[BATTLETECH] General Gameplay & Tactics Guide

If you like Brute Forcing everything, this guide is not for you. However having tried different playstyles I can probably say that this is the most efficient tips I can give. This is not a starter guide, rather a compilation of tips. At most it will have a recap but no in depth explanation of mechanics and only uses rough and comparative estimates. It will most likely benefit players already familiar to some of the basic mechanics in the game.

Always Install JumpJets

I am dedicating an entire section for JumpJets and putting it first because of how new players dismiss using JumpJets outright for better "Theoretical" stats in the MechLab

1. There are missions (in the campaign) which there are limit to the #of Turns and require JumpJets. You literally will not win without JumpJets.
2. You can Brace after using JumpJets, but not after Sprinting. You will achieve the theoretical maximum amount of damage reduction by Jumping then using Brace.
3. At heavier mechs, jumping gives more distance than just using "Move" and in some cases it will be even be the same as sprinting.
4. You will gain more Evasion charges when Jumping instead of Moving.
5. There are no turning limit with JumpJets, you can always face any direction.
6. At close range you can jump over enemy mechs to get at their rear arc, reducing target mech parts from 8 to 3, dealing with less armor and most importantly ignore Guarded and Entrenched.
7. JumpJets are not hampered by terrain features. You will be able to scale cliffs, dodge radiation/geothermal zones, move through cover without distance penalty, move through rough terrain without incurring more incoming stability damage, etc.
8. Height Advantage gives bonus accuracy to your weapons while reducing enemy accuracy.

JumpJets are more viable the heavier your mechs become since being heavier means the distance you can move will almost certainly shrink. JumpJets effectiveness does not change, if you mount 4 JumpJets in lights, you will Jump the same distance with Heavies with 4 JumpJets.
Another thing to note is that even though JumpJets become heavier, your heavier mech is still not as tonnage starved as lighter mechs and will most likely mount more heatsinks thus lessening the cost of JumpJet usage.
People always think that using JumpJets is sacrificing heat sinks while I learned that it's the other way around. Forcing heatsinks is to sacrifice tactic, opting for more firepower to brute force the situation when movement is a clearly better solution.
If your heat can spare it, always jump. Always install 3-4 JumpJets, 1-2 JumpJets isn't worth the investment and is just laughable, go big or go home. It's better to have it then not need it than need it then not have it. In this case though you will most certainly need it.

Armor Distribution

Frontload the armor (Max everything but the rear), then remove leg armor to match the arm armor +10-20, then remove back armor until your tonnage is at an integer and you're comfortable with that amount of back armor (at least half of the maximum). Never remove head armor. Always keep it to max.
If your arm doesn't contain anything, you can skimp a few points but don't make it so that you will lose it at 2-3 enemy salvo. If you have extra tonnage make sure to that the legs are least 20-30 points higher than the arms. If you're building a dedicated LRM or Sniper Mech and you really need the tonnage, you can remove a ton or two but make sure to spread the reduction evenly. If you remove 10 points in the Center Torso, remove the same amount to the Side Torsos, Legs and Arms.
Rear armor is only a moderate priority. You will most certainly face enemy mechs head on. If your enemy gets to your rear arc then it's more of a tactics problem. It's only there for keeping mistakes from killing you.
Avoid using the Max Armor Button, I think it's bugged because sometimes clicking it then adjusting armor values will never give you an integer if remaining tonnage is not enough to max it. Although it's really useful when you have nothing else to put in your mech. Until they fix that bug, try to not use it in that circumstance.

Building a Mech

Steps:

1. Allocate Armor
2. Set aside Tonnage for 3-4 JumpJets
3. Add heavier weapons
4. Add ammo
5. Add Medium Lasers
6. Add Heatsinks until your heat efficiency is at 4 or 5
7. If previous step is not possible, remove heavier weapon and replace with Medium Lasers and heatsinks until you're at heat efficiency 4 or 5.
8. Add 4-5 JumpJets (This is done last so that you will have a more accurate representation of heat efficiency)

Some steps can be done out of order but NEVER Allocate armor last you will almost certainly want maximum possible front armor. Only case when it is okay to do so is if the mech is a dedicated LRM Boat.
Don't try putting LRMs on each of your mechs, this will just waste tonnage and is not efficient enough turn wise. It's best to just keep all LRMs at a single mech then attack in one salvo. This will make it so that your enemy will not be able to remove stability damage until you are ready to knock it down. This will also make sure that every other mech is efficient at what it do, not wasting ammo and weapon tonnage where it could be put to more armor or JumpJets or heatsinks. Splitting LRMs to all of your mechs will waste turn attacking where they could be getting to a better position.
It is better to use same types of weapon at the same mechs also known as "Boating" because of equipment sharing and ease of manipulating ranges. For example an AC/5 needs about 2 tons of ammo but 2 AC/5s will only need 3 tons of ammo. However mixing an AC/2 and AC/5 will need different ammo types. To some extent energy builds benefits more to heatsinks than mixed builds, going pure energy will net better sustained fire than mixing Energy + Ballistics.
Is better to use weapon with similar Range Profiles. Some weapons like AC/2 or LRMs have a significant accuracy reduction if at a minimum range. Granted it is mitigated with heavy investment in Tactics stat thus less of an issue late game, it's still a significant disadvantage. Mixing weapon ranges necessitates to maintain a small specific range in which Optimal ranges overlap. Else you risk reducing your damage output by a significant amount.
It is easier to maintain a range of just greater than 180m (ie. an LRM Boat) than greater than 180m AND less than 270m (ie. SRMs + LRMs). This will also make Bulwark less effective due to the need to reposition a lot.

Mech Variables

I will start with a comparison example.
Now, the outlier here is the Centurion A. I compared it with the Shadowhawk which is my #1 Favorite IS medium mech, (#2 is Enforcer, Clans have another list) but it still underperforms when compared to the Centurion.

