Mechwarrior 4 salvage maximising

[bononos]

Does anyone remember how the salvage algo works in MW4:V/Bk/Mercs? The rule of the thumb was that the less damaged a mech is, the better the chances of getting more parts out of it.

It worked this way in MW1-3 (pretty sure) and MW4:M (I think). I haven't finished MW4:Vengeance/BK yet.

I think is different for Vengeance/BK vs Mercenaries. Apparently in MW4:Vengeance/BK(?) you can't drop enemy mechs by shooting one leg until it turns black since a one legged (blasted internal structure to black) mech can still limp along.

http://www.mektek.net/forums/topic/...ission/?hl=+mechwarrior++salvage#entry1280534
The Mektek thread above probably refers to the Mektek version (free game) but I have the old 2 cd MW4 version. So is that how MW4:M works? No rhyme nor reason, just blow them up and roll the dice?

 

[shortylickens]

MW4: Shoot the legs. When it goes down the thing still disintegrates but at the end you get more stuff.

Actually the best salvage comes from a late game mission where you have to choose between saving some trapped civilians or going on an equipment run. If you go that route you get two Daishi's, a Mark II, and some very nice guns.

 

[Elcs]

Kill the meat, save the metal.

-Old Mercenary Addage.

 

[bononos]

MW4: Shoot the legs. When it goes down the thing still disintegrates but at the end you get more stuff.

Actually the best salvage comes from a late game mission where you have to choose between saving some trapped civilians or going on an equipment run. If you go that route you get two Daishi's, a Mark II, and some very nice guns.

Yeah thats the weird part, in MW1-3 you don't get the chassis (or probably even any of the weapons) if you blow up the mech (reactor core explode).
And from what I've been seeing, how to salvage works in MW4 V/BK may be different from MW4:M.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Some salvage is predetermined/scripted, too.

 

[Stuka87]

Yeah, it depends on the mission, some will always give you a certain weapon or chassis. But typically as stated always go for the legs. Shoot the upper torso the least amount possible.

But I do not recall seeing any difference between the different expansions.

 

[shortylickens]

Its easier to drop mechs by the legs anyway.

 

[Midwayman]

I remember doing a lot of long range leg sniping with 4x ERPPC.

 

[shortylickens]

I remember doing a lot of long range leg sniping with 4x ERPPC.

I could never do that. They take too long to reach the target. Always missed.

Ironically there are several guns which DO strike instantly.

 

[Midwayman]

I could never do that. They take too long to reach the target. Always missed.

Ironically there are several guns which DO strike instantly.

If you fired from long enough range you were outside their AI bubble and they'd just stand still for you a lot of the time.

 

[Fallen Kell]

One of these days I need to play through 4....

 

[bononos]

Yeah, it depends on the mission, some will always give you a certain weapon or chassis. But typically as stated always go for the legs. Shoot the upper torso the least amount possible.

But I do not recall seeing any difference between the different expansions.

Yeah you're right. My memory was faulty. I did some testing and found out you can't drop mechs by legging them in Mercs (and its the same for the previous sequels).
And the game runs a too fast on my current system.

 

[lupi]

The thing I hated, even after they added the super zoom and moved onto clan era so you could have massively stocked weapon arrangements, they still had a permanent visual cloud preventing you from using everything to its maximum ability.