Sweet baby Blake, it’s only been winter for a few days, and it’s already colder than most winters of the past two decades. I don’t know what we did to piss off Jack Frost, but I am collectively sorry for the entire Sarna staff. Please spare us your freezing wrath.
The only thing keeping me warm is BattleTech news, so let’s dive right into it!
New BattleTech Arrivals For December
Given that CGL wanted to get their biggest products out for November in time for the holiday season, there aren’t too many new products to talk about here at the end of 2025. We’ve got Spotlight On: Jade Warriors and Turning Points: Oliver, the first about a unit of Capellan immigrants and the second a chaos campaign set during Operation GUERRERO (and the perfect companion piece to Brush Wars: Operation Guerrero).
Shrapnel Issue 23 brings tall tales from James Bixby, Wunji Lau, Jonathan Hicks, and many more. You’ll even get a few holiday-themed stories to get you into the yuletide spirit. December also brought us a compilation of Geoff Swift‘s BattleCorps classic, The Marshal Way. It’s a story about bringing law to the most lawless parts of the Periphery, which gives me a distinctive Western vibe, but with giant robots.
Tales of the Bounty Hunter rounds out the fiction of the month with an anthology about BattleTech‘s iconic Bounty Hunter throughout the ages. Encounters: BattleTech is also back in stock on Catalyst’s website, and there are still copies of BattleTech Aces: Scouring Sands available online (and check your local games store for availability).
Grab all these fine products on Catalyst’s web store.
Second Circuit Interviews BattleTech Aces Creators
Sarna interviewed Lynnvander Studios earlier this year for a preview of what’s to come with BattleTech: Aces, but now that Aces is out, we know that it was more than just Lynnvander helping to create the product. The Second Circuit recently sat down with Josh Derksen and Dylan Birtolo to discuss the technical aspects of Aces‘ creation, as well as author Russell Zimmerman, who contributed to the narrative development of the Scouring Sands campaign. It’s an interesting podcast, and I encourage you all to listen on Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want more? Russel also spoke with Goonhammer about the Scouring Sands story, too.
Classic BattleTech Playtest Package Concludes With New Mission Generator
The final playtest package for the proposed updates to Classic BattleTech has been released into the wild. The fourth (although technically the fifth) package details how to set up a random mission step by step, starting from determining the scale and setting of the battle to specific objectives and unit compositions.
Mission generation looks fairly simple; just roll a few dice to determine the mission type, negotiate the scale and size of each force with the other players, set up the map, and start playing. There are a bunch of paragraphs describing how to fairly set terrain elements and how to score victory points, but you can read about those in the playtest package.
As with the other playtest packages, CGL is greedy for feedback, so head to the official playtest site and leave your two cents on the feedback form and the discussion board. The final playtest ends on January 5, and then we’ll have to wait for news on how this data will contribute to the mysterious new rulebook that will be revealed next year.
Crusader Moon
Crusader – anime 80s Style [my art]
byu/iulia-crimson inbattletech
The Crusader has always been one of my favorites. Is it the leg-mounted SRM launchers? The chunky arm LRM pods? Or the fact that it doesn’t have enough ammo or heat sinks for a fight that lasts longer than 30 seconds? None of these. It’s the unicorn horn. Thanks for sharing, Iulia!
The Angriest Little Marauder
SD Marauder(s)- Four illustrations spanning two decades
byu/aspleniastudios inmechwarrior
Have a chibi Marauder to brighten your spirits. Thanks for this angry little guy, Asplenia Studios!
Wolves Of Tukayyid Arrives For MechWarrior 5: Clans
This has been my jam for most of the month, and you can read about my thoughts on the new DLC for MechWarrior 5: Clans in my review here. Of the three campaigns we have, this one I enjoy the most. That’s largely due to a greater emphasis on light and medium ’Mechs for the first half of the campaign, and more open maps that reward speed and positioning.
While Wolves of Tukayyid is a delightful romp, there’s also a free patch released for the base Clans campaign and Ghost Bear: Flash Storm. A whole slew of bug fixes and gameplay improvements can be found in the patch notes here. The new jump jet controls alone are well worth going through the base campaign once more. We can expect another patch for Wolves of Tukayyid to hit sometime after the holiday break.
Still don’t have Wolves of Tukayyid? Want to support Sarna? Grab the latest DLC through our affiliate link here.
