BATTLETECH Mission Difficulty Ratings

This guide helps clear up some of the confusion about what to expect from the often frustrating BATTLETECH mission Challenge Rating system, my theories on why the system is designed this way, and how players can adjust their gameplay to this imprecise system. This guide is based on the core game, not any mods or expansions, and assumes the player is at the default 'normal' difficulty option in the game settings.

If you're looking for some info regarding Career Mode, check out my other guide...

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2061505687

More to Come!

I'm super busy right now and don't have much time to spare for writing this guide. But, I will complete the guide eventually with descriptions of every difficulty rating, additional methods of evaluating the ACTUAL DIFFICULTY of missions, and my theories on why the challenge rating system is designed the way it is.

Meanwhile, I feel like every new BATTLETECH player, or any player who is frustrated with the mission Challenge Rating system, should read the guide introduction.

TERMINOLOGY

Who is the "Average Player"?

This guide often refers to the "average player" while describing various Challenge Ratings and other features of BATTLETECH. This section of the guide is not intended to denigrate the "average player", but rather to draw a distinction between expert and non-expert players. To be clear, even highly skilled players sometimes exhibit the same traits as an "average player", but that's because they've mastered an effective playstyle and know when it's appropriate to bend or break the tactical "rules" of BATTLETECH. Defining the "average player" is also important because it serves as the baseline for the average difficulty of missions regarding mech lance composition and mech warrior skill levels necessary to successfully complete them.

For purposes of this guide, the "average player" is defined as follows...

1. Often employs unnecessarily aggressive tactics

2. Doesn't always attack the optimal target, or spreads around their damage a little too often, but still successfully completes most missions regardless

3. Takes the occasional unnecessary risk, either for fun and excitement, or because they don't yet know any better

4. Customizes mech loadouts in a non-optimal manner, but better than the stock loadouts

5. Lacks strong synergy between mech warrior skills and mech loadouts

6. Has a general understanding of the intricacies of game mechanics/tactics like Initiative, Morale, Evasion, positioning, etc., but doesn't always employ them to maximum benefit at the optimal time

7. Doesn't always utilize terrain to maximum advantage but understands the value of cover and LoS

8. Occasionally accepts missions with a Challenge Rating higher than they can safely manage and suffers significant mech warrior casualties or mech damage

9. Sometimes attempts to complete a difficult mission even while suffering significant mech damage or mech warrior injuries rather than using the Withdraw option and live to fight another day

10. Rarely uses the Eject feature in order to save an experienced mech warrior from injury/death and still successfully complete the mission with their remaining mechs


Ok, let's move on.

INTRODUCTION

What is Going On?

Determining the difficulty of missions is based on a few factors, but many players (especially new players) rely primarily on the Challenge Rating of the mission, presented as .5 skulls as the easiest mission through 5 skulls as the most difficult mission. The mission difficulty is based on the hypothetical total weight of an average skilled player's lance and mech warriors' skill levels required to successfully complete the mission. Hence, every mission has a permissible lance total weight cap. A heavier lance weight composition presumes sturdier mechs with more powerful weapons than a lighter weight lance composition. However, highly skilled players might be able to complete the same mission with a lighter weight lance, or even with fewer than four mechs and lesser experienced mech warriors compared to a lesser skilled player who might need a heavier lance composition of four mechs with more experienced mech warriors. Somewhere along this spectrum we get our BATTLETECH mission challenge rating.

Firstly, be aware that the average challenge of missions changes dramatically even with just a half skull difference. This is perhaps the biggest shock for most new BATTLETECH players accustomed to games with a less severe, and more reliable, difficulty scale. Generally, there is a significant difference between the average (there's that word again!) difficulty of a 1.5 skull mission and a 2 skull mission, or a 2.5 skull mission and a 3 skull mission, etc.

Secondly, be aware that the actual difficulty of a mission is not necessarily reflected solely by its skull Challenge Rating. This is an issue which often frustrates and confuses new BATTLETECH players, and is the source of many complaints and lengthy forum rants. Remember that the Challenge Rating of missions is based on a fairly broad spectrum, not a narrowly fixed and reliable range. In other words, the BATTLETECH mission Challenge Rating system is purposely unreliable to a certain extent - more on this later in the guide. This really isn't as bad as it sounds, and IMHO makes the game more fun.

