Early campaign advice - pacing priority missions

[Lukas316]

What would be good guidelines on pacing myself in the early campaign missions? I'm currently still in the Leopard, I've completed the mission to retrieve the Argo but have yet to proceed to the next story mission.
Should I do a few side contracts or should I proceed on? My stable of mechs at the moment consists of a Panther and a Centurion, apart from the mechs you start off with.
There's also al Clash of Titans mission available which I gather is an excellent opportunity to salvage assault mech parts. Should I do this, or give it a pass until I have better equipped mechs?
Thanks.

 

[Ken-Sw]

Everyone is different but my advice would be to do at least 10-20 side missions between each priority mission.
A few people have powered through without doing any so it is possible

 

[Spartakus]

I made a walkthrough through the early campaign years ago: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/wip-spartakus-campaign-walkthrough.1098304/
It might be a bit outdated now as it was written before the first DLC, but the outfits I used still are a solid baseline for what you need to bring to the story missions.

Your starting mechs are perfectly capable of handling everything you'll see at the start but you should focus on replacing the Spider with a more solid skirmisher. Jenner, Javelin or - preferably - Firestarters make great additions. I'd rather salvage me one of those before I try getting anything else.

The numer of missions you take in between is rather meaningless, you need to salvage better mechs. Unfortunately very early there are very few missions that offer any worthwhile salvage at all, so it's not a bad idea to rush past Weldry and get to the point where you can actually improve your outfit. The downside is that you might very well rush past the point where there are missions left you can still win without crippling yourself.

For this reason I have put the mod "Improved Difficulty" on Nexusmods which offers all kind of difficulties from start to end and also unlocks Flashpoints early. There are a few of those that might be interesting for your starter lance.

 

[Hawk.eye]

In addition to what has been said above, and since I didn't see it mentioned.
Early on, with low-level pilots, salvaging one of those Assaults in the clash of titans mission is close to impossible.

Your precision shot accuracy is _horrible_ if you go for anything but a leg/side torso from that side and you can just forget about headshots.
Also, early on most enemies have reduced armor, so going the "make them fall on their face repeatedly until the pilot dies" route is equally impossible (the mech will be cored before that happens).
You _can_ try to leg the target, so you'll get at least two mech-parts but that's about it.

As for general advice, take your time. Since you have done the first campaign mission, you are free to travel - make use of that and get some better mechs (replacing the Spider has already been mentioned)
Mechs to look out for (IMO):

Contrary to Spartakus' advice, when it comes to light mechs, I'm not a big fan of the Firestarter (I guess I qualify for being a heretic ) but much prefer the Panther (LL + 3 ML + max JJ + armor and HS).
Otherwise, as Spartakus said, Jenners (drop the SRM-4 for more armor) and Javelins (the F variant is preferable, IMO) are very much servicable.

For mediums, Centurions, Hunchbacks (I'm not a big fan of the AC/20 one but the Hunchie P (lots of ML) is really good), Shadowhawk-D, Wolverine-K, Griffin-S and Kintaro are all very solid mechs

Once you get to the heavies, avoid the 60 ton, 5/8 mechs like the Dragon or Quickdraw (5/8 refers to the table-top speed of walking/running. Faster mechs need larger engines and have therefore less tonnage remaining for armor and guns) - for the same reason I avoid the 50 ton Trebuchet (5/8) or the 40 ton Assassin (7/11 - holy s**t, there is hardly _any_ tonnage left for stuff) and let's just not mention the Cicada, btw.
Thunderbolts, Catapults, Grasshopper (excellent crit-seeker), Archer (good buffs for missiles), Warhammer (massive buff for energy-weapon damage), Orions, Black Knights and Marauder (ultimate head-capper) are all very good.

Edit: Forgot the Rifleman and the JagerMech, both also quite decent - to be honest, aside from the aforementioned Dragons and Quickdraws, I can't think of a really _bad_ heavy mech.
Some are niche mechs like the LRM-20 Catapult, but all are very much workable.

On a final note:
I'm personally a jump-jet-aholic. Everything I have mounts them and usually the max. number. Yes, it takes tonnage away from guns, heat-sinks and armor, but the tactical mobility and flexibility more than makes up for it, IMO.

