Benefits of traveling using star map?

[Adeptus Lebowski]

Got quite some hours in the game now and only just realised i can travel to places using the star map! I only ever looked at contracts and just went where they sent me.

So what's the benfit of just traveling somewhere without looking at what contracts are up? Will there be missions at any area i choose to go or is it just to check out new stuff in their stores?

[Nine-ball]

There will be missions, and the kind of equipment you can get from stores or salvage will vary. Planets with Inner Sphere-level civilizations will offer more, while planets with a former SLDF presence off the posibility of getting LosTech mechs and systems.

If you decide the game is being a bit too punishing, or have a run of bad luck, you can go to Periphery backwaters for easier missions. Just be aware, the Jumpship fees and monthly costs can add up quickly. It's best to stake out the region of space you want to operate in before making the travel plans.

[Druitt]

You can click on the destination and see what kind of place it is. Perhaps you are a little too energy-weapon happy, so look for places that will tend towards Arctic environments -- or at least not Lunar/Mars. Perhaps you are looking for rare weapons; look for SLDF, Research, etc. If you concentrate on a single faction's destinations you can more quickly increase your rep with them. Also, you can choose places that are more of fewer skulls, where you'll get the level of missions you would prefer.

[Adeptus Lebowski]

Ok thanks, that makes sense. I only just did the incription thing to unlock new tech and more places to go. So i think i'll stop only using the side mission contracts and choose on my own a good place now, looking at what each place has to offer first of course.

Thanks again

[zAcEz]

https://battletech.gamepedia.com/Star_systems

You want to be running between Victoria, Yuris, Hurik & New Vanderburg to find the best stuff in the shops. Supposedly some of the rarest items have 1 in 2000 or more chance to spawn.

[Adeptus Lebowski]

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! I can't imagine what that stuff even is atm. The best mechs i have are the Grasshopper with ML++ and Orion hahaha!

Well i'll defo track down those locations then thanks. I'm still waiting for the day i get an Assault mech, but i assume to get one, i need to kill some first for parts? Not looking forward to that!

[danko9696]

Originally posted by zAcEz:

https://battletech.gamepedia.com/Star_systems

You want to be running between Victoria, Yuris, Hurik & New Vanderburg to find the best stuff in the shops. Supposedly some of the rarest items have 1 in 2000 or more chance to spawn.

Also you don't need to get into orbit to check the stores. You can set a course for a planet one step ahead the one you're really interested and when in the planet you are interested stop, check the shop and if something good then change course into orbit the local system. If not, then go to that planet and repeat. You can do this many times very efficiently if you have a decent amount of money saved.

Apart from this, if I'm not mistaken that chance is per slot, not per shop inventory. So the real chance, while still very low it's much higher than those figures.

[Evol_Prodigy]

Originally posted by Lebowski:

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! I can't imagine what that stuff even is atm. The best mechs i have are the Grasshopper with ML++ and Orion hahaha!

Well i'll defo track down those locations then thanks. I'm still waiting for the day i get an Assault mech, but i assume to get one, i need to kill some first for parts? Not looking forward to that!

Flying around in the area metioned above will also put you near the highest-skull systems which will have you encountering assaults earlier than the rest.

That said, I spent an immense amount of time trawling the sector for assaults and never encountered one until I did the next story mission, so how far along you are there is a big influence.

[zAcEz]

Originally posted by Lebowski:

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! I can't imagine what that stuff even is atm. The best mechs i have are the Grasshopper with ML++ and Orion hahaha!

Well i'll defo track down those locations then thanks. I'm still waiting for the day i get an Assault mech, but i assume to get one, i need to kill some first for parts? Not looking forward to that!

I hate to burst your bubble, but the best stuff you will get are the ++ & +++ equipment.
There's a bug with the LRM++ (5,10 & 15 only) whereby the +2 stability damage is actually +3 in stats.

Assaults are gated by progression through the main story. I cant remember which one though.

The earliest you can find an assault on a contract mission is a 3 skull planet assassinate mission.
But even then, no guarantees. Once you've completed thecampaign, assaults spawn like flies.

[ρоѕιтяои_]

Really appreciate this information. I too have just been going where the contracts send me.

[mes_latoth]

Check out places like Brinton (leftern most planet in the Taurian Concordat) - an awesome place to farm heavies / assault mechs.

You don't get offered missions from there usually, so "going solo" to high-difficulty / high-tech worlds is usually the main way to get those places kick-started.

[Langkard]

Just flying between Brinton and New Vandenburg works well and saves some money. Brinton has the higher skull-level missions, while NV has the chance of nice stuff in the store. NV will also usually have a travel mission back to Brinton for a nice multi-skull mission, saving you half of the travel costs on a round trip.