Dogs of MechWar

Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries Missions

Jump to read about whatever mission you're having difficulty with, or jump to generic Mercenaries Tips.

Mercenaries Tips

• Mercenaries Patch
• Levels of Commitment
• Supplemental Missions
• How to Earn Money
• Customization
• Display Options
• More Tips

Mercenaries Missions (36 or more missions in 11 or more contracts)

Mercenaries Tips

Mercenaries Patch

• Make sure you install the v1.05 patch before you even attempt to play. Without the patch, you will not be able to properly customize your mechs, and many bugs will interrupt network and single-player game play.

Levels of Commitment

As you make choices, you make a series of commitments:

• Going from the starport into your office determines what supplemental contracts will be available (the computer rolls the dice to randomly pick your options).
• Choosing a contract at your terminal is permanent. Once you pick one, you can't even look at the other contracts any more.
• Purchases at the Arms Merchant can not be returned. Arms can be sold back, though, at the going wholesale rate.
• Any repairs and reloads become permanent when you confirm.
• Any changes to configurations become permanent when you confirm & pay for them. Before this final confirmation, you may tinker with your configuration all you want, then cancel if you're not happy.
• Boarding the dropship is permanent. You can not get back to starport to purchase more supplies, configure your mechs, nor hire personnel. Before this, you may hire & fire without any penalty.
• From the Dropship, clicking on the first Launch button just takes you to the detailed mission screen, where you can still click on Exit to return to the computer screen to make repairs & change the duty roster. If you click on the second screen's Launch button, you begin the mission to either succeed or fail.

Supplemental Missions

• At each choice for contracts, you can usually play one or more rounds of supplemental missions.
• These single-mission contracts typically earn you $400k to $600k at first (more later), but if you play too many of them (more than 1 or 2 in a row) you may miss out on the important contracts that earn you important mech salvage.
• The real contract (the one you don't want to miss) is usually listed first in your Contracts display. The second and all other contracts listed are supplemental.
• These supplemental missions are similar to Instant Action missions. You usually kill 2 or 3 enemies, and either defend or kill a building, all for the contract price plus bounty minus expenses.
• Apparently, your available choices for these missions are randomly determined when you first enter your office after a campaign. This means you should save your games after a successful mission but before entering your office (maybe before you go to Starport?).
• When launching, the VIEW movie always says "No Data Available" for these missions.
• The hardest supplemental missions are Defend missions, since you not only have to kill enemies, you also must defend some friendly objective. I like Recon missions, where you inspect stuff.
• I like to get my mechs all configured, go to the Contracts option on the computer terminal in your office, then save the game. Choose a supplemental mission, win it, then go back to the Contracts option to see if the real contract (the one described in this web page) is still available. If it is, buy ammo, repair & reload and do this again. If the real contract is gone, you shouldn't have played the supplemental mission, so re-load the save game and play the real contract.

How to Earn Money

• Contract Compensation: The total Contract Compensation for all the missions in a successfully completed contract should add up to the number advertised for the contract (e.g. $1.5M for the Draconis Combine Counter-Insurgency Campaign).
• Bounty: For all missions, you get $25k bounty per enemy mech destroyed. This is often worth more than the bonuses.
• Bonus: Usually $50k for meeting secondary objectives, e.g. destroy all enemies encountered.
• Salvage: You have no control over this, you just receive it during the better campaigns. Very valuable, this consists of weapons and sometimes entire mechs. Your salvage is not affected by leaving enemies wounded on the battlefield; always completely kill all enemies for the bounty.
• Costs: Every mission (there are several missions per contract), you are charged for all your employee's salaries, plus additional costs. You must also repair and reload between missions, which uses up the ammo & replacement parts you already purchased at the Arms Merchant.

Customization

• Always go to the Arms Merchant when you are in Starport (between campaigns) to stock up on ammo. At first, you should buy the entire inventory of jump jets and heat sinks (6 each), stock up on at least 6 SRM6 ammos, and buy all 5 AC20 ammos (do this on every level). Later, buy whatever you think you need depending on what weapons you and your starmates will have in future missions.
• It costs $50k to modify the contents of a critical slot in a mech. You are charged $50k the first time you remove something from a slot or add something to a blank slot from your inventory. After this, you can change that slot's contents all you want for no additional cost. If you put the slot back to it's original contents, you usually (not always) get your $50k back. Until you click on EXIT (or Prev or Next) then confirm "Accept Customization?", you may swap different things in and out of a slot as much as you want.
• When weapons or equipment items are repaired or removed, the sales price of that mech goes up or down by the wholesale amount of the weapon. That means for any single-crit weapon or item worth over $50k, it is cheaper to remove them from salvaged mechs than it is to buy them from the Arms Merchant. An Arrow IV (15 crits) is thus 15x50 = $750k to add or remove They are $495k new, so the total cost is $1245k to add one, and it is certainly cheaper to buy a new one than to remove one from a mech about to be sold.
• You do a lot of playing around with mech configuration in this game, so make sure you save the game before you spend money buying mechs and swapping weapons around. If you have too many save games that you want to keep, you can create a subdirectory, e.g. C:\MERCS\SAVE1 and copy all the .SAV files into this subdirectory.

Display Options

• Detail - You might need to set this on High for certain levels. For example, in Starlight Hunt, enemy mechs will seem to mysteriously disappear and reappear when running in low detail. In high detail, you see the walls of the ice cave that block your view.
• Multiple Light Sources - This is fun at night. With this on, lasers and missiles generate their own light, possibly illuminating the landscape as they pass.
• Subtitles - Enables captions in your office that identify the hotspots you can click on.

Here are some recommended performance guidelines (from Activision):

• 486 (all speeds): 320x200, all options off
• Pentium (60-75mhz): 320x200, all options off
• Pentium (90-133mhz): 320x200, all options on -or- 640x480, all options off except shadows
• Pentium (150+mhz): 640x480, all options on

I usually play with a Pentium 120, 640x480, all options off except High Detail and possibly Multiple Light Sources on. If a particular level seems jerky, I turn Detail to low. If I'm having trouble understanding the scene, I switch everything on (especially Terrain and Object Textures), play a short while, then turn them off again.

