GENERAL TACTICS
Let's begin with the gameplay differences ('Mech lab differencies has been
covered in the previous section) between MW4 and MW3. In MW3 cutting off a leg
from a 'Mech would have resulted in the 'Mech without the leg beign immediately
destroyed; this was quite frustating and before the release of the patches it
was quite simple to detroy a 'Mech with a Small Laser boat. Also, hard-hitting
weapons (especially missiles and LB-X Acs) tended to knock down 'Mechs very
easily. In MW4 a 'Mech can be knocked down; however to knock down a
light/medium 'Mech you'll need a very power shot: Cougars and alike can be
downed with a twin LB-20X strike at their Center Torso or with more powerful
attacks on their entire torso; Shadow Cats and alike can be knocked down only
with devastating shots to their torsos (triple PPCs/Gauss/LB 20-X assaults).
I've never seen top-heavy medium, heavy or assault 'Mech knocked down. Knocked
down 'Mechs can fire as long targets are within weapons range and arc.
Legs are undestroyable. Well, it is possible to disable a leg by destroying its
armor and internal structure, but the limb will remain with the 'Mech, strongly
reducing its speed (about 10 kp/h, for all 'Mechs); I've seen only one leg
totally blown off, during a single player Master Trial (in the Instant Action
menu); I was on a Shadow Cat and a 'Mech took away my right leg; the 'Mech
stopped completely: it was impossible to move, but possible to turn around. I
do not know if it was a bug or something, but that's the first and only time I
saw a leg blown off. Arms and Missile racks can be destroyed (or blown off) by
destroying their armor and internal structure.
Also, heat management has changed; a 'Mech with, for example a Clan ER PPC and
4 Clan ER Large Lasers and a green heat capacity bar WILL NOT overheat in any
way (except for external factors, like high temperatures or Flamers). This
means that you can fire whatever weapon you want if you have a green bar; also,
'Mechs with red or yellow bars (I strongly reccomend not to deploy 'Mechs with
heat bars below the half) will overheat only after a certain number of attacks:
for example, a Mad Cat with twin Clan ER PPCs and 4 Clan ER Medium Lasers will
overheat only if it fires its PPCs and Lasers twice or three times
consicutively.
Like MW3, extreme heat will affect your movement capabilities (you'll slow down
a bit) and will make your cockpit inaccurate, just like a PPC hit.
When engaging 'Mechs, always go for their heads; scoring an head hit is very
difficult, as it is to destroy a 'Mech's head with a single salvo (even 4 Clan
ER Large Lasers won't destroy a Daishi's head), however, in all 'Mechs (Thor
excluded, anyway), the head is always on the center torso; destroying the
center torso (armor and internal structure) is the only way to destroy a 'Mech.
All enemies will surely go for your center torso, so try to keep mobile to
avoid destruction. Legs will affect mobility, arms and missile racks weapon
load and lateral torsos weapons. When the armor is gone, damage will pass top
the internal structure; each shot at the internal structure of a 'Mech will
have a chance to destroy the weapons in it (there are no other critical hits in
MW4, just like MW3...MW2 is still unsurpassed on this point); when a location's
internal structure is gone, the location and all weapons in it will be
destroyed. When a location has its internal structure damaged, it will begin to
smoke. Smoke from center torso and other torso sections will generally TOTALLY
obscure line of sight when moving backward.
Vehicles are an other matter; VTOLs and aircrafts need only a direct hit to
their hull to make them crash, while other vehicles will take more punishment
before being destroyed. When targeting a vehicle, always go for the turret,
which is roughly the equivalent of a 'Mech's head. When a ground vehicle has
been hit pretty bad blue lights will begin to come out from it, meaning that
it's going to explode. It will take some time, but it will always explode.
DropShips and Destroyers do not have this drawback. Any kind of vehicle (even
DropShips or Destroyers) do not have a critical table, so or they are
destroyed, or they will continue firing.
Sensors are useful, but must be used carefully; when you are alone and the zone
is filled by enemies, or your target is a sitting duck, but heavily defended,
passive radars and ECM Suites will help you to pass undetected; Active Probes
will also increase your scanning range by 200 meters, while keeping your sensor
profile the same.
When a 'Mech, a fuel depot, a DropShip and any other thing that can explode
will be destroyed, they will generate a small explosion. Fuel depots are
generally the most destructive, and they will also add high amount of heat to
your 'Mech, usually forcing you to use the coolant or to shutdown your 'Mech.
'Mech explosions are similar to fuel explosions though they will allocate less
damage and heat. DropShip explosions will only allocate damage. Also, extra
heat will be added if you fire LRMs too near to your target, so do not close if
you are piloting a LRM boat.
After having spoke about damages, let's speak about repairs; at the end of each
mission your 'Mech will be automatically repaired; this includes both weapons
and armor, no weapon in your inventory will be removed to replace a damaged one
as it will be repaired for free. During missions, however, you'll might a
chance (or necessity) to repair: this can be done in 'Mech Repair Facilities in
the mission area. Not all missions have a Repair Facility, and sometime they
are concealed between buildings or by limited visibility. However, Repair
Facilities are usually located in large explanades and/or near small outposts
and/or where 'Mechs unexpectedly powered up. All bases containing 'Mechs will
have at least one of these Facilities.