Build Comparison

SRM18 + 2 Medium Laser Centurion
Note the 4 extra heatsinks

SRM16 + 3 Medium Laser Shadowhawk
Note the smaller SRM4 in the head, extra Medium Laser to compensate, but lack of 3 more heatsinks

AC/20 + 2 Medium Laser Centurion
Classic Yen-Lo-Wang + 4 JumpJets

AC/20 + 2 Medium Laser Shadowhawk
Note that it's 4 tons Overweight, you can use an AC/10 but it's 40% less damage. You cannot fit the same build as the Yen-Lo-Wang

Even though the Shadowhawk is 5 Tons heavier than the Centurion, its only advantage is:

1. 20-10 points more Armor and 10-5 points more Structure Armor per part (calculated to be roughly 12.5% in total)
2. about 1 more movement distance radius
3. Shadowhawk looks cooler

But its Pod Space still a few tons short compared to the Centurion which allows the Centurion to significantly pack more equipment. The Shadowhawk can mount more armor but you will need to remove significantly more armor to match the Centurion in equipment.
This difference can be attributed to the original TableTop specs in which the Shadowhawk has a bigger engine that can do 86.4 km/h while the Centurion can only do 64.8 km/h. Since the Engine is significantly heavier, there is less Pod Space in the Shadowhawk. The tabletop stats doesn't translate well to the game thus the Shadowhawk has only has a small advantage in movement and the extra Pod Space of the Centurion will be the bigger factor. Due to the same number of JumpJets, their Jump distance is the same but since the Centurion has more heatsinks it will actually be more mobile due to the ability to Jump more often.

Movement Comparison

Moving

Sprinting

Jumping

What to take away from this is there are still some hidden variables about each mech that will decide which is better or what role it is good at. A 20 Tonner would probably lose to a 35 Tonner but that doesn't mean that a 35 Tonner is guaranteed to be objectively better than a 30 Tonner.
I could make the same case with Banshee vs Highlander in which the Highlander is objectively better due to Pod Space and hardpoints but 5 tons lighter. The Banshee 3E is especially bad IMO. This is a good reminder when they add new mechs, and I'm sure they still have new ones planned.

Mech Variables to Consider:

1. Pod Space/Free Tonnage
2. Number of Hardpoints
3. Hardpoint Configuration
4. Class/Initiative
5. Maximum Number of JumpJets
6. Movement Speed

In choosing a specific mech chassis, first thing to consider is Pod Space then Number of Hardpoints. Having more Pod Space is the most important variable to consider and you would want enough hardpoints so that you can use every tonnage available.
Hardpoint Configuration is also a big factor. It is disadvantageous that all of your weapons are concentrated in one side as it is easier to remove the combat capability of your mech, if possible split your firepower in both sides. Another thing worth mentioning is that Arm Mounted weapons get an accuracy bonus but is balanced by being easier to destroy when attacked from the side.
Initiative is only put into consideration when building a lance for a specific mission. There's a section dedicated to lance building and Initiative further down the guide.
I found a spreadsheet made by DrDodger from reddit, Voranth on Paradox/Battletech Forums, Danwolf, NoDebate123 and some other contributors. I'll link it here but not post tables or screenshots as to not plagiarize. This has all the data you'll want if you like being meticulous in these kinds of games.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fnaqQv8nnYpy9gtQm75-D6fmYfNJ5u3OALSIe8ckOuo/htmlview?sle=true#

Quick Firepower Calculation

This section is for quick, in-the-head calculations of firepower. For more detailed numbers, you can go to the Efficiency Calculations section.
When thinking about firepower always think in terms of Medium Lasers, this will make it easier for you mentally; thinking that you will lose a lot of firepower for switching to lighter weapons while it's not necessarily the case.

For example:

1. 1 SRM6 = 2 Medium Lasers
2. 1 AC/20 = 4 Medium Lasers
3. 1 Large Laser = 2 Medium Lasers
4. 1 AC/10 = 3 Medium Lasers
5. 1 AC/5 = 2 Medium Lasers

Medium Lasers are the most single efficient way to bump up your firepower. Small lasers and Machine Guns too but since only a few mechs has a lot of Support hardpoints (Banshee, Grasshopper, Firestarter) and too short of a range, Medium Lasers will be your Bread-and-Butter.
Other weapons I'd say is efficient in terms of Hardpoint, Heat and Tonnage are SRM6s, then followed by AC/20.

Unless you are doing specific roles like LRM Support or PPC Sniper or Close Combat specialist, Medium Lasers, SRM6s and AC/20s will give you the most bang for your buck.
You are in no way required to fill every hardpoint. I know that you are urged to do so but often it is not feasible. You can fill every hardpoint with weapons but if you find yourself turning it off most of the time then it's wasted tonnage. Focus on building a mech that you can almost always Alpha Strike.

Support Weapons

Another thing to consider are Support Weapons. Always try to put at least 1 Support weapon if you can because:

1. They bump up your firepower to a significant degree for only a few tons. Albeit limited to close range.
2. Increase your melee damage significantly. Even more weight efficient than Actuator upgrades.
3. Support weapons counts as a separate attack when using melee, it removes an additional evasion charge.

Small Lasers will be your bread and butter support weapons. They do produce heat but at half the tonnage of a Medium Laser but does 80% the damage, this is the most damage/ton efficient weapon in the game. Its +++ Variant does a whopping 30 damage for 0.5 tons.

Machine Guns are my favorite Support weapons due to them not producing heat and it's ability to frequently proc head hits. This is particularly useful for farming mechs, especially against Assault mechs. Pack enough MGs and you will deal head hits consistently enough to incapacitate mech pilots at a few salvos.

Flamers are really nice to have. Enemy AI is notoriously bad at heat management, if you see one of them go beyond the heat threshold, using Flamers against them will almost certainly make them shut down. Which is almost a free kill right there. However it weighs a whole 1 ton and is only useable for 6 attacks without the option for additional ammo.
If you are worried about stats like Heat Management, keep in mind that Support weapons are 90m only and even a 1 Heat Management mech will perform a lot cooler than it looks statistically in the MechLab due to how infrequent Support Weapons will actually be used.

Efficiency Calculations

These are the basic information you will need when choosing weapons to use. You don't need to use the most efficient weapon every time. You want to push the leeways you have, for example you would only want to use half or so of the heatsinks to keep heat neutrality. If you're lacking in Tonnage, look for Damage/Ton efficient weapons. If you're having heat problems, look for Damage/Heat efficient weapons, etc. In some situations using less efficient weapons are the only way to maximize leftover tonnage due to slot or hardpoint limitations.
If I were to choose, the most important factors in descending order are.

