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[Thorqemada]

So, i am 7 years gametime into my MW5 campaign with the house rule to only use salvaged Mechs and Weapons (i can buy ammunition) my net value has exceeded 100 millions and i am at Tier 9 fame so far (at Veteran rank rated i think).

These are the Mechs that i found most usefull/favoured/liked by myself:

The Centurion - my command Mech:
I allways try to change the AC 10 to a burstfire one bcs its probably more close to how ACs work and its visually and soundwise more impressive also.

The LRM gives me a tool for fighting far away air targets and assist Teammates while a make a distance to pick of easy but damage doing targets the AI ignores.

Its a durable Mech as long you dont fight far outside your weight class and you shield your right arm.


The Enforcer - a good Mech for the AI
the combination for ammo based and energy Weapons gives it a good heat management profile as well as battlefield durability.


The Hunchback 4J - a good durable Medium Missile support
Where the Trebuchet is haunted by its lack of protection the HBK 4J shines and survives.
Its 2x LRM10 have enough punch and the 5 ML give it good close combat capability.
It usualy does much damage piloted by AI


The Panther - the Light Medium
I change the SRM4 for a SRM6 and keep the PPC.
It usually does as much damage as an Enforcer and is most often pretty ingored for not seen as the highest priority target by the enemy AI so its lack of pretection does not haunt it.


The Vulcan - the Medium Light
1 Light Rifle + 1 ton of ammo in weapon group 1
4 ML+ 1 high tier SL in weapon group 2
No additonal heatsinks - 5JJ
It usually outdamages and outkills all other AI controlled Light and Medium Mech


The Warhammer
2x PPC + 7 additonal Heatsinks
2ML + 1 high tier SL
1 SRM6
Doubles the amount of kills and damage the AI does compared to every other Mech i have so far (these mentioned above).


The Pirate Dragon
The faster and more protected Centurion - my Medium Heavy Command Mech
The AC20 BF is a dream - needs at least 3 tons of Ammo
LRM10
Large Laser + 1 high tier SL
Its speed of 81kph is most usefull as avantgarde Mech and quick response Unit with a pure Killer weapon attached to its arm (which is the only weakness as Arms need so much protection for their low armor values).



Honorable Mentions:
The Javelin with 4 ML - a gifted horse that does its Job good enough early on
The Jenner - another gifted Horse
The Javelin with 2 Missile slots - poor mans early on LRM boat...
The Crab - barely keeping up with the Enforcer but better than the worse alternatives



The Mechs i felt were outside my (or the AIs) Window of Comfort:
Flea
Locust
Commando - though the Large Laser + SRM one may have some use case
Spider
Urbanmech - though i like the BF AC to loot
Firestarter
Assassin
Vindicator - a bigger, heavier Panther
Phoenix Hawk
Black Jack - Arms are to vulnerable
Griffin - to one sided and pretty much an even bigger and heavier Panther
Wolverine - does nothing well and is to limited in the armament
Trebuchet - Paperarmor or massive downarmament

These are so far the Mechs i have salvaged and played either in the field of comabat and/or the Mechlab.

My positive surprises so far are the Panther, Vulcan and Dragon that perform better (even exceptionally) than i expected.

Ofc this assessment is for a battle environment where you face Lights, Medium and a few Heavys specifically and not for fighting Heavy/Assault only opponents.

Edited by Thorqemada, 16 June 2021 - 10:55 PM.

[Wildstreak]

This list is from Campaign experience only of Mechs I have tried so far, maybe another day I will add Career and Instant Action.

Mechs I have found useful up to 200 ton lance missions I consider paying for.

1 - Centurion-A
From start all but 1 thing make it useful.
- Uses all 3 weapons thus boosts all 3 weapon skills of pilots.
- Range variety unless you mod it a certain way.
- Good protection especially for the ally Lt. Leon Freeman who seems prone to get focused in battle too often.

Negative - Slow Speed. Some think 64 kph is fine but early when you have enough other fast movers, you find yourself waiting for whoever is in this to catch up.
I did once have an effective lance of 64 speed Mechs that or when mixed with 81 speed movers are they fine.