There isn't only one kind of Repair Facility: the most common is a red building
with two armored doors that allow a 'Mech to enter from one side and exit from
the other one. This is also the hardest to use: you'll have to enter the base
at moderate speeds (I usually hit the "2" speed trigger, this will make the
'Mech automatically shutdown when in position), then hit the shutdown button
("S", as per standard keyboard layout) while you are in the base; this is
difficult because the 'Mech won't stop automatically, it will proceed straight,
ignoring all your commands (shutdown excluded) until you are 50 meters away
from the structure. This is quite irritating as you will be an easy prey for
enemies.
Other Repair strucuters are more easily usable: they are both composed of three
walls and one single entrance and do not require too much job for obtaining a
repair. Just walk inside the walls and hit the shutdown key. Then you'll have
to manually walk away from the structure at any speed you want.
Repair Facilities always repair your while armor but will not replace destroyed
weapons and limbs.
Here's some differencies I noticed between MW4 and Mercs.
First, weapons now have different stats. Be sure to check them out: Pulse
Lasers now are much more powerful and heat-requiring than before and PPCs have
a longer range and harder punch.
It is easier to knock down a 'Mech. Twin Ultra AC/20s hitting on a Center Torso
can make an Heavy topple, and 6 ER Large Lasers can make a Medium 'Mech fall if
it in the legs or in the Torso. This is the same for you, so be careful when
engaging Fafnirs or other 'Mechs that packs quite a punch; also, powerful hits
from single weapons, explosions and other factors can make your torso or arms
spin around quite easily; Advanced Gyro partially counteracts this new tendency
that can make battles both a nightmare and a free-fall for you enemies if hit
hard in the right places.
'Mech can now also be annihilated. Usually, a destroyed 'Mech ends as a black
scrap after its Center Torso has been destroyed; now it is possible to make a
'Mech explode, making it leaving no other than few black pieces on the
battleground. This implies that the pilot inside the 'Mech will surely die (and
that can happen to your pilots too) and the 'Mech won't be salvageable.
Annihilation should happens when a single shot or salvo hits the center torso,
destroys remaining armor of the side where the shot came from, the internal
structure and all armor on the other side. Not really sure about it, but looks
like a good possibility.
About salvage, as far as I understood, a 'Mech can be salvaged if the last
damage value it recieved on its Center Torso doesn't pass it armor+internal
structure value; if the damage passes it, it strikes the reactor and the 'Mech
is not salvageable. My guess, however.
What I'm sure about, though, is that destroying the head will let you salvage
the 'Mech.
Note that a downed 'Mech always explodes, allocating damage and heat to
anything within about 5 meters. Be sure to stay away from one 'Mech which is
going to fall.
Managing your unit is a pretty new addition to Mercenaries. Black Knight
offered this possibility too, but not knowing if it had the same features, I
can't tell the differencies.
However, here's a few guidelines.
First, keep at least one or two 'Mechs for each weight class, this might help
fo Solaris and for unexpected mission requiring a bit of speed.
Second: buy all Clan equipment and 'Mechs you can, they are clearly the best
'Mechs and weapons out there, and do not expect the enemy to field outmoded
'Mechs just because you do so: the best units will be armed with only Clan
weaponry and 'Mechs, and almost every unit will have a Ryoken or a Hellhound in
them (that's a bit silly, IMO. This makes the Clan 'Mechs too widespread and
makes thinking why someone might want to use Inner Sphere equipment...the
differency between costs is not really prohibitive, and after some missions,
the Free Market in all four different campaigns will be filled with Clan tech).
Allan Mills (amills1@bigpond.net.au) sent this:
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I read your FAQ on Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries and I had a few comments.
Firstly a cheat on how to make winning a lot easier in the Solaris Tournaments.
When the match begins, immediately shutdown your mech. Because you aren't
powered up you won't draw much attention from the enemy. This isn't permanent
of course, eventually someone will start firing at you but it's generally not
until most of the opposition is dead. I used this to beat the grand
championship on the second highest difficulty level. There were only three
enemies left when I powered up. Of course you need to choose your time
correctly, if you wait too long you are a sitting duck. It was a bit sad to
have to resort to this trick but I couldn't get better than third place by
fighting fair - for some attempts I was near death within 30 seconds just
because several other mechs decided to fire at me.
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The other comments were about Repair Bases and on the Puma 'Mech...interesting
tactic, but basically I'm for the brainless assault of everything moving in a
Solaris arena, though it might be useful...as far as I know, however, if you
shutdown when someone started to fire on you, he/she will continue to engage
you...maybe it works only at the very beginning.
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11-MULTIPLAYER TACTICS
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Actually I'm waiting technicians that will install a DSL line, and then
probably I'll start to play online...here in Italy lag is already crippling and
no one will let me play with a 56k.