Cheat :
Cheat mode:
Hold [Ctrl] + [Option] + [Shift] and type one of the following codes during game play to activate the corresponding cheat function.
Effect Code
Invincibility kent
Wireframe view clark
Destroy all enemies kaboom
End mission successfully putz
Destroy targeted Mech palex
Toggle heat tracking burr
Time expansion speedygonzales
Add jumpjets jumbo
Note: The "Invincibility" code must be enabled before using the "Destroy all enemies" code.Walkthrough :
This story takes place after the Truce of Tukkayid, around year 3058. No other
official BT product tells this story. You are a Ghost Bear trainee, and you
have just passed your Blooding, when...
*********************
4-WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY
*********************
Before the description of every single weapon and equipment, here is a brief
description of the categories.
+ Energy weapons: energy weapons uses massive amounts of electricty produced by
the 'Mech's reactor, and they can be fired without ammunition problems. This
advantage is balanced by the large amounts of waste heat that they produce: the
only way to dissipate this heat is to mount extra heat sinks, which compensates
for their relatively light mass and compactness. Range are firepower increases
in proportion.
+ Balistic weapons: these weapons must be fed by ammunition: this limits the
times the weapon can be fired, and ammunitions explode when struck by weapon
fire. They do not produce large amounts of heat, but are bulky and weight a
lot. Lighter models have a longer range but less firepower; heavier models have
more firepower than range, and carries less ammo.
+ Missile weapons: like balistic weapons they use ammunitions, and each
launcher fire a specified number of missiles in a single salvo.
Missiles are explosive, and they produce moderate amounts of heat. Damage is
spread among the whole target, and not concentrated like other weapons.
+ Equipment: this category contains the larger variety of accessories a 'Mech
can mount. They include alternative type of armors, heat sinks and EW
(Electronic Warfare) suites.
------------------
--ENERGY WEAPONS--
------------------
ER LASERS: ER means Extended Range, ad all Lasers (Light Amplificated through
Stimulated Emission of Radiations) belonging to this category have a longer
range than other types. They fire a single beam of colored light (blue=large
laser, green=medium laser, red=small laser), and the should be the basic weapon
of any 'Mechs. There is a bug about Lasers (both ER and Pulse versions): if you
fire them before the previous Laser beam finished its animation (a small smoke
cloud on the impact point), the lasers will miss. You can fire them once every
4/5 seconds without warning (heat excepted: for this you'll need heat sinks)
PULSE LASERS: Pulse Lasers fire two Laser beams, each one capable of dealing
amounts of damage equal to the ER Lasers' ones. However, if the first beam
hits, the second won't allocate damage (this represents the to-hit bonus of the
board game). They weight and take more space than the ER Lasers, have a faster
rite of fire but they can produce great amounts of heat if overused.
ER PPCS: the best weapon in the game. The PPC (Particle Projection Cannon)
fires a blue ball of particles subtracted directly from the 'Mech's fusion
reactor, producing great amounts of waste heat, but a PPC hit deals more damage
than any other energy weapon in the game. The range written in the istruction
booklet is wrong; a PPC can hit targets up to 1000 meters away.
FLAMERS: guess what? A flamer spits super-hot gases took directly from the
reactor. It has a very short range, do not allocate damage but increases
target's heat. It generates great amounts of heat and linking even two of them
together equals to immediate shutdown.
---------------------
--BALLISTIC WEAPONS--
---------------------
MACHINE GUNS: fast-firing ballistic weapons. They have a very short range and
large amounts of shells per ton, do moderate damges and produces no heat.
Basically useless, however.
LB-X AUTOCANNONS: shotgun-like ACs: the LB-X AC fires a series of projectiles
that separates themselves into smaller pellets to increase the to-hit
probabilities and to spread damage on the whole 'Mech. All ACs suffers of the
same bug that affects Laser fire, though this seems to be worst: some shots
will miss entirely even if shot in your enemies' chests.
ULTRA AUTOCANNONS: Ultra AC fires two rounds at once. They eat ammo with an
amazing rate, and in most cases the second round will miss for the bug I
written above.
