Difference between revisions of "MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat"
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If the player successfully accomplishes every mission without failure, they will be allowed to participate in further trials for the [[Bloodname]] of Tseng.
 
If the player successfully accomplishes every mission without failure, they will be allowed to participate in further trials for the [[Bloodname]] of Tseng.
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===Missions===
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===Cluebook===
 
===Cluebook===

Revision as of 14:15, 3 June 2016

Activision's MechWarrior II: 31st Century Combat is a 1995 computer game set in the BattleTech universe.

Canonicity

Computer games are explicitly excluded from the list of products that contribute straight Canon to the BattleTech universe while at the same time it was stated that the IP owners are "not in total denial about these sources either"; it has also been stated that fluff from certain official, licensed products (namely certain computer games including those produced by Activision) can be assumed to be part of the shared universe as long as it is not directly contradicted, and makes sense. On this premise, MechWarrior II: 31st Century Combat is considered to be an apocryphal product.

Plot synopsis

Mechwarrior 2 is a Mech Simulation game that portrays the Refusal War between Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon that took place in 3057. The player is offered a choice to join either the Wolf Clan or the Jade Falcon Clan. A series of tutorial missions ends with the player undertaking a Trial of Position for the rank of Mechwarrior, and then joining the chosen Clan in battling their opponents across the Inner Sphere. Missions on both sides progress across the same planets in sequence, however, the missions themselves are different, taking place as it were on different parts of the battlefield, thus allowing the 'general' story to move forward, irrespective of the missions themselves. Large amounts of fluff material are written into the mission briefings/debriefings, as well as the computer database, including reflection from ComStar Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht about the Clans from his time with Clan Wolf. Other canon events are expanded upon in this manner to both provide context for the games missions, and to advance the storyline, including a great many key characters from the Clans such as Ulric Kerensky, Natasha Kerensky, Phelan Ward, Vlad of the Wards, Vandervahn Chistu and Elias Crichell, among others.

Ultimately, the Falcon ending shows the last of the Wolves being tracked down and destroyed on Morges, where as the (canon) Wolf ending shows the defeat of the Falcons at Broken Hope on Morges at the hands of the Wolves and their Kell Hound allies.

Backstory

MechWarrior 2 is a telling of the Refusal War starting in the later quarter of 3057, five years after the Battle of Tukayyid. Initially in the campaign, the Jade Falcons start suffering losses against Clan Wolf, only that the Falcon losses are second-line units, despite Elias Crichell's concerns, Vandervahn Chistu guarantees that he has a plan set in motion for the Wolves. After the initial string of victories, ilKhan Ulric Kerensky assigns Phelan to leave the Clan Occupational Zone with the genetic legacy of the Wolf Clan. Eventually, the Refusal War reaches to multiple systems and at Twycross, Natasha Kerensky reaches her end facing off the Falcon Guards in December 3057.

Eventually at Wotan, Vandervahn Cristu waits in the center of the capital city, waiting for Ulric Kerensky and his units to arrive. While mech combat happens out in the streets, Ulric does find Cristu, only to have walked into a trap as Cristu uses a targeting laser to lase Ulric's Gargoyle for volleys from LRM strikes. Ulric and his guard are then killed.

The final act of the war happens in Morges. Phelan Ward is the last Warden Wolf leader left (and is in a dangerous position to lose Clan Wolf forever, as his Galaxy has the genetic material), and acquires help from the Kell Hounds. Eventually, the Wolves and Kell Hounds successfully hold out and subsequently ravage the Jade Falcon forces on Morges.

Game storyline

warning: spoilers/in-game plot synopsis

  • Clan Jade Falcon: Initially, the player strikes a communications complex on Colmar and must defend an industrial plant at Sudeten. On Zoetemeer, he successfully destroys a dropship, and on Baker 3 he helps defend a refurbished firebase from Wolf attack. On MacDuff, he answers a distress call from a stricken Mech and returns the pilot to safety, and on Evciler, he escorts a train carrying heat sink components to a processing center, defending it from Mech and aerotech attack. In the canyons of Twycross, he destroys a Heat Sink array and escapes the subsequent detonation. On Wotan, the player destroys a convoy carrying command staff that are preparing to escape the planet and escorts a friendly convoy to a friendly firebase. On Morges, the player defends an airbase from a Wolf attack (while front-line forces are retreating after a rout from the Kell Hounds), destroys all Wolf and Kell Hound Mechs in the city of Broken Hope, and eventually destroys Dwilt Radick, and another Command Convoy fleeing the planet.
  • Clan Wolf: Initially, the player strikes Jade Falcon holdings and installations on multiple planets, then on Baker 3, he successfully retrieves a T5 Recon Unit (a modified Tarantula). Then, he must secure a Sensor Array Dome on MacDuff, destroy a solar power array at Evciler, and capture a Falcon Command trailer at Twycross. In Wotan, the player is deployed with another unit to destroy Falcon-controlled resource centers in one major city, and later must locate and destroy a dropship with sensitive data. On Satellite Karetah, the player poses as a Falcon pilot in a stolen Mech and destroys a heavily guarded power core in an atmospheric processing unit so the Falcons cannot use the untapped resources. Eventually on Morges, the player defends an ambassador on his way to an opera theater in the city of Broken Hope and later must destroy a Falcon communications hub.

