Data is based on tabletop stats, because (at the time) in-game stats were unknown. Still, it's an interesting video: There are, of course, some flaws in this analysis, but to his credit, he acknowledges this: Game weapon stats don't match tabletop stats. Damage/ton value is misleading because range, speed, and melee damage play a factor as well. Damage does not account for scatter vs. concentrated damage. Heat rating does not account for "bracket firing" where a mech intentionally has more weapons than can be managed for heat and only fires the ones that are at optimal range. More armor is not always better; a support mech (like the Catapult) does not need as much armor because it should be able to lob damage from a safe distance.
This is useful link. No idea how accurate it is and I think it depends partly on reputation. But it's a list of what tags are likely for finding mech parts or whole mechs in a planets store. https://battletech.gamepedia.com/Battlemech_shop_locations The game uses spawn lists to determine which parts spawn where, with the principal factor being the planet's attributes (typically industry, though other factors like Star League remnants or old battlefields also play a factor. The following table summarizes which tags (or their combination) give you a chance of finding which mech. A word of note: There seems to be a degree of randomness as to which mechs spawn where, plus a limit for the amount of mechs that can spawn on any given planet. As such, the following tables are guidelines as to where these mechs can be found, rather than a master list of guaranteed spawns.
If you're trying to get an "intact"mech, there is a way to do it without selling your soul to RNGesus for that lucky AC10/20 headshot. If you manage to get three hits on the pilot and knock them unconscious (without blasting off their side torso) you can get all three parts. My method so far has been to knock off a single leg to make them fall and suffer 1 damage. If you take out both legs, you take out the mech, but can only get 2 salvage from it. For the other two+ pilot hits I've been using an asshole hit and run Locust. Triple MGs give you 15 chances for a headshot for another 1 pilot damage, instead of hoping for that 1-2% chance on an AC. This works best if you reserve the Locust until after most or all of the enemy have moved. Dart in, kick them in the shins while unloading your MGs, then run the fuck away at the beginning of the next turn. TLDR - Take out one leg and MG spray their face for full salvage on a mech.
Problem with using AC's is they too often put all the damage in the wrong spot. You want to maim, but not kill your target. I've found more consistent results using missiles because they scatter the damage about more and avoid coring your target: At the minimum, you will need two mechs to perform this combo. Equip a mech with dual LRM 20's (if you have LRMs with stability debuffs, you might get away with smaller launchers). This can be done comfortably on a 65 ton mech, but you might be able to squeeze it on something smaller if you nerf armor and support weapons. You will need a minimum of 3 tons of ammo, but 4 or 5 is recommended for longer missions later in the game. For early-mid game and smaller targets, you might be able to squeak by with dual LRM 15s. Equip a second mech with at least one SRM or LRM launcher (again, because they deal scatter damage). This will deliver the actual knockdown. It only needs to be strong enough to complete the knockdown, but consider using a bigger launcher if you aren't getting consistent results. During a battle, when you find a mech you want to capture, avoid damaging it except for the two mechs discussed here. After your target has moved (and ONLY after), attack with your LRM boat first. Fire both LRM 20s, but don't target any specific area (if using called shots, ONLY target the head). You want to spread the damage out as much as possible. Assuming your missiles hit for full damage (if target has Cover/Bulwark, this gets more difficult), two LRM 20s should take your target into "unstable" status. Follow this attack up with your missile launcher on your second mech. DON'T fire any other weapons on the target (again, we are going for knockdowns, not killing damage). This *should* deliver the knockdown. If you have Multi-Target, you can still direct the rest of your weapons at another target. When the mech is down, resist the urge to shoot at it. You need to wait until the mech is standing before shooting at it more. Focus on other targets in the meantime. Rinse/repeat Steps 4-7 until the pilot gets KO'd (4 injuries should kill the pilot). Congratulations on hopefully a successful capture. Note: Destroying a side torso WILL injure the pilot, but don't target them specifically. Since the CT is *usually* the most protected part, the LRMs scatter damage will tend to strip off side torsos before destroying the CT. Also, if you have "Called Shot Mastery" (Lvl 9 in Tactics), you can use Called shot on the Head to increase chance up to 14%. It doesn't work every time, but I've gotten pretty consistent with captures using this method. It works particularly well on tougher targets that have the armor to weather the barrage of missiles. I've been running a lance with two (mostly) short range brawlers and two LRM boats for awhile. Having two LRM boats makes this easier for harder targets with Bulwark or Cover, but that's up to the individual. This strategy allows for a lot of flexibility if I want to split my force into two pairs to deal with threats from multiple angles. For weaker armored targets, Smokey's method of shooting off the leg and then running in with MGs is probably better, but an MG-focused mech might put you at a disadvantage in later missions.
Also, I forgot to mention how salvage works: Destroyed CT = 1 part Destroyed both legs = 2 parts Anything else that causes pilot death = all 3 parts The last point is key because you can kill both side torsos and still get full salvage as long as the mech still has a CT and at least one leg. So blowing off a side torso is great because that triggers another pilot injury and that means one less time you need to knock the mech down. Just don't go crazy targeting side torsos, because once they are gone all damage directed to that side goes straight to the CT.
So early game it's viable to take out both side torsos and a leg since enemy mechwarriors usually only have 3hp in the beginning. Interesting.