More Tips

• You can quit some missions & continue by hitting Ctrl+Q. If you fight to the death, you lose your mech or actually die.
• Targeting an enemy in Mercenaries (with Q) does not cancel the autopilot to a Nav point (like it did in MW2).
• You should also play the Cadet Training missions in the original version (if you have it), to verify your turret-turning skills. In fact, you should play all of the original version before you play Mercenaries.

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Contract: Mercenary Training Campaign - Hanson's Roughriders

Arms Merchant: Buy entire inventory of jump jets and heat sinks (6 each)
Buy 5 or more SRM6 ammos (no need to buy more than 5)
Buy all 5 AC20 ammos (do this every level, you'll need it later in the game)

Customization: Make your Commando into a Commandog (25T)

• remove all 3 MLasers from arms
• remove 1 SSRM6 ammo from a side torso
• add 2 MLasers to torsos and/or head
• add 1 heat sink & 2 jumpjets to side torsos (buy these first from the Arms Merchant)

Personnel: You don't own any additional mechs needing pilots at this time, but you can go ahead and hire someone cheap just in case.

Whether or not you play the Hanson's Roughriders campaign, you may still play the DC Counter-Insurgency campaign and salvage a Jenner. Your finances will be no different whether you play this contract or not.

Training Mission: "Go to Alpha, Go to Beta ..."

• Sgt "Deadeye" Unther is your teacher. For more info on Military ranks & insignia, see Dogs of War.
• See how fast you can visit the Nav points (using your jumpjets)

Turkey Shoot: "Destroy Enemy Aircraft & Airfield"

• Don't waste your missiles, switch them to their own group & use the lasers only

Cat and Mouse: "Identify Trucks with Ammunition"

• You must hit Q and I for each truck in the train. Don't forget to actually visit both Nav Alpha and Beta.

Final Exam: "Destroy Enemies at Nav Beta"

• Your enemies are a Javelin and a Panther. After you finish this contract, go directly to the $1.5m Draconis Combine Counter-Insurgency Campaign (described next) or else you'll miss it.

Contract: Draconis Combine Counter-Insurgency Campaign $1.5M

You may play 1 supplemental mission (I recommend Hanson's Roughriders) before losing your chance to play this mission. You end up salvaging a Jenner worth over $3.3M (worth about the same as your Commando, but larger) plus missiles & lasers.

Weapons Merchant: make sure you buy SRM6 ammo to refill yourself between missions during the campaign.
Also buy 5 AC20 ammo, 6 heat sinks & 6 jumpjets.
If you've got the cash, pick a few SRM4, LRM5 and LRM15 ammos too (for later).
No need for spare MLasers or SRM6s, you'll salvage some right away.

Personnel: Always hire the 2 very best pilots available throughout the game. Christian Fulton is not especially one of the very best pilots.

Customization: Commandog (see above)

Scalpel: "Destroy 3rd floor of bank"

• Kill the helicopter off to the right, the two tanks, and the enemy Commando. Be careful not to damage the bank at Nav Alpha, or you will have to start over.
• When you arrive at Nav Alpha, target the 3rd floor of the bank (hit F3 to help identify which building is the bank) You probably need to be in high detail mode. If you are not (it's okay to be in lower detail while fighting), put it in high detail mode just to examine the bank (hit Escape, then select Combat Variables).
• Be careful to destroy only the third floor - use a single MLaser from 150-200m.

Snake City: "Escort the Governor to Nav Beta"

Click on EXIT, then REPAIR & RELOAD, then repair yourself before launching the mission. I hope you stocked up on SRM6 ammo back at starport.

• Hurry to kill the enemy Jenner at Nav Alpha. Even better, distract him (by shooting him at least once) then hurry East to defend the Draconis MTB. If you do, you'll receive an additional $50k bonus + $50k bounty for 2 tanks.
• Finally, either kill the helicopter near Nav Beta, or let the friendly tank there kill it for you (on Easy).

You end up salvaging 2 MLasers.

Back Door: "Destroy Rebel Leaders, Destroy all enemies"

• You must kill a Jenner then a Panther (both 35T).
• On Easy, there is no need to kill the tanks unless you want to. Friendly units (not starmates) will get them for you.

You salvage a Jenner JR7-D and 3 SRM6s

Contract: Federated Commonwealth Campaign Contract: New Ivaarsen, Guerilla operations

Arms Merchant: Make sure you buy jump jets and heat sinks, and ammo for SRM4 and SRM6.
Also buy all 5 AC20 ammos and stock up on 2 or 4 LRM15 ammos (for yourself in later levels).
You will also need an LRM5 missile and 1 or more LRM5 ammos for a mech you salvage later in the game (this is your last chance to buy).
Now you can afford to trick out your new Jenner the way you like it; also buy 2 SLasers to play with.

Customization: Jenner with 2 MLaser, 1 SLaser (all in torso), 1 SRM4 with 1 ammo, 3 heat sinks, 2 jump jets

Personnel: Hire the best Mechwarrior pilot for a starmate you can get (probably Daniel Wilkes at $10,000) to pilot your old Commando.

Mech Factory: You might check out the Mech Factory just to drool at what you can't yet afford. Instead of spending all your money for a small mech size increase at this time, save your money to trade in for a big one a little later.

Phoenix-Dawn "Go to Nav Alpha, Follow Scout to Rebel Base"

From the dropship, assign your hired hand to the Commando using the Duty Roster. Take the larger Jenner for yourself.

• The crystals appear in red on radar, so it helps to use the F3 view to find your nearest enemy (see which red spots are moving).
• Start running immediately, or the nearby enemy Commando will cream you. Kill the two nearby enemies with your buddy's help as quickly as possible.
• As you head to Nav Alpha, ignore the distant (1.15km) DC Jenner. Don't run too fast or your Commando buddy can't keep up with you (set speed about 7). Hit E, then cycle through targets using R or T. Once you find an enemy (the Jenner), all the enemies will be bunched together in the R/T circular queue (that means you don't have to constantly search through all the crystals. Enemies will always be between the crystals and your buddy when you repeatedly hit R then switch to T).
• You can not preset the formation, so hit B15B to switch to V-form (if you notice, many starmates won't cooperate 100% especially with 2 starmates, but Daniel Wilkes does pretty well by himself).
• After you destroy 2 enemies at the base, the rebel command staff makes a run for it, and the previously distance Jenner arrives. Head east to protect the friendly hover truck. If a beat-up enemy runs away in cowardice, let him go. You do not need to kill enemy mechs that run away. Except for the $25k bounty for killing any enemy mech, you get no bonus for killing enemies in this level.

