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Those are the cliff's notes, good luck have fun.
One problem with using "max range" against ComStar during this time period (3026), is that they will always outrange the average merc. In the BEX mod stuff like ER lasers aren't something you can just find in any random black market. They are years away from being rediscovered, and the only way to get some is to take them from ComStar, or get very lucky (like say your best friend finds one, and you shank him with a rusty spoon, so you can take it for yourself).
ComStar also fields stuff like ECM, active probes, endo steel frames, ferro-fibrous armour, anti-missile systems, Streak SRMs, and Artemis IV FCS.
Basically it is like fighting the Clans during the initial invasion, but not as insanely lopsided.
At that point in the timeline... what, the Helm Memory Core hasn't been discovered and ComStar's been spending a lot of effort setting the Successor States against each other and going as far as kidnapping and murdering scientists to preserve their own technological advantage, IIRC. Meanwhile, they've been secretly hoarding the SLDF-era tech that they've preserved, been preparing the Com Guards to take over the Inner Sphere, and organized themselves in sixes rather than fours as well...
I don't know whether BEX did away with all the ++ gear (last time I played a BEX game was back when it was still BEX:CE, before moving on to BTA, afterwords renamed to BTAU) but if that's gone or toned down, then you're at a significant tech disadvantage, yup.
BTAU's set later in the timeline, but there's still a fair bit of interesting tech that is mostly fielded by ComStar / Word of Blake or the revived Terran Hegemony (which, in the BTAU alternate timeline, is closely aligned with ComStar).
Range isn't about ER compared to regular LLs, that sort of thinking is trivial really.
TBH and this is again trivial but for more context... in BEX when you're fighting 4v12 or whatever against ComStar, you don't want that extra ER heat. You need high alpha and high sustain. DHS, Exchangers, etc. UAC5s, PPCs, LLs, etc.
"Max range" is more like a tactical philosophy than a mech design concept. IYt's about dictating positioning and flow.
For example let's say it's an urban map fight. Sit in the rubble of a knocked down building, looking down the street, and let them slowly come into range. If you have to push out first to engage someone, do it from max range that still gives reliable accuracy and gives your teammates line of sight - better yet, let either the allied or baddie lance take ComStar's agro... it's great when they do take that bait and you get just tons of backshots on them or something. Use 1 or 2 JJs on all your mechs, to stay in a tightly sync'd grouping with your lancemates, while still keeping 1 or 2 evasion pips. The JJs can also be used to jump over buildings or objects to break LoS when someone starts getting agro. The entire point is to not let ComStar put 8, 10, friggin 12 shots on any of your guys, cuz they will get knocked down and then it's core time and likely GG for that foolish pilot.
Be prudent with your initiative, try and let the overall flow of the fight dictate where you position. By this I mean, consider that the 4 enemy mechs that aren't ComStar, should be used as agro bait for ComStar as much as possible. Same with the 4 ally mechs in a lance, they should be tanking. Not you tanking for them, or taking shots when they could be shooting something else.
+++ gear does still exist, but you don't get as much of it from the black markets like you do in the base game (the selection includes items that aren't the "best" version of an item). On top of that, for context of my situation, it was early in campaign mode, so I don't have the option to ally with a big faction and buy direct from their factories.
For added fun with the tech imbalance, there are "SLDF" versions of certain weapons that are carried by certain stock mechs. You can probably guess that those are stuff like the Royal SLDF versions of those mechs, and the type that ComStar likes to field. The SLDF weapons are basically ++++ weapons, so even when you field lots of custom weapons, ComStar is basically doing the same.
@Hark You don't seem to understand that this is a modded game, and stuff like double heat sinks, or a UAC/5, is a treasure you'd shank your friend to steal. The only real source of this kind of gear would be the very enemies that I am fighting.
I am basically stuck with the basic tech level stuff, and ComStar gets the best stuff short of Clan tech. This means that their mechs have more weapons due to weight saving tech, more armour due to the same, less heat issues due to DHS generally being standard, CASE meaning that ammo explosions don't destroy a torso slot, nor or parts in that location,
tech I can't even field like active probes, and often better speeds due to XL engine being an option. The fact they have more options also means that they more often don't have glaring weak points like being glass cannons that are useless after the first alpha causes them to melt.
Initiative shenanigans is also harder to pull off since the AI will often reserve its turn, and use it against the player on its own initiative.
Finally jump jets aren't an option for every mech since BEX limits what units can mount them. So an Orion V like I was using can't just add them for added evasion.
*sigh*
Here's a video from a series I've put up 250 hours of (so far).
There's about 100 ComStar fights in the series - all being the 4v12 scenario that you get out of Tag Team or Search Denial missions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCjoMgqyldM&t=627s
Every episode - after like part 5 or so - begins with a 5-Skull ComStar fight.
Watch how I position and open up the fighting, note the mechs and builds, pay attention to stuff like target selection, tactical flow, etc.
Or don't, and get angry at someone who's trying to help you who probably knows more about these fights than anyone you're ever going to speak to (besides maybe haree).
Then do it all for yourself. The only comment I anticipate in response to this that would be a valid critique would be, "you are using good assaults" well yeah you can't take on those guys with rando pieces of crap. Grab standard Highlanders out of shops, strip them down, put all your best stuff on them, and a JJ or two... stop being the hunted, and become the hunter.
That bonus quirk doesn't exist in BEX.
Hang in there and go get that loot!
I think the RNG screwed me a bit on the first try since there was no enemy assaults the second time (there was a ComStar Wasp the first time, so that likely allowed more tonnage to go to the other mechs). A Griffin GRF-2N, two Guillotines (of a type I forget at the moment, but were LosTech), a Hoplite HOP-4C, and a Crusader CRD-2R, were much easier to fight. The annoying allied lance leader actually spawned in a Stalker, but could barely do much besides potshots due to heat issues. Over all the allies didn't do much, but function as decoys.
I barely missed out on getting enough parts for the Guillotine (both only drop one part), but the GRF-2N parts were useful since I later fought a weaker ComStar force and was able to complete it. Of all things the Hoplite was of the most immediate value since I was able to complete it, and customise it into something useful (for those unfamiliar the HOP-4C has one of the worst stock loadouts ever! It produces next to no heat with its AC/10, and LRM5, YET ADDS SIX BLOODY HEATSINKS!?). What pissed me off the most was how low the salvage amount was for that contract. I missed out on four Streak SRM2s due to having barely any room to reserve loot. I did however luck out and get a ++LRM15 w/Artemis IV.
Nice job.
As far as I know, BEX uses Xotl's tables to determine spawn rate of mechs, including ComStar's, for any mission.
What this means is that some mechs will be seen more often than others. You will see that 2N Griffin again, it is high on the ComStar table. Same with the Guillotines, and the Crusader, and Hoplite.
Sometimes it will spawn a company of relatively weaker mechs. Sometimes it will spawn a company of very strong or very rare mechs. Sometimes a mix.
You're likely about 90% to where you want to be - just refine whatever you're doing that is working, and switch up whatever you think isn't working. Could be a mechlab/design bit of dead weight here or there that isn't bringing much efficiency to these types of fights, or it could be a tactical/positional thing that you could work on (usually the "opening" is most critical, gotta think like a SWAT team in these fights).
Anyways, I'm glad to see you've turned the corner. Good luck hunting.
PS - Always max salvage against ComStar, otherwise what's the point y'know. Search Denial and Tag Team are the missions to hunt for. When you are on board the ship, go to the section of the ship that allows you to view the entire Inner Sphere map. Press CTRL+F to bring up a search bar, in that search bar type in "comstar". This will then make the map only show planets that ComStar is located on. This does not necessarily mean that you will find battles against them there, however. There are a couple of other commands that you can search with that are useful, but frankly I haven't played in almost a year and forget em. You could Google search this stuff, fyi. Lot of Reddit threads etc.
I basically just laughed the whole time as the Liao units got violated, and I took potshots at any ComStar mech that got close the forested hill I was camped on. Always a good day when Liao gets shafted, and I can get some good salvage too!
What was also funny was the allied Davion Javelin and Centurion actually ended up with most of the actual kills. It was a rare case of the NPC allies actual doing some work.