Ironman+Career Mode=World of PAIN!

[Ben G]

I just had a 3rd mission melt down as well. I managed to trigger the target lance and the reinforcement lance on the same turn at the beginning of the battle, which was the root of my problems.

I tried to maneuver such that I only had one lance to deal with, but the lance I was trying to avoid had 3x Locusts and a Spider, so that didnt work as well as I hoped.

I was managing okay until I made a bad move and left my Vindy out to dry. The pilot had already taken a head hit earlier. It lost a leg that turn, fell, and took a targeted PPC to the face. Things went down hill from there...

 

[Shake Appeal]

Haven't had to withdraw (I'm still missing that achievement after 120 hours!) or give up on an objective yet through eight missions. But I also did Honestman for my first campaign run, and I've been playing with a lot of the difficulty options turned up since they were implemented.

Money is definitely tighter, though, and campaign 1.0 seems like a cakewalk in retrospect.

 

[samz812]

Finding it tough, but enjoyable. Definitely keeps you honest with the tactics you use (or don't). About all I've gotten annoyed with so far is taking an internal (especially late-mission) which puts the mech out of action for a few days. And the abysmal gunnery skills of my pilots lol.

OMG tell me about it, gave precision strike to my panther on another panther to take out the right arm to get rid of the PPC that was hitting one of the base buildings i was defending( he was already more to the right hand side of the mech as it was) and somehow he manages to take out the entire LEFT side of the mech. feels like precision strike target calls are inverted or something >_<

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

The MechWarriors that I started out with were pretty miserable lol. They were essentially 2s with a 3 here and there for good measure. One of the things I made sure to get for the Argo rather early was the training pods. These MechWarriors need all the help they can get (especially when I set MechWarrior skill progression to slow).

I did find the pilot 'Paradox' though in the hiring hall. He also has a lot of 2s and 3s, except tactics where he has an 8 lol. The Sensor Lock, Master Tactician, and just good called shot abilities have been a nice addition so far.

 

[HBS_Kiva]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing, and the difficulty I consider 'normal'. I love the moment-to-moment tension in a battle, where a bad roll can mean the whole mission just became an overall money-loser. I've refocused on secondary objective completion just to get enough done to get a good faith retreat and some money in the bank before. I'm not too proud to run and take the consolation prize.

 

[stjobe]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing

Yup, me too. Did you forget slow progression, or did you go back to normal?

With those set, the game is precariously balanced; one bad drop and you might be in a hole you can't get out of. It's fantastic, and it feels like I always thought merc life in 3025 would feel like.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing, and the difficulty I consider 'normal'...

The Kiva Settings .

I picked those settings as well because I think I remember you saying in a livestream that it was your intended difficulty for the mode.

P.S. I set MechWarrior progression to slow as well. Was that part of it too, or am I imagining that?

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

Yup, me too. Did you forget slow progression, or did you go back to normal?

With those set, the game is precariously balanced; one bad drop and you might be in a hole you can't get out of. It's fantastic, and it feels like I always thought merc life in 3025 would feel like.

Since you asked too, I guess I didn't imagine that...Or at least I wasn't the only one to think it lol.

+1 for the Merc life in 3025. I think this hits the brutality of it right on the nose. I have to be really careful about what I take, and whether I should try and stick with a situation that might not go the way I need it to, or bail.

 

[stjobe]

+1 for the Merc life in 3025. I think this hits the brutality of it right on the nose. I have to be really careful about what I take, and whether I should try and stick with a situation that might not go the way I need it to, or bail.

Yeah, it makes it feel like every single decision matters, because it feels like it only takes one bad decision to torpedo your career.

It's probably not all that bad, I'm sure I've made any number of bad choices and still continued on that career, but it sure does feel that way.

Top marks, HBS. Top. Marks.

 

[MajorPrankster]

Loving it.
Ironman, 5-parts, empty 'mechs, slow XP.
This is the game I wanted in the first place, I prefer to make my own stories.
Hunting for good mission ROI is now a thing.
Gotten enough parts for a Panther and a Locust, almost had to sell one to make payroll.
So much fun!