Blood-For-Blood "Find and Kill Sho-Sa Varus"

• You are told to wait for an enemy Trebuchet & Centurion to pass. You start out in a cave a few feet in the air.
• If you intend to go for the "kill listening posts" bonus, attack these two enemies immediately, ganging up from behind if possible.
• Otherwise, wait for the speaker to say "you're all clear" to start moving, then be careful not to crash into rocks or your starmate.
• Watch for a Vindicator at Nav Iota. Varus is hiding in a little garage near the back of the hill. Make sure you inspect him before killing him (hit Q or E to target him, then hit I).
• No need to inspect the turrets nor the Panther nor any other mechs that attack. Make sure you sick your buddy on an enemy mech for maximum benefit (rather than a disabled turret).
• You may run for Nav Lambda now, or try to get your bonus.
• Destroy the structures on the hill at Nav Iota. At least make sure to kill all the wounded mechs & turrets for bounty, even if you decide to run for Nav Lambda at this point.
• Head for Nav Kappa to destroy structures there too, but you will have to fight 4 turrets and the Trebuchet & Centurion you snuck by in the beginning. Destroying the listening posts and 6 additional enemies is worth $50k + 6 * $25k = $200k.

Crystal Storm "Defend the Artillery Platoon, Find & Destroy Draconis Lance"

This is one of the easier levels, if you know what to do.

• Immediately destroy the nearby enemy DC Sentinel and DC Commando. Try not to bump into the friendly artillery vehicles that start out in front of you.
• Head about 20° to find the nearest of 4 enemies: Centurion, Awesome, Dragon & Atlas. Just come near one of them (I'm not sure how close), and the friendly tanks back at the beginning eventually start firing on them
• You must get your enemy's attention, but try to avoid more combat than necessary. Shoot some of them at least once, or they will all run off to the west, out of range of your gunners. At the same time, try not to get too close to them so you remain safe while your gunners can blast them.
• You do not need to kill these enemies. Back away from them & let the tanks cream them with PPCs and Arrow IV rockets. In fact, run away to the side with your buddy in formation to let the tanks do their jobs (on Easy).

Salvaged: 1 MLaser, 1 SRM4. No need to make repairs - you borrow a mech for the next level

Final Strike: "Escort Rescue Trucks, Destroy Draconis Landing Field"

If you auto-eject in this mission (e.g. due to overheating) you can still continue playing with a small cash penalty (it's not your mech that is lost).

You are preconfigured with a borrowed Stalker (85T): 2 LRM10, 2 LLaser, 4 MLaser, 2 SRM6, no jumpjets

• Switch to group fire and immediately kill the 2 tanks that appear in front of you.
• An Urbanmech and Panther appear behind the first buildings you approach on the right. Kill them and continue to Nav Alpha.
• Just about the time you see 2 enemies in the distance, you approach the Rising Sun Hotel; it is the only building you can target (in green) on your right side. Inspect the building, then destroy the Damaged Orion (on the left) & DC Javelin from long distance. It's not clear to me what the rebels in the Hotel actually do for you, but if you inspect the building they say "... we'll cover you."
• Be careful not to harm the low barracks as you battle the Crippled Atlas & DC Urbanmech on your right. Get their attention, then draw them out into the open to fight.
• I can not find the bonus objective to kill enemy airfield/dropships. If you head about 280° to 290° from the POW camp, you come to what appears to be a ramped airfield. It's easy to destroy 2 little bubbles next to it, but I can't seem to find the bonus.

You salvage 1 AC/20, 2 MLasers, and a PRT-9R Panther.

Contract: Jandex Mercantile Corporation - Mercenary Contract, $5M

It's a trap, you'll receive no pay. Didn't a contract for $5.0M sound too good to be true? If you survive, you'll just have to repair your mechs with your own money.

Contract: Draconis Combine Deep Strike Campaign

If you play a supplemental level at this point, you will lose most of the big mechs as purchase options in the Mech Factory, but you may get some new choices for weapons.

Jenner vs Panther:

• Panther has 6.5 armor vs. Jenner 4.0
• Panther has 15T available for weapons, Jenner has 9.5T
• Panther top speed: ?78? Jenner: 118
• The Panther is bigger (in weapon capacity) and better armored, but slower. I prefer to use the Jenner.

Arms Merchant: Always stock up on AC20 ammo. You need an LRM5 and ammo at the end of this contract, but it's already too late to buy them.
I like to start stalking up on Streak missiles and ammos.
Also, always keep your eye out for new weapons, especially after supplemental missions. You might find 2 MPlas and 1 ER LLaser for sale at some point.

Mech Factory: Either use all three of your mechs in combat (two as starmates), or sell your Panther or Commando and buy a bigger mech for yourself, perhaps a 65T. If you're reading ahead, you will salvage a mech that will be available as a starmate for the second mission, so maybe 1 starmate is enough.

I like to buy a Jagermech first, then play a supplemental contract for some extra money to properly customize him.

Personnel: If you have only 2 mechs, hire at least 2 pilots anyway just in case you salvage something.

Dagger Strike: "Destroy Base Defenders, Advance Base & Returning Patrols"

Your target: destroy enemy wind power.

• Heading toward Nav Omicron, destroy two windmills on the right and one on the left. If the windmills are hard to see, either increase the detail levels, or move your turret around while hitting Q (or joystick 1) and perhaps you will target a windmill.
• At Nav Omicron, kill the Power Transformer (a low building) to complete a bonus, and to disable enemy turrets.
• Now head for Nav Pi. Since you killed the enemy power, the turrets are disabled. If not, they will shoot PPCs at you.
• It helps to be in High Detail mode to see the vehicles & walls you must destroy at Pi. You must also destroy the turrets out in front, whether or not they are powered up.
• 4 enemy mechs come to defend the base: Panther, Mongoose, Sentinel, & Assassin.
• Finally get those 4 pesky Savannah Masters.

