keys, will be examined later in the document. Jump Jet: This command fires your Mechs' jumpjets and will begin lifting you upwards, combine with forward speed for a moving jump. Get up: This is a very useful command, the game description states that long falls and explosions may cause your Mech to topple over, but there are other things that can cause you to fall down which will be examined later in the document, this command will cause your Mech to stand up after being knocked down. Crouch: This command causes your Mech to crouch down, may not seem very useful but there are certain tricks you can employ that depend on this feature, they will be examined later. Startup/Shutdown: This command is basically the ignition key for your Mech, use it to turn your Mech off and back on, tactics relying on this command will be examined later. Enable MASC: This command activates your Masc system, giving you a burst of speed, but builds up heat quickly, your Mech must be equipped with a Masc system for this to work. Fire Weapon: This command fires the selected weapon. Next weapon group: Self explanatory, certain combat tactics rely on this command so it will be brought up later in the document. Toggle Fire Mode: This command toggles between `Chain fire` `Single fire` and `Linked fire`, fire modes will be examined later. Rush Coolant: This command will cause all excess heat to dissipate instantly, the coolant is limited however, so use wisely. Alpha Strike: This command causes all of your weapons to fire at once, handy if you want to destroy a Mech quickly, also useful for turning you Mech into a walking atomic bomb, will be looked at later. Jettison Ammo: This command drops all of your ammunition, leaving you with only energy based weapon, will be examined later. Target Next Enemy: This command will target the next enemy in your Radar, press again to cycle through targets. Target Nearest Enemy: self-explanatory. Target Center Torso: This command calls your Targeting computer and will provide you with a small green reticule that is used to `Lead` a non-instant weapon, will be examined later. Zoom: This command functions the same way as a scope in a sniper rifle, it will zoom in a small area in the center of your HUD. Freelook: This command enables you to turn your head instead of your Mechs' torso, enabling `Arm swaying` will be examined later. Lancemate Command Screen: This command brings up a window used to issue orders to your lancemates, this feature is covered in the training sessions and should be mastered since lancemates are only useful if you give them orders. Order MFB: This commands tells your Mobile Field Base to deploy thereby allowing you to repair, this command is also covered in the training sessions, but should be fully understood and mastered since you will be making use of it a lot in the later stages of the game. Next OP Point: This command cycles between points, which are used to find any objectives required to finish the mission, also used in conjunction with the `Order MFB` command. These commands are all mostly covered in the training sessions, and although you can succeed without mastering them all, you will be a better pilot if you do take the time to familiarize yourself with all of them, you should also configure your keys in a way that you have the more important keys near your basic movement keys, that way you won't be fumbling around in the heat of combat. 1b.- Example Configuration I will now provide you with an example custom configuration, note that this is the configuration I use myself: Throttle up: Numpad 8 Throttle down: Numpad 2 Twist Left/Right Mouse X Axis Pitch Up/Down Mouse Y Axis Center Torso to Legs Numpad 5 0% Throttle End Jump Jet Numpad + Get Up Numpad . Crouch Numpad 0 Startup/Shutdown S Enable MASC V Fire Weapon Mouse Button 1 Next Weapon Group Numpad 9 Previous Weapon Group Numpad 7 Next Weapon in Group Numpad 3 Previous Weapon in Group Numpad 1 Fire Mode / Rush Coolant F Alpha Strike Numpad Enter Jettison Ammunition Shift-J Target Next Enemy Numlock Target Previous Enemy Shift-Numlock Target Nearest Enemy Numpad * Target Enemy Reticule Numpad / Zoom Mouse Button 3 Lock Zoom Pageup Freelook Mouse Button 2 Lancemate Command Screen F11 Order MFB M Next OP Point N Previous OP Point Shift-N 2.- Battle Tactics for the Pilot: 2a.- Feel of the Weapons One of the more important things to know is how all the weapons behave, start an `Instant Action` mission and take a `Daishi` Mech, and for the enemy Mech, pick the `Owens` Mech and start the mission, in the Mech Lab, arm your Mech with all of the various weapons and take it out into the field, get a `Feel` of how each of the weapons behave, learn how fast the projectiles travel, how much kickback each weapon has, how much ammunition each ammunition pack can hold, what the ranges of the weapons are, how much heat they generate. 2b.- Aiming Modes Now, go back to the Mech lab screen and equip your Mech with 4 medium Pulse Lasers, place 2 in the left arm and the other 2 in the right arm and enter the mission, once the mission starts use your `Twist left/right` keys and see how your Mech behaves, it's torso will rotate left and right depending on what direction you move your mouse, this is called `Torso Aiming`, now center your torso and hit the `Free look` key and move your mouse around, notice how now you are now turning your head but the Mechs' torso is staying put, although the Mechs' torso does not move, your weapons are still following your aiming reticule, this is called `Arm Swaying` By using a combination of `Torso Aiming` and `Arm Swaying`, it is actually possible to fire backwards, go into Torso Aiming mode and twist your Mechs' torso all the way to the left, once that's done press your Free Look key and look all the way to your left, You are now basically aiming your left gun arm backwards. Keep in mind that not all Mechs have to ability to sway their arms, and some Mechs don't have the ability to twist their torsos, one particular Mech without the ability to twist it's torso is the `Cauldron Born`, you must rely on Arm Swaying to aim when using it. Also keep in mind that when Arm Swaying, you will be disabling some of your weapons, as an example go to the Mech Lab screen and equip your Mech with 2 medium ER Lasers in your left arm, and 2 medium Pulse Lasers in your right arm, once in your cockpit press your Free Look key, now try swaying your arm left, you will notice in the small weapons window in the upper right corner of your screen that when you sway your arm all the way to the left, the weapons in your right are incapable of turning that way and will be temporarily unavailable, and if you sway all the way to the right the weapons in your left arm become unavailable, remember this when deciding on how to organize your weapons in the Mech Lab screen. 2c.