1. Damage/Ton
2. Damage/Heat
3. Stability Damage/Ton

Legend:

• Weapon Name: [ Weight in Tons / Slots / Damage / Stability Damage / Heat ]

• D/H: Damage/Heat = The higher the better
• D/T: Damage/Ton = The higher the better
• D/S: Damage/Slot = The higher the better
• H/S: Heat/Slot = The lower the better
• HN: #of Single Heatsinks to achieve Heat Neutrality, Integer only. = The lower the better
• SD/H: Stability Damage/Heat = The higher the better
• SD/T: Stability Damage/Ton = The higher the better

Ballistic Weapons

• AC/2: [ 6 / 1 / 25 / 5 / 5 ]

• D/H: 5
• D/T: 4.17
• D/S: 25
• H/S: 5
• HN: 2
• SD/H: 1
• SD/T: 0.83

• AC/5: [ 8 / 2 / 45 / 10 / 10 ]
• D/H: 4.5
• D/T: 5.63
• D/S: 22.5
• H/S: 5
• HN: 4
• SD/H: 1
• SD/T: 1.25

• AC/10: [ 12 / 3 / 60 / 20 / 15 ]
• D/H: 4
• D/T: 5
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 5
• HN: 5
• SD/H: 1.33
• SD/T: 1.67

• AC/20: [ 14 / 4 / 100 / 40 / 25 ]
• D/H: 4
• D/T: 7.14
• D/S: 25
• H/S: 6.25
• HN: 9
• SD/H: 1.6
• SD/T: 2.86

• Gauss Rifle: [ 15 / 5 / 75 / 40 / 5 ]
• D/H: 15
• D/T: 5
• D/S: 15
• H/S: 1
• HN: 2
• SD/H: 8
• SD/T: 2.67

Ballistic Weapons Efficiency Scale

• D/H: Gauss Rifle >>> AC/2 >>> AC/5 >>> AC/10 and AC/20
• D/T: AC/20 >>> AC/5 >>> Gauss Rifle and AC/10 >>> AC/2
• D/S: AC/2 and AC/20 >>> AC/5 >>> AC/10 >>> Gauss Rifle
• H/S: Gauss Rifle >>> AC/2 and AC/5 and AC/10 >>> AC/20
• HN: Gauss Rifle and AC/2 >>> AC/5 >>> AC/10 >>> AC/20
• SD/H: Gauss Rifle >>> AC/20 >>> AC/10 >>> AC/2 and AC/5
• SD/T: AC/20 >>> Gauss Rifle >>> AC/10 >>> AC/5 >>> AC/2

Energy Weapons

• Medium Laser: [ 1 / 1 / 25 / 0 / 10 ]
• D/H: 2.5
• D/T: 25
• D/S: 25
• H/S: 10
• HN: 4
• SD/H: 0
• SD/T: 0

• Large Laser: [ 5 / 2 / 40 / 0 / 45 ]
• D/H: 0.89
• D/T: 8
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 22.5
• HN: 15
• SD/H: 0
• SD/T: 0

• PPC: [ 7 / 3 / 50 / 20 / 40 ]
• D/H: 1.25
• D/T: 7.14
• D/S: 16.67
• H/S: 13.3
• HN: 14
• SD/H: 0.5
• SD/T: 2.86

Energy Weapons Efficiency Scale

• D/H: Medium Laser >>> PPC >>> Large Laser
• D/T: Medium Laser >>> Large Laser >>> PPC
• D/S: Medium Laser >>> Large Laser >>> PPC
• H/S: Medium Laser >>> Large Laser >>> PPC
• HN: Medium Laser >>> PPC >>> Large Laser
• SD/H: PPC
• SD/T: PPC

Missile Weapons

• Short Range Missile Launchers
• SRM2: [ 1 / 1 / (2 x 8 = 16) / (2 x 3 = 6) / 6 ]
• D/H: 2.67
• D/T: 16
• D/S: 16
• H/S: 6
• HN: 2
• SD/H: 1
• SD/T: 6

• SRM4: [ 2 / 1 / (4 x 8 = 32) / (4 x 3 = 12) / 8 ]
• D/H: 4
• D/T: 16
• D/S: 32
• H/S: 8
• HN: 3
• SD/H: 1.5
• SD/T: 6

• SRM6: [ 3 / 2 / (6 x 8 = 48) / (6 x 3 = 18) / 14 ]
• D/H: 3.42
• D/T: 16
• D/S: 24
• H/S: 7
• HN: 5
• SD/H: 1.29
• SD/T: 6

SRM Efficiency Scale

• D/H: SRM4 >>> SRM6 >>> SRM2
• D/T: SRM6 === SRM4 === SRM2
• D/S: SRM4 >>> SRM6 and SRM2
• H/S: SRM2 >>> SRM6 >>> SRM4
• HN: SRM2 >>> SRM4 >>> SRM6
• SD/H: SRM4 >>> SRM6 >>> SRM2
• SD/T: SRM6 === SRM4 === SRM2

Long Range Missile Launchers

• LRM5: [ 2 / 1 / (5 x 4 = 20) / (5 x 2 = 10) / 6 ]
• D/H: 3.33
• D/T: 10
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 6
• HN: 2
• SD/H: 1.67
• SD/T: 5

• LRM10: [ 5 / 2 / (10 x 4 = 40) / (10 x 2 = 20) / 12 ]
• D/H: 3.33
• D/T: 8
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 6
• HN: 4
• SD/H: 1.67
• SD/T: 4

• LRM15: [ 7 / 3 / (15 x 4 = 60) / (15 x 2 = 30) / 15 ]
• D/H: 4
• D/T: 8.57
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 5
• HN: 5
• SD/H: 2
• SD/T: 4.29

• LRM20: [ 10 / 4 / (20 x 4 = 80) / (20 x 2 = 40) / 18 ]
• D/H: 4.44
• D/T: 8
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 4.5
• HN: 6
• SD/H: 2.22
• SD/T: 4

LRM Efficiency Scale

• D/H: LRM20 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM10 and LRM5
• D/T: LRM5 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM20 and LRM10
• D/S: LRM20 === LRM15 === LRM10 === LRM5
• H/S: LRM20 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM10 and LRM5
• HN: LRM5 >>> LRM10 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM20
• SD/H: LRM20 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM10 and LRM5
• SD/T: LRM5 >>> LRM15 >>> LRM20 and LRM10

Support Weapons

• Small Laser: [ 0.5 / 1 / 20 / 0 / 5 ]
• D/H: 4
• D/T: 40
• D/S: 20
• H/S: 5
• HN: 2
• SD/H: 0
• SD/T: 0

