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The reliable way through the BATTLETECH campaign is to treat every battle as part of a continuing mercenary operation. Use cover and elevation, reserve the right Mech for each job, and count travel, repair time, salaries and ammunition before accepting a contract. Complete non-priority work between story contracts so your lance and finances can keep up, then use the spoiler section below when you are ready for named campaign missions.
What this walkthrough covers
This is the 2018 Harebrained Schemes turn-based PC game, set in 3025, in which you command a mercenary company during an interstellar civil war. It is not the tabletop game or a first-person MechWarrior title. Your MechWarriors, ’Mechs, injuries, repairs, equipment and cash carry from one contract to the next, so campaign decisions matter outside combat.
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The advice below separates spoiler-free fundamentals from a story route. Specific skill and salvage recommendations are tactics described by player guides, not universal requirements or guaranteed outcomes. Older player guides can also reflect particular game versions or settings; check the briefing and your current rule set when a number is important.
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Campaign or Skirmish: choose the right expectations
| Mode | What persists | What to focus on |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign | Company roster, Mechs, pilot injuries, repairs, refits, travel, contracts and finances | Long-term lance strength, cash reserves, time and salvage choices |
| Skirmish | An individual battle rather than a continuing company economy | Deployment, initiative, terrain and the immediate objective |
Campaign play is the reason a mission with a large advertised reward can still be a poor choice: travel days, repair bills, ammunition, refits and recurring payroll may consume the gain. Skirmish practice is useful for learning weapons and initiative, but it will not teach the economic pressure of a persistent company.
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Build a lance that can survive the campaign
Give every ’Mech a job
Before deployment, decide whether each machine is scouting, carrying long-range fire, breaking armor at close range, protecting slower allies or finishing damaged targets. A lance with four identical short-range attackers may win a quick fight but struggle when an objective requires movement or when the map offers no safe approach. Keep at least one mobile unit able to reach an objective, flank a threat or withdraw from a losing exchange.
Weapon choice should match the role and the pilot’s abilities. The official game overview emphasizes terrain, positioning, weapon selection and special abilities as the core ways to outmaneuver opponents. Do not expose a fragile scout merely because it has a shot; a living pilot and intact chassis are worth more than a low-probability attack.
Train pilots for complementary tasks
A Steam guide by Shadowcoast, posted April 26, 2018 and updated November 6, 2019, recommends several practical combinations:
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- Multishot: distribute weapons across targets when one enemy needs only a little damage or when you want to strip evasion from another unit.
- Breaching Shot: pair the pilot with a ’Mech carrying a high-damage weapon so a single attack can gain value against a guarded target.
These are that guide author’s approaches, not mandatory builds or an assertion that one skill is optimal on every difficulty, lance or patch. Consider the weapons you actually own and whether the pilot usually acts early, scouts or delivers the killing blow.
Combat fundamentals that win more contracts
Use terrain before trading shots
Move into cover before firing whenever possible. Positioning can reduce incoming damage, preserve evasion and force opponents to spend turns walking around obstacles. Elevation and line of sight determine which weapons can contribute; do not split the lance so far that only one ’Mech can return fire.
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At the start of a round, identify the enemy that can do the most damage next, the unit carrying a dangerous long-range weapon and any target whose evasion can be removed with Sensor Lock. A controlled retreat is often better than accepting a side or rear attack simply to use every weapon this turn.
Control initiative and focus fire
Destroying or disabling one enemy reduces the damage your company takes on every later turn. Focus several attacks on a target when you can finish it, but do not waste a full alpha strike on a ’Mech that will survive with one component removed. Multishot is useful when a second target needs a hit to remove evasion or when spreading damage is safer than overkilling a nearly destroyed machine.
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Match tactics to the contract objective
| Your priority | Practical approach | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Destroy every enemy | Carry sustainable ammunition or energy capacity, use cover and focus fire | Running hot or dry before the final group is reached |
| Complete an objective or extract | Use mobile ’Mechs, avoid unnecessary fights and preserve movement options | Taking a slow, damaging battle that delays the objective |
| Maximize salvage | Use controlled leg destruction or knockdowns followed by pilot injuries | Spending extra turns exposed and accidentally destroying the target |
Mobility is especially valuable when the briefing does not require clearing the map. If C-Bills or reputation is more important than salvage, leaving an optional enemy behind can be the economically correct decision. Read the exact victory and withdrawal conditions before choosing a fight.
How to pursue salvage without relying on luck
Salvage is a way to assemble new ’Mechs, but it is not a guaranteed replacement for contract income. The Shadowcoast guide describes two targeted methods: destroying a target’s legs can yield two salvage parts, while knocking a ’Mech down and inflicting enough pilot injuries to incapacitate the pilot can yield three parts. It characterizes cockpit destruction as unreliable.
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- Choose a target whose position lets you attack a leg without exposing your whole lance.
- Use called shots or concentrated damage only when the attack is likely to produce the desired injury rather than destroy the chassis.
- After a knockdown, apply controlled damage to the pilot while monitoring remaining armor and stability.
- Finish or withdraw according to the mission objective; a salvage attempt that costs a pilot or forces a failed contract is not a good trade.