GAUSS RIFLES: a balistic version of the PPC, though it doesn't produce
significant amounts of heat and fires further. The AC bug seems to affects the
Gauss Rifles less than the other ACs, however.
Gauss Rifle's ammo aren't explosive, but the Rifle itself is: when the Rifle is
truck by weapon fire it explodes in a smilar way to ammunition.
AMS: the Anti-Missile System is a rapid fire machine gun that targets, tracks
and engages incoming missiles. It eats ammo like someone who haven't eat for
one year, and it will engage ANY enemy missile flying near you, even if they
aren't addressed at you.
-------------------
--MISSILE WEAPONS--
-------------------
LONG RANGE MISSILES (LRM): all missiles in battletech are fired in salvos, and
LRMs come in 5, 10, 15 and 20 racks. Each ton of LRM ammo contains 120
missiles, and larger it's the launcher, shorter will be the lifespan of the
ammo bin: LRM-5 can be fired 24 times, LRM-10 12 times, LRM-15 8 times and
LRM-20 only six times. LRMs will lock on targets more than 75 meters away:
under this distance you'll have to manually aim them.
SHORT RANGE MISSILES (SRM): these missiles are fired "on iron sights", and
doesn't require a radar lock to be fires. Use them only if you are a good
gunner: missiles are slower than ACs and energy beams and have the same speed
of PPCs. SRMs come in 2, 4 and 6 missiles per salvo and each ton contains 100
missiles.
STREAK SRMS: advance SRMs: they have the same tracking equipment of LRMs, and
comes in the same dimensions of standard SRMs. They haven't the "75 meters"
problems of LRMs, though their range is max 497 meters against the LRMs' full
kilometer.
INFERNO SRM-2 and STREAK SRM-2: inferno rounds increases heat of the target if
they hit; they come in Streak and standard version, only in the simplest
version, and both don't allocate damage.
NARC MISSILE BEACON: the Narc is a heavily modified missile used to establish
solid locks for LRMs and Streak SRMs. The Narc fires a single missile with the
range of an SRM, and when the Narc hits the target the lock is always valid and
can be broken only if the target is destroyed.
TORPEDOES: torpedoes are maritime versions of SRMs. A Torpedo rack fires two
completely homing (will follow terrain features) but really slow. An hit from
two torpedoes usually destroys the target per hull breaching (read in the
walkthrough).
ARROW IV ARTILLERY MISSILE SYSTEM: the Arrow IV is the only artillery weapon
currently used by Clans, and fires one big missile at a maximum range of 2 KMs,
capable of destroying a 'Mech through direct impact and a 75 meters blast
radius.
-------------
--EQUIPMENT--
-------------
JUMP JETS: jump jets give the ability to jump and do quick turns to 'Mechs
mounting them.One jump jet occupies one critical slot, but the weight depends
on the 'Mech total tonnage: 0.5 tons for 20-55 tons 'Mechs, 1 for 60-85 tons
'Mechs and 2 tons for other 'Mechs. The number of installable jump jets equal
to the walking MP (to know the walking and running MP of a 'Mech, watch the
first numberof the walking/running speed; for example, a standard Firemoth has
a walking/running MP of 10/15 -the 162 kph is an approximation-, and a Nova a
5/8).
HEAT SINKS: one heat sink weights 1 ton and occupies one critical slot, and
dissipate one heat point.
DOUBLE HEAT SINKS: a Double Heat Sink weights one ton and occupies 2 criticals,
but dissipates 2 heat points. One of the greatest assets in 'Mech construction.
Numbers of Double Heat Sinks and standard Heat Sinks contained by an engine are
the same.
ENDO STEEL INTERNAL: it takes 7 criticals everywhere in the 'Mech, but cut in
half the internal structure of the 'Mech.
FERRO-FIBROUS ARMOR: the ferro-fibrous armor provides 19 armor point per 1 ton
ton of armor instead of the standard 16 points. It weights less but takes up 7
criticals everywhere in the 'Mech.
