MECHWARRIOR 4: VENGEANCE WALKTHROUGH by Briareos Kerensky (briareos@inwind.it, briareos_CWE), ver 3.X 16/10/2002 Table of Contents 1-Disclaimer 2-Update History 3-History Briefing 4-Weapons Briefing 5-'Mechs Briefing 6-Vehicles and Misc Enemies Briefing 7-Lancemates briefing 8-How to costumize a 'Mech 9-General Tactics 10-Multiplayer Tactics 11-Walkthrough 12-Cheats 13-Patches 14-Custom 'Mechs 15-Differences between MechWarrior 4 and BattleTech 16-Credits and misc ************ 1-DISCLAIMER ************ All names and marks are property of their respective owners; this document is copyright of Briareos Kerensky: unauthorized reproduction of this document as it is or in part is forbidden; to ask authorization send a mail to me (briareos@inwind.it). Do not send mails asking CD keys or other personal codes which changes with every CD package: every softhouse has its own way to use these keys, and I won't deny myself the possibility to play online a game only because someone has "lost the package" or "the package is corrupted". If some sections have cheats in them which includes alteration of hex codes, renaming files, creation of new ones, I will not answer of HD formatting, lost datas, World Wars, nuclear explosions, invocation of demons of any kind or any other damage derived from those operations. I'm Italian, so do not pay attention to the many mistakes I'll do in spelling, grammar construction and so on. Now have fun. **************** 2-UPDATE HISTORY **************** 16/10/2002-version 3.X. More submissions, corrections and updates. 13/10/2002-version 3.0. Corrections and submissions. 9/1/2002-version 2.1. Added Custom 'Mechs section, for everyone wanting to submit his or her Configs. 9/12/2001-version 2.0a. Final version (this one's the real). Some corrections throughout the document. I want MW4:Black Knight. 30/11/2001-version 2.0. Final version. All uncompleted sections completed (most notably walkthrough, with the final mission and General Tactics). 14/11/2001-version 1.6. Operation 6 completed. Other sections started and/or completed. 12/11/2001-version 1.4. Operation 3, 4 and 5 completed. How to Costumize your 'Mech section started and completed. Some revisions throughout the document. Added Operation names (hoping that they're right translations). 100 Kbs reached and passed. 9/11/2001-version 1.2. Corrected some mistakes, other sections started and walkthrough continued up to Operation 3. 8/11/2001-version 1.0. Finally the game is out here too! Leader moved the publication of MW4 after X'mas and I had to buy a PC powerful enough...History, 'Mech, other basic sections on line plus operation one. In fact, the game was out well before the publication of this document (I completed the MechCommander 2 walktrhough even before starting this one!), but stability problems kept me away from the game...BTW, here it is, my MW4 walkthrough! ****************** 3-HISTORY BRIEFING ****************** In 3028 Prince Hanse Davion, ruler of the Federated Suns marries Melissa Steiner, Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth; as gift, Hanse Davion promises the Capellan Confederation, starting the Fourth Succession War; the Capellan Confederation will lose most of its territories, and the newly formed Federated Commonwealth is now the most powerful Successor State. After this war the Inner Sphere lives a moment of realtve peace, only when in 3050 the Clan arrives to conquer the Inner Sphere. In 3052 Comstar won the Battle of Tukayyid, giving to the Inner Sphere a peace long 15 years. However internal contrasts are hard to die; in 3052 Hanse Davion dies of an heart attack, and in 3055 Melissa Steiner is assasinated. In 3056 Victor Steiner-Davion moves to rule the Federated Commonwealth as the Archon-Prince; his sister, Katherine Steiner Davion decides that the old Lyran Commonwealth will no longer be part of the Federated Commonwealth, changes her name to Katrina and secedes for his borther's realm. Victor Davion is busy in recreating the Star League, to defeat the Clans; to show the new League power, the Inner Sphere leaders plan the annihilation of the Smoke Jaguars; in months the Clan is annihilated by Clan rules; the Clans are astonished, though hostilities would propably restart soon. In the Lyran part of the Federated Commonwealth Victor loyalists are subverted or killed, including the Dresari family...you are Ian Dresari, the only surviving member of this noble family and decide to move revenge against Katrina Steiner for this secession. ********************* 4-WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY ********************* Before the description of every single weapon and equipment, here is a brief description of the categories. MW4 introduces the concept of weapon bays: a certain weapon bay can accept only determinated types of weapons (energy bays=energy weapons only and so on), though Omni bays can accept every kind of weapon. Note that these bays are also limited by dimensions, so not all weapons will fit in a given type of hardpoint. This makes the configuration of "official" 'Mechs somewhat different from how are knew by BT player. + Energy weapons (red): energy weapons uses massive amounts of electricty produced by the 'Mech's reactor, and they can be fired without ammunition problems. This advantage is balanced by the large amounts of waste heat that they produce: the only way to dissipate this heat is to mount extra heat sinks, which compensates for their relatively light mass and compactness. Range and firepower increases in proportion. + Ballistic weapons (yellow): these weapons must be fed by ammunition: this limits the times the weapon can be fired, and ammunitions explode when struck by weapon fire. They do not produce large amounts of heat, but are bulky and weight a lot. Lighter models have a longer range but less firepower; heavier models have more firepower than range, and carries less ammo. + Missile weapons (green): like ballistic weapons they use ammunitions, and each launcher fire a specified number of missiles in a single salvo. Missiles are explosive, and they produce moderate amounts of heat. Damage is spread among the whole target, and not concentrated like other weapons. + Equipment: this category contains the larger variety of accessories a 'Mech can mount. They include alternative type of armors, heat sinks and EW (Electronic Warfare) suites. ------------------ --ENERGY WEAPONS-- ------------------ STANDARD/ER LASER: Lasers fire a beam of coherent light, producing damage through the extreme temperatures that the beam reaches; standard lasers have a medium/short range but the ER version has longer ranges, especially in their Clan versions; in fact, the Clan ER Medium Lasers have a range value roughly equivalent to the Inner Sphere standard Large Laser; ER versions have a greater heat value but maintain the same damage values; Medium and ER Medium are good back up weapons for every kind of 'Mech. Name: LARGE LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 600 meters Damage: 7,5 Heat: 5 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 2 Weight: 5 tons Name: MEDIUM LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 300 meters Damage: 1,2 Heat: 0,6 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 1 tons Name: SMALL LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 150 meters Damage: 0,30 Heat: 0,10 Recycle rate: 1 Size: 1 Weight: 0,5 tons Name: ER LARGE LASER Technology: Clan Range: 800 meters Damage: 8 Heat: 8 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 2 Weight: 4 tons Name: ER MEDIUM LASER Technology: Clan Range: 400 meters Damage: 1,5 Heat: 1,2 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 1 tons Name: ER SMALL LASER Technology: Clan Range: 200 meters Damage: 0,35 Heat: 0,2 Recycle rate: 1 Size: 1 Weight: 0,5 tons PULSE LASER: Pulse Lasers fire a stream of four laser beams instead of the single one of standard and ER lasers; they produce more heat than standard lasers but the amount generated is equivalent to ER lasers (both versions); it is possible to "walk" this prolonged beam, making hitting a single target easier, and have a very low recharge time, making them efficient at close range. Clan versions have a longer range, roughly the 50% more of Inner Sphere versions. Name: LARGE PULSE LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 600 meters Damage: 2,62 Heat: 1,75 Recycle rate: 1,25 Size: 2 Weight: 7 tons Name: MEDIUM PULSE LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 300 meters Damage: 0,60 Heat: 0,30 Recycle rate: 0,75 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Name: SMALL PULSE LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 150 meters Damage: 0,15 Heat: 0,05 Recycle rate: 0,25 Size: 1 Weight: 1 tons Name: ER LARGE PULSE LASER Technology: Clan Range: 800 meters Damage: 3 Heat: 3 Recycle rate: 1,25 Size: 2 Weight: 6 tons Name: ER MEDIUM PULSE LASER Technology: Clan Range: 400 meters Damage: 0,75 Heat: 0,60 Recycle rate: 0,75 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Name: ER SMALL PULSE LASER Technology: Clan Range: 200 meters Damage: 0,27 Heat: 0,12 Recycle rate: 0,25 Size: 1 Weight: 1,5 tons STANDARD/ER PPC: the PPC fires particles. Both versions produces high amounts of heat, and and among the most powerful weapons (in fact, the Clan version is the most powerful weapon in this game) in this game; the "projectiles" are fast, but slower the laser ones; they pass AC shells and missiles and matches Gauss' ones, however. They are extremely bulky though the Clan version is lighter. The standard version (available only to Inner Sphere units) has a shorter range but produces less heat. Recharge times are long, but it is highly recomended. When hit by PPC fire, a 'Mech will suffer a limited short-circuit. Name: PPC Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 750 meters Damage: 10 Heat: 10 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 3 Weight: 7 tons Name: ER PPC Technology: Clan Range: 900 meters Damage: 14 Heat: 15 Recycle rate: 8 Size: 3 Weight: 6 tons FLAMER: the flamer taps hot gases directly from the reactor, creating an hot stream of flames; the flamer do not produce too much heat and when the stream hits the target, its heat level will increase, plus creating light damage. If hit, the target will catch fire for about 5 seconds, and it will be illuminated for this period of time; a basically useless weapon, but good if you want to do picnics. Name: FLAMER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 150 meters Damage: 1 Heat: 4 Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 1 tons Name: FLAMER Technology: Clan Range: 150 meters Damage: 1 Heat: 4 Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 0,5 tons BOMBAST LASER: a new Inner Sphere weapon. The Bombast Laser produces lots of heat and weights a lot, and has a dubious firing mechanism: when you press the first time your trigger, the Bombast Laser will begin to charge. A second pression of the trigger will fire the laser. Longer the Laser will charge, more powerful (and more heat-intensive) the beam will be. When fully charged, the Laser will automatically fire. Name: BOMBAST LASER Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 500 meters Damage: 10 (maximum) - 1 (minimum) Heat: 8 (maximum) - 1 (minimum) Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 7 tons --------------------- --BALLISTIC WEAPONS-- --------------------- MACHINE GUNS ARRAY (MG ARRAY): a series of machine guns packed together. The Inner Sphere variant packs three guns while the Clan one four, with the same weight of its Inner Sphere counterpart. They do not do much damage, but have a fast rate of fire and I take a perverse pleasure in firing groups of them. Not worth the weight, however. Name: MACHINE GUN ARRAY Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 150 meters Damage: 0,2 Heat: 0,00 Recycle rate: 0,30 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 450 Name: MACHINE GUN ARRAY Technology: Clan Range: 200 meters Damage: 0,3 Heat: 0,00 Recycle rate: 0,3 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 600 STANDARD AUTOCANNON (AC): ACs fire a stream of high-velocity projectiles toward a single target. In MW4 standard ACs come only in 2, 5 and 10 types: the 5 model has a good range sacrificing firepower, while the 10 model has twice the punch of its smaller brother but keeps a decent range. The 5 model holds 120 rounds in a single ton and the 10 model only 36. The Clans use Ultra and LB-X ACs, they do not have standard ACs. Name: AC/2 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 900 meters Damage: 2 Heat: 0,1 Recycle rate: 1 Size: 1 Weight: 8 tons Ammo per ton: 240 Name: AC/5 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 600 meters Damage: 5 Heat: 0,2 Recycle rate: 1,5 Size: 1 Weight: 8 tons Ammo per ton: 120 Name: AC/10 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 400 meters Damage: 9 Heat: 0,60 Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 13 tons Ammo per ton: 36 LB-X SCATTERSHOT: shotgun-like ACs: rather than directing a single stream of projectile toward a single area of the target, an LB-X rounds will reproduce a cluster effect on the whole enemy, maximizing the possibility to score head or critical hits. Not enough, the damage increases as the target closes range; the damage value is indicated after the AC type (LB 20-X: 20 damage points) and it's the damage the AC will allocate if it strikes at close range. Inner Sphere units haven't access to LB-X technology; Clan ACs come in 10 and 20 models. Name: LBX AC 10 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 450 meters Damage: 14 (maximum) Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 12 tons Ammo per ton: 36 Name: LBX AC 20 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 300 meters Damage: 24 (maximum) Heat: 2 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 3 Weight: 15 tons Ammo per ton: 20 Name: LBX AC 10 Technology: Clan Range: 450 meters Damage: 14 Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 4 Size: 2 Weight: 10 tons Ammo per ton: 36 Name: LBX AC 20 Technology: Clan Range: 300 meters Damage: 24 Heat: 2 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 3 Weight: 12 tons Ammo per ton: 20 ULTRA AUTOCANNON: the Ultra ACs do not fire special rounds like the LB-X ACs, but can fire a stream of projectiles roughly comparable to two standard ACs' ones. This doubles the damage of the stream, but also eats ammunition in a faster rate. Ultra ACs are in use in both factions, in two models: 2 (with 240 ammunitions per ton) and 5 (120 ammunitions per ton). Name: Ultra AC/5 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 600 meters Damage: 4 Heat: 0,15 Recycle rate: 1,5 Size: 1 Weight: 10 tons Ammo per ton: 120 Name: Ultra AC/2 Technology: Clan Range: 900 meters Damage: 2 Heat: 0,11 Recycle rate: 1 Size: 1 Weight: 6 tons Ammo per ton: 240 Name: Ultra AC/5 Technology: Clan Range: 600 meters Damage:4 Heat: 0,15 Recycle rate: 1,5 Size: 1 Weight: 8 tons Ammo per ton: 120 LIGHT/STANDARD GAUSS RIFLE: a ballistic version of the PPC; with this translation the Gauss got lower temperatures and limited ammo supplies, but kept its high damage value. The Inner Sphere version of the Rifle is heavier but has the same damage and range values of the Clan version. The projectile is fast and reliable, and has average reciclying capabilities. A good choice as ballistic for Omni 'Mech's main weapon. Name: GAUSS RIFLE Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 800 meters Damage: 17 Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 8 Size: 3 Weight: 16 tons Ammo per ton: 24 Name: GAUSS RIFLE Technology: Clan Range: 800 meters Damage: 17 Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 8 Size: 3 Weight: 13 tons Ammo per ton: 24 Name: LIGHT GAUSS RIFLE Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1200 meters Damage: 12 Heat: 0,8 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 2 Weight: 13 tons Ammo per ton: 30 LONG TOM: this Long Tom is not the famous artillery cannon, but a smaller version, uselful at shorter ranges; I do not like this weapon as it weights too much and its effects what you expect from a (small) artillery weapon, though it acts like it. The projectile is relatively slow, and describes an arched trajectory and when hits the ground, it explodes with a relatively large strike; the projectile's slowness make difficult to target fast-moving enemies. Better to use Gauss Rifles or PPCs. Name: LONG TOM Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 700 meters Damage: 25 Heat: 25 Recycle rate: 7 Size: 3 Weight: 20 tons Ammo per ton: 18 ------------------- --MISSILE WEAPONS-- ------------------- LONG RANGE MISSILE (LRM): Long Range Missiles are the only missile type requiring a lock-on onto the target. Well, they do not stricktly require it, but it is better to wait for the lock or the salvo will likely be wasted. When combined to an active NARC beacon, the LRMs will follow the selected target, eventually increasing their maneuverability. LRM racks come in 4 types: 5, 10, 15 or 20 missiles per salvo. All missiles (except Thunderbolts) tend to spread damage along the whole target rather than inflicting a single, devastating blow; also, missiles tend to hit in salvos, so most times not all missiles from a salvo will hit the target. Each ton of ammunition holds 240 missiles. Name: LRM 5 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1000 meters Damage: 4 Heat: 1,2 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 1 Weight: 3 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (48 salvos) Name: LRM 10 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1000 meters Damage: 8 Heat: 2,4 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 1 Weight: 6 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (24 salvos) Name: LRM 15 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1000 meters Damage: 12 Heat: 3 