Greetings Mechwarrior, this guide will provide you with the knowledge required to progress the game rapidly with the goal of competing the main campaign and major DLC content. This guide is written with VANILLA GAMEPLAY in mind. If you use mods, you can probably follow it for the most part.

For this guide, you need the following DLCs.
If you are playing Co-op, only the host requires these DLCs.

Required DLC:
Heros of the Inner Sphere
Legend of the Kestrel Lancers

Recommended DLC:
Rise of Rasalhague - Adds Crusader mechs, Rasalhague campaign & Bounty Hunter
Dragon's Gambit - Adds Kurita campaign & interesting loot/rewards

Non-essential/Optional:
Solaris Showdown - Beware, adding this DLC enables PPC-X loadouts on enemy mechs. Expect increased difficulty especially at the start of the game.
Call to Arms - IMO this is the worst DLC.

The following content will be SKIPPED.
Those in Need - (Rewards are too insignificant)
Dire Circumstances (Too far out, rewards are too insignificant)
Tributes for the Imperator (Too far out, rewards are too insignificant)

If you plan to have the most perfect start or are playing with friends, I recommend installing YAML mod after getting reputation lv5 to get Goblin & his hero phoenix hawk, Kobold. You can uninstall YAML after receiving Goblin's transmission if you want to have an unmodded experience.

WARNING: Phoenix Hawk Kobold cannot be re-obtained if you choose to sell this mech.

For Coop/Multiplayer:
This provides your team with more mechs to work with so that you dont have to fight over the free Razer branded wolverine you get from Valentina system.

For Best Solo Start:
This provides you with more mechs and AI pilots to work with & makes the early grind alot easier.
Due to the recent addition of more devastating mech variants with alternate loadouts such as PPC-X, having Goblin & Kobold will greatly improve the early grind when starting out.

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2549720490&searchtext=yaml

NOTICE: Updates are currently in progress. This section will look weird until I'm done. Some changes are still being made.

This is only a general recommendation for starting a new main campaign. Expect spoilers if you continue reading. You will need to salvage some mechs. Try to damage the enemy mech until it's salvage point requirements are low enough for you before proceeding to headshot the enemy mech. You will likely need to max salvage points for those few missions.

You may need to refer to my other guide on salvage for this part.
Unfortunately, there's too much info to condense into a single guide.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2951028714

Reputation Management for steps 1-10

• Keep Independents at atleast +2 rep
  
• Do not go below -2 rep for Steiner & Kurita
  
• For step 5, get atleast +2 rep for Liao.
  
• Arena Fame does not add to your Mercenary Level. Do not spend too much time in Arenas.

Reputation Management for steps 17 Onwards

• Get Rasalhague rep to +3
  
• Get Independents to +3 or +4 rep

Guide:

1) Grind for 30-40 Million Cbills & collect the free Wolverine @ Valentina system
2) Go to Terra or Steiner territory & buy any two heavy mechs from this list. Sell mechs as needed but keep a light mech for infiltration missions. Any combination eg: 2 Archer 2S, 1 each etc, are all acceptable.

• Archer 2S (Excellent firepower, mobility & compatible w AI, better in early game)
  
• Crusader 2R (Agincourt but 5T lighter. Remove mg if you intend to pass it to AI, better in mid-late game)

4) Play "First Strike" for Warhammer 6R quest reward
5) Do missions for Liao and get atleast +2 rep
6) Complete Hazing of the Weak, get the following mechs:

• Black Knight 6 (Mission 2)
  
• Highlander 732B or 2nd Black Knight 6 (Mission 3. put 1 Jump Jet on highlander this for Tikonov Final Mission)
  
• Stalker 3Fb (Final Mission, outfit w ppc-x & med sb lasers, SRM 6)
  
• Orion-YAJ (Final Mission, 2 large sb lasers, ppc-x & 2 SRM6)

7) Head over to Marik/Steiner border, get the following mechs:

• Get 2 Battlemaster 1G (From Dire Circumstances main quest & save scum while in steiner territory to purchase it)
  
• Get 2 Stalker 3F (Save scum while in steiner territory to purchase)

