MechCommander 2/BattleMechs

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

MechCommander 2 BattleMech specifications

Light

BattleMech	Faction	Tech. Base	Tonnage	Speed (km/h)	Jump Distance (m)	Armor	Heat Limit (No HS)	C-bills	Sensor Suite
Anubis	Liao	Inner Sphere	30	130	125	96	26	41,600	Intermediate
Cougar	Unknown	Clan	35	86	N/A	96	36	56,000	None
Fire Ant	Bandits	Inner Sphere	30	97	N/A	80	22	24,600	None
Hollander	Steiner	Inner Sphere	35	86	N/A	96/160	22	36,300	None
Raven	Liao	Inner Sphere	35	97	N/A	96/160	24	37,500	Advanced, ECM Mk. I
Razorback	Steiner	Inner Sphere	30	97	125	80/144	22	41,750	Intermediate
Uller	Davion	Clan	30	97	N/A	96/128	22	41,300	Intermediate
UrbanMech	Bandits	Inner Sphere	30	54	125	80/144	22	33,700	None
Wolfhound	Davion	Inner Sphere	35	97	125	80/176	28	46,850	None

• Cougar is only avaiable in Solo Mission and Multiplayer games.
• Fire Ant and Urbanmech can be purchased from the store in Solo Mission and Multiplayer games, but not in the Campaign. However, they can be acquired by salvage during the Campaign.

Medium

BattleMech	Faction	Tech. Base	Tonnage	Speed (km/h)	Jump Distance (m)	Armor	Heat Limit (No HS)	C-bills	Sensor Suite
Bushwacker	Steiner	Inner Sphere	55	86	N/A	112/272	27	62,850	None
Enfield	Davion	Inner Sphere	50	86	N/A	112/240	30	50,400	None
Hunchback	Steiner	Inner Sphere	50	65	125	80/240	24	46,750	None
Men Shen	Liao	Inner Sphere	55	97	N/A	80/272	29	57,500	Advanced, ECM Mk. I
Ryoken	Davion	Clan	55	97	N/A	112/240	38	84,400	None
Sha Yu	Liao	Inner Sphere	40	119	125	112/176	28	46,850	Intermediate
Shadow Cat	Davion	Clan	45	97	125	112/208	24	63,000	None
Starslayer	Liao	Inner Sphere	50	86	125	112/240	42	64,450	None

Heavy

BattleMech	Faction	Tech. Base	Tonnage	Speed (km/h)	Jump Distance (m)	Armor	Heat Limit (No HS)	C-bills	Sensor Suite
Catapult	Liao	Inner Sphere	65	65	125	80/272	40	71,350	None
Catapult (Elite)	Liao	Inner Sphere	65	65
JagerMech	Davion	Inner Sphere	65	65	125	130/290	27	61,000	None
Lao Hu	Liao	Inner Sphere	75	86	125	130/290	60	84,300	None
Lao Hu (Vong)	Liao	Inner Sphere	75	86	125	258/290	60
Mad Cat	Davion	Clan	75	86	N/A	130/322	61	121,650	None
Shootist	Steiner	Inner Sphere	70	65	N/A	130/290	30	63,550	None
Shootist (Elite)	Steiner	Inner Sphere	70	65
Thor	Davion	Clan	70	86	125	130/290	46	100,700	None
Vulture	Davion	Clan	60	86	N/A	130/290	52	88,350	None

• Catapult Elite appears in Baxter's Gambit mission.
• Vong's Lao Hu appears in Breach: Bandit Headquarters mission.
• Shootist Elite appears in Operation Goliath mission.

Assault

BattleMech	Faction	Tech. Base	Tonnage	Speed (km/h)	Jump Distance (m)	Armor	Heat Limit (No HS)	C-bills	Sensor Suite
Atlas	Steiner	Inner Sphere	100	54	N/A	80/432	43	106,600	None
Atlas (Claymore)	Steiner	Inner Sphere	100	54
Atlas (Renard)	Steiner	Inner Sphere	100	54
Blood Asp	Davion	Clan	90	65	N/A	240/368	64	132,250	None
Cyclops	Liao	Inner Sphere	90	65	N/A	144/304	29	80,100	Advanced
Cyclops (Cho)	Liao	Inner Sphere	90	65	N/A				Advanced
Highlander	Steiner	Inner Sphere	90	54	125	148/372	37	100,950	None
Highlander (Elite)	Steiner	Inner Sphere	90	54	125
Zeus	Steiner	Inner Sphere	80	65	N/A	130/258	72	87,500	None

• Claymore's Atlas appears in Combat Rescue: Claymore mission.
• Renard's Atlas appears in Honor Guards mission (in-game cutscene only) and Operation Goliath mission.
• Cho's Cyclops appears in Honor Guards mission.
• Highlander Elite doesn't appear in the campaign, but its data does exist in the game's source code files.

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 irregular grids, they're all rectangular. 'Mechs can and do take critical hits in combat, which results in various weapons and equipment being destroyed. The number of squares a weapon uses does not appear to influence the chances of the weapon receiving a critical hit. However, having a number of secondary weapons will reduce the chance of a critical hit impacting a primary weapon.

Critical Hits - Armor added to a 'Mech can receive critical hits. If destroyed, the 'Mech's 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. The minimum armor listed in the table doesn't take up any space, so a high minimum armor value is a significant benefit.

There does not seem to be any direct relationship between a 'Mech's arms and its weapons. When an UrbanMech loses its weapon "arm" or even both arms, it often still has its autocannon. Weapons destroyed in combat cannot be repaired by the repair vehicle and must be repurchased 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.

Reactor Explosion - A reactor explosion will occur whenever a 'Mech's center torso is destroyed. It does not require a critical hit to the reactor, nor is the reactor capable of receiving critical hits.

Heat - Heat in MechCommander 2 works more like the way tonnage does in BattleTech – or, more accurately, Heat in MechCommander 2 works the same way that Heat works on ProtoMechs. 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. One exception to this is if a loadout uses the last point of the Heat Limit (46/46, for example). In this situation the 'Mech will chain fire weapons instead of firing them all at once. BattleMechs in the game will not overheat and shut down. A BattleMech's Heat Limit can be increased by adding one or more Heat Sinks, each of which increase the Heat Limit by 4 and take up one Critical Hit Slot.

It appears that the developers may have originally planned to use a more traditional heat management system. The main evidence comes from a unique enemy 'Mech late in the game that has a weapons loadout that exceeds its heat limit. While fighting, it does overheat and shut down, showing that the heat measurement and shutdown mechanics are in the game. They just ended up deciding to arrange things so that heat dissipates as fast as the weapons can generate it.

Jump Jets - Each BattleMech is either able to carry Jump Jets or it isn't, and the Jump Distance is the same for all of the ones that can. Mounting 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.

The pilot AI does not use Jump Jets at all. Only the player can activate Jump Jets. As a result, they are mainly used for things like jumping over walls to capture buildings, crossing waterways, etc. However, jumping is faster than the speeds the slower 'Mechs can run. A player who's good at micromanagement can use Jump Jets to close with enemies faster and to jump over enemies to take shots at their back.

Fire Ant - The Fire Ant in MC2 was an apocryphal variant of the Flea in BattleTech, originally exclusive to this game before it eventually became canonized. This is one of the rare examples of something from one of the BattleTech video games becoming canon after its release.

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 (Hold down the "8" key on the number pad, then click on the target.) 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 much 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 units 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 after a mission ends, 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 weapon loadout. The game looks at the damage the loadout can do at short, medium, and/or long range, and lists the range it believes to be the optimum for that loadout. However, it does more than simply tell the player what range the 'Mech is armed most effectively for. This is also the distance that the pilot will prefer to remain at in battle. 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. Keep this in mind in regards to your weapon loadouts.

Tip: It can be difficult to get the game to assign the Razorback a medium range. Adding long-range weapons doesn't help shift it from short to medium. One loadout that works early on is: 1 Heat sink, 2 Armor plates, 2 Large Lasers, and a choice of 1 MG, 1 Streak SRM, or 1 LRM.

Paper Doll - As with BattleTech, the armor and internal structure of BattleMechs in MechCommander 2 are divided into sections. BattleMechs have a Head, Center Torso, Left Torso, Right Torso, two arms, and two legs. In MC2, only the center torso appears to have a rear side. Armor is divided between sections automatically. Damage to armor has no chance of causing a critical hit. Once the armor is gone, damage goes to the internal structure. Any damage to internal structure has a chance of causing a critical hit. If all of the internal structure for a section is destroyed, then that section is destroyed, or blown off.

Weight Class - Smaller 'Mechs are harder to hit. In MC2, this is determined not by tonnage, but by weight class. This means that a light 'Mech is harder to hit than a medium 'Mech, etc.