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 2 Weight: 8 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (16 salvos) Name: LRM 20 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1000 meters Damage: 16 Heat: 3,6 Recycle rate: 6 Size:2 Weight: 11 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (12 salvos) Name: LRM 5 Technology: Clan Range: 1000 meters Damage: 4 Heat: 1,2 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (48 salvos) Name: LRM 10 Technology: Clan Range: 1000 meters Damage: 8 Heat: 2,4 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 1 Weight: 3,5 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (24 salvos) Name: LRM 15 Technology: Clan Range: 1000 meters Damage: 12 Heat: 3 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 2 Weight: 4,5 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (16 salvos) Name: LRM 20 Technology: Clan Range: 1000 meters Damage: 16 Heat: 3,6 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 2 Weight: 6 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (12 salvos) SHORT RANGE MISSILE (SRM): these missiles are totally unguided and should be used in WVR (Within Visual Range) combat; they are pretty useless against fast-moving targets if you are not good in anticipating its movements. SRMs come in 3 type: 2, 4 and 6 missiles per salvo. Each ton of ammunition holds 120 missiles. When compared to LRMs, SRMs have twice their firepower but half the range. They are also lighter than LRM launchers. Name: SRM 2 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 250 meters Damage: 2 Heat: 0,4 Recycle rate: 2 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (60 salvos) Name: SRM 4 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 250 meters Damage: 4 Heat: 0,6 Recycle rate: 2 Size: 1 Weight: 3 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (30 salvos) Name: SRM 6 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 250 meters Damage: 6 Heat: 0,8 Recycle rate: 2 Size: 2 Weight: 4 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (20 salvos) STREAK SRM: Streak SRMs are used by Clans only. The Streak SRMs are guided, like LRMs, but do not require a target: when fired the Streak SRMs will search the nearest target and will follow it until they score an hit; note that if you have a terget under your targeting reticule, the missiles will home on it, as well as if you have a locked target; when used with active NARC beacons, the Streak SRMs will go toward the nearest active beacon. As standard SRMs, this advanced version comes in 2, 4 or 6 missiles pack. Each ton of ammunition holds 120 missiles. Name: STREAK SRM 2 Technology: Clan Range: 250 meters Damage: 2,4 Heat: 0,6 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (60 salvos) Name: STREAK SRM 4 Technology: Clan Range: 250 meters Damage: 4,8 Heat: 0,9 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 3 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (30 salvos) Name: STREAK SRM 6 Technology: Clan Range: 250 meters Damage: 7,2 Heat: 1,2 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 2 Weight: 4 tons Ammo per ton: 120 (20 salvos) MEDIUM RANGE MISSILE (MRM): MRMs are fired like standard SRMs, but are a retrofitted version of LRMs: by removing steering thrusters and guidance systems engineers were able to increase the missile/salvo ratio and the ammunition load for single launchers; when compared to LRMs, a MRM bin contains twice as much the missiles. MRMs are fired in 10, 20, 30 or 40 missiles per salvo: the sheer number of missiles is balanced by a relatively slowness of the missiles and the relative difficulty in hitting a mobile target with such weapons. MRMs are not NARC-compatible. Each ton of ammunition holds 240 missiles. Name: MRM 10 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 400 meters Damage: 8 Heat: 2,4 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 1 Weight: 5 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (24 salvos) Name: MRM 20 Technology: Inner Sohere Range: 400 meters Damage: 16 Heat: 4,8 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 2 Weight: 8 tons Ammo per ton: (12 salvos) Name: MRM 30 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 400 meters Damage: 24 Heat: 6 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 2 Weight: 11 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (8 salvos) Name: MRM 40 Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 400 meters Damage: 32 Heat: 7,2 Recycle rate: 5 Size: 3 Weight: 13 tons Ammo per ton: 240 (6 salvos) NARC MISSILE BEACON: The Narc fires an heavily modified missile that delivers special emitters that helps firendly missiles in locking target for a short period of time. Each time that the "Narced" enemy is damaged, the Narc can expire before its time runs out. When locked, it will allows faster lock-on capabilities and improved to-hit chances for LRMs and Streak SRMs. Note that ALL friendly units with Narc-capable missiles will benefit from a "Narced" enemy. Name: NARC Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 450 meters Damage: 0,00 Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 4 tons Ammo per ton: 6 Name: NARC Technology: Clan Range: 600 meters Damage: 0,00 Heat: 1 Recycle rate: 3 Size: 1 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 6 THUNDERBOLT MISSILE (THDRBLT): Unlike all other missiles (Narc excluded), the Thunderbolt is a single, powerful missile. It cannot be shooted down by any kind of AMS, and a single missile is more powerful than an LB-20X or than a Clan ER PPC shot. The main drawback of this weapon is its scarce ammunition per ton ratio, and it is nearly impossible to fight extended battles with the Thunderbolt as main weapon. Thunderbolts are not guided. Name: THUNDERBOLT Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 1000 meters Damage: 28 Heat: 7 Recycle rate: 8 Size: 3 Weight: 14 tons Ammo per ton: 15 FLARE (FLARE): I don't know why the flare is under the missile section...as its name suggests, the flare is used to enlight places with a small white light; if you hit a moving target with a flare, the flare will continue burning even if this enemy moves in water, but will expire in about 15 seconds; also, if you try to launch a Flare when someone (even you) has the Light Amplification off, a single Flare will produce so much light that the Amplification will white-out due to the excessive light in the area; pretty useless, however. Name: FLARE Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 360 meters Damage: 0 Heat: 2 Recycle rate: 2 Size: 1 Weight: 1 tons Ammo per ton: 10 HIGH EXPLOSIVE (EXPLSV): When triggered, the High Explosive will make the 'Mechs reactor collapse. The result will be an explosion augmented by the Explosive's own charge, enough to heavily damage even Assault 'Mechs if triggered at short ranges. Useless in single player, might result useful in multiplayer for suicide tactics. Name: HIGH EXPLOSIVE Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 30 meters Damage: 100 Heat: 0,00 Recycle rate: 2,5 (useless, but it has @_@) Size: 2 Weight: 2 tons Ammo per ton: 1 ARTILLERY BEACON (ARTLRY): Used to signal where the artillery pieces (far, far away from where you are) have to fire. Useless in multiplayer and used only once in single player. Name: ARTILLERY BEACON Technology: Inner Sphere Range: 360 meters Damage: 40 Heat: 5 Recycle rate: 6 Size: 1 Weight: 5 tons Ammo per ton: 2 ------------- --EQUIPMENT-- ------------- FERRO FIBROUS ARMOR: Ferro Fibrous armor is the standard armor compound in MW4. When compared to standard or other compounds, the Ferro Fibrous offer more points per ton (30) and weight less. Ferro Fibrous armor absorbs all kind of damages normally, without bonuses on any kind of weapon. REFLECTIVE ARMOR: Reflective armor is designed to mitigate effects of energy weapons, roughly halving the damage of lasers and PPCs. It provides 20 points per ton; it sufferes a small malus when countering balistic and missile weapons. REACTIVE ARMOR: designed to halve damage of missile weapons, the Reactive armor provides 20 points per tons; it counters balistic weapons in the same way as Ferro-Fibrous and has a small malus against energy weapons. STANDARD INTERNAL STRUCTURE: types of internal structure cannot be changed and are automatically assigned with a specific 'Mech. The standard compound for Internal Structures absorbs damage in the same way of Ferro-Fibrous armor, without any malus but also without any bonus on weight or whatsoever. ENDO STEEL INTERNAL STRUCTURE: Endo Steel compound weights half than a standard compound, but is more prone to recieve damage. ECM and GUARDIAN ECM SUITES: this electronic package is designed to reduce ranges of enemies' sensors. A unit affected by enemy ECM suites (Guardian is the Inner Sphere codename, while the Clans use no particular codenames) will be able to detect units only within 500 meters. One of its side effects is to decrease slightly missiles' lock time. 'Mechs with heat above the 50% will be always detected, even if within friendly ECM radius. Both Suites wieght 1 ton and do not occupy any critical. ACTIVE and BEAGLE ACTIVE PROBES: the Active Probe (Beagle for the Inner Sphere and without codenames for the Clans) is designed to enhace the standard 'Mech sensors. It is capable to greatly decrease missiles' lock time, and capable of partially breaking ECM "bubble". If ECMs and Active Probes are combined togheter, the missiles' lock is about 4 seconds. It also increases radar's maximum range by 200 meters (for a total of 1200 meters). BAPs are capable of detecting shutdown 'Mechs within 100 meters (or at least Matthew Shane says this; he also wrote that he tried with one of his lancemates; I'll have some tests ASAP). Both Probes wieght 1 ton and do not occupy any critical. LIGHT AMPLIFICATION: as you might know, night greatly limits visibility. 'Mechs carry external lights to illuminate the sorrounding environment, but the light also makes them visible and illuminates only a small area in front of the 'Mech. If a 'Mech mounts Light Amplification equipment it can use it to see night-shrouded environments without turning on external lights. Useless in any other kind of condition. There's no difference between Clan and Inner Sphere Amplification equipment: both weight 1 ton and do not occupy any critical. AMS and LASER AMS: AMS stands for Anti Missile System; this sytem will try to shoot down any incoming missile (Thunderbolt excluded). Standard AMS is in use in Inner Sphere units and carries a limited supply of rounds, limiting its effectivness in prolonged battles. Clans developed Laser AMS, a modified Small Pulse Laser with the tracking equipment of the AMS. Though it doesn't expend ammo, it generates large amounts of heat; this system is slightly superior to its Inner Sphere counterpart in shooting down missiles. Note that the AMSes will shoot down only missiles that have a solid lock on you, ignoring all other missiles. Both Systems weight 1.5 tons. JUMP JETS: though 'Mechs have a relatively humanoid shape and are capable of entering terrains otherwise impossible for standard vehicles, environments like cities or mountains can limit their agility. Jump Jets were created to provide this extra mobility the 'Mechs needed: jump jets can be used to pass buildings, climb over high, otherwise impossible to reach, surface and to make a more difficult target during battle. Nearly any light and medium 'Mech has the possibility to mount jump jets, though only the Mad Cat MkII can mount them in the assault class. Jump Jets weight varies from chassis to chassis. ***************** 5-'MECHS BRIEFING ***************** Just a little note: looks like the designer who did the new 'Mechs enjoyed ancient gods, monsters and angels names. Specs are referrng to 'Mech's original configs. For guidelines to costumizes them, refer to the appropriate section and under the appropriate 'Mech. ----------------------- --INNER SPHERE 'MECHS-- ----------------------- OSIRIS Mass: 30 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 90 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 5 tons Maximum Speed: 130 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 SRM-6, 5 Medium Lasers, 1 MG Array Equipment: none Bays: 3 Beams (2/2/1 Slots), 1 Ballistic (1 Slot), 1 Missile (2 Slots) Additional Equipment: Light Amplification, Jump Jets (2 tons), AMS The faster 'Mech in the game, the 30-ton Osiris still packs a good close-range punch thanks to 5 Medium Lasers, MG Array and a single, but powerful SRM-6 pack. Though its speed will make it suiteable for reconaissance jobs, the lack of support to ECM and Active Probes will limit its usefulness. A good fast-response 'Mech, however. RAVEN Mass: 35 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 360 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 6.5 tons Maximum Speed: 100 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 1 NARC Beacon, 2 Small Pulse Laser, 1 Small Laser, 1 LRM 15 Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Guardian ECM Suite, Light Amplification Bays: 3 Beams (2/1/1 slots), 2 Missile (2/1 slots) Additional Equipment: Guardian ECM Suite, Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, AMS Slightly slower than the Osiris, the Raven weights five tons more and supports all electronic equipment of the game, thoughs it doesn't have Jump Jets. The Raven is intended as a recon and support 'Mech: the NARC beacon is useful to direct friendly missile fire. CHIMERA Mass: 40 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reflective, 9 tons Maximum Speed: 102 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 Large Laser, 1 Medium Laser, 1 MRM 20, 1 MG Array Equipment: none Bays: 1 Balistic (3 slots), 1 Missile (3 slots), 1 Beam (3 slots) Additional Equipment: Light Amplification, Jump Jets (3 tons), AMS A good medium-sized, all-around 'Mech the Chimera. Its weapon bays can accept all but the bulkiest kind of weapon, making it good enough for both reconaissance (though it lacks the dedicated equipment) and combat. The main configuration has its main drawback in the limited ammo supply and accurancy of the MRM 20, probably the Chimera main weapon and relative lack of other hard-hitting weapons. HELLSPAWN Mass: 45 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 8 tons Maximum Speed: 106 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 3 Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 LRM 10s Equipment: Guardian ECM Suite Bays: 2 Missiles (2/3 slots), 3 Beams (1/1/1 slot), 3 Ballistic (1/1/1 slot) Additional Equipment: Guardian ECM Suite, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (3 tons), AMS I think the Hellspawn is well suited for close-range fightings, though the presence of a Guardian ECM Suite may turn it into a good sniper, especially with missiles. One of te best costumizations I've ever done was a close-range 'Mech, with three SRM racks and 3 Medium Pulse Lasers. UZIEL Mass: 50 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 8 tons Maximum Speed: 95 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 SRM-6, 2 PPCs, 2 MG Array Equipment: none Bays: 1 Missile (2 slots), 2 Balistics (2/2 slots), 2 Beam (3/3 slots) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (3 tons), AMS The cover 'Mech. The Uziel is ideal as a raider thanks to its impressive speed and manueverability, plus its main weapons, two PPCs. The backup weapons, a SRM-6 and two MG Array should be removed for more heat sinks or additional armor. Upgrading the Uziel is simple: Clan ER PPC, Clan Streak SRM-6, maximum armor and additional heat sinks in place of the Machine Gun Arrays. BUSHWACKER Mass: 55 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 8.5 tons Maximum Speed: 85 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 2 Medium Pulse Lasers, 1 LRM 5, 1 LRM 10, 1 AC/10 Equipment: none Bays: 2 Balistic (3/2 slots), 1 Beam (2 slots), 2 Missile (2/3 slots) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, AMS Realtive rare in this game, the Bushwacker is a medium-weight BattleMech designed as a fire-support boat for any kind of formation. Twin LRM launchers and a single AC/10 are enough to produce an hard-hitting rain of long-range fire that most Inner Sphere 'Mechs could not withstand. However, against the superior Clan technology the Bushwacker isn't so effective. ARGUS Mass: 60 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reflective, 12 tons Maximum Speed: 81 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 1 LRM 10, 1 MG Array, 2 Ultra AC/5s, 2 Medium Lasers Equipment: none Bays: 1 Missile (3), 2 Beam (2/2), 1 Balistic (5) Additional Equipment: Light Amplification The Argus is different from all other 'Mechs: it is the only to lack any kind of additional equipment (including AMS) except for the nearly useless Light Amplification. It is decently fast and protected by a tick Reflective armor, and can host most beam and missile weapons thanks to its large bays, but the main weapon of the Argus should be one or two large-bore balistic weapon, as it can certainly support thanks to it huge balistic port. CATAPULT Mass: 65 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 100 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reactive, 12.5 tons Maximum Speed: 76 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 Small Pulse Laser, 2 LRM 20s, 1 Large Laser Equipment: Light Amplification Bays: 2 Missile (4/4), 3 Beam (2/2/2) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (4 tons), AMS Where the Argus is prevalently a balistic-based 'Mech and the Awesome an energy-only machine, the Catapult was especially designed to sport huge missile bays to carry any launcher existing. This old design also serves in the Capellan Confederation as fire-support unit were Archers or more expensive 'Mechs lack or are to valuable and probably served as basis for the Clan Mad Dog OmniMech. A Catapuilt should be always configured as a long-range fighter, with one ER Large Laser or equivalent, smaller LRM launchers to support AMS and Active Probe equipment and Medium/Small Pulse Lasers for close defense. THANATOS Mass: 75 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 360 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 12 tons Maximum Speed: 73 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 LB 20-X Scattershot, 4 Medium Pulse Laserss, 1 MRM 40 Equipment: none Bays: 2 Balistics (2/4 slots), 1 Missile (3 slots), 2 Beams (2/2 slots) Additional Equipment: Guardian ECM, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (4 tons), AMS The most distinctive feature of the Thanatos is its capability to twist its torso in 360 degrees. Though this isn't genereally used, it may become useful in situation where you'll have to run away from enemies; in its standard congif the Thanatos is a good medium and short range fighter. Good complement of optional equipment (ECM and Jump Jets over all) and mix of bays; the best way to modify a Thanatos is to mount a Gauss Rifle, some lasers (groups Medium Pulse or standard/ER Medium, or a single standard/ER Large Laser), one pack of Streak SRM (LRMs if you mounted the Medium Lasers), ECM Suite and Jump Jets. AWESOME Mass: 80 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 80 Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 15 tons Maximum Speed: 75 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 2 SMR 2s, 3 Medium Pulse Lasers, 3 PPCs Equipment: none Bays: 4 Beam (3/3/3/2), 1 Missile (2) Additional Equipment: Light Amplification, AMS As the original Awesome's profile says, "the only way to counter an Awesome is with an other Awesome". 