 

[Spartakus]

Contrary to Spartakus' advice, when it comes to light mechs, I'm not a big fan of the Firestarter (I guess I qualify for being a heretic ) but much prefer the Panther (LL + 3 ML + max JJ + armor and HS).
Otherwise, as Spartakus said, Jenners (drop the SRM-4 for more armor) and Javelins (the F variant is preferable, IMO) are very much servicable.

You take a Panther over a Firestarter??? That's a very different style indeed. Propably because I rarely use the mechlab. Which is why Trebuchets are also pretty high on my tier list. I don't think I have ever fielded a Panther at all.

I am 100% with you on your heavy mech analysis. Stay away from Quickdraws and Dragons.

 

[Curtis Cook]

I'm a huge tinkerer when it comes to mechs, so I mostly play my own variants of everything. That having been said…

The best mechs before the mid-game are the 55 tonners. You really can't go wrong with any of them, though I agree with Hawk.eye that all mechs that have jumpjets are best when they carry the maximum.

For any given speed you're best off with the heaviest mech at that speed that doesn't start losing tonnage due to the engine. That's what Hawk.eye was talking about when he advised bypassing the heavies that move fast. So for 3-5 mechs it's best to go straight to the top (100 tonners), and for 4-6 mechs I don't find anything under 65 ton jumpers and 70 ton non-jumpers terribly useful.

Although I generally prefer jumpers, once I've opened up the Argo to the point where she'll hold 18 mechs I try to keep 4 slots free for 4-6 non-jumpers, aiming for a lance each of 3-5-3, 4-6-0, 4-6-4 and 5-8-5 mechs, with the last two slots reserved for Vulcans (see below).

I am a fan of Firestarters as light mechs, but as soon as I can I go to an all-medium force, because for me the ability to move earlier in the turn in no way compensates for the reduced armor of the light mechs. This is likewise why I don't like any mech that walks faster than 180 meters a turn (6-9).

I think the ideal '6-9-6' mech is the 40 ton Vulcan, which can carry both 2 or 4 (depending on variant) flamers/small lasers/machine guns (choose one and maximize them) that fire out to range 6, and 1 or 2 longer ranged sniping weapons that are much more useful than posters on this forum lead me to believe. I've tried Phoenix Hawks on numerous occasions and have never been successful with them as I'm totally unable to manage their heat.

I agree with Ken-Sw that numerous side missions between the priority missions are essential. I need to improve my pilots as much as possible, and with superior pilots you can win with inferior mechs. Getting a variety of the higher level bonuses is just invaluable: Multi-target and Breaching shot to put in a mech with three powerful weapons; improved called shot bonuses (Tactics levels 6 and 9) to put in your mechs that output the most damage; improved recoil penalty to put in your mechs with AC-10/20; reduced minimum range penalties (Tactics levels 5 and 8) to put in your LRM and PPC mechs. Really, improved Tactics is the most important skill for me, with improving Gunnery last on my list.

 

[Jade_Rook]

You can try the clash of titans mission. Even if you only get one or two parts that can be worth it to start you on an assault. I would go ahead and get the Argo pretty soon though. That will open up the rest of the map. Missions in the first few systems are pretty sparse and you will want access to the Argo upgrades. The mechs you have now should be fine for the Argo mission.

As for the rest of the priority missions... they can be done with no spare missions between them. I have tried taking them as soon as they appeared and the difficulty does ramp up pretty quickly without a few extra missions to pad out your forces. It just depends on what you are comfortable taking. I like not being too overpowered going through the campaign.

 

[Lukas316]

Thanks for all your helpful advice. I did the mission, and parked my lance on the reverse slope of a hill while the opposing forces went at each other's throats. I singled out an assault mech each turn using sensor lock and lobbed LRMs at it. When the field was down to 2 light and one assault mech, all heavily damaged, I engaged them and completed the mission.

 

[Kereminde]

I know there's already been a lot of advice, and I'm dropping in here late to the party... as usual... but! Everyone plays the campaign differently, and has different ideas of how to progress. There are two caveats to consider, however...

