You got into a good time of MechWarrior 5, and after countless updates and some great mods, you're into some awesome stompy mech action. If you don't mind, or even like turn-based RPGs, try out Battletech next, an excellent RPG. There's also a great mod set during the CLAN invasion called Rogue Tech. The intro is ABSOLUTELY fire. For real, the intro to Battletech is a masterpiece. Zero dialogue, but it tells the entire background in a mere 2 minutes. Anyways, welcome to the life Mechwarrior, and always remember, to pay your phone bill, so Comstar doesn't send their "debt collectors" or run your name to the ground in the MRB, last thing I want is to see a promising Mechwarrior turn to piracy cuz you pissed off the phone company.
The "big three" mod packs for BattleTech are BEX (BattleTech Extended), BTA (Battle Tech Advanced), and RT (RogueTech). I've got lots of hours in all three. BTA is my favorite. RT has serious performance issues and gets... really nuts. BEX supports the original Campaign mode if you haven't done the campaign in Vanilla, but BTA and RT offer that story in career mode as FlashPoints.
Oh god thank you for saving me from my over-reaction. Can you believe these kids nowadays. No "Mechwarrior" title is the ultimate stompy game kids, look harder! (well there might be one MW title that does, but these snowflakes never going to hear about it, am i right or what.)
@@Heatx79 Battletech would be an amazing game if it weren't so fucking awfully optimized with severe memory leak issues. It's a turn-based tactics game that hogs resources for zero reason.
Alright, mod recommendations. 1.) Coyote's Missions - Adds a number of new mission types, such as Duel, Attack and Defend, Beachhead Defense, Battleground, Ground War, Rescue, Convoy Destruction, and more. The mod also adds a variety of additional modifiers such as aerospace fighters, either as allied units that can be acquired through a special Aerospace Capture mission type that will randomly appear in certain systems, or as high-tier enemy units that will sometimes appear as randomized mid-mission modifiers. Also allows you to disable certain mission types (including the base game contract types) from appearing via Mod Options if you dislike any of them. 2.) Star Map Mouse-Over/SMMO - A quality-of-life mod that just lets you mouse over nearby systems in the starmap to see additional details about the contracts available there, such as who's offering the contract, who the target is, the max tonnage, the difficulty, et cetera. 3.) Better Mission Choices - Allows you to change a variety of parameters regarding how contracts are generated via Mod Options, such as the amount generated per system or the percentage chance that certain factions will offer them versus others. 4.) The Known Universe - Modifies the Starmap to match Sarna and MegaMek's starmaps for a given date, as well as adding every single canon system and every single canon faction with a noteworthy starmap presence (and combined with Better Mission Choices, will allow those factions to offer contracts to you in conflict zones or be featured as targets). Want to fly out to the Clan Homeworlds during the middle of the Succession Wars for some fucking reason? This mod will let you. The Known Universe also lets the Starmap progress past 3049, all the way to 3152. Do note that enabling this mod, loading a save, and then disabling this mod will break the starmap for that save, so if you aren't sure about this one but want to try it I recommend making a copy of your current save or starting a new save just for it. Other BattleTech games to try: 1.) BattleTech 2018 - A similar experience to MechWarrior 5 but in Turn-Based Tactics format, where you fly around the Rimward Periphery and southern Inner Sphere managing a mercenary company. However, the story for this one plays a much greater role in the experience, and unlike MW5 the story is actually pretty great, so I won't spoil it. It also has a healthy modding scene like MW5, with two big main mods: BattleTech Advanced 3062 and RogueTech. While personally I still like the mission-to-mission gameplay and more sandbox-focused nature of MW5 more, I recommend trying this game even if you aren't super keen on Turn-Based Tactics, the story and presentation alone are worth your time. 2.) MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, and MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries - The OGs. These games are all abandonware and can be easily acquired for free. MW2 runs great in DOSbox, while MW4 runs on modern systems, though some coaxing (compatibility mode) may be necessary. MW2 is widely considered to be one of if not the greatest mech game ever made, while MW2 Mercs is an expansive (albeit very buggy) experience. Ghost Bear's Legacy sucks, don't play it. MW4 Vengeance and MW4 Black Knight are fine, but MW4 Mercs is where MW4 really hit its stride and IMO rivals MW2 in its greatness. MW3 is a great game, but I don't recommend it because it's in that weird limbo where it's not old enough to run in DOSBox, but also not new enough to run on modern systems without significant effort, so unless you have legacy hardware sitting around for some reason it's probably not worth it. 3.) MegaMek - This is a free Java app that lets you play virtual tabletop BattleTech online or against bots, and has tools for building and modifying your own units to use in the game as well as tools for running narrative campaigns. I recommend Devalk's MegaMek video if this sounds at all interesting to you. Finally, if you want to learn more about BattleTech lore, Black Pants Legion's Tex Talks BattleTech videos, Sven Van Der Plank and Big Red 40-TECH's channels, and Sarna.net's BattleTech Wiki are all fantastic resources. For tabletop BattleTech content I recommend the UA-cam channels 4 Hands on Deck, Death From Above Wargaming, Trailblazer, and The Many Voices.
@@JarboeGamingNp, happy to help and welcome to the rabbit hole! As a casual Gundam and Ace Combat fan I've been a long time lurker on your channel, and I had to jump at this opportunity to help guide someone in one of my favorite games from one of my favorite franchises!
Welcome to the Battletech hole! I suggest checking out the mod MercTech at some point, if you want to see just how far MW5 can be pushed as a _simulation_ of BattleTech stuff. It's incredible how much can be done in terms of bringing in new mechanics, and most of it is optional. Like, totally re-working how jump-jets function (you can actually re-direct yourself midair), weapons having internal components that can go bad, lasers getting worse in the rain (or having their range increased in very dry environments), totally replacing the aiming system to function how Battlemechs actually work lore-wise (better hope your targeting computer doesn't suck), ammo explosions setting off physically simulated ammo that could potentially hit other mechs, autocannons turning into _classes_ (so an AC-20 could actually be a smaller-caliber gun that just puts a TON of lead out in ten seconds), re-sizing every mech by volume to put them more in line with their sizes in novels (generally quite a bit smaller), it kind of just... keeps going. I'd also like to rant about something- MechWarrior (all of the games really) make these things seem much more like plain old "walking tanks" than they've ever been in official fiction. Y'know the Atlas? That hundred-ton monster? Yeah, it can do handstands in controlled conditions if the pilot's good. I've always wished these games at least let you strafe a bit because it _is_ something that they can do. Everyone in these games pilots mechs like it's their first day in a training camp.