3 PPCs and 15 tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor make this 'Mech a very powerful enemy in any environment: deadly at long range thanks to its PPCs and decent at close ranges due to the Medium Pulse Lasers and SRM racks. It is also a reasonably fast 'Mech, with a top speed of 75 kph. The Awesome is well suited for energy weapons: triple ER PPCs, Large Pulse Lasers or ER Large Lasers, maximum armor, AMS and enough heat sinks to withstand the extreme temperatures that most variants will produce are the most obvious choice. MAULER Mass: 90 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 80 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reactive, 13 tons Maximum Speed: 65 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 4 Medium Lasers, 4 Ultra AC/2s, 2 LRM-10s Equipment: none Bays: 2 Ballistics (3/3/3), 2 Missiles (3/3), 2 Beams (2/2) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, AMS The Mauler is an assault 'Mech particulary good at long range, with its four Ultra ACs and LRM launchers; the main problem with this configuration is ammunition dependent: fighting with only 4 Medium Lasers is pretty hard, if not impossible. You can costumize a Mauler in this way: remove all ACs and Lasers and install two Large Lasers or PPCs, install a Beagle Active Probe and upgrading the LRM racks. An other possible variantion is to remove the LRM racks, upgrade the Ultra ACs to a /5 variant and installing two large-caliber laser weapons with enough heat sinks to handle them. ATLAS Mass: 100 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 80 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 18 tons Maximum Speed: 57 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 3 Small Lasers, 1 Medium Laser, 1 Small Pulse Laser, 1 AMS, 2 PPCs, 2 LRM 10s, 1 Gauss Rifle Equipment: AMS Bays: 4 Beam (1/2/4/4 slots), 2 Balistics (4/2 slots), 2 Missiles (2/2 slots) Additional Equipment: Guardian ECM, Light Amplification, AMS Aah, the Atlas, or "death-head", as the skull painted over its cockpit shows. In fact, the Atlas is one of the worst redrawings in this game, though it is a good all around 'Mech, capable of accepting nearly any kind of weapon. In its standard config the Atlas is slow but features a number of offensive long-range weapons plus one AMS and close-range weapons. You can put two PPCs and one (Light) Gauss Rifle or Ultra ACs combined with missiles plus a Guardian ECM Suite for maximizing its role as sniper. --------------- --CLAN 'MECHS-- --------------- COUGAR Mass: 35 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 140 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 4.5 tons Maximum Speed: 97 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 2 Clan ER Large Laser, 2 Clan LRM-10, 1 Clan ER Small Laser, 1 Clan ER Medium Laser Equipment: Active Probe Bays: 2 Beams (2/2 slots), 1 Omni (2 slots), 2 Missiles (2/2 slots) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, LAMS The lighest of the Clan 'Mechs, the Cougar is mainly a fast-moving missile boat. The original version of the Cougar had twin LRM 10s and Large Pulse Lasers, a configuration impossible to recreate without decrease the engine rating or the armor. The most notable characteristic is the total absence of Ballistic bays. There are two ways to costumize a Cougar: by enhacing its Beam or Missile capabilities. To maximize the Missile capabilities mount the Active Probe and remove the 2 Large Lasers, upgrade the Medium Laser to a Pulse version, add an other, remove the Small Laser and install twin LRM 20s with lots of ammunitions. The Laser boat can be created with two or three ER Large Lasers (the latter option will force you to remove any secondary weapon system) and installing enough heat sinks to manage the heat generated by these weapons. SHADOW CAT Mass: 45 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 120 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 9 tons Maximum Speed: 102 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 1 Clan ER Large Laser, 3 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, 1 Clan ER Small Laser, 2 Clan MG Arrays, 1 Clan Strek SRM-6 Equipment: Jump Jets Bays: 1 Omni (3 slots), 2 Beams (2/2 slots), 1 Ballistic (2 slots), 1 Missile (3 slots) Additional Equipment: Beagle Active Probe, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (2 tons), LAMS The (in)famaous Shadow Cat. Unfortunately the standard version proposed here is a modified version of A configuration in the BattleTech boardgame. From the boardgame this Shadow Cat lost one ER Large Laser but gained 2 MG Arrays and some short and medium range lasers. The main advantage of this configuration is that it isn't affected by ammo shortages and its incredible agility. The Shadow Cat has a large Omni bay in its right arm; though this placement is relatively fragile, the bay can hold almost any Clan weapon, including ER PPCs and Gauss Rifles. It is also possible to recreate a missile carrier by adding ECM Suite, Active Probe and two missile launchers to its Omni and Missile bay. Maximizing its armor it is also a recomended step when configuring a Shadow Cat. VULTURE (MAD DOG) Mass: 60 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 360 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reactive, 10 tons Maximum Speed: 85 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 2 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Clan LRM 20s, 2 Clan Large Pulse Lasers Equipment: none Bays: 2 Missiles (4/4 slots), 2 Beams (3/3 slots), 1 Omni (2 slots) Additional Equipment: ECM Suite, Light Amplification, LAMS The Vulture is a fire support 'Mech, and it is one of the few 'Mechs with an intact weapons load (though with different armor and an awful new aspect). The accurancy of a Vulture is renowed, thanks to its Pulse Lasers and advanced Clan launchers. The best way to costumize a Vulture is to fully use its missile boat capabilities, though it might be used as energy weapons boat, by using ECM Suite and twin LRM 20s (or Thunderbolt launchers) with extra ammo. Downgrading the LRM launchers and installing PPCs in place of Large and Medium Pulse Lasers plus extra heat sinks is also suggested. LOKI (HELLBRINGER) Mass: 65 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 140 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 9.5 tons Maximum Speed: 83 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 2 Clan ER Medium Lasers, 2 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Clan ER Medium Lasers, 2 Clan LB 10-Xs, 1 Clan Streak SRM-6 Equipment: ECM Suite, Active Probe, LAMS Bays: 2 Ballistics (2 slots), 2 Omnis (3/3 slots), 1 Beam (2 slots), 1 Missile (2 slots) Additional Equipment: ECM Suite, Active Probe, Light Amplification, LAMS The sister 'Mech of the heavier Thor, the Loki is a similar 'Mech, though it is lighter, more additional equipment but no jump jets to mount. It also has larger Omni bays, all capable to host a Clan ER PPC. In its standard config the Loki is probably the best all around 'Mech in this game. The only restriction to costumizing a Loki is your imagination: with three large Omni bays and other specialized slots, full complement of electronics the Loki can be costumized as you want. NOVA CAT Mass: 70 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 100 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Reflective, 14 tons Maximum Speed: 73 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 3 Clan ER Large Lasers, 2 Clan ER PPCs, 1 Clan Small Pulse Laser Equipment: none Bays: 4 Beams (3/2/6 slots), 1 Omni (4 slots) Additional Equipment: Active Probe, Light Amplification, LAMS Currently the last OmniMech created by Clan Nova Cat and probably its deadlier invention. MW4's Nova Cat is pratically unchanged from the board-game version, though it gained one Small Pulse Laser. Costumizing the Nova Cat is relatively hard, as it can accept nearly only energy weapons, though it has a large Omni bay in its torso which can be used for large LRM racks to fully use the Active Probe. You can mount 3 large energy weapons (ER PPCs, Pulse and ER Lasers), increasing its speed a bit and maximizing its armor or using its Omni port to create some surprises (which can be nasty: you know that you are going to fight a Nova Cat, so you mount reflective armor, but the Nova Cat engages you with an LB 20-X or with a rain of missiles...). THOR (SUMMONER) Mass: 70 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 360 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 10.5 tons Maximum Speed: 85 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 2 Clan Ultra AC/5, 4 Clan ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan MG Array, 1 Clan LRM 15 Equipment: Light Amplification, Jump Jets Bays: 3 Omnis (3/1/3 slots), 2 Missile (2/2 slots), 1 Beam (2 slots) and 2 Ballistic (2/2 slots) Additional Equipment: ECM Suite, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (4 tons), LAMS The Summoner (or Thor, as it is known in the Inner Sphere) is one of the most verastile 'Mechs in this game. One of the few heavy 'Mechs able to carry jump jets, it is also capable to mount a moderate array of optional equipment. It has a large number of medium-sized Omni bays and a good array other standard bays. Two or three large-caliber weapons plus an ECM Suite, Jump Jets, LAMS(optional) and enough heat sinks to handle the weaponry should change this 'Mech into a real killing machine. MAD CAT (TIMBERWOLF) Mass: 75 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 100 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 11.5 tons Maximum Speed: 85 kph Jump Jets: none Weapons: 2 Clan ER Large Lasers, 2 Clan ER Medium Lasers, 2 Clan LRM-20s, 2 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Clan MG Arrays Equipment: none Bays: 2 Missiles (3/3 slots), 2 Omnis (2/2 slots), 2 Beams (4/2 slots) Additional Equipment: Active Probe, Light Amplification, LAMS The (in)famous Timber Wolf, or Mad Cat, as the Inner Sphere codenamed it. This 'Mech is a formidable blend of speed and firepower, and it is a nasty opponent for every kind of 'Mech; in its primary config the Mad Cat provides serious long-range firepower with its twin ER Large Lasers and LRM 20s; its firepower is supplemented at medium ranges with a powerful array of twin ER and Pulse Medium Lasers. As these weapons produce large amounts of heat, the two MG Arrays can be used to discourage enemies until the heat sinks flush the excessive heat. The TimberWolf can be turned in a missile boat thanks to its missile ports and the possibility to use an Active Probe; other configs I like features twin ER PPCs and four Clan Medium Pulse Lasers or ER Medium Lasers with enough heat sinks to use this weaponry. The MechCommander/MechCommander 2 version of the Timber Wolf, with twin PPCs and large LRM racks is also deadly at long ranges. Active Probes will be a fine addition for such a variant. Unfortunately it is impossible to mount jump jets. MAD CAT MarkII (BLACK WOLF) Mass: 90 tons Internal Structure: Endo Steel Torso Twist: 80 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 13.5 tons Maximum Speed: 73 kph Jump Jets: yes Weapons: 2 Clan Gauss Rifles, 2 Clan LRM 10s, 3 Clan ER Medium Lasers Equipment: Jump Jets Bays: 2 Missiles (3 each), 3 Balistics (3/3/2 slots), 2 Omnis (2/2 slots), 1 Beam (2 slots) Additional Equipment: Active Probe, Light Amplification, Jump Jets (6 tons), LAMS The only brand-new Clan 'Mech. The Mad Cat MkII is bigger and deadlier than its smaller cousin, though is turned toward ballistic weapons; the standard configuration is slower than the Mad Cat but faster than most assault 'Mechs, and it has jump jets to enhace its agility. Its main role is fire support, where the combined firepower of the twin Gauss Rifles and LRM 10s can literally scrap assault-class 'Mechs. It is the 'Mech with the best standard configuration, IMO. You can remove the Gauss Rifles to install two ER Large Lasers with small caliber ACs or LRMs or upgrade the LRM launchers plus an Active Probe and some Medium (ER or Pulse versions) Lasers. The Jump Jets should be kept in any config. DAISHI (DIRE WOLF) Mass: 100 tons Internal Structure: standard Torso Twist: 80 degrees Armor Type and Tonnage: Ferro Fibrous, 14.5 tons Maximum Speed: 51 Jump Jets: none Weapons: 4 Clan ER Large Lasers, 4 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Clan Ultra AC/5s, 2 Clan MG Array, 1 Clan LRM 10 Equipment: none Bays: 1 Missile (2 slots), 2 Beams (2 slots), 3 Omnis (2/2/4), 2 Balistic (3/3 slots) Additional Equipment: Light Amplification, LAMS Daishi. In Japanese this term could be translated as "Great Death". The Dire Wolf is fast (mhmm...slow) as an Atlas, but Clan technology almost double to space where to mount weapons. The 4 ER Large Lasers can alone destroy any enemy a Dire Wolf encounters, but this impressive firepower is supplemented by 4 Medium Pulse Lasers and 2 Clan Ultra AC/5. The LRM 10 provides also some indirect-fire capability and the MG Arrays can be used when heat reaches unbearable levels. The simplest way to costumize a Dire Wolf is to remove all except the Large Lasers, add extra heat sinks and increasing the engine rating, at least to 60 kph. The Dire Wolf is primary a laser-dependent 'Mech, though the Omni bays can be used for large caliber ballistic weapons. The Dire Wolf can mount only Laser AMS and Light Amplification as extra equipment; the AMS is pratically superflous for the large amounts of armor the 'Mech carries, while the Light Amplification system can be useful during night combats. ************************************ 6-VEHICLES and MISC ENEMIES BRIEFING ************************************ Unlike all other MW games (mhmm...MechCommander and MechCommander 2 excluded, IMO) MW4 has a large variety of vehicles, including ground, water and air threats; there are also DropShips there... For Ground vehicles: tracked and wheeled vehicles cannot cross water and their speed is reduced when climbing hills, but they gain a bonus when travelling on concrete. Hovercrafts, on the other hand, can cross any kind of water and do not lose speed when climbing, but they do not gain any bonus when on concrete. Of course, air targets ignore the underlying terrain. VTOLs and spheroid Dropships can hover. Vessels cannot travel on land. ------------------- --GROUND VEHICLES-- ------------------- BULLDOG Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 10 Body constitution value: 10 Maximum Speed: 18 kph Weapons: 1 SRM 4, 1 Large Laser The most common vehicle. Fast and decently armored, Bulldogs will often act in groups to swarm a single target. They prefer to use their Large Lasers instead of the SRMs. CONDOR Type: hover Turret constitution value: 4 Body constitution value: 4 Maximum Speed: 24 kph Weapons: 1 Medium Laser, 1 AC/5 Not as fast as an Harasser, but clearly superior. It features a good armor protection with a good complement of a single long range weapon and a medium-range laser. HARASSER Type: hover Turret constitution value: 1 Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 27 kph Weapons: SRM 6 Faster than the heavier Condor, but less armored and armed, though its firepower is superior to the Condor's in close quarters. SCUD LAUNCHER Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 10 Body constitution value: 10 Maximum Speed: 15 kph Weapons: SKUD missile A large caterpillar vehicle carrying a big artillery missile. It needs to stop in order to fire and expect at least one Artillery Loader along with it. Totally defenseless, the Scud Launcher (and the Artillery Loader, which has the same stats of the Scud Launcher) is often guarded by other units. ARTILLERY LOADER Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 10 Body constitution value: 10 Maximum Speed: 15 kph Weapons: none A large tracked vehicle carrying ammunition for the SKUD launcher. Totally defenseless and slow-moving. LRM CARRIER Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 1 Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 15 kph Weapons: 2 LRM 20s The LRM Carrier and its short-range cousin, the SRM Carrier are tanks especially designed to fire barrages of missiles. Probably the LRM Carrier is the deadlier of the two because it usually sits on ridges or behind obstacles and start hammering you and your