8) In Kurita territory. get the the following mechs

• 2 Atlas RS (Obtained from Deliverance Main Campaign Mission & Rise of Black Dragon Mission 1. Outfit them with AC5BF, Large sb lasers & srm4/6)
  
• Banshee 3P (Charity Case Final Mission, outfit w ppc-x & med lasers)

9) Complete Main Campaign by end of 3024

• Get Banshee 3S (Crucible mission, replaces an Atlas RS)

10) Get the following mechs:

• Cataphract 0X & Raven 1X* (Eyes On Democracy Final Mission)
  
• Archer Agincourt & 2 Charger 1A5 (Bow & Arrow missions)

*Raven 1x can be purchased from Liao & Davion spaces
11) Complete Kestrel Lancer Campaign

• Highlander 732B from step 4 (put 1 Jump Jet on this for Tikonov Final Mission. You can toss this mech in cold storage after completing Kestral campaign)
  
• Place Cataphract 0X at 4th position to minimise damage, provide ecm support & counter enemy ecm)

If you only bought base game, Heros of the Inner Sphere & Kestrel Lancers, the following content may not apply to you. The game is mostly complete and you can pretty much treat it as a sandbox and wander the galaxy as you like.

12) Run Cantina Missions & bounty hunter rep
13) Complete Rise of Rasalhague & salvage the following mechs:

• Banshee 3S (Gunsberg Mission 3, replaces Atlas RS)

15) Complete "Stop the Launch" for King Crab Carapace & salvage all the T5 weapons.
This is very tight on schedule and might be difficult to pull off. Outfit Carapace with four AC5 BF, 2 LRM 10. AI is an effective fire support platform & damage sponge with this loadout.
15) Complete Dragon's Gambit, Get Mauler 2P & MX90S. Replace Charger 1A5 w 3KS. Replace Battlemaster 1G with 1G-S variants.
16) Complete Solaris Showdown
17) Grind Independents rep to +4, Rasahalgue rep to +3 & try to complete the bounty hunter grind/quest.

• Another Banshee 3S spawns during this quest but its unlikely you'll have enough points

18) Complete Shadow of Kerensky

• During this quest line, its unlikely you'll have time to use salvaged clan mechs against the clans
  
• Bring a mech with ECM to counter ECM on every mission
  
• Bring atleast 1 mech with gauss or heavy rifiles
  
• Some maps are long and windy. Consider bringing 64kmph mechs.
  
• Consider upgrading your current mechs with clan tech instead. This will save time and still yield results.
  
• Consider salvaging Novas for the 12 ER Medium Lasers they carry. Its a very quick and effective way to gain clan tech for your mechs.
  
• Destroying atleast 1 leg and centre torso seems to be an effective way to keep salvage costs down. Only problem is the lower probability for the mech to appear as salvage.

Notes: All Charger 1A5, ECM/EW Ravens/Cataphracts in Kestral campaign cannot be salvaged. Charger 1A5 & Raven 1X are obtainable via a few quest lines. Most notably Bow & Arrow for charger 1A5 & Eyes On Democracy (Raven 1x).

To purchase two Archer 2S or Crusader 2R, you will need to abuse the following steps to get the mechs to appear in the mech markets.As long as no

• Crusader 2R has a chance to spawn as a damaged mech on Terra.
  
• Archer 2S has a chance to spawn on any steiner owned industrial hub.

1) Save your game some distance away from the industrial hubs. You must not be able to see the various features that are available (eg: cantina, rare weapons/mechs)
2) Jump to a system near to your desired mech's spawn system (You should now be able to see if there are hero or rare item/mech on the market)
3A) If a hero mech or rare item/mech has spawned on your desired system. load your save from step 1 & repeat.
3B) If no hero mech or rare items have spawned on your desired system, save & start jumping/reloading until your desired mech appears.