Regarding conflict vs industrial zone logistics, depends on the penalty, early game in Merc Row the increase is only +30% Time and +20% Cost, while each jump is 7 days and 50kCb, as such to see any savings a repair would need to take 61 days or 600kCb round trip per jump. While later that can double if not more thus reducing the minimum round trip cost per jump.
the game has come a long ways from when it first released , now is really a golden time to jump into it . with modding it makes the game a different experience as well , welcome to the inner sphere mechwarrior
I remember playing the OG mech warrior mercenaries on PC way back. I think I still have the CD somewhere. I love this game and sunk many hours into it.
The significance of 3049 is that it marks the start of the Clan Invasion era in the BT universe. After that point, Clan and LosTech (i.e., cheat codes) start spreading more freely in the Inner Sphere, and the star map, especially toward the hubwards Periphery, changes considerably.
Absolutely would love to see more Mechwarrior. You've got a perspective I enjoy, and it's a setting I'm somewhat familiar with. (and basically during one of the golden ages in terms of writing and fun opportunities.)
dam, my Battletech senses were late for this one Welcome to Battletech, the Deepest Sci-Fi universe to get into while having a initial look of a backyard pool Edit: Also yes, please cover more Mechwarrior or Battletech in general. It's a great universe and if you got any question, people will absolutely talk for hours explaining the nitty gritty about it.
some physics with jumpjets in this game lets you move pretty fast on top of using supercharger and MASC and say getting a mech/hero mech with the jumpjet bonuses through yaml adds, really gets gets into the gundam "you just jump good but it looks like you're flying" power fantasy firing srm's or with enough durability going melee as well. very kino
MW5:M was my reintroduction to BT after the mechassault games for the og Xbox in the early and mid 2000s. I have like 1000 hours in it since October 2023. Really fun game and goes on sale often so can't recommend it enough. Even has full crossplay. Id love to see more Battletech coverage and i highly recommend the PC game Battletech by Hair Brained Schemes. Its closer to the table top and also has a strong modding community. After that, rather you go backwards and give time for Clans to get further worked out, it's in a rough patch atm. MW4 is beloved by older fans.
Eey same here. However, I started back up with MW5: Clans. I didn't know how much I needed this. I have Mercs on my Xbox rn, but I'm waiting to build up cash to buy all the DLCs before playing the game. Also, I've seen lore about the infamous Bounty Hunter...im gonna be excited to get that DLC Anyways, between playing AC6, and MW5, I didn't realize how much I love mech combat and how much I missed it from back in the old Mechassault days.
As cross platform is great and all, it's just busted when PC players (in case you join from a console) join in and it freezes since their systems aren't set up for mods. I play with my X-box buddies a lot. We used to have a PC guy, but the crashes were intense.
Man, me and my buddy used to play the hell out of MechWarrior 3 as kids. I didn’t even know the series was still around. Gonna have to check that out. The mods were always the best part.
@FureyinHD it depends on what you're looking for! Models are compatible with bot games so don't worry about that. Battletech is the base Simulationist Ruleset. Alpha strike is a much faster but less detailed wargame.
0:22- My exact reaction two days ago aswell. After watching a video from Splattercatgaming I bought the game on sale just now (aswell) and man I'm hooked. I was also swaying between Mercenaries and Clans however the modding community made me buy Mercenaries (aswell xD). I absolutely love games who have a lot of lore in them. And this game has lore for every single mech, faction etc. I often find myself reading the description of every single mech i encounter XD . And the mods make this even more awesome with tones of new mechs and equipment. Btw I also reccomend a mod called War FX which increases the explosion effects etc to an insane level of detail and TTRulez_AIMod2 which makes the AI much more competent (from my beginner level of experience anyway :) ) Tbh its properly gonna be my personal game of the year 2024/2025.
Being at the mercy of mentally disturbed modmakers is not my idea of the ultimate sandbox. Had at least one of them been born a little earlier the Stasi would have had a fine torturing zealot.
The absolute best gaming experience was Coyote Missions mod (Download from Nexus mods) + YAML (Yet Another Mech Lab, from steam workshop). Thosw two mods make the game so much varied and adequately complex. We had an amazing campaign with 2 other friends using this configuration. It makes gameplay missions so much more varied (and random encounters/outcomes are amazing) and the mechbuilding more compelling (builds get crazy fun no matter the tonnage). I very much recommend using these two big mods. Everything else is optional for me.
I'd be down for watching you do more Mechwarrior stuff. I don't have much to add except my main machine, if you know the lore then you'd be going 'Wait he pilots this screaming metal deathtrap!?' but I personally love it most. A Custom Charger (CGR-1A1) that has slightly lighter armor (YAML enables this kind of build with Ferro Fiberous), Endo Steel, Double Heat Sinks (And not alot of them considering this load out isn't going to do much pew pew but it covers the two things that WILL drive up the heat), Pirate Engine (Effectively a time bomb is what I've made my reactor), Supercharger (FOR SPRINTING AT 205 KPH) Mostly Medium Lasers (For swatting some bothersome flies) one Small Laser (For flavor but I MIGHT get rid of it for something else) two Jumpjets (for maneuvering and pits), a Null Signature System (STELTH) and one ASSAULT ARENA FIST (Right Hook from HELL). It started with a slightly lighter engine (From 400 to like 385 or something), laser swap and Fist. Then it just grew and I basically wrought a monster I do not regret making. Call it 'Hand Delivery'.
@@boxtank5288 I love the sort of creativity that YAML enables. I'll definitely be doing some career mode shenanigans on the channel. Just deciding if I want it to be like a "let's play" series where we play it essentially live, or a series of videos that breaks down events across multiple play sessions.