MechWarrior Online Gets Another Flying ‘Mech
In addition to the Arrow IV arriving in MechWarrior Online thanks to the Naga, MWO is also set to receive another flying ‘Mech. And by that I mean one with a partial wing, allowing it to do silly things like the Legendary Champion “Apache.” Not only does the Incubus “Zero“ come with a partial wing, but it also has a left-arm shield to make it easier to twist and blast with its four Heavy Medium Lasers and crit-seeking light machine guns. The Incubus was already a great ‘Mech in MWO, and this one seems all the more ridiculous.
Meanwhile, December’s patch continues the weapon tweaks started in November. Rotary Autocannons have had their spread removed, while LB 5-X autocannons have seen their cooldowns increased. Inner Sphere SRM Artemis ammo has been increased to 150 per ton, and Rocket Launchers have been totally reworked. Instead of a single, overwhelming salvo that often one-shots players (at the expense of any future kills), Rocket Launchers will now fire a stream of rockets the longer the player holds down the firing button.
“Rocket Launchers have been a polarizing weapon,” the Cauldron wrote in the patch notes. “Their primary use serves as a griefing one-shot weapon, and are relatively useless beyond that compared to other weapons. This change turns them into a more reliable secondary weapon with more longevity in exchange for a more moderate damage output.”
The last patch of the year also brings a slew of ‘Mech quirk changes, with the big winners being the Fire Moth, Black Lanner, and the Summoner. Various other ‘Mech variants have been tweaked, but you can read the full list in the MWO patch notes here.
This Painting Looks Like The Cover Of A BattleTech Romance Novel
Not throwing any shade at Hungry Like The Wolf, but if we wanted to be slightly more upscale about our romance novel covers, I think this piece by Jayden Morris really covers all the important bases. You’ve got horses, you’ve got your beautiful vista, and you’ve got a woman in a red gown staring longingly as a Marauder stomps through a stream.
MRC Hosting Team-Based MegaMek Event In January
MRC #battletech #megamek event, "War Without End".Matches Jan 2-302 teams, players randomly assigned to team, 4 missions w/ possible 5th mission, 7.5kBV max Mechs only, Early Succession Wars era, No Clan factionsSee the packet for further details!Lists due Dec31docs.google.com/document/d/1…
— Sam Burling (@wolfpacfive.bsky.social) 2025-12-16T14:42:13.026Z
The MRC, for those unaware, is a group of Classic BattleTech enthusiasts that typically hosts online events with the help of MegaMek, the BattleTech virtual tabletop. This January event will divide players into two teams, the Ravagers and the Guardians, in a series of base assault scenarios. The fighting takes place in the Early Succession War era, providing you with limited access to Star League-era tech, and has a maximum Battle Value limit of 7,500 (which should net you three to six units). Players will take part in four matchups throughout January, with the best of the Ravagers and Guardians facing off for a final fifth scenario to determine the overall winner.
Lists are due by December 31, so not much time to submit, and details for submissions are available via this Google doc. Head on over to the MRC Discord if you’ve got further questions, or just want to hang out with like-minded BattleTech fans.
Grizzly Comes To MechWarrior 5: Clans Courtesy Of New Mod
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mechwarrior5/comments/1pt2420/my_christmas_gift_to_all_mechwarrior_fans_out/
Sadly, the Grizzly was not added in Ghost Bear: Flash Storm, leaving the Kodiak as the only totem ’Mech available. Until now! Thanks to Clans receiving its new mod tools, we can now pilot the Grizzly in its most modern incarnation. You can download the Grizzly over on the MechWarrior 5: Clans Steam Workshop page or Nexus Mods.
MechAssault Lives In Project Helios, Act 2 Coming Soon
For those who cannot go without some MechAssault in their lives, you have two options. The first is Wolves (available to download here), and the second is Project Helios, the MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries conversion mod that turns it from a mercenary sandbox into a faithful recreation of the Xbox classic. Act 1 of Project Helios is available now, and Act 2 will be available on New Year’s. In the meantime, here’s another trailer giving you an idea of what to expect in the update, which will not only provide the second act’s content but also upgrade the first act with QOL improvements.
Head on over to Nexus Mods to grab the Project Helios campaign.
This Guy Made A Rumbleseat For MechWarrior 5
I made Mechwarrior 5 work with Haptic feedback in my chair.
byu/HapticMotion_ inMechwarrior5
Is it basically just an electric motor attached to the support of this gamer chair? Yes, yes it is. But admit it: if you could make your seat rumble every time your ‘Mech took a step, you’d do it too. HapticMotion explains the software and hardware in this informative video in case you were interested.