Similarities:

• Both store most of their firepower in the torsos
  
• Both can be built into SRM brawlers
  
• Both can be built into LRM boats for late game

Archer 2S Advantages:

• More armour than Crusader 2R
  
• More room for heatsinks (Especially in early game)
  
• Usually Cheaper (About 8mill)
  
• Nothing important in arms
  
• Can be used by players & AI

Crusader 2R Advantages

• Better than Archer 2S in late game due to more missile slots
  
• Can be built for either player or player & AI use
  
• Weighs 5 tons less while carrying more firepower

Early game builds for each mech:

Archer 2S:
4x Medium Lasers
4x SRM4 + 2.5T ammo
Max Armour, rest to heatsinks

Crusader 2R:
4x SRM4 in torsos +2.5T Ammo
2x SRM2 in arms
2x Medium Lasers
Max Armour, rest to heatsinks

Late Game Player Builds for Crusader 2R:
4x SRM4 in torsos +2.5T Ammo
2x T2 SRM4 in arms
2x T2 Machine guns
2x T2 Medium Lasers
Max Armour, rest to double heatsinks

Stalker 3F has 4 missile slots and 6 laser hardpoints.
This gives the stalker one of the highest alpha strikes in vanilla gameplay.
Both players and AI can make good use of this mech.

Brawler:
6x Medium Lasers
4x SRM6

LRM support:
4x LRM10-ST
5 Med Lasers + TAG or 6 Med Lasers

Both builds are equally viable. However, I generally prefer to leave LRM support to the Fb variant due to ECM compatibility.

Stalker 3Fb
+ Available from the start of the game as a rare mech in pristine condition.
+ ECM Capable
+ Alot of free tonnage
+Can be setup for either long range, mid range or brawling.
- Slow moving assault @ 48kmph


Cyclops 11P
+Rare mech available from 3045, most notably obtained from Will of Kali final mission.
+ECM Capable
+Fast Moving Assault @ 64kmph
+Can be used as a long ranged sniper or upfront brawler
-Lack of tonnage reduces weapon loadouts
-Often have to choose between armour, weapons/ammo and equipment

Recommendation: Stalker 3Fb

In my first release of this guide, I used to use the cyclops 11P as a sniper in the 4th slot with 3 Med Laseers + 2 Heavy Rifles, max ballsistic velocity upgrades. It served as an ecm capable sniper and early game Sleipnir.

However, after multiple play throughs, I've found that the Stalker 3Fb is a much more versatile mech and can be deployed in a wider range of roles. I can confirm that the stalker 3Fb is a much more well rounded option. As of Solaris, the Stalker 3FB serves as a very potent upfront brawler with 2x PPC-X. 2 SRM6 and 4 medium lasers. Maps that were a bit of a slugfest are alot easier with the 3Fb in the brawling role.

Atlas RS has overall better balance than Atlas D in weapon loadouts.
Additionally, the role of close combat brawler is easily filled by the Stalker 3F for 15 tons less.

Suggested Atlas RS Loadout:
SRM6+ART
SRM4+ART
UAC5 or AC5 BF
2x Large SB Laser

Weapon Groups for Player:
SRMs to group 1, chain fire.
UAC5 & Large Lasers to group 2
UAC5, Large Lasers & SRMs to group 6 or alpha strike

Chainfire SRM gives you better control over SRM ammo usage.
UAC5 & Large SB lasers provides continuous long range fire support
All weapons in alpha strike should be used only when the target is close and cant avoid your fire. Due to the sheer number of heatainks you can mount, you’ll have continuou/sustained dps on nearby targets.

Weapon Groups for AI
SRM4+ART to group1
SRM6+ART to group 2
UAC5 to group 3
Large SB to group 4

This reduces the likelihood of AI over-aggroing enemy mechs while keeping DPS.

Hero light mechs (eg: Commando TDK & Urbanmech K9) & some rare star league era mechs (eg: Crab 27b) are cheap and carry multiple double heatsinks (DHS).
You can use these mechs to collect double heatsinks before the technology is widespread/available.

1) Check the number of DHS in the mech to see if its worth buying
2) If you have funds to spare, & it holds a good number of DHS, purchase the mech
3) Place the mech in cold storage

• This will remove all weapons/equipment, including DHS from the mech

4) Sell away the mech to recover some funds

• Hero mechs will eventually respawn again in the future with DHS
  
• Rare mechs such as Crab 27b will reappear randomly throughout the game

5) Install DHS on your mechs & continue with the game

WORK IN PROGRESS

1) Precise
Pilots with this trait tend to target a single part of the enemy mech

2) Hardy
Pilots with this trait have shorter recovery time

The following is a simple guide on which weapons to place on the same firing group.
You will still need to decide how to group your weapons for your playstyle.