XL ENGINE: the standard engine takes only 6 criticals in the center torso, but
weights a lot. XL engine weights half than a standard engine of the same rating
but occupies 2 crtical slots in each lateral torso. Most of your configurations
will be cenetered around an XL engine. Number of heat sinks contained by the
engine doesn't change.
MASC: MASC (Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry) is used to put short bursts of
extra top speed when needed. The MASC's weight is based on 'Mechs weight. It
allows to have a top speed twice the standard walking MP (the normal runinng MP
is 1.5 times the walking MP) for about 15 seconds. After this period the MASC
automatically disengages itself for malfunction. You can re-use it, however,
and malfunction won't freeze your legs (as the MASC does in the board game)
CASE: Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment. It is automatically loaded where
ammunition or explosive equipment are. Usually an explosion damages all
internal parts of the 'Mech, and finishes it efects when the 'mech is destroyed
or the explosion has no force left, and spreads to other 'Mech locations. CASE
stops the explosion to the location where it originated. It doesn' occupy
critical space nor weights a kilogram.
ARM ACTUATORS: Useless. They take only critical space in the arms and do not
give nothing in exchange. In BattleTech they would be used for physical
attacks, and MW2 has only a strange version of the DFA to allocate physical
damage.
*****************
5-'MECHS BRIEFING
*****************
Notes: Inner Sphere 'Mechs can be used only in Istant Action missions, and can
be costumized only with Clan weapons, as Inner Sphere weapons aren't simulated
in the game.
The word "fragile" in a description means that I've found the 'Mech very
susceptible to lose its arms or other limbs; dunno why, maybe coders did it for
maximizing differencies between 'Mechs of the same tonnage.
New 'Mechs added in this expansion pack are marked with a (*).
---------------
--CLAN 'MECHS--
---------------
FIREMOTH
Mass: 20 tons
The fastest and less versatile 'Mech in its standard configurations, the
Firemoth is used for recon duties. It can be destroy by medium and heavier
'Mechs in one salvo, and its head section is quite large (though smaller of the
Jenner's one). Aim to the torso, destroy limbs is useless (if you want to
practice...)
KITFOX
Mass: 30 tons
The Kitfox is a good light 'Mech with speed, firepower and armor. Not a big
threat however. The Kitfox has limited torso twist abilities (about 60° total)
INCUBUS (*)
Mass: 30 tons
The Incubus is a good option to the Kitfox. It can twist its torso for 180° and
has an energy-based weaponry. It also carries a PPC, and has enough heat sinks
to use it efficently.
HORNED OWL (*)
Mass: 35 tons
Solid and armed only with energy weapons, the Horned Owl leads the category of
light 'Mechs with a winning combination of armor protection, speed and
firepower. Very dangerous when in groups.
JENNER IIC
Mass: 35 tons
A fast missile boat, this Clan version of the popular Jenner is very fragile.
It has a large head section and if you have some experience you should be able
to take it out with one direct hit. Dangerous only if you pilot a standard
Firemoth.
PHANTOM (*)
Mass: 40 tons
The Phantom is an extremely fast 'Mech, with few armor protection but a good
array of weapons.
NOVA
Mass: 50 tons
Things begin to get serious now. The Nova is jump-capable, with a good engine
and has 10 Medium Lasers and enough heat sinks to alternate their use in large
groups. It has limited torso twist ability, however (IMO less than 60° total).
It low profile also allow the 'Mech to hide with more efficiency behind hills
and buildings,
STORMCROW
Mass: 55 tons
An other damned good 'Mech. Faster than the Nova and with more rude firepower,
the Stormcrow can use all of its weapons without risking overheat. Other
variants are mainly missile boats with large missile racks and plenty of
ammunition. Very small head section, but full torso twist capability.
MAD DOG
Mass: 60 tons
The Mad Dog is a dedicated fire-support OmniMech. It cannot uses all of its
weapons in one salvo, however, in cannot handle heat in a very efficent way.
Primary config is the most flexible, but with limited ammo supplies for its
LRM-20s.