You salvage an ASN-21 Assassin with 1 MLaser, 1 LRM5 (needs repair & ammo), 1 SRM2, 7 JJ

Paper Tiger: "Destroy the Landing Field"

You should have 1 or 2 starmates by now. If you have not already done so, assign them pilots (hopefully you bought an LRM5 and an LRM5 ammo long ago for your new Assassin).

• Kill the 2 fleeing hover vehicles with long rang weapons, then head to the left of the ice fields (about 240º).
• As you approach Nav Delta, use your buddies to help kill the nearest enemies.
• Don't forget to destroy all structures near Nav Delta. As soon as you do this, 2 helicopters come to defend you as you run to Nav Epsilon.

Fox Hunt: "Escape from New Ivaarsen at Nav Sigma"

• You will have to fight the enemy Mongoose that appears immediately and the Jenner that appears soon. Head for Nav Rho. Nav Sigma is on the other side of a canyon.
• There is a Crab and an Assassin on the far side of the bridge, and a Zeus and a Thug behind them on the west side. Don't be surprised if your starmates fall into the canyon; just worry about getting yourself to the jeep.
• If you make it across the bridge, head south (180º) about 1.2km to the jeep (ATV). Since there is little benefit to fighting all those enemies (except $25k per mech bounty), try jumpjetting south immediately using J and Home.
• You may target the ATV jeep (in blue) using the Q key from a distance to help find your direction. As soon as you approach within about 200m, you win the level.
• If you fall into the canyon or the bridge is destroyed, head south then southwest to the black strip that leads back up the west side of the canyon to your destination.

Contract: Free Rasalhague Republic Garrison Campaign, Liezen Escort Duty $2.5M

Mech Factory: Should you buy the Atlas? Have you already bought a Jagermech? I sell everything but the big mech I bought for the previous contract to buy an Atlas, then fit him for outer space missions.

Customization: Atlas with 3 JJ, 2 LLaser, 3 MLaser, 1 LRM20 w/2 ammo, many heat sinks. Don't use up your AC20 ammo.

Personnel: It's a good idea to hire an aerotech pilot when one is available, especially if you have fewer than 2 spare mechs for starmates. Any time more pilots are for hire, pick the best one (I prefer the ones with bigger aircraft).

Dawn Watch: "Defend the Command Center"

These are the only space missions.

Remember to assign your starmates using the Duty Roster You may have 2 starmates, or one starmate and one aerotech fighter. If you assign both starmates and the aerotech fighter too, you don't get any error message, but the aerotech will not actually be assigned.

• Your starmate may appear to run off the edge of the ship and disappear. He can't help you much after that, but he's not dead and he'll come back for the next mission.
• It's not clear what your aerotech does for you against other aerotechs. If you use an aerotech, hit Alt+X to attack, Alt+C to return to base.
• On Easy, just stand in one place while you attack everything around you.
• Enemy air fighters are hard to hit with SRMs, but locked-on LRMs at 500-800m can't miss.

Snow Fort: "Defend the Command Center"

• Head straight toward the enemy dropship. Wait for it to deploy its 2 towing harpoons, then destroy them (they are outlined in blue when targeted). You can see the harpoons clearly in high detail mode.
• Quickly head about 100º to the rear of the ship to kill 2 enemy aerotechs. 
• I can't figure out how to get the bonus for "destroy all enemy boarders."

Starlight Hunt: "Destroy all enemy mechs"

No starmates on this one

• Your target: enemy boarding teams, inside the ice ship
• If you have difficulty seeing why your distant enemies seem to disappear & reappear, you are probably running in low detail mode. You can see the walls of the ice cave more clearly in high detail mode. Hit escape then change the combat variables.
• This mission has a time limit. If you're too slow, a bomb goes off and you lose.

Contract: Draconis Combine Campaign - Search & Destroy, Gravenhague $3M

Before this, you may perform several supplemental contracts to no disadvantage. Eventually this will be the only contract choice left.

Arms Merchant: Hey, where'd my AC20 ammo all go? It suddenly went from 50 to 10. Maybe you should pick up an AMS and 5 ammos as spares for the next contract.

Mech Factory: You probably don't have enough money to invest in new mechs at this time. Read the newsfeed to hear what Sgt Unther's been up to.

Glittering Gold: "Capture 50% of the Water Tanks Intact"

You must save 4 of the 7 water towers. It is worth $300k to save them all.

• Kill the Crab to your left, then the Assassin and Sentinel to your right with the help of your starmates.
• You must then quickly get the attention of the two mechs to the north so they will not destroy the water tanks. Be careful not to engage them recklessly when they are still too near the water tanks.
• Either shoot them with guided missiles, or aim a short burst very carefully with LLaser to get them to come after you. Sick your buddies on them only after they are clear of the water tanks.

You salvage a Hunchback with 1 AC20 with 2 ammo, 2 MLaser & 1 SLaser

Dust River: "Hold the Pass Against the Dread Legion, or Destroy the Dread Legion Dropship"

Your new hunchback starmate (remember to assign him) is ready for close-range combat (like in a mountain pass).

• On Easy, you and your 2 starmates can kill the dropship (behind you) quickly to win the mission, or you may continue up the pass to kill the enemies.
• Inspect the enemy Catapult & he will start firing upon your enemies (he still appears in red when targeted).
• Be careful to only sick your starmates on enemies other than the Catapult. You don't quite have to kill all the enemies; just head up the pass far enough.

Blood Cauldron: "Destroy All Enemies"

Your Target: enemy mechs located inside a wrecked ship.

• You are soon made a verbal offer to double your pay to "just head back".
• Take the bribe! Immediately kill the friendly Thug and Dragon (they appear in green) that were standing in front of you at the start. In fact, you don't even have to wait for the verbal offer. As soon as the second friendly mech is dead, you hear "mission terminated", but your mission pay is doubled! You receive $4,050k
• You may follow your orders and kill the Dread Legion enemies: Centurion, Crab & Flashman. Draw them out of the ship so your starmates and friendlies can get at them. Approach the ship to the side of the opening so the enemy's can't gang up on you. You get paid only $2,175k

Contract: Solaris VII 3049 Championship, Solaris VII $4M

You may play up to 2 supplemental missions before losing your chance for this contract. If you play 2 of them, new weapons may become available for purchase (e.g. MPlas). Make sure to stock up on ammo (AC20, AMS, Streak) during these missions!