You really need to mod it a fair bit to get the most out of the sandbox-career mode otherwise it gets pretty repetitive pretty quickly. Modded mechlab is absolutely mandatory.
Just got in to BT? Welcome to the party, pal! This year is the 30th anniversary of me getting my mech pilots certification lol. As far as repairs go... in conflict zone repairs for armour. Or a single limb if there's not too much stuff in it, more parts really increases the time and cost. Any torso sections or an engine core, gotta hub it up.
@@JarboeGamingI had the TT as a kid but convincing my brothers and friends to do a little math was asking too much lol. So I didn't really get to play all that much. I collected the Technical Readout source books, which had mech art, stats, and lore blurbs for every mech in the book. Some even covered just support vehicles and aerospace fighters. I did get to pilot the pods back in like 00'ish when Dave & Buster's bought a bunch. Oh I revised my prior comment to add my two cents about repairs.
I would also highly recommend the 2018 BattleTech turn-based strategy game by Harebrained Schemes- it's more X-Com like and closer to the tabletop wargame feel, and importantly has much larger mods that really expand the sandbox mercenary company nature of it. The base game has both a sandbox+story campaign and a totally open sandbox mode, both of which are pretty good too!
Ngl until this video I never knew the MechWarrior games were related to Battletech lmfao. I only ever played Battletech Tactics, didn't like it, and wondered how there were so many fanfiction stories about all the lore in Battletech Tactic lol. It never really seemed interesting to me, but if these MechWarrior games are also the same franchise then it makes more sense lol.
Glad you're enjoying learning about Battletech. I'd highly recommend trying out Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, but you'll need a system with Win7 or older.
Thank you for providing a perspective that is unburdened by the opinions of previous games in the series. I think much of the Battletech community is so caught up in the trap of nostalgia that they can't recognize a decent game when it slaps them in the face. It taints their attempts to review the game, and keeps potential fans away from the universe because they think the game itself is bad. It is very much not a bad game, in fact one of the better Mechwarrior games I've played.
Try out Exotic Inner Sphere Mechs (on Nexus mods). Much like the clan mech mod, it adds a bunch of new mech chassis to the game. It focuses on rarer or more specialized inner sphere chassis that are hard to find, but very unique in their loadouts and capabilities.
Ah yes, the only [Tanks of Stilts] game I actually like. Did you know that in the lore they're significantly more agile? Not to the level of [Planes on Roller Skates], but vastly better than the gameplay would ever suggest.
So based on the controls explanation, I assume using a HOTAS or HOSAS setup would actually be a useful way to pilot the mech? If anyone plays this way, share your experience with me. I recently got myself a pair of Ursa Minor sticks for games like Star Citizen and X4 Foundations, wondering how useful they'd be in Mech Warrior.
I would like to see you play through career mode. I got like 650hrs into this game and I love it, especially with some of the mods they've released with in the past year like faction variants, yet another gah damn mech and some others. The post 3049 issue is mainly just the news thing doesn't have events, bc the lore extends well into the 3100s . Known universe and advanced career start also really good mods for career mode. Known universe is a pretty damn close representation of the map in its entirety
@@marcelateyourface2 We'll definitely be returning to this for career mode and ill check out those mods. Any recommendations on starting faction/location?
@JarboeGaming I can't say due my intolerance of liao and kurita 🤣 I'll never say I'm a warrior from those houses. I tend to start davion though due to the enforcer being a really good starter mech or Steiner for the griffin
This is an amazing game that has been a staple of computer gaming for many years. Right now is a decent time to be a MW fan. MW5 Mercs gives you a decent campaign and then a great sandbox game. MW5 Clans is a well done storyline to help you play a clanner during the invasion. MWO allows for PVP when you want some mech goodness but want to pilot with and against others. If you desire a more sedate pace and want more tactical and strategic play the the game Battletech is an amazing game the brings some of the best of table top and blends it into a turn based PC game. Think XCOM2 meets Mechwarrior.
It's already been said, but yeah, mods make the most of this game. Without them it becomes a slog once you hit missions with Elite AI(aimbot central) and are expected to kill 10 mechs for each of your mechs(and the default AI is stupid).
Is there a morality system aside from earning reputation with the separate factions? How is ally AI? Are they useful or do they ever become frustrating?
@@SeanUCF No real morality system, just reputation. AI seems fairly competent, not on the level of a player obviously, but not bad imo. There are mods for increasing effectiveness but I haven't tried them yet.
@@JarboeGaming Cool. I really was on the fence about this game. I tried it on Xbox Gamepass a while back but it felt way to "simmy" for me and I'm more into arcade style games. Seeing the whole sandbox side of the game that you showed however and how you got used to the controls eventually really peaked my interest. I think I'll wish list it and pick it up when it goes on sale again.
The default friendly AI is flawed at times. You need to be careful about which mechs you give them. Preferably you'll have a few mechs on your ship specially suited for the AI. As an example, the Hunchback variant with 8 Medium Lasers is quite the early game assassin in the hands of the player, quickly punching through back torso armor to kill in one hit. But that generates a lot of aggro and if given to a friendly AI will be destroyed every time. On the other hand, if you get higher ranked AI pilots and give them semi-auto cannons they'll aim well enough.
yeah mechwarrior 5 is still best, clans is a great movie, battletech is tabletop and both miss sandbox. only in mechwarrior 5 you have an infinite sandbox with so so many great mods.
I recall hearing some grumbling about MW5M at launch; although, I forget what exactly was at issue. It might have been due to a subpar story, certain deviations from Battletech lore, lack of mission variety, lack of features from earlier MW games, or not being as good as a mech simulator as earlier MW games. MW5C has a better story than MW5M, but it's nothing impressive. I'm also told MW5C deviates from Battletech lore in places and aircraft are much tankier than they should be, especially any gunship bosses. Probably nothing that the modding community can't address given enough time.