allies with accurate LRM fire. The best way to deal with them is to close or take out from long range before the rain starts. SRM CARRIER Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 1 Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 15 kph Weapons: 3 SRM 6s Basically it's a LRM Carrier with SRM Racks instead of the LRM ones. Usually deployed in cities or on broken terrains to support 'Mechs with additional short-range punch. VEDETTE Type: tracked Turret constitution value: 4 Body constitution value: 4 Maximum Speed: 23 kph Weapons: 1 AC/5, 1 Machine Gun A blocky and sturdy tank with a long-range, small-caliber gun. In groups can pose a threat. More a nuissance than a threat if alone or in couple, though the tick armor might be irritating. SWIFTWIND Type: wheeled Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: about 50 kph Weapons: none A fast wheeled vehicle with a radar trnasciever on its back used for reconaissance. Totally unarmed and very easy to take down. HUMVEE Type: wheeled Turret Constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: about 30 kph Weapons: none The littler brother of the Swiftwind. APC Type: wheeled Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 4 Maximum Speed: about 30 kph Weapons: 2 Medium Lasers or 2 Machine Gun Arrays Though it is an APC, you won't see men coming out from it, though its double Machine Gun Arrays or Medium Lasers might pose a threat to light 'Mechs if there are more than 5 APCs in the area. MOBILE TURRET CONTROL Type: tracked Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 2 Maximum Speed: about 30 kph Weapons: none Mobile Turret Controls are used to control Mobile Turrets (see below). Totalyy unarmed and poorly armored. Once destroyed, all Mobile Turrets under its control will immediately shut down. FUEL TRUCK Type: wheeled Turret Constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: about 30 kph Weapons: none When struck by fire, this truck will explode, so pay attention. ---------------- --AIR VEHICLES-- ---------------- SHILONE Type: airplane Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 55 kph Weapons: bombs I know, the manual says Chippewa, but the game says Shilone, so for me is a Shilone (though Shilones are usually employed by house Kurita and Chippewas by house Steiner)...in fact, nothing more than a sitting duck. Any average pilot should be able to destroy it with a single shot. Shilones tend to ignore you while they concentrate their bombs on targets you have to defend. All flying crafts when destroyed will crash to the ground. Even if one of them hits you on your head, it won't damage you, nor the small explosion will. NIGHTSHADE Type: VTOL airplane Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 35 kph Weapons: 2 Medium Lasers An other sitting duck; slower but smaller than a Shilone, Nightshades will attack you; however, they can be easily took out with long-range fire. PEREGRINE Type: helicopter Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 1 Maximum Speed: 35 kph Weapons: 1 SRM 2 The easiest way to deal with Peregrines is to target their rotors. One hit and they will crash, as with all others flying crafts. HROTHGAR class DROPSHIP Type: Spheroid DropShip Turret constitution value: unknown Body constitution value: unknown Maximum Speed: unknown Weapons: 4 PPCs, 4 Large Lasers, 4 Gauss Rifles A Spheroid dropship with lot of firepower. Hrothgar Dropships, aside of their unspellable names, tend to target you with Gauss Rifles and Lasers, keeping the PPCs for protection during lift-offs. The easiest way to destroy a Hrothgar is to target it from long range, on an elevated position, so that the DropShip won't be able to fire its guns, positioned in the middle of its chassis, or behind the gantry of the landing pad (if any). TALON class DROPSHIP Type: Aerodyne DropShip Turret constitution value: unknown Body constitution value: unknown Maximum Speed: unknown Weapons: 4 Large Lasers, 4 ER Large Lasers, 3 LRM 10s Your Dropship. You won't have to engage one in combat. ------------------ --WATER VEHICLES-- ------------------ PATROL SHIP Type: small ship Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 2 Maximum Speed: about 40 kph Weapons: 1 Ultra AC/5 or Large Laser A small, fast boat armed with an Ultra AC/5 or a Large Laser. It won't pose a big problem, even if they engage in groups. DESTROYER Type: battleship Turret constitution value: none Body constitution value: 10 Maximum Speed: about 15 kph Weapons: 2 LRM 20s, 4 Long Toms Big, slow-moving, heavily armed and armored. If your 'Mech has an AMS/LAMS they won't be a big problem, especially if you keep circling around them. Though they have Long Toms, they prefer to fire LRMs; also, their shots with Long Toms are highly inaccurate, and often tend to target fixed targets with them. ----------- --TURRETS-- ----------- CALLIOPE TURRET Type: fixed heavy turret Body constitution value: 5 Weapons: 2 LRM 15s, 2 Clan ER Medium Pulse Laser The Calliope Turret is especially designed to take out threats at long range. It is heavily armored and pretty accurate when firing the LRMs. It is slightly less efficent with the single Laser, but it is still dangerous. Try to take out with massed long-range fire or quickly close distances. All fixed turrets are controlled by to buildings, a Turret Control and a Power Generator, though probably you'll notice this after the turrets are destroyed. Once one of those buildings is down, all turrets linked to them won't work anymore. FIXED TURRET Type: fixed heavy turret Body constitution value: 3 Weapons: 1 or 2 Medium Lasers or 1 LRM 10 A small turret with a single or twin Medium Lasers. Dangerous at close range if there are many of them. As with Calliope Turrets, Laser Turrets are controlled by a Turret Control and a Power Generator. The LRM Turret might be more dangerous thanks to its long-range fire abilities. MOBILE TURRET Type: mobile field turret Body constitution value: 2 Weapons: 1 Ultra AC/5 or AC/5 Independent movable turrets with small-caliber ACs. They do not rely on Power Generators, but are nonetheless controlled by a Mobile Turret Control which works in the same way as the fixed Turret Control building. GUARD TOWER Type: fixed outpost Body Constitution value: 5 Weapons: 1 Clan ER Medium Pulse Laser or 1 Clan ER Medium Laser Small outposts with a single laser turret. They aren't very dangerous, but have an armor roughly equal to a Calliope Turret's one. ********************* 7-LANCEMATES BRIEFING ********************* Aside from their bare skills, each pilot has various tendencies in his or her fighting style. Try to compensate your weaknesses with your lancemates' strenghts: for example, if your are prevalently a sniper (as I am), carrying Casey with you is pretty useless; also, when considering the two initial lancemates, Jen is clearly superior. Name: JEN McQUARRIE Usable From: op2m1 Initial Gunnery Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Piloting Skill: 8 (5/6 of the bar) Initial Sensor Skill: 8.5 (7/8 of the bar) Initial Blind Fight Skill: 6.5 (3/4 of the bar) Jen likes stealth attacks: she will be very happy to pilot a 'Mech with ECM Suites and rely on passive sensors to surprise the enemies with short-range strikes, though she can handle long-range weapons. Name: CASEY NOLAN Usable From: op2m1 Initial Gunnery Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Piloting Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Sensor Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Blind Fight Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) The archetype of the Veteran pilot in the Instant Action menu. He likes long-range weapons and tend to flood the radio channel with useless (but sometime funny) chat. Name: JULES GONZALES Usable From: op2m4 Initial Gunnery Skill: 7 (4/5 of the bar) Initial Piloting Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Sensor Skill: 5.5 (3/5 of the bar) Initial Blind Fight Skill: 8.5 (7/8 of the bar) The pilot that accompanied your uncle during the first drop on Kentares. He is a very competent pilot with high starting skills. He is very aggresive and likes nightfights. Name: TERRA RISNER Usable From: op4m6 Initial Gunnery Skill: 7.5 (6/7 of the bar) Initial Piloting Skill: 9 (9/10 of the bar) Initial Sensor Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Blind Fight Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) An other aggressive pilot, this time someone that finds short-range combat the best way to deal with an enemy. Name: DAMON SQUIRE Usable From: op6m3 Initial Gunnery Skill: 9 (8/9 of the bar) Initial Piloting Skill: 8.5 (5/6 of the bar) Initial Sensor Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) Initial Blind Fight Skill: 5 (1/2 of the bar) A very competent pilot, adept to urban fights and night operations. Unfortunately he'll be available for only the last two missions. ************************** 8-HOW TO COSTUMIZE A 'MECH ************************** MW4 is very different from the previous MechWarrior products in costumizing 'Mechs; thanks, or better, due to the brand-new (and immediately ignored in MC2) bay system, not all 'Mechs can support all weapons, even if they have enough tonnage to devote to them; this applies also to ECM Suites, Active Probes and Jump Jets; Light Amplification can be installed on all 'Mechs as AMS can be (though the Argus does not support any kind of AMS system), though the base technlogy of the chassis (Inner Sphere or Clan) will determine the type of System installed: Inner Spherian have standard projectile AMSes, while Clans have Laser AMS. They both have the same weight and roughly the same performances, the only thing changegd is the name. Returning to equipment, remember that ECM reduce by half the ranges of any enemy within the radar's range and Active Probes will increase the radar range by 200 meters. Also, these two equipment will reduce missile-lock on times. Missile boats should always have at least the Active Probe. Light Amplification is pretty useless (as the spotlight all 'Mechs mount but that's an other story...) and Jump Jets can improve sniping abilities of a 'Mech, though they are pratically useless in urban terrain (but not in field bases, where they allow you jump over small buildings); jump distance is equal for all 'Mechs (roughly 150 meters) and always mounted in the rear torso. All these equipment, like engine, gyro, arm or leg actuators, cockpit and any other part of the 'Mech (aside weapons) cannot be destroyed by weapon fire. Talking about armor, I always carry maximum Ferro-Fibrous armor, with few points on Legs and Arms to free a full ton of space. Other armors will weight more as they provide less point per ton, but are specialized in repel some attacks: Reflective armor dissipates damage by energy weapons and Reactive Armor missile weapons; these armors have a small malus when dealing with damage caused by other kinds of weapons. About weapons: first decide what kind of weapons you are going to use (this will also spell what kind of engagement you are planning: PPCs at close range might be fine, but what about LBX ACs?), then the base chassis. For example, there's only an handful of 'Mechs capable of mounting three PPCs (or only one...BTW, the Nova Cat surely can), but most have enough space for an ER or Pulse Large Laser. Also, Gauss Rifles can be carried by most 'Mechs, though they are heavier than PPCs and are ammo dependent. Also remember to carefully balance the weapons load: weapons with slow recharge rates are good for snipers, but close-ranged fighters will find more confortable Pulse Lasers, ACs or SRMs. When you are going to use energy weapons (especially in hot environments) remember to install enough heat sinks to at least the heat efficency bar at 50%: this will grant you some "autonomy" before holding fire to have the 'Mech cool down, though a full bar is always reccomended, even with ballistic weapons (rember that large caliber cannons generate large amounts of heat). For ammunition-based weapons be sure to mount at least one extra ton of ammo, especially if you will fight with them as main weapons and with Gauss Rifles and large-caliber ACs, they tend to heat ammos at allarming rates. Remember that Omni bays can accept all weapons wind but only few 'Mechs have bays large enough to accomodate all weapons (for example the Dire Wolf and the Shadow Cat). Most tend to be 2 or 2 slots -large, enough to accomodate only Large Lasers or medium caliber ACs. ***************** 9-GENERAL TACTICS ***************** Let's begin with the gameplay differences ('Mech lab differencies has been covered in the previous section) between MW4 and MW3. In MW3 cutting off a leg from a 'Mech would have resulted in the 'Mech without the leg beign immediately destroyed; this was quite frustating and before the release of the patches it was quite simple to detroy a 'Mech with a Small Laser boat. Also, hard-hitting weapons (especially missiles and LB-X Acs) tended to knock down 'Mechs very easily. In MW4 a 'Mech can be knocked down; however to knock down a light/medium 'Mech you'll need a very power shot: Cougars and alike can be downed with a twin LB-20X strike at their Center Torso or with more powerful attacks on their entire torso; Shadow Cats and alike can be knocked down only with devastating shots to their torsos (triple PPCs/Gauss/LB 20-X assaults). I've never seen top-heavy medium, heavy or assault 'Mech knocked down. Knocked down 'Mechs can fire as long targets are within weapons range and arc. Legs are undestroyable. Well, it is possible to disable a leg by destroying its armor and internal structure, but the limb will remain with the 'Mech, strongly reducing its speed (about 10 kp/h, for all 'Mechs); I've seen only one leg totally blown off, during a single player Master Trial (in the Instant Action menu); I was on a Shadow Cat and a 'Mech took away my right leg; the 'Mech stopped completely: it was impossible to move, but possible to turn around. I do not know if it was a bug or something, but that's the first and only time I saw a leg blown off. Arms and Missile racks can be destroyed (or blown off) by destroying their armor and internal structure. Also, heat management has changed; a 'Mech with, for example a Clan ER PPC and 4 Clan ER Large Lasers and a green heat capacity bar WILL NOT overheat in any way (except for external factors, like high temperatures or Flamers). This means that you can fire whatever weapon you want if you have a green bar; also, 'Mechs with red or yellow bars (I strongly reccomend not to deploy 'Mechs with heat bars below the half) will overheat only after a certain number of attacks: for example, a Mad Cat with twin Clan ER PPCs and 4 Clan ER Medium Lasers will overheat only if it fires its PPCs and Lasers twice or three times consicutively. Like MW3, extreme heat will affect your movement capabilities (you'll slow down a bit) and will make your cockpit inaccurate, just like a PPC hit. When engaging 'Mechs, always go for their heads; scoring an head hit is very difficult, as it is to destroy a 'Mech's head with a single salvo (even 4 Clan ER Large Lasers won't destroy a Daishi's head), however, in all 'Mechs (Thor excluded, anyway), the head is always on the center torso; destroying the center torso (armor and internal structure) is the only way to destroy a 'Mech. All enemies will surely go for your center torso, so try to keep mobile to avoid destruction. Legs will affect mobility, arms and missile racks weapon load and lateral torsos weapons. When the armor is gone, damage will pass top the internal structure; each shot at the internal structure of a 'Mech will have a chance to destroy the weapons in it (there are no other critical hits in MW4, just like MW3...MW2 is still unsurpassed on this point); when a location's internal structure is gone, the location and all weapons in it will be destroyed. When a location has its internal structure damaged, it will begin to smoke. Smoke from center torso and other torso sections will generally TOTALLY obscure line of sight when moving backward. Vehicles are an other matter; VTOLs and aircrafts need only a direct hit to their hull to make them crash, while other vehicles will take more punishment before being destroyed. When targeting a vehicle, always go for the turret, which is roughly the equivalent of a 'Mech's head. When a ground vehicle has been hit pretty bad blue lights will begin to come out from it, meaning that it's going to explode. It will take some time, but it will always explode. DropShips and Destroyers do not have this drawback. Any kind of vehicle (even DropShips or Destroyers) do not have a critical table, so or they are destroyed, or they will continue firing. Sensors are useful, but must be used carefully; when you are alone and the zone is filled by enemies, or your target is a sitting duck, but heavily defended, passive radars and ECM Suites will help you to pass undetected; Active Probes will also increase your scanning range by 200 meters, while keeping your sensor profile the same. When a 'Mech, a fuel depot, a DropShip and any other thing that can explode will be destroyed, they will generate a small explosion. Fuel depots are generally the most destructive, and they will also add high amount of heat to your 'Mech, usually forcing you to use the coolant or to shutdown your 'Mech. 