Pros and Cons of working for each House

[Clever Name]

I tried looking for a previous discussion that covered this, or a guide, and found nothing. So I'm asking now:

What are the main differences, if any, between each House employer, regarding contracts and mission difficulty? In MW5, I want to specify.

I know that in the old pen and paper lore, Davion and Kurita are considered the largest and most powerful employers, while Steiner pays well but is incompetent, and Marik is unstable and Liao will always try to screw you out of a paycheck.

Is there any translation of that lore into MW5 that's really noticeable over a long career? Like one faction offering more cash, or more salvage, or better salvage quality, or better equipment and mechs available in their markets, etc.

[Clever Name]

My own experience in MW5 goes like this:

I started for Rasalhague because I wanted the latest date. Instead of dumping them quickly to go work for a powerful House, however, I kept working for them for about 20 years. So I ended up earning Kurita's hatred (not really a problem for me) and, much more critically, the combined Fed-Com's hatred.

It was only after I'd dug myself into a deep reputation hole that I realized that the best gear and mechs on the market were always coreward. Rasalhague's one industry hub is practically on the rim. So eventually I got bored and wanted to permanently operate closer to the core. Having made enemies of both Kurita and Fed-Com, I had only Marik and Liao to choose from. Obviously Marik was the only real choice, since Liao circa 3050 is almost as worthless as Rasalhague (pre clan invasion, at least).

Ultimately I don't mind working for Marik, but I just wonder if I made my career more or less difficult in doing so.

[Wayz]

Better prices vs higher prices & more negotiation points vs less. They really did not put a whole lot of thought into this part of the title sorry to say.
Hero status with a faction = 25% discount on mechs and equipment. Sworn enemy with a faction means +25% prices.

Either way ...not exactly beneficial or limiting unless early on in the game.

Equipment is random and best chance for best kit as mentioned is the systems in the centre. Late game the entire IS map is utterly worthless and not worth venturing any further from the lvl 14-15 conflict zones & industrial hubs in the centre.

[pete]

You can get to do war crimes legally with the Capellans?

[Mordegar]

To be honest, either Steiner or Marik.
Steiner offers you good work against the Kuritans and Marik is in reach of the Steiner/Liao Border. You will have a lot of Industrial Hubs to scavange near the Marik/Liao Border.

[kschang77]

In my current career I started on the Davion side, ended up +5 Davion, +5 Fedcom, +1 Steiner, +1 Marik, +1 Liao, -5 Kurita, and -5 Independents. I moved coreward and right now hangs near the coreward Rep 15 zones right around the ring of industrial hubs circling around Terra. The Marik and Liao rep varies as I take their missions against indies and Kurita but I also take missions from Fedcom or FedSun against them. Turns out this area is also great for mech collecting, as I have probably 90% of all hero mechs now.

[Incunabulum]

There really isn't any difference.

Working for one House predominately gets you better rates for jobs and buying and selling with that house - and that's it.

[Polish Electrician]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't Kurita/DC have a rather awful reputation among Mercenaries. Something something pressganging merc units into the DCMS, something something execute mercenaries.

[kampfer91]

I think when you reach sworn enemy status , they stop selling mech in the industrial hub except when it is rare sale . That what happened to Kurita in my run till i change theirs reputation to Hostile .

[BoboMaximus]

It only effects the Start once you reach a certain rep it really doesn't matter. You basically have 2 mechs per lance by then and your only looking for rare or hero mechs at that point anyways. Most of the action and jobs are on the Borders. Kurita and Marik have the worst starts because of the starting Mechs. Steiner and Davion are the easiest. And Liao is in the middle but you can become wealthy very fast starting with Liao. Because you can work both sides of the borders with less travel and more early high reward missions. Build up your Rep with Liao very fast. Rasalhague is a late start its alot like Liao start . Borders are close on both sides . And if your going to do the War Campaign I would suggest starting with Davion

[ShaggyMoose]

Just beat on the poor independents.

[Clever Name]

I have noticed one difference between House contracts:

Davion, for instance, will give you 2 consecutive missions for a multi-mission contract. Sometimes 3, but often 2. I prefer this because it's easier to field 8 good mechs than it is to have 12 good ones active at any given time.

Marik always gives me a minimum of 3 consecutive missions, and often there are 4.

3 is doable, 4 is pointlessly dangerous, as by the last mission, you'll be forced to re-use mechs with already damaged armor. Pretty much begging for component loss unless everything goes perfectly your way.

I haven't tried Steiner, Liao, or Kurita much yet.

[Clever Name]

Originally posted by Polish Electrician:

Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't Kurita/DC have a rather awful reputation among Mercenaries. Something something pressganging merc units into the DCMS, something something execute mercenaries.

Yeah, this sounds about right.

Kurita thinks very little of mercenaries, unless the merc company performs well and earns their respect or some such. If you have a high reputation, they might be okay to work for. If you don't, then they'll chew you up and spit you out.

Davion supposedly is the overall best House to work for, except mercs are often used in bluffs and feints and complex military maneuvers that can get them in trouble. In other words, their contracts often aren't as straightforward as they appear.

Steiner pays well, but frequently demands greater control over the merc unit, and to make matters even worse, said control is often incompetent.

Marik has a lot of opportunities for employment because there's so much infighting in the region. This supposedly makes things dangerous for mercs, because they don't know which side they fight for will end up on the winning side of the bi-monthly civil wars.

And finally, Liao will often try to use contract technicalities to screw you out of pay.

I remember in the original MechWarrior game (1989), some effort was made to reflect House/merc relations. I distinctly remember Liao just outright refusing to pay after you finished a contract. You'd walk away with nothing. Even though this didn't happen regularly, once was enough for me to never want to work for them again.

I also think maybe Davion (or some other House) had bad intel, and you'd end up fighting more mechs, or heavier mechs, than what the contract initially indicated.

I'm thinking Steiner probably paid less in salvage, because Steiner's always retreating from somewhere. Could be wrong on that, but it would make sense.

I don't remember ever working for Marik much back then. I mostly worked for either Kurita or Davion, occasionally Steiner. Kurita, I believe, was very hard to bargain with until you got some reputation. We didn't get actual salvage in MW1, just a percentage of salvage paid to us in C-bills, and you could demand a higher percentage. Push too hard, and they'll tell you to f*** off and end the negotiation.

[Bovril Brigadier]

Mentioned this in another thread but had some confirmation bias to share.
I get screwed out of loot/rewards in Liao missions due to bugs
Kurita tend to throw you at targets that are way more dangerous and with little reward.
Davion treat you like a pampered princess and will back you up with Assault Lances for minor engagements.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by pete:

You can get to do war crimes legally with the Capellans?

What's this dumb meme about? There seems to be as mentioned a dumb meme going on about House Liao!

[Clever Name]

Originally posted by Strayed:

Mentioned this in another thread but had some confirmation bias to share.
I get screwed out of loot/rewards in Liao missions due to bugs
Kurita tend to throw you at targets that are way more dangerous and with little reward.
Davion treat you like a pampered princess and will back you up with Assault Lances for minor engagements.

Do you know if FedCom acts the same way as Davion, by any chance? I've never looked much into FedCom contracts because I'm like negative 5,000 reputation with them.

I do also know that Davion/Steiner contracts are still available even after the FedCom merger, but obviously they're going to be much less frequent.