The Rule of Skulls (Lance Skulls = Difficulty Skulls)

[Prussian Havoc]

Challenge.

Where to find the next BATTLETECH Career Challenge?

Self Imposed Lance Skull Restriction in a CT Destruction, Mortal MechWarrior, Ironman Career Mode Attempt.

If the Contract or FLASHPONT is 3 Skull Difficulty then I can only use a 3-Skull Lance in that Mission.


Does this mean my King Crab and Awesome spend most of their time in the Hanger?

It sure does. : )

But it gives the AI an edge. An edge that makes the game that much more fun for me.

Depending on how the next half dozen or so Missions go, I just might start spotting the AI a half Skull worth of Lance.


Has anyone tried something similar to this and sustained it for a whole Ironman Career?

 

[Technophobe]

While I have never done this intentionally,my last carrier run was with 8 pieces of salvage. This meant I had to take higher skull missions than my lance quite often to fish for medium and heavy mechs. Usually half a skull higher. Sometimes one. I had to rely on my pilots skills more than the size of my mechs.

Of course with decent pilots I'm quite comfortable playing 4.5 and 5 skull missions with two Grasshoppers a Stalker and a Griffin 2N.

 

[gh0s7]

Yeah, that's the usual for me, as I prefer to take a lance no more than half above the OpFor; for your example, a 3.5 Lance. Also, when I have four to six pilots with no skill below six, I risk taking 4.5 and 5 skull contracts with a 3.5 or 4 Lance respectfully myself if I don't have better yet (or have my Assaults in need of repair ).
This sort of settings really requires your absolute focus on the mission, as well as familiarity with the AI. And it will probably leave you as a firm believer that there's no such thing as overkill.

Want a challenge? Those settings plus stock mechs only, no tampering with the armour, though one can replace the weapons with their +/++/+++ versions. Gyros and cockpit equipment is left to your criteria.
Deploying your Lance with Ammo in their CT...

I'm planning my second Career run after HM is launched to be so, along with Stingy Payment, No Rare Salvage, (the setting with low salvage, can't recall right now what it's called), 8 Part Salvage, and Rare skilled Mechwarriors. Slow and Very Slow experience makes the game insufferable to me, so I'll pass that...

Mind you, this sort of thing is entirely for your own pleasure, as playing with these settings will likely cripple your score.
:shrugging emoji:
It's all about the challenge and/or roleplaying.

 

[naphouse]

During my last career, I imposed two rules: no precision shot, and only one pilot could use any particular mech. So the pilots you started with were locked to the starting mechs and when you acquired a new mech, you would need to get a new pilot for them. That rule made finding good pilots in the hiring hall all the more exciting throughout the entire game. It also prevented the inevitable 4x10 pilots in assault mechs by the end of the game, which I find somewhat boring.

In my next run I'm considering only being able to keep mechs in which you were able to salvage all the parts in one mission. All incomplete salvages would be sold for scrap. This would give you a good reason to actually make money, since you would be buying most of your mechs rather than building them from parts.

 

[Jamey]

Challenge.

Where to find the next BATTLETECH Career Challenge?

Self Imposed Lance Skull Restriction in a CT Destruction, Mortal MechWarrior, Ironman Career Mode Attempt.

If the Contract or FLASHPONT is 3 Skull Difficulty then I can only use a 3-Skull Lance in that Mission.


Does this mean my King Crab and Awesome spend most of their time in the Hanger?

It sure does. : )

But it gives the AI an edge. An edge that makes the game that much more fun for me.

Depending on how the next half dozen or so Missions go, I just might start spotting the AI a half Skull worth of Lance.


Has anyone tried something similar to this and sustained it for a whole Ironman Career?

I wonder where you got this idea.

I didn’t do it Ironman, but it was close enough. I never reverted to an earlier save, but I liked having them around as insurance in case something got corrupted.

I think this sort of plan makes BATTLETECH way more fun. Stomping mediums with your assault lance gets tiresome after a while. Matching the OpFor’s estimated strength gives you the opportunity to be outnumbered and outgunned in missions you’d just flatten with your primary lance.

 

[Eximar]

In my BT universe, Comstar has always required you to drop a lance that does not exceed the skull rating they give any contract.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

In my BT universe, Comstar has always required you to drop a lance that does not exceed the skull rating they give any contract.

Comstar, huh?

I am already enjoying the tailoring of my Lance to fit the various Skull Ratings to be found on each planet I visit.

I’ve pulled some of my Mediums and a second Light out of deep storage and kitted them out.

I’ve even begun to redistribute some of the +Weapons that had been hoarded by my King Crab, Awesome and pair of Orions.

Taking somewhat different Lances on Back to Back Missions is helping with the immersion as I am no longer using the same 5-Skull Lance to knock out 4 or 5 Missions in a single day.