As a long time fan of the franchise I like it a lot but I hope for a Mechwarrior 6 Mercenaries focused on the mid 3050s or beyond (This game is focused on the mid 3010s to roughly 3040 with DLCs. 1: My favorite Mech in the franchise isn't developed until the mid 3050s 2: Official Mechs fitting the three criteria to be among my favorites are absurdly rare after the fall of the Star League and loss of much advanced technology until the 3040s, and none of the few post Star League pre-3040s designs meeting those criteria are in the game (One I adore was introduced in a book published in early 2024 and unfortunately never got added to the game). And the absurd limits on adding Jump Jets to Mechs mean I can't even recreate most of the custom designs I used a lot during tabletop campaigns set in this era But there are lots of official designs fitting my three favorite criteria available in the mid 3050s and beyond And what really annoys me is no rare or advanced tech is required to make a design I love they just didn't bother for the tabletop game material set in this period for a long, long time.. My favorite Mechs are Heavy class machines (60 to 75 tons) with all energy weapon loadouts, and jump jets. Nothing particularly rare except for in Liao territory where all the factories for anything 65 tons or heavier were destroyed long before the game takes place and rebuilding efforts were ongoing with them regaining limited 70 to production by the mid 3020s.) 3: There are many types of advanced weapons and equipment that are rare or non-existent in the period and region where the game is set that are available and much more common in the mid 3050s and beyond.
Please do not speak of ideals when talking about the houses, as that implies that the Capellan Confederation/Liao has any kind of values or should be treated as sentient beings. That would be quite misleading, lorewise.
umm what "pretty in-depth customization" what the hell are you on about? unless you are on PC and mod the shit out of it the mech customization you can do is pretty much zero beside removing jumpjets and having more amour this game is only playable if you mod it cause dumbass table top rules
Have you ever considered that your opinion is heavily biased and not a universal one, or that you might actually be harmful and toxic to the Battletech community?
@@Gustav_Kuriga what toxic wanting actually customization? in the base game and not some horse shit that only allows you change weapons not engine type amour type structure type and also having said weapon points limited to small,big and large hard points so say you have 2 energy hard points but you want double PPC but only 1 is a large hard point well your screwed
"ultimate" mech sandbox game This game released as an alpha, and only through DLC and mods has it become more of a strong beta release. It misses a lot of features of previous games, even those released in like the 90s.
Tis a great game except for two things... 1) Pilot AI is beyond stupid, even with mods. 2) Missiles don't appear to do area effect damage. Thus for their size, mass and cost their performance is really lacking.
Investing in upgrades for spread or upgrading to an Artemis FCS or having TAG or NARC really improves missile performance. Also steam LRMs are more accurate than standard splats. Missiles are for beating up armour before you're in range for direct fire.
@@mikeumm Would much rather have LRM's with "splat" damage to a limited AoE. Rather than invest more into a system that has limited DPS for its tonnage, space and cost vs ballistics. I recall that prior versions of Mechwarrior did use splat mechanics for missiles and PPC's which appear to have all but been removed from the last few MW releases. Side note: I owned a copy of the original "BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge" and have been playing MW related titles from the early 90's onward.
@@4DCResinSmoker splats are just the nickname for standard LRMs. Streams and Splats. Streams are more accurate and aim to put all missiles on CT if it can. Late timeline though standard LRMs get their time in the sun as AMS has a harder time shooting down a big wad of missiles as opposed to a stream of them. There are some very very good LRMs builds out there. I just prefer to use them in a support role capacity on one or 2 of my AI mechs.
@@4DCResinSmoker AI will always be somewhat stupid compared to players unless you want fucking aimbots or a significantly slower game because of how many resources decent AI takes up. Also, if you think missiles have poor performance I think that's a you issue.
lol old game acting like you discovered it :') if you have not run over 100 mods and played over 5k hours already you are poser peasent :') stick with clans.. it's the tourist game that i am yet to see anyone like that knows BT
You got into a good time of MechWarrior 5, and after countless updates and some great mods, you're into some awesome stompy mech action. If you don't mind, or even like turn-based RPGs, try out Battletech next, an excellent RPG. There's also a great mod set during the CLAN invasion called Rogue Tech. The intro is ABSOLUTELY fire. For real, the intro to Battletech is a masterpiece. Zero dialogue, but it tells the entire background in a mere 2 minutes. Anyways, welcome to the life Mechwarrior, and always remember, to pay your phone bill, so Comstar doesn't send their "debt collectors" or run your name to the ground in the MRB, last thing I want is to see a promising Mechwarrior turn to piracy cuz you pissed off the phone company.
Gonna try Battletech next time its on sale. I love MW5 and I also love turn-based RPG thanks for the recommendation. :)
@Acul095yah try Battletech with the Battletech Advanced 3062 mod. It's add a whole bunch and isn't insane like rougetech
The "big three" mod packs for BattleTech are BEX (BattleTech Extended), BTA (Battle Tech Advanced), and RT (RogueTech). I've got lots of hours in all three. BTA is my favorite. RT has serious performance issues and gets... really nuts. BEX supports the original Campaign mode if you haven't done the campaign in Vanilla, but BTA and RT offer that story in career mode as FlashPoints.
Oh god thank you for saving me from my over-reaction. Can you believe these kids nowadays. No "Mechwarrior" title is the ultimate stompy game kids, look harder! (well there might be one MW title that does, but these snowflakes never going to hear about it, am i right or what.)
@@Heatx79 Battletech would be an amazing game if it weren't so fucking awfully optimized with severe memory leak issues. It's a turn-based tactics game that hogs resources for zero reason.
Alright, mod recommendations.
1.) Coyote's Missions - Adds a number of new mission types, such as Duel, Attack and Defend, Beachhead Defense, Battleground, Ground War, Rescue, Convoy Destruction, and more. The mod also adds a variety of additional modifiers such as aerospace fighters, either as allied units that can be acquired through a special Aerospace Capture mission type that will randomly appear in certain systems, or as high-tier enemy units that will sometimes appear as randomized mid-mission modifiers. Also allows you to disable certain mission types (including the base game contract types) from appearing via Mod Options if you dislike any of them.
2.) Star Map Mouse-Over/SMMO - A quality-of-life mod that just lets you mouse over nearby systems in the starmap to see additional details about the contracts available there, such as who's offering the contract, who the target is, the max tonnage, the difficulty, et cetera.
3.) Better Mission Choices - Allows you to change a variety of parameters regarding how contracts are generated via Mod Options, such as the amount generated per system or the percentage chance that certain factions will offer them versus others.
