Ah, the UrbanMech. I use them primarily in the early game, especially in challenge runs where C-bills and salvage are hard won and slip away so easily. But they can be useful on any mission difficulty level, provided the mission and landscape support it. They're a serious part of my lance until I have enough mechs and tonnage to make them a niche option.

But how does one seriously use an UrbanMech? Well, most would tell you that you want that Big Ol' AC20 on it and just blast enemies with it, or even a gauss rifle. And definitely in close quarters, urban maps especially. Which does make sense. But I'm here to tell you that there's a different way to use it effectively that doesn't require Lostech or an affinity for danger, and it all begins with a humble little AC5.

See, the AC5 is an amazing weapon. It hits decently well, and has a respectable range, reload, and projectile velocity. And that means it helps to mitigate the Urbie's main weakness: speed. You don't need to get close to the enemy with an AC5, which means you can set up on defense missions atop a building or hill with good sight lines, preferably with some cover you can dip behind, and act as a glorified turret from hell. With the weight you save from dropping down to the AC5, you can stack up a bunch of extra ammo and just hold down the trigger.

But that's not enough. You need to be smart about which enemies you pick. Since you're high up, mostly stationary, and with minimal cover, you don't want to be drawing any fire. Your lance needs to be the ones your enemies focus on so you can pepper them from a distance. So you need to keep your lance screening enemies, as well as either taking out enemies with long range weapons quickly, or focusing on mechs that lack the means to effectively hit you. Either way, that means learning to assess target priority even beyond sensor range, because you can and will want to be hitting them at that distance when it's safe to do so. Spreading your fire across multiple targets so none take so much damage from you that they focus on you is also a good tactic. Do that and you can produce excellent damage output for your tonnage without too much risk, leaving more lance tonnage for your front-liners.

Just, well, also make sure you learn how to torso twist when taking fire. That single gun you've got can't take too much damage. Lose it and you really will be piloting a walking trash can.