'Mech explosions are similar to fuel explosions though they will allocate less damage and heat. DropShip explosions will only allocate damage. Also, extra heat will be added if you fire LRMs too near to your target, so do not close if you are piloting a LRM boat. After having spoke about damages, let's speak about repairs; at the end of each mission your 'Mech will be automatically repaired; this includes both weapons and armor, no weapon in your inventory will be removed to replace a damaged one as it will be repaired for free. During missions, however, you'll might a chance (or necessity) to repair: this can be done in 'Mech Repair Facilities in the mission area. Not all missions have a Repair Facility, and sometime they are concealed between buildings or by limited visibility. However, Repair Facilities are usually located in large explanades and/or near small outposts and/or where 'Mechs unexpectedly powered up. All bases containing 'Mechs will have at least one of these Facilities. There isn't only one kind of Repair Facility: the most common is a red building with two armored doors that allow a 'Mech to enter from one side and exit from the other one. This is also the hardest to use: you'll have to enter the base at moderate speeds (I usually hit the "2" speed trigger, this will make the 'Mech automatically shutdown when in position), then hit the shutdown button ("S", as per standard keyboard layout) while you are in the base; this is difficult because the 'Mech won't stop automatically, it will proceed straight, ignoring all your commands (shutdown excluded) until you are 50 meters away from the structure. This is quite irritating as you will be an easy prey for enemies. Other Repair strucuters are more easily usable: they are both composed of three walls and one single entrance and do not require too much job for obtaining a repair. Just walk inside the walls and hit the shutdown key. Then you'll have to manually walk away from the structure at any speed you want. Repair Facilities always repair your while armor but will not replace destroyed weapons and limbs. ********************* 10-MULTIPLAYER TACTICS ********************* When the game came out I've planned to fight on the net, but for PC and stability problems (later corrected with the 2.0 patch) I never played the game...I feel that now it is too late to begin to play this game only, so I assume that the two previous sections should be complete enough to satisfy your curiosity. ************** 11-WALKTHROUGH ************** The game has been finished with a Regular difficulty setting, with patch 2.0. In more challenging modes, the enemies and objectives will remain the same, though the enemy gunnery skill will be greatly increased. Battle salvage is fixed for all missions, both weapons and 'Mechs. A salvageable 'Mech has the reactor intact; if your lancemates eject, probably the 'Mech will be salvageable; if it explodes, the lancemate will die and the 'Mech will not be salvageable. You always start with a Shadowcat. -------------------------- --OPERATION ONE: BAPTISM-- -------------------------- MISSION 1: DESTROY ENEMY COMMUNICATION RELAY Terrain Type: lunar Primary Objectives: + Destroy All 3 Communication Towers Secondary Objectives: + Destroy All Escaping Units Lancemates: none Maximum Number of Lancemates: 0 Independent allies: Cougar (Sir Peter), Cougar (Casey Nolan) 'Mech Configuration: none Steiner forces, after Katrina Steiner declared the Lyran part of the Federated Commonwealth "free", started a series of raids on several planets to sieze any pro-Davion sentiment. Kentares IV, your home planet, is one of those. You were away to fight against the Clans and you family died trying to save the planet from Steiner grasps. Not bad enough, one of your cousins, William allied with the occupying forces and started to rule the planet. The first thing to do is to cripple Steiner transport and communication facilities on Kentares IV's moon. This mission is pretty easy. The two Cougars in front of you will be very active in this mission; however, the Relay Station is defended only by light vehicles, so it won't be to difficult to take it over. Proceed straight until you seen the first enemy vehicles (should be 3 SRM Carriers). Take them out from long/medium range, then go on the hills circling the base and take out the four LRM Turrets positioned in each angle before they start to fire, then help your lancemates in destroying the remaining vehicles. The tactical officer will warn you that Steiner personnel is trying to evacuate the base: take out any APC and Transport Vehicle, even if they are powered down, then continue to destroy enemy vehicles. Once they are all gone, concentrate on the three Communication Towers; they'll need some shots to come down, but aren't excessively armored. MISSION 2: DESTROY SCUD CONVOYS Terrain Type: lunar Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Enemies at Nav Alpha + Destroy All Enemies at Nav Beta Lancemates: none Maximum Number of Lancemates: 0 Independent allies: Cougar (Jules Gonzales) 'Mech Configuration: none Before moving to destroy Steiner DropShips to cripple their mobility, you have to destroy mobile Artillery untis that are threating your base on the moon. You will have a very limited access to Steiner communications. Head toward Nav Alpha: Gonzales will point out that the first convoy is escorted by a 'Mech, an Osiris; you first 'Mech to 'Mech fight in this campaign! The Osiris should be an easy pray of concentrated fire; while you engage the Osiris, Gonzales will go after the convoy; as the 'Mech is downed, help him: destroy the 4 Vedettes first, then go for the two Swiftwinds, for the two Fuel Trucks then for the SCUD launcher. After all enemies are gone, Gonzales will signal additional enemies at Nav Point Beta. Ignore the road and cross the mountains to reach the Nav Point: the convoy features a single SCUD launcher, 2 SRM Carriers and 2 Artillery Loaders. Also, a second Osiris is awaiting, shutted down, in the mountains: by coming from there you should be able to score few "free" hits while the 'Mech is still inoperative. Destroy the Osiris, then go for the Convoy. MISSION 3: DROPSHIP HUNT Terrain Type: lunar Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Steiner DropShips Secondary Objectives: + Destroy All Steiner APUs Lancemates: none Maximum Number of Lancemates: 0 Independent allies: Hellspawn (Sir Peter), 3 Swiftwinds. 'Mech Configuration: none Gonzales contacts you to congratulate for the succesful mission, but warns you that this is only the beginning, and all missions will be that easy. Casey also reports that people on Kentares IV are starting to revolt: a pirate broadcast tells that the Steiner forces are not as strong they want to make believe, and several of their installations on the moon are already destroyed. This mission is going to be though: you have to take down three powered down DropShips. They are powered down, but as you uncle Peter says, if they power up, they will begin to fire. To slow down powering up procedures (and take off), take out the APUs near each DropShip and ignore gantries. Begin to travel toward Nav Alpha, where the first DropShip is. You should be able to score one or two long-range shots from your Large Laser while reaching the target on the DropShip itself or on the first APU. Each DropShip as 3 APUs: it is higgly recomended to destroy them as their explosion will damage the DropShip too, then go for the DropShip engines to maximize damage; be sure to stay away from the DropShips at least 200 meters, or their explosion will damage you. The area is heavily defended: two Osiris are patrolling the area, plus some Vedettes (your uncle will take care of them) and 2 Laser Turrets near each dropship. Ignore everything and destroy the first DropShip, then go for the two Osirises. Ignore the Laser Turrets, they aren't good marksmen, and you can always step on them to cause some damage. Now go for the DropShip at Nav Beta: destroy the APUs and then the DropShip, and repeat for the DropShip at Nav Gamma. Mission accomplished. Steiner forces won't be able to move large groups of reinforcements from the moon to Kentares IV or to stage long-range movements anymore. Uncle Peter says that fighting along you was an honor. MISSION 4: BASE DEFENSE Terrain Type: lunar Primary Objectives: + Defend The APUs while the DropShip Powers Up Secondary Objectives: + Destroy All Hostile Units to Clear for Take Off Lancemates: none Maximum Number of Lancemates: 0 Independent allies: Shadow Cat (Casey Nolan), Hellspawn (Jen McQuarrie) 'Mech Configuration: none You command succeded in capturing some Steiner communcations: you now know the face of your enemies; it also looks like that they do not work well together, and some Steiner forces are headed toward yourbase; for this reason, Sir Peter and Gonzales will board the first DropShip and travel to Kentares before scheduled. You, Casey and Jen will remain to protect the boarding of supplies on the second DropShip. Immediately engage the forces on your left: destroy the 2 LRM Carriers and the Bulldog, then head toward the montains south of your position to destroy a second Bulldog. Now help Casey and Jen in destroying the remaining forces; all vehicles should be gone by now (however, there are some SRM Carriers and Vedettes), but the enemy 'Mechs are still active: engage whichever you see first: there are an Hellspawn, an Osiris and a Shadow Cat. After they are gone, you will be ready to take off. -------------------------------- --OPERATION TWO: FIRST SUCCESS-- -------------------------------- MISSION 1 Terrain Type: tundra Primary Objectives: + Scout Nav Point Alpha + Scout Nav Point Beta + Scout Nav Point Gamma + Destroy All Combat Units Encounteres Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie Maximum Number of Lancemates: 1 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: teorically none, though reconfiguring your Shadow Cat with hard-hitting weapons, like a Gauss Rifle in place of your ER Large Laser. Jen and Casey contact you: she wants to apologize for her performance in the previous mission, defensive missions are not her strong suit. Casey wants you to know that he's a long-range sniper and suggests that all lancemates should begin to fight from long-range. This mission is to secure the Drop Zone (DZ) and avoid preliminar detection. This mission is simple; be sure to carry a lancemate, you'll need some additional firepower. Just follow the Nav sequence (Alpha, Beta and finally Gamma) and destroy everything encountered. Nav Alpha is protected by a Bulldog, 4 Peregrines and 2 Ravens; order your lancemate to take care of the vehicles while you take down the Ravens. Nav Beta is protected by 3 Bulldogs and a Cougar, plus two Twin-Medium Laser turrets. Engage the Cougar while our lancemate takes care of the remaining enemies. Nav Gamma is protected only by 3 Bulldogs. MISSION 2 Terrain Type: tundra Primary Objectives: + Destroy Main Base Defenders + Destroy Communication Station Before They Radio for Help (+ Insure Allied Swiftwinds Arrive and Cargo Helicopters Escape) Secondary Objectives: (+ Destroy Any Assets Helpful to Steiner) Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie Maximum Number of Lancemates: 1 Independent allies: 3 Swiftwinds 'Mech Configuration: Assign your lancemate a Cougar; consider carrying a Gauss Rifle and Reactive armor. For this mission, AMS and at least one long-range weapon is a must. Sir Peter contacts you, after a long time under radio silence as he is avoiding heavy Steiner forces. Jen says that she was trained in using passive sensors and ECM to strike enemies at close range when they do not even know you are there. Also, you intercepted Steiner comms between Castro and the one who killed your father; Castro assumes you are on planet and requests 3 full companies to hunt you down. Head directly toward Nav Alpha; for now, go to passive sensors. Once you've reached the Station, be sure to take it out as quickly as possible: if they radio for help, this mission will be harder. The weakest part of the Station is the antenna, two Gauss or Large Laser shots will take it out. Now proceed to Nav Beta and follow the Nav sequence to Nav Delta; if you want, you may now pass to active sensors; during your navigation, two Peregrines will enter the area from Nav Alpha: be sure to take the down now, then return on your path and after Nav Delta proceed toward Nav Epsilon, where Steiner forces have a small field base with various hangars and repair facilites. This base is well defended by 3 Calliope Turrets, 6 Peregrines and two active 'Mechs, a Cougar and a Catapult, and patrols are scouting the sorroundings, so be quick and hit hard. Once you are at Nav Delta (and if you have active sensors) you should be able to pick up the first Calliope Turret, on a mountain at your left: order you lancemate to take it down: he/she will sprint forward, drawing fire: proceed slowly and help your lancemate with long-range fire. Then target the second Calliope Turret and repeat the attack procedure. Now order your lancemate to form on you and take out the Peregrines before attacking the 'Mechs. I suggest to concentrate fire on a 'Mech at once: destroy the Catapult first (as usual, order your lancemate to attack, and support him/her from afar), then go for the Cougar. If you did well, you'll have some time to repair your and your lancemate 'Mechs before the patrols arrive; the repair facilites are at Nav Epsilon; there are six facilities, just approach one and shutdwon your 'Mech. If when you power up and the patrols aren't there yet, take out the third Calliope Turret. The patrols are two, each formed by a single 'Mech: the first is a Cougar, from the right side of the map, the second an Hellspawn, from Nav Epsilon. Concentrate fire once more and watch your infantry secure the Steiner supplies. --------------------------------------------------------------------- If the Comm Station radioed for help, the mission objectives will change: the Swiftwinds will try to deliver pilots to some Cargo 'Copters at the Steiner Base and you will have to protect them. Ignore the Station and head directly toward Nav Zeta: expect all 'Mechs, vehicles and Turrets active and after the Swiftwinds, so begin to take down smaller targets first. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MISSION 3 Terrain Type: tundra Primary Objectives: + Link Up with Technicians + Escort the APCs Across the Bridge at Nav Beta + Destroy the Southern Bridge Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie Maximum Number of Lancemates: 1 Independent allies: Shadow Cat (Jules Gonzales), 3 APCs 'Mech Configuration: Assign your lancemate a Shadow Cat and take a modified Catapult, configured with small LRM launchers and large-caliber Lasers. A larger enegine will also be fine. Casey contacts you first: he wishes to evaluate your performance, and give syou a 7, maybe an 8 (he awards himself a 9, though I usually use Jen...oh well...). On the other side, you cousin William offered assistance to captain Burke to hunt you down. Burke is an animal that slaughteres hundreds in the Clan Wars. Sir Peter contacts you: Steiner forces are in full alert and will run silent for a while. Also, your Chief Technician debriefes you on the Bombast Laser, an advanced energy weapon with the best damage-to-ton ratio ever existed. Casey recalls you, and request some action; however, you cannot risk to reveal your correct position. You also recieve a distress call from Gonzales: he and additional techs are pined down and Sir Peter lost contact. Immediately head toward Nav Alpha, where Gonzales (piloting a Shadow Cat) and the techs (in three unarmed APCs) are, sorrounded by approaching Steiner units. During your navigation, you'll notice a small camp with three Condors plus two 'Mechs (an Uziel and a Hellspawn) and three Bulldogs approaching Nav Alpha. Quickly destroy the Condors from long range, then order your lancemate to engage one 'Mech while you take out the other, then engage the Bulldogs. Once these threats are gone, order your lancemate to reach Nav Alpha: he/she should detect four Mobile Turrets: have him/her destroy them and if he/she needs, give him/her help. Reach the convoy: Gonzales will stay with the convoy providing short-range defense, while you will scout the sorroundings for enemies. The convoy will follow an imaginary road between the small hills to Nav Beta, where a bridge is. Prepare yourself to hit hard any opponents and then rush toward an other. The first enemy you'll encounter will be an Hellspawn. Concentrate fire, then be prepared to engage five Peregrines; a second Hellspawn and 2 SRM Carriers will show up shortly after. Next, two Ravens and three SRM Carriers will go after the convoy: order your lancemate to destroy the SRM Carriers while you engage one Raven; the second Raven should be destroyed by Gonzales; if he needs help, however, engage the Raven in forces. A Uziel will show up, probably when the Ravens are still active. Be sure to have at least one of your allies after it (remember, Gonzales will not stop to engage enemies, he will escort the convoy on the other side of the bridge) and once the Ravens are gone, engage it too. Now cross the bridge and destroy it. MISSION 4 Terrain Type: tundra Primary Objectives: + Clear Way to Control Central for Technicians + Defend Control Center and Technicians Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 2 Independent allies: Bulldog, 3 Transport Trucks 'Mech Configuration: the same version of the Catapult you used in the previous mission will work fine. Be sure to have maximum armor. Gonzales reports that Sir Peter split up after they were under attack by two lances of Steiner 'Mechs, and had no news on him since. Burke also broadcasted in all area a message that announces the death of Sir Peter at his hands, and says that the Satellite Control is a too obvious target. Jen and Casey wants to immediately fight back, but Gonzales objects that your objective is to free Kentares. The convoy will wait until all defenders are down, then will travel to the base and capture it. The first line of defense is at Nav Alpha: there are a Laser Turret, 3 SRM Carriers, a Bushwacker and an Uziel. Take out the Turrets and the vehicles first, then destroy the two 'Mechs: have your lancemates destroy the Uziel while you destroy the Bushwacker. Now move to Nav Beta: destroy the Uziel and ignore the two Calliope Turrets; rather than destroying them, target the small tower