4.) The Known Universe - Modifies the Starmap to match Sarna and MegaMek's starmaps for a given date, as well as adding every single canon system and every single canon faction with a noteworthy starmap presence (and combined with Better Mission Choices, will allow those factions to offer contracts to you in conflict zones or be featured as targets). Want to fly out to the Clan Homeworlds during the middle of the Succession Wars for some fucking reason? This mod will let you. The Known Universe also lets the Starmap progress past 3049, all the way to 3152. Do note that enabling this mod, loading a save, and then disabling this mod will break the starmap for that save, so if you aren't sure about this one but want to try it I recommend making a copy of your current save or starting a new save just for it.
Other BattleTech games to try:
1.) BattleTech 2018 - A similar experience to MechWarrior 5 but in Turn-Based Tactics format, where you fly around the Rimward Periphery and southern Inner Sphere managing a mercenary company. However, the story for this one plays a much greater role in the experience, and unlike MW5 the story is actually pretty great, so I won't spoil it. It also has a healthy modding scene like MW5, with two big main mods: BattleTech Advanced 3062 and RogueTech. While personally I still like the mission-to-mission gameplay and more sandbox-focused nature of MW5 more, I recommend trying this game even if you aren't super keen on Turn-Based Tactics, the story and presentation alone are worth your time.
2.) MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries, and MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries - The OGs. These games are all abandonware and can be easily acquired for free. MW2 runs great in DOSbox, while MW4 runs on modern systems, though some coaxing (compatibility mode) may be necessary. MW2 is widely considered to be one of if not the greatest mech game ever made, while MW2 Mercs is an expansive (albeit very buggy) experience. Ghost Bear's Legacy sucks, don't play it. MW4 Vengeance and MW4 Black Knight are fine, but MW4 Mercs is where MW4 really hit its stride and IMO rivals MW2 in its greatness. MW3 is a great game, but I don't recommend it because it's in that weird limbo where it's not old enough to run in DOSBox, but also not new enough to run on modern systems without significant effort, so unless you have legacy hardware sitting around for some reason it's probably not worth it.
3.) MegaMek - This is a free Java app that lets you play virtual tabletop BattleTech online or against bots, and has tools for building and modifying your own units to use in the game as well as tools for running narrative campaigns. I recommend Devalk's MegaMek video if this sounds at all interesting to you.
Finally, if you want to learn more about BattleTech lore, Black Pants Legion's Tex Talks BattleTech videos, Sven Van Der Plank and Big Red 40-TECH's channels, and Sarna.net's BattleTech Wiki are all fantastic resources. For tabletop BattleTech content I recommend the UA-cam channels 4 Hands on Deck, Death From Above Wargaming, Trailblazer, and The Many Voices.
@@AnonymousONIagent Wow thank you for all this! Incredibly detailed and appreciated
@@JarboeGamingNp, happy to help and welcome to the rabbit hole! As a casual Gundam and Ace Combat fan I've been a long time lurker on your channel, and I had to jump at this opportunity to help guide someone in one of my favorite games from one of my favorite franchises!
@@AnonymousONIagent That's an awful lot of info. You sure you're not working for ComStar?
SMMO source code has been integrated into YAML, so you already have that if you run YAML.
God this makes me regret playing on console so much
Welcome to the Battletech hole!
I suggest checking out the mod MercTech at some point, if you want to see just how far MW5 can be pushed as a _simulation_ of BattleTech stuff. It's incredible how much can be done in terms of bringing in new mechanics, and most of it is optional. Like, totally re-working how jump-jets function (you can actually re-direct yourself midair), weapons having internal components that can go bad, lasers getting worse in the rain (or having their range increased in very dry environments), totally replacing the aiming system to function how Battlemechs actually work lore-wise (better hope your targeting computer doesn't suck), ammo explosions setting off physically simulated ammo that could potentially hit other mechs, autocannons turning into _classes_ (so an AC-20 could actually be a smaller-caliber gun that just puts a TON of lead out in ten seconds), re-sizing every mech by volume to put them more in line with their sizes in novels (generally quite a bit smaller), it kind of just... keeps going.
I'd also like to rant about something- MechWarrior (all of the games really) make these things seem much more like plain old "walking tanks" than they've ever been in official fiction. Y'know the Atlas? That hundred-ton monster? Yeah, it can do handstands in controlled conditions if the pilot's good. I've always wished these games at least let you strafe a bit because it _is_ something that they can do. Everyone in these games pilots mechs like it's their first day in a training camp.
Regarding conflict vs industrial zone logistics, depends on the penalty, early game in Merc Row the increase is only +30% Time and +20% Cost, while each jump is 7 days and 50kCb, as such to see any savings a repair would need to take 61 days or 600kCb round trip per jump. While later that can double if not more thus reducing the minimum round trip cost per jump.
the game has come a long ways from when it first released , now is really a golden time to jump into it . with modding it makes the game a different experience as well , welcome to the inner sphere mechwarrior
I remember playing the OG mech warrior mercenaries on PC way back. I think I still have the CD somewhere. I love this game and sunk many hours into it.
You play online? Miss the community we had with the battles hehe
Og to me is MW2 mercs, but yeah mw4 mercs was damn good.
Look at the bright side kid, you get to keep all the money.
The significance of 3049 is that it marks the start of the Clan Invasion era in the BT universe. After that point, Clan and LosTech (i.e., cheat codes) start spreading more freely in the Inner Sphere, and the star map, especially toward the hubwards Periphery, changes considerably.
I love mw5. Can't believe I didn't suggest it. It's mod scene is excellent.
Yeah I've really been enjoying my time with it so far. Great game that's 100% worth it on sale.