VARIOUS METHODS FOR EVALUATING ACTUAL MISSION DIFFICULTY

Narrative Clues to Mission Difficulty Are Sprinkled Throughout This Game

At its core, BATTLETECH is a turn-based tactical combat game, but the narrative flavor of the game also has an important role, especially for determining the actual difficulty of a mission regardless of its skull Challenge Rating. Every mission has a short narrative of flavor text which often provides clues as to how difficult or easy of a mission you're about to accept. Sometimes this REALLY MATTERS, so I suggest you always read such descriptions of each mission. This is especially important with lower skull Challenge Rating missions of 2.5 skulls or less, or if the average player has not yet assembled a full lance of Heavy/Assault mechs.

When you haven't yet acquired any Assault or Heavy mechs in the early stages of the game, but the mission description mentions that you should expect to fight a heavy or assault mech - even one not operating at full strength - then you need to make sure your mech lance and mech warriors are prepared for such a confrontation. Similarly, when Darius informs you at the start of a mission that you should expect an ambush, then you should listen to what the man says. Be prepared for overwhelming enemy forces, especially if you blindly charge into the center of the map thinking you'll decimate everything in your path. News flash - you'll probably get your butt handed to you, especially if you're still running all medium and light mechs. So yeah, the narrative features of BATTLETECH are important and you should pay attention to them.



Wow, That's a Lot More Scrap and C-Bills Than Expected!

When negotiating mission contracts, pay attention to how much maximum scrap and C-Bills are available. This is a strong indicator of the actual difficulty of the mission. Significantly more scrap and C-Bills compared to other missions of the same skull Challenge Rating generally means the mission is at the more difficult end of the spectrum. However, the opposite is not always true, so don't assume that just because a mission contract has average to low scrap and C-Bills that it's going to be yet another cakewalk. But typically, if a mission contract offers more scrap than usual, it's often because you will be fighting more enemies than usual - hence, more scrap will be available after you successfully complete the mission. While this metric is not a guarantee of how easy or difficult a mission will actually be, it's always to your benefit to assume it is dependable.



Understand The Mission!

Certain missions are typically more or less challenging than others. For example, Convoy Ambush missions always mean you'll be fighting multiple vehicles and mechs at the same time. If the convoy gets close enough to their dropship zone, it's typical for a lance of enemy reinforcements to spawn. Assassinate missions typically include a "powerful" primary mech, a supporting lance, and usually an "ambush" lance. Base defense missions always have multiple waves of enemies from different directions. These are just a few examples. It's to your benefit to be familiar with every type of mission so you don't get caught flat-footed and find yourself in a bad position.

WHY IS THE CHALLENGE RATING SYSTEM DESIGNED LIKE THIS?

Makes Sense to Me

Most games, including this one, eventually become rather monotonous after the player masters the core mechanics of the game and learns all the tricks for defeating the most difficult settings. Games such as this depend on balancing the length of that journey to expert level gameplay with enough satisfying engagement and content along the way. However, BATTLETECH includes an element of unpredictability which adds a wrinkle to what would otherwise be a smooth ascension to expert level gameplay. That wrinkle is the Challenge Rating system which supposedly indicates the difficulty of a mission before a player accepts it. But all is not as it seems.

Every player who spends several hours blasting enemy mechs in BATTLETECH soon notices that the actual difficulty of missions with similar Challenge Ratings is rather inconsistent. A player may easily complete several 2 skull Challenge Rating missions just to get overwhelmed on their next 2 skull Challenge Rating mission. Hey, that's not fair! Surely the game is cheating! ARRRRRRRGGGGHHH...ragequit. Are you going to let the game walk all over you like that when everything was going so well? No, you get back in there and keep blasting - perhaps a bit more cautiously the next time. And that's the beauty of the unpredictable nature of the BATTLETECH Challenge Rating system. It's like a box of chocolates, "You never know what you're gonna get." Well, you know it's going to be chocolate, at least.

Even experienced players will sometimes get a curveball mission which they expected to be manageable and have to Withdraw before getting steamrolled by overwhelming enemy forces. But imagine if that never happened. Instead of complaining about occasionally getting steamrolled during another supposedly routine mission, players would instead complain about how stale and predictable all the missions are, all the time. If that was the case, I would have quit playing BATTLETECH a long time ago and would probably never even think of playing it again.

Fortunately, BATTLETECH doesn't throw too many curveballs at you with its Challenge Rating system. Apparently it happens just enough to piss off some thin-skinned, new players who then feel compelled to rant about it on the forums because they haven't yet learned that the Challenge Rating system was intentionally designed to be somewhat unpredictable. The vast majority of missions are pretty close to "average" difficulty. Then there's a small percentage of "easy" missions (perhaps 20% to 25% as my guesstimate) and IMHO an even smaller percentage of "difficult" missions just to keep things fresh. But, RNG being a prominent part of this game, it's quite possible you might get 50% average difficulty and 50% challenging missions in a certain star system, while another star system may primarily consist of easy missions. My feeling is that there's just enough variety in the difficulty of missions with the same Challenge Rating to keep me coming back for more. Hopefully, you'll eventually feel the same.

