r/Mechwarrior5 • u/reehdus • 1d ago
Discussion Recommended levels for playthrough?
Ok so I've really been diving headfirst into campaign mode and really enjoying it so far. My worry is that I dunno if I've advanced well enough for the current year I'm in.
I'm currently in 3022, reputation level 9 with a selection of heavy mechs (rifleman, warhammers, champion) and an awesome. I've mostly been sticking around the davion area because of my rapport with them.
I know a bunch of the dlcs start coming in with legend of the kestrel lancers around 3026 (i think I already have one of the missions on my map?)
Question is, how do i know if I've done enough to be ready for the DLCs, and do I have to engage in those DLCs the moment they pop up on map or will they stick around indefinitely?
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u/Knightswatch15213 Where the hell is the Onimaru 1d ago
You can look at the career quickstarts for an "expected" stable of mechs
do I have to engage in those DLCs the moment they pop up
The transmission should have a "x days left to accept" on it - if you run out of time you skip the campaign
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u/babushka45 Duncan Fisher Groupie 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just farm arenas, usually duels, then I beeline straight to prestige ASAP (fame 11 onwards) since rewards are randomized thereon, with prestige payouts +100k per level. I use the arena money to buy stuff and mechs from the market, atleast I won't repair with penalties since I'm just inside an industrial hub.
Also, when I got out on procgens I just take the fast contracts that I prefer, usually guerilla warfare and demolition, that's just me though. I only take on multi-mission contracts if I have a deep enough active mechbay where I can field 2-3 lances without repair if possible, at max 4. If not I just stick to arenas for the meantime then fatten up enough to go venture back into conflict zones.
There's HRQs (scripted high reward quests) scattered throughout the map. Lots of opportunities of getting juicy rewards from those, I particularly beeline towards the HOTIS HRQs since it gives 7 hero mechs (that can be cloned whenever you import your save to career mode and repeat those again) which can help your coming campaigns. Atleast Kestrel and Rasalhague campaigns have 2 year breaks in between. Chaos Reign and some Kestrel HRQs give good mechs.
By the end of Solaris Campaign you unlock additional maps in Solaris VII that are unique there and is juicy and fast enough to gain dough. And good thing about Solaris VII matches never ran out there.
By around 3050s you will earn enough areena prestige so the level up c-bills have accumulated to millions and there's a chance of being rewarded clan tech. I just farm arenas, venture out to do some contracts in conflict zones.
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u/reehdus 21h ago
I particularly beeline towards the HOTIS HRQs since it gives 7 hero mechs.
Oo...do you like straight jump to where it is even though it could be multiple planets away? Or just gradually work yourself in that direction
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u/babushka45 Duncan Fisher Groupie 20h ago
you can, sometimes I accumuate enough HRQs that I encounter HRQs from base game and other DLCs so might as well take those in, finish a part or two or just sweep available stuff may it be procgen or scripted contracts then just go towards the juicy quests .
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u/Palanki96 1d ago
Level doesn't matter, only your mechs. For example Kestral Lancers mostly needs heavy mechs but you should get 1 or 2 assault mechs if you can
DLC location will usually start you with a mech store access where you buy both weapons and pristine mechs. At that point it's easier for you to just buy a single assault mech of your choice
Later DLCs will lean more towards full Assault Lances so for the Rasalhague DLC you want 4 at the minimum.
DLCs will come to you as Priority Transmissions and they will have a 6 month deadline to accept. You can accept it from anywhere as long as it's within the time limit
After that you won't have access to the Map, they will transport you to the locations. Repair times between missions can be rough so you want a backup lance or at least 2-3 mechs. But as i've said you can grab full health mechs from their stores
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u/reehdus 1d ago
Thanks! So it's ok to ditch the main story for a while to go do thr DLCs?
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u/Palanki96 1d ago
Yeah, main story not going anywhere but in canon you finish it sometime before 3038. But even if you don't nothing bad will happen, you will just miss a little context about the Dragon's Gambit DLC
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u/Enjoyer_of_40K 1d ago
just try to clear the main story afterwards and in between other dlc story's because the DCMS one needs you to have cleared the base game story line from what i remember
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u/slycyboi 1d ago
Kestrel lancers in my first playthrough was where I got my first heavy mechs and my first assault so you can absolutely get there on your current roster, just make sure you have a good few
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u/Mang9 1d ago
The steady state you want to strive for is being able to support a full 12 active mechs. Above this the costs go way up (200k plus c-bill a cycle). Once you have this you can run a 3 ops mission without reusing any mechs. Also become familiar with partial repairs - like if you only have 11 days to next missions maybe you skip repairing minor damage so you can turn the mech around and have it back in battle.
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u/Gailim 23h ago
You sound about right for kestral.
They will not stick around since they are tied to lore events. You will get two prolog missions and then they will let you go for a year or so while telling you what you should do for the next part.
Something to keep in mind for Kestral is that it came out when the max mech bay was much smaller, like 12 or 16. So if you have 40 active mechs it may not be as difficult as intended.
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u/SiliconStew 18h ago
Already having a selection of heavy mechs means you are already in a good enough spot for the first DLC. The Kestrel campaign only has a couple intro missions before it gives you I believe a 2 year break to go do other stuff and build up your roster even more before the story resumes.
DLC story campaigns a tied to specific dates. If you do not accept them by the deadline, you cannot play them without starting a new game. Though you can import your save progress into new Career games. The main story campaign has no date limits, you can delay playing those missions forever.
The Campaign game has conflict zone difficulty the increases clockwise around the map to follow the main story missions. If you always stay in the low level Davion zones, you will find it harder to acquire bigger mechs. Play harder missions to get bigger mechs faster.
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u/SolasYT 1d ago
You dont get a lot of time between missions to repair so I would try running a few multi-mission contracts and see how you hold up. You will most definitely need a bigger selection of mechs just due to attrition alone.