The guide’s reported part counts describe its recommended approach, not a promise that every attempt will produce the same result. Salvage-focused attacks take setup and can lengthen a battle. They make sense when a particular chassis is more valuable to your company than immediate damage output.
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Contracts, travel and the company ledger
Read the reward as a net-value question
Contract rewards are the company’s principal income, according to the GameFAQs campaign guide. It advises against treating ’Mech sales as a stable business model. Before accepting, consider the posted reward alongside:
- travel time and its associated expenses;
- expected repair and refit days;
- pilot salaries and ’Mech maintenance;
- ammunition and equipment purchases;
- the opportunity cost of delaying a better local contract.
The same guide states that salaries and maintenance recur every 30 days, while repairs, travel, hiring, shopping and events create variable costs. Those details come from an older user-authored reference and can depend on game settings, so use them as budgeting guidance rather than a current patch guarantee.
Keep a reserve and use downtime
Maintain enough cash to survive a bad contract, a long repair queue or an unexpected event. Local contracts reduce the time and expense between jobs. The GameFAQs guide recommends using the interval between story missions to repair, refit and strengthen the roster instead of treating every available contract as mandatory.
Do not launch a priority mission with half the lance damaged simply because it is available. A short delay for repairs, pilot recovery and ammunition can prevent a much longer recovery after a failed or costly battle.
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Story campaign route (spoilers)
Spoiler warning: The following headings name early priority missions and discuss campaign pacing. Stop at the previous section if you only want general hints.
After character creation and the tutorial
The campaign opens with character creation and tutorial missions, then hands you responsibility for hiring and training MechWarriors, finding contracts, assembling ’Mechs from salvage and choosing where to travel. Treat the opening as a systems lesson: test movement, stability, heat and line of sight before risking valuable equipment on a difficult contract.
Capture the Argo
Prepare a healthy, flexible lance and keep a cash buffer before this priority contract. Story missions can be followed by new obligations and repair needs, so avoid arriving with every pilot injured or every machine running near a critical component. Read the objective carefully; do not assume that destroying every contact is required unless the briefing says so.
First Strike
Use the mission to practice objective-first movement. Position a mobile ’Mech where it can reach the required area without abandoning fire support, and use Sensor Lock when visibility makes a direct attack unsafe. Preserve a retreat route rather than allowing the lance to be surrounded while chasing an optional target.
Liberate Panzyr
By this point, upgrade weak weapons and replace damaged components before deploying. Bring enough sustained fire for a longer engagement, but avoid overheating the entire lance in the opening exchange. Concentrate on the most dangerous enemy that can be isolated, then reposition before the next group can exploit your exposed flanks.
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Liberation: Smithon
Smithon is a good checkpoint for reviewing your campaign habits. Confirm that at least one pilot can scout or support, that one ’Mech can contribute accurate long-range damage, and that the company can pay for the aftermath. If a fight is optional, compare its salvage value with the repair time it may impose before committing.
Between the early priority missions
The GameFAQs guide recommends not rushing the story after the first two priority contracts. Story progression raises the surrounding contract difficulty, so take non-priority jobs to improve pilots, add ’Mech parts and build reserves. This is a practical pacing recommendation, not a compulsory route; a well-developed lance can choose a faster story pace, while an under-equipped company benefits from more preparation.
Later priority missions
Shadowcoast’s walkthrough labels later sections as a work in progress, so it is not an exhaustive mission-by-mission reference. For each later priority contract, apply the same preparation loop: repair and refit, check pilot injuries, review the objective, select weapons for the expected duration, and leave enough cash for recovery. Use the in-game briefing for exact names, locations and victory conditions rather than relying on an incomplete external route.
Common failure modes and fixes
“I win, but the company is broke.”
Take fewer contracts with expensive travel, stop selling salvage as your regular income, and keep a reserve for the 30-day salary and maintenance cycle described in the GameFAQs guide. Include repair days when judging a reward.
“My lance loses every exchange.”
Stop advancing in the open. Move into cover, preserve evasion, focus on one dangerous target and use Sensor Lock to let safer units contribute. Refit weapons so heat and ammunition match the expected battle length.
“I cannot assemble the ’Mech I want.”
Salvage outcomes are not guaranteed. Target legs or use knockdowns and pilot injuries when the chassis is worth the added risk, but do not destroy a mission-critical target accidentally. Continue taking contracts that offer useful parts rather than chasing one model at any cost.
“A story mission is suddenly too hard.”
Pause the priority route. Complete local non-priority contracts, train replacement pilots, repair the main lance and improve equipment. Because story progression can raise nearby contract difficulty, preparation between priority missions is part of the campaign rather than wasted time.
Quick Recap
A repeatable pre-mission checklist
- Read the objective and determine whether every enemy must be destroyed.
- Check pilot health, injuries, skills and likely initiative roles.
- Inspect armor, heat capacity, ammunition and damaged components on every deployed ’Mech.
- Choose a lance with a mobile objective runner, a durable anchor and complementary damage ranges.
- Estimate travel, repair time, payroll and maintenance before accepting the contract.
- Decide whether the goal is victory, speed, reputation, C-Bills or salvage; build the plan around one primary goal.
- After the battle, repair critical systems first, review salvage choices and update the reserve before traveling again.
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