All in all, the challenge is both refreshing and exhilarating. I had thought of setting this Career Attempt aside and starting another, since the 5-Skull Lance I’d built had removed an element of risk and danger. But given this latest challenge, I’ll stick with this Attempt a while longer. :bow:


Comstar... there’s got to be another angle here somewhere...

 

[Jamey]

All in all, the challenge is both refreshing and exhilarating. I had thought of setting this Career Attempt aside and starting another, since the 5-Skull Lance I’d built had removed an element of risk and danger. But given this latest challenge, I’ll stick with this Attempt a while longer. :bow:

This is exactly why I like self limiting like this.

 

[44th MAC|Bonsai]

I'll actually try this, sounds like fun. And since I already keep 1.5 lances of mediums and a full lance of heavies for flashpoints, I won't have to pull stuff out of storage. Maybe just train some more pilots, as I expect some more end up wounded or dead. (I know, I know, there IS a retreat-button, but I never used it before and will not start now! ;D )

This is actually a nice concept for using all the new toys we get in heavy metal without starting a new career, if one chooses to do so.

 

[Saila]

Challenge.



Has anyone tried something similar to this and sustained it for a whole Ironman Career?

Even more of that. I play ironman with everything on max (only 7 pieces for mech instead of 8). And when i got my mechwarriors 8/8/8/8 or higher, i end up giving away a whole scull of handicap to AI, excluding battle missions. There i go with equal sculls. So, probably, we can try a self-restriction on pilot skills. Like, you can distribute 30 points only, instead of 40.
Meanwhile, if you take greener pilots, and/or non-optimized mechs in combat, equal sculls work just fine. But when you have a Griffin, available of delivering 480 damage into enemy rear in 2 salvos and jumping away to cool off , or Stalker stuffed with ML`s and SRM's with three 15% heat exchangers, give AI a break

 

[smurfopax]

Did you activate Hard OpFor for your try? Because with hard OpFor i basically do exactly what you did, At least i struggle to do a 2 Skull Mission with Hard OpFor with a 2 Skull lance, when i don't want to spend half a month in the repair bay . Sure higher skull ones are possible but only with more dmg then i'm prepared to take.

How did you do it in your run when you got the first heavys? I often have the problem that i accumulate heavies really really fast when i got the first one, much faster then i collect reputation for the contracts. Do you just keep them in the bay then? And if yes how do you manage to have enough bay space to be able to choose the right mechs?

 

[CmdrBugbear]

In a previous career, I set a rule that when a pilot gets to 10/10/10/10, they are available for one final battle before 'retiring' (as in they were dismissed). And to close the loophole of just leaving the pilot at 10/10/10/9, my rule is that XP must be spent as it is acquired.

It would have been nice to have a second 'Honourable discharges' wall next to the Memorial wall.

(Off topic - another way to utilise maxxed out pilots would be to gift their excess experience to your lower ranked pilots, at a lower exchange rate of course i.e. a 4x10 pilot would gift 1000 XP, the 4x4 pilot would receive 250XP. Moddable?)

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Did you activate Hard OpFor for your try? Because with hard OpFor i basically do exactly what you did, At least i struggle to do a 2 Skull Mission with Hard OpFor with a 2 Skull lance, when i don't want to spend half a month in the repair bay . Sure higher skull ones are possible but only with more dmg then i'm prepared to take.

How did you do it in your run when you got the first heavys? I often have the problem that i accumulate heavies really really fast when i got the first one, much faster then i collect reputation for the contracts. Do you just keep them in the bay then? And if yes how do you manage to have enough bay space to be able to choose the right mechs?

Yes, Hard OpFor is activated, but then you begin to accumulate Heavy and Assault Mechs all the sooner too. Which is of course fun, but it hastens the acquisition of a 5-Skull Lance and the annihilation of the AI... the Silence of the AI... Clubbing AI Seals... you get the picture. : (

“A month in the Repair Bay”, It sounds like you might have started your Career Mode off with the self-imposed Rule of Skulls. I instead turned to the Rule of Skulls rather than set aside a Career Attempt where I already have 3 Assaults and a lot of Heavies. Plus my MechLab is all but fully upgraded. Even if a Lance gets beat up badly, ejections, missing limbs, etc - between Repair time and replacement Mechs I’d hardly skip a beat.

This was one of those Career Attempts where I salvaged an Assault before I even salvaged a Heavy. And my Awesome-8Q then became the linchpin of my success in acquiring the other Heavies and Assaults. I keep all three of my Assaults in Mech Bays, and I quickly settled in on a pair of Orions-Ks, two Thunderbolts, a Grasshopper, Griffin-2N, Centurion-A, Hunchback-4G, Firestarter. For a grand total of 12 Mechs, leaving 6 Bays empty (to save on monthly costs.) I added a pair of Wolverines and a second Firestarter back into the mix after Impicked up the Rule of Skulls.

