MechCommander 2/BattleMechs

Below is a listing of all BattleMechs in the game, with their specifications.

Base Game BattleMechs

BattleMech	Faction	Tech. Base	Class	Tonnage	Speed	Jump Distance	Criticals/Slots (X x Y)	Armor (Min/Max)	Heat Limit (No HS)	C-Bills (Prime Variant)	Sensor Suite
Fire Ant	Bandits	Inner Sphere	Light	30	97	N/A	3 x 2	80/112	22	24,600	None
UrbanMech	Bandits	Inner Sphere	Light	30	54	125	2 x 4	80/144	22	33,700	None
Razorback	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Light	30	97	125	4 x 2	80/144	22	41,750	Intermediate
Hollander	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Light	35	86	N/A	2 x 4	96/160	22	36,300	None
Hunchback	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Medium	50	65	125	3 x 4	80/240	24	46,750	None
Bushwacker	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Medium	55	86	N/A	4 x 4	112/272	27	62,850	None
Shootist	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Heavy	70	65	N/A	3 x 6	130/290	30	63,550	None
Zeus	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Assault	80	65	N/A	5 x 4	130/258	72	87,500	None
Highlander	Steiner	Inner Sphere	Assault	90	54	125	5 x 5	148/372	37	100,950	None
Anubis	Liao	Inner Sphere	Light	30	130	125	2 x 3	96/128	26	41,600	Intermediate
Sha Yu	Liao	Inner Sphere	Medium	40	119	125	3 x 3	112/176	28	46,850	Intermediate
Starslayer	Liao	Inner Sphere	Medium	50	86	125	4 x 3	112/240	42	64,450	None

Differences from BattleTech

There are some notable differences in design specifications. The most significant are described below.

Payload Space/Criticals/Slots - Whatever term you want to use, BattleMechs in MechCommander 2 do not use the typical Critical Hit Slots used in BattleTech. Instead, each 'Mech has a grid of squares where weapons and equipment can be added. If there are available squares (slots) then you can add it. There are no 'Mechs with irregularly shaped grids. They're all rectangular. 'Mechs can and do take critical hits in combat, which results in various weapons and equipment being destroyed. Whether the odds of a critical hit on a particular weapon is affected by the number of squares it uses on the grid is unknown.

Critical Hits - Armor added to a 'Mech can receive critical hits. If destroyed, the 'Mechs maximum armor (hit points) is reduced by the amount added by that armor plate. This is represented by the 'Mech's health bar not filling up completely when repaired during a mission. Likewise, maximum armor is also reduced when a limb or side torso is blown off. There does not seem to be any direct relationship between a 'Mech's arms and its weapons. Weapons destroyed in combat cannot be repaired by the repair vehicle and must be re-purchased when the mission ends. Most importantly, if the weapon is one that is not available for purchase, it will not be replaced. The player must then modify the loadout to use weapons that are available.

It's important to note that MechCommander 2 appears to scale the chances of inflicting a critical hit based on a weapon's damage per shot. Either that or it has a hidden critical hit chance value assigned individually to each weapon. A 'Mech armed with Large Pulse Lasers will rarely inflict critical hits, despite having a much higher rate of fire, than a 'Mech armed with Large Lasers. On the other hand, PPCs, Heavy Autocannons, and the like, can be very effective at scoring critical hits, despite their slow rate of fire.

Heat - Heat in MechCommander 2 works more like the way tonnage does in BattleTech. The 'Mech either has a high enough heat limit to allow a weapon to be equipped, or it doesn't. Heat doesn't affect rate of fire in any way, and the Flame weapons in the game do not increase the target's heat. BattleMechs in the game will not overheat and shut down.

Jump Jets - Each BattleMech is either able to equip Jump Jets or it isn't, and the Jump Distance is the same for the ones that can. Equipping Jump Jets adds 7 heat (doesn't matter if they're in use or not), so the player might choose to remove the Jump Jets to gain more heat capacity, rather than adding Heat Sinks.

Misc. Info

Salvage - Salvage is a very important part of the game. Every BattleMech that didn't have a reactor explosion can be salvaged. Aiming for the head is an excellent way to preserve an enemy 'Mech that you would like to salvage. After a mission ends, all of the salvageable 'Mechs are listed, and the player can pay to salvage any or all of them at 80% of the normal purchase price. In addition, all missing weapons are replaced as part of the payment, except for weapons that are not available. Since 'Mechs are sold at full value, salvaging after a battle always results in a 20% profit.

'Mechs can also be salvaged during a mission by spending Resource Points to bring in a salvage aircraft. BattleMechs salvaged this way can be sold for a significantly higher profit, since no payment is necessary to acquire them. However, the player must pay to replace missing weapons on 'Mechs salvaged this way. When a choice of multiple of the same 'Mech is available, choose the one that has the most weapons intact.

By salvaging 'Mechs, the player can acquire 'Mechs and weapons that are unavailable for purchase or limited in quantity. Already have a certain 'Mech, but need more of the weapons it carries? Salvage it, strip the weapons off, and then sell the weaponless 'Mech.

Repairs - It should be noted that armor and limb repairs are free, so using repair trucks at the end of a mission before extracting does not save any money.

BattleMech Range - Each 'Mech has a listed range. It changes based on the weapons loadout. The game sums the damage output for short, medium, and/or long range weapons the 'Mech is armed with separately, and lists whichever is greatest. However, it's much more than just a simple indicator of which range the selected 'Mech is armed most effectively for. This is also the distance that the pilot will attempt to maintain from a given target. If you keep wondering why your 30-ton scout is in the enemy's face, while your two Bushwackers, who actually have armor, stand back and shoot from a distance, this is why. The default Razorback loadout gives it a Short 'Mech Range, while the Bushwacker has a Medium 'Mech Range. Modifying your Razorback's loadout to have fewer short range weapons and more medium range weapons will remedy the problem.