Both campaigns use a non-canon framing device of following a newly minted Clan MechWarrior through various battles in the Refusal War, and fighting Trials of Position that can eventually propel the player to the rank of Khan. While this provides continuity for the player, the actual units fighting the Refusal War were separated by significant distance and time, and a single MechWarrior could not have participated in all of the campaign's missions. Nor did the missions correspond with any of the individuals who canonically ended the Refusal War as Khan. The Jade Falcon campaign diverges from established canon in the Iron Piston and Bronze Anvil missions, when it shows the Wolves losing the Battle of Broken Hope.

Missions

Wolf Campaign

Pyre Light - Colmar - The 352nd Assault Cluster engages the 12th Falcon Regulars in the Marakaa Valley. The player is assigned to destroy a chemical plant and inspect a firebase.

Flame Tongue - Sudeten - Wolf forces attack the Jade Falcon garrison on the grassy plains of Dargoth and at the port city of Webster. The player is assigned to destroy a fuel pumping facility and a headquarters building.

Blade Splint - Zoetermeer - The 2nd Wolf Cavaliers attack the 10th Falcon Provisional Garrison Cluster in the city of Salyn, near the Nalon Spaceport. The player is assigned to destroy the city's power converter, which has been modified for cryo-plasma conversion.

Temper Edge - Baker 3 - The Wolves' 341st Assault Cluster is counterattacking against a push through the forests of Findley Province on the southern continent of Lowa by the Jade Falcons' 305th Assault Cluster. The player is assigned to enter the snowy Donner Rift and recover a damaged T5 Tarantula reconnaissance drone which contains enough information about the Falcon attack corridors to enable the Wolves to lay an ambush.

Sable Flame - Devin - The Wolves established a sensor array on Devin's moon, MacDuff, to support their operations against the 2nd Falcon Jaegers and 1st Falcon Striker Cluster on Devin's O'Tsung Plain, but it was seized by the Falcons. The player is assigned to liberate the dome without harming the staff.

Burning Chrome - Evciler - Clan Wolf's Tau Galaxy's Pup-class probes have detected the Falcons' 7th Construction Binary building a solar power array on the southern Messian continent to support a forward operating base for the Peregrine Galaxy. The player is assigned to destroy the solar array.

Scorching Sand - Twycross - The 352nd Assault Cluster, 3rd Battle Cluster, and 13th Wolf Guards are engaged with the 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster and the 5th Talon Cluster in the Great Gash and the Plain of Curtains. The player is assigned to capture the 5th Talon's Mobile HQ.

Silver Staff - Wotan - The 37th Striker Cluster is attacking the industrial sector of Borealtown. The player is assigned to destroy a chemical plant, an airbase, and industrial plant, and a HPG processor in support of the 37th's attack.

Aquiline Fire - Wotan - During the assault on Borealtown, the command ship WCS Hermione crashed. The player is assigned to find the wreckage, download its data packs, and then destroy the remains.

Cold Crescent - Morges - The Jade Falcons' 4th Talon Cluster is terraforming Morges' moon of Karetah to obtain its natural resources. The player is assigned to sabotage the main Falcon terraformer unit, located on Karetah's Batista Flats.

Velvet Hammer - Morges - The Jade Falcon forces have crossed the Po River and taken the suburbs of the city of Broken Hope, but Wolf Aide-de-Camp Josel Fetladral wishes to demonstrate his confidence in the defensive line by attending a performance at the Morton Opera-Plex. The player is assigned to escort his vehicle through the city.

Golden Spade - Morges - Defeated at the Battle of Broken Hope, the Falcon forces have retreated to the Held Shrine palace complex to set up a comm station and staging area for Falcon reinforcements. The Falcons have erected a force shield around the palace complex. The player is assigned to destroy the palace comm station.

Jade Falcon Campaign

Silent Thunder - Colmar - The 12th Falcon Regulars are engaging Clan Wolf's 352nd Assault Cluster in the Marakaa Valley's Bright Basin. The player is assigned to destroy a HPG uplink and a communications array.

Arkham Bridge - Sudeten - Clan Wolf's Delta Galaxy has landed in the Vesce Rift, and is advancing in two groups - one into the Dargoth area and the other towards an industrial plant. The player is assigned to defend the industrial plant.

Mirror Cage - Zoetermeer - The 2nd Wolf Cavaliers are attacking the city of Salyn, hoping to gain control of the Nalon Spaceport and the Orbital Chemical Engineering facilities held by Clan Jade Falcon's 10th Provisional Garrison Cluster. The player is assigned to launch a diversionary strike against a Wolf DropShip undergoing repairs in its rear area.

Bone Machine - Baker 3 - During the fighting in the antarctic wastes of the Lowa continent, the 305th Assault Cluster has seized an abandoned firebase from the Wolves' 341st Assault Cluster. The player is assigned to defend the firebase.

Bouk Obelisk - Devin - Wolf forces on the moon of MacDuff are approaching a Falcon isotope processor dome. The player is assigned to defend the processor.

Umber Wall - Evciler - The Falcons have deployed the 73rd Striker Cluster, the 6th Provisional Assault Cluster, the 51st Provisional Garrison Cluster, and the 9th Provisional Garrison Cluster to stop Clan Wolf's Tau Galaxy. The First Wolf Cavalry Cluster is attacking a Falcon mining operation in Mare Ferris, which is vital for heat sink manufacture. The player is assigned to escort a loaded hover train to the mine's processing unit.

Rogue Chariot - Twycross - The 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster is surrounded in the Great Gash. The player is assigned to attack a rear-area Clan Wolf supply base, drawing the 352nd and 3rd Clusters away from the battle, and enabling the 6th Provisional Garrison Cluster to extract and link up with the 5th Talon Cluster.

Plum Wine - Wotan - The Wolves' assault on Borealtown has failed, and they are retreating through the farming suburb of Den Telhman. The player is assigned to destroy enemy convoy vehicles and seize munitions.

Rust Heart - Wotan - A second Wolf assault on Borealtown has cut Jade Falcon supply lines. The player is assigned to escort a new supply convoy through a region of large crystalline growths to a firebase supporting the southern approach to Borealtown.

Armor Veil - Morges - The Falcon forces which followed the Warden Wolves to Morges were defeated at the Icegrief Pass, and are retreating to an airbase at Resnick Flats. The player is assigned to hold the airbase against Wolf and Kell Hound attacks.

Iron Piston - Morges - The 4th Wolf Guards seizure of the city of Broken Hope ahs cut the supply lines to Peregrine Galaxy's positions in the Carson Rift. The player is assigned to seize Borealtown.

Bronze Anvil - Morges - The Wolves 16th Battle Cluster has retreated to the Kell Hound base at Mount Canarfon, where Falcon bombardments collapsed the 'Mech bay, destroying most of their equipment and putting the survivors to flight. The player is assigned to pursue the convoy and kill Galaxy Commander Dwilt Radick and Kell Hound staffers.

Featured BattleMechs


Featured Planets

MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy Expansion Pack

In the expansion to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, Ghost Bear's Legacy puts the player in the role of a Clan Ghost Bear cadet about to take part in a Trial of Position for MechWarrior. Upon completion of the trial, the player is assigned to the 72nd Assault Trinary and sent for patrol duty on Mannedorf.

The Ghost Bear's Legacy campaign revolves around the retrieval of the genetic legacies of the Clan, which were stolen on the planet Ardoz by BattleMechs with the Draconis Combine emblem. Upon discovering the 'mechs were stolen and kept as isorla by Clan Smoke Jaguar following a failed Combine raid on Jeanette, the 72nd Assault Trinary attempts to find evidence of Clan Smoke Jaguar's involvement. Following a victorious Trial of Possession against the Smoke Jaguars, it is discovered that the crusader faction of Clan Wolf is behind the theft of the genetic legacies. The campaign ends with the retrieval of both legacies, and the destruction of a Clan Wolf space station in retribution.

If the player successfully accomplishes every mission without failure, they will be allowed to participate in further trials for the Bloodname of Tseng.

Missions

Cluebook

  • Cluebook, front cover

  • Cluebook, back cover

Featured BattleMechs


Featured Planets

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