Advice request regarding salvage parts rule for new Heavy Metal career campaign

[44th MAC|Bonsai]

I'm kinda switching between 3 and 5 pieces from career to career. I really kinda like the 3 pieces for "when i headcap a mech, I want to have it", but you are stockpiling on mechs quite fast. So going stingy salvage rules helps a bit with that, also keeps you a little more on the edge with actually equiping the mechs you get with the stuff you want. I generally make payment "normal", so you sometimes end up taking money over salvage even in 3-part-careers.

The 5-pieces-setting makes progress a little slower, but in the end, the 3-pieces-low-salvage way is more immersive for me. You still end up with alot of mechs, but playing with PH's "rule of skull" that's basically a self-imposed droplimit, you still use your lighter chassis and can't go the full 400-ton-madness on lower-skull missions and flashpoints

 

[ntw]

Self imposed "difficulty settings" like stock only, pirate runs, etc. can considerably change the challenge. Like pretty much everyone has said though - play it the way you want to get the experience you want

I prefer to try and preserve the "feel" of BT (according to my memories and perceptions of the books, TT and PC games - which is a subjective thing anyway), but I do have a flaw that I *like* earning the achievements so I've been alternating between differing playstyles

 

[Spartakus]

I have several issues with how salvage works. When you go anywhere above 3 pieces it feels like a grind to me, made worse by the fact that during this you accumulate a huge pile of non-mech-part-equipment that should be scarce and is anything but.

My recommendation is to go for 3 parts per mech, but never negotiate for more then one piece of non-random salvage. Which in turn generates enough money that you can actually afford to buy a part from time to time.

 

[Donvale]

I have several issues with how salvage works. When you go anywhere above 3 pieces it feels like a grind to me, made worse by the fact that during this you accumulate a huge pile of non-mech-part-equipment that should be scarce and is anything but.

My recommendation is to go for 3 parts per mech, but never negotiate for more then one piece of non-random salvage. Which in turn generates enough money that you can actually afford to buy a part from time to time.

If you go to stingy salvage the problem with excess equipment is largely dealt with, of course it doesn't change the grind aspect, but some would say that is the fun part .
One thing I do like about 5 parts is the fact that building a mech of 3 or 4 salvaged parts and 1 or 2 bought parts is properly viable and even makes economic sense with the speed up in progress it can bring you.

 

[Spartakus]

If you go to stingy salvage the problem with excess equipment is largely dealt with, of course it doesn't change the grind aspect, but some would say that is the fun part .
One thing I do like about 5 parts is the fact that building a mech of 3 or 4 salvaged parts and 1 or 2 bought parts is properly viable and even makes economic sense with the speed up in progress it can bring you.

I hate the fact that there is no wiki on here and I admit I never bothered to check this. But what exactly does stingy salvage do?

 

[Jolly Joker]

I don't see he problem with many parts. My actual run is with 6, and I fully intend to go with the max of 8 in the next. I also have a house rule to not keep more than one copy of each mech. It's not like I'd change around a lot the more Mechs I get, and the number of active mechs you can have is limited as well. For me, it's first and foremost a question of
a) what do I have?
b) can I improve what I have (by changing the loadout or replace components with superior ones)?
c) what contracts can I take with what I have (and that depends on the pilots as much as on the mechs)?

Getting a new toy is fine, when it gives you more options or when it improves what you have, but getting mechs you can't use (because they are no improvement over what you have) is not interesting.

So each contract is about assessing what you are up against and what salvage would be really useful, ending in having mostly one and possibly even two priority targets you want to incapacitate to make the most of the salvage, the rest just having to die any which way.

With 3 parts only, once your pilots are at a certain skill, you can salvage a full mech out of each contract, which seems a bit boring to me - but of course I might be missing something here.

 

[Spartakus]

With 3 parts only, once your pilots are at a certain skill, you can salvage a full mech out of each contract, which seems a bit boring to me - but of course I might be missing something here.

You need a godd ability to get knockdowns on your opponents without coring them accidentally to get a lot of salvage, especially in the early to mid game. Wich requires a lot of LRMs wich requires a lot of customization.
Which I'll never be willing to do.

 

[KDubya]

I like going with five part mechs, stingy salvage and normal money with CT destruction, unequipped mechs and slow mech experience. This makes it a choice between salvage and cash, if both are stingy then I end up just going full salvage by default but with the cash set a little higher it makes them more balanced.

I also go with ++ weapon salvage as it makes it a choice on the salvage screen, without it it just becomes 'pick the heaviest mech chassis' everytime. Plus I don't want to have to 'power shop' in order to get equipment.

If you are going for a max score I'd keep it at three part mechs as that is the biggest effect on campaign difficulty.

 

[ntw]

You need a godd ability to get knockdowns on your opponents without coring them accidentally to get a lot of salvage, especially in the early to mid game. Wich requires a lot of LRMs wich requires a lot of customization.
Which I'll never be willing to do.

or precision shot and high tactics skill to behead mechs fairly easily, which is what I think @Jolly Joker was referring to?

 

[Spartakus]

or precision shot and high tactics skill to behead mechs fairly easily, which is what I think @Jolly Joker was referring to?

You don't have these until well into the mid game.

 

[Jolly Joker]

or precision shot and high tactics skill to behead mechs fairly easily, which is what I think @Jolly Joker was referring to?

I think you are not that dependent on high tactics skill (although it later helps). In the early stages 3 or at most 4 injuries will kill pilots just fine, so a single rocket to the head, a topple and a sidetorso destruction may well suffice.
With not-so-good pilots I tend to aim at the legs, due to the much better probabilities.
Keep also in mind, that you need incapacitating tactics only for the mechs you want.

I agree, though, that a lot of customization is necessary - but that makes the game experience only better, since it increases the feeling that everything you do really matters and is necessary to survive as a mercenary unit.

 

[Zeraphil]

I would like to go with 4 Part Salvage, but the last time i had problems to get specific Mechs at all.
For example the Cataphract. I don't know whats with that Machine, but i had a full lance of assaults before i had 4 Parts of an Cataphract.

Or the Star League Black Knight. I found 3 Parts through Flashpoints but bought the SLDF Highlander from the Black Market and never found
the 4th Black Knight Part.

By the way: The Flashpoint rewards are random, i geht that. But what about the Shop / Black Market? Is there a refresh / reset of the Inventory after a certain time
or right when you leave the System?

 

[MarkDey]

By the way: The Flashpoint rewards are random, i geht that. But what about the Shop / Black Market? Is there a refresh / reset of the Inventory after a certain time or right when you leave the System?

I was able to test the Contracts, and confirmed that the ones that exist regenerate into new employers and targets whenever you visit the system. It may be that a shop is the same way, but I haven't tested it. If so, then I would expect that once you purchase some 'mech parts, they would need to regenerate after a week or two, similar to how completing a contract removes that from the pool of contracts available, but it eventually comes back after a two weeks.