Need some BattleTech tips? The world of the MechWarriors is harsh, encompassing a universe where metal is more valuable than people. BattleTech is one of the best turn-based strategy games around, but it’s a game you need to take seriously if you’re going to win. Luckily for you, we’re here to help.
While the economic and management layers to BattleTech are important, the real game-changing action happens in the tactical battles. Before you consult the bellow, you’ll want to make sure you know everything there is to know about BattleTech mech builds, which we conveniently have a guide for. Provided you’re up to see on that though, now it’s time to learn how to handle your lance.
Below you’ll find everything from contract tips, to general mech principles, to detailed ‘dos and don’ts’ for the various weapon types. There’s a lot of detail you can bury yourself in, and the more you master the better time you’ll have on the harder missions. Official support for BattleTech has finished now, so we don’t expect this will need updating much but we’ll refresh this guide as we need to.
Here are some essential tips to weapons and warfare in BattleTech.
Particularly in the early stages of the base campaign, you’re generally going to want to field the heaviest BattleMechs you have available. There are certainly roles for lighter, faster ‘Mechs, like the Jenner and Firestarter, but when you’ve only got a few key MechWarriors available, you can’t afford the risk of putting them in something that can’t be armoured as heavily as possible.
Once the financial restraints are loosened up a bit in the campaign, you’ll have more freedom to kit out your ‘Mechs for specific roles. Each BattleMech chassis has a stock role that your engineer, Yang Virtanen, describes in notes you can find in the info panel. That includes a default weapons loadout template you can follow, which is a very helpful starting point for most ‘Mech builds.
You’ve almost always got a choice of three missions to take on in BattleTech, and these are randomly selected from a series of types, as I mentioned above. They’ll all involve ‘Mech combat in some way, but what you’re up against and how each battle develops is heavily dependent on the kind of mission you deploy on. Some mission types have strict fail conditions, and the mission will end abruptly if you hit one of those – let an assassination target make it to his dust-off zone, and that’s the mission scrubbed, with no chance to recoup your losses.
Depending on how you negotiate your contracts, you’ll usually be pulling in some salvage after a mission. Pay attention to what’s available on the salvage screen! Your contract will dictate how many pieces you can call “dibs” on, and it’s worth going through the full list. Often, you’ll want to snap up BattleMech salvage – even when it’s not a chassis you want, they’re incredibly valuable to sell once you have a complete set. But you’ll also want to be on the lookout for rare, powerful weapons and gear. You’ll also want to be aware of equipment and ammo racks you’ve lost in combat, and salvage can be a chance to replace these cheaply.
Spare parts:
Let’s talk for a bit about the types of weapons you have available in BattleTech, and the trade-offs for each one. There are three main categories of weapons (plus support weapons, which I consider a special class), and each has its own set of pros and cons.
Energy weapons include all lasers and PPCs. They’re deceptively easy to use, and can be devastating at the proper ranges. You don’t have to carry any additional ammo for them, but the big limitation is heat buildup.
Ballistic weapons, as the name suggests, are your conventional, direct-fire guns – autocannons and gauss rifles. They generate relatively little heat compared to energy weapons, but you have to carry ammunition for them – and not only can you run out of ammo, but your ammo pods can be destroyed in combat, causing critical damage to your ‘Mechs. That’s why it’s important to never, ever mount ammo pods on the central hardpoints of your ‘Mechs – that’s where the cockpit is, and an ammo explosion is almost guaranteed to kill your MechWarrior if it’s mounted with the cockpit.
Missiles are particularly handy (and, conversely, annoying when they’re being fired at you) because of their ability to fire without line of sight. If you’ve got a spotter with the Tactics skill, you can launch LRMs from behind hills at targets who can’t strike back, which makes long-range missiles essential for the fire support role described below. Missiles do a lot of stability damage (more than anything else in the game) so they’re your go-to if you’re looking for a knockdown.