For me, picking the right Mechs tends to revolve around a few stalwart cornerstones of my Mercenary Outfit. My LRM Stalker or my LRM Centurion serve as Fire Support. If I can afford to send my mixed Flamer/MG Grasshopper, I do. And then I fill in the blanks with 5/8 or 4/6 Mediums. The pair of Firestarters are there if needed but I am considering just ignoring anything less than a 3-Skull Contract at the moment, so Firestarter work May be hard to come by soon enough.

Like I said, this all has added an enjoyable twist to my earlier Career Attempts, and with HEAVY METAL less than a couple weeks away, it will most definitely keep me busy until the 21st! : )

 

[Eximar]

Comstar... there’s got to be another angle here somewhere...

Merc Review Board?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Merc Review Board?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve got no problem giving up Player Agency. If Markham has not died and I had not inherited his Marauders, then I would still be working for him.

Maybe as a Separate Lance Commander in his Company(+).

As such Markham could still be knocking out other contracts and upholding other Mech priorities, contracts and priorities for which he would need the larger Mechs.

Given finite resources (Mechs) it could be Company policy to ovoid Skull Overkill, matching Contract Skull with Lance Skull on a one for one basis. Tailoring Lances on this basis.


Hmm... not perfect, but it frames the Rule of Skulls quite nicely. : )

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Hmm... you know it isn’t lost on me that my attempt to “backstory” why I am using the Rule of Skulls is quickly approximating the Clan practices of Batchall and Zelbrigen.

And when it breaks down like that, “Honor” is so much a more fun and interesting basis than “Pragmatism.” :bow:



I know HBS has a whole lot to work through before it ever (IF it ever) gets to the Clans, Batchall and Zelbrigen. But I surely can’t wait! : )

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I've always tried to match skull vs lance rating in my playthroughs, or at least while I was growing a lance towards bigger mechs.

Actually, I'd hit above my weight class often (.5 to 1 skull higher) just to try and obtain heavier mechs faster.

I think the only time I do tend to play lower rates missions is when I need to train green pilots or try to earn quick cash.

I think matching skull to lance is just a good idea in general because it helps keep that challenge there.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

I've always tried to match skull vs lance rating in my playthroughs, or at least while I was growing a lance towards bigger mechs.

Actually, I'd hit above my weight class often (.5 to 1 skull higher) just to try and obtain heavier mechs faster.

I think the only time I do tend to play lower rates missions is when I need to train green pilots or try to earn quick cash.

I think matching skull to lance is just a good idea in general because it helps keep that challenge there.

BATTLETECH is at its best (IMO) when I have a Light Lance and I am reaching for that first Medium Mech. And then again when I have a Medium Lance and am reaching for that first Heavy Mech.

In an important way, the Rule of Skulls keeps this excitement and sense of risk alive and well for me.

 

[smurfopax]

Yes, Hard OpFor is activated, but then you begin to accumulate Heavy and Assault Mechs all the sooner too. Which is of course fun, but it hastens the acquisition of a 5-Skull Lance and the annihilation of the AI... the Silence of the AI... Clubbing AI Seals... you get the picture. : (

“A month in the Repair Bay”, It sounds like you might have started your Career Mode off with the self-imposed Rule of Skulls. I instead turned to the Rule of Skulls rather than set aside a Career Attempt where I already have 3 Assaults and a lot of Heavies. Plus my MechLab is all but fully upgraded. Even if a Lance gets beat up badly, ejections, missing limbs, etc - between Repair time and replacement Mechs I’d hardly skip a beat.
....

Not really, i'm halfway through my 6. Ironman Career and did a few without Ironman before (delted the saves at one point so no clue how many non ironman, because performance ^^) so i tried a few things. Some stuff i stopped because i got bored (4 lights, missles only), some stuff i stopped because it felt like work (mainly 8 parts) and now i'm settled with do missions as fast as possible with minimal dmg. But i always get my ass handed when i get to gready and want to headshot a specific mech, CT and High Alpha is the way to no dmg .
I really don't know what this game has that i start it up again and again. It's not really difficult when you got the hang of it, somehow it is a little bit lackluster (only a few maps and mission types) but i just can't stop playing it. Must be Battlemechs

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

BATTLETECH is at its best (IMO) when I have a Light Lance and I am reaching for that first Medium Mech. And then again when I have a Medium Lance and am reaching for that first Heavy Mech.

In an important way, the Rule of Skulls keeps this excitement alive and well for me.

I agree. I also like working towards that next class up mech. It's very rewarding.