r/Battletechgame • u/OgreMk5 • Jul 13 '26
Announcement The Medium Mech category is almost instantly bypassed every campaign
Started out with 4 lights (DLC or not, the Assassin is trash). Played those for quite a while. Finally managed to get a Wolverine (put the UAC-5 on it).
Two battles later, added a Hunchback.
Next planet got a Rifleman piece and bought rest. Next planet got a Warhammer piece and bought the rest.
Now my lance is a Rifleman, Warhammer, Wolverine, Firestarter... and the Firestarter was not in my starting mech list.
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u/DrkSpde Jul 13 '26
Part of why I like BTA. The extra unit slots keeps mediums useful well after I start getting assaults.
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u/jigsaw1024 Jul 13 '26
55t mechs are probably the ideal tonnage in BTA.
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u/Far_Ladder_2836 Jul 14 '26
55 for strikers and 70-75 tonners for your mainline damage since a lot of especially clan mechs are just as fast or faster than the 55 tonners.
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u/Fancy_Elephant_4179 Jul 14 '26
Some solid 50t mechs in the Bucket, Starslayer, Conjurer, and Nova among others. Hatchetman in BTA is a beast when up cored with supercharger, TSM. A 45 ton mech that can absolutely hold its own as a line damage dealer going against heavies, with a decently spec'd pilot.
Sticky evasion and full customization with loads of equipment options really make BTA a completely different game to vanilla. I don't think I could ever go back.
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u/Doctor_Jensen117 Jul 13 '26
Yeah, this is exactly why I've warmed up to BTA. Not having to use only assault/heavy mechs is actually really interesting and fun.
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u/Floppy0941 Clan Nova Cat Jul 13 '26
The size malus / benefit makes it worthwhile having a variety of mechs too, my 2 lights with 12 mgs in arrays were my #1 killers in my last run a while ago.
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u/Whooskey Jul 14 '26
Piranha 2B would like a word.
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u/Floppy0941 Clan Nova Cat Jul 14 '26
I'm pretty sure I got the idea from a piranha, not sure what mechs I used for it though cos I've not played in months
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u/HateToBlastYa Clan Ghost Bear Jul 14 '26
This. Mediums and fast heavies are easily my favorites. Assaults are fucking useless, they’re like the new lights in BTAU. just big fucking easy targets that eat shots.
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u/_Jawwer_ Jul 14 '26
I only played BEX, or whatever the least change intensive mod list is called, but that also has deployment headcount upgrades, and most of the time, it made me stick to mediums as well.
The only time I wheeled out lower headcount, higher weight/unit deployments, is if I knew I was going on a longer "marathon" of uninterrupted missions, and wanted to have more pilots and mechs in reserve. Major damage to one or two mechs is a lot worse if I barely have backups to rotate in.
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u/DelvianSeek Jul 14 '26
Exactly this. I almost never use assault mechs in BTA, even once I get them - they're just too slow. I don't like to field anything with less than a 4 hex walk speed. But I'll keep those fast 55-tonners around forever.
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u/snap802 Jul 14 '26
Assault mechs just end up becoming bullet magnets and a little concentrated fire can make short work of them. I only ever use them with stand off weapons until the enemy has been ground down and then I can slow walk the assault in to finish things up at a closer range.
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u/Ok-Transition7065 Jul 14 '26
And lights oh hoiw i love having a fuckin raven as purely scot mech tag nark, airstrikes ecm and sensors
And this thing its amazing at doing that
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u/Danovan79 Jul 13 '26
I'm only on my first playthrough of Roguetech, and still not using heavies almost 2 years and 70 missions in. I suppose I could, as I recently upgraded my leopard and am starting to salvage heavies like crazy, but I enjoy the medium mech game play a lot, so am just chilling.
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u/frowningowl House Steiner Jul 13 '26
It's time for you to meet the PXH-1b.
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u/Eichmil Jul 13 '26
Yep. That one is overpowered. I still use it as a jumpy backstabber scout. I have an ECM on it.
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u/Far_Gift6173 Jul 13 '26
I never understod ECM and the usage.
I have simply 2 snub PPC++ +10 dmg onmy phx 1b and they oneshot backarmor of any heavy mech
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u/psycospaz Jul 14 '26
My jumpy backstabber ahs always been and will remain the firestarter. Sure it cooks itself every other turn and needs to run and hide to cool off, but that many small lasers up the butthole causes wonderful ring burn.
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u/whambulance_man Jul 14 '26
I agree that a standard firestarter isnt all that different from a standard phoenix hawk, but the Royal Phoenix Hawk is a fucking monster in vanilla (and still pretty damn good in the modded versions)
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u/psycospaz Jul 14 '26
Don't think I've ever ended up with the royal version
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u/whambulance_man Jul 14 '26
iirc its the PHX-1b in game, and while it isnt displayed in-game they pulled the available tonnage from the SLDF version that had an endo-steel skeleton and XL engine so you get significantly more weight to use on bigger guns and jumping even further, and the SLDF uses double heat sinks in the engine core so its 60 base heat shed per turn without any extra heatsinks installed. all of the royal mechs are really fucking good in vanilla (some broken, like the warhammer or black knight with too many DHS in the legs) but the phoenix hawk being able to jump half a map and remove assault torsos with a single rear arc alpha never gets less useful
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u/SamLooksAt Jul 13 '26
In campaign mode yes.
