Mechwarrior 5 Best Contracts To Do
Use those negotiation points to maximize your payout. You'll need everything you can get.
One of the important, if not THE most important, thing in Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries is the almighty C-bill. Why? Because without C-bills, we, the player, will have to fight enemies with just sticks and rocks we find on the ground. I highly doubt we’ll even live through the tutorial mission if that was the case. C-bills a.k.a. Money allows us to hire personnel and purchase better ‘Mechs, weapons & equipment. The way we earn C-bills in MW5: Mercs is by fulfilling contracts we take from various employers across the Inner Sphere. We are mercenaries, after all.
A typical contract will require players to do one of 7 types of missions:
- Assassination missions need us to take out either a single ‘Mech target or multiple ‘Mech targets.
- Beach head missions are where we are ordered to clear the way for our employer’s forces by cutting off communications and eliminating its defenders (who often have artillery support.)
- Defense missions are where we need to defend a facility or building complex from several waves of enemies.
- Demolition missions task us with wrecking a building complex. The opposite of a defense mission, really.
- Raid missions require us to destroy multiple enemy structures scattered on the map.
- Warzone missions are where our employers require us to eliminate as many hostile forces as possible.
- Multiple mission contracts consist of 2 or more of the 6 types above. These offer significant bonuses and reputation gains but take longer to complete due to the number of missions. Furthermore, players won’t be able to repair or refit ‘Mechs and pilots won’t heal from their injuries in between missions.
Keep in mind that our reputation dictates the difficulty of every mission. The higher our reputation, the harder the missions become. So now the question presents itself. What are the best contracts that an up and coming mercenary company like ours needs to prioritize? Here are my suggestions to rake in those C-bills fast.
Raid Contract
A raid only requires you to destroy a certain number of structures. Very simple mission, really.
We are ordered to destroy several enemy installations in different locations on the map. These targets are often in the form of satellite dishes, small buildings or communication towers. Raids can be done with light ‘Mechs like the Firestarter since the installations are flimsy & don’t require too much firepower to bring down.
Benefits:
- Good for the early game where players don’t have heavy & assault ‘Mechs yet.
- Great way to earn C-bills early since you can just blitz the mission by just destroying the targets then running back to your dropship afterwards.
- Simple mission that doesn’t take many days to finish.
Demolition Contract
Wreck everything until you see the Target Health go down to 0%.
Our employer wants us to destroy a building complex. That means destroying the radar dishes, tents, walls, shelters, storage tanks, buildings, etc. A lot of times, we have the option to use artillery strikes on these kinds of missions. These can be useful if you want to level the base real quick but personally, I don’t use them and just put the negotiation points into C-bills or salvage.
Benefits:
- Decent C-bill payout for a straightforward mission.
- Good salvage especially in mid to late game.
- Short mission that doesn’t take up a lot of days.
Assassination Contract
Aim for the head or legs to have a better chance at salvaging ‘Mechs.
Assassinations are fairly straightforward. We drop on the map, kill the designated target or targets, then get back to the dropship to finish the mission. Aside from the targets, players also have to deal with other hostile forces that are accompanying the said targets. It helps if players have ‘Mechs that can easily headshot or leg enemy ‘Mechs. Put all your negotiation points into salvage.
Benefits:
- Very good salvage opportunities since our targets are often fairly decent or rare ‘Mechs.
- Assassination missions don’t take long to finish which gives us more time to do other missions.
- Passable C-bill rewards for a simple and direct contract.
Multiple Mission Contract
Multiple mission contracts may have beachhead missions where players need to clear a landing zone for incoming dropships.
Ideal for mid to endgame, these kinds of contracts require players to complete 2 or more missions one after another and take more days to complete. Players won’t be able to repair or refit ‘Mechs in between missions so it helps to have spare battlemechs just in case. Players can’t quickly heal injuries sustained in these missions, as well. So it’s smart to have several mechwarriors in the active roster, too. Before accepting a multiple mission contract, look at the missions that it has and plan ahead. I usually bring heavy ‘Mechs consisting of 1 missile boat, 1 or 2 brawlers and 1 assault ‘Mech depending on the missions.
Benefits:
- Better C-bill payout compared to other contracts.
- Negotiation bonuses apply to each mission, which means more rewards if the contract is completed successfully.
- Faster increase in standing with the contract’s employer compared to other contracts.
Warzone Contract
Laser boats are good for warzone missions since they don’t run out of ammo.
Probably my favorite among all the mission types, warzone contracts are basically kill-all-you-can missions. This means that our merc lance gets hired to wipe out as many enemies as we can. Enemies consist of anything from VTOLs, tanks & ‘Mechs which come in waves. Keep in mind that we need to safely reach our dropship for the mission to be a success. We fail if we get wiped out.
Benefits:
- Great way to earn C-bills mid to late game when players have better weapons and ‘Mechs.
- Very good salvage rewards if players have high standing; put most of the negotiation points into salvage & have well equipped ‘Mechs that can headshot or leg hostile ‘Mechs easily.
- Can acquire heavy or assault ‘Mech salvage since these guys start appearing once players reach the 500,000 C-bill bonus mark.
Feel free to make House Liao and the Outlaws your enemies. I know I would.
Finally, players need to remember that our standing with each faction matters. The higher our standing with a faction, the more negotiation points we have. These negotiation points can be used to further increase our contract’s payout.
Additionally, having high standing with a faction like one of the Great Houses grants us discounts up to 25% on anything we purchase within their territory. Conversely, having a low standing with them will not only penalize us with less negotiation points, but they will also jack up prices up to 25% within their territory. So plan ahead and don’t piss off the wrong people.