Absolutely would love to see more Mechwarrior. You've got a perspective I enjoy, and it's a setting I'm somewhat familiar with. (and basically during one of the golden ages in terms of writing and fun opportunities.)
dam, my Battletech senses were late for this one
Welcome to Battletech, the Deepest Sci-Fi universe to get into while having a initial look of a backyard pool
Edit: Also yes, please cover more Mechwarrior or Battletech in general. It's a great universe and if you got any question, people will absolutely talk for hours explaining the nitty gritty about it.
some physics with jumpjets in this game lets you move pretty fast on top of using supercharger and MASC and say getting a mech/hero mech with the jumpjet bonuses through yaml adds, really gets gets into the gundam "you just jump good but it looks like you're flying" power fantasy firing srm's or with enough durability going melee as well. very kino
MW5:M was my reintroduction to BT after the mechassault games for the og Xbox in the early and mid 2000s. I have like 1000 hours in it since October 2023. Really fun game and goes on sale often so can't recommend it enough. Even has full crossplay.
Id love to see more Battletech coverage and i highly recommend the PC game Battletech by Hair Brained Schemes. Its closer to the table top and also has a strong modding community.
After that, rather you go backwards and give time for Clans to get further worked out, it's in a rough patch atm. MW4 is beloved by older fans.
Eey same here. However, I started back up with MW5: Clans. I didn't know how much I needed this. I have Mercs on my Xbox rn, but I'm waiting to build up cash to buy all the DLCs before playing the game. Also, I've seen lore about the infamous Bounty Hunter...im gonna be excited to get that DLC
Anyways, between playing AC6, and MW5, I didn't realize how much I love mech combat and how much I missed it from back in the old Mechassault days.
As cross platform is great and all, it's just busted when PC players (in case you join from a console) join in and it freezes since their systems aren't set up for mods.
I play with my X-box buddies a lot. We used to have a PC guy, but the crashes were intense.
Welcome to the family.
Honestly; mw5 mercs was a fantastic choice for your introduction to this world.
Man, me and my buddy used to play the hell out of MechWarrior 3 as kids. I didn’t even know the series was still around. Gonna have to check that out. The mods were always the best part.
I highly recommend the two tabletop games, Battletech and Alpha Strike if you want to see the sandbox expanded upon and turned into a strategy game.
I'm about to get into battletech, should I just go straight into alpha strike?
@FureyinHD it depends on what you're looking for! Models are compatible with bot games so don't worry about that. Battletech is the base Simulationist Ruleset. Alpha strike is a much faster but less detailed wargame.
This made me decide to dive into Mercs before Clans, thanks for the Mechwarrior 5 review!
fook yeah its great.
i played this with all the yaml mods for 600 hours over the years so far.
yeah id love to see more Mechwarriors content
real talk, mw5 mercs, clans, AND battletech are ALL freaking amazing. the modding scene...omg. literally new games.
0:22- My exact reaction two days ago aswell. After watching a video from Splattercatgaming I bought the game on sale just now (aswell) and man I'm hooked. I was also swaying between Mercenaries and Clans however the modding community made me buy Mercenaries (aswell xD). I absolutely love games who have a lot of lore in them.
And this game has lore for every single mech, faction etc. I often find myself reading the description of every single mech i encounter XD . And the mods make this even more awesome with tones of new mechs and equipment. Btw I also reccomend a mod called War FX which increases the explosion effects etc to an insane level of detail and TTRulez_AIMod2 which makes the AI much more competent (from my beginner level of experience anyway :) )
Tbh its properly gonna be my personal game of the year 2024/2025.
I loved the use of MS.Saga music
@@cw9819 Good ear for catching that!
@@JarboeGaming Thank you. love that Game
Bro, I'm feeling the intro so hard. Please make an outright music video with this.
"Ultimate Mech Sandbox Game"? Just wait until dude discovers Roguetech.
Being at the mercy of mentally disturbed modmakers is not my idea of the ultimate sandbox. Had at least one of them been born a little earlier the Stasi would have had a fine torturing zealot.
Roguetech is ok, but ruined by both the modders themselves and the feature creep.
The absolute best gaming experience was Coyote Missions mod (Download from Nexus mods) + YAML (Yet Another Mech Lab, from steam workshop).
Thosw two mods make the game so much varied and adequately complex. We had an amazing campaign with 2 other friends using this configuration. It makes gameplay missions so much more varied (and random encounters/outcomes are amazing) and the mechbuilding more compelling (builds get crazy fun no matter the tonnage).
I very much recommend using these two big mods. Everything else is optional for me.
@@CristianBeltramo I'll 100% be adding Coyote Missions for the career playthrough
@JarboeGaming Do consider YAML if you like more complex mech building and items as well. Have fun 👍
@CristianBeltramo Yes I'm already running it! A game changer
Good rundown! Fun to see someone enter the universe for the first time!
What a coincidence lmao, since Bandai is starting to make Gundam Table Top game by using probably the same Hexagonal movements like Battle tech
interestiung music choice^^ EFT.... NICE! both great games.... sometimes^^ and one more and more often then the other^^
MW5 Mercs with 80+ mods is the best way to go.
I'd be down for watching you do more Mechwarrior stuff. I don't have much to add except my main machine, if you know the lore then you'd be going 'Wait he pilots this screaming metal deathtrap!?' but I personally love it most.
A Custom Charger (CGR-1A1) that has slightly lighter armor (YAML enables this kind of build with Ferro Fiberous), Endo Steel, Double Heat Sinks (And not alot of them considering this load out isn't going to do much pew pew but it covers the two things that WILL drive up the heat), Pirate Engine (Effectively a time bomb is what I've made my reactor), Supercharger (FOR SPRINTING AT 205 KPH) Mostly Medium Lasers (For swatting some bothersome flies) one Small Laser (For flavor but I MIGHT get rid of it for something else) two Jumpjets (for maneuvering and pits), a Null Signature System (STELTH) and one ASSAULT ARENA FIST (Right Hook from HELL).
It started with a slightly lighter engine (From 400 to like 385 or something), laser swap and Fist. Then it just grew and I basically wrought a monster I do not regret making. Call it 'Hand Delivery'.
@@boxtank5288 I love the sort of creativity that YAML enables.
I'll definitely be doing some career mode shenanigans on the channel. Just deciding if I want it to be like a "let's play" series where we play it essentially live, or a series of videos that breaks down events across multiple play sessions.
@@JarboeGaming Cool. And yeah that moment in question was the moment I fully understood what Dr. Victor Frankenstein felt when the lightning struck.
5:25 You cheeky bastard. I love you!