• Machine Gun: [ 0.5 / 1 / (5 x 3 = 15) / 0 / 0 ]
• D/H: Infinite
• D/T: 30
• D/S: 15
• H/S: 0
• HN: 0
• SD/H: 0
• SD/T: 0

• Flamer: [ 1 / 1 / (5 + 10 Heat) / 0 / 0 ]
• D/H: Infinite
• D/T: 5 + 10 Heat
• D/S: 5 + 10 Heat
• H/S: 0
• HN: 0
• SD/H: 0
• SD/T: 0

Average Trend:

• D/H: Ballistic >>> Missile >>> Energy
• D/T: Energy >>> Missile >>> Ballistic
• D/S: Energy >>> Missile >>> Ballistic
• H/S: Ballistic >>> Missile >>> Energy
• HN: Ballistic >>> Missile >>> Energy
• SD/H: Missile >>> Ballistic >>> Energy
• SD/T: Missile >>> Ballistic >>> Energy

Build Recommendations

Since the Initiative system is a huge factor in gameplay, the best mechs to field are mechs that are close to the Threshold (at least 5 tons close) for jumping the next Mech weight class since they will be able to mount the max equipment and armor for that same initiative bracket.

Mech Weight Thresholds:

• Light = 20-35 Tons
• Medium = 40-55 Tons
• Heavy = 60-75 Tons
• Assault = 80-100 Tons

Biggest victims of this mechanic is mechs like Locust (20 Tons), Cicada (40 Tons), Quickdraw (60 Tons) Battlemaster (80 Tons) because they are the lightest in their weight class and/or clearly hampered by the lowered initiative. They will most likely lose to mechs in the same weight class.

Suggested Mechs and Builds

Assume front loaded armor. Note that you may need to modify the placements if you are upgrading Single Heatsinks to Double Heatsinks or using upgrades like Gyros or Cockpit mods. You can find how to get more Double Heatsinks in the outro of this guide.

Legend:

• (<Chassis Tonnage>/<Free Tonnage Without Armor>) - [Ballistic/Energy/Missile/Support] Hardpoints
• (<Weapons sharing ammo>) [<Tons Ammo>]

Light Mechs:

• Panther PNT-9R (35 Tons / 21.5 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 4 / 1 / 0 ]
• SRM/Laser = 4 Medium Laser + 1 SRM6 [1] + 3 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit = 1 Large Laser + 3 Medium Laser + 3 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Firestarter FS9-H (35 Tons / 16.5 Tons Free) - [ 2 / 6 / 0 / 6 ]
• Machine Gun Boat = 6 Machine Gun [1] + 2 Medium Laser + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Boat = 4 Medium Laser + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Melee/Laser = 6 Small Laser + 2 Medium Laser + 1 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Urbanmech UM-R60 (30 Tons / 21.5 Tons Free) - [ 4 / 2 / 0 / 2 ]
• //Surprisingly one of the best Light mech in spite of its reputation as a Joke Mech.
• AC/Laser = 1 AC/5 [1] + 2 Medium Laser + 2 Small Laser + 4 JumpJet

Medium Mechs:

• Centurion CN9-A (50 Tons / 31.5 Tons Free) - [ 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 ]
• //Definitely my most used medium
• SRM/Laser = 3 SRM6 [3] + 2 Medium Laser + 4 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Yen-Lo-Wang = 1 AC/20 [2] + 2 Medium Laser + 4 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 3 LRM10 [3] + 4 JumpJet

• Hunchback HBK-4G (50 Tons / 31.5 Tons Free) - [ 3 / 2 / 0 / 1 ]
• AC/Laser = 1 AC/20 [2] + 2 Medium Lasers + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 6 Heatsinks + 2 JumpJet - *Note: Really Hot*

• Hunchback HBK-4P (50 Tons / 31.5 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 8 / 0 / 3 ]
• Laser Boat = 8 Medium Laser + 11 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit = 2 Large Laser + 2 Medium Laser + 7 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 6 Heatsinks + 2 JumpJet - *Note: Really Hot*

• Enforcer ENF-4R (50 Tons / 31.5 Tons Free) - [ 1 / 5 / 0 / 1 ]
• AC/Laser = 1 AC/5 [2] + 4 Medium Laser + 4 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 6 Heatsinks + 2 JumpJet - *Note: Really Hot*

• Kintaro KTO-18 (55 Tons / 28 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 2 / 5 / 0 ]
• //This is my go-to Lurmboat early-mid game
• SRM Carrier = 5 SRM4 [3] + 1 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• SRM/Laser = 4 SRM4 [2] + 2 Medium Laser + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 5 LRM5 [3] + 1 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Shadowhawk SHD-2D (55 Tons / 28 Tons Free) - [ 1 / 3 / 3 / 2 ]
• AC/Laser = 1 AC/5 [1] + 2 Medium Laser + 2 Small Laser + 1 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• SRM/Laser = (2 SRM6 + 1 SRM4) [2] + 2 Medium Laser + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM10 [2] + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Griffin GRF-1N (55 Tons / 28 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 3 / 3 / 1 ]
• SRM Carrier = 3 SRM6 [3] + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• SRM/Laser = 3 SRM4 [2] + 3 Medium Laser + 3 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM10 [2] + 2 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

Heavy Mechs:

• Orion ON1-V (75 Tons / 42.5 Tons Free) - [ 2 / 2 / 3 / 0 ]
• AC/SRM = 1 AC/5 [2] + 3 SRM6 [3] + 1 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM20 [3] + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 9 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Black Knight BL-6-KNT (75 Tons / 42.5 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 8 / 0 / 3 ]
• Laser Vomit A = 1 Large Laser + 7 Medium Laser + 11 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit B = 2 Large Laser + 4 Medium Laser + 9 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 9 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

• Grasshopper GHR-5H (70 Tons / 41 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 7 / 1 / 6 ]
• //Without a doubt the best Melee mech. Has more Movement Speed and Free tonnage than the Banshee.
• Machine Gun Boat = 6 Machine Gun [2] + 7 Medium Laser + 10 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit A = 1 Large Laser + 6 Medium Laser + 11 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit B = 2 Large Laser + 3 Medium Laser + 9 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• Melee/Laser = 6 Small Laser + 7 Medium Laser + 12 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet
• PPC Sniper = 2 PPC + 8 Heatsink + 4 JumpJet

Assault Mechs:

• Atlas II AS7-D-HT (100 Tons / 78 Tons Free) - [ 2 / 6 / 2 / 4 ]
• //Definitely the best Assault in the game. Also the best PPC boat in the game, can Alpha without Jumping in the Desert. Can run cooler with just 3 PPC. If you have access to Heat Exchangers that will be better than using too many heatsinks.
• PPC Sniper = 4 PPC + 23 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• AC/SRM = 2 AC/20 [5] + 2 SRM6 [3] + 9 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• AC/Laser = 2 AC/20 [4] + 6 Medium Laser + 13 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• Laser Vomit = 4 Large Laser + 2 Medium Laser + 29 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM20 [4] + 1 AC/5 [2] + 5 Medium Laser + 12 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

• King Crab KGC-0000 (100 Tons / 65 Tons Free) - [ 2 / 4 / 4 / 4 ]
• AC/SRM = 1 AC/20 [3] + 4 SRM6 [3] + 6 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• AC/40 = 2 AC/20 [8] + 2 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM20 [4] + 4 Machine Gun [2] + 4 Medium Laser + 6 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• AC/Laser = 1 AC/20 [3] + 2 Large Laser + 2 Medium Laser + 10 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

• Highlander HGN-733 (90 Tons / 60.5 Tons Free) - [ 1 / 2 / 4 / 1 ]
• AC/SRM = 1 AC/5 [2] + 4 SRM6 [4] + 2 Medium Laser + 8 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = (2 LRM5 + 2 LRM20)[4] + 2 Medium Laser + 6 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

• Highlander HGN-732B (90 Tons / 65.5 Tons Free) - [ 2 / 3 / 2 / 3 ]
• AC/SRM = 1 AC/20 [3] + 2 SRM6 [2] + 3 Medium Laser + 3 Small Laser + 11 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• LRM Boat = 2 LRM20 [4] + 3 Medium Laser + 3 Small Laser + 12 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

• Highlander HGN-733P (90 Tons / 60.5 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 4 / 3 / 3 ]
• //Definitely my favorite Lurmboat late game. 3 LRM 15 +++ is perfect for Multi-Shot + Breaching Shot.
• LRM Boat = 3 LRM15 [4] + 4 Medium Laser + 8 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• PPC/SRM = 2 PPC + 3 SRM4 [2] + 14 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

• Banshee BNC-3M (95 Tons / 37.5 Tons Free) - [ 0 / 8 / 0 / 6 ]
• //Woefully underpowered. I'd pick a Grasshopper over the Banshee. Funny thing is that this is the better variant of the two Banshee variants if you can believe it.
• Machine Gun Boat = 6 Machine Gun [2] + 5 Medium Laser + 1 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• Laser Boat = 6 Medium Laser + 6 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet
• Melee/Laser = 6 Small Laser + 4 Medium Laser + 5 Heatsink + 3 JumpJet

Selecting your Pilot Skills

Best Build I found is:

"Vanguard"
Bulwark > Sensor Lock > Master Tactician


Second Best is:
"Outrider"
Bulwark > Evasive > Ace Pilot


Third Best is:
"Lancer"
Bulwark > Multishot > Breaching Shot

Don't heavily invest in Multishot and Breaching Shot, only 1 pilot out of 8 will do. It is functional but the problem is the opportunity cost of selecting other skills. At most I managed to use Breaching Shot + Multishot on a 3 LRM15+++ Highlander 733P to make 3 different braced mechs Unsteady but that's it. I'll only think about massing Multishot if they buff Breaching Shot to ignore evasion too instead of just Cover and Guarded.

1. At late game most mechs are so armored that 1 weapon damage is basically a drop in a bucket, even enemy vehicles pack 150 front armor, Multishot + Breaching Shot will not help you clear the field faster, they will just shrug it off.
2. Focus firing removes damage sources significantly faster than spreading the damage.
3. The enemy AI rarely use Brace and Cover, mostly at first contact or when they're almost dead, hardly a threat anymore.
4. Your heavier mechs will most certainly pack a significant amount of weapons in which you will most certainly knock an enemy down removing Brace.
5. At late game, your Pilots will have enough Gunnery Stat to have roughly 70% chance to hit a mech with 2 Evasion Charges. You can afford to switch Focus Fire to evasive mechs rather than braced mechs.
6. The only weapons that benefit significantly to Breaching Shot + Multishot are AC/20, AC/10, LRM20 and PPC, all of which are impractical to mount more than 2 due to their weight and heat generation. Best case scenario would be a Mech with 3 AC/20+++ or 3 PPC++ or 3 LRM20+++ which is extremely impractical.

My thoughts on each skill:

Bulwark gives you 50% Damage Reduction and Stability Damage Reduction if you do not move, essentially a free Brace. If you're already using Bulwark but the enemy dodged your firing arc, You can still turn to face the enemy without removing the buff granted that you don't change the tile your mech is on. Bulwark will heavily mitigate incoming damage while still allowing you to deal damage. I think Bulwark is the single skill that all your pilots should have.

Evasive is good if you only "Move" a lot, not "Sprint" due to the fact that Sprinting the max distance will almost always give you the max evasion charges unless you're an Assault. Also because of the nature of evasion it is not as useful as Bulwark because it is comparatively easily removed. At late game you will always be outnumbered thus Evasive is not as good as Bulwark.

Evasion will be gone almost every turn. Especially how the AI is frighteningly good at focus firing.
Sensor Lock is really situational but since it's a prerequisite of Master Tactician, it's somewhat nice to have. Do not use more than 1 mech to Sensor Lock an enemy mech. Using more will have a huge impact on your damage output. At late game due to how easy it is to make an enemy Unsteady, this will mostly be used to acquire targets that are not in Line-of-Sight and not primarily to remove evasion.

Master Tactician will allow your mech to move at an earlier turn, essentially turning a Medium mech to a Light, etc. and remove 1 stability damage bar each time you reserve. Which means less chance for a knockdown when reserving.

Ace Pilot will allow you to attack then move, really good for breaking Line-of-Sight after attacking or torso twisting. The biggest downside of getting Ace Pilot is that its prerequisite "Evasive" does not work well with Bulwark.

Juggernaut is really really really situational. It's only useful against high initative mechs, even then you will most likely benefit more to Master Tactician or Ace Pilot. In fact I'd rate it even lower than Breaching Shot. Also Master Tactician will achieve almost the same effect but without requiring you to perform a melee attack as it is always active. If you do consider it though, I'd pair it with Evasive so that it's easier to get close and with a mech that has a lot of melee potential like Firestarter, Grasshopper or Banshee.