You can have no starmates for any missions in this contract. If you quit (Ctrl+Q) or auto-eject due to over heating, you may still continue in this contract (with reduced compensation).

In all 3 games, they start fast and you must be skillful even on Easy.

Arms Merchant: Now we finally use up all that AC20 ammo we've been hoarding. I like to use an AMS too, so buy one and all the available AMS ammo.

Mech Factory: You only need one mech for this campaign, and you'll be rich when it's over. Either reconfigure your Atlas from previous contracts, or make sure you buy one. You end up salvaging four large mechs.

Customization: Atlas with AC20 with 7 ammo, 2 MPlas, 1 SLaser, 3 JJ, 1 AMS with 1 ammo, 13 heat sinks.
This contract has only close-in, vicious fighting. You might want to try out the new SSRM2 missiles. Avoid LRM20s or LLasers.

Solaris Championship #1 "4-Cross"

• You are unranked, vs Awesome, Victor and Bombardier
• You and your opponents start in shallow closets along the outside of a disco, similar to the Jade Flacon mission Trials. Ignore the lasers dashing all about, they are just decorations - this reminds me of the Tech Noir club in Terminator: Skynet.
• You start with a direct line of site to the opponent opposite you. Either move to the side to attack a nearer enemy, or shoot at him with long-range weapons (if you have any).

When you win it says you salvage a Bombardier, but I think you really get the Awesome.

Solaris Championship #2 "Neon Grid"

• You are ranked 27th (out of 16?), vs an Atlas, Stalker and Thug
• You and each of your opponents start in wide, shallow holes. You must walk or jumpjet out of the hole to get a clear shot at your opponents.

You salvage the Thug

Solaris Championship #3 "Iron Skull Mountain"

• You are ranked 4th vs. Atlas, Victor & Stalker
• Enemies can hide in the room in the center. You might need to find the doors to get at them.

You end up salvaging an Awesome, Stalker, Thug and Zeus, plus get paid about $4M. This is, in some ways, the climax of the game. From now on you will have plenty of resources to equip yourself for every mission.

Contract: Free Rasalhague Republic Campaign - Periphery Raid

You may play up to 2 supplemental missions before you lose the chance to play this contract.

Mech Factory:  You have so much stuff now (over $50M in cash and inventory), it can be frustrating deciding what to do. You can start by selling off your 2 to 4 smallest mechs. Don't repair & reload expensive weapons for mechs you intend to sell. If you buy new mechs, only buy Atlases (the only 100T mech available), or possibly fast (at least faster than Atlas) 85-90T mechs.

You obviously want at least 3 mechs in inventory for you and 2 starmates. More mechs can be useful during a campaign in case one mech is destroyed or damaged beyond repair (usually I replay the level if a mech is destroyed), and to have options on different types of weapons for different missions.

Here's a rundown on the 4 mechs you just salvaged. None had jump jets, and all missiles and projectile weapons (except the Thug's SRM4) have one ammo each. All have armor damage which can be cheaply repaired.

Arms Merchant: You can afford to buy samples of exotic weapons. Also buy all the ammo you can get for anything you conceivably might want in the future (e.g. AMS, Arrow, Streak, Gauss). Make sure you buy plenty of staples for the mechs you are using (ammo for LRM20, LRM10, SRM6, heat sinks).

If you intend to repair your salvaged mechs, buy the necessary replacements parts and ammo before fixing them in Repair and Reload. If you repair your mech in pieces (repairing twice or more), you might end up paying a small penalty for extra labor.

Customization: If you look at the missions for this contract, you'll see you have 2 starmates only for the first mission, then you use your favorite dueling mech alone for the third mission. There's no urgent need to build your ultimate dream machine for this contract.

But, there's also no reason to wait. Now you can build your favorite mech with a combination of long-range and short-range power. If necessary, retrieve rare or expensive weapons from other mechs before selling them (e.g. MPlas and ER LLaser).

Warning Shot: "Find and Destroy the Pirate Airfield"

An aerotech may have trouble getting past the mountain where he starts, so it's best to use 2 starmates for this mission. Actually, mech starmates are always better than aerotechs.

• An enemy aerotech flits around this whole mission, ignore him.
• If you can shoot the initial enemy Panther (you see him on radar) from long distance, he will attack you and you can gang up on him on the plains. If you do not get his attention quickly, he will run behind the mountain, so just let him go.
• Head left of Devil's Teeth (about 320º) until you pass the mountain, then follow the mountain to the right (about 30º). Destroy the buildings you find there, plus the Catapult and Orion. If you have not yet engaged the Panther from earlier, he will be waiting here too. Head east around the mountain (about 90º).
• Soon an unknown dropship will appear heading to your right. It will drop off what appears to be a Summoner, Stormcrow and Nova. No need to shoot the enemy aerotech or dropship.
• You do not need to get to Nav Beta, just kill all the enemy mechs.

Freedom Fight: "Find the Dropship, Destroy Mechs Guarding Dropship"

You are in a preconfigured hovertank (no starmates) with: 2 SRM6, 1 MLaser, Jump Jets

Don't forget to use your jumpjets! Reverse doesn't work in tanks, nor do they have turnable torsos, but they are very fast (top speed: 151 kph). You will not be able to lift off the ground at all, but you can slide & turn quickly for accurate aiming.

As with all levels, if you can't make sense out of the image on your screen (once you're in the canyons), try switching higher levels of detail on, at least for a short look, then set them back off.

• The first words you hear - "we're free ... search the Nav points" - are your POW allies escaping into the hovertruck.
• The next voice "... prisoners have escaped..." is your enemy.
• There is no need to kill the enemy turrets guarding the gates. Run straight out the gate, using Jumpjets to sprint forward. You probably must kill the enemy Dasher (Firemoth) and Uller (Kitfox).
• Once you head north up the canyon for Nav Alpha, the defenseless hovertruck starts following you.
• Bear left at the first fork in the road. When you come to a large Y in the road near Nav Alpha, you may proceed left (west) towards Nav Beta - no need to actually visit Alpha.
• Follow the canyon west until a branch leads north; no need to actually visit Beta either.
• Head north until you come to a dead end then turn right (east) toward Gamma.
• Head east until you come to the dropship.
• Try to locate and shoot the enemy Uller before he powers up (range of SRM and MLaser is just over 400m). You win by killing the Uller and getting to Nav Gamma.