Next, we'll take a look at what the average player's lance weight composition and mech warriors' skill levels should be to successfully complete the average difficulty of each mission skull Challenge Rating.

.5 Skull Challenge Rating

.5 skull missions are intended for the mechs and rookie mech warriors you're provided when you begin the game. A typical starting mech group is composed of two 40+ ton mechs and three 35 to 20 ton mechs. When beginning the game in Career Mode, I usually immediately place my lightest or weakest mech into storage or sell it, keeping the sturdier mechs for my starting lance. Even though these mechs are not optimally outfitted with armor and weapons, the average player should be able to complete .5 skull missions without too much difficulty. Likewise, new mech warrior recruits without their first primary skill should perform satisfactorily on a .5 difficulty mission. It won't be pretty, but they'll get the job done.

Most .5 skull missions include enemies like light vehicles and 20 to 25 ton mechs with unskilled pilots. Locusts and Commandos are the most common enemy mechs for .5 skull missions. These mechs tend to have poorly optimized weapon loadouts and armor, and pilots who are oblivious to tactical heat management. Vehicles like Scorpions are common enemies too. Most enemy bases have defensive turrets with such low armor even a few blasts from a medium laser are enough to destroy them. A .5 skull mission might only have 1 poorly optimized Locust as your enemy, while a more challenging .5 skull mission might have a combination of one to three light mechs and one or two light vehicles. Regardless, when attempting any mission with your starting mechs, be extra careful and avoid unnecessary risks at all times until you have sturdier mechs.

1 Skull Challenge Rating

1 skull missions are intended for the mechs and rookie mech warriors you're provided when you begin the game. When attempting 1 skull missions, it's a good idea to have already refitted your starting mechs (or at least some of them) with more armor and a streamlined weapons loadout with improved heat management. Ideally, some of your mech warriors will have their first primary skill and a minimum of 4 ranks in all skills. This is easily accomplished by completing four or five .5 skull missions. It still won't be pretty, but they'll get the job done a little more efficiently than your first handful of missions.

You can expect mostly light mechs at this challenge rating. While Locusts and Commandos are still the prevalent enemy mech type, you can also expect Panthers, Firestarters, and Spiders. Vehicles and base turrets are a bit sturdier than .5 challenge rating missions, but they're still easily destroyed with a few blasts from a medium laser. You still need to be careful with your mechs, especially if you encounter a Panther.

1.5 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

2 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

2.5 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

3 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

3.5 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

4 Skull Challenge Rating

4.5 Skull Challenge Rating

5 Skull Challenge Rating

WIP

[Neput 234]

A better indication of "true" mission difficulty is Maximum C-Bill payout.
( More C-Bills = Harder Mission )

For Example:
There are two missions available on a planet and both of them are rated at "1 Skull "

The mission with Higher C-Bill payout AND a Lower Max Salvage generally will be more "challenging", than the one with a Lower C-Bill payout AND Higher Max Salvage.

That is generally true of most mission type, with the exception being...
_______________________________________________________________________

Convoy Ambush, that mission type is generally +1 Skull above what description says,
especially in a Desert / Martian / Lunar Biome.

Avoid those missions, unless you have:
At least 2 mechs with ~180+ meter Jump / ~275+ meter Sprint distance
100+ Alpha damage and "Heat Efficient" enough to Alpha strike at least twice

[TheMasterBlaster]

valen, I plan to address your observations in the guide without getting into too much detail. just as general pointers for noobs.

[Valen]

Thanks for taking the time in starting this guide. However, I find to many new players expecting a challenge but wanting a win given to them. Add to this that many will have no understanding of pilot skills, builds, or proper tactical movement - but then rush to the forums to complain without even looking at all the numerous posts that are ready available on said subject. This game becomes very easy once you master it. To many newbies not wanting to take the time to do just that... Learn,study,think and master the game. Hopefully, they will at least take the time to read your guide when it is finished.

And to the New Players - There is a option called, " Withdraw ". When you choose to ignore that option and your lance gets wiped - there error is yours... Not the games.

[TheMasterBlaster]

Stock loadouts, at least for most of the light mechs, are poorly optimized imho. Some of the medium, heavy, and assault stock loadouts are pretty solid - even if not totally min/maxed.

[HurtfulPlayer97]

"These mechs tend to have poorly optimized weapon loadouts and armor"

All Mechs you fight in Missions are Stock Builds. None will have non stock loadouts.
(with a few notable exceptions in some Flashpoint missions)