@@andrewowens4421 🫡
You really need to mod it a fair bit to get the most out of the sandbox-career mode otherwise it gets pretty repetitive pretty quickly.
Modded mechlab is absolutely mandatory.
Just got in to BT? Welcome to the party, pal! This year is the 30th anniversary of me getting my mech pilots certification lol.
As far as repairs go... in conflict zone repairs for armour. Or a single limb if there's not too much stuff in it, more parts really increases the time and cost.
Any torso sections or an engine core, gotta hub it up.
@@mikeumm That's wild! Do you play the tabletop as well as the video games?
@@JarboeGamingI had the TT as a kid but convincing my brothers and friends to do a little math was asking too much lol. So I didn't really get to play all that much.
I collected the Technical Readout source books, which had mech art, stats, and lore blurbs for every mech in the book. Some even covered just support vehicles and aerospace fighters.
I did get to pilot the pods back in like 00'ish when Dave & Buster's bought a bunch.
Oh I revised my prior comment to add my two cents about repairs.
I would also highly recommend the 2018 BattleTech turn-based strategy game by Harebrained Schemes- it's more X-Com like and closer to the tabletop wargame feel, and importantly has much larger mods that really expand the sandbox mercenary company nature of it. The base game has both a sandbox+story campaign and a totally open sandbox mode, both of which are pretty good too!
Ngl until this video I never knew the MechWarrior games were related to Battletech lmfao. I only ever played Battletech Tactics, didn't like it, and wondered how there were so many fanfiction stories about all the lore in Battletech Tactic lol. It never really seemed interesting to me, but if these MechWarrior games are also the same franchise then it makes more sense lol.
Glad you're enjoying learning about Battletech. I'd highly recommend trying out Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, but you'll need a system with Win7 or older.
There's always compatibility mode.
Get the rumble seats ready, we're ready to be your back seat drivers on this incredible journey. Go all out with mods, too.
The DLC improved a lot
More mechwarrior! After playing a bit pick up the rest of the Yet Another mods for weapons and equipment, it adds a ton of depth
Recently, I started the game as well and loving it. I'm stuck on console for now, though. XD
Thank you for providing a perspective that is unburdened by the opinions of previous games in the series. I think much of the Battletech community is so caught up in the trap of nostalgia that they can't recognize a decent game when it slaps them in the face. It taints their attempts to review the game, and keeps potential fans away from the universe because they think the game itself is bad. It is very much not a bad game, in fact one of the better Mechwarrior games I've played.
I hear ace combat 4 music, good choice
I see you fight for Spacenoid independence.
Dual VKB Gladiator Omni, VR, and a dream. 😅
Try out Exotic Inner Sphere Mechs (on Nexus mods). Much like the clan mech mod, it adds a bunch of new mech chassis to the game. It focuses on rarer or more specialized inner sphere chassis that are hard to find, but very unique in their loadouts and capabilities.
Ah yes, the only [Tanks of Stilts] game I actually like.
Did you know that in the lore they're significantly more agile? Not to the level of [Planes on Roller Skates], but vastly better than the gameplay would ever suggest.
So based on the controls explanation, I assume using a HOTAS or HOSAS setup would actually be a useful way to pilot the mech? If anyone plays this way, share your experience with me. I recently got myself a pair of Ursa Minor sticks for games like Star Citizen and X4 Foundations, wondering how useful they'd be in Mech Warrior.
@@Incariuz 100% people play this way. It creates a more challenging, albeit more authentic, experience.
If you enjoyed mercs. I would suggest giving MechWarrior Online a shot.
Has more customization than Mercs and a pvp twist
I would like to see you play through career mode. I got like 650hrs into this game and I love it, especially with some of the mods they've released with in the past year like faction variants, yet another gah damn mech and some others. The post 3049 issue is mainly just the news thing doesn't have events, bc the lore extends well into the 3100s . Known universe and advanced career start also really good mods for career mode. Known universe is a pretty damn close representation of the map in its entirety
@@marcelateyourface2 We'll definitely be returning to this for career mode and ill check out those mods.
Any recommendations on starting faction/location?
@JarboeGaming I can't say due my intolerance of liao and kurita 🤣 I'll never say I'm a warrior from those houses. I tend to start davion though due to the enforcer being a really good starter mech or Steiner for the griffin
@JarboeGaming I'm honestly Taurian at heart so houses are forever my enemies but war is money lmao
Also if you don't mind I could join you on that career playthrough
Thenonly game in this series that I've played was Mechwarrior 3, and I barely remember anything about it
Nice review.
See more... Many must have mods. MANY. You need ArmorGreen, for one, so you have a custom colour array for your damage colours.
This is an amazing game that has been a staple of computer gaming for many years. Right now is a decent time to be a MW fan. MW5 Mercs gives you a decent campaign and then a great sandbox game. MW5 Clans is a well done storyline to help you play a clanner during the invasion. MWO allows for PVP when you want some mech goodness but want to pilot with and against others. If you desire a more sedate pace and want more tactical and strategic play the the game Battletech is an amazing game the brings some of the best of table top and blends it into a turn based PC game. Think XCOM2 meets Mechwarrior.
It's already been said, but yeah, mods make the most of this game. Without them it becomes a slog once you hit missions with Elite AI(aimbot central) and are expected to kill 10 mechs for each of your mechs(and the default AI is stupid).
Is there a morality system aside from earning reputation with the separate factions? How is ally AI? Are they useful or do they ever become frustrating?
@@SeanUCF No real morality system, just reputation.
AI seems fairly competent, not on the level of a player obviously, but not bad imo. There are mods for increasing effectiveness but I haven't tried them yet.
@@JarboeGaming
Cool. I really was on the fence about this game. I tried it on Xbox Gamepass a while back but it felt way to "simmy" for me and I'm more into arcade style games. Seeing the whole sandbox side of the game that you showed however and how you got used to the controls eventually really peaked my interest. I think I'll wish list it and pick it up when it goes on sale again.
