HOW TO COSTUMIZE A 'MECH
MW4 is very different from the previous MechWarrior products in costumizing
'Mechs; thanks, or better, due to the brand-new (and immediately ignored in
MC2) bay system, not all 'Mechs can support all weapons, even if they have
enough tonnage to devote to them; this applies also to ECM Suites, Active
Probes and Jump Jets; Light Amplification can be installed on all 'Mechs as AMS
can be (though the Argus does not support any kind of AMS system), though the
base technlogy of the chassis (Inner Sphere or Clan) will determine the type of
System installed: Inner Spherian have standard projectile AMSes, while Clans
have Laser AMS. They both have the same weight and roughly the same
performances, the only thing changegd is the name.
Returning to equipment, remember that ECM reduce by half the ranges of any
enemy within the radar's range and Active Probes will increase the radar range
by 200 meters. Also, these two equipment will reduce missile-lock on times.
Missile boats should always have at least the Active Probe. Light Amplification
is pretty useless (as the spotlight all 'Mechs mount but that's an other
story...) and Jump Jets can improve sniping abilities of a 'Mech, though they
are pratically useless in urban terrain (but not in field bases, where they
allow you jump over small buildings); jump distance is equal for all 'Mechs
(roughly 150 meters) and always mounted in the rear torso.
All these equipment, like engine, gyro, arm or leg actuators, cockpit and any
other part of the 'Mech (aside weapons) cannot be destroyed by weapon fire.
Talking about armor, I always carry maximum Ferro-Fibrous armor, with less
points on Legs and Arms to free a full ton of space. Other armors will weight
more as they provide less point per ton, but are specialized in repel some
attacks: Reflective armor dissipates damage by energy weapons and Reactive
Armor missile weapons; these armors have a small malus when dealing with damage
caused by other kinds of weapons.
About weapons: first decide what kind of weapons you are going to use (this
will also spell what kind of engagement you are planning: PPCs at close range
might be fine, but what about LBX ACs?), then the base chassis. For example,
there's only an handful of 'Mechs capable of mounting three PPCs (or only
one...BTW, the Nova Cat surely can), but most have enough space for an ER or
Pulse Large Laser. Also, Gauss Rifles can be carried by most 'Mechs, though
they are heavier than PPCs and are ammo dependent. Also remember to carefully
balance the weapons load: weapons with slow recharge rates are good for
snipers, but close-ranged fighters will find more confortable Pulse Lasers, ACs
or SRMs.
When you are going to use energy weapons (especially in hot environments)
remember to install enough heat sinks to at least the heat efficency bar at
50%: this will grant you some "autonomy" before holding fire to have the 'Mech
cool down, though a full bar is always reccomended, even with ballistic weapons
(rember that large caliber cannons generate large amounts of heat).
For ammunition-based weapons be sure to mount at least one extra ton of ammo,
especially if you will fight with them as main weapons and with Gauss Rifles
and large-caliber ACs, they tend to heat ammos at allarming rates.
Remember that Omni bays can accept all weapons wind but only few 'Mechs have
bays large enough to accomodate all weapons (for example the Dire Wolf and the
Shadow Cat). Most tend to be 2 or 2 slots -large, enough to accomodate only
Large Lasers or medium caliber ACs.