HELLBRINGER
Mass: 65 tons
The Hellbringer has a flexible array of weapons in all of its configs, though
every config generate too much heat for the heat sinks mounted. Normally it is
faster than the Rifleman IIC, though it is more fragile.
LINEBACKER (*)
Mass: 65 tons
Named from its hunched torso, the Linebacker is the third 65 tons 'mech in the
game, and is the best chassis from configrations: small and solid, the
Linebacker has a large engine making it one of the faster heavy 'Mechs in
existence. The basic configuration is good at any ranges, with two ER PPC that
can deal substantial damage to every 'Mech.
RIFLEMAN IIC
Mass: 65 tons
This 'Mech is slow, but has full jump capacity, and its four Large Pulse Lasers
are a threat even for assault 'Mechs. It is a solid 'Mech, better than the
relatively fragile Hellbringer. Its weapons are only-arm mounted, and a
Rifleman IIC without arms will try to escape.
GRIZZLY (*)
Mass: 70 tons
Grizzlys are used by Clan Ghost Bear by commander of PGCs (Provisional Garrison
Clusters). It packs a good long-range punch centered around one Gauss Rifle and
supplemented by a Large Pulse Laser and a LRM-10 launcher. The Large Pulse
Laser helps the other two Pulse Lasers in close combat, where the Gauss and LRM
would have problems in targetinf foes.
SUMMONER
Mass: 70 tons
The Summoner is the main Omni of Clan Jade Falcon. Every configuration is
specialized in one type of combat, and eveyone uses jump jets to obtain a bonus
in agility. Destroy ASAP.
TIMBERWOLF
Mass: 75 tons
The TimberWolf became the symbol of the invading Clans. Agile, excellent armor
protection, and ample firepower, the TimberWolf can be used in a variery of
roles in its primary config. Alternative versions are more specialized than the
standard version, but keep an edge over most 'Mechs.
GARGOYLE
Mass: 80 tons
The Gargoyle is fast as the TimberWolf, though it is 5 tons heavier. Such a
large engine limits the payload of this 'Mech however. A good choice for fast
assaults.
NAGA (*)
Mass: 80 tons
Developed to mount two Arrow IV artillery systems, the Naga is defenseless at
close range and has light amounts of armor. It is also fragile and has a very
large torso section.
WARHAMMER IIC
Mass: 80 tons
A good all-around 'Mech, the Clan version of the WarHammer has a relatively
fragile structure when compared to the Gargoyle.
WARHAWK
Mass: 85 tons
Aaah, the Warhawk. A 85 tons assault machine with 4 PPCs and an LRM-10 in its
standard configuration, and with 2 PPCs and 2 Large Pulse Lasers in the C
config. Unfortunately MW2 doesn't simulate the Targeting Computer, but the
unfilled space is used by Double Heat Sinks. A deadly machine, second only to
the Marauder IIC.
MARAUDER IIC
Mass: 85 tons
Maybe the best standard 'Mech in the game: it has 3 ER PPCs and a pletora of ER
Small and Medium Pulse Lasers a back up weapons, has enough Double Heat Sinks
to handle massed PPC fire, heavy armor and its standard engine drives it up to
60 kph. Maybe less versatile than a Warhawk, but it hasn't to worry for
ammunition explosions, while it standard engine increases surviability.
EXECUTIONER (*)
Mass: 95 tons
Nomen Omen. The Executioner has MASC and jump jets for superior mobility and
enough space to mount any kind of weapon. No one can match an Executioner in
single combat if piloted by a skilled MechWarrior.
DIRE WOLF
Mass: 100 tons
Slow (too slow for me) but heavily armed, the Dire Wolf (or Daishi, great
death, for the Inner Sphere) features an huge array of weapon system neraly
comparable to two Atlases, the most powerful Inner Sphere assault 'Mech. Its
weak point is its lack of maneuverability: faster 'Mechs can run to its back to
destroy the 'Mech in few well-placed salvos.