The default friendly AI is flawed at times. You need to be careful about which mechs you give them. Preferably you'll have a few mechs on your ship specially suited for the AI. As an example, the Hunchback variant with 8 Medium Lasers is quite the early game assassin in the hands of the player, quickly punching through back torso armor to kill in one hit. But that generates a lot of aggro and if given to a friendly AI will be destroyed every time. On the other hand, if you get higher ranked AI pilots and give them semi-auto cannons they'll aim well enough.
@@XoRandomGuyoX
Ah, thanks for the advice. Didn't realize that there were certain behaviors that drew aggro differently
yeah mechwarrior 5 is still best, clans is a great movie, battletech is tabletop and both miss sandbox.
only in mechwarrior 5 you have an infinite sandbox with so so many great mods.
We claimed another one!!!!
Both on Game Pass
I recall hearing some grumbling about MW5M at launch; although, I forget what exactly was at issue. It might have been due to a subpar story, certain deviations from Battletech lore, lack of mission variety, lack of features from earlier MW games, or not being as good as a mech simulator as earlier MW games. MW5C has a better story than MW5M, but it's nothing impressive. I'm also told MW5C deviates from Battletech lore in places and aircraft are much tankier than they should be, especially any gunship bosses. Probably nothing that the modding community can't address given enough time.
It's mostly nostalgia bait causing complaints, most of the "issues" are excuses.
As a long time fan of the franchise I like it a lot but I hope for a Mechwarrior 6 Mercenaries focused on the mid 3050s or beyond (This game is focused on the mid 3010s to roughly 3040 with DLCs.
1: My favorite Mech in the franchise isn't developed until the mid 3050s
2: Official Mechs fitting the three criteria to be among my favorites are absurdly rare after the fall of the Star League and loss of much advanced technology until the 3040s, and none of the few post Star League pre-3040s designs meeting those criteria are in the game (One I adore was introduced in a book published in early 2024 and unfortunately never got added to the game). And the absurd limits on adding Jump Jets to Mechs mean I can't even recreate most of the custom designs I used a lot during tabletop campaigns set in this era
But there are lots of official designs fitting my three favorite criteria available in the mid 3050s and beyond And what really annoys me is no rare or advanced tech is required to make a design I love they just didn't bother for the tabletop game material set in this period for a long, long time..
My favorite Mechs are Heavy class machines (60 to 75 tons) with all energy weapon loadouts, and jump jets. Nothing particularly rare except for in Liao territory where all the factories for anything 65 tons or heavier were destroyed long before the game takes place and rebuilding efforts were ongoing with them regaining limited 70 to production by the mid 3020s.)
3: There are many types of advanced weapons and equipment that are rare or non-existent in the period and region where the game is set that are available and much more common in the mid 3050s and beyond.
Does it support Track IR?
@@csh5414 Unfortunately no, there is a VR mod though on NexusMods
@@JarboeGaming Thanks buddy.
Whelp....I've gotta reinstall something today.
The game is legendary 💪
Big invest this industry technology advancement in USA please sir please
na meh.
Sadly, Clans runs like garbage
Please do not speak of ideals when talking about the houses, as that implies that the Capellan Confederation/Liao has any kind of values or should be treated as sentient beings. That would be quite misleading, lorewise.
@@rabenfedersonnenhut I hope my choices for who I befriend in my career mode gameplay don't offend anyone 😂
no pvp = gay
umm what "pretty in-depth customization" what the hell are you on about? unless you are on PC and mod the shit out of it the mech customization you can do is pretty much zero beside removing jumpjets and having more amour this game is only playable if you mod it cause dumbass table top rules
Have you ever considered that your opinion is heavily biased and not a universal one, or that you might actually be harmful and toxic to the Battletech community?
@@Gustav_Kuriga what toxic wanting actually customization? in the base game and not some horse shit that only allows you change weapons not engine type amour type structure type and also having said weapon points limited to small,big and large hard points so say you have 2 energy hard points but you want double PPC but only 1 is a large hard point well your screwed
@@jordanrea2311 You're definitely spoiled. Try only standard variants campaign in MekHQ, enjoy PPC/LRM10 Griffon
@@Gustav_Kuriga yeah no thanks thats a terrible build
"ultimate" mech sandbox game
This game released as an alpha, and only through DLC and mods has it become more of a strong beta release. It misses a lot of features of previous games, even those released in like the 90s.
Tis a great game except for two things... 1) Pilot AI is beyond stupid, even with mods. 2) Missiles don't appear to do area effect damage. Thus for their size, mass and cost their performance is really lacking.
Investing in upgrades for spread or upgrading to an Artemis FCS or having TAG or NARC really improves missile performance. Also steam LRMs are more accurate than standard splats.
Missiles are for beating up armour before you're in range for direct fire.
@@mikeumm Would much rather have LRM's with "splat" damage to a limited AoE. Rather than invest more into a system that has limited DPS for its tonnage, space and cost vs ballistics. I recall that prior versions of Mechwarrior did use splat mechanics for missiles and PPC's which appear to have all but been removed from the last few MW releases. Side note: I owned a copy of the original "BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge" and have been playing MW related titles from the early 90's onward.
@@4DCResinSmoker splats are just the nickname for standard LRMs. Streams and Splats.
Streams are more accurate and aim to put all missiles on CT if it can.
Late timeline though standard LRMs get their time in the sun as AMS has a harder time shooting down a big wad of missiles as opposed to a stream of them.
There are some very very good LRMs builds out there. I just prefer to use them in a support role capacity on one or 2 of my AI mechs.
@@4DCResinSmoker AI will always be somewhat stupid compared to players unless you want fucking aimbots or a significantly slower game because of how many resources decent AI takes up.
Also, if you think missiles have poor performance I think that's a you issue.
@@Gustav_Kuriga For an equivalent mass / space, ballistics are superior !
Make a cool mech game. Make em slower than tanks. 😅 come see my dancing goats.
Actually its more agile than tank
@Sandal-z5b I see that! Just used to more exciting gameplay in armored core I suppose. Did ya check out my goats?
@@goatsandgardening better looking at duck than goat
@@Sandal-z5b ducks are pretty cute!
lol old game acting like you discovered it :') if you have not run over 100 mods and played over 5k hours already you are poser peasent :') stick with clans.. it's the tourist game that i am yet to see anyone like that knows BT