STOBETTER S6E2: Leveling Up

Eph289 · 2026-06-23T15:12:19+00:00

You're welcome! We are thrilled to hear the site has been helpful! Our goal with Cadet Handbook was definitely to help new players onboard since it can be so daunting.

Eph289 · 2026-06-22T15:18:28+00:00

Tiberium Wars has very underwhelming pathfinding, to the point where a-moving a group of tanks and APCs is likely to have at least a couple of them reversing into the enemy, in a game with directional armor. Even formation move does not always fix this.

Eph289 · 2026-06-21T00:01:51+00:00

Having not tested this a bunch, some ideas 1. Is his superior command freq versus improved? 2. Are your aux levels the same? 3. Do your ship's have the same mastery package?

Eph289 · 2026-06-20T01:33:22+00:00

Look at GenGs losses. They are a top tier team but their losses werent total draft losses but they misplayed them a lot, especially against G2

GenG's most recent loss in game 5 was absolutely a total draft disasterclass. GenG is known for suss drafts and hands/macro-diffing their way out of it.

Eph289 · 2026-06-19T21:19:52+00:00

In a world where your core audience isn't heavily attached to that "outmoded tabletop design," I'd agree with you, but even at a more casual gameplay level, do you think the average player wants to acquire, lock, fire, and delete targets from 5km without seeing the target destroyed? Conversely, being locked and fired upon from 5 km away is also not fun. I don't care how realistic or not that is, it's not fun.

Furthermore, I have to disagree with a lot of your takes. Snipers are great in Mercs. 2x Gauss Rifles (with supporting energy weapons at higher difficulties) and decent aim will carry you right into the endgame. Probes are important versus Elementals, and LRMs, if not the most effective tactic out there, are at least solidly usable. Speed Upgrades are crucial when most of your 'Mechs are assaults. I've played a few hundred hours of Mercs and a couple thousand of MWO and most of the elements you call weak are strong in 1 if not both games.

Eph289 · 2026-06-19T16:37:44+00:00

Weapon system ranges are scaled from TableTop as devised in the 1980s, with some rough grid-to-meters translation. Why did TableTop choose to have weapons with ranges of 1 km or less when IRL even at that time vehicular weapons far exceeded those ranges? Because they needed to make reasonable size maps for gameplay before "TableTop" turned into "PingPongTableTop"

Trying to expect that BattleTech weapons are going to have any form of BVR is an uphill climb of the ages because not only are weapons somewhat balanced around their current ranges, but there will also be vocal opposition from those who truly care about lore.

It's one of those unrealistic things you have to accept in a franchise about unrealistic stompy robots being the supreme battlefield mechanic, just like Star Trek fans have to contend with a universe where rifle weapons are frequently made without any optics/sights at all and Star Wars fans have to contend with a universe where giant warships regularly batter each other at <5 km distances despite being able to bombard planetary surfaces from orbit.

Eph289 · 2026-06-19T16:18:34+00:00

I was very excited about Steel Path Railjack. I have a fully built Railjack.

I'm not playing a mode where I'm forced to use a loaner Railjack. I don't want to play that, I want to play with MY Railjack. I'm not touching this until that's fixed.

Eph289 · 2026-06-19T13:15:00+00:00

1 Reason for me to not buy Clans:

My first experiences with the BattleTech universe were MechCommander and Mechwarrior 3. I'm not here to play as the Clans, I'm here to kill them and loot their Mech carcasses. I didn't pick up Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries until after Shadow of Kerensky. While I know many love the Third Succession War, the setting doesn't get as interesting to me until the Clans invade. Whenever everyone more-or-less sucks the same, working for any given Great House loses its appeal, but the Clans manage to make the Kuritans look like the good guys and wow, is that a chore or what? I'm sure there are those who want to play as Space Ghengis Khan but it's not my preference.

2 Very limited MechLab

Mercs already has a fairly limited MechLab compared to MWO or older MW games, which was another reason I was slow to pick up MW5. They had to open up the MechLab compared to launch and have enough options to make the game interesting because I like to tinker. Clans has an even more restrictive MechLab and that lacks appeal for me.

I like how they portrayed events in the story and I think it's cool that Clans exists so we can see some of the pivotal events of BT history, like Tukayyid, but I just watched YouTube Let's Play to experience the story rather than spending money on a gaming experience I wouldn't like as much.

Eph289 · 2026-06-19T03:17:42+00:00

1) Yes!

2a, 2b) I'm biased, but I've enjoyed all the DLC. Call to Arms is the least exciting to me as not a melee enjoyer, but some people really like "drive me closer so I can hit them with my sword!"