Energy Weapons:

Tag: Pairs well with SSRM, AC5BF, UAC5, medium/large lasers & SB variants. LanceAI have an increased chance of targeting mechs you tag. Ideally your lance should have a LRM carrier but it's fine if you dont have one.

Flamers: Generally, avoid using these. AI may use only flamers if enemies get too close & ignore all other equipped weapons. Alternatively, Get a mech with many flamers and overheat enemy AI to death. Pretty boring imo but dont let me stop you.

Small: Skip unless you're on a light mech. Range is too short & AI does not work well with small lasers. AI may use only small lasers if enemies get too close & ignore all other equipped weapons.

Medium & Medium SB: Pairs well with AC5BF, UAC5 & SSRM

Large: Pairs well with AC5BF & UAC5. I personally prefer large SB due to shorter burn times.

Large SB: Pairs well with AC5BF, UAC5 & Gauss

Large Pulse: Pairs well with medium & medium SB lasers.

PPC: Pairs well with PPC due to zero projectile drop. However, large lasers are 1 ton lighter and generate less heat, making large lasers generally more efficient and attractive options.

ER-PPC: Pairs with ER-PPC due to zero projectile drop. Again, I prefer large/large sb lasers or gauss.

PPC-X: Energy based shotgun. Pairs with LBX10 or SRMs at close enough ranges. Be careful not to stack too many PPC-X & LBX10 or the game wont be able to calculate the damage dealt. Any damage not calculated does 0 damage to target.

Ballistic Weapons:

Machine Guns: Generally, avoid using these. AI may use only machine guns if enemies get too close & ignore all other equipped weapons.

AC2 & AC2BF: Too little damage for the weight. Skip them.

AC5 & AC5 BF: Decent range. Personally I prefer AC5 BF due to the higher ROF. Best paired with medium lasers and more AC5 or AC5 BF.

UAC5: Best paired with medium lasers and more UAC5.

AC10: A bit too heavy. I generally skip these.

LBX10: 1 ton lighter than AC10 but not good enough.

LBX10 SLD: 1 ton lighter than AC10 and faster projectile speed. Best paired with med lasers and more LBX10 SLD

AC20: Best paired with SRM/SRM+ART and light rifles

Rapid Fire Autocannons (eg: AC2RF): Generally avoid using these weapons due to high/uncontrollable recoil.

Light Rifle: Pairs well with AC20 & SRMs due to similar range and projectile speeds.

Medium Rifles: Skip these. They dont do enough damage and are too heavy.

Heavy Rifles: Heavy rifles pair best with MORE HEAVY RIFLES. Upgrade your mechs with projectile & ballistic speed and you'll have a gauss rifle for half the tonnage. If you fancy a challenge, try to headshot targets outside of your effective range. Higher projectile velocity results in flatter trajectory and seems to improve AI's accuracy.

Gauss: Pairs best with Gauss & Large SB Lasers due to minimal projectile drop and similar ranges.


Missiles:
SSRM: Pairs best with tag & med lasers. It will fire once you have a lock and has a chance to target the most damaged part of the enemy mech. Great against light mechs.

SRM & SRM+ART: Pairs best with AC20 & light rifles. SRM4 has a tight enough spread if you need to save weight.

SRM-ST: Avoid using these. The damage spread and odd tracking makes it difficult to concentrate damage.

LRM & LRM-ST: Pairs best with tag

This is a general guide/layout for your lance.
As you progress in the game, you will likely find yourself mixing and matching as needed.

Heavy Assault Lance: (48km/h)
Purpose: Battlefield/Defence/Assassination

Player Mech: Atlas RS, Mauler 2P or Stalker 3F
AI Mech 2: King Crab Carapace or Banshee 3S
AI Mech 3: Corsair or Banshee 3S
AI Mech 4: Stalker 3Fb (Guardian ECM + LRM)

Fast Assault Lance: (64km/h)
Purpose: Demolition/Raid/Assassination

Player Mech: Mauler MX90-S, Banshee 3P
AI Mech 2: Battlemaster 1G/3M or Charger 1A5
AI Mech 3: Battlemaster 1G/3M or Charger 1A5
AI Mech 4: Battlemaster 1P (Guardian ECM)

Heavy Lance: (64km/h)
Purpose: For lower tonnage missions.