KODIAK (*)
Mass: 100 tons
The Kodiak is an other 'Mech used by Bear's PGCs. It is faster than other 100
tons 'Mechs, but has problems with heat buildup when all of its weapons are
fired together. Letal at short range, the combined firepower of 2 Streak SRM
6s, Ultra AC/20 and eight Medium Lasers is comparable, if not superior, to the
Annhilator's punch.
STONE RHINO (*)
Mass: 100 tons
More agile that the standard 100 tons 'Mechs thanks to its jump jets, the Stone
Rhino has ample long-range firepower with two Gauss Rifles and Large Pulse
Lasers. A soldi design, though its arms are a bit large for its chassis.
-----------------------
--INNER SPHERE 'MECHS--
-----------------------
RAVEN (*)
Mass: 35 tons
The only I.S. light 'Mech in the game, the Raven doesn't feature the advanced
EW suites that made it famous in the board game. Thin armor and virtually no
firepower, but fast.
HATAMOTO-CHI (*)
Mass: 80 tons
A durable BattleMech, the Hatamoto-Chi is a Combine reworking of the old
Charger, and reduces the engine rating for weapons and armor protection. A good
'Mech to be renocked with.
VICTOR (*)
Mass: 80 tons
An other good assault 'Mech, though I prefer the Hatamoto-Chi. Its Gauss Rifle
and four Medium Pulse Lasers can pose a great threat, however.
ANNIHILATOR (*)
Mass: 100 tons
Trading armor and speed for firepower, the Annihilator uses 4 LB 10-X ACs and
four Medium Pulse Lasers to destroy its enemies. Do not get too close to this
'Mech, or your armor plates will be eliminated in seconds, and internal
structure is more fragile than armor. The Annihilator is very slow (it's
maximum speed equal with the Atlas' and Dire Wolf's walking speed) and has
virtually no armor, however.
ATLAS (*)
Mass: 100 tons
The best I.S. assault 'Mech; the Atlas features large numbers of weapon systems
designed to compare their Clan counterparts, and the balance between armor
protection and firepower is lethal. Second only to the Clan 'Mechs for rude
firepower.
*******************
6-VEHICLES BRIEFING
*******************
MAIN BATTLE TANK (MBT)
The MBT uses a large array of weapons, mostly Gauss rifles and medium lasers
combined with SRM launchers. Take out the cannon's barrel will destroy its main
weapon, and without a threads t won't be able to move.
SRM CARRIER
The SRM Carrier is a small vehicle firing several SRM volleys in quick
sequence. Destroy it from afar and be sure to have an AMS if you need to close.
SUPPORT VEHICLE
A lighter version of the MBT. It usually armed with lasers, Streak SRMs or
small-caliber ACs. Very light armor. Usually attacks in groups of three or
four.
RECON COPTER
A copter with a spot light, no weapons an d light armor. Take them out just for
fun (¬_¬...).
GUNSHIP
A copter with two Medium Pulse Lasers mounted on stern turrets. Not heavily
armed, they can be easily destroyed by aiming at their tails or their main
rotor.
SUBMARINES
Naval vessels dedicated to deep-water operations. Subs won't pose a great
threat, but I always get annoyed by them and their radar contacts, so I enjoy
to sink it. Hard armor.
AEROFIGHTER
Unlike MW2, GBL has hostile AeroFighters, though they'll act like VTOLs:
they'll hover, they'll continue flying after a wing is destroyed and other
things that go against physics. They are armed with LRMs and Large Lasers with
a medium armor protection. Do not let them close or they'll hover your head
outside weapons range.
DROPSHIP
DropShips are used to take 'Mechs from space to planet's atmosphere. You can
see two types of dropships in MW2: the spheroid (Union-C and Overlord-C class)
won't pose a problem, as they won't fire back, but the aerodyne dropships
(Broadsword, Carrier, Titan and Claymore class) are heavily armed and armored.
The first class has one or two PPCs and one LRM-20 on a turret capable of 360°
turns, and can fire them freely, without risking dangerous heat buildup.