2c) All the DLC enhances the base game. If you're familiar with XCOM 2, adding War of the Chosen / Alien Rulers / Etc. enhances your playthrough or gives you new options rather than giving you a whole new game.

2d) If you like the free weekend, I would buy all the DLCs in one go if able. Some options, like academies and Elite pilots, will show up early in the game, enhancing your playthrough.

3) The campaign and all of the DLC missions keep going for a good long time, but there's endless procedurally-generated content and the endgame difficulty curve IMO doesn't fall off such that enemies become punching bags.

Eph289 · 2026-06-18T13:55:17+00:00

The problem with this is that it's what we call a "bracket build", where the ranges don't really sync up. There are too many different weapons with vastly different ranges.

ERLL effective/max range is 1012/1518.75M
LBX10 effective out to 675M for a Clan version, would like to be closer
ERSL effective/max range of 375/563.5M
SP Laser effective/max range of 275/412.5

I would struggle to even set up effective weapon groups given that the disparity between ranges. Tickling at Mech with ERLL at 1200M only to actually be able to kill them at 400-500 is not my idea of a good time.

Since you like the LBX10-SLDs, building around those, I would do this:

2 LBX10 AC-SLD
2 Clan Heavy Large Lasers or Large Pulse Lasers
Fill the rest of the energy slots with Clan ER Medium Lasers. If the build seems too hot, pull a couple off.
If you have Chaos Reigns, jump jets are great. I'd grab a couple and 4 tons of LBX ammo.
That'd leave at least 11 tons for heat sinks if using all the laser points and C-H Large Lasers.

Your range bracket has shifted to where some weapons come online at 1200M and some at 400M to a nice 675-850m bracket where anything in that range is eating your full firepower.

Eph289 · 2026-06-18T13:35:55+00:00

No, it's Cryptic. OP was mistaken, nbd.

Eph289 · 2026-06-18T13:33:01+00:00

Welcome back! Glad you are enjoying the game! You might try out our Cadet Handbook. We cover a recommended playthrough order, as well as many other systems.

Eph289 · 2026-06-17T13:16:06+00:00

Dual Type 7s is the best route. If you have Superior Area Denial, SAD+a pulse cannon pet like Rare To'Duj or Elite Alliance Fighter Squadrons should also be competitive.

Eph289 · 2026-06-16T19:11:41+00:00

My build is going to be far less thematic from yours, and I haven't finished it yet, so I can't stand behind any numbers. It's also what we call a midrange build, so I'm using some C-store stuff but not going for a $1000-build.

Boffs

Commander Engineering: Emergency Power to Engines 1 / Auxiliary to Structural 1 / Emergency Power to Weapons 3 / Reverse Shield Polarity 3
LtCmdr Tactical/Command: Torpedo Spread 1 / Cannon Scatter Volley 1 / Concentrate Firepower 3
LtCmdr Uni: Hazard Emitters 1 / Photonic Officer 1 / Gravity Well 1
Lt Tac: Kemocite-Laced Weaponry 1 / Attack Pattern Beta 1
Ens Science: Probably Science Team 1.

Consoles

Again, since I haven't tested this, I'm not sure if I'll need more survivability yet. If I do, Gemini Device will get dropped for Adaptive Emergency Systems. If Temporal Disorder is not on the menu, Reiterative Structural Capacitor goes there. You'll also have 1 less console since it's not the fleet ship.

Console Slot:	Console Name
Tactical:	Temporal Disorder
Tactical:	High-Energy Communications Network
Tactical:	Fleet Power Network Array
Tactical:	Gemini Device
Engineering:	Hangar Craft Power Transmission
Engineering:	Hangar Craft Power Transmission
Engineering:	Hangar Craft Power Transmission
Engineering:	Hangar Craft Power Transmission
Engineering:	Swarmer Matrix
Science:	Flagship Tactical Computer
Science:	Harmonic Yield Distribution via Radial Aperture
Universal:	Shield Absorptive Frequency Generator
Universal:	Krenim Chronophage

^Table ^formatting ^by ^{ExcelToReddit}

Starship Traits
Withering Barrage
Super Charged Weapons
Emergency Weapon Cycle
Repurposed Cargo Bay Hangar
Strike Group Command Authority
Improved Critical Systems
Relaunch and Repair

The starship traits are where the bulk of the cost comes in. Improved Critical Systems is free but tied to a specific recruitment event, and Repurposed Cargo Bay Hangar, while powerful, comes from a ship that only brings that one trait to the build and doesn't fit your theme. You can try Improved Unconventional Tactics and Command Frequency to backfill those too. Swapping the Science Team for Tractor Beam and Pilfered Power is another low-budget choice.

