Editing MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Campaign Missions

==Overview==
'''''MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries'' Campaign Missions''' detail the game's main story, seeing [[Jake Mason|Commander Jake Mason]] rebuild [[Nik's Cavaliers]] to seek revenge against the [[Black Inferno]].

Like [[Harebrained Schemes]]' [[BattleTech (Video Game)|''BattleTech'' game]], each step of the campaign opens up as the player reaches certain Reputation levels, thus a number of procedural generated Contracts or [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/High Reward Quests|High Reward Quests]] must be played in order to improve Reputation and unlock the next campaign mission.

Separate from the game's main campaign, [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries#Legend of the Kestrel Lancers|''Legend of the Kestrel Lancers'']], [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries#Rise of Rasalhague|''Rise of Rasalhague'']], [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries#The Dragon.27s Gambit|''The Dragon's Gambit'']] and [[MechWarrior_5:_Mercenaries#Solaris_Showdown|''Solaris Showdown'']] feature their own sets of linear, time-locked missions.
{{see|MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Kestrel Lancers Missions}}
{{see|MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Rasalhague Missions}}
{{see|MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Dragon Missions}}
{{see|MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Solaris Missions}}

==Tutorial==
In [[3012]], then-Captain Mason takes out a rebuilt [[Centurion (BattleMech)|CN9-A ''Centurion'']] [[BattleMech]] with his father [[Nikolai Mason]] on [[De_Berry|De Berry Prime]].

Following this training mission is a cutscene from 3015. Jake and Nikolai Mason are attempting to rendezvous with a contact to collect on payment when they are interrupted by a surprise attack by a mysterious mercenary unit demanding information from Nikolai. Refusing to divulge the coordinates they seek, Nikolai orders his son to return to base and flee aboard the unit's ''[[Leopard]]''-class [[DropShip]], sacrificing his life to ensure their escape.

As its name implies, the Tutorial is primarily intended to familiarize the player with MW5's controls and how BattleMechs function.

=Missions=
:Starting Date: 27 May 3015
===Smash and Grab===
* Reputation Level: 1
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Independents|Independents]])
* Targeting: Bandits (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Outlaws|Outlaws]])
* Mission Type: Raid, Demolition (secondary objective)
* Difficulty: 5
* Tonnage Limit: 30
* Rewards: 50,000 [[C-bill]]s

The battered Cavaliers head to the icy world of [[De Berry|De Berry VIII]] to strike a bandit-held abandoned power station for supplies to keep afloat while [[Sebastian Spears]] of Interstellar Expeditions works on a way out of the system.

===Imminent Threat===
* Reputation Level: 1
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: Bandits (Subsidiary of Outlaws)
* Mission Type: Defense
* Difficulty: 5
* Tonnage Limit: 30
* Rewards: 50,000 C-bills

Hired on Spear's recommendation to protect his mining interests, Commander Mason must defend a mining company's facilities on [[De_Berry|De Berry III]] from pirate attack.

===Takedown===
* Reputation Level: 2
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: Bandits (Subsidiary of Outlaws)
* Mission Type: Demolition
* Difficulty: 5
* Tonnage Limit: 50
* Rewards: 50,000 C-bills

With Black Inferno closing in, the Cavaliers must perform one more contract on [[De_Berry|De Berry III]], launching a risky strike to destroy the pirates' base of operation for good to earn passage out of the system.

===Last Man Standing===
* Reputation Level: 2
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[Circle of Eight|Mercenaries]]
* Mission Type: Defense
* Difficulty: 5
* Tonnage Limit: 50
* Rewards: 50,000 C-bills, [[Jenner|JR7-D ''Jenner'']], pilot [[Leon_Freeman|Lt. Leon Freeman]] (7/43)

Obligated to Spears for his assistance, Commander Mason arrives at [[Brookeland|Brookeland Prime]] to reinforce the depleted mercenaries defending an