Exodus: "Dust-off at Nav Alpha, Defend the Pirate Dropship"

A pirate Flashman will be your ally (not a starmate, appearing in blue) and attack your enemies. Try to let him attack enemies first, to provide maximum benefit to you.

• Kill the Black Hawk (Nova) and Uller (Kitfox), then a Black Hawk and Ryoken (Stormcrow). Where do they get these mech names? You can tell from the outlines what these mechs really are.
• As you approach the dropship your buddy stops following you and you are challenged by a Masakari (Warhawk). Ignore the Naga and Thor (Summoner) standing near the dropship, the Masakari is the one that's challenging you, so just kill him.

Contract: Draconis Combine Campaign - Planetary Defense, $8M

You may play 3 supplemental missions. After three, this becomes the only contract available. After each supplemental mission, more mechs become available for purchase - this is your chance to stock up on the mechs you want.

Mech Factory: I like to buy 2 more AS7-Atlases in addition to the 2 Atlases I already have, then customize them all for different roles. Note that the new mechs may have newer weapons too (MPlas). You might also want a Cyclops to give a starmate extra speed (76 at 90T, instead of 54 for 100T Atlas).

Arms Merchant: Stock up on the new Pulse lasers and on ammo for your exotic weapons by playing Supplemental missions.

First Strike: "Destroy All Smoke Jaguar Dropships"

You can use 2 starmates (or 1 starmate and an aerotech).

If you quit (Ctrl+Q) or auto-eject this mission (due to overheating, certain types of damage, or hitting Ctrl+Alt+E), you can still continue to a the loser's version of the next mission with minor impact on pay (but possibly lost or damaged mechs). If you actually die, you can not continue. If you eject, you lose the mech too.

The most profitable path is to lose this first mission (hit Ctrl+Q as soon as it starts) then win the next two levels. That way you end up salvaging a $11M Warhawk instead of a $6M Firemoth.

• This mission has confusing ECM pods like the metallic crystals like in Phoenix Dawn.
• "Escort the minelayer to enemy landing zones." At Nav Alpha, fight the enemy Nova and Uller (Kitfox).
• You do not need to kill the dropship at Alpha. If you can defend the friendly helicopter, you will hear the audio message "This hill's mined, stay clear..." When the enemy dropship lands, it blows up!
• On the way to Beta, you are told to "...take it out", so kill this dropship yourself... but first get the Thor (Summoner) and Madcat (Stormcrow) hiding at Beta! They seem to pop out of nowhere.
• The helicopter appears to mine site Beta, but it's not clear whether the mines completely destroy the enemy dropship (I think they wound it for you though).
• Head toward Nav Gamma to get the Masakari (Warhawk), then kill the dropship that flies back and forth while attacking you to play the winner's version of the next mission.

As I said above, you should lose this mission on purpose, but if you win, you salvage 4 cER SLasers. The "c" means it's superior Clan technology. Clan ER Lasers take fewer critical slots and have longer range.

Homestead (First Strike successful): "Defend the Supply Depot"

This is the mission you get if you successfully complete the mission objectives in the previous level, First Strike. Whether you win or lose here, you go to the normal version of the next mission after this (which ends up salvaging only a Firemoth). If you wanted to salvage the Warhawk, you should have lost the previous mission.

The VIEW movie shows you the arrangements (but exaggerates the numbers) that will attack: from the north, east, south & west. You must not allow any of the structures in the supply depot to be destroyed.

• A Dasher (Firemoth) rushes you; be careful not to shoot the base structures yourself.
• Sick your buddies on the Blackhawk (Nova} while you get the Dasher. It's not clear, but I think the Blackhawk will not attack the base, he just waits out there baiting you to abandon the base.
• The Situation Notes before the mission even mentioned that it was typical Clan strategy to send in a light mech first to distract defenders while a larger force attacked the target. The light mech is the team of Dasher and Blackhawk!
• Soon 2 aerofighters appear & attack; you must get them too, or they will destroy the base. A Draconis SAM in the middle of the base (it appears in green) helps shoot the fighters.
• 2 Ullers now appear at about 210º. Assign each of your starmates to an Uller to make sure they're distracted. If the Blackhawk isn't dead yet, he's probably beat up and will not attack the base.
• You can go get the Madcat (Stormcrow) who also soon appears.
• After a short lull in the battle, a Vulture (Mad Dog) powers up out of nowhere (about 300º).

Homestead (First Strike failure): "Destroy All Enemy Mechs"

You only play this mission if you lost (quit or auto-ejected, but not died) from First Strike. You get a different mission write-up - you are admonished for your failure (to kill the enemy dropships), and your game target is to "Avenge the loss of the Supply Depot".

This Destroy-style mission is easier than the Defend-style winner's version of the Homestead mission.

• The VIEW movie make it look like you'll be attacked by multiple enemies all at once, but actually you can set the pace to try to gang up on enemies alone or in pairs.
• There is no supply depot nor Nav points, so it is your job to run around and find all enemies (they're all due north).
• First fight 2 Ullers (usually at close range), followed soon by a Dasher. These enemies probably must be fought at close range because of the rolling hills.
• A Madcat powers up at 1.35km due north (about 0º). Send in your starmates first and use long-range weapons.
• A final Masakari finally appears about 1.1 to the North. Use your starmates are much as possible.

If you win this level, you play the Lose/Win version of Dragon's Teeth.
If you lose (quit or auto-eject), you must play the Win First or Lose Twice (normal) version.

Dragon's Teeth (win first or lose twice): "Destroy All Enemy Mechs"

You play this "normal mission" if you won First Strike, or if you lost both First Strike and Homestead (First Strike Failure).

• "Kill Osis and his Star" Start with the 4 pesky Elementals. It is best to leave your buddies in formation while you shoot Elementals with chain-fire lasers or SSRMs.
• Ignore the fifth Elemental over 1km away.
• Either use your starmates to gang up on each of the two Ullers (Stormcrow) one at a time, or assign one starmate to each Uller while your lasers cool off.
• As you head for Nav Alpha, get that last Elemental.
• Kill the final, tough Gladiator (Executioner), Thor (Summoner) and Masakari (Warhawk) to win the level.

