MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries (0)

Overview

Developed by Cyberlore Studios and published by Microsoft, Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries is a standalone expansion to The game mirrors Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries with the ability to manage a mercenary company.

Campaign

In MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, you lead lances of into combat for private and House contracts for C-bills. Players assume the role of "Spectre" a fledgling mercenary 'Mech pilot, as he attempts to start up his own mercenary company and achieve riches and fame. The player must choose one of four established mercenary units as a sponsor.

• : One of the most famous mercenary companies, companies sponsored by the Dragoons start with Clan technology and have greater purchasing power of Clan tech. However they start with the least amount of money and Clan tech is very expensive.
• Kell Hounds: Another famous mercenary company and a potential employer and ally in future missions, companies sponsored by the Kell Hounds have early access to Clan tech but do not start with it like the Dragoons do.
• Northwind Highlanders: A mercenary group with a Scottish ancestry, companies sponsored by the Highlanders start with more money and earn 20% more C-bills each mission.
• Gray Death Legion: A mercenary unit in the process of rebuilding, companies sponsored by the Legion gain early access to Lostech weapons and have greater purchasing power of these weapons

The gameplay is based on using the money you earn by completing contracts to purchase new 'Mechs and weapons for you and your lancemates. Your weekly costs to repair 'Mechs and drop into missions will increase based on the weight and number of your 'Mechs, but more advanced missions require heavier equipment, so striking a balance is very important in the campaign. The Free Market is introduced, allowing players to buy or sell unwanted 'Mechs and weapons. Players can now command a secondary lance, allowing up to eight 'Mechs to participate in a mission. Furthermore there is Solaris VII, a 'Mech fighting sport planet that the player can participate in to earn more C-Bills and gain points towards Steiner or Davion factions.

There is a point system in this game's story similar to in other games. When you take a mission you will earn points toward either or Davion loyalty in the FedCom civil war. After a certain point it will be impossible to keep taking missions from both sides of the war and your unit will be forced to choose an allegiance to one side or the other.

The ending of the game's campaign varies depending on which side of the civil war you have decided to support, as your help will ultimately sway the outcome of this conflict. Players who chose to side with Steiner have access to two endings, making a total three possible endings. Regardless of which ending the player takes, the story ends with an ominous warning about the Word of Blake invasion. To date, there has been no continuation of this story in the form of another game, though various novels in the universe have explored story elements of the years after the events in the game.

Free Release

On the 25th Anniversary of BattleTech, Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries became free to play via the . MekTek also provides the servers for multiplayer and also released the MekTek MechPak 3.1, a large mod adding an additional Mechs, Power Armors, weapons and more. MechPak 3.1 is required to play on MekTek servers.

New 'Mechs

Mercenaries contains all the 'Mechs from and as well as 10 new 'Mechs for a combined total of 36 'Mechs. Mercenaries also contains data from the and s although the 'Mechs are unplayable if the Mech Paks are not installed. Furthermore, the 'Mechs from the Clan and Inner Sphere 'Mech Paks cannot be salvaged or bought in the campaign and can only be played in Instant Action and Multiplayer. Including the 'Mechs from the 'Mech Paks, Mercenaries contains a total of 44 playable 'Mechs.

Light

Medium

Assault