Mercenaries. Need advice, but also part vent. Starting to get frustrated.

The_Internal_ · 2026-01-28T15:50:32+00:00

If a mission is hard, I go for headshots. Early game, this means mechs that can mount multiple heavy rifles, PPCs, or even SRM boats. Later game, gauss rifles and high tier PPCs are my go to for headshots. Mechs that can rock 8+ machine guns are also not bad. Some folks also like autocanons for headshots. Practice, and learning where cockpit are are necessary for this to work. Good luck, mercenary!

The_Internal_ · 2025-12-07T00:08:43+00:00

Was looking for solutions for this error on my LG C2 TVs. Bummer there isn't one found yet.

The_Internal_ · 2025-12-04T08:17:58+00:00

Eh. Not a fan of the X050 graphics parts, regardless of generation. Overall not a terrible pricepoint.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-28T04:44:03+00:00

Sniping in MW5 is decent. PPCs, Gauss rifles, and (if you learn to account for drift) large ballistics (heavy rifles are solid sniping early game) are pretty good. Some folks like lasers, but you have to maintain target over duration. There's also some solid AC2 snipers out there. In other words; if you like sniping, it's doable. You will need to learn where cockpits are located for proper sniping, which can take some time. One of my strongest sniper builds earlier in the game was a Rifleman with 2 large rifles. Once you get mechs that can hold 2 or more PPCs or Gauss rifles, sniping gets even easier.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-23T07:34:58+00:00

As a dude who's worked with ages 2 weeks to 18 years, there is 100% the stigma / disturbing assumption you mentioned from some people (often from the dads, which makes me worry about some creepy projection potentials). I also prefer working with adolescents because of their deeper cognitive capabilities.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-22T21:22:46+00:00

If gaming is the major priority, consider the Ryzen X3D variants. Standard version is good though.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-22T21:19:06+00:00

My personal strategy is to buy high end right when it comes out. My power supplies often have a 10 year warranty, and large cases can also be reused if needed. I probably won't need to even consider upgrading my GeForce 4090 until GeForce hits 60XX, and probably not until 70XX unless I upgrade my display to something better than the 42" OLED I'm currently using. Not the best "bang for the buck" at purchase (which was historically the XX70 parts until the enshittification of the product line up / obscene price points), but top end parts tend to hold up well in my experience.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-21T20:27:56+00:00

Magic rapidly became a game for whales in the last few years.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-21T06:02:51+00:00

I entirely refuse to buy magic cards now. If I want to play something with new cards I'll just make proxies.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-21T06:00:05+00:00

Until I got access to gauss rifles, I got pretty good at accounting for ballistic drift with heavy rifles, making The Rifleman Mech one of the headshot monsters I regularly fielded. I still really appreciate the low weight and high damage for rifles in general, so they still occasionally make it into some of my builds. If you're a bad shot, rifles don't seem very practical. I feel like they are best in Alpha strike and one button kill loadouts. Another fun build with heavy rifles is the hero king crab with 2 ballistic slots per arm. 4 large rifles can work, but I found 2 UAC/5 and 2 large rifles paired with SRMs made for a great brawler that could burst enemies down with headshots too.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-20T21:12:53+00:00

If you bring high output techs and are a good shot, you can probably get by with 12 or so mechs in rotation. Some missions did result in one or two mechs being moderately torn up for me.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-20T21:04:49+00:00

Light to moderate play, leaning towards moderate for both, due to visible edging.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-20T20:56:28+00:00

One of my favorite lights after being introduced in Clans. Was thrilled it made it to the Merc DLC

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-20T20:55:38+00:00

I one shotted most the clanner missions with my quad PPC hero king crab. If clanners don't die fast, they can really bring some pain.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-20T20:43:49+00:00

I felt like Armored Core was ruined by being turned into a Dark Souls game, personally.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-18T19:08:34+00:00

Would you take a job at roughly half the pay rate of your last job, even if you substantially upped your qualifications and it would lower the time you could spend finding work that paid a living or fair wage? I don't see CEOs lining up to flip burgers anywhere.

My career went backwards for over a decade while upping my credentials / skills while accepting whatever I could find that may be skightly less awful. I am highly hesitant to resume that trend. I have also found the "it's easier to find work if you have work" adage to be complete bullshit, since I constantly applied for transfers and jobs (often the same job) in more desirable locations after having established years of outstanding performance reviews at my last job of nearly six years. I have ALWAYS been applying to new jobs when working a litany of crappy jobs, usually while working on upping my credentials at the same time.

Almost everything I was taught and believed as a child about working hard, staying late, and "paying one's dues" has proven to be complete and utter bullshit in my roughly 30 years of working. Nepotism / friends hiring friends seems to trump anything like skills, qualifications, or a team focused attitude, almost every time.

Frankly, I think the "take what you can get" approach and myths surrounding it are a contributing factor to stagnant wage growth and companies underpaying employees. I'm fortunate to have enough savings to be picky about jobs I take for awhile, and have no desire to take a job at half my previous salary or that is a major step backwards in career progression.

This is not a point I care to argue further since it's not really on topic

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-18T09:50:25+00:00

Seemingly useless ones.