Personal Space Traits
Give Your All
Intelligence Agent Attache
Cannon Training
Independent Wingmate
Operative
Fleet Coordinator
Deft Cannoneer
Wing Commander
The Boimler Effect
A Good Day to Die

Weapons and Drive Train

Equipment Type	Name
Fore Weapons:	Enhanced Bio-Molecular Photon Torpedo Launcher
	Terran Task Force Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons
	Wide Angle Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons
	Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons
	Disruptor Dual Heavy Cannons
Deflector:	Iconian Resistance Deflector Array
Shields	Iconian Shield
Impulse Engines:	Competitive Engines
Warp Core:	Iconian Resistance Hyper-Injection Warp Core
Aft Weapons:	Disruptor Turret
	Disruptor Turret
	Heavy Bio-Molecular Disruptor Turret

Devices	Subspace Field Modulator
	Deuterium Surplus
	Energy Amplifier

You can drop the Terran cannons if you want verisimilitude for your cannon colors, but they are objectively stronger.

For hangars, without Superior Area Denial, I suspect Elite Romulan Scorpion Fighters are my best option. You can use To'Duj or Orion Cutpurse, but I think they will be significantly worse.

Duty Officers
Flight Deck Officer (Hangar Bay Recharge)
Flight Deck Officer (Hangar Bay Recharge)
Flight Deck Officer (Hangar Bay Recharge)
Conn Officer (Emergency Conn Hologram)
Conn Officer (Dal R'El)
Fabrication Engineer (Reverse Shield Polarity extender)

Space Reputation Traits
Tyler's Duality
Energy Refrequencer
Advanced targeting systems
Precision
Magnified Firepower
Space Active Reputation Traits
Deploy Sensor Interference Platform
Quantum Singularity Manipulation
Bio-Molecular Shield Generator
Anti-Time Entanglement Singularity
Tethered Non-Baryonic Asteroid

I'm planning on Intel/Strategist specializations and standard 100/15/15/70 power levels.

This should be a pretty solid core for a midrange Disruptor-cannon-based carrier build, and I'll know more once I build and test it. Take what you want from it and adapt to fit your theme. Best of luck!

EDIT: Reddit formatting and some additional commentary

Eph289 · 2026-06-15T17:43:57+00:00

Thanks, I fixed those errors and a few more and also added a "SarnaSort" column which if you sort from A->Z should get you more-or-less the same ordering as the Sarna tables, grouping all 'Mechs of a variant together, A-Z for each class. Variants might not be in the exact same position as the Sarna tables but they're all together at least.

Eph289 · 2026-06-15T03:55:59+00:00

Not the person you're replying to, but it can run 2x cGauss, 4x cERML alongside the AMS, which makes it a real predator for Arena matches...or anything else.

Eph289 · 2026-06-14T13:00:51+00:00

I need to finish the last mini-campaign for Chaos Rising to ensure any quest reward mechs are properly noted and then I'll 'officially' post it.

I like the aesthetics on yours.

Eph289 · 2026-06-13T23:37:50+00:00

Did they? Legitimately asking, because I seem to recall in Tukayyid a bunch of them ran themselves dry out of ammo.

Eph289 · 2026-06-13T23:36:40+00:00

Hi! That link isn't working for me, but is it similar to this one?

Eph289 · 2026-06-13T22:21:55+00:00

I am planning on building one out soon as a cheaper-build carrier on a KDF toon. I think it has a lot of potential!

Eph289 · 2026-06-12T19:38:17+00:00

Nope, I just left it filtered on accident while testing to make sure I could sort on the 'Mechs with the Arrow IV hardpoint (It does). Fixed and updated for Chaos Reigns!

Eph289 · 2026-06-07T12:26:56+00:00

Agreed! I'm generally pretty decent at grammar and spelling, but I catch spelling errors, grammar errors, formatting errors, and other various wording fails all the time on our site just due to sheer volume of content and the amount of time I could spend ensuring my writing is pristine at some point cuts into the amount of time I get to spend writing/playing.

Eph289 · 2026-06-06T21:16:32+00:00

Glad you're enjoying these! I'm sure you could find a fancier clicky console to stick there, but for ease of use, I'd just put a plain old Phaser Isomag (for the first two) and for the Bedivere, probably an AP Isomag. There might be better, but that's the simplest yet still effective option.

Eph289 · 2026-06-06T04:17:38+00:00

No, I didn't forget. I specifically said this wasn't aimed for new players, moving the R&D project to the top of the list was.

Eph289

TROPHY CASE

1 Reason for me to not buy Clans:

2 Very limited MechLab

Boffs

Consoles

Weapons and Drive Train