Here’s What It’s Like To Be The Infantry In An Urban ‘Mech Battle
Being infantry in Battletech is terrifying!
byu/TheFlyingKick inMechwarrior5
If you’ve ever wanted a true sense of the destruction caused by ‘Mechs battling it out in an urban environment, then look no further than Zanieon’s Disembark Mech mod. I don’t know why you’d ever want to get out of your ‘Mech, but this mod lets you abscond from the safety of your cockpit and into the wildly dangerous proximity of these multi-story death machines. It sure does look lethal, being this close to all that falling debris. You can grab the Disembark Mech mod over on Nexus Mods here.
Have Some Lego ’Mechs For Christmas
There might not be any official BattleMechs available straight from LEGO, but you could make these custom ’Mechs courtesy of Canuckelhead33. The Kodiak still needs to be tested in real life, but the Timber Wolf and Warhammer instructions are available on Rebrickable. Check out their page for even more designs.
Vengeance In The Name Of Kerensky
A Clan Warrior enters the fray!
byu/SewGoboIllustrations inbattletech
SewGoboIllustrations “got really big into BattleTech this year” and decided to celebrate that fact with a custom character and their favorite ’Mech design. A phenomenal piece.
UnMech3 Ports MechWarrior 3 To Unity Engine With New ’Mechs
MechWarrior 3 might not be as popular as 2 or 4, but it still has a dedicated community keeping it alive many decades after its initial release. The MechWarrior 3 Community Project even gave us a year-end for the Unity port, which now includes new ‘Mechs! The Catapult, Warhammer, UrbanMech, Nightstar, Phoenix Hawk, and Marauder are all available now in the latest version of UnMech3, which can be downloaded here.
Tex Talks Black Knight Arrives On New Year’s Eve
One last gift before we head out for the year. Tex and the Black Pants Legion have completed their latest magnum opus, the Black Knight. It airs at 8 PM ET on December 31. Mark your calendars, set your alarms, and tune in as Tex delivers another historic video.
Happy Holidays From All Of Us At Sarna!
#battletech presents for #xmas to my family from @jparbiter.bsky.social and his family. The box for the "Precentor Martial" Edition of the "BattleTech Universe" sourcebook really is heavy and the Mugs seem to be of fairly decent quality.
— David L (@deadfireprime.bsky.social) 2025-12-26T01:52:31.322Z
Geergutz was originally going to get the final image, but then I remembered they had it last month. So here’s a BattleTech-themed Christmas gift received by our very own Deadfire that looks very festive indeed.
From all of us here at Sarna, we wish you a merry Christmas and happy holidays!
And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.
Happy Early New Year!!!
Also I’m fixing the MWO models ported to SFM to have better lighting and shading, as well as alternate skins (if applicable) I’ve fixed 14 models so far, 23 more to fix! (that’s about 9 workshop items fixed and 17 more to fix)
as in the ones I’ve ported to SFM
Speaking of New Year, I’m looking forward to the Black Knight video from The Black Pants Legion as well!
I’m just happy I got a box of minis for Xmas. Davison Heavy Battle Star. Loves me some Falconer. I wasn’t a fan of the Thanatos miniature in metal…but the plastic one? I like. Would love to see variants. Some of them I found…interesting. Anyhow, all good stuff! And more to come. I am glad I stuck around…since 86.
I know everybody wants to pilot mechs for obvious reasons but I have to say, that disembark mod really got me salivating at the thought of massive Arma-style matches where lances can be supported by infantry and combined arms.
Interesting look for the Incubus/Vixen, with a Partial Wing and a shield on it’s arm! Very Gundam! But the Incubus, last I heard, isn’t jump-capable, for if it was, it would lose something in the trade-off! Less speed, less armament, less armor, less heat-sinks: what does it lose so it can jump? Any answers anyone?
Incubus II can jump.
And it’s DAVION, not DAVISON, just to let you know: what can I say? I’m a spell-checker!
One thing I loved about 2025’s articles was the one about the Urbanmech LAM being a mail carrier in the Periphery; when is somebody EVER going to make the design canon? It’s too good to pass up being made canon, even if it’s for comedy’s sake!
Incubus II can jump? So what does it gain (and lose) in the process?