Player Mech: Archer 2S, Agincourt, Crusader 2R
AI Mech 2: Archer 2S, Black Knight 6/6B or Charger 1A5
AI mech 3: Archer 2S, Black Knight 6/6B or Charger 1A5
AI mech 4: Cataphract 0X or Raven 1X/3L (Guardian ECM)

Infiltration:
Player Mech: Raven 1X/3L w BAP & ECM
AI Mech 2: Heaviest possible without exceeding tonnage limits
AI Mech 3: Heaviest possible without exceeding tonnage limits
AI Mech 4: Preferably ecm capable without exceeding tonnage limits

Reason: This is due to some infiltration missions requiring you to break stealth. You'll need your AI lance's firepower to delay enemies while you provide ECM cover to the retreating mech.

All enemy mechs within an allied mech’s ECM range will suffer penalties to accuracy. Similarly, allied mech in the presence of enemy ECM will have a decrease to accuracy.

Allied ECM can be toggled to disable enemy ECM. This helps during several missions such as Tikonov & Sarna (Kestrel Lancers) & Bounty Hunter’s mission. By disabling enemy ecm, your lance & allied mechs regain their original accuracy and will be less likely to miss their targets.

Another note is the position your ECM enabled mech takes in the field. As Guardian ECM modules are quite difficult to come by, I recommend placing ECM mechs in the 4th lancemate position. This gives you ECM coverage and reduces aggro on the ECM mech as AI in the 4th slot are more passive.

Where to buy ECM Modules?
Black Market ECM - 5m Radius, provides coverage only for the mech it is equipped to

Guardian ECM
Best place to “buy” Guardian ECM is Terra. Several ECM capable mechs may spawn in Terra, regardless of your reputation with Comstar. Simply save some distance away from terra and travel there. Check for mechs with Guardian ECM, buy & toss into storage.

Do you use mods?
No. I dont use mods and play vanilla only.

Why do you seldom mention hero mechs?
Hero mechs are very RNG reliant. As much as I would love to have Golden Boy, Slepnir and Skokomish in my roster, there have been play throughs where I complete the campaigns and dont encounter these mechs until year 3060+.

Why are you over preparing us?
To cater to a wider range of players’ capabilities and keep things simple.

Hero mechs will spawn if you keep buying them. Stop selling them back to get more Double Heatsinks.
I rather have a full, fully functional roster of mechs with DHS than to have 1 good hero mech and 11 overheating mechs.

Kintaro 18 has similar firepower to the Archer 2S while weighing less. Why not use the Kintaro?
I feel that medium mechs generally dont have enough armour. Having more armour improves overall survival & mission success. You can SKIP medium mechs by buying archer 2S and have an overall easier time completing missions.

I'm taking alot of damage but the rest of my lance hardly takes a scratch. Why is this happening?
Enemy AI is currently coded to take on the enemies that deal the most damage/kills. That often means the player is going to soak most of the damage. Additionally, AI will target more damaged parts of the mech. IMO, its usually better for 1 mech to be down for repairs than all 4 mechs.

Why do you put lower tier weapons in the arms?
Torso twisting is essential for spreading the damage and minimising loss of parts/equipment. Placing cheap Tier 0~2 weapons in arms gives you the option to sacrifice that arm. Its sometimes better or more efficient to lose an arm. (Eg: If I lose an arm & a few T2 weapons but am able to salvage a Banshee 3S, its well worth it.)

Why does your early game focus on Liao?
Hazing of the weak offers us a quick path to quickly obtain heavy and assault mechs to give us momentum. Black Knight 6B and stalker 3Fb are essential to our progression in game.

Why are you not guiding us as much for step 12 onwards?
By this point, you should be mostly self sufficient. DLC 3 to DLC 6 isnt much of a challenge for your ridiculous arsenal of mechs at your disposal.

Will you be making a similar guide for MW5 Clans?
No. Clans is pretty straightforward and linear compared to Mercs.

When will you be updating this guide for DLC 7 Shadow of Kerensky?
Work is in progress. For now its an interim update so that you roughly know what to do.