 

[scJazz]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing, and the difficulty I consider 'normal'. I love the moment-to-moment tension in a battle, where a bad roll can mean the whole mission just became an overall money-loser. I've refocused on secondary objective completion just to get enough done to get a good faith retreat and some money in the bank before. I'm not too proud to run and take the consolation prize.

I'm playing Kiva style... slow progression XP, Career, empty mechs and pieces of 5. No Ironman though... my computer crashes from time to time and I'm not willing to break my Career for the sake of that button.

Wonder what setting Mitch is using?

The exact opposite of most difficult LOL

 

[Edmon]

Who's playing Edmon style at the moment? XD.

I just want to know if anyone hates themselves as much as I do... for reference .

 

[ThatGuyMontag]

Yeah, it makes it feel like every single decision matters, because it feels like it only takes one bad decision to torpedo your career.

It's probably not all that bad, I'm sure I've made any number of bad choices and still continued on that career, but it sure does feel that way.

Top marks, HBS. Top. Marks.

For me it's the starting lance that's the real cherry in this mode. What I'd give for a medium with an AC slot right now...

 

[scJazz]

For me it's the starting lance that's the real cherry in this mode. What I'd give for a medium with an AC slot right now...

Right?!? Seriously?!?
Who ever thought that the words... "can I please have my Blackjack back" come out of anyone's mouth but @Edmon ???

 

[HonorKnight]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing, and the difficulty I consider 'normal'. I love the moment-to-moment tension in a battle, where a bad roll can mean the whole mission just became an overall money-loser. I've refocused on secondary objective completion just to get enough done to get a good faith retreat and some money in the bank before. I'm not too proud to run and take the consolation prize.

And this is why she is the Goddess of Death in the HBS BattleTech universe's pantheon. The all-father was wise to bring her into the fold, to make the life of a mercenary as gritty and short as it ought to be.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Yay! Career, Ironman, empty 'Mechs, 5 parts: that's the game I'm playing, and the difficulty I consider 'normal'. I love the moment-to-moment tension in a battle, where a bad roll can mean the whole mission just became an overall money-loser. I've refocused on secondary objective completion just to get enough done to get a good faith retreat and some money in the bank before. I'm not too proud to run and take the consolation prize.

Five mech parts is the sweet spot for me, too, but any possibility that the difficulty settings could interact with career scoring in the future? Right now, the score system incentivizes you to not turn difficulty settings up.

 

[Edmon]

Five mech parts is the sweet spot for me, too, but any possibility that the difficulty settings could interact with career scoring in the future? Right now, the score system incentivizes you to not turn difficulty settings up.

Yeah, if you are concerned about score purely to get the achievement, the best thing you can do is turn the difficulty down as much as possible.

There are no bonus points to be had playing hardest possible and the reduced economy impacts your credit farming score pretty harshly.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

For me it's the starting lance that's the real cherry in this mode. What I'd give for a medium with an AC slot right now...

I miss that Centurion freebie like crazy!

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

Five mech parts is the sweet spot for me, too, but any possibility that the difficulty settings could interact with career scoring in the future? Right now, the score system incentivizes you to not turn difficulty settings up.

I think I am going to treat my score as more of a curiosity than a goal. I'm not going to try an get as high of a score as possible as much as just see what score I achieve by just trying to play the best I can with the settings I have.

I'll be eager to compare scores with other players running the Kiva Scoring System when I hit that 1200 day mark, and be curious to see how my run compared.

 

[HBS_Kiva]

P.S. I set MechWarrior progression to slow as well. Was that part of it too, or am I imagining that?

I think that's in the default settings? Anyway yes, you need that to make the slower pace of career mode work with the pilot progression.

Five mech parts is the sweet spot for me, too, but any possibility that the difficulty settings could interact with career scoring in the future? Right now, the score system incentivizes you to not turn difficulty settings up.

We're discussing it.