Skill Progression and Stats Distribution

• Prioritize to get all of your Major Skills (Some of below might be a prerequisite)
• Rank 6 Tactics = Called Shot Bonus
• Rank 4 Guts = +1 HP (total of 4)
• Rank 9 Tactics = Called Shot Mastery
• Rank 5 Piloting = +1 Evasion Charges (total of 5)
• Rank 7 Piloting = +20% Sprint Distance
• Rank 5 Guts = +15 Overheat Threshold
• Rank 10 Piloting = +2 Evasion Charges (total of 6)
• Rank 9 Guts = + 30 Overheat Threshold (total of +30)
• Rank 10 Guts = +3 Health (total of 6)
• Dump to Gunnery = +Hit Chance * 2.5% per level
• (If LRM Boat Pilot) Rank 10 Tactics = Indirect Fire Difficulty -3

After getting your skills, the biggest priority for stats from high to low is

Tactics > Piloting > Guts > Gunnery

Tactics gives a significant bonus for Called Shots at rank 4 and 9. A Called Shot to the Center Torso from the front arc will have a 54%(rank 6) or 90%(rank 9) chance of hitting the Center Torso from the base 28%. At late game, Knockdowns and Precision Shots will be used frequently with almost each enemy mech will at least be knocked down at least once. The ability to use Precision Shot to 1 salvo a Heavy Mech is a force to be reckoned with, and it ensures that Knockdowns will most certainly be a kill. If your Precision Shot manage to 1 salvo an enemy, the kill will refund about 75% of the morale used.

Piloting gives a significant amount of sprint distance, stability damage threshold and evasion bonuses which allow you to move your mechs with a less risks. Even sprinting or jumping with an assault at max piloting will net 5-6 evasion charges, ensuring that you will be able to close the distance without suffering too much from LRM fire.

Guts gives more leeway for mistakes and unlucky injuries. The overheat threshold bonus helps if you have problems with heat management.

Gunnery only gives a multiplicative 2.5% bonus to BASE hit chance, not additive flat hit chance. While at max level, 25% bonus to base chance is nothing to scoff at, the exponential cost of high level stats makes it a poorer investment than other stats. At most you'll only need 4-5 Gunnery. Consider it a dump stat, the last one to max.

Lance Composition

It is crucial that each of the mechs in your lance is specialized, that is to say that every mech has its own role. Building a jack-of-all-trades lance is viable but you will find that it will perform rather poorly when compared to specialized mechs.

An example scenario is if you opt for a jack-of-all-trades Lance you will take multiple turns to make a mech Unsteady with LRMs instead of just 1 mech pouring all the stability damage in one salvo, and that the enemy mech will most certainly remove the stability damage between turns while firing in one salvo mitigates this.

This is one of the biggest advantages of Boating. You will always be in a situation where there is a 100% best mech in your squad to deal with the situation at the least amount of turns, instead of requiring more than 1 mech to deal with it and taking a significant amount of turns.

Your lance should consist of at least:

• 1 LRM Fire Support Mech with Master Tactician or Breaching Shot
• 2 Close/Medium Range Mech (SRMs or AC/10/20 or Medium Lasers) with Master Tactician or Ace Pilot
• 1 Sniper Mech (PPC, LL, or AC/2/5) with Master Tactician or Ace Pilot

This is not the only composition but in most intances this will be able to do the job rather efficiently. In case you are in a Battle type contract and forgone salvage, you can go 4 Close/Medium range mech outright. If you are in an Assasination contract and want to farm mechs, you can go with 2 LRM mechs instead of 1 Sniper Mech. Your Sniper mech is nice to have but never a necessity. It's mostly used to kill knocked down mechs or to destroy turrets from a safe distance.
The biggest thing to consider about picking mechs for a lance is Initative.
I would suggest building a lot of mechs at all weight classes so that you can mix and match what the mission drop tonnage currently needs. You would most certainly want a Medium mech in Escort missions while you would benefit more using an Assault in a straight up battle.

Initiative

I am dedicating an entire section for this due to how important this section is.
The most important to take away from this is that:
You need your initiative to be higher than most mechs of your opponent so that you can take advantage of Reserve with 2 succeeding moves, and you need mechs with close initiative so that it will be easier to coordinate lance tactics such as attacking.

It is important to remember that Reserving keeps all buffs from last turn, ie. Evasion Charges, Guarded and Entrenched. If your mech has these buffs, it is most certainly better to just reserve and aim to have 2 succeeding turns where you can move then reapply the buffs without the enemy having the chance to attack in between. This is particularly useful when first moving into range as it will make sure that the enemy will not have a chance to attack you without Bulwark active.

The flexibility of choosing when to use your turn is the reason why the Initiative system is the most important thing to consider in building your lance. Ideally you'd want to have an Initiative of 3 or 2 because of enemy Assaults and Turrets going at Initiative 1.

I usually run with 2 Assaults and 2 Heavies at the late game, with 2 Master Tacticians, 1 Ace Pilot and 1 Breaching Shot. Equipping Assaults with Master Tacticians is important because it gives them the first move against enemy Assaults, in some situations incapacitating them or their weapons before even getting a chance to attack significantly reducing the amount of damage you will inevitably recieve. If you need a lighter lance for Escort missions, you can do 2 Medium and 2 Heavies so that your lance will have an initiative of 3.

Maintaining Defensive Buffs

Quick Recap:

• Evasion = adds 1 difficulty to hit (roughly additive 5%) per charge, you gain charges from moving or Jumping and each charge gets removed from each attack whether it hits or not.
• Moving only gives a maximum of 2-3 charges and a minimum of 0, having "Evasive" gives a maximum of 3-4 depending on how far you are able to move.
• Sprinting gives you a maximum of 4-6 charges depending on your Piloting stat. Sprinting the max possible distance will almost always gives the maximum amount of possible charges unless you're an Assault, even an Orion can get all 6, a King Crab can do 5.
• Jumping gives a minimum of 1 to the maximum possible value depending on your Piloting stat and distance jumped.
• Guarded = adds 50% damage reduction from all damage sources. It is gained from Bracing or Bulwark or Vigilance.
• Entrenched = adds 50% Stability damage reduction from all damage sources. It is gained from Bracing or Bulwark or Vigilance.

These defensive buffs are the most important way to mitigate damage other than controlling Line-of-Sight.To survive in the game revolves around controlling the situations in which the enemy can attack you to coincide when you have a combination of these three buffs.

