FAQ

This page lists some of the most asked about information about MechWarrior Online.

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Will MechWarrior® Online™ be PC exclusive?
At this time we have no plans to take MechWarrior® Online™ to any other platforms.

Will MechWarrior® Online™ be DirectX 11 compatible?
The engine and our implementation will support DirectX 9, 10 and 11.

Will MechWarrior® Online™ have Mech melee combat?
At this point in time we are not looking at melee combat. We may revisit melee combat if we can design something that is fun and does not compromise the overall gameplay experience.

Will there be vehicular combat alongside Mechs for the players this time?
At the moment we are not following up with combined arms (tanks, hovercraft, jets etc.)

Can I get out of the Mech?
Will you be able to get out of the Mech? No. One of our gameplay design pillars is that we are putting you in the role of the pilot (MechWarrior®) in a first person perspective.

Will you be able to switch from first-person to third-person views?
The game is played from the first person. We’re exploring ways to have a third person camera that make sense from a gameplay point of view.

Will the Clans make an appearance or cameo?
=)

Will the unseen Mechs make it into the game after all?
Look forward to a future announcement.

Will MechWarrior have support for custom mapping joysticks/other input devices? (multiple device support?)
We have partnered with some of the industry’s biggest hardware manufacturers and will be doing our best to support all types of joysticks and flight systems.

Will you offer a gradient of control schemes say from casual to simulation that alter play from FPS to robot?
Yes we will. It is important to us that new players experience the fun of MechWarrior® Online™ right beside the seasoned veteran who need to control every aspect of the game.

Will MechWarrior® Online™ have co-operative gameplay?
This is something we wanted to implement, but right now we are going to focus on multiplayer only.

Will team play be a major part of MechWarrior® Online™, as described in the 2009 interview?
Yes. A big yes in fact. Team play will be critical in combat as player roles and BattleMech builds will vary from player to player. Whether you play as a scout or as an assault type, it's completely up to you and each of the roles is very important to fill on the battlefield.

What are your plans for MechWarrior® Online™ multiplayer? Is it going to feel similar to other MechWarrior® games or new?
MechWarrior® Online™ is going to be a hybrid of new and old gameplay. Some controls and features will be familiar to seasoned players while some gameplay features and mechanics will be completely new. We really want to design the game so that it feels like you're piloting a HUGE BattleMech® in an epic combat scenario.

How loyal will MechWarrior® Online™ be to the tabletop rules (heat management, melee, armor penetration, etc.)?
We are adhering very closely to the BattleTech® tabletop rules. Some mechanics in the tabletop version of the game do not translate well into a videogame and we are coming up with our own rule sets that mitigate these differences in an intuitive and fun manner.

Will you be able to pick what faction you play in MechWarrior® Online™?
When you first create your pilot, you are going to have to align yourself with one of the Great Houses in the BattleTech® Universe. Each house will have its benefits and drawbacks and it will be up to you to read up on the house selection menu on which house you will pledge your allegiance.

Will players have the ability to form their own custom clans in MechWarrior® Online™?
We're trying to be careful with the naming of some features in MechWarrior® Online™ and "clans" is one of them. Players will be able to form their own customized Mercenary Corporations (Merc Corps for short). These operate in the same way that the term clan refers to in other first person shooters. A better way of thinking about Merc Corps is as a "guild". Within the guild you can create Lances("parties") and join matches in that manner.

Will MechWarrior® Online™ ship with a map editor or any other kind of Mod Support?
At the moment we are not planning on shipping a map editor for the mod community. While this may seem unfortunate, the beauty of how our content delivery system works in a Free-To-Play environment is that we will be constantly pushing new content downstream to the player. This prevents the game from stagnating like a standalone product and also allows us to keep on top of quality control so you as a player get the best experience possible.

Will DLC be offered in the new MechWarrior® Online™ game?
Not in the way that you imagine it. Content will be pushed to you via the game patcher. Once a patch has been applied, new game content is immediately available to you. Larger patches could be considered expansion packs but again, it's pushed to you the player at no cost.

Will MechWarrior® Online™ have any online persistency?
Yes, this is where our plan for the Inner Sphere comes into play. All players in Merc Corps will be fighting for control over various border planets. The state of these planets is persistent.

Information Warfare
The latest news announcement posted today gives some hint at what we can expect to see in the next few days. Dev Blog #2 will talk about "Information Warfare" aspects of the game, such as targeting and the "BattleGrid", as well as the Module system. Dev Interview #3 will have Paul Inouye, David Bradley and Bryan Ekman on their work turning a tabletop game into the F2P online medium. And after these are released, Dev Q&A 3 will be opened up for public inquiries, probably on Wednesday. The Devs have also stated there's a "surprise" in store for Wednesday, hinting that it is media related: "Will it be another `Mech? Perhaps a video? Maybe a screenshot. Who knows!"

Release Date
Mechwarrior Online is set for release in the second half of 2012. It is being developed by Piranha Games and will be published by Infinite Game Publishing.

Confirmed Mechs
The following Mechs are confirmed as being in the game, as seen in the MWOMercs.com Media section:


 * - Atlas
 * - Jenner
 * - Hunchback
 * - Dragon
 * - Catapult


 * Various other Mechs have been introduced and are available.

Match Sizes
Most matches will involve teams of 12 vs 12 fighting against one another according to the devlopers, though this depends on technical capabilities required for the full game and could possibly be lowered (to 8v8, for example). Source.

Player Leveling
Players earn XP during games and the developers have stated this will act similar to most games that use XP in this way; XP can be used to train your pilot. This training will most likely include increasing your pilot's skill in a variety of areas (such as his accuracy), and may also be used for "unlocking" different weapons (your pilot may have to "learn" how to use ER Lasers in order to use them, for example). Source.

Mech Leveling
Players also earn Mech XP during games. Like regular XP this is used in some way on specific Mechs, perhaps to unlock certain weapons or upgrades such as better armour, better heatsinks, a better engine, or weapons and weapons systems upgrades. This may mean that every Mech has a "tech tree" of sorts, similar to World of Tanks, where Mech XP is used to unlock better weapons. Source.

Melee Combat
Melee combat will be a part of MechWarrior Online, a first for the MechWarrior series. There will be a specific planet inMechWarrior that demands melee combat as a primary means for destruction. It's strongly suspected that this planet could in fact be Solaris VII, the gladiator planet. Source

Map Types
There will be 4 basic types of maps on release, its assumed with several variations per type: Urban, Jungle, Ice Planet and Desert. Source

New Gameplay Elements
The designers have expressed their intention to introduce new gameplay elements not seen in other Mechwarrior games before, such as the ability for players to utilize Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and other forms of remote sensors. A player may for example be hiding behind a hill or building and, if he wants to see what is on the other side, launch a UAV that can give him a birds-eye view of the battlefield. Source

Team Play
The developers have also expressed that they view teamwork and co-ordination as integral parts of the game and have designed it thusly. Teams in which individual players perform certain roles -- such as scouting in a light Mech to give long-range units something to shoot at, defending these vulnerable long-range units from attackers, and harassing the enemy's vulnerable assets -- will be better off than teams with no co-ordination or teamwork (you may be a brutal face melter in a quad-ERPPC Warhawk, but have nothing to shoot at because none of your teammates want to scout targets for you). Source

Player Roles
The game will feature the high importance of supportive actions on the part of players, with more emphasis on "Information Warfare", gathering intelligence, fighting enemy intelligence, and so on. {http://mwomercs.com/game Source]

Timeline
Timeline-wise, MWO will initially focus on various military interactions between the major players of the Inner Sphere, the Successor States. The developers have stated that, for the purposes of introducing major canon events, the timeline of the in-game universe will match up with our own, so that one year in the real world will equal one year's time passing in the BattleTech universe. 2012 in the game's universe is 3049; this coincides with the very beginning of the Clan Invasion in the far Periphery. Source

Persistent Gameplay
The developers envision a grand in-game, real-time world where players can join Factions or Mercenary Corps and become a part of the story of the Inner Sphere, by taking part in battles and conquests that will shape the political reality of the game, such as winning planets for a particular faction Source

Fighting for a Nation
Players will be able to join, individually, any of the major Successor States; the Federated Commonwealth (an alliance of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth), the Draconic Combine, the Free Worlds League, the Capellan Confederation and the Free Rasalhague Republic. These factions are engaged in various conflicts with one another, and a player's actions taking part in battles on behalf of their faction will influence this greater war. Factions can attack and conquer planets from other factions, with the outcome of these attacks determined in-game by matches fought by faction-aligned players. Source

Fighting for a Mercenary Corporation
Players can instead join a Mercenary Corp made up of other players (like a guild, clan etc). Mercenary Corps can fight on behalf of a faction by bidding on and winning contracts. A logical conclusion is that players can not simultaneously be aligned to a particular faction *and* a member of a Merc Corp. Mercs can also take part in fighting over "Border Worlds", not aligned to any of the major factions, fighting against other Merc Corps. While in possession of a border planet the Merc Corp receives benefits and points. Source

Fighting for Yourself
Players can do neither of the above and instead be "Lone Wolves". These players will have no options for helping specific factions and will mostly take part in "random battles". According to Dev Q&A 2, Lone Wolf players will still take part in the broader inter-faction/mercenary conflicts, filling out ranks if a particular battle can not be filled by faction or mercenary players only. This may mean that a Lone Wolf player has no control over who they fight for; they will click a button and simply be put into a game on a random side. Source

Player Ranking
While part of a faction, players earn bonuses to their C-Bill payments and receive Loyalty Points and have access to special skins and other items unique to that faction. A player's rank, increased by fighting for that faction, determines what kind of bonuses they get; at the highest ranks players may be able to influence meta-decisions their faction makes such as which planets to attack. A player's rank is non-permanent and maintaining a rank requires constant play; otherwise his/her rank will slowly reset after inactivity. Source

Faction/Merc Loyalty
The developers have stated they want to introduce some game dynamic that dissuades players from jumping in and out of different factions and Merc corps, by offering each type of player (Faction, Merc, Lone Wolf) different and unique rewards that they will lose if they leave, as well as an unelaborated "penalty" for leaving. Source

Faction Exclusive Items and Mechs
The developers have also stated that faction-specific rewards will NOT be unique. It will simply be easier for a faction-aligned player to gain access to faction-specific items/Mechs than a non-aligned player (a "member's discount"). This somewhat contradicts previous statements, though I suppose if the price difference is substantial enough it could be enough to make them "practically" exclusive. Source

Planetary Conquest
At launch, planetary conquests will be decided by a single match, though the developers plan to elaborate on this dynamic in the future. Source

Rumours
(Yes, with a "u")