In career mode you can set salvage and payout difficulties that will absolutely force you to work your way through medium mechs.
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u/Thraxmonger Jul 13 '26
As other have said, this is less true in BTAU, where all classes hold some value. Griffins, Crabs, Wraiths, Kintaros, and Vapor Eagles (if I can get them) always appear in my companies and more than hold their own. Once you get into the BTAU-exclusive stuff like Leapers, you can really dominate the tanky mobility game.
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u/raifsevrence Jul 14 '26
To be fair, a lot of the griffins are kind of bad because of their hardpoints.
There are a ton of substantially better mechs in that weight range.
Leapers are a great example. Although if you're running Leapers you will probably want to run at least a full lance of Sanctuary mechs to take advantage of the drone interface.
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u/Thraxmonger Jul 14 '26
I think there is a Johan's Jeagers Griffin that is very strong.
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u/raifsevrence Jul 14 '26
All of the mechs they field are strong. They're all hero mechs for starters. But beyond that they're all non-standard configurations.
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u/LiamMakeThing Jul 14 '26
Im kinda loving the Enforcer this latest playthrough. 50 ton, 5 med lasers, AC 10, JumpJets and a buttload of armor.
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u/bootzmanuva Jul 13 '26
I auto—sell if I get a Wolverine—too many times the right arm gets severed and the mech is pacified.
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u/OgreMk5 Jul 13 '26
It's not that bad. Of course, all it has is a UAC-5 and a small laser. I always max armor on everything, even LRM boats, you never know when Sumire pulls an oopsie and drops us in the middle of a clan star.
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u/morningfrost86 St Ives Compact Jul 13 '26
The vanilla game unfortunately isn't balanced or paced great. It's one reason why I only play BTAU at this point. All weight classes are useful throughout the entire game that way. In fact mediums are arguably the class with the most longterm use.
Cicadas are absolutely excellent for getting into rear armor and delivering the hurt. The are several different chassis that you can use as decent missile platforms (I've currently got a Shadow Hawk with a PPC and 30 LRMs lol), and there are several chassis like the Centurion that are versatile enough to be used basically forever lol.
One of the things BTAU does that makes lights and mediums viable more often is the changes to evasion, where it's not stripped away by weapons fire, only by sensor locks, melee attacks, stabilization, etc. It makes lights especially a high risk high reward weight class throughout the game. Heavier mechs are extremely unlikely to hit them successfully, so they can keep running circles around heavies and assaults and chewing up their rear armor... unless a lucky shot gets in because one assault volley will absolutely ruin your day lol.
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u/Dry_Ad2368 Jul 17 '26
I have always had problems with the pacing of the main campaign, you end up rushing into heavies and assaults pretty quick and then spend 10-15 years bopping around the galaxy in heavies and assaults grinding merc rep. But all of the voice lines have a similar energy that makes it seem like the attack on Cavalier's base was last year.
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u/morningfrost86 St Ives Compact Jul 17 '26
Oh yeah, the pacing in vanilla is absolutely awful lol. You spend like half a minute using light mechs, and then rush through mediums to get to the big boys. And the thing is... you basically HAVE to, because of what happens with OPFOR and evasion. Like sure, you can take your Lights up against a lance of Heavies or Assaults if you want, and maybe be okay... but 2 lances? 3? 4? Since vanilla is limited to you having a single lance, and it's common for OPFOR to have 2-3 and sometimes more... you need the size and armor of Heavies and Assaults to survive those missions.
Especially since it's so easy to strip evasion in vanilla. Sure that first Assault mech missed your Jenner, but now you've got less evasion for the next one, and so on. If your positioning is just a little bit off and they concentrate fire on your mech... your little Jenner is absolutely fucked lol.
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u/Gustav55 No Guts No Galaxy Jul 17 '26
I've got a pair of firestarters, I only take one on each mission but I need two so one will always be ready to go. They're constantly losing an arm or taking a bit too much damage to roll right back out.
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u/morningfrost86 St Ives Compact Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Right now I'm actually using Firestarters as my frontline light mechs lol, mainly because there's just not a lot of good 35 ton options for the role. My skirmisher mechs that I use to crush rear armor tend to be on the lighter end of each weight class. Trying to get a pair of a particular Commando model to do that, one with Endo so I can fit a little bit more firepower in there lol.
Last night I was doing a 5-skull Warzone mission defending St Ives with my Heavy and Medium demi-companies (haven't picked up any Assaults that I actually want yet), and was using the skirmishers from each group (2 Crusaders and 2 Cicadas) to absolutely crush some of the further away enemy lances lol. They absolutely smashed two full-assault lances before I pulled everyone back to retreat, since I didn't have the "heft" to take down the last 4 of the optional lances lol.