2 - Locust-3V
A freebie good early for anyone except maybe Leon, he needs all the protection he can get.
Broken damage system making MGs too strong makes this Mech effective early especially in the hands of the Player. You can focus on being Lance Commander sending allies to fight battles and enemy of choice while you have freedom to move about and do what is needed. Use those broken MGs for wrecking objectives or legging enemy fast Mechs, use speed to get where you need and scout the map for those hidden Salvage Crates when you are poor.

4 - Javelin-10F
Decent with one drawback. Speed, lasers, good early armor, jump jets.
Only problem is all lasers in torso limits ability to fight VTOLs that are plentiful enough.

5 - Firestarter-Ember Hero
One of the recommendations I got from a topic I started on reddit, one poster did a significant list of Lights and Mediums for early game. Four MGs are better than the Locusts two, unlike others I find the Flamers useless due to range so I replaced them with four Short Burst Small Lasers including for close anti-VTOL work but that needs skill sometimes like the up and down aiming tricks from MWO with Mechs like JagerMechs. Crazy DPS including shredding fast Mech legs making easier kills for team.

6 - Trebuchet-LG Hero
Coming stack with SRMs makes it a good brawler with speed, armor and jump jets. Allies love to get in brawl range and I have never seen one fail in this Mech.

7 - Panther-9R
Good but best with a lance of similar speeds. Practice your aim with the PPC, use the SRM during cool off times. Only problem is like the Centurion, speed.

8 - Panther-Katana Kat Hero
One step better than the 9R with double the PPC.

9 - Hunchback-4H
Good stock with no modifying or switching the AC for a Heavy Rifle but only in Player hands.

10 - Hunchback-Grid Iron Hero
Leon is surprisingly amazing with this especially the Gauss. Quite incredible how many times I see a target in long range only to hear the distinctive Gauss sound discovering Leon blasted the target to death without hesitation most of the time.

11 - Spider-Anansi Hero
Better than you think with slight modifying for armor buffing. Never put it in AI hands yet though, not needed to.

Between good and bad Mechs that you only consider getting from salvage include

A - Jenner-D
Starting Jenner has its uses but tends to get the arms blown off in the hands of most allies. Gets replaced by an Ember or some better 35 tonner if I need one quite often.

B - Blackjack-1
Not for allies, they lose arms and even side torsos too easy. Good for humans for a while but you know when you reached the point where you say, "Selling this after this fight is over."

C - Phoenix Hawk-Kobold Hero
Actually useful for allies (except Leon) might partly be due to ally weapon trick not fully tested someone told me about, see bottom of this post. Arms do tend to get damaged and sorta similar to Blackjack.

D - Trebuchet-3C
Stock with slight modifying can work in player hands. Send allies to fight while you shred enemies with LRMs making easier kill possible, enough lasers to make a difference in range.
The only problem for ally use is they prefer brawl mid to short ranges so you have to spend to modify every Trebuchet except the Hero.

E - JagerMech-S
Fun modified to four AC2s for simplicity and buffed armor. Based on when an ally used it, may also prove that ally weapon trick mentioned under Kobold. NEVER use Chemical Lasers on it, running outta ammo sucks.

F - Centurion-AH
For a good time early, call this if in salvage, even for allies can do OK but not as well as the free A you got so do not go out of way looking for it though I never see it for sale. Another careful running out of ammo Mech and one you know when it is time to sell off.

Terrible

Shadow Hawk-2H
Despite MWO performance, I found this to be terrible in anyone's hands no matter the build. While on Shadow Hawks, I admit to temptation to buy the P variant when I saw it for checking out the Supercharger but quickly remembered the use of the H and passed.

General advice
- I tend to give allies tankier Mechs while I usually drive a weaker one since humans make better use of some Mechs than the AI does.
- Normally I give them Brawlers since the AI seems to prefer that fighting style.
- Someone on reddit said this but I have never checked it myself. Supposedly if you set weapon groups so a weapon like LRMs are all in group 1, the AI ally assigned to it will fight in proper range to use the Group 1 weapon. I have noticed whoever I put in the Kobold that comes pre-set with the Large Laser in Group 1 tends to fight within furthest range allowing use of Medium Lasers and SRMs, same happened with Leon in the Grid Iron and they still made effective use of the long range weapon when conditions were right. Not tried seeing if an ally could make a good LRMer yet.
- Never give allies a Mech relying only on ammo weapons. For a short while you can get away with the Centurion-AH but eventually it gets replaced.

Edited by Wildstreak, 17 June 2021 - 12:59 PM.