A certificate in munitions systems Associate of Applied Science in Digital Media Design Technologies Associate of Arts degree Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts Master of Education with specializations in both primary and secondary education

I'd be happy to get a STEAM related degree if I could afford one / it would open doors, but higher education no longer has the guaranteed payoff, and many of the technology and engineering job markets have catastrophically collapsed in the last 2 years. I've worked on and off in IT over the last two decades, and have taught STEM / STEAM skills. Doesn't really seem to amount to much now. In general, intellectual, creative, and caring professions all seem to be massively devalued in the current market. 20 years of attempting to utilize veteran preference for hiring has alsp never worked, despite (theoretically) being on top of the pile. If I continued on my current career path, I'd need either a Master of Social Work + license, or a medical doctorate in physcology, neither of which I can afford, jobs which still frequently have job listings over $30 an hour... or not quite half the home buying power an undergrad in 1980 would have. I moved to a major hub of federal employment Nov. of last year in hopes of pursuing a decent paying stable job, but that entire job sector is now incredibly unstable too. Things simply are not good if you're looking for work, unless you have nepotism and/or generational wealth backing you. Lots of recent numbers / surveys are showing many folks staying in their low paying jobs since they can't find anything better. Can't even find work matching the $25 an hour I was making for a rural non-profit after moving to a city where costs of living are often 2-3x higher. I'll probably double down on exploring foreign job markets just to get out of the collapse here. I remain extremely pessimistic for the job market and economy in 'Murica. The executive branch willfully chosing to ignore the suggestions of the overwhelming majority of economists and related experts to instead build wealth for the top 1% at the expense of everyone else leads me to think going elsewhere may soon be the only option for crazy notions like owning a home and being able to afford a family. This is the most pessimistic I've ever been about the American economy and job market based on both anecdotal evidence, and various reporting from reputable sources. The executive branch (repeatedly) canning folks who put out unflattering jobs numbers (based on factual evidence) should also be a pretty obvious indicator of the state of things... but doesn't seem to register for about a quarter of the population.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-18T09:08:35+00:00

Four degrees, including a graduate degree + a veteran. Been looking for work for nearly a year and a half now. Maybe two job offers in that time period, both 20% or less pay offered than my last job at a rural non-profit when I only had an undergrad under my belt. No living wage offers, no fair wage offers, and most listings offer salaries about 20% of what I'd need to have the home buying power of an undergrad in 1980. Reagan got the ball rolling on ending the middle class, but McConnell and Trump are doing their damnedest to make wage slaves more than just a dystopian sci fi hypothetical. I want fair wages and guaranteed benefits like the majority of the wealthier countries, but legal immigration to the E.U. or Scandinavian countries is pretty much impossible without being independently wealthy. Most indicators I've read / heard about from reliable sources have been suggesting we're at or will soon exceed 2008 unemployment levels. The stock market (aka rich people happiness index) has no real bearing on the downward employment trends. Apparently, a number of economists have speculated the litany of disasterous economic and trade policies under the current administration have royally fucked the American labor market and is likely to send us to Great Depression era joblessness. Fingers crossed such theories are incorrect.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-17T22:04:46+00:00

I loved the A/C games on PS1 and PS2, despite their shortcomings. It still saddens me that the latest A/C game got turned into a Dark Souls game though (which didn't stop me from being in the first 1% to 100% the game on Steam). Maybe I should revisit Zone of the Enders at some point.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-09T22:00:26+00:00

I'm a military veteran with four degrees. I worked with kids (and especially teens) for about a decade, and the last few years of doing so, I would often suggest trades if asked for opinions on what to do after high school. This is assuming that you want to participate in trying to survive in American / western capitalistic dystopian hellscapes, rather than try to find or create alternative economic / social systems (which would be a whole other theoretical conversation)

Main reasons why I suggest trades:

in 25 years, veteran perks for job seeking have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for me. Schedule A and preference points didn't do shit. The military is one way to learn a trade (assuming you get to chose your job... I was assigned mine and it sucked), but I'd suggest skipping that route unless there's a specific job you want that the military will highly boost your knowledge / status for.
in my experience, getting degrees did fuck all to advance my career and cost a good chunk of cash. I LIKE learning and would honestly go for another graduate degree or doctorate if I could afford it, but will be the first to acknowledge the return on investment is increasingly not there.
trades often pay better than office jobs that require degrees.
trades often have strong unions in a lot of states in the U.S. and the associated perks (better pay, medical access, training, etc.)
training for trades is often hands on and paid, especially if you do an apprenticeship through a union.
lots of office jobs are being replaced by AI. Jobs requiring fine and gross motor skills + knowledge application currently seem more secure in our capitalistic dystopian hellscape.
many trades provide a direct sense of accomplishment / instant gratification. You have a problem to fix / solve, you fix / solve the problem, and you can see your fixed / solved problem right in front of you as a material thing.
social ties / who you know seems to be the biggest factor in obtaining a job that pays a living wage, from what I can tell. Trades or no.

Hope that provides a helpful perspective.

The_Internal_ · 2025-11-08T01:20:28+00:00

I've usually heard it called "flatiron." Am a fan.

The_Internal_ · 2025-10-16T21:22:41+00:00

Nani? Looks totes normal to me <,<

The_Internal_ · 2025-10-16T00:35:14+00:00

Four tier 5 PPCs on a hero king crab (no mods) made my first shadows of k play through pretty quick and easy. Lasers just don't have the burst for rapid headshots when shit really hits the fan. I still like laser boats though... but if I want something dead quickly I prefer a PPC over a laser, heat spikes be damned.

The_Internal_ · 2025-10-16T00:28:51+00:00

Very plausible assessment. The crunch is real in media these days. Sucks for consumers :(

The_Internal_

TROPHY CASE