You salvage 1 cMPlas, 2 cSPlas, and a Firemoth Prime

Dragon's Teeth (lose then win): "Destroy All Enemy Mechs, Defend Galaxy Commander Dietr Osis"

You can only play this special mission if you lost First Strike, then won Homestead (First Strike failure). The other 3 possible combinations of win/lose lead you to play Dragons Teeth (win first or lose twice).

• "Cripple Osis" Osis appears to be in a Masakari (Warhawk)
• Eliminate the 5 pesky battlesuits. Head toward Nav Zeta. Kill 2 Ullers.
• At around 720m from Nav Zeta under light amplification, you can see the enemy Masakari and Thor standing on the small hill. You can fire upon them before they power up if you have appropriate weapons.
• Sick your buddies on the Thor and cripple (do not kill) the Masakari yourself by shooting off one leg. You can use your buddies to attack the Masakari if you make sure you call them off before the Masakari dies.
• Don't forget to inspect the Masakari too.
• Finally, there is a Gladiator (Gargoyle) lurking around out there, maybe around 240-320º from the Masakari.

You salvage: 2 cER LLaser, 1 cER PPC and a Warhawk

It appears that if you click on Repair All for the Warhawk, his wholesale price goes up to reflect 4 PPCs, but you will only have actually repaired one (you only have 1 cER PPC in stock). Three of his PPCs will show up in red in the Repair lab. I guess his new value is the fully-repaired value minus the wholesale cost of 3 more cER PPCs, which is only 3 * $10k.

Contract: Draconis Combine - Deep Strike 2, $4m

You may play only 1 supplemental mission before you miss the chance to play this mission. You can have no starmates in any mission for this contract, but in the end you get a prize.

Customization: If you have a Firemoth, Remove the MASC from your Firemoth before selling it. A new MASC costs $440k, removing it costs only $50k plus $10 in lower sale price. You can sell it back to the Arms Dealer for more than that.

You should probably also remove Ferro-F from your Firemoth if you were ever going to buy it anyway ($550k new, only $360k for removal, but the return value of Ferro-Fibrous Armor is only $10k). Do not remove Endo-Steel: a new one is only $220k, compared to $360k for removal (7x$50k slots plus $10k lowered sale price).

If you have a Warhawk, you might want to remove his cER SLaser or cSPlas (they are never available from the Arms Dealer, but have low resale value).

Mech Factory: Sell the Firemoth (if you have one); all his weapons (1 SRM4, 1 ER MLaser) are damaged anyway. As is, he's worth $6,148,550 less $10k if you remove the MASC. If you have a Warhawk, repair him before selling him (his repaired value assumes that cER PPCs are cheap and available, which in reality are not).

Use your money to buy either an Atlas or a Cyclops. You should have several mechs now for starmates and for choices in weapons variations.

Personnel: You might be able to get a larger Aerotech (a 100T Stuka instead of an SL-15 or SL-17).

Sleight of Hand: "Destroy 2 out of 3 Enemy Installations"

You only need to destroy 2 installations, but you get $100k for killing the third ($50k bonus plus bounty for 2 more kills).

• Gamma is probably the hardest site and Beta the easiest, so you should probably start with Alpha, then Beta, then decide whether to continue to Gamma or run for the dropship.
• Nav Alpha: Kodiak and a Dasher, followed by another Dasher behind the buildings. You must destroy all the little pieces of structure in small groups around the main building at this location (use F3 to help see them). After destroying about 5 pieces, a Dasher and a Man of War attack too (I think you're destroying their school! Must be ROTC)
• Nav Beta: Linebacker and Vulture (Mad Dog). It's pretty obvious how to kill all the boxy structures.
• Nav Gamma: Kodiak and Grizzly. This beautiful but delicate structure is destroyed with one shot.

Ali Baba: "Go to Nav Delta, Destroy All Enemies Near Nav Delta"

It says to stay away from the other Nav points. You are to capture a Clan mech that looks like a Kodiak.

• You see 2 Dashers in front of you (about 330º) that have not yet powered up. I like to attack them before they power up, although this means ignoring the 2 Aerotech fighters that also immediately attack you.
• At around 750m from Nav Delta, you can target a Gladiator, who is surprisingly tough. Ignore the powered-down mech in the garage at Delta.
• Since the Gladiator will shoot at you with a Gauss rifle, it's probably best to close the distance with him quickly and destroy him as soon as possible.

If you win this level, you play Judas Kiss to bring the Kodiak back. If you lose, you go to Alamo to try for half your contract compensation.

Alamo (Ali Baba failure): "Defend the Dropship"

You only play this if you failed at Ali Baba. Pick your best mech to "defend the dropship for 4 minutes" (defend against 3 enemy mechs, actually).

• A pair of large mechs are already attacking the dropship. The dropship is pretty tough, so you can probably take them on one at a time.
• After a long lull in the battle, a Vulture comes from the north.

You get $2M (half your contract with Draconis Combine) and no salvage. You goofed - you shouldn't have lost the previous level.

Judas Kiss (Ali Baba successful): "Go to Draconis Dropship -or- Destroy Draconis Dropship & Go to Your Dropship"

You only play this mission if you successfully completed Ali Baba.