on their left which controls all Turrets in the zone. The convoy will arrive soon and will sieze control of the Center and will gain Turret control, so you'll be helped by the two Calliope Turrets you didn't destroyed. There is also a 'Mech Repair Facility: order your lancemates to repair and repair your 'Mechs before the first wave of Steiner forces arrives. The first wave will be from North-East (as your compass shows): those two Peregrines won't be a problem. You can also ignore them and have the Turrets take them out. Now two other waves will arrive: the first, from where you came from, is composed by 2 Arguses, 2 Cougars and 3 LRM Carriers; the second will come from North-West, and it is composed by two Cougars. Engages the Cougars first, so that the first wave will arrive within Calliope's range, then destroy it: go for the LRM Carriers first, then for the Arguses and finally for the Cougars. ---------------------------------- --OPERATION THREE: FIRST COMMAND-- ---------------------------------- MISSION 1: SWEEP AND DESTROY Terrain Type: alpine Primary Objectives: + Wait for Response from Scout Groups + Destroy All Units at Nav Alpha + Destroy All Units at Nav Beta + Destroy All Units at Nav Delta + Destroy All Units at Nav Gamma Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 2 Independent allies: 3 Swiftwinds 'Mech Configuration: Hard-hitting, fast-firing weapons like Large Pulse Lasers are a good choice for this mission. A good mix of long and short range weapons will also work fine. Your men found the body of Sir Peter. All your friends regret for this loss, and someone believes that without him freeing Kentares won't be possible, however others trust you as their new leader. The next step will be to link up with the resistance, but there's an opportunity to destroy the last working Steiner DropShip, already damaged by your uncle. This will be a risky delay, but this will totally destroy Steiner's fast long-range transportation capability. Begin to head toward North-East: the Swiftwinds will quickly report a tow 'Mechs patrol at Nav Point Alpha and Beta. Nav Alpha is guarded by two Cougars, which can be easily overrun. There are two Osirises and a Raven that the Swiftwinds failed to identify at Nav Beta; be sure to take out the Osirises first before engaging the Raven. Note that you can use the nearby lake to cool down your 'Mech if it had a poor heat dissipation. Now the Swiftwinds will report two more 'Mechs, this time heavies, at Nav Gamma, and that they lost contact with one scout at Nav Delta. Travel to Delta and take out the Osiris and the Cougar there before heading to Nav Gamma, where two Vultures are awaiting you. With these 'Mech short-range fights are the best, and you can use a second lake to cool down your 'Mech and to slow them down to take more careful shots. MISSION 2 Terrain Type: alpine Primary Objectives: + Overtake Convoy and Destroy the Guards Secondary Objectives: + Destroy All Steiner Forces Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 2 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: Configure your lance with fast heavy 'Mechs, with any kind of weapon, whichever you prefer. All Kentares mourn the loss of Sir Peter. As soon the mission begins, three Nightshades will fly near you. Take them down, then quickly head toward Nav Alpha. As sooner you'll reach the convoy, more chances you'll have to easily capture it. The convoy itslef is protected by two Bulldogs, an Argus and a Vulture. At each Nav point there will be two 'Mechs: Nav Alpha is guarded by two Cougars, while the others by a mix of Arguses and Vultures. You should be able to reach the convoy while is still at Nav Alpha. Have your lancemates destroy the Cougars while you take down the Bulldogs, then concentrate your fire on the Vulture and then on the Argus. If the Convoy escapes, be sure to quickly destroy both 'Mechs at any Nav Point by concentrating fire on the most dangerous of them first. MISSION 3 Terrain Type: alpine Primary Objectives: + Find Damaged Steiner DropShip + Destroy Damaged Steiner DropShip Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 2 Independent allies: 3 Swiftwinds, Artillery Piece 'Mech Configuration: Though the briefing says you'll have artillery support, I've found no ways to have them fire, so ignore the Artillery Beacon. Hard-hitting long-range weapons and ECM suites will work fine. Be sure to mount maximum armor. The convoy you capture provided a single Artillery cannon and some ammos; this should let you stay away from the DropShip and have it destroyed by safe long-range fire. Gonzales also suggests a night operation, as you will be able to act more freely, covered by the darkness. This mission can be played in two ways: with brute force or with stealth. In the first way, you'll slowly advance and destroy any opposition encountered: there are an Argus and 5 Bulldogs patrolling the area before the DropShip, plus other two Arguses, one Mauler and three Mobile Turrets (plus the DropShip, of course. If it powers up its weapons, prepare to suffer some serious pain). Note that as you engage the first Argus, the DropShip will begin to power up, and its weapons will be surely on-line when you'll reach it, leaving only few minutes before take-off. It will also be dangerous, the 'Mechs in the area are piloted by Veteran to Elite MechWarriors, and you won't have enough firepower to fight a matched battle. Otherwise, you can reach the DropShip via the river, switching to passive sensors and employ at least one ECM Suite (this is optional, but higly reccomended). Slowly advance toward the DropShip (BTW, it is located near the upper center of the map), ignoring any contact. Once the DropShip is within visual range, order your lancemates to attack it, ignoring any other hostile unit, and do the same. As you didn't engaged anyone, the DropShip's weapons won't be online, and you'll have more than five minutes before it will takeoff. Once the DropShip is gone, the mission will end, and you can return to the only working DropShip on Kentares. YOUR only working DropShip on Kentares. ---------------------------------------- --OPERATION FOUR: THE BIRTH OF AN ARMY-- ---------------------------------------- MISSION 1: RAID BASE Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Guard Convoy as They Proceed to and Loot the First Site + Guard Convoy as They Proceed to and Loot the Second Site + Guard Convoy as They Proceed to and Loot the Third Site + Cargo Trucks and Ian Arrive at Extraction Point Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 2 Independent allies: 6 Vedettes (in two groups of 3 Vedettes each), 2 Nightshades and 4 Cargo Trucks. 'Mech Configuration: Long-range weapons, like PPCs or Gauss Rifles. This area contains several military facilities used by your family that Steiner seized and used as staging bases and prisons, so you will be able to recapture equipment and personnel. Expect them to be well defended. You will have to guard the Cargo Trucks while the other rebel vehicles engage Steiner forces. Immediately destroy the Mobile Turrets you have in front of you with long-range fire, and ignore the Cougar and the Shadow Cat at your left, they will be engaged by the Vedettes (codename: Romeo). The Nightshades will strafe the turrets that will continue to power up all along the base borders, though they will need your support to left the battlefield alive. From where the first Turrets were, a Cougar and a Shadow Cat will power up: take them down and enter the base to take care of the four SRM Carriers inside and of any other Mobile Turret. If the Vedettes are still engaging the two 'Mechs, give them an help, so that they will move to protect the Cargo Trucks. Four Steiner 'Mechs, 2 Raves, a Bushwacker and a Chimera will enter the zone from the upper-left corner of the map, few hundreds meters away from the convoy. Take them down (you can assign one target to each of your lancemates, but be sure to destroy the Bushwacker and the Chimera first); there is a 'Mech Repair Base nearby, if you need it, repair, then be prepared for the last Steiner wave, coming from the upper-left corner of the map: this time it is better to concentrate fire on the two Uziels first before attacking the two Hellspawns. Once they are down, go to Nav Epsilon. MISSION 2: DEFEND BASE Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Eliminate Guerrilla 'Mechs + Go to Nav Alpha + Defend 'Mech Hangars at Base Secondary Objectives: + Defend Anti-Aircraft Guns Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: 4 Calliope Turrets, Cougar, 4 Bulldogs, 3 Guard Towers 'Mech Configuration: Long-range weapons, just like the previous mission. One of your sisters, Joanna, is alive. She takes a great risk in communicationg with you, but she wants you to know that she's alive and working against the Steiner occupation with the rebellion. Begin to travel toward Nav Alpha: three Peregrines will show up, followed by two Shadow Cats and one Uziel, one 'Mech in a separate "wave"; it shouldn't take too much to destroy them. A more dangerous wave of attack will come to attack Nav Alpha: you'll have to fend off it all by yourself, the Cougar patrolling the zone will move toward Nav Beta; this wave is composed by 2 Shadow Cars and four LRM Carriers. Order your lancemates to destroy the Shadow Cats while you take out the LRM Carriers and the four Shilone bombers that would have joined the attack; these bombers are aiming the Calliope Turrets near Nav Beta, so it won't be difficult to take them down. Go to Nav Beta: a third Shadow Cat, this time backed up by 2 Uziels and 2 Vultures, will attack the base; order your lancemate to concentrate fire on one of the 'Mech you choose, and sistematically destroy any of them. MISSION 3: CAPTURE BARGES Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Armed Escorts Around the Barges + Capture (come within 100 meters) Four of Six Barges + At Least Four Barges Must Survive Secondary Objectives: + Capture Six of Six Barges Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: long-range weapons. You can freely use energy weapons on this mission. Joanna contacts you once again, this time thanking you for the job you've done in the previous two missions. She also wants to reveal her and your identity to the people of Kentares. Elys, you tactical officer thinks this is not a wise decision, the enemy will know who are the leaders. As soon as you'll start, you'll find yourself into a river, with the water covering your legs and lower torso. This will force you (and your enemies) to aim for the torso, so be careful. The barge convoy is protected by 10 Patrol Boats (which can be easily take down with a single blast of Clan ER PPC), 4 Peregrines (which will show up after the first enemy 'Mech is gone) and a full lance of heavy 'Mechs. The first 'Mech you'll encounter will be an Argus, which can be easily take down by concentrated long range fire. Then an Uziel and an other Argus will show up. The last 'Mech is a Loki. As this 'Mech will power up near the barges, be sure to take it down when it's away from them, or it will destroy some barges when it will come down. To finish the mission, run near all remaining barges. MISSION 4: DESTROY FACTORY Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Destroy First Munition Factory + Destroy Second Munition Factory + Destroy Third Munition Factory Secondary Objectives: + Link Up with Local Guide Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: Swiftwind 'Mech Configuration: a good mix of short and long range weapons, maybe with at least one lancemate with an ECM Suite. Words that you and Joanna are alive and leading the rebellion are spreading throughout Kentares. Meanwhile, Roland wants more DropShips to bring more reinforcments and ordered Kualin to destroy you. He's already in the area, ready to strike when the situation will be more favorable. This are is covered by a dense fog and is heavily built, but at Nav Delta a former worker of this complex will guide you through this maze. Nav Delta is protected by a Bulldog and three Vedettes, be sure to destroy them before contacting Sheperd, the codename for your guide. She will guide you toward the first factory, at Nav Alpha. It is protected by 5 Bulldogs and 2 Shadow Cats, plus 4 Guard Towers (these towers will be always present around the factories, keep this in mind). You should be able to score few hits from long range; I reccomend to destroy the Bulldogs first, they are more agile than the Shadow Cats in this semi-urban area. Once all defenders are gone, target the Factory and destroy it. If you want, there is a 'Mech Repair Facility near the Nav Point (as with the Guard Towers, there will always be 'Mech Repair Facilities near the Factories). The second Factory is more heavily defended: an Hellspawn and a Nova Cat are actively patrolling the zone; this continue movement will also expose them to long-range fire, be sure to at least heavily damage the Hellspawn before closing distances and finish them off. The third Factory is defended by 2 Nova Cats and two Hellspawns (plus the usual four Guard Towers), but you would be able to destroy it with long-range fire, without powering up those 'Mechs. MISSION 5: CAPTURE CONVOY Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Destroy Air Defense Rader and Tower at Nav Zeta + Destroy Convoy Escort + Escort Buses to LZ Secondary Objectives: + Destroy Targets of Opportunity Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: 5 Peregrines 'Mech Configuration: Long-Range weapons. Reflective armor can be a good choice. Kualin broadcasted on all frequencies that he will begin public execution of captured Davion officers as the supplies are running down. This mission is very risky, the convoy can be a trap, but it's your duty toward your people. Order your two slowest lancemates to reach Nav Beta while you and the last of them reach Nav Zeta to take out the base, which is protected by an Uziel. Order your lancemate to engage it while you take down the Radar antennae and the Control Tower, then help your lancemate in defeating the 'Mech. Now order to all your lancemates to reach Nav Alpha, and follow them; the convoy will cross this Nav Point soon; meanwhile, destroy any building that is reported in red under your crossair; to complete the secondary objective the large fuel depot near Nav Alpha and a small house have to come down. The convoy itself is composed of 4 Cargo Trucks and it is protected by two Cougars and four Bulldogs. Take out the tanks while your lancemates take care of the Cougars. Once the 'Mechs are down, order one of your lancemates to go to Nav Delta, while you and the rest of the lance engage a Steiner Vulture appeared in the zone: concentrate fire and quickly go to Nav Delta, where 5 Peregrines and the Cargo Trucks will meet for dust-off. Once all Peregrines are down, two Uziels will enter the small valley: be sure that at least one of your lancemates engage one Uziel while you take out the second; if you leave an Uziel alone, it will begin to fire at the Peregrines, and the mission will fail. MISSION 6: LIBERATE CAMP Terrain Type: desert Primary Objectives: + Link Up with Allied Units + Destroy All 'Mechs Defending Base + Destroy Both Guard Towers Around First Prisoner Compound + Destroy Both Guard Towers Around Second Prisoner Compound + Destroy Both Guard Towers Around Third Prisoner Compound + Destroy Both Guard Towers Around Fourth Prisoner Compound + Take Out James Kualin and His Lancemates Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: 2 Uziels 'Mech Configuration: Long Range weapons like Gauss Rifles or PPCs will work fine, just like hard-hitting close-range weapons like LB-Xs. Be sure to have the highest possible heat efficiency and maximum armor. The prisoner convoy contained a veteran MechWarrior, Terra Risner, who wants immediate revenge against Kualin; however, your primary objective is to free all prisoners in the zone, so she 'll have to wait. Your cousin William contacts you, hoping that you will leave the planet now, but he knows too that you won't. Elys doesn't know where the main prison camp is; her best guess is that is that the camp is somewhere in this region: he intercepted several communications and it is extremely well protected. As soon as you move the first step, several Mobile Turrets, two Cougars and three Peregrines will power up, attacking you. Divide your lancemates evenly against the threats, then proceed straight to the link up point. Two resistance MechWarriors piloting two Uziels will accompany you in this mission to provide more firepower, though they are not good pilots... however, the base is well defended. Expect several Twin Laser Turrets around the whole perimeter, plus other 3 full lances of heavy 'Mechs. The first 'Mech's to show up will be two Catapluts and two Uziels. Be sure to take the Catapults down first (the Uziels tend to overheat and shutdown frequently). The other 'Mechs (two other Catapults and four Vultures) will randomly power up in the base, so keep an eye on your radar. Two Vultures will be surely in the highest part of the base, sorrounded once again by Twin Laser Turrets: ignore the single Turrets and take out the Turret Control Tower to disable them all (it is the highest building of the area), then concentrate fire on the Vultures. Once all 'Mechs are gone, reach the 'Mech Repair Facility near one of the possible prisoner compounds (take out the two Guard Towers) and repair, then take out any other Guard Tower you encounter. After destroy the Guard Towers, Kualin and his lance will show up; he pilots a blue modified Mad Cat (twin Clan ER PPCs, twin Clan Streak SRM 6s, twin Clan Machine Gun Arrays), while the rest of the lance is piloting standard Vultures; engage Kualin while your lancemates take care of the Vultures. It shouldn't take you too long to kill Kualin, he's a competent pilot but you should have at least his same firepower (I downed him with