MegaMek and MekHQ is still my go-to computer game, despite not having played it in several months. Basically, I am a victim of my own success, so each game day and week takes forever.
The Day 13 character creation challenge put the game back in my mind and so I ended up finishing out the current game week. For the record, the game date is Monday, May 17, 3030. The Blackhearts current contract is to Garrison the planet Pleione under the Federated Suns, fighting off the Capellan Confederation. They've been on planet since October 14, 3029, and aren't scheduled to leave until September 14, 3031. That's 23 long months on a desert planet.
What allies I have are Green, and the Enemies are Regulars. The Heartbreakers are rated as Veteran.
We currently have two subcontracts on the planet: Relief Duty and Recon Raid. A third subcontract, Cadre Duty, is completed. These subcontracts pay handsomely for comparatively easy work.
Overall, the MegaMek fights seem to be more exciting when Sabaton is playing in the background. Go figure.
Organization
The humble mercenary Heartbreakers 'mech company now sits fat at four Battlemech Regiments, backed by an understrength Armor Regiment and Artillery Regiments. Those 'mech units are in turn supported by Aerospace fighters, although not quite enough to go around - yet.
I've kept to a consistent pattern of one medium company and two heavy or assault companies to each 'mech battalion. My oldest pilots are grizzled experts - particularly 'the Inevitables', a heavy lance consisting of a standard Guillotine, a standard Grasshopper, and a pair of Wolverine-Ms. They don't lose. Each pilot is a 0/0 with 6 or 7 bonus abilities. It's ridiculous.
It is also the result of turning off the option for Mechwarriors to leave at the end of a contract. In my mind, if a unit makes payroll regularly while also having a bit of action, Mechwarriors would stay, especially in light of the rather liberal hiring policies of the Heartbreakers, namely recruiting the Elite and Veteran prisoners that are interested in turning coats - given that it is Capellans and Kuritans that are mostly swelling the Heartbreakers' ranks this way, I suppose regular meals are why they do so.
Balancing lances is the next step, and can be a tedious one, but is key to making the most of the hard rules on lance weights. Medium lances should be between 180-200 tons total, heavy lances 260-280 tons. Weight advantage boils down to more guns and armor, but really, better damage when meleeing, which is the best way to salvage 'mechs. My in-game battlefields are scattered with one-legged and headless 'mechs, which often end up in my hangar. Apart from weight is trying to match up movement speeds: I prefer pairs that move the same rate: 4/6/4, 5/8/5, 6/9/6. The assaults are 3/5 and rarely jump, but it is what it is.
I can say that I certainly have preferred 'mechs, as seen when I alphabetize the hangar contents by 'mech name. Nearly 80 Wolverine-Ms, between 20-30 each Awesome, Warhammer, Thunderbolt, Stalker, Vindicator, Quickdraw, Griffin, Grasshopper, Ostsol, and Guillotine 'mechs. I've found myself duplicating 'mech lances, varying only by pilots, especially among the lighter companies: Phoenix Hawk, Firestarter, Vulcan-5T, and Javelin. There are others, but these are my mainstays.
All that said, I am close to starting up a Fifth Regiment, and already have a battalion-plus in Mechwarriors ready to be issued 'mechs and proper spots on the MTOE, if only to better earn their keep. The 'mechs are there in the hangar, awaiting pilots and unit designations. This time, I am thinking a two-medium companies, one-heavy company per battalion might be best. I already have a name: Bottled Lightning.
Preferred Tactics
Close and melee, particularly with kicks - one-legged 'mechs are regularly salvaged from the battlefields, and then repaired. City fights see me damaging buildings so the 'mechs standing atop them fall.
In addition to dropping buildings, I have figured out how to set forests and buildings alight, which is terribly useful when battling infantry. I've also learned how to change modes on LRM launchers for true indirect fire, with and without a spotter, so I have this in my kit box now.
My favorite skills among pilots are jumping jack, melee master, and sniper. Not everyone gets all three, and I do use others, but I would guess three-quarters of my veteran pilots have one or more of these skills.
I'll admit that I have chases turned off, because they always take so long to complete - if only because it is one of my nonjumping heavy lances in terrible weather or terrain (or both). Before finding that toggle switch, my preferred method for the 'chase' was to stand and fight, smashing everything, then typing /victory to end it.