You are preconfigured with a Kodiak with no jumpjets, 1 cER LLaser, 8 cER MLaser, 1 cu AC20 with 2 ammos (10 shots), and 2 cSSRM6

• Group the AC20 by itself, and possibly the cER LLaser by itself also. Use the missiles and MLasers for close-in fighting.
• You may wimp out and go to the round Dropship (slightly to your left as you leave the cave).
• First you must help kill the enemies (in red), then walk very close (<100 ft) to the dropship and wait several seconds.
• You receive about $4.250M as your compensation (no salvage).
• This is obviously not the recommended path to follow, since you hear "mission terminated" when you "win" the level this way.
• Better to let your allies (in blue) fight the enemies (in red) until all red are dead or nearly dead, then attack the allies yourself. You must also attack the dropship from a distance (you must not get too close after the enemies are dead or you will take the wimpy way out). The dropship fires MLasers and some kind of AC at you if you get too close (about 350m).
• You really need to kill all these initial targets without receiving too much damage. The mechs you meet on the way to your dropship are tough. Hopefully you still have all your weapons and AC20 ammo (you only get 10 shots).
• At about 1.65km from Nav Delta, you see a Kodiak to the left (about 290º). Damage him as much as possible from long range before he powers up. Go for the legs! This is probably a good time use your cuAC20, since he will probably blow it off.
• If he does not join your battle with the Kodiak, by about 1.2km from Nav Delta you see a Grizzly in a foxhole to the left. Again, try to get the jump on him (before he powers up).
• If you pass to the right of the steep hill at about 850m from Nav Delta, you quickly encounter a Kodiak, followed by a pair of Dashers. Decide the strategy you will use. You might be able to go left, on the other side from the Kodiak, and make a run for the dropship without ever fighting him. All you lose this way is the bounty for mechs you didn't kill.
• Neither you nor the enemy mechs will be able to just walk over the top of this hill.

You get no money for this mission, but salvage a Kodiak

Contract: Draconis Combine Campaign - Luthien Defense Force, $10M

If you played a supplemental mission before the Draconis Combine - Deep Strike 2 contract, this will be your only contract choice. I assume if you did not, you may play 1 supplemental mission now. This is your very last contract.

Customization: Remove the 8 lasers from your Kodiak's arms. If you use the cSSRM6, you can't buy more ammo, but you will salvage 1 or 2 cSSRM6s during each mission (you can use the ammo from the salvaged missile launchers).

Place in your torso a combination of MPlas and cER MLasers, one cER LLaser, and add jumpjets.

The Endo Steel uses up 7 critical slots but frees 5T of mass. He doesn't have Ferro-Fibrous armor, but he has lots of regular armor (17.5T).

Trojan Horse: "Destroy All Clan Mechs"

If you lose this mission, you continue to the next mission anyway (with no pay or salvage).

• The enemy Gladiator and Loki (Warhammer) will be destroyed by the explosion that you "... wait for". You must kill the Masakari (use your starmates).
• As you approach Nav Alpha, stop about about 210m away and shoot the little Elementals on the tower and on the ground to your right. When you reach Alpha, the remaining two Elementals reveal themselves (ref: pesky).
• Proceed to Nav Beta, then line up (hit B15B) and proceed to Nav Gamma. Go at speed 9 or less so your starmates will be in front.
• When you reach Gamma, a Linebacker, Thor and Masakari power up to ambush you.

You salvage: 2 cER MLaser, 1 cER LLaser, 1 cER PPC, 1 cu AC20, and 2 cSSRM6

Shield-Wall: "Hold the Line at Nav Alpha"

• Do not walk far forward of the initial starting point or you will be verbally admonished. If you go further, you lose.
• Your starmates can go wherever they want, sick them on distant enemies as soon as they appear on radar.
• Once a starmate walks far north of your position (while attacking an enemy), it's nice to keep him out there. Once the enemy is destroyed, power him down until the next enemy appears (for starmate 1, hit B25B).
• Stay near the crater where you start and kill anything that appears red when targeted. Don't let any enemies (especially the later ones to appear) get behind you, or you lose.

You salvage: 1 cER LLaser, 1 cUAC20, 1 cSSRM6

If you lose this level, you proceed to Gotterdamerung with minimal loss in pay, but no salvage from this level.
If you win this level, you proceed to Decapitator (nearly identical to Gotterdamerung).

Gotterdamerung (Shield-Wall failure): "Destroy All Enemies"

You only play this mission if you lost Shield-Wall. After this level, you go to Killing Fields.

On Luthien, "Find and Execute the Jaguar Commander"

• This level is nearly identical to Decapitator (there might be fewer enemies, e.g. no Linebacker)
• Follow your Nav points and kill everything.
• Make sure you inspect the Cauldron before killing him.

Same salvage as Decapitator.

Decapitator (Shield-Wall successful): "Destroy Smoke Jaguar Commander"

You only play this mission if you won Shield-Wall. After this level, you go to Killing Fields.

On Luthien, you must inspect the Smoke Jaguar Commander before you kill him.

• Kill everyone as you proceed through Alpha (Blackhawk and Uller) and Beta (Thor).
• At about 800m from Gamma, you see a Cauldron and a Linebacker.
• The Cauldron is the SJ Commander! Inspect him before you kill him.
• There's no hurry, so let your starmates help you as much as possible.

Salvage: 1 cER LLaser, 2 cER MLaser, 1 cER PPC, 1 cuAC20, 2 cSSRM6

Killing Fields: "Destroy All Clan Mechs"

The very last mission.

• Start out by snuffing the 3 Elementals who pester you.
• If you walk forward (due west, 270°), you eventually approach a powered-down Madcat and 2 Lokis (Warhammers).
• Try to kill them before they power up! You probably won't get all 3 before powering up, so use your starmates appropriately.
• Now here comes a Ryoken and Vulture very soon. This is an easy level to die on, use your starmates to distract enemies as much as possible.
• Now off to the south (there are no Nav points) for 2 Cauldrons and a Masakari.

Whether you win or lose, you see a cut-scene of you losing the battle. In the cut-scene, you are the Kodiak (2nd to last to die). Finally, you see yourself (your hand holding a martini) on a yacht.

I guess you retired in wealth. Game's over!

Contract: Additional Supplemental Missions

You might encounter these as supplemental missions (the launch mission screen names these missions, and the view movie actually shows more than "No Data Available"). The hardest supplemental missions are usually Defend missions, since you may need to quickly distract multiple enemies before focusing on attacking them.

Tiger Hunt: "Destroy Enemy Mech"

• The enemy Atlas (100T) is damaged. Follow your Nav points (toward the enemy Aerotechs) and you'll find him hiding behind a barn.

Dough Boy: "Identify All Enemy Dropships"

• Focus on killing all the enemies, then you can inspect everything at leisure.

Babysit: "Survey Planet, Return to Dustoff"

• You and one starmate are the trainer for Prince Luthor in a Dragon. Follow your Nav points and kill any enemy mechs you encounter.