6 replies to this topic

[Valkyrie4]

I am relatively new to Battletech and am trying to decide on a house/faction to join. I have a few questions, if anybody would be willing to answer them. I've looked all around on the forums and can't seem to find the answers.

1. Are houses and factions the same?

2. Does each house have a few different groups under it? (i.e. I saw a signature that said "Marik's [some kind of animal]"

3. Are the clans mercenaries?

4. Can each house use only a few different Mechs? For example, if I picked a Mech that did not fit in with my House, would I not be able to use it?

5. In order to join a house, do I absolutely need to fit in with their fighting style? For example, if the house I want to join is mostly assault-based and I prefer guerilla fighting, should I consider a different house?

6. Do I have to "apply" to be a part of a house or mercenary group?
7. Are lone wolves simply mercenaries that are unassociated with a specific mercenary group?


Thanks in advance for your time and patience!

[MetaDroid]

i can awnser 7 lone wolves pick there own path they have no limits they can play anything

[Adridos]

Houses have different enemies/allies, position on the map and price of mechs... at least for now.

Yes, each house has a lot of units, but those should act more as NPCs (we don' know much about them, yet).

Clans are a completely different faction you don't have to worry about.

Mercenaries are more or less small factions that are completely under people's control.

Every house can use every mech, just the prices differ.

As for joining a house, it's not implemented yet, so no idea.

Fighting style... shouldn't matter (cheaper assault mechs help, but you can still do anything you want).

Lone Wolfs play like other games. Just click play, get throwed in with people you will never meet again, get paid and repeat.
I suggest you try to rather find something else, as it's taking away a lot from the game.

[Stable Manager William]

1. Houses are factions within the Inner Sphere, but they are not the only factions at play. However, they are the 'Major' Factions. Basically, compare the five (at this time, six, I suppose) great houses to the major first world nations in genrality.

2. Each house has... nationality generalities under it. Kuritas are Japanese (and Arab), Capellans are Chinese (and Russian), Davions are French (and English), Lyrans are German (And English), Free Worlds League are American (and general Europe)... every nation has a sprinkling of everything else. Lyrans and Davions are a little more general Europe included ontop of everything else. Rasalhague are Scandinavian (And Japanese... thus one of their major languages, Swedenese, which is an unexplained combo of Swedish and Japanese).

3. The Clans are the descendants of Humanity's greatest accomplishment, the Star League. A couple hundred years before the current timline, for all intents and purposes, the unified armies of humanity said "Screw This" to the Inner Sphere and left. Aleksandr Kerensky led them out of known space and over the course of a few hundred years, through him and his sons, formed the Clans. They are a warrior lead society focused on honor and combat. Think Samurai and Spartans, merged and put in giant robots. Combat decies all, and honor is more important than everything. More could be said, but to be brief, I can do no more.

4. Each house has its own factories, but salvage is a key theme of BattleTech. While some key mechs are 'house specific', nothing prevents salvage,

5. 'Joining a House' doesnt generally exist. Houses are like royal families. You do not 'apply' to join the royal family of England, but you can become an English citizen. It is vastly different.

6. Applying to be apart of a house doesnt exist. You can marry in, or what have you, but becoming a citizen of said NATION is very similar to becoming a member of a nation today, just spread over multiple worlds instead of part of a continent.

7. Lone Wolves are simply a term for loners. Their definition is... fluid.

[IceSerpent]

Disclaimer: community warfare part is not done yet, so all this is just a best guess.

Valkyrie4, on 03 August 2012 - 03:01 PM, said:

1. Are houses and factions the same?

This seems to be the case.

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2. Does each house have a few different groups under it? (i.e. I saw a signature that said "Marik's [some kind of animal]"

Yes, looks like houses will be factions and units will be basically guilds in that faction.

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3. Are the clans mercenaries?

No, clans will probably be factions like houses. At the moment there are no clans (too early in the timeline), so clan units organize as merc units for the time being.

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4. Can each house use only a few different Mechs? For example, if I picked a Mech that did not fit in with my House, would I not be able to use it?

No, all mechs should be available to everybody.

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5. In order to join a house, do I absolutely need to fit in with their fighting style? For example, if the house I want to join is mostly assault-based and I prefer guerilla fighting, should I consider a different house?

I don't think so.

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6. Do I have to "apply" to be a part of a house or mercenary group?

Probably not in case of associating with a house, but very likely if you are joining mercs.

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7. Are lone wolves simply mercenaries that are unassociated with a specific mercenary group?

They seem to be unassociated with any group/faction, but I am not quite clear how exactly this will work out.

[Valkyrie4]

Thanks so much for your answers, they were extremely helpful!

[Faenwulf]

For some background information on the Inner Sphere, History and Technology I would recommend you read through this.

If you then want any additional information about what you have read go to the BattleTech Wiki, www.sarna.net.


This should help you pick a House/Faction that you are comfortable with (Hint: Rasalhague is the best ). And if you don't like any of them, you can always join a Mercenary Group.