As an aside, before I discovered /victory, I lost so much salvage as I waited for the game to end naturally, which means no viable targets. In MegaMek, a one-legged, prone 'mech with an unconscious pilot is considered viable, at least to the AI, so I followed that rule, as well, kicking downed 'mechs into scrap.
Maintenance and Supply
While the goal is one tech per 'mech, I am only about halfway there. Aerospace fighters are better staffed with techs, but honestly, those aerotechs mostly just perform maintenance and repair broken weapons in the warehouse.
The unit POW camp is massive, as is the hospital. I have more than enough doctors for my own troops (1 doctor per regiment), but have hired several others for prisoner overflow. So I have 14 doctors on staff, and when fighting is constant, their sick bays fill up fast. That same POW camp has supplied about half of my regiments' berths, but those Veteran and Elite prisoners serve well as the seeds for a new regiment.
More than half of my 'mechs joined the Heartbreakers as salvage, particularly the Wolverines. While I am biased, it is a sweet mix of speed, armor, maneuverability, and punch - especially, the WVR-6M model. The hangars contain probably another regiment's worth of Battlemechs, and once this game month is over, I will likely begin standing up that Fifth Regiment.
Individual parts are ordered in bulk when needed (so the needed 60-ton arm actuator sees me order 5 or 6), and those random spares go towards filling instant needs. Armor is an issue, to the point where I prioritize salvaging wrecked 'mechs and vees especially for the armor plating.
Similar to this is ammo. Given the opportunity, I take all the LRM and SRM launchers I can, primarily to keep from buying missiles.
For the most part, this strategy works out for me. That said, in a pinch, I can start activating mothballed units to either replace badly damaged 'mechs or merely to strip of armor.
Monthly marketplace updates keep the ranks growing, not so much with replacements as with additional troops. Self-training Astechs into other things takes a looooooooong time.
Combined Arms
I mentioned earlier that the Heartbreakers have understrength Armor and Artillery Regiments. My mainstay battle tank is the Manticore, and the Artillery is a mix of Thumpers and LRM launchers, backed by a lance of Forward Observing 'mechs.
Armor is sweet because you can fire everything and not worry about heat, but the downside is mobility kills and a lack of jump jets. When my tracks are mobility kills, I tend to keep the crew inside and fighting, and they mostly survive. I've gone against mixed 'mech and Vees and they work well enough that I've taken to doing so, and it can be brutal, as the 'mech's can often save the mobility-killed tanks when the computer circles round them to play kickball.
Artillery is neat, though I prefer using the LRM-based versions, because it hits now, and not later, and watching an opposing 'mech melt in the face of 60 missiles is almost as funny as when they're hit with 120 damage from an SRM Launcher's full salvo. Thumpers work, but the delay and tendency to miss is frustrating.
Aerospace support exists, but I have to use the computer to control the fighters (and VTOLs, for that matter), so I tend to not use what I have. In the past, I have used them for bombing runs, and those can be quite satisfying to watch.
Infantry, well, I have them. They are a pain to use for too little impact, so they stay in the TOE and provide in-game security for my in-game regiments.
Future Challenges
From experience, I need to watch how fast and large I grow my units, or else I run out of memory and the whole game goes kaput. Which is a shame, as there are three regiments' worth of short-fiction bios I can no longer access. It's not that they were great fiction, but they added flavor for me.
In addition, MegaMek and MekHQ lets me toggle all sorts of options off and on, and currently, many of the combat options are off. Flipping sympathetic explosions on would alter my playstyle, because my 'mechs like to kick the shit out of things, and when those things explode, it tends to take my 'mechs with them, and I am not a fan of that.
Then again, that would make MegaMek almost new again.
Another toggle that I may switch on is the hidden opponents toggle. Perhaps my current mode of being able to see the whole map is easy mode, but it's what I know. Not being able to see everything until it's in line of sight could be fun. If nothing else, it lets me make use of the variety of sensor arrays each 'mech carries.
Of course, the most immediate challenge is finishing the current contract. I'm hoping that the Cappies Rout after this month's steady losses to the Heartbreakers, but I suspect it will run through Low and Very Low, first.
Such is life.
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