After having done a tour of the Taurian Concordat (~15 missions) I came out with a full company of thunderbolts, two banshee-3m, one Zeus, highlander, victor, awesome-8q. What I learned is that certain missions will spawn specific set of mechs. Battle based missions of 4.5/5 or higher tended to have a assault mech in it. The retribution mission on Taurus was the hardest so far being 5/5. Spawned 7 assaults and 1 heavy. 1 atlas, 2 highlanders, 1 stalker, 2 banshee, 1 awesome, 1 dragon. Need to pay attention to what area drops what mechs so you can better choose what missions to do.
I'd get wiped on one of those, but I'm just pushing into the concordat specifically because I'm lacking heavies and assaults. Looks like I need to aim for 3/4 stars first to get some heavies, then push into the 5 stars for the assaults.
I'm in the concordat getting Davion rep (haven't seen rep for anyone else) and so far picked up a quickdraw, thunderbolt and an Orion. Though holy shit. I ran into an enemy thunderbolt and I think the pilot had 5 or 6 health. Knocked him down 3 times and a missile hit him in the head and he was still alive.
Cockpit modifications are in the game. The only ones I have seen so far are morale +, visual range increase, and injury resist. Only way to get these so far that I’ve seen is through salvage. So at 6 health I think and a max of another 3 injury resist for total health.
I have a cockpit injury resist mod that I bought. I think you can only see the various mods on planets that have the "black market" tag. I think the pilot finally died to a 2nd missile hitting the head.
I'm not sure if this is 100%, I am fairly certain I've gotten 2 parts off mechs I've cored the CT on (I do it fairly regularly, especially on the lighter mechs, Gauss+PPC is a lot of damage with great precision) I think that the only reason you lose the other two parts is because it's usually quite difficult to take out the CT without knocking off the side torso.
How certain? That doesn't sound right at all. It doesn't matter what else survives, if you kill the CT, you are getting only 1 part. Anytime you shoot a mech from the side arc and core the CT proves this to be true (it's impossible to hit the opposite side). Damage only transfers one way; from peripheral to proximal. Damage does not transfer from CT to side torsos. Also, its really easy to core only the CT if you have Called Shot Mastery (I do it quite often in my upgraded Highlander). I get close to 60% of all damage going straight to the CT then. I do this when I need to quickly reduce the enemy's force strength. Whenever I do that, I consistently get only 1 part from that kill.
I almost always core them, so I'm usually surprised to get more than one piece at a time (except for the mission with 3 headshot kills, that was somewhat epic) and I keep track of the number of mechs I kill, so I don't pay much attention if there's multiple parts for a mech I killed more than one of. I'm not going to say I'm anywhere near 100%, maybe there just happened to be a duplicate I didn't notice *shrug*
Lancer P: Gunnery S: Guts hold the line, these guys are tough to move and they can spread their damage across a wide swathe, using breaching shot to ignore the enemy's bulwark on up to three different mechs. Skirmisher P: Gunnery S: Pilot These guys are good to put in a mech with JJ, they can poke at multiple targets with breaching shot and move the enemy into your killing zone Sharpshooter P: Gunnery S: Tactics not the best combination honestly, though they can be useful if you want a scout who can breaching shot when they get spotted and sensor lock until then Brawler P: Guts S: Pilot While Juggernaut may not be the greatest ability, with the right mech it can be quite useful. Having evasive as well makes it far more likely you'll survive getting close enough to use it. Sentinel P: Guts S: Tactics Really not sure if this is actually viable juggernaut and sensor lock do not compliment each other well, though if you are able to get close without giving LoS this would allow your allies to harass from a distance while your melee mech closes, but still... Gladiator P: Guts S: Gunnery Maybe not the best combination but could still be useful for a brawly mech, especially if you're dual wielding heavy guns (or more) as you can alternate melee and AC fire, and use that to great effect. Scout P: Tactics S: Pilot Definitely a scout combo, evasive+master tact means you're going before everyone else in your weight class and you can shrug off a lot of fire if you can move fast enough. Striker P: Tactics S: Gunnery Possibly one of the most useful, putting your heavies and assaults one initiative bracket higher and also having multi shot provides a lot of versatility. Vanguard P: Tactics S: Guts Missile boats should probably always have this, or Striker, but this makes them far more likely to survive getting ambushed. Outrider P: Pilot S: Guts honestly kinda oxymoronic, the benefit of one negates the benefit of the other, but does provide some versatility I suppose. Flanker P: Pilot S: Gunnery shoot then move, useful to have in your arsenal, but very situational. Recon P: Pilot S: Tactics have not really attempted it to see if it qualifies, but if you can sensor lock and book it, this would easily be the best use of the pilot specialty. Otherwise kinda meh, but having a scout who can take a potshot before running out of LoS isn't bad. Mostly my take on these, I haven't seen anywhere that gives the names of the specialist classes, so here they are.
Can confirm. You can Sensor Lock and then move. My 2 cents: Recon is my personal favorite class (my OC has those skills). That said, I highly recommend P:Tactics for Assault pilots. If nothing else, they can better take advantage of enemies that have reduced Initiative (whether through Precision Shot, Juggernaut, and/or knockdown). i.e. if you reduce an enemy`s Initiative to 1, all of your now Initiative 2 Assault mechs can shoot it before it can get back up.