Useless to say that 'Mechs may be near them. The Claymore has two Large Lasers
on turrets and has less armor. There's only one Titan class Dropship in the
game and it's yours, so you need to pretect it. The Carrier is heavuly armed
and armored with some Large Lasers, missiles and full complement of AeroSpace
Fighters.
LARGE SPACE OBJECTS
Under this section there are only two vehicles: JumpShips and Space Stations.
The only JumpShip you'll see in the game is yours, while the Space Station has
four turrets plus some 'Mechs in it.
TURRETS
I know they aren't vehicles, but I'm putting them there. They come in a large
variety of shapes, tough every kind of turret is armed with an ER Medium Laser.
Very thin armor.
********************
7-FORMATION BRIEFING
********************
LINE ABREAST
This formation puts the leader (you) in the middle of an horizontal line: this
formation is the best for slow, secure advances and for maximizing firepower.
It also allows you cover side area without relative effort
LINE ASTERN
This formation puts the leader in the center of a vertical line. Basically a
good formation if you want to get killed by your starmates (the AI of your
starmates isn't good enough to tell them to do not fire when you are in front
of them...)
ESCHELON LEFT
This formation forms a diagonal line with the leader on the left and the last
starmate on the right, slighty behind it. I've never used Eschelon formations,
however.
ESCHELON RIGHT
A copy of the Eschelon Left, though the leader is on the right.
WEDGE
An other formation ideal to get killed by your starmates, especially if you
order to engage at will. Your stamates will position themselves into your right
and left rear targets, leaving you to freely direct their movements.
V FORMATION
The best formation. You are behind your lancemates, and this will allow you to
direct them with great efficiency and to do not get killed by their shots.
**************************
8-HOW TO COSTUMIZE A 'MECH
**************************
In this section I won't explain how to use the 'Mech Lab (the istruction
booklet exists for this), but some guidelines to create a powerful 'Mech.
First of all you need to choose the chassis; keep in mind that light 'Mechs
will be faster then heavy ones because you won't be able to mount large amounts
of armor and weapons due to weight limitations. Ideal speed for a light 'Mech
should be 6 or 7 (60/70 kph) for its walking speed, 5/6 for medium 'Mechs and 4
for heavy and assualt 'Mechs, though 70 and 75 tons 'Mech can have walk at 5.
Always choose an XL engine: though this will spread engine critical in the
lateral torsos, the XL engine saves enough tonnage for any kind of weapon; if
you are able to save enough tonnage for a standard engine, be sure to mount at
least the Endo-Steel internal, especially on heavy 'Mechs. Remeber that an XL
engine weights half of a standard engine, and you can increase the rating
(faster movement rate) with these four critical slots; unfortunately enough,
MW2 doesn't support critical division, and bulky weapons like Ultra and LB-X
AC/20s or the Arrow IV must be mounted in a single location, and for doing this
you'll need a standard engine or now lower arm and hand actuators. If you are
using XL engines, position ammos in the arms, this will save engine slots and
other torso-mounted equipment from dangerous explosions.
Now let's examine armor. Always assign the maximum armor points possible for a
single 'Mech, first in standard mixture and if you need more tonnage and you
have enough criticals left, switch to Ferro Fibrous. Note that if you assign
more armor points than a 'Mech can support (for example a 55 tons 'Mech can
support 12 tons of standard armor, but 7 points cannot be allocated for space
restrictions; read below), the computer will decrease the armor quantity to the
nearest tonnage allowing full allocation (usually a decrease of 0.5 tons only;
this means that our 55 tons 'Mech will find itself with 11.5 tons of armor;
however, point from the missing half ton have been used, and the computer
subtracted them to match armor weight and points: this subtractions is not
"clever" as the computer decreases the armor points of the first location it
encounters -head-, leaving only few armor points, then switch to the other
location and so one until all points have been subtracted). The maximum amount
of armor depends on the strenght of the internal structure: for example, 10
internal points means that you can assign up to 20 armor points. Head is the
only exception to this rule, and its internal structure has always three points
and can support 9 armor points; if the location is one of the three torso
sections, you have to spread armor points (always up to twice the internal
structure) from front and rear. I usually do not assign armor to rear areas (I
keep only 1 or 2 points) for single player missions, but having your back
unprotected during a multiplayer melee would be fatal...
Internal structure: always Endo-Steel. It cuts in half the weight of the
standard structure by keeping its original strenght; if you need weight, use
Endo-Steel before Ferro-Fibrous.
The equipment table shows four actuators (two for each arm): as they do not
give any bonus but they occupy critical slots, so remove them: You'll gain
critical space, but not tonnage. MASC can be useful, but using it and jump jets
is a waste of space. Jump jets are better as they give an higher movement
capability.
Jump Jets and heat sinks: if you use jump jets, mount them. If you do not use
them, you should try to use them. I doubt that MW2 assigns heat points to
movement actions, so jumping could be heat-free, not a bad thing after all.
Always use Double Heat Sinks. The standard 10 heat sinks provided with the
engine will cool down 20 heat points for free (provided they are inside the
engine; read below), and any other extra heat sink will dissipate 2 heat point.
An engine can contain a determinated number of single/double heat sinks: to
know it, divide the engine rating for 25, and round down. This means that
engines with a rating equal or superior to 250 will contain at least the 10
standard heat sinks; if you are using a smaller engine, the uncontained heat
sinks have to be allocated inside the 'Mech. You must have at least 10 heat
sinks, even if double heat sinks dissipate 20 heat point as standard. I am for
a number of heat sinks that equals or surpass the total number of heat points
generated by the 'Mech firing all of its weapons and moving at maximum speed
(again, I don't know if MW2 allocates heat points for movement, but...): add
the heat values for all weapons and add 2(heat for running speed) or a number
equal to the number of jump jets mounted on your 'Mech, then assign an equal
number of heat sinks. Remember that double heat sinks dissipate two heat points
each, and you should watch the second number (inside square brackets), not the
first.
Weapons. I can suggest to mount 3 PPCs, one LRM 10 with two tons of ammo and
fill the remainig space with heat sinks, but this subject is strictly personal
(IHMO). Missile boats can work, though you should mount at least an ER Large
Laser or four ER Medium Laser as back up weapon. Continuosly firing the missile
launcher will deplete ammo suppli in few minutes. Ballistic weapons, except the
Gauss Rifle, eats ammo at a very fast pace, and their usefulness is limited to
the first minutes of battle. If you use energy weapons, be sure to mount enough
heat sinks and to hold fire for a while when you are overheated; shutting down
in the midst of a battle isn't a good tactic. GBL introduced new weapons: the
Narc is ideal for missile boats and tema play. AMS should be mounted on every
'Mech with at least two tons of ammo, Inferno SRMs are pretty useless and the
Streak versions is the same. Torpedoes are used only in a single mission, and
they are maritime versions of Streak SRMs. The best thing of the torpedoes is
that they'll follow terrain and try to dodge natural obstacles. Arrow IV is one
of the worst thing in the game: though very long range firepower can be a good
thing, you'll need a very small standard engine for their weight and bulkiness,
and every ton has only 5 missiles. These missiles can be shot down by AMS, so
do not use them as standard weapon. Do not use them at all; artillery weapons
are dishonorable for Clan MechWarriors, and you won't get the kill if you use
Arrow IV.
*****************
9-GENERAL TACTICS
*****************
I think the most important thing is to have an effective weapon loads you can
use at 100%. Mounting various systems which wouldn't be used is a waste of
space and tonnage.
Keep you 'Mech moving. In MW2 enemies will usually outnumbers you, when not,
the enemies are usually elite pilots, able to hit even a jumping 'Mech straight
in the head (OK, this in exageration...). To improve you mobility, install jump
jets (at least three); use them to do quick lateral shifts and to evade an
obstacle when engaging something. You can also use them to perform DFA (Death
From Above) attacks, but it is very difficult to hit an other moving target and
won't allocate too much damage; it also possible to hit targets with weapons
while jumping:
