Mission Types - MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Guide - IGN (2024)

This page will break down the various types of side quests in MechWarrior 5!

Most of the missions, or Contracts, the player will take during the campaign of MechWarrior 5 are procedurally generated at random systems in the map. Before being accepted, the player will be told which type of mission the contract represents. The difficulty and specific map may change, but the mission type will dictate the overall objective. If the player finds a specific type of mission they excel at, they should look for that type of mission first to maximize their income.

Campaign: Campaign missions are one-shot missions that advance the story of the game. They can have any number of specific features and objectives, and always take place on the same map on subsequent playthoughs. The Walkthrough pages of the wiki will describe how to get through them. Side missions are dynamically generated and will not have walkthroughs. Note that if the player chooses "Abort Mission" from the pause menu during a campaign mission, they will immediately experience a game over.

Multiple Mission Operation: Multiple missions contracts can be comprised of any of the below types. They offer significant bonuses for taking on, and the negotiated contract will apply to each mission in the chain, not just the whole operation. The player will gain reputation much faster with the employer faction in addition to the cash bonus. Mechs cannot be repaired and refitted between each individual mission in the chain and pilots cannot recover from injuries, so having a large number of readied mechs and pilots is key. Ammunition is still refilled for any ammo modules on the mechs. The player will not be allowed to leave the system until the whole chain is done unless the contract is canceled, which will inflict a severe reputation penalty.

Assassination: Assassination missions task the player will destroying a specific target or targets in a mech. The target's mech usually has more power and armor than the ones found in other missions. The target will also be surrounded with small vehicles to guard them, so they player will need to fight carefully and choose whether to order their lance to attack the target specifically, or to clear out some of the smaller guards first. After the target is killed, a few more guards will usually attack the player as the JumpShip arrives to leave.

Defense: Defense missions involve defending a building complex against multiple waves of enemies. The structure will not be attacked until the player's lance arrives at the target point. Care must be taken because the player's own mech can damage the building complex both by errant shots and stomping through the buildings. Bonuses may be given based on the condition of the ally after the attack. After all attackers are destroyed, the lance will be automatically extracted. Your AI pilots will try their best to avoid collateral damage especially if they're not under direct attack, so they may have trouble navigating some exceptionally tight streets if they get clustered.

Demolition: Demolition missions involve destroying a building complex. The guards will usually be dozens of small vehicles and at least a couple mechs. The guards are usually finite. The structure itself can be destroyed by shooting or running through it. When attacking the structure itself, the player should only use energy weapons to conserve ammunition. After the structure is destroyed, a few more guards will usually attack as the player leads the lance to the JumpShip to leave.

Raid: Raid missions involve destroying multiple structures. The targets themselves are usually soft enough to walk through, though they will also go down in a single shot from any weapon. It's likely all the targets will be spread out across the map and will be similarly guarded. Each site will have its own small defensive force and will not call the others for reinforcements. After all the marked targets are destroyed, the player's JumpShip will arrive as an extraction point.

Warzone: Warzone missions involve destroying as many enemy targets as possible. The site will usually be vacant until the player arrives at the waypoint, at which time they will be attacked by infinite waves of enemies. The player does not need to stay at the waypoint to engage, and collateral damage to the building complex is not a factor. The enemies, including any mechs, will likely have little power and armor. However, each successive wave will strengthen the enemies a little. The player needs to successfully clear multiple waves, at which point the JumpShip will arrive. The player can choose to leave or to continue to destroy targets before leaving to gain bonus money, but this risks the mechs' conditions. If the player stays too long, they may take so much damage that the resulting repair bills will be more expensive than any bonus money acquired. Each wave will feature at least one mech, so Warzone contracts are great for salvaging mech torsos if the player can negotiate the contract to have a large number of salvage shares.

For more general information on MechWarrior 5, please see the Tips and Tricks page. For information on the main story campaign, please see the Walkthrough pages.