a modified Mad Cat), and his lancemates are even worse. ----------------------------------- --OPERATION FIVE: THE COMMON GOOD-- ----------------------------------- MISSION 1: DESTROY BOMBERS Terrain Type: swamp Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Eight Shilone Bombers + Destroy the Air Control Tower + Destroy All 'Mechs Defending Bombers Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: twin PPCs or Large Lasers backed up by Medium Pulse Lasers will do fine. Joanna says that many people there cannot stop to thank you: they are still coordintaing prisoner evacution; however, Roland has something else in mind: in a planetary broadcast he condemned a whole city, Vale, to death, as its citizens are stealing Steiner equipment. On an other communication Castro strongly objects this sentence, only to find herself confinated in the capital perimeter to organize defenfes and stripped of her ranks. The air base in the upper side of the map, but before stepping into it, go around and destroy whatever you can, so that you will be able to hunt down the Shilones freely. There are three Missile Turrets, 6 Peregrines and 10 Condors in the area, which shouldn't take you too long to destroy (a twin PPC strike is enough to destroy them all); around the base a Shadow Cat and a Nova Cat are staging a patrol; take out the Nova Cat first and then go for the Shadow Cat. You can now step into the base; as soon as you will do this, the Air Tower will scramble the Shilone pilots, which will try to reach their planes and take off. There is also a Shadow Cat patrolling the inside of the base; order your lancemates to take it down while you destroy the Control Tower and hunt down the Shilones. Remember, they can take off, though they won't be more dangerous than when they were grounded...there are eight Shilones in total, all shutted down, so they won't appear on your radar until they start to roll. Also, two Vultures will power up, trying to engage you. Ignore them and continue your Shilone hunt, they aren't registered as base defenders and do not influence the mission objectives. MISSION 2: DESTROY PATROLS Terrain Type: swamp Primary Objectives: + Destroy Hovercraft Patrol Alpha + Destroy Hovercraft Patrol Beta + Destroy Hovercraft Patrol Gamma + Destroy Hovercraft Patrol Delta Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: weapons like Pulse Lasers will spread death among the hovercrafts. I also suggest a single heavy-hitting weapon like a PPC. Roland is very angry with Burke as he reports to his lord that the 2nd Bomber Wing has been destroyed. Burke suggests that the city can be destroyed via sea bombardment, but Roland says that wants you dead, or Burke will be killed in your place. The first part of the mission is simple: just go around and destroy all Condors and Harassers in the area (there should be at least 30 of those hovercrafts in the area); you will recieve some damage, but there's a 'Mech Repair Base at the center of the map, so when only one or two hovercrafts are still alive, go there and repair (optional, the mission can be finished even without repairs), then finish off the hovercrafts. Duncan Burke will show up: he's piloting a modified Thor (twin Clan ER PPCs and other small-caliber weapons like Clan ER Medium Lasers), and during the fight will continue to taunt you over your radio frequency. Pay attention to his PPCs and continue to circle him while you take it out. This duel is not too difficult if you keep mobile, but if you didn't repaired it could become deadly. MISSION 3: DEFEND EXODUS Terrain Type: swamp Primary Objectives: + Protect the Refugee Ships Unitl They Can Reach Open Water Secondary Objectives: + Destroy All Hostile Units in Immediate Area Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: as your Chief Technician says, long-range hard hitting weapons. Gauss Rifles, PPCs and Large Lasers will work fine in this mission. Consider carrying Reflective or Reactive armor. After what happened in the swamps Jen tells you that without such a leader she won't be able to continue fighting, but you reply that she has to continue fighting to let your memory live. Steiners are now on a open offensive, and the Destroyer dispatched to level the city, the Indomitable, is firing at anything that moves. The first threat you'll have to face will be composed of 5 Bulldogs and 3 Nightshades, which are attacking a small city (probably the suburbs of Vale). After them , two Nova Cats and two Awesomes will power up and will bein to fire against everything, even civilian houses. If you want , you can delegate your lancemates in destroying them while you travel to Nav Beta to prevent any attack to the refugee boats. If you wish to destroy these 'Mechs, it is better to have Reflective armor. The best tactic is to concentrate fire on one 'Mech before firing on an other one. As these threats fall, reach Nav Beta: 6 Patrol Boats are attacking the refugee ships (this is independent from the downing of the four previous 'Mechs, they will show up even during the firefight): Quickly take them down. Omega Forward will report that two Destroyers are heading this way: the second and unexpected Destroyer, the Thunderchild, will show up before the Indomitable (the first Destroyer). Take both of them down by circling around them and continue firing at the bridge. They will continuely fire LRMs and Long Toms, though they will have hard time in hitting or even locking you. As the Destroyers will sink, the boats will be far away: a journalist will report that the Steiner forces were firing on all, even civilians, and Vale is all but destroyed, thanks to Dresari loyalists. ----------------------------------- --OPERATION SIX: THE DARKEST HOUR-- ----------------------------------- MISSION 1: RECONNAISSANCE IN FORCE Terrain Type: dense urban Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Enemy Units at Alpha + Destroy All Enemy Units at Beta + Destroy All Enemy Units at Gamma + Destroy All Enemy Units at Delta + Destroy All Enemy Units at Epsilon Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: choose the heaviest 'Mech you have, load maximum armor (Reflective Armor can be a choice) with close-range weapons; combine high firepower (like LB-20X ACs) and fast recharge rates (Pulse Lasers). If you are going to pilot a missile boat, Streak SRMs are highly recomended; if you don't have any (impossible, however...), SRMs with Active Probe. ECM Suites might be handy, though it is not recomended to sacrifice firepower and armor protection for them. Jen and Joanna congratule with you for saving Vale. Roland troops are being overwhelmed by rebel troops, but the Steiners still have a large group of forces in the capital. This mission IS hard. If you don't know how to handle your lancemates, this mission will be a complete failure. Spreading damage between them and you will be the key to success to this mission, so when moving from one Nav Point to one other, always order your lancemate s to go first, or you will be destroyed at the third Nav Point (enemy pilots in this mission are really good and they will aim for your center torso). There are five Nav Points, each heavily guarded. Some 'Mechs are powered down and will take about one minute to completely power-up, though they are heavies, you won't be able to do an one-shot kill, so carefully proceed toward any Nav Point. Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta Nav Points are within the city while Epsilon is positioned in a large park, giving you more movement freedom. Nav Alpha is guarded by an Awesome, a Mad Cat (powered down) and three Mobile Turrets with their Mobile Turret Control. Beta is guarded by 2 SRM Carriers, 3 Bulldogs and one Atlas. You'll find 2 Arguses, 3 Mobile Turrets and their Mobile Control, a Mad Cat and 2 Bulldogs at Gamma. There are 2 Awesomes and 2 Bulldogs at Delta. Epsilon is heavily guarded by two Atlases, 3 SRM Carriers, 2 Bulldogs and 3 Mobile Turrets with their Mobile Control. The choice from where to start is yours. I usually do Nav Alpha, Gamma, Beta, Delta and finally Epsilon. The choice is yours; remember that vehicles tend to protect not only their Nav Points but also the nearest of them, so a systematic assault and destruction of enemies is the best way to deal with this mission, attacking each Nav Point from where there aren't any other enemies. MISSION 2: RESCUE PILOTS Terrain Type: dense urban Primary Objectives: + Defend Rescue chopper + Find the Parking Garage Holding the Downed Pilots + Defend the Parking Garage Unitl Pilots Are in the Chopper Lancemates: none Maximum Number of Lancemates: 0 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: take the Atlas you captured the previous mission and add the same weapons you installed on the previous 'Mech. Use Ferro-Fibrous armor. ECM Suite might be more useful in this mission. Always mount AMS. The battle is going on, but the losses are really heavy. Steiner turned a local University into an advanced HQ. Also, your father has there an armory with some high-tech equipment which will be very useful during the palace assault; the equipment contained in this cache can equip 4 full heavy lances. Rebel forward observers did not reported any movement nor if they enemy has already discovered where the cache is. This will be a solo mission. The area has five Parking Garages where the downed pilots could be; you have to scout them all; once the pilots see your 'Mech, will signal their position with a flare and the rescue copters will be sent to take them. The flare will undoubtely attract some enemies, so be prepared. The position of the pilots are randomly chosen, though the most probable point is Nav Delta (at least with my game...or just a coincidence...however, it's random); there are Steiner 'Mechs trhoughout the area. Most are light (Cougars; three of them) and medium (Shadow Cats; five of them), bu there are also two Thors in the area. To survive this mission, destroy the first Thor, then destroy any 'Mech near a Nav Point, trying to ignore the others until you've found the pilots. Once the pilots have been found, the rescue chopper will arrive soon and will employ about 30 seconds to get them aboard; meanwhile, the flare will attract any surviving 'Mech in the area; keep your 'Mech moving around the building and go for the Center Torsos of any 'Mech; all 'Mechs except the Thor will go down with a single, combined blast from twin PPCs and LB-20X AC. The Cougar might even take less. The chopper will take an other 1 minute or 1 minute and a half to get outside the zone, where you will have to continue your fight against the enemy 'Mechs; as the pilots will reach safety, the mission will end. MISSION 3: DESTROY BASE Terrain Type: dense urban Primary Objectives: + Destroy All Units Defending Local University at Nav Alpha Secondary Objectives: + Destroy Communications Center at Nav Beta + Destroy Turrets Power Generator at Nav Gamma Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner, Damon Squire Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: double PPCs and a single LB-20X will do fine in this mission. One of the pilots you rescued is Damon Squire, a compentent MechWarrior. Once you take care of the local University, turned by Steiner into an HQ, the resistance will begin to prepare the assault to the armory. Start by engaging the nearby Vulture, then proceed toward Nav Gamma, which is protected by an other Vulture, an Uziel and a Bulldog; Twin Laser Turrets will power-up as you close with the Nav Point; expect at least 8 of these turrets all along the perimeter. Destroy the Bulldog and one of the 'Mechs patrolling the zone, then order your lancemates to take of the remaining one while you take down the Power Generator; all turrets in the zone (around the generator itself, the Comm Center and the University) will go down and will never recover, enabling you to concentrate your fire on 'Mechs and vehicles. Proceed to nav Gamma. You'll splot a Mad Cat Mk.II patrolling the zone; some damage can be dealt by long-range fire, but pay attention to the twin Gauss Rifles the 'Mech is carrying; as the 'Mech is down, proceed to the Nav Point, take down the Communications Center and repair by using the two Mobile Field Bases. Order your lancemates to repair too, then begin your assault to the University. There are 3 Vultures, 3 Uziels and two Bulldogs proteting the University (plus the perimeter turrets, but they are disabled; however, if you did not destroyed the Generator, expect five or six turrets PER SIDE, for a total of 20/24 turrets). Order your lancemates to concentrate fire on the Uziels while you take out the Vultures. These 'Mechs can be easily attracted away from the University, simplifying the job of destroying. Once the 'Mechs are gone, destroy the Bulldogs. For the first (and last ;_;) time in MW4 you'll be able to decide between two missions. One mission excludes the other. In the first mission (Op6m4) you'll try to rescue your sister and will have the congratulations from your staff for taking care of your family more than machinery. If you do the second mission (Op6m5) you will assault the armory your sister tried to capture. This mission is also the only way to get a Daishi before the game ends (I usually do not care about my virtual sister, I do care about the final mission and the firepower you'll need, though it is possible to complete it with a Mad Cat Mk.II or an Atlas). Tim and Sheila Marshall pointed out that: There is something I should point out for your mechwarrior 4 FAQ. Damon Squire is also available for the end mission if you beat the mission "rescue Sister" You can also load one of the choice missions, then do the other. MISSION 4: RESCUE SISTER Terrain Type: dense urban Primary Objectives: + Locate Your Sister + Escort Your Sister to Safety Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: One 'Mech (Damon Squire), Medical Truck, 2 Command Vehicles 'Mech Configuration: a good mix of direct-fire long and short range weapons will be the best. Your cousin William calls you for knowing if you could accept to share powers with him and the Steiner government; as he suspected, you hastly refuse. Meanwhile, the battle in the capital is getting even more bloodier, with the infantry fighting block to block. It is time to stage the attack at the armory site or to retreat. Few minutes the beginning of the mission, however, the resistance troops already there have been cut off and Joanna is badly wounded. Despite your retreat order, there are no traces of your sister. Damon Squire took a 'Mech (you'll see him on this mission) and will independently take part in this mission. Begin to destroy the first patrol near Nav Alpha (2 Nova Cats and 2 Bulldogs); after you'reached Nav Alpha, an other Nav Point (Beta) will light up; the Nav Point is protected by 2 Awesomes, but there is an other patrol composed of 2 Nova Cats and 2 Bulldogs between the two Nav Points; take out all listed enemies before proceeding toward Nav Beta. From now on, the Medical Truck with your sister will be always behind you, moving forward when you are moving forward, stopping when you stop and so on. You'll have to escort it to Nav Zeta; however, 4 Mad Cat Mk.II just dropped between you and the Nav Point; take them down (move at half or less speed) and order your lancemates to engage them first, while you support them from afar. Once the Medical Truck is arrived, you'll be ready for the palace assault. You won't have a Daishi (;_;), but you have your sister and your entire staff. Good luck. MISSION 5: CAPTURE SUPPLIES Terrain Type: dense urban Primary Objectives: + Find the Weapon Cache and Defeat Jeanine Castro + Proceed to Gamma Bunker and Check for Weapons Cache (Blow Doors Off) + Proceed to Betaa Bunker and Check for Weapons Cache (Blow Doors Off) + Proceed to Alpha Bunker and Check for Weapons Cache (Blow Doors Off) Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: similar to the previous missions, though a Gauss Rifle or a PPC will do fine in this mission. Your cousin William calls you for knowing if you could accept to share powers with him and the Steiner government; as he suspected, you hastly refuse. Meanwhile, the battle in the capital is getting even more bloodier, with the infantry fighting block to block. It is time to stage the attack at the armory site or to retreat. Few minutes the beginning of the mission, however, the resistance troops already there have been cut off and Joanna is badly wounded. Despite your retreat order, there are no traces of your sister. Damon Squire took a 'Mech and went AWOL to search your sister alone, whichever you are going to attack. As soon you will enter the city, you will be ambushed by three Lokis and one Mad Cat Mk. II; Castro will begin to talk: she already discovered the armory, and kept it secret just in case you assaulted the capital. She also order to concentrate fire on you. Immediately take out one Loki, then go for the Mad Cat Mk. II, then finish off all the remaining Lokis. Now you will have to scan each Nav Point to find where's the Weapon Cache; to inspect a Bunker, destroy the armored door on one of its sides (easily recognizable: large as a 'Mech, gray with a yellow line at the center); the game will choose randomly where the Cache is, though it should be the last Nav Point you'll visit. All Bunkers are protected by four Calliope Turrets positioned on other buildings, with stationary (yes, they won't move at all, and they will hardly hit you...deadmeat) Bulldogs; there will be 4 Turrets and 4 Tanks, positioned in couples (1 Turret and 1 Bulldog) at each angle of the zone containing the Bunker. The simplest way to deal with this defense is to order your lancemate enter the perimeter first, while you snipe the Turrets away, then close with the Bulldogs to finish them off. When the second Bunker has been inspected, an heavy lance will power up at the remaining Nav Point. As Castro says, bllod your opponent and then