First, and foremost, the difficulty of missions scales up as you progress in the storyline and this makes it rather hard to repair factions from the lower levels. So either get comfy never working for a couple factions ("Who needs Capellans anyway, really...") or spend your time doing 'reputation shuffles' where you start hunting down contracts against Local Government forces to bolster reputation. This is exceptionally notable for Pirates, since they're influential for the Black Market and getting your rep tanked will affect prices and access. A lot of good things are on the Black Market you cannot get elsewhere, and I don't know enough about the Faction Stores to really know if they can cover similar ground. Once you pass about two thirds of the way through the priority mission path, it will be hard to find Pirate missions low enough to really bolster your reputation out of the gutter. (Note: IF you have "Flashpoint" and "Urban Warfare", then you can repair your reputation easily, at the cost of something unique.)

Secondly, Ironman plays are a different animal and while you can speed-run to Coromodir, losing is bad. So taking your time is recommended, and pushing the difficulty once you start having trouble keeping up with the outfit maintenance costs is probably best.

- Early on, as in VERY early on in the half-to-one rankings? Salvage isn't useful since you'll be facing a lot of vehicles. Crank reputation up, though try to keep a priority pick in case 'Mechs show up so you can start building a collection. You should probably aim for something which suits your style; the Firestarter is a fun machine which can shut things down and is a vicious machine even into later stages of play. The Panther can punch from long range and can be a pretty dangerous sniper. The Jenner is... it runs hot but it can delete things, so take your chances. Your Medium 'Mechs from the start are decent enough... yes even the BJ-1 Blackjack... but your room to configure is going to be hobbled by having the Leopard.

- Once you get the Argo, you're out of "Act One". So start fixing it up, which will get expensive fast. Good news is the priority missions can give you a nice influx of cash... but Smithon is gonna be a bear. Move towards getting a unit you're comfortable with in a variety of biomes, and not one where "it's best we're in the arctic". It's entirely possible to get Assault 'Mechs early but the juicy stuff is... I think... off the table at first. Parts will be in stores fairly randomly, so a good cushion of cash will help you build your team.

- Don't buy full 'Mechs unless you checked "Unequipped 'Mechs when rebuilt". It's tempting, but super expensive compared to the parts. Unless, well, you also turned the parts needed to rebuild up to 8. If you did both, I shudder at your madness but respect your choices.

- Never... EVER... drop with anything equipped in a 'Mech you can't afford to lose. If you don't have a spare, think twice before using it.

- Glitch needs to survive to the end. This is mandatory and I didn't make this rule, I just pass it on.

 

[Curtis Cook]

- Don't buy full 'Mechs unless you checked "Unequipped 'Mechs when rebuilt". It's tempting, but super expensive compared to the parts. Unless, well, you also turned the parts needed to rebuild up to 8. If you did both, I shudder at your madness but respect your choices.

- Glitch needs to survive to the end. This is mandatory and I didn't make this rule, I just pass it on.

I'm doing the 'unequipped and 8 pieces' thing, which makes many side missions a blessing. I also set the experience accumulation per mission to minimum. I never have enough money to buy more than a couple of pieces of any mech.

I don't understand the Glitch rule. I've played the Kamea campaign through twice with Glitch surviving both times, and the career once with Glitch dying. I don't remember anything happening near the end of either in which Glitch's survival would've made a difference. There IS an achievement you can unlock if Dekker makes it through to the end of the Kamea campaign.

Glitch is my favorite character, followed by Apex (who I call 'my apex predator'.) I've written stories about my crew, which makes this officially an rpg.

 

[Lukas316]

Thanks Keremindde

 

[Kereminde]

I'm doing the 'unequipped and 8 pieces' thing, which makes many side missions a blessing. I also set the experience accumulation per mission to minimum. I never have enough money to buy more than a couple of pieces of any mech.

I don't understand the Glitch rule. I've played the Kamea campaign through twice with Glitch surviving both times, and the career once with Glitch dying. I don't remember anything happening near the end of either in which Glitch's survival would've made a difference. There IS an achievement you can unlock if Dekker makes it through to the end of the Kamea campaign.

Glitch is my favorite character, followed by Apex (who I call 'my apex predator'.) I've written stories about my crew, which makes this officially an rpg.

First, I've considered doing a run like that but hoo boy I don't have time for it. Any more than I have time to try another Stellaris run. (I swear, I probably could have won that if I'd prepared differently...)