Ideally, you want these buffs all the time but mechanics wise you can only choose to do 2 from this list.

1. Attacking
2. Evasion
3. Guarded and Entrenched

If you Move/Jump then Attack, you will forgo a 50% damage reduction buff. If you don't Move/Jump and attack the enemy will have an easier time of hitting you. If you move and brace, you will not be able to deal any damage.

When not to choose to get Evasion:

If you and your enemy are in the optimal range, 50% damage reduction will net you the most Effective HP. Moving around will just make it harder for you to maintain your optimal range. Another thing is that moving then attacking will only net you 0-3 measly charges which will most certainly be gone in the same round.

When not to choose to Attack:

In the code of Battletech, there is a hidden chance bump after 50% chance. This is to keep things from looking unfair, a 55% will actually be something like 60%. Being out of your Optimal range will certainly leave you along the lines of 40% chance to hit. Instead of spending 2 rounds attacking with 40% chances to hit, just Sprinting or Jumping one round to get to Optimal range then attacking with 80-95% chance will statistically give you better results over time. If the chance is too low, prioritize in getting into position first while keeping your defensive buffs up.

When to choose not to get Guarded or Entrenched:

If the enemy is in your sensors even not in Line-of-Sight, Always get Guarded and Entrenched. as they always have a chance of moving into Line-of-Sight in their turn then attacking. The only situation when Guarded and Entrenched is not useful is when you're not in Combat ie. moving to an objective without enemy presence.

Evasion and Movement Comparison

Note that All my Pilots in the screenshots have 10 Piloting Stat and no "Evasive" Skill
Check the skills under the pilot selection.
(Yes, that's my Commander Erza "Titania" Scarlet from Fairy Tail. My favorite pilot besides her is Kickstarter Backer: Kyone "Ronin" Akashi, I think the reason is the hairstyle and cute voice) ^_^

Centurion A - 50 Tons - Medium

Move

Sprint

Jump - 4 JumpJets

Orion V - 75 Tons - Heavy

Move

Sprint

Jump - 4 JumpJets

Jump - No Distance (Note the 1 Evasion Charge)

King Crab - 100 Tons - Assault

Move

Sprint

Jump - 3 Jump Jets

Jump - No Distance (Note the 1 Evasion Charge)

Move - From Cover

Sprint - From Cover

Jump - From Cover (Note that it's the same distance as Sprinting due to movement penalty)

What to take away from these screenshots are:

• Evasion generated from Jumping is more than just Moving at the same distance.
• Jumping is not affected by movement penalty of cover.
• Jumping gives about the same or even more distance than just Moving.
• Evasive is not required to get maximum evasion charges in most mechs. You might as well get max Piloting and just Sprint or Jump.

As I have said before, you can perform actions after Jumping but not after Sprinting. So during combat, jumping is more advantageous than both Moving or Sprinting if you can handle the heat. Bracing after Jumping will achieve the highest amount of damage reduction possible.

Dealing against Defensive Buffs

However these buffs are also used by enemy mechs. Realistically, the best decision is to not deal with this at all in the first place. Choose the enemy mech with the least amount of buffs then Focus Fire. A mech is not likely to survive 4 mechs worth of Alpha Strikes. If he does survive, he will most likely suffered enough stability damage to be Unsteady and won't have the chance to sprint or even Knocked down.

Assuming that there is no other targets that you can choose, and all remaining targets have these buffs, these are the ways to deal with them.

Ways to deal with Evasion:

1. Sensor Lock removes 2 charges.
2. Remove each charge one by one.
3. Precision Shot bonus accuracy almost negates the effects of evasion.
4. Melee ignores Evasion and removes 1 charge, and an extra 1 more if you have a support weapon.
5. Deal enough Stability Damage to make a mech Unsteady thus removing ALL charges.

Ways to deal with Guarded and Entrenched:

1. Breaching Shot pilot skill.
2. Attack from the rear arc.
3. Melee ignores Guarded.
4. Knock Down the enemy mech.

As you can see, there are items that are similar in both list, that is to Deal sufficient Stability Damage and to use Melee.

At early game, Sensor Lock is the only efficient way of dealing with Evasion but that still leaves you with 2 charges assuming that the enemy has sprinted a considerable distance. Melee is also usable but realistically lighter mechs does not deal enough Melee damage to be decisive and closing in to do multiple melee attacks will most likely leave you with less evasion charges, risky for lighter mechs.

Later on, Melee is more decisive but I still wouldn't suggest it as it will most likely leave your mechs out of position, more vulnerable to focus fire. Since there are more enemy and you're most likely outnumbered, you do not want to get to Melee range at the start of the battle. I would only use melee if there are only 1 to 2 enemy mechs left.
The best solution that is left is to deal a significant amount of Stability Damage.

Requirements for this strategy:

• Have a pilot with high Gunnery stat, about 6 or above.
• Mount at least an LRM40 or SRM24
• Use an LRM+ or SRM+ Variant with bonus Stability Damage.
• Sensor Lock is nice to have but in no way Required.

LRM+ and SRM+ variants are common in the shop later, even an LRM20+ with just bonus 1 stability damage will be able to overwhelm a mech with 4 Evasion charges to make it Unsteady. I use an LRM40+++ King Crab and its LRM volley is sometimes enough to fill up the whole Stability Damage bar of even Entrenched mechs with 4 Evasion charges.
It basically boils down to when you have a heavy enough mech, Missile the enemy until the buffs are gone.

Damage Transference

If a part is already destroyed, all future hits rolled on that part is transferred on the nearest adjacent part. If an Arm is destroyed, all future damage rolled to it will be transferred to its Side Torso, same with the leg. If a Side Torso is destroyed, all future damage rolled to it is transferred to the Center Torso.

This is why losing too much armor to Arm components even though you're not using it for anything still has a significant downside. Losing an Arm almost doubles the damage the Side Torso will recieve and so on.

If you're having problem remembering, try imagining this and note the direction of arrows

Damage -> Arm -> Side Torso -> Center Torso
Damage -> Leg -> Side Torso -> Center Torso

This mechanic could be exploited to benefit you. If you find your mech heavily damaged, you can just present the least damaged side to the most number of enemy that is visible then brace, ensuring that your Center Torso is safe. For MechWarrior players this is commonly known as "Torso Twisting". It even works better with "Ace Pilot" and "Bulwark" as you can attack then Turn while still enjoying benefit or reduced damage and protected Center Torso.

