MechWarrior Tactics Terms and Lingo Guide

MechWarrior Tactics Terms and Lingo Guide by NikoSnow

General

BattleMech / ‘Mech
A large robotic weapon platform used in battle.

MechWarrior
The trained and experienced pilot of a BattleMech.

Lance
Refers to a group of 4 ‘Mechs working together as a squad.

Hex (Hexes)
The game map is made up of hexagonal spaces referred to as “Hexes”.
These will not only display your position but also your ‘Mechs facing direction.

Facing Direction
Your ‘Mech can only target enemies that are within a 170 arc in front of the torso. Your ‘Mechs torso can rotate independently from the legs during the Attack phase; rotating the torso does not cost any Movement Points and will
return to center at the end of the round.

LoS
Acronym for “Line of Sight”.
Refers to the imaginary line that goes from the center of each ‘Mech’s hex out through the 3 front-facing hexes and determines which enemies can become valid targets. LoS is affected by forest cover, altitude changes and geographical obstructions. A ‘Mech standing behind a hill with a height of 1 will be visible from the waist up and will negatively affect your hit-chances whereas a hill with a height of 2 will completely hide the ‘Mech standing behind it, rendering the target invalid.

Ghost
Refers to the displayed ending position for each ‘Mech after a movement has been made. This “ghost” remains on-screen until the Combat Resolution Phase.

Modifiers
Many battle situations will affect your ability to hit, be hit or move. Increased heat will limit available Movement Points, lower hit-chance and cause ammunition explosions or unexpected shutdowns; damage to a body part may limit movement or weapon effectiveness; number of hexes moved will affect your hit and to-hit chances; tree cover will make the ‘Mech harder to see and target; your pilot may have particular bonuses that add specific modifiers.

Movement Points (MP)
During the Movement Phase you select a ‘Mech to move and are offered different methods of movement (Walk, Run, Jump) each with a different number of Movement Points associated to them. Each basic movement (walk forward 1 hex, rotate facing direction 1 hex face) costs one movement point. Moving to any non-flat hex (i.e. hex contains woods, higher/lower terrain or water) will cost additional movement points. Jumping to a location ignores terrain changes but only allows for a single hex-side of rotation. High heat levels and ‘Mech damages are taken into account when calculating how many movement points are allotted to each ‘Mech at the beginning of the Movement Phase. The distance traveled will affect the accuracy of shots fired for both the moving ‘Mech as well as the aim of any enemy targeting that ‘Mech.

Declarations
Committing to a movement or attack by pressing the confirmation button at the top-middle of the page.

Tech
Refers to all, non-weapon systems mounted in the ‘Mech including Heat skins, engines, gyros and actuators.

‘Mech Bay
Refers to the screen where you can modify your current lance and customize your ‘Mechs.

Heat & Heat Sinks
Heat is accumulated when firing weapons and movement. High heat can have many negative side-effects including, but not limited to, limited movement, firing capabilities and ammunition explosions.
“Heat Sinks” refers to a system of fins, fans and coolant used to dissipate heat from engines and weapon systems. The more there are, the faster accumulated heat will diminish.

STAC
Stands for “Surplus Tech/Armament Container” and refers to the packages of equipment, ‘Mechs and other equipment available in the store.

Weapons/Armour

AC/#
The Autocannon is a direct-fire ballistic weapon, firing HEAP (High-Explosive Armor-Piercing) rounds at targets either singly or in bursts. The number value (AC/2, AC/5, AC/20) is how much damage that weapon will do and does NOT refer to the caliber of the shot fired nor the number of shots in the burst.

Machine Gun
Based on pre-space flight technology, little has changed about the fundamental nature of the Machine Gun in over 1000 years. Each individual shell does little damage to an Enemy ‘Mech, however, a high rate-of-fire turns this weapon into a force to be reckoned with.

Flamer
The Flamer is an extremely-close ranged weapon which produces and releases plasma using the ‘Mech’s reactors. While the Flamer causes low damage to other ‘Mechs, they are capable of drastically raising an enemy ‘Mech’s heat level.

LASER
Acronym for “Light Amplification through the Simulation of Electron Radiation”.
These are powerful light and heat-based weapons firing a solid beam for a fraction of a second.

LRM-#
Acronym for “Long Range Missiles”.
LRMs are accurate over longer distances, however the missiles will not be able to track any target that is too close.
The number value (5/10/15/20) represents how many missiles are fired in a single volley.

SRM-#
Acronym for “Short-Range Missile”.
Unlike LRMs, there is no minimum range on SRMs, however their maximum range is significantly lower.
The number value (2/4/6) represents how many missiles are fired in a single volley.

PPC
Stands for “Particle Projection Cannon”.
PPCs fire a concentrated stream of protons or ions at a target causing damage through both thermal and kinetic energy.

Armour Types

Standard Armor
Standard armor is ablative in nature. This means that it is generally destroyed or blown off when hit but, in the process of doing so, it absorbs enormous energies, protecting the unit it is mounted on. Standard BattleMech armor is composed of several layers providing various degrees of protection. The first layer is extremely strong steel, which is also very brittle. The second layer is a ceramic cubic boron nitride which, combined with a web of artificial diamond fibers, acts as a backstop to the steel layer. These two layers rest atop a titanium alloy honeycomb structure and a layer of self-sealing polymer sealant which allows for space and underwater operations.