Coop campaign

[Dr.Corpse]

Hello everyone, a couple of quick questions since I searched the existing threads and the answers seemed somewhat vague

A) this is my first Mechwarrior game, and my biggest focus would be coop fun. Is there a complete campaign structure that can be played in co-op or are the co-ops just "heres a fight jump in?" And if the campaign itself supports Co-op is there any problem with the player count fluctiatin (are all players using the same mech group and resources or are the fights going to be super hard whenever 2 people in a 4-player campaign dont show up?)


B) what kinds of controls is this game for? I have never played a propwer MW game, i have full HOTAS setup that i rarely use but I dont see the game supporting VR mode at all, and most others in my coop group use KB+m. is there a efficiency gimp for people with just basic KBM controls?

C) are the DLCs necessary for a co-op campaign or can we buy the base game and assess whether we would like the DLCs later?

Thank you!

[Zombie101]

A. There is a full campaign. But you your a merc so you can spread out missions how you like. Coop is what ever the host is running. If all you have is 4 mechs that all you have. Host is leader of the merc group and his assets are shared in coop.

If you start your game in single player you can switch out coop mode after mission 4. If starting a main campain.

What ever you bring in to missions. AI came be replaced by player at anytime so long you have enough mechs. If a player drops AI will take over the mech.

B Some player use HOTAS some use KBM. No there not a gimp for KBM user. Some prefer it over a joy. Just a matter what player has for control how they want to play it.

C. No DLC's are not necessory for campaign . What ever the host has for DLC what your going be playing. No don't have worry about owning DLC play with anyone. You can just have base game and host can have all the DLC's you can still play together just fine.

MOD's are a different story. These need be the same.

[user19990313]

A) The game fully supports coop, but you'll have to complete the first 4 campaign missions to unlock coop as the host (because you don't have more than 1 active mechs nor the means of purchasing more until that point, for story reasons; these missions are really just extended tutorials anyway). You should end up with 3 mechs available after that mission, so you might need to buy one if there are 4 of you doing coop.
The game does not increase difficulty for bringing in 3 coop buddies, nor water it down if only half of your group showed up today (the vacancies are replaced by AI pilots if you still field a full lance though), but all of you will be operating exclusively on the host's savegame. It might be a bit chaotic managing all mechs for your buddy and communicating during mission, so I recommend these QoL mods for a better coop experience:

Multiplayer Co-Op Premissions Update:
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/140
Unlocks market, starmap, mechlab and pilot management for your friends, more degree of freedom and less babysitting from the host! (May requires a new save)

Co-Op Rewards
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/598
Automatically saves all money, mechs and equipment gained at the end of action and make them redeemable in singleplayer for the guest player

JFs Co-Op AI Controls
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/597
In vanilla the guest player cannot issue commands to AI lance mates, this mod makes it possible for the guest to command AIs. Just come into agreements beforehand so no one would be fighting over the control of the same AI

Co-Op Ping
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/612
Ping locations in coop. No more "There! Go THERE!"

B) The game has native support for KB/M, controller and HOTAS, although to use HOTAS you'll have to follow a guide and choose a proper profile. Since the mech control in this game is similar to that of a tank (w/s for throttle, a/d for turning), controller and HOTAS works really well in this case.
For your friends that relying on KB/M: if they find the control scheme really hard to get used to, there's a "FPS movement" option to use, which turns w/s into moving forward/backward and a/d into strafing.

but I dont see the game supporting VR mode at all

If there's a will, there's a mod:
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/531

C) You can always come back later with new DLCs, but I'd suggest grabbing some of them now, since:
1. If the host owns any DLC, all guest players can enjoy the content as well
2. Some DLCs are considered essential as they introduce some important mechanics or new mission types into the game, especially the first 2 DLCs
3. Some DLCs have a mini campaign, you might miss them if you get the DLCs mid playthrough; in that case you'll have to start a new one, but good news is you can import your current campaign into a new career mode game and inherit all mechs, equipment, pilots and money, resetting faction standing and rep level in the process

I recommend buying the jumpship edition which includes the first 2 DLCs (plus DLC4 if possible), but if you want to hand pick them, here's a rundown of each DLC (all of them adds new mechs of course):
Hero of the Inner Sphere (HotIS, DLC1): a questing system where you can complete tasks like hunting down mechs or collecting equipment and unlock powerful upgrade options in exchange; 7 short questlines featuring 3 hand crafted maps each and unique mech rewards; new weapons and equipment you can toy with
Legend of the Kestrel Lancers (LotKL, DLC2): a lore-based mini campaign that is 2/3 the length of the vanilla campaign, where you participate in one of the largest military conflict since 3015; new megacity biome to fuel your inner warcrime-committing stompy robot desire even more; short questlines as well
Call to Arms (CtA, DLC3): melee mechs, mechs with hatchet and katana. It sounds silly until you got bonked in the head with one of these. Nothing else of importance.
Rise of Rasalhague (RoR, DLC4): yet another lore-based mini campaign 2/3 the length of vanilla, where you assure the independence of a new state by committing even more warcrimes (and get paid for doing them); a mercenary mechanic where other merc companies can interject in the middle of your contract, fighting for or against you depending on their allegiance to your employer of target, with tiers of goodies to unlock; a new mission type where you are rewarded for being sneaky