Tips In the Battlefield

1. Focus Fire on a single enemy mech. Removing sources of damage as fast as possible will compound over time. At late game, due to the commonality of Reinforcements you will most certainly be Outnumbered. Focus Firing will make sure that your mechs will last while each mech of the enemy will only survive the least amount of time. Simple battles will turn to battles of attrition and reducing the amount of time that enemy mechs are alive will be the only way to win.
2. If you will most certainly miss or are too far, don't waste your turn attacking, especially with a single LRM5 attack, sprint or jump to get to a better position first
3. If you're at a good spot and have Bulwark. Don't move then attack, just attack then stay put. Bulwark will only work if you do not move before attacking. You can still change the direction you are facing without losing the Bulwark Buff, just remember not to change the tile your mech is on.
4. Watch the terrain, Cover and Water are your friends, Cover provide 25% damage reduction in case you do not have Guarded in the current turn. Water adds heat efficiency. Always try to get to them then stay put. With Bulwark and in Water you will be able to consistently output damage with less heat worry. During initial contact ie. trying to get to the Optimal range, aim to jump to cover so that you will still be protected without Bulwark. Do not leave cover without having the ability to use 2 succeeding turns so that Bulwark will be active when the enemy's turn comes up.
5. If you're already in range or close enough to attack, attacking is usually the right decision. If you play too defensively, it will just make the fight longer and enable more enemies to deal damage to your lance. Aim to remove 1 source of damage at least in each turn. If you have the leeway to be aggressive, do so. Maximize your armor use, don't aim to have no damage dealt to you, rather aim to end the battle as quick as possible without suffering structure damage.
6. The enemy AI will focus fire your mechs, especially if one of your Pilot suffered a few injuries, or there's exposed structure, or the mech is the lightest in the lance. If you don't intend this mech to be in a tank role, the best thing to do in this scenario is to have that mech break Line-of-sight of every enemy. Next best thing is get to cover then Brace. Lastly just sprint away or just brace for incoming damage. Breaking Line-of-sight will most likely make the enemy change targets.
7. Keep your mechs from being Knocked Down. Because of the enemy AI's ability to focus fire even when disregarding its own safety, a downed teammate is almost a death sentence, best case scenario is losing only a few parts. If you have enough Piloting stats and because the enemy only ever uses stock mechs, it is almost impossible to be knocked down at a single turn. If you find your mechs at more than 3 bars of stability damage, consider bracing rather than attacking since it will also remove ALL stability damage. In the long run, bracing in this situation will give you more advantage than an all out attack.
8. Only keep Line-of-sight for the least amount of enemy units. Bulwark will let you shrug off LRM fire even when shooting and since the bulk of weapons in the game require Line-of-Sight, only having to see a few enemy at a time reduces the amount of enemy return fire significantly. This will be particularly useful in situations where you are outnumbered which is almost every time.
9. Do not forget to use your Morale skills.
1. Vigilance gives the equivalent of Bracing but is a free action which allows you to sprint or attack while still being able to remove ALL Stability damage and reduce incoming damage by 50%. It will also bump your initiative temporarily to +1 higher, this is especially useful on fights with the same initiative bracket ie. Assault vs Assault. In most cases this can be used to save a heavily damaged team member and allow them to take cover or break Line-of-sight before the enemy can do a finishing shot.
2. Precision Shot adds 20% flat hit chance on top of being able to do a Called Shot without needing a Knockdown or a Shutdown, this is mostly useful in farming mechs. A significant amount of Morale is generated in each kill, if you are able to get a kill in a turn, might as well use Precision Shot to guarantee it. If you are not particularly interested in salvage, a Precision Shot to the Center Torso with Called Shot Mastery will have a high chance of destroying a mech outright.

How to Farm Enemy Mechs

Besides the obvious to destroy the head, the most consistent way is killing the pilot of the mech by stacking injuries due to how low the chance is to hit the head.

Things that Injure pilots

1. Head Hits
2. Ammo Explosion
3. Side Torso Destruction
4. Knockdown

Attacking from the sides is the best way to farm mechs. This way the Center Torso doesn't get damaged a lot lessening the chance that you'll accidentally kill your target mech. This also in turn focuses the damage to the Leg and Arms/Side Torso which contributes to pilot injury, especially noticable with Precision Shot.

Always check how much Structure and Armor is remaining on the part that you are targeting by looking at the paper doll. Using excessive weaponry might kill the target through damage transference. If possible only use weapons with high amount of stability damage. Turn off your Lasers.

Steps:

1. Flank a side of the enemy, do not target the front.
2. Focus fire LRMs until it gets knocked down. (+1 Injury)
3. While knocked down, use called shot to focus fire on one Side Torso. (+1 Injury)
4. Reserve until the Target Stands up.
5. Use Precision shot on leg until he gets knocked down again, preferably target the leg the same side a Side Torso is still intact. (Destroying a leg guarantees a knock down). (+1 Injury)
6. While knocked down again, use called shot to destroy another Side Torso. (+1 Injury)

In the highly unlikely event that the Pilot is still not incapacitated with 2 Side Torsos destroyed and 1 Leg destroyed, the best option is to destroy the other leg, which should at least give you 2 Salvage instead of 3. If their rear armor is still intact, you can still go for one last knockdown.

Sometimes enemy pilots have less than 4 guts and will only need 3 injuries or you will get a lucky Head Hit thus making it easier to incapacitate the pilot.

Tips in Company Management

Invest in Training Pods and Pilots early on. Your pilots will be inevitably injured. If you have pilots with high enough guts, they will survive sometimes but will be out of commision for 60-90 days at worst. If you need a reserve pilot, they should have Bulwark at the least. Training Pods will give enough experience to get at least 2 of the Basic Skills without needing to take them out in missions. You should at least hire 4 spare pilots and only use the XP to level their skills when the need arises.

When negotiating, Always get 3 Priority Salvage slots. Meeting a King Crab or Atlas with max Cbills and no Priority Salvage is the most frustrating thing you can experience.
Keep spare mechs mission ready if you can. Preferably Mediums. Mediums are still viable at 4 Skull missions and can be used to supplement your lance if you find your some of your Heavier mechs under repair. Another thing is that Escort missions will most likely need mechs with significant sprint distance to keep up, you will need 1-2 mechs to get ahead to draw fire and keep the enemy from focusing the escortee.

Guide by Kurisu