send fresh troops to finish it off. The lance is composed of 2 Mad Cats, 1 Mad Cat Mk.II and Castro's Daishi. The Cats will be very active, and they will go toward you. Order your lancemates to take out one single target at time while you engage an other target. Leave Castro's Daishi for last. Once she's gone, the armory will be yours; however, your sister will be killed by Roland and your Chief technician will leave you, considering you like your cousin, someone interested only in power (however, you now have a Daishi. This will allow you to spearhead the attack on the palace without too much troubles). Good luck. ---------------------------------- --OPERATION SEVEN: FINAL VICTORY-- ---------------------------------- MISSION 1: END GAME Terrain Type: sparse urban Primary Objectives: + Take Out All Elite Guard 'Mechs + Destroy Turret Generator at Nav Beta + Stop the DropShip from Taking Off at Nav Gamma + Take Out William's Daishi Lancemates: Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, Jules Gonzales, Terra Risner, Dman Squire (if you chosed to rescue your sister) Maximum Number of Lancemates: 3 Independent allies: none 'Mech Configuration: long range hard-hitting weapons will work fine in this mission. If you recovered a Daishi, a single Clan ER PPC and 4 Clan ER Large Lasers will wreak havoc among any opponent you'll encounter in this mission. If you do not have a Daishi, a Mad Cat Mk.II or an Atlas with Gauss Rifles and/or PPCs will be the best. Be sure to max out the armor; Reflective compound can be considered. A commando team will hit the Turret Control just before you begin the attack; the Turrets will be powered down for about 20 minutes. Immediately order your lancemates to head to Nav Alpha, and follow them (even with a Daishi, keep yourself behind your lancemates for the beginning). The palace is protected by heavy and assault 'Mechs only, plus a pletora of Calliope Turrets and an Hrothgar-class DropShip. The main entrance to the palace is a Nav Alpha; the whle perimeter is well protected by an high wall which has more or less the consitution value of the buildings in the capital. A section can be took down, bu will require too much time. Better to go to Nav Alpha and engage whatever you'll find. There are three 'Mechs patrolling the main gates: a Mad Cat Mk.II and two Nova Cats; there are tow more Mad Cat Mk.IIs and a Daishi within the walls; these 'Mechs are active and have to came down. Concentrate fire on one target per time, and be sure to take them out before passing to the next one. In this mission the Nova Cats will tend to overheat badly, so expect their radar contacts to appear and disappear. After these 'Mechs are gone, go to Nav Beta: two Thors will power up; destroy them, then proceed to the Nav Point to destroy the Turret Generator before the Turrets will be powered up. Near this Nav Point there are also four 'Mech Repair Facilities. If you took any damage (I mean ANY) repair in them, then go for the DropShip. The easiest way to destroy Roland's DropShip is to target it from behind the gantry, from the valley at the main gates or from above, from the explanade at the center of the palace. The DropShip gunners will be very active and they are quite accurate, so keep mobile if you have to close with it. Meanwhile, tweo other Nova Cats will power up. Ignore them and have your lancemates destroy them. If you are attacking the DropShip and your lancemates are destroyed, ignore the Nova Cats and continue to destroy the DropShip. Remember that you can destroy the DropShip even when it's taking off, as long it is within effective weapons range. Once the DropShip and the Nova Cats are gone, your lancemates will retrat, leaving you alone. However, you aren't really alone: your cousin William, piloting a modified Daishi (1 Clan ER PPC, 5 Clan Medium Pulse Lasers and 2 Large Pulse Lasers) is awaiting you at the palace gates. If you need any repair go to the Repair Bases near Nav Beta (I strongly reccomend you to repair, even if you recieved only few hits). This duel is quite dangerous if you get too close to William and if you do not have an other Daishi; your best chance is to snipe the 'Mech with few, well placed shots while you keep circling around it. Once William has been defeated, the war will be over. Kentares is free from Steiner oppression, but remember, the Steinr family controls most of the planets and unit near your planet.Depending on which mission you did in Operation 6, you will be the new Duke of Kentares or your sister will (however, both endings are quite horrible). ********* 12-CHEATS ********* During a mission hold down CTRL, ALT and SHIFT and type: iy: invulnerability uo: infinite ammo hf: no heat tracking ib: destroy the targeted enemy ml: mission successful Seems that they do not work with patch 2.0. ********************** 13-PATCHES AND ADD-ONS ********************** Currently, there are three patches for MechWarrior 4, each in five or six different languages. You do not need to download all of them, but only the last of them, the 2.0, weighting 13 Mbytes. This patch will "grant access" to the brand-new Mission designator (an other 10+ Mbytes file). The 8 expansion maps (Equinox, Highlands, Hogsback, Lakefront, Polar Tundra, Scrub, Snowbound, Wetlands) can be used with all versions of the game, but consider that they can be used only in multiplayer games and to play online you need the third patch (2.0), that corrects several game errors. Also, before downloading the patch, be sure to download the correct language. If you live in Italy or any other country and you play an english version of MW4 (and you bought the copy in the country where you live, of course), you need the "Nordic" language patch, not the "English" patch. I discovered this thanks to www.mechwarrior4.com, which I highly reccomend for news on MW4 and for their servers, slightly faster than Micro$oft's. Here's a small description of the multiplayer maps (from the older to the newer). All maps have to be placed inside the MW4's resource\missions\ directory. 1) LAKE FRONT Size: 1,3 Mbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon (Free for All mode only). Terrain: hilly map with an island connected by a single bridge to the mainland. 2) SCRUB Size: 1,3 Mbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: large desrt map with few mesas. 3) EQUINOX Size: 1,7 Mbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: some medium-sized mountains, but primary a plain. 4) HOGSBACK Size: 900 Kbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: high mountains and valleis with lots of trees and a river. 5) WETLANDS Size: 138 Kbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: multiplayer version of op5m2. 6) SNOWBOUND Size: 154 Kbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: multiplayer version of op2m2. 7) POLAR TUNDRA Size: 242 Kbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: multiplayer version of op2m3. 8) HIGHLANDS Size: 202 Kbytes Supported modes: Attrition, Destruction, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Steal the Beacon. Terrain: multiplayer version of the Alpine Instant Action map. 9) COLISEUM * Size: 8.6 Mbytes Supported modes: unknow Terrain: multiplayer version of the Alpine Instant Action map. 10) GAGE TOWN * Size: 21.7 Mbytes Supported modes: unknow Terrain: multiplayer version of the Alpine Instant Action map. * While visiting www.mechwarrior4.com I stumbled on these two maps, almost six months after I quitted playing the game. I still have to download them (I have a 56k modem), and probably won't play them...howeverm they are official. For unofficial single-player missions, campaigns or multi-player maps, www.mechlab2.com is a very good place. **************** 14-CUSTOM 'MECHS **************** + Jess "Shin no kami" Drafahl(Shinigami147@aol.com ): hi. you seem like guy whos well known in the mech warrior faqs world so i want to share my idea for the perfect kill mech. you take a Daishi Chasiss give to clan gauss rifles and 2 large lasers and as many as possible other lasers. try to fill most slots. paint it with coat 18 arctic and you got my best mech, the Beam OS. id be real happy if you added it to your FAQ. btw my names Jesse Drafahl, hardcore but not a pro mech pilot lol. *************************************************** 15-DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MECHWARRIOR 4 AND BATTLETECH *************************************************** Bought MechWarrior 4 and decided to start playing BattleTech or MechWarrior? Are you a BettleTech fan and didn't decided yet if MW4 and other games are worth your money? Read the paragraph below to know what's my opinion. First part: Videogame -> Board/Role Playing Games Let me write this as first and most important thing: the book "MechWarrior 3rd edition" (from now MW3P) is not a game where BattleMechs fight; it is a role-playing game, like Shadowrun, AD&D, Cyberpunk, Heavy Gear, WarHammer etc etc etc. It focuses on characters and the cities/worlds where they live, and Mechs seldom appear as fighting force. If you want 'Mech versus 'Mech combat you need BattleTech (from now BT4). This boxed game now reached the 4th edition, and with this basic box you get 2 maps, dices, rules and whatever to introduce you into the BT universe. BT4 contains rules for Level 1 play, which do not include Clans, vehicles, infantry and any advanced equipment (ER, Pulse, Artemis, ECM...). For Level 2 rules (used during official tournaments) you have to buy BattleTech Master Rules (from now BMR), a book which contains all rules written in BT4 plus rules for advanced equipment, infantry and vehicle support. It is better to buy both products, as BT4 contains maps and 'Mechs counters, and you can begin to practice with the basic rules. This is you strictly need for playing BT. The last BT rulebook is Maximum Tech, which describes optional (Level 3) rules for a large number of situations and new (and fantastic) equipment for your 'Mechs. These rules are optional, and not used during official tournaments as they slow down the gameplay a lot. Other books you can buy are the Technical Readouts (TR 3025, 3026, 3050, 3055, 3057 and 3060), which contain new 'Mechs, vehicles, Airplanes and so on if you don't want to build 'Mechs on your own. Note that TR 3026 contains only vehicles and personal equipment (the latter useful if you play MW3P) and TR 3057 contains Dropships, Jumpships and Warships, useful for BattleSpace/Aerofighter 2nd edition (read below). Then you can buy Battleforce for large scale battles (Cluster versus Battalion) with full air, infantry, vehicle and artillery support. An other important thing is Aerofighter 2nd edition, a rulebook with full rules for air support for BT4 and dogfighting. The other things are needed only if you want a in-deepth sight of a particular faction, except the Field Manuals, which contains new Level 2 equipment (I reccomend all Clans Field Manuals because they speak about Clans and Comstar, Capellan Confederation, Lyran Alliance and Federated Commonwealth Field Manuals because they contain new weapons not included in BMR). That's it. Do you know that I did the same route for becoming a BT-adept? (though the game was the unsurpassed MechWarrior 2 -by Activision, DOS version...sweet memories...-) Second part: Board/Role Playing games -> Videogame What have you to buy? First a PC (at least a Pentium II 300 Mhz with 32 Mb of RAM and 2nd generation 3d accelerator), then all games with BT license. The oldest of them is Crescent Hawk's Inception, followed by Crescent Hawk's Revenge. They are a Zelda-like game, and you do not pilot 'Mechs (I think so: I have both archives, but even on a P200MMX the games are too fast and had not enough spare time for them). By Infocom. Then there is the MechWarrior series, by Activion and later by Microprose/Zipper and last by Micro$oft. The first MechWarrior is pretty good, as it features polygonal graphic (without any of the special effects we are used today of course); the game takes place in the Inner Sphere, before the Clans arrive, and you are a mercenary. You hire pilots and are paid by the Great Houses to engage their enemies. As you fight against Houses, they will begin to hate you, and your employers will begin to place more and better contracts for you. Really nice. The second MechWarrior is a series of its own, with the first, 31st Century Combat speaking about the Refusal War between Clan Wolf and Jade Falcon, the second (the expansion pack) speaking about the Clan Ghost Bear and their lost legacy....the third and last game by Activision is MW2: Mercenaries. It is a stand alone product, and features a more advanced graphic engine with light sourcing effects and several improvements. The game is a re-edition of the first MechWarrior, though the Clans are there...the third MechWarrior, by Microprose/Zipper (with sponsorization of Micro$oft and other companies) speaks about operation Bulldog, and you play an Inner Sphere pilot left alone behind enemy lines. The fourth is this game and I won't write more words 'bout it ;P...there is an another game, MechCommander, by Fasa Interactive, where you command an Inner Sphere company during operation Bulldog (but before the events told in MW3), and it is the only real translation of BattleTech as a PC game. There is also MechCommander 2, sequel of MechCommander, with the same game structure but probably more beautiful even than the first. By Micro$oft. Third part: Differences I'll speak about differences between MW4 and BT; First, let's speak about the 'Mechs: they are divided into two main categories, BattleMechs and OmniMechs. You can costumize standard BattleMechs, but this will require time and a good technician; in addition, if you replace a light item for an heavier one (or viceversa) the chassis might become unstable, with some disadvantages that vary with type of equipment and location; usually, the BattleMechs have a single configuration throughout a campaign, and they tend to be specialized workhorses. OmniMechs have a basic chassis (engine, structure, armor and, extremely rare, fixed equipment), and you can swap weapons and equipments (jump jets, FCS and Targeting devices) if you have enough time. OmniMechs do not become unstable if you swap Omni equipment, though removing engines and other fixed things will expose them to all standard disadvantage; the open structure of an OmniMech makes these changes really rare, and an OmniMech is capable of performing any kind of task with the proper equipment. OmniMechs were developed by Clans, and they use Omnis for front-line duties, relegating standard BattleMechs for other assignments; Inner Sphere technicians developed Omni technology in year 3058 (about), though IS firms tend to build all-around 'Mechs more than OmniMechs. As always, Clan technology is better that the IS one, though the Inner Sphere has more EW equipments (C3 Computers, for example) and more variety of weapons (though the Clans now have Heavy Lasers and especially ATM launchers...). Not even a 'Mech is restricted by hardpoints, you can costumize the 'Mechs as you want; especially with Clan players PPCs and Pulse Lasers dominate, though every weapon has its use (flamer excluded...one of the most useless things ever created...). Every 'Mech, whatever its tonnage can be knocked down: if the target takes 20 or plus point of damage in a single turn, it might find himself facing the ground. You can do physical attacks: though Clans consider this kind of attack dishonorable, it is possible to engage other 'Mech is fist-fights...I do not know why no MW game ever recreated this type of attack...OK, I'm a Clan player and I won't use them anyway, but the sight of an Atlas grabbing a smaller 'Mech can be very intimidating (RPG/board game general rule No. 1: imagination. "I'll punch you Hermes with my Atlas"=the Atlas takes the Hermes with his left hand by the enemy's head and smashs it to the ground...it's not a punch but makes the game better). ******************* 16-CREDITS and MISC ******************* First credit? To Fasa for having created the whole BattleTech universe. Then to me, Briareos Kerensky (Zone ID: briareos_CWE) and to all site showing this FAQ with my permission; visit them at: 1) The Clans Hall (http://www.sealteamsix.com/briareos/index.html; it's my site. Visit it and leave your sign the guestbook, this will make me very happy) 2) Federazione Italiana BattleTech (Italian BattleTech Federation; http://www.sealteamsix.com/fib/index.html) 3) GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) 4) Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com) and everyone who helped with this document. Special thanks to: all italian BT/MW players; all programs I used to do this FAQ; my turtle, Gamera; Thanatos, my PC (it is NOT named after the MW4 'Mech); all soundtracks that accompained me during this long work (nominally: all Eva and Cowboy Bebop OSTs, MW2 soundtrack ;^D and everything from Beethoven, Back, Pachelbel, Wagner, Saint Saen, Orff, Blur, Metallica, Queensryche, Warlord, Crimson Glory, Savatage, Cirith Ungol and everyone I forgot); Leader for having avoided translation; the one that did the Thanatos 'Mech (I did two years ago a Clan Omni with the same name, put it online and someone stoled the name! I hate you, whoever you are! ;). Thanks to and for: + Matthew Shane (mtshane@hotmail.com) for his corrections + Chang Shao Chung (swedenfc19@hotmail.com) for Mad Cat Mk. II's correct Clan name. To ask permission to post this document, just send a mail writing down the URL. To contact me, write at briareos@inwind.it; ICQ UIN is 40534369; Odigo ID is 264286. Write only about this FAQ or if you have a cute (female)friend/sister to introduce. Copyright (c) Briareos Kerensky 2001/2002. Reproduction and translation of this document (as a whole or parts of its) in any mode without permission is strictly forbidden. All names and marks are proprerties of respective owners.