Overview

Money for nothing? Ha!

Mercenaries. Mercenaries are soldiers for hire, men whose loyalty belongs to none but the highest bidder. Their loyalty goes only as far as their desire to keep a good reputation drives them to. No one wants to die for money they’ll never spend. In the Inner Sphere, the core of the BattleTech universe, mercenaries are the dominant military force. Even the most powerful Great Houses, like Kurita (Draconis Combine) or Steiner-Davion (Federated Commonwealth) are forced to employ mercenaries to supplement the forces they can muster. This almost-medieval state of militarism has been pervasive since the fall of the Star League.

The field of battle

Missiles locked

Salvo away

Though they played a vital role in stopping the invasion of the Clans, mercenaries have fallen in importance as relative peace has descended upon the Inner Sphere and the Houses have had time to strengthen their own forces. The Federated Commonwealth seems unassailably strong and it looks like a new Star League might develop after all. Then one day, all hell breaks loose. Katrina Steiner takes advantage of the escalation of a regional conflict to declare the independence of the Lyran Alliance from the Federated Commonwealth, splitting the realm in half. Wars erupt against the remnants of the Federated Commonwealth, though they prove to be merely a prelude to the FedCom-Lyran Alliance war.

What do I care?

This then, is the backdrop for MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. The player starts the game in command of a new mercenary team, which has been sponsored by one of four established mercenary companies – the Kell Hounds, Gray Death Legion, Wolf’s Dragoons or the Northwind Highlanders. Each of these conveys a small but unique benefit upon the player. Wolf’s Dragoons, for example, allow the player early access to Clan technology, while a company sponsored by the Highlanders will receive better pay for their missions.

He's gone

He's not a happy guy

Light amplification

As a mercenary, you are originally politically neutral. You don’t have a reputation, you don’t have alliances and you are neither notorious nor famous. Unlike a regular army unit, a mercenary gets to enjoy some freedom. They pick and choose missions, buy their own equipment and hire the pilots that fight for them. Of course, the missions that a player picks, often decide what side of the conflict they become embroiled in. If a company consistently picks one side’s contracts over the other, that other side might stop offering theirs, particularly if they are on the receiving end of the mercenary’s work!