Second, regarding the "Glitch rule"... it's really more of a guideline. Tongue-in-cheek. We've collectively agreed, as a community, she's too precious to get killed. We're also fine with Dekker getting killed (multiple ways) but never Glitch.

And Farida 'Apex' Lamb is provided more detail in the "House Arano" sourcebook published by Catalyst Game Labs. Specifically as part of the mercenary outfit "Rampart Company" with some of the other Ronin taking up spots in there too. (Additional note, Chris Eck is also in the unit.)

 

[stjobe]

- Glitch needs to survive to the end. This is mandatory and I didn't make this rule, I just pass it on.

Can confirm this is the rule. If Glitch dies, you are legally bound to either retire or stop playing that play-through.

Also, can inform that having four MechWarriors all with Glitch's voice is not as amazing as one would have hoped

 

[Spartakus]

Note that you can't just let Glitch sit on the bench the whole campaign. If she is healthy and her mech operational she fights.

 

[Curtis Cook]

Note that you can't just let Glitch sit on the bench the whole campaign. If she is healthy and her mech operational she fights.

I realize you guys are having fun with this, but a serious bit of advice for the campaign is to balance experience between pilots. I make an exception for my personal pilot, so making an exception for Glitch is probably acceptable. Losing a character who's noticeably better than the rest is both demoralizing and a waste. For those who don't already have an idea how many XP a level is worth, these are the cumulative values:
2 = 100
3 = 500
4 = 1,400
5 = 3,000
6 = 5,500
7 = 9,100
8 = 14,000
9 = 20,400
10 = 28,500
I also find these useful for deciding when it's advantageous to release a pilot and hire a replacement. It's much more accurate than simply comparing total levels. Note that prospective hires with one or two high levels and the others very low are very efficient hires as you can bring up the lower scores very rapidly.

 

[Kereminde]

I realize you guys are having fun with this, but a serious bit of advice for the campaign is to balance experience between pilots.

Yeah...
Try to ALWAYS have up to two squads of 'MechWarriors ready. You never know when someone's going to take a stray LRM to the head and have to be on bed-rest or light duty from the concussion. (Looking at you, Dekker.)

 

[Curtis Cook]

I've had as many as five pilots in the infirmary at a time, and had as many as three go down in one mission.

Then there are the jinx mechs. Over 4+ campaigns I've had a couple of mechs in which the pilots got injured in 4 out of 5 consecutive and 5 out of 7 consecutive missions. In both cases they were 'scout' mechs that tended to be in the lead and which had extended sensor ranges instead of cockpit modifications.

Speaking of which, I try to maintain one mech per lance with the extended search radius, one with the action points per turn bonus (in an LRM boat if possible, or another mech that's usually in the rear), and two with cockpit modifiers. Not possible in the early going, of course, and sometimes not even by mid-campaign, but it's a goal.

Remember that you can shift these head mods from mech to mech between missions, especially after you get the Argo and start upgrading your repair facilities. For that matter, if you don't mind the cost and the paperwork to keep track of what goes where, you can shift prodigious amounts of equipment and weaponry between mechs while in transit to your next location.

 

[Spartakus]

I realize you guys are having fun with this, but a serious bit of advice for the campaign is to balance experience between pilots. I make an exception for my personal pilot, so making an exception for Glitch is probably acceptable. Losing a character who's noticeably better than the rest is both demoralizing and a waste. For those who don't already have an idea how many XP a level is worth, these are the cumulative values:
2 = 100
3 = 500
4 = 1,400
5 = 3,000
6 = 5,500
7 = 9,100
8 = 14,000
9 = 20,400
10 = 28,500
I also find these useful for deciding when it's advantageous to release a pilot and hire a replacement. It's much more accurate than simply comparing total levels. Note that prospective hires with one or two high levels and the others very low are very efficient hires as you can bring up the lower scores very rapidly.

Good point. Also, here is where permanently assigning mechs to pilots us a good idea to achieve this naturally. It's originally a roleplaying thing to keep your mercs closer to lore and indeed a bit of a challenge but only so far that you need to anticipate what kind of Lance can take which missions and you need that skill anyway at some point.

Cycling pilots out when their mech is damaged rather then when they're injured gives the secondary selection a lot more action to learn from. I also prioritize training pods in the Argo so that the third row of pilots doesn't fall too far behind.