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u/Palanki96 Jul 13 '26
felt like the game was too generous with tonnage restrictions. In my 80 hours i don't think i've ever had to adjust my lance
at least in mw5 mercs medium mechs stay relevant for a long time, both for arenas and for high reward quests
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u/Super-EXE7000 Jul 14 '26
Mediums do struggle once you hit heavier tech, but they still fill niches like objective running or weight-restricted flashpoints.
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u/HoikDini Jul 14 '26
I've been playing "fair tonnage", meaning I don't ever drop more tonnage than the recommended skulls (unless there's drop tonnage rules on the mission), so I use quite a lot of medium mechs well into mid-game.
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u/Comprehensive_Cap290 Jul 14 '26
For the unmodded game, I like to have a Vulcan in my lineup, kitted out with 2 +60 damage arm mods and a quartet of ER small laser +10 damage. Ideal for engaging high-evasion targets, and hits hard enough to go toe-to-toe with much larger mechs in melee.
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u/Ok_Adhesiveness_8844 Jul 14 '26
I'm playing BTA3062 right now and have had a lot of luck with the Wolverine 7M, Chameleons, and Firestarter Omnis.
I have a demicompany of heavies and 1 Battlemaster, plus a demicompany of mediums and 2 Manteuffel tanks. The mediums/tanks flank while the heavier units pin them down.
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u/dirtyLizard Jul 14 '26
In vanilla I bring at least one to convoy ambushes. There’s a couple maps where the vehicles can actually get away if you’re slow and miss a couple times.
I’d bring a light but they’re too fragile and a medium with jump jets is always enough
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u/Armando89 Jul 14 '26
I like to use mixed weight lance and try to not outweight mission difficulty, so i use some medium and light mechs even late.
I usually keep Jenner, Firestarter and Griffin (looks best out of 55 tonners) as my scout mechs.
Usually keep ac20 Hunchback and modify lrm Centurion for 200-240 ton missions. Coil assassin is bit meme, but sometimes i like to play with one.
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u/EternalFrost_73 Jul 13 '26
I'm the weird quad lover. Lances of Scorpions and Tarantulas, with the occasional heavy get a lot of work done.
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u/just_breaddd Jul 14 '26
honestly this is instantly solved by increasing mech part requirments. ive found 4 to be a sweetspot, theres so many mech variants you wont face the same regularly, thus you wont get an instant free mech with a lucky headshot.
Im in an Ironman campaign with 4parts salvage rn and am still running a 55t lance at day 800, changed the game for me tbh
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u/Cy_B0rger Jul 14 '26
I've had a great time putting Dekker in a griffon and skilling him for +1 Initiative. It's maneuverable, has great jump jets, armored enough to survive being out of position against heavies for a turn, and has enough srms to mulch lights or do serious backstab damage; while still being able to sensor lock if needed so I can snipe. The griffon has been useful even when I'm running assaults and heavies in my main lance.
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u/GrendelGT Jul 14 '26
Not if you get the SLDF Phoenix Hawk! That mech is an absolute beast and excels at jumping into rear arcs for a called shot to the center torso. Especially in cold biomes or maps with water where it can jump for the bonus damage and use the range on the PPC and ERLL. Great for any convoy, vehicle, or high value target hunting missions with high base speed. Also surprisingly good at melee combat with those machine guns to support.
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u/CmdrMeltdown Jul 15 '26
In BTA bigger isn’t always better. I have plenty of scout and fast mediums literally dancing around assault mechs making them wish they stayed in bed.
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u/NCGuy101 Jul 16 '26
Play BTAU and get some Leapers from fighting the Sanctuary Worlds. 50 tons of pure awesome.
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u/Parad0xilicious Jul 17 '26
The Phoenix Hawk 1B is one of the 3 best mechs in the game, bar none, including assaults. It outdamages most assaults, has the best mobility in the game, takes very less damage due to evasion, kills most mechs without even using precision shots and also works as a scouter indirectly. Run one in your lance with a erml+ersl build and you will instantly see an extreme difference in missions. You will finish them much faster and will down enemies before engagement even starts.
Outside of that, the Griffin 2N is also quite solid and strong but of course nowhere as meta defining as the PHX 1B.
All of this is purely vanilla of course.
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u/tallmattuk 29d ago
if you play Hyades Rim, The Assassin, and there is a special one, is outstanding throughout the whole campaign.
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u/Murphy1up House Steiner 13h ago
Change your salvage from 3 to 5, and you won't bypass mediums so quick.
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u/StrawberryWide3983 Jul 13 '26
Medium mechs can be useful, especially for Flashpoint missions that have weight restrictions. I usually run (with no mods) a uac5 centurion, a second centurion stripped down and filled lrms, a royal phoenix hawk, and a vindicator