- Fire Modes Now, face directly forward and press and hold fire, this will cause one of your Pulse Lasers to fire it's energy charge, once the laser drains it will stop firing, your Mech will cycle to the next Pulse Laser, and the drained Laser will begin recycling energy so it can fire again. Now find the Owens Mech that's prowling about, take aim and press and hold fire to shoot it with one of your Lasers, it isn't very damaging, is it? Well now press your Fire Mode key 2 times to select `Linked Fire` and wait for your Laser to recycle, now aim at one of the legs of the Owens Mech and press and hold fire… 4 continuous streams of Laser fire will strike the Mech, causing quite a lot of damage to it's leg and perhaps even knocking the Owens Mech of it's feet, congratulations! You've just discovered the best way to use Pulse Lasers! Pulse Lasers are best used in `Linked Fire` mode and fired at the enemies' legs, 4 medium Pulse Lasers should be more than enough to knock a Mech off it's feet, even the heavy assault ones can't cope with the damage the 4 lasers deal and will usually fall down, if they do fall you can use this opportunity to strike their leg a second time, although a veteran Mechwarrior will wait for his foe to get on his feet before attacking again, it isn't a rule, you can fire at your foe while he's down if you wish but many Mechwarriors consider this a dishonorable tactic, of course if you are an Inner Sphere pilot like me, you can ignore this `Dishonorable` deal and kick him while he's down, for an Inner Sphere pilot, any tactic that will get you out alive from a battle is a perfectly valid tactic, so just ignore all those `You filthy dishonorable traitor` comments in your radio and concentrate on what you're doing. Something that should be mentioned about the `Alpha Strike` function, try hitting the key once now, you'll notice that it won't fire the Pulse Lasers to their full potential and will only fire about 1/8 of their charges, well to get around this problem simply press the Alpha Strike key repedeatly, this will cause the Pulse Lasers to fire their entire charge. 2d.- Heat Management When deciding whether to use Linked Fire or Chained Fire, there are 2 main factors, one of them is to simply look at the amount of heat buildup the weapons in that group cause, if firing even a single gun in the group causes a lot of heat, then don't even consider using Linked fire or you risk overheating your Mech and damaging it, if they produce medium heat, You'll probably want to use them in Linked mode carefully and perhaps shutting down between uses to let the heat dissipate, if they cause very little heat, then definitely use them in Linked fire mode. The other factor into deciding when to use Linked mode is water, before starting a mission, check if there's any water in the scenario and lure enemy Mechs to the body of water, switch to Linked fire and jump in the water, when your Mech is submerged in water heat buildup is almost nil so you can fire your weapons as fast as their fire rate permits, if the body of water is too shallow, simply use the crouch function to submerge your Mech even deeper, Keep in mind that only Lasers will work underwater. Also, consider using Coolant when fighting a powerful Mech like an Annihilator, this Mech will tear you apart if you pause even for a few seconds because your Mech overheated and shutdown. Running also generates heat, so you may want to consider stopping for a few seconds to speed up cooling, or at the very least, walk but don't run, learn how much heat each weapon generates so you are ready when firing a weapon and deciding when to use Linked mode and when to use Chained mode. Now if all your heat management efforts fail and your heat is off the scale, you have no Coolant left and shutting down isn't an option, well I'm afraid you're going to have to bite the bullet and push your `Jettison Ammo` key, by doing this you'll prevent your ammunition exploding inside of you because of the extreme heat, if you don't jettison your ammo, you risk losing a limb or even having your entire Mech explode in a rather spectacular way. Now for a somewhat amusing demonstration, go to the instant action screen and choose an Owens for an enemy, now go to the Mech lab screen and choose a Daishi Mech, now remove all of it's weapons and take away all of the heatsinks in the arms and leave 2 in the left torso and 2 in the right torso, now load both arms with as many Flamers as the Daishi can carry, these weapons are special in that they do very little damage, but raise your opponents' heat level dramatically, now when the mission starts, go into Linked fire mode, look for the Owens and get in close, now fire your Flamers at it… That's what happens when your Fusion Reactor overloads, now press X to switch to the external view and start running at top speed, fire your Flamers into the air and the second they recycle, fire them again in quick succession. Demonstration over. 2e.- Lancemates Alright, now let's look into how You can use Lancemates to improve your chances of survival, go to the Instant Mission select screen and choose a Madcat for yourself, and assign another Madcat to one of your Lancemates, pick a Daishi as the enemy Mech and enter the battle, once the mission starts press the `F11` key to bring up your Lancemate command screen, now target the opposing Mech and press the `1` key, this will select your first lancemate to assign orders, now press `F6` to tell your lancemate to attack the opposing Daishi Mech, your Lancemate will comply and will start heading for the enemy. Now take this time to analyze the situation, as you are heading to attack the enemy Mech think about how 2 Mechs could outsmart and outmaneuver a heavier and more powerful Mech, one tactic your could employ is `Drawing Fire`, this is something equivalent of a Wild Weasel run and is done by telling your lancemate to stay put and hide behind an obstacle, then head for the Daishi and take a few pot shots to get it's attention, then lure it back to where your lancemate is and when He is within attacking range, tell your Lancemate to attack the Daishi, thereby closing the trap, as the Daishi starts to turn it's attention towards your fellow Lancemate, use this moment to get in close and fire at his legs, if luck is on your side and most of your attack hits the Daishi Mech in one of his legs, you may knock it down to the ground and seize a window of opportunity to destroy it. Another tactic is a simple flanking maneuver, just tell your lancemate to attack the Daishi, and as He attacks get in position behind the Daishi in a way so that if the Daishi turns it's attention towards you, your lancemate will have an opportunity to attack it from behind, and if the Daishi turns to attack your lancemate, you can shoot it from behind yourself, either way you have the upper hand because Mechs have very little armor in their backs. To do this maneuver you have to pay attention to both the enemy and your Lancemate, you have to keep tabs on where they both are and move accordingly. To coordinate yourself better with your lancemates, you should use the Radar to keep tabs on the whole battlefield, simply set yourself up so that the enemy gets caught in the middle, between you and your lancemate, this is extra important when you have an full lance of Mechs at your disposal, coordinate yourself and your lancemates so that you have the enemy `Boxed in`, You and your lancemates will make very short work of any Mechs caught in the middle regardless of their weight classification. When facing an Annihilator Mech, you should always have a lancemate, facing an Annihilator by yourself almost always means an instant death, but don't let your lancemate do it all himself, take turns with your lancemate getting a face full of lead and getting knocked on the ground, You can always use the MFB to repair after you have beaten the Annihilator. When facing more than 1 enemy Mech at a time, concentrate your Lances' firepower on a single enemy Mech, it's better to quickly destroy one Mech at a time than attacking all of them at once. 2f.- Component Targeting One of the important things to remember is that when you damage a Mech, you'll be damaging a specific part of it, be it head, torso, arms or legs, you should learn what parts to target depending on the situation, for example say you're facing a Thor Mech in combat, now, the Thor Mech has a rather nasty LB-10X AutoCannon on it's left arm, this cannon does very high amounts of damage so it's in your best interests to target and fire at the Thors' left arm to disable the AutoCannon, the same holds true to any Mech with particularly potent weapons, if you're taking a beating from a Mech with a potent weapon, you should probably try to disable said weapon before attempting to take the Mech down. Now, say an enemy Mech has spotted your MFB and is currently running towards it in order to destroy it, now it's in your best interests to stop this Mech before He reaches your Base, and the best way to do this is to shoot at it's legs, Remember that a damaging attack directed at a Mechs' leg will make it fall down to the ground, that should buy you enough time to destroy the Mech before it can cause any damage to your valuable MFB. You can equip your Mech with a `Targeting Computer` which will enable a new reticule in your HUD, this reticule will tell you how much you have to `Lead` with your currently selected weapon in order to hit the Mech in the area you specified, this is only applicable with non-instant hit weapons like Gauss Guns and PPCs. Remember the same hit location rules apply to your Mech also, so if your left arm is very damaged, perhaps you should consider turning left and use Arm Sway aiming to protect your badly damaged left arm from any further damage, an arm which has been destroyed can not be replaced by your MFB, so it's very important to keep your arms safe. 2g.- Weapons Now let's go over some of the weapon systems available for combat: Flamers: As our little test proved earlier, you can see that Flamers are very good at raising your targets' heat level, if used properly you can cause your opponents' auto-shutdown system to kick in, thereby giving you a small window of opportunity to attack him with no interruptions, but you have to get in very close to use these weapons. Lasers: Regular Lasers, nothing very special about them, just aim and shoot, wait until they recycle and fire again, use your judgement to decide what components to target, like any Laser, they can be fired from underwater, Extended Range Lasers or ER Lasers: These lasers are best used from long ranges in conjunction with the zoom mode, the Large versions have a range of about 1000 meters, it's somewhat hard to hit anything with them from close range however, and you should probably switch to Pulse Lasers. Pulse Lasers: These are the staple of every Mechwarrior, You'll be using these most of the time since they aren't very heat intensive even when they are fired in Linked mode, as stated earlier, they work best by firing them at your opponents' legs, this will cause the enemy Mech to topple over giving you a chance for a quick strike, you should equip at least 3 of these on any side of your Mech. Machine Guns: These guns aren't very damaging to Mechs but can be used against tanks and other vehicles, it chews through ammunition very quickly though, so you'll probably reloading on your MFB a lot, they don't generate any heat whatsoever and are best used linked together. AutoCannons and Ultra AutoCannons: These are basically improved versions of the Machine Gun, the 2 differences are that the Machine Guns fire continuously but the ACs have a delay between firing, and that ACs are a lot more damaging, luckily the ammunition lasts a bit longer since you need less of it in order to do heavy damage, they also tend to have a bit of kickback when you have them on one of your arms, so either put them in your torso or place one in your left arm, and another in your right arm and fire them linked to compensate. LB-X AutoCannons: These can work a bit like shotguns by Linking 2 of them together, hitting an enemy Mech from close range with both of them will probably blast him down into the ground, they have limited ammunition however, so use them only when your shot is sure to hit it's mark, these also have kickback so use one of the methods described above. PPCs and Extended Range PPCs or ER PPCs: PPCs have quite a long range, but they aren't instant weapons like lasers so you must `Lead` the target in order to hit them, use of a targeting computer is recommended, these also have a high amount of kickback so place them in your torso since linking 2 of them together would probably cause your Mech to shutdown. Gauss or Rail Rifles: Gauss Guns carry all of the features of PPCs, but don't generate any heat since they use ammunition instead of energy, the ammunition for Gauss Rifles is very limited however, so it should not be wasted under any circumstances, the ammunition Gauss Rifles use are balls of aluminum so they won't explode if hit by an enemy Mech, therefore no CASE system is required, they also have a lot of kickback but can be fired together in linked mode to compensate since they generate no heat. Short Range Missiles or SRMs: Like their name implies, these should only be used for short ranges, they will track the enemy if you lock on to him, however their tracking mechanisms won't always follow the enemy Mech so you can escape it's tracking by dodging generates some heat, but not enough for it to be a concern. Long Range Missiles or LRMs: These should only be used for long ranges, note the emphasis on the word `Only`, their tracking systems are practically useless from a short range, the preferred range to fire them is from 400 to 1000 meters, these generate more heat than SRMs so be careful and keep an eye on your Delta Heat level. 2h.- The `Perfect` Mech Now let's talk about a topic that I have been debating with my fellow ComStar pilots, the topic is `What is the perfect Mech?`, now this is rather hard question to answer because there really isn't a perfect Mech that everyone can agree on, for me it's always been the Madcat or Timberwolf as the savages from the Clan Jade Falcon call it, I like to equip it with 4 Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Large Pulse Lasers, 1 SRM and 1 LRM, and 2 AMSs, one in the left torso and the other in the right torso, to me this is the perfect combination but it's really up to you to dictate what your vision of `The perfect Mech` is, experiment with weapon combinations, figure out if you like speed or pure power, try out your creations on Instant Actions mission, the best thing about the Mechwarrior series is that you can customize your Mech in anyway you want so work in the Mech lab until you find a Mech you are happy with. But of course I'm one of those persons who likes to argue that a Mech is as deadly as the person who pilots it, for example, what would be an easier thing to kill, a Daishi that's just standing there shooting at you, or a Daishi that's moving and using both Torso aiming and Arm Swaying to hit you? I think We both know the answer to that question, part of being a good pilot is outsmarting the other guy and beating his heavier Mech with your lighter Mech. 3.- Tactics for the Commander: 3a.- MFB Management Now, part of being successful when playing Mechwarrior 3 is knowing what salvage to take and what salvage to leave behind, this is all a matter of deciding what weapons you are going to become most proficient with and what Mechs you are going to become most attached to, with your 3 starting MFBs, you can carry up to 900 tons of equipment and store up to 6 Mechs along with the ones you and your Lancemates are piloting, so each MFB can carry 300 tons of equipment and 2 Mechs, you can continue the game even if one of your MFBs is destroyed but you'll be highly limited with what you'll be able to carry. I generally carry the following amounts of ammunition: Machine Gun rounds: Between 2000 and 2400 rounds, but eventually ditch them all when I replace Machine guns with AutoCannons. AC2 Rounds: Between 1100 and 1400 rounds of ammunition. AC5 Rounds: Between 1400 and 1600 rounds of ammunition LB-10X AC Rounds: I usually take all the ones I find since I use this weapon a lot. LRM20 Missiles: Between 1200 and 1400 rounds. LRM5 Missiles: Between 500 and 700 rounds. SRM6 Missiles: Between 500 and 700 rounds. SRM4 Missiles: Between 400 and 600 rounds. Streak SRM6: I will take all the ones I find. Gauss Gun Ammo: This ammunition is rare, I always take all I find with me. Any ammunition not mentioned is because I don't carry any of it, along with that I usually carry around 100 tons of each type of armor, I will carry the following amounts of weapons: Machine Guns: From 6 to 10, for the early missions, will later ditch them for AutoCannons when they become available. AC2s: From 10 to 12, 3 per operational Mech, good for light/medium Mechs. AC5s: Usually from 8 to 10, these cannons are quite useful when employed in large numbers. Medium Pulse Lasers: From 14 to 18, one of the weapons I use the most. Large Pulse Lasers: From 6 to 10. Large ER Lasers: From 4 to 6. ER PPCs: From 2 to 4, 1 per Mech employed in battle. Gauss Rifles: From 2 to 4, very heavy weapon to carry. LRM20s: From 8 to 10, usually 2 per Mech. LRM5s: From 8 to 10, when an LRM20 is too heavy to fit on a Mech, use LRM5s, also 2 per Mech. SRM6s: From 6 to 8, when 2 LRMs aren't an option, pair this up with an LRM. SRM4s: From 4 to 6, when an SRM6 is too heavy for a lighter Mech. Streak SRM6: From 6 to 8, SRM6 replacement, ammunition is rare however. Any weapon system not mentioned is because I don't carry any of it. Of course you should make a more personalized inventory of items to carry for yourself, depending of what your preferred weapon systems are, but generally speaking, having more than 2000 rounds of any ammunition type is too much, and having more than 120 tons of any type of armor is also too much, if you find your available space to be too small, check how much armor you are carrying about, you're probably carrying too much of it, if you find yourself carrying a weapon system and not using it for more than 3 missions, you should probably ditch it since it's just taking up space anyway. 3b.- Arming your Mechs Now let's move on to arming your Mech, the game already includes Primary configurations and various Alternate configurations for each of the Mechs, but the best way to get the most out of your Mech is by arming it according to your needs and liking. Here is where you must decide what weapon systems you are going to take on the field, for now, I'll create an example configuration to use as a base for ideas, then you can go ahead and make one on your own using the principles behind my decisions: For this example I will use the Madcat chassis: Head: Center Torso: (None) AMS Left Torso: Right Torso: Streak SRM6 LRM20 Streak SRM6 Ammunition (90) LRM20 Ammunition (120) CASE CASE AMS AMS Left Arm: Right Arm: Double Heat Sink (3) Double Heat Sink (3) Medium Pulse Laser (4) Large Pulse Laser (2) Left Leg: Right Leg: Double Heat Sink Double Heat Sink Engine: 350 Rate Engine with a top speed of around 76 Kph. Endo Steel Internal Structure. 12 Tons Ferro-Fibrous Armor. (Auto-Distributed) Now with this configuration my Mech was at 74.5 Tons out of a maximum of 75 Tons so it came out pretty well, now if you'll notice, I decide to nest the medium lasers in one arm and nest the large lasers in the other arm when I could have balanced them out between the 2, well this decision was made because it's easier to hit the very thin legs of an Owens when all of your lasers are grouped in the same side of the Mech, try placing 2 medium pulse lasers in one side and the others on the opposing side and try to fire at the legs of the Owens so you can see what I mean, it makes aiming a whole lot easier. Of course with this configuration, I made Arm sway aiming more difficult for the beginner pilot since he'd have to do a lot more footwork if he wanted to hit someone in his left side with the large pulse lasers, the way I nested the weapons may seem rather impractical now but once you get used to arm sway aiming, it becomes quite easy to have nested weapons and use arm sway aiming effectively. The first weapon group contains the Medium Pulse Lasers, the second weapon group contains the Large Pulse Lasers, the third group contains the SSRM6, and the fourth and last group contains the LRM10, I then jumped into the scenario and tested for heat dissipation problems but did not find any, even when using an Alpha strike, after testing the configuration and finding no problems whatsoever, I went back to the Mech Lab and saved my new configuration with the name `Alternate E` so I could use it at a later time. When creating new configurations, you need a little patience and a lot of common sense, for example if you can't seem to fit all of the weapons you'd like, simply lower the engines' rating until you can fit everything in, if you're going to equip your Mech with any non-instant hit weapons then make sure you equip your Mech with a targeting computer… Etc. Etc. Just remember: Common sense, there are many more combinations to try besides the one I just created, for example you can take an Annihilator chassis and turn it into a walking shotgun by adding numerous LB-X AutoCannons, you'll be able to virtually obliterate anything that gets in the way as long as you have enough ammunition in your MFB for reloads. One last thing to keep in mind, light Mechs weren't designed to carry a lot of weapons, although you may be able to fit 4 medium pulse lasers in a Bushwacker, it only has a very limited number of heat sinks available so this many lasers will most likely overheat the Mech every time you try to fire in Linked mode, you'll probably fare better by equipping light Mechs with few energy weapons, and combine them with projectile based weapons for that added extra bit of damage. 3c.- Arming your Lancemates Again, you should use common sense when deciding what to give your Lancemates, for example if your Mech is a powerhouse that can pound any Mech from short ranges into dust, but has problems defending against enemy Mechs that act like snipers or missile Mechs that pound you with missiles from a distance, you should definitely give your Lancemate long range capabilities and let him handle those pesky sniper Mechs, for this you will probably want to equip your Lancemates' Mech with PPCs, Large ER lasers, LRM20s and Gauss Rifles, of course you will need to master the Lance Command Screen so your Lancemates can function better and provide you the maximum amount of help possible. So to recap, if your Mech lacks a certain something, then give your Lancemate a Mech that will complement your Mech in battle, and perhaps assign a third Lancemate with a Mech with short to medium range combat capabilities and assign him to defend your `Sniper` Lancemate in case you are distracted and your Sniper Lancemate gets into a battle He's not equipped to deal with. As a small reminder, remember that when a Mech is equipped with the Artemis IV Fire Control System, it will enhance the tracking ability of any missiles it fires, so you should equip one of this if you are planning on having your Lancemate do a lot of missile sniping. 3d.- Mech Statistics Annihilator: Inner Sphere Mech. Formerly believed to be a design nearly exclusive to the enigmatic Wolf Dragoon's mercenary company (now known to be a splinter group of Clan Wolf, which may make the design of Clan origin), the Annihilator is a formidable, heavily armored, short- to medium-range powerhouse. One noted weakness is that many of its various configurations rely too heavily on ammunition-based weapons, thereby making them harder to support in the field. Chassis: Star League MN-01 Power Plant: Nissan 200 Cruising Speed: 22 kph Maximum Speed: 32 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Starshield Special-b Communications System: Garret T19-G Targeting and Tracking System: Wasat Aggressor Type 5 Weapons System: 4 LB 10-X Cannons 4 Medium Pulse Lasers Avatar: Inner Sphere Mech. After repulsing a vicious Clan assault on their capital world of Luthien in 3051, Draconis Combine forces were able to salvage numerous Clan OmniMechs. Study and evaluation of these captured units led to a technological breakthrough: Inner Sphere OmniMechs. One of the first of this new breed to be developed was the Avatar, based heavily on the Clan Vulture design. Heavily armed and armored, the new OmniMech can stand toe to toe with many Clan and most Inner Sphere designs of similar size. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 280 XL Cruising Speed: 43 kph Maximum Speed: 65 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Luthien Armor Works Armor Source: Standard with case Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 2 Medium Lasers 2 Machine Guns 2 Medium Pulse lasers LB 10-X AC Autocannon 2 lrm 10s Artemis IV fcs Blackhawk: Inner Sphere Mech. The Black Hawk is capable of many tasks, but excels at none. Though versatile, powerful and maneuverable, the Black Hawk cannot match the power of heavier 'Mechs or the maneuverability of lighter Mechs. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 250 XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86 kph Jump Jets: 150 Meters Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 12 ER Medium Lasers Bushwacker: Inner Sphere Mech. Work on the Bushwacker actually began before the Clan invasion, but was delayed and nearly canceled due to problems caused by the chassis' unusual shape. The entrance of the Clans solved that problem, as designers found the answers to their problems in captured Clan Vulture schematics. The revamped Bushwacker began full production in 3053 and is already a common sight in Inner Sphere units guarding the Clan border. Chassis: Earthwerks GRF Power Plant: Hermes Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: TharHes Industries Armor Source: Kallon Unity Weave Ferro-Fibrous with case Communications System: TharHes euterpe HM-14 Targeting and Tracking System: TharHes Ares-8a Weapons System: 1 autocannon 10 2 lrm 5s ER Large Laser 2 Machine Guns Cauldron Born: Clan Mech Clan Name: Cauldron Born A very new design first seen during the Clan assault on Luthien, the Cauldron-Born is generally seen only among the Smoke Jaguars. Inner Sphere opponents named it after the unstoppable zombies of Irish myth, because of its ability to sustain massive damage and still remain operational. The heavy OmniMech mounts a veritable arsenal of weaponry as well, one of the major reasons for its success on Luthien. Chassis: Endo Steel Power Plant: 325XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Ferro-fibrous Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: ER Medium Laser Gauss Rifle LB-5X AC Autocannon SRM 2 Lrm 10 Champion: Inner Sphere Mech. The Champion is quite a venerable design, reaching peak production during the heyday of the original Star League. Few examples of the once popular 'Mech survived the Succession Wars; most of those that did are in the hands of ComStar or the Clans. The Champion's main assets are its speed and weapons payload — despite being as fast as many medium 'Mechs, the Champion mounts an impressive weapons selection. The price of this was relatively poor armor protection, one of the major reasons that few of these designs survive today. Chassis: Bergan xi Power Plant: Vlar 300 Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: no Version Manufacturer: Bergan Industries Armor Source: 2/Star Slab Ferro- Fibrous Communications System: Garret T-11C Targeting and Tracking System: Mercury-IV with Artemis IV FCS Weapons System: srm 6 2 medium lasers 2 small Lasers LB 10-X Cannon Artemis IVFCS Daishi: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Dire Wolf. Though supposedly named Daishi (Great Death) by a member of the Draconis Combine's criminal underworld, the name seems particularly apt. No 'Mech is bigger or deadlier. Though the left shoulder mount augments the firepower, it is the bundles of lasers, autocannon and other arm pod weapons that make the Daishi most fearsome. In most configurations, the heat buildup is tremendous. The Daishi is, nevertheless, an assault 'Mech in the purest sense, able to wade through almost any other defense. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 300 XL Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph Maximum Speed: 54 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 2 Ultra-5 AC Autocannons 4 Medium Pulse Lasers 4 ER Large lasers LRM 10 Firefly: Inner Sphere Mech. Like the Annihilator, the Firefly is almost never found outside the Wolf's Dragoons. The Dragoons use it as a scout 'Mech, utilizing its fair speed and jump capability to discover enemies and provide targeting information for artillery. As a recon design, the Firefly carries few weapons, though it has enough to protect itself if discovered performing its mission. To increase its survivability, designers gave it the most armor a 'Mech of its size could carry, something that has saved more than one Firefly. Chassis: Earthwekrs Power Plant: GM 150 Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86 kph Jump Jets: 120 Meters Torso Twist: no Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Datcom 18 Targeting and Tracking System: Radcom TXX Weapons System: 3 medium lasers lrm 5 Anti-Missile System Mad Cat: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Timber Wolf. The Mad Cat was the first OmniMech to appear in the Inner Sphere. Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the Inner Sphere Catapult, its advanced technology and superior weapons put an end to any comparisons. Capable of laying down a punishing barrage of weapons fire at any range, the Mad Cat has become all but synonymous with the Clans and their assault against the Inner Sphere. Chassis: Endo Steel Power Plant: 375 XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 2 Machine Guns 2 ER medium lasers medium pulse laser 2 ER large lasers 2 LRM 20s Orion: Inner Sphere Mech. The Orion is an ancient BattleMech design. Created by the long gone Terran Hegemony as the first truly heavy 'Mech, the Orion has acted as the brute force of major offensives for over 500 years. Even today, the Orion is still a formidable 'Mech. The longevity of the Orion is due to the simple, yet efficient placement of systems within the roomy chassis of the 'Mech. Techs enjoy working on Orions, marveling at the ease of finding and replacing bad components. Chassis: Kali Yama Power Plant: VLAR 300 XL Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: varies Armor Source: varies Communications System: Irian Orator 5ki-10j Targeting and Tracking System: Wasat Aggressor type 5 Weapons System: LB 10-x Cannon SRM 4 LRM 20 2 Medium Lasers Narc Beacon Owens: Inner Sphere Mech. With the development of OmniMech technology in the Inner Sphere, the Draconis Combine began updating old designs. The aging Jenner, the Combine's perpetual scout 'Mech, was upgraded and refitted, resulting in the Owens. Developers filled the new design with upgraded technology for scouting and improved upon the old Jenner's already impressive speed. This makes the new OmniMech a formidable recon unit, but leaves little space for weaponry; on its own, the Owens lacks combat effectiveness. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 280 XL Cruising Speed: 86 kph Maximum Speed: 130 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Luthien Armor Works Armor Source: standard Communications System: C3 Network Targeting and Tracking System: Beagle Active Probe with Tag Weapons System: TAG C3 Slave Beagle Active Probe Medium laser 2 small lasers 2 lrm 5s Puma: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Adder. With exceptional ferocity for a light 'Mech, this design was code-named `Puma` when first encountered in the Inner Sphere. Though fast enough for scouting missions, the Puma can stand up to many Inner Sphere medium 'Mechs. It has exceptional firepower for a light 'Mech, surprising many MechWarriors® in the Inner Sphere the first time they face the design. Chassis: Endo Steel Power Plant: 210 XL Cruising Speed: 64.8 kph Maximum Speed: 97.2 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Ferro-fibrous Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: Flamer 2 ER PPCs Targeting Computer Shadow Cat: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Shadow Cat. Though nominally a recon unit, the Shadow Cat is deadly in any capacity. High speed and jump capability, combined with speed boosting technology, make the OmniMech extremely maneuverable. In addition, it mounts extensive armor protection and quite a bit of advanced Clan weaponry, making the Shadow Cat an all-around solid design. Many Inner Sphere MechWarriors® have paid the price for underestimating this deadly 'Mech—it is fully capable of destroying Inner Sphere 'Mechs twice its size. Chassis: Endo Steel Power Plant: 270 XL Cruising Speed: 65 kph Maximum Speed: 97 kph Jump Jets: 187 Meters Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Ferro-fibrous Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: Gauss Rifle 2 ER Medium lasers Active Probe Strider: Inner Sphere Mech. Drawing primarily on the aging Cicada design, this new OmniMech is solid, if uninspired. Utilizing a bulky and heavy standard engine kept costs down, but gave the designers few options. They chose to generalize, giving the Strider adequate armor protection, a decent speed for a medium 'Mech and a small array of weaponry. By trying to do too many things, it stretches itself too thin: the Strider is truly a jack-of-all- trades, but a master of none. Chassis: Endo Steel Power Plant: 240 Standard Cruising Speed: 65 kph Maximum Speed: 97 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Luthien Armor Works Armor Source: Standard with Case Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: small laser 2 srm 6s Beagle Active probe Artemis IV FCS Sunder: Inner Sphere Mech. The largest of the new Inner Sphere OmniMechs, the Sunder is loosely based on the Clan Loki and Thor designs. Delays brought on by technological failures and stress problems with the chassis made this one of the last OmniMechs to see full-scale production. Once it was put in service, though, it quickly became evident that the new design compared favorably with most other Inner Sphere assault 'Mechs. The inferior quality of its Inner Sphere weaponry, however, makes the Sunder no real match for Clan 'Mechs of equivalent size. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 360 XL Cruising Speed: 43 kph Maximum Speed: 65 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Luthien Armor Works Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: AC/20 Autocannon 2 medium lasers 2 large Lasers 3 SRM 4s Supernova: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Supernova. Known as the `big brother` of the Clan Black Hawk OmniMech, the Supernova is a frightening monument to the Clans' range advantage. Mounted on a heavily armored chassis is a blistering array of extended- range lasers, fully capable of destroying an Inner Sphere 'Mech before it can get close enough to fire its weapons. It does have some heat-dissipation problems, however, which reduce its available firepower from time to time. Though slow, the Supernova is jump-capable, making it maneuverable enough to easily find good firing positions. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 270 Standard Cruising Speed: 32 kph Maximum Speed: 54 kph Jump Jets: 90 Meters Torso Twist: no Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Standard Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 6 ER Large lasers Thor: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Summoner The Thor's main advantages over other heavy designs are its mobility and its devastating short- and medium-range capability. This is true in virtually all configurations; though the Thor may be less powerful than some designs and less quick than others, it is a successful blend of firepower and mobility. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 350 XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph Jump Jets: 150 Meters Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Ferro-Fibrous Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: lb 10-x autocannon ER PPC LRM 15 Vulture: Clan Mech. Clan Name: Mad Dog. In its primary configuration, the Vulture serves mostly as a fire-support 'Mech. Many MechWarriors have remarked at the sense of foreboding they felt upon looking up to see a Vulture perched on a ridge, firing its long-range missile racks into the battle below. Should the Vulture injure an enemy at long range, it can use its laser weapons to finish off its foe. Chassis: Standard Power Plant: 300 XL Cruising Speed: 54 kph Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph Jump Jets: None Torso Twist: yes Arm Swing: yes Version Manufacturer: Unknown Armor Source: Ferro-Fibrous Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown Weapons System: 2 medium pulse lasers 2 large pulse lasers 2 lrm 20s 4.- Preliminary Mission Walkthroughs: I will now walk you through the first 2 operation zones, please note that these are not intended to be used as `Full Walkthroughs`, Full Walkthroughs will be written at a later time when this document is considered `Finished` by the author, I will be providing even more detailed information such as maps, and step by step indications for all of the operational zones and missions, it will be the second text released. 4a.- Mission 1 Op Zone 1 Enemies to look out for: Expect to see a number of APCs and a light Mech towards the end of the mission, be on the look out for various missile towers dotted along the landscape. General Degree of Difficulty: Very Easy. You start your campaign to escape from the planet in a Bushwacker Mech standing in the ocean looking towards the shore and a small town, begin by walking towards the town until you come to a path, now turn to bearing 240 and follow the path, you will come across 2 APCs eventually so select that ER Laser and destroy the tanks, after the tanks are gone keep following the path until you get more red dots in your radar, stop and target them, they are turrets so it'll be easy sniping them using the ER laser and your Zoom mode, once the turrets have been eliminated proceed following the path until you come to a bridge, the bridge will be destroyed, however there's a slope which you can use to climb up to the plateau, be wary for there is a light enemy Mech up here, go for it's legs using the ER Laser, then switch to your Autocannon, repeat until the Mech is defeated, there are more missile turrets here so destroy them before they can fire at you, once the turrets and the enemy Mech are gone, point your weapons at the Comm Satellite here and destroy it, once that is done follow the path to where your MFB is awaiting. This is the end of this mission. 4b.- Mission 2 Op Zone 1 Enemies to Look for: A Light Owens Mech, A Strider Light Mech, various Bulldogs and APCs, and 2 heavy missiles towers. General Degree of Difficulty: Easy. At the start of the mission, go around the MFBs and go down the path in front of you, you will meet 2 APCs and an Owens along the way so watch yourself, now press Shift-R to call up your map display and examine the map, in the upper left corner of the map are 2 heavy missile launchers that will pepper you from the distance with missiles, what you must do is use the missile towers' blind spot, keep going along the path until you come to a mountain range, this mountain will cover you from the missile towers, hug the mountain and begin turning right until you are facing bearing 220, keep going until you come to another mountain and turn to face West, keep going, you may be threatened by a number of APCs off to your far right.. Ignore them for now and keep going, you will eventually be encountered with 2 Bulldog tanks, destroy these, keep going until you come to another mountain, here turn to face North and keep going, you should see a slope going up into a plateau and the first heavy missile tower, destroy it, once it has been destroyed move on to the second and destroy it also, you may be harassed by a pair of Bulldogs by now so watch out, once the towers have been destroyed head down the East road, across the bridge and into the barracks, you must destroy all of the tanks and the Light Strider Mech to capture the barracks and complete the mission. 4c.- Mission 3 Op Zone 1 Enemies to Look for: A Light Firefly Mech, A Light Strider Mech, A Medium Bushwacker Mech, a number of missile turrets, a number of Bulldogs. General Degree of Difficulty: Medium. At the start, begin by turning to bearing 303 and follow the road, there's an incoming Firefly Mech so be wary, follow the winding road down but keep your eyes peeled for Bulldogs which you can take out from a distance, keep moving along the road until you come to a cluster of buildings, there's a Light Strider Mech prowling about, also there are a number of missile bunkers in range so switch to your ER Laser and make short work of them, once you have taken care of the enemy threat look at the cluster of buildings and fire at the support pillars to knock the buildings down, you will receive a confirmation after you have completely totaled the building. After you have destroyed it, keep heading down the path, there are missile bunkers and Bulldogs scattered about so destroy them from a distance while you have the chance, keep going down the path until you come to a bridge, cross the bridge and prepare yourself for a difficult battle. There is a Commander prowling about in a Bushwacker. Here are the stats on the Bushwackers' Weapon systems: Weapons System: 1 autocannon 10 2 lrm 5s ER Large Laser 2 Machine Guns you must use caution when engaging the enemy Mech, note that the Autocannon is quite deadly to you, so you may want to try shooting the weapon off the enemy Mech before you attempt to destroy it, you should try to disable one of it's legs so you can later salvage the Bushwacker chassis for later use, after you beat the Commander, locate a cluster of buildings that is in the area and use the same tactic you used to destroy the previous cluster, attack the support pillars, once you have received confirmation of the buildings' destruction continue down the path and head to nav point Charlie, there are a few missile turrets so snipe them before you arrive at nav point Charlie, once you arrive order your MFB to proceed to nav point Charlie, once they arrive the mission will end in success. 4d.- Mission 4 Op Zone 1 Enemies to Look for: A Medium Blackhawk Mech, A Light Firefly Mech, A Owens Light Mech, A Light Strider Mech, A Medium Orion Mech. General Degree of Difficulty: Medium. From the start, turn right and follow the path all the way to a bridge, cross the bridge and enter the town, be ready for an encounter with a new Black Hawk Mech, weapon systems are as follows: Weapons System: 12 ER Medium Lasers The 12 ER lasers may seem intimidating, but fortunately for you, the Mech cannot fire all of it's lasers without overheating, so just concentrate your fire on it's legs and you should have little or no problem defeating it, there is also a Light Firefly Mech, try not to let the 2 Mechs gang up on you, use the buildings in the town to separate the 2 Mechs so you can fight them one at a time, after you have defeated both Mechs, target the `Greenhouse` buildings and destroy them, at this point Dominic Paine should be arriving, Paine is one of your Lancemates and has a very capable Shadow Cat Mech, one thing to note is that Dominic carries a Gauss Rifle on his Mech so leave sniper duties to him, now look around until you see a large building in the water, this is the Power Station which you must destroy, when you have destroyed it, locate the road and follow it to nav point Charlie, your last objective is located in an island which is accessible either by crossing a large body of water, or by using 2 bridges protected by a few missile turrets, either way you choose you will have to face an Owens, a Strider and a heavier Mech you have not faced before, the Orion. Weapons System: LB 10-x Cannon SRM 4 LRM 20 2 Medium Lasers Narc Beacon Be very wary of that LB 10X Autocannon, it will tear you to shreds if it hit you, you should probably try taking the 3 enemy Mechs from a distance, or engage them while underwater, the LB10X cannon won't fire underwater so you will have the advantage, if you must engage the Orion in ground combat, definitely try to shoot the LB10X cannon off or you'll find yourself getting knocked down a lot, remember to use your Lancemate, when you defeat the Orion, locate and destroy the 2 Laser towers and the Factory, destroy them both to accomplish your mission. 4e.- Mission 1 Op Zone 2 Enemies to Look for: A Light Firefly Mech, 2 Light Owens Mechs, A Medium Shadow Cat Mech, A Medium Thor Mech, 4 Elemental Troops, Several Turrets and 4 tanks. General Degree of Difficulty: Hard. Be wary right from the start, You will be attacked by 4 tanks from the West and a Light Firefly Mech from the South, order your Lancemate to go for the Firefly while you take care of the tanks, protect your MFBs at all costs! After the threat has been eliminated, deploy your MFBs and repair your Mech in case you are damaged, order your Lancemate also if He sustained damage, after repairs are done make your way South, you should see a broken down wall with 2 turrets, one on either side, destroy these turrets and check your radar because there is a Owens Light Mech approaching from the South, once the Owens is destroyed, go through the broken down wall and snipe the 2 turrets in your front, you will soon be attacked by 4 Elemental troops, destroy them, then you will likely be attacked by an Owens Light Mech standing on one of the ramps here, destroy the Mech and repair your Mech because you are about to face another Commander piloting a Thor, here are the stats: Weapons System: lb 10-x autocannon ER PPC LRM 15 This is not going to be an easy fight, the Commander appears from an elevator on one of the structures here, also note that you can get up there by destroying the support pillars in the ramps, this will cause the ramp to break in half and allow you to walk up there, if you are able to lure the Thor to stand under the ramp, you can shoot the pillars so the ramp falls on top of him, this will disable him instantly, if this fails then you should concentrate on shooting his legs to make him fall down, then seize the opportunity and attack him while he's recovering, also note that the Commander has a Lancemate, a Shadow Cat Light Mech, you should take care of the Commander first, since He's too much of a danger to leave unchecked, once you have beaten him, call your MFBs to nav point Baker, this will end the mission in success. 4f.- Mission 2 Op Zone 2 Enemies to Look for: 2 Medium Orion Mechs, A Light Shadow Cat Mech, A Light Bushwacker Mech, A Firefly Light Mech, A Medium Blackhawk Mech, 3 Elemental Troops, various Tanks, Trucks and Turrets. General Degree of Difficulty: Medium. You will be attacked by a Medium Orion Mech and a Shadow Cat Light Mech right from the start, so get ready with your Lancemate, tell him to attack the Orion so the 2 of you can finish it off quickly without risking unrepairable damage from it's LB-10X Cannon, after the Orion is dusted, turn your guns to the Shadow Cat, you and your Lancemate probably sustained damage so order your MFB to deploy and carry out the repair procedure, once you are repaired, turn to heading 255 and follow the path going towards the West exit, after you enter the West Exit you will be attacked by a Bushwacker Mech and a few tanks, watch out for the Bushwackers' Autocannon when you engage it, after the Bushwacker is gone, turn your fire to the trucks and tanks, then turn your guns towards the Docking Stations here, you will receive a confirmation when they are destroyed, once you are done in this area, proceed through the exit here and head towards the enemy Headquarters, there are 3 Elementals patrolling outside, and the HQ itself is protected by turrets and a Firefly Mech so deal with them, once they are gone destroy the Access Elevator to complete this area, now continue heading East, you will meet up with a Blackhawk and an Orion Mech, use the same procedure as before, tell your Lancemate to engage the Orion so He'll draw it's fire while you pummel it's legs, take care of it quickly and move on to the Blackhawk, you should have much problem destroying it after the Orion is gone, now you must locate the elevator door, it's a big green hexagonal door, once you find the door, shoot it to knock it down, go inside and locate the elevator, this will end the mission successfully. 4g.- Mission 3 Op Zone 2 Enemies to Look for: 2 Firefly Light Mechs, A Light Strider Mech, Several Light Puma Mechs, A Medium Champion Mech, Some Tanks and APCs and 3 Helicopters. General Degree of Difficulty Hard. From the start, you will be attacked by 2 Firefly Light Mechs and a few tanks, they will attempt to destroy your MFBs so stick close by in case any of the tanks slip by you, once the tanks are dead attack and destroy the Firefly Mechs, locate and destroy the Cargo Lift building that is close by to complete one of your objectives, locate a road and follow it heading towards nav point Baker, You will eventually encounter a Strider Light Mech, dispatch it and proceed down the road until you reach a bridge, the area on the other side of the bridge is populated by Light Puma Mechs, these are very weak when alone, but can be fierce opponents when they are in numbers, beware of their PPCs, these weapons are quite damaging, fortunately they are easy to dodge so simply run circles around the Puma and you should be relatively safe, if the Pumas inflict too much damage, retreat towards your MFB for repairs, there are also 3 Helicopters roaming the area, they shouldn't be too much of a problem with Large Pulse or ER Lasers, once you have taken care of the Pumas make your way to the structures in this area, when you reach them a Champion Mech will appear, here are the Stats: Weapons System: srm 6 2 medium lasers 2 small Lasers LB 10-X Cannon Artemis IVFCS It may seem intimidating, but one important thing to note is that this Mech cannot rotate it's torso and cannot use Arm swaying, so if you use your Lancemate, there shouldn't be too much of a problem dealing with it, once the Champion has been taken care of, jump in the water and locate a tunnel, this tunnel will lead you to nav point Charlie, follow the tunnel to Charlie and you will have completed this mission. 4h.- Mission 4 Op Zone 2 Enemies to Look for: A Light Owens Mech, 2 Thor Medium Mechs, A Puma Light Mech, an Annihilator Heavy Mech and a single turret. General Degree of Difficulty: Very Hard. This mission is quite challenging to conquer on the first go, so it may take a couple of tries before you get it, from the start proceed down the West tunnel and follow it, there is an Owens Mech guarding the exit of the tunnel here, try to destroy it as it tries to escape because you'll encounter heavy opposition here, so the less Mechs you have to worry about, the better, regardless of whether you destroyed it or not there are 2 Thor Mechs waiting for you when you exit the tunnel, fortunately they are separated from each other so you can assign your Lancemate to attack one while you attack the other, deal heavy damage to incapacitate it as quickly as possible, when you are done with him go help your Lancemate with the other Thor, when you destroy the second Thor, turn your guns towards the support pillars that are holding a ramp up, this ramp contains all of the machines you must destroy, you also need to destroy the ramp to go up into your second objective, after you've destroyed the ramp conduct repairs first, once you are ready head up the ramp and take out the turret guarding the entrance to the Mech factory, locate the door and fire your weapons at it causing it to break, go inside and proceed down the corridor, the Mech factory is dead ahead, you will need to engage a Puma here, and one of the most feared Mechs: An Annihilator, here are it's weapon specs: Weapons System: 4 LB 10-X Cannons 4 Medium Pulse Lasers As you can see, the Annihilator is armed to the teeth with LB 10X Autocannons, you will need to order your Lancemate to attack it, if the Annihilator manages to knock you down, it will most likely tear you apart while you are recovering, so you must rely heavily on you Lancemate to draw it's fire while you recover, you should try to cause him to fall by shooting at it's legs, that will give you the upper hand, if you manage to survive this fierce battle you must then train your guns towards the Mech factory and destroy it, thereby ending the mission and granting you a second Lancemate: Epona Rhi. 5.- Epilogue: Well, this is all I can teach you with words, fellow Mechwarrior, and unless I carry you through each of the missions by hand, the time has come for you to employ the knowledge I just provided and practice, no amount of words will ever make you a great pilot, if you still have trouble finishing all of the campaign missions, then head into Instant Action and practice, fight more and more powerful Mechs, in no time You'll be able to take on an entire Lance of Mechs by yourself, with perseverance, anything can be accomplished. If you'd like more information on Battletech based games, point your browser to www.dropshipcommand.com/default.htm, this page is an excellent resource for Mechwarrior news. If You'd like to contact me, feel free to e-mail me at vulkan4@hotmail.com, but don't expect a quick reply since I don't check my mail all that often, my regular e-mail address is currently down so I have to use this Hotmail account, I'd say give it a few months and then you can start to get worried about me. My regular e-mail address is vulkan@pixelnet.penguinpowered.com, feel free to try and send me a e-mail, perhaps by the time you read this everything will be sorted out with the pop3 server. Happy hunting, and thank you for reading. -Moises `Vulkan` Sanchez.