[Rizo the Hunter]

Originally posted by user19990313:

A) The game fully supports coop, but you'll have to complete the first 4 campaign missions to unlock coop as the host (because you don't have more than 1 active mechs nor the means of purchasing more until that point, for story reasons; these missions are really just extended tutorials anyway). You should end up with 3 mechs available after that mission, so you might need to buy one if there are 4 of you doing coop.
The game does not increase difficulty for bringing in 3 coop buddies, nor water it down if only half of your group showed up today (the vacancies are replaced by AI pilots if you still field a full lance though), but all of you will be operating exclusively on the host's savegame. It might be a bit chaotic managing all mechs for your buddy and communicating during mission, so I recommend these QoL mods for a better coop experience:

Multiplayer Co-Op Premissions Update:
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/140
Unlocks market, starmap, mechlab and pilot management for your friends, more degree of freedom and less babysitting from the host! (May requires a new save)

Co-Op Rewards
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/598
Automatically saves all money, mechs and equipment gained at the end of action and make them redeemable in singleplayer for the guest player

JFs Co-Op AI Controls
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/597
In vanilla the guest player cannot issue commands to AI lance mates, this mod makes it possible for the guest to command AIs. Just come into agreements beforehand so no one would be fighting over the control of the same AI

Co-Op Ping
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/612
Ping locations in coop. No more "There! Go THERE!"

B) The game has native support for KB/M, controller and HOTAS, although to use HOTAS you'll have to follow a guide and choose a proper profile. Since the mech control in this game is similar to that of a tank (w/s for throttle, a/d for turning), controller and HOTAS works really well in this case.
For your friends that relying on KB/M: if they find the control scheme really hard to get used to, there's a "FPS movement" option to use, which turns w/s into moving forward/backward and a/d into strafing.

but I dont see the game supporting VR mode at all

If there's a will, there's a mod:
https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/531

C) You can always come back later with new DLCs, but I'd suggest grabbing some of them now, since:
1. If the host owns any DLC, all guest players can enjoy the content as well
2. Some DLCs are considered essential as they introduce some important mechanics or new mission types into the game, especially the first 2 DLCs
3. Some DLCs have a mini campaign, you might miss them if you get the DLCs mid playthrough; in that case you'll have to start a new one, but good news is you can import your current campaign into a new career mode game and inherit all mechs, equipment, pilots and money, resetting faction standing and rep level in the process

I recommend buying the jumpship edition which includes the first 2 DLCs (plus DLC4 if possible), but if you want to hand pick them, here's a rundown of each DLC (all of them adds new mechs of course):
Hero of the Inner Sphere (HotIS, DLC1): a questing system where you can complete tasks like hunting down mechs or collecting equipment and unlock powerful upgrade options in exchange; 7 short questlines featuring 3 hand crafted maps each and unique mech rewards; new weapons and equipment you can toy with
Legend of the Kestrel Lancers (LotKL, DLC2): a lore-based mini campaign that is 2/3 the length of the vanilla campaign, where you participate in one of the largest military conflict since 3015; new megacity biome to fuel your inner warcrime-committing stompy robot desire even more; short questlines as well
Call to Arms (CtA, DLC3): melee mechs, mechs with hatchet and katana. It sounds silly until you got bonked in the head with one of these. Nothing else of importance.
Rise of Rasalhague (RoR, DLC4): yet another lore-based mini campaign 2/3 the length of vanilla, where you assure the independence of a new state by committing even more warcrimes (and get paid for doing them); a mercenary mechanic where other merc companies can interject in the middle of your contract, fighting for or against you depending on their allegiance to your employer of target, with tiers of goodies to unlock; a new mission type where you are rewarded for being sneaky

Thank you for taking the time to explain things in details and link useful mods for coop.

[4sng_Respawnz]

Originally posted by user19990313:

....If there's a will, there's a mod...

That really resonates.
Should be on a Banner, across the top of the WorkShop page

[hunt45]

so stupid question. if i want to invite a friend to this game do they need the game as well (as some games allow people to not need everyone to have the game these days in remote play)

[Acierocolotl]

Originally posted by hunt45:

so stupid question. if i want to invite a friend to this game do they need the game as well (as some games allow people to not need everyone to have the game these days in remote play)

Everybody playing needs a copy. But just the base copy. Only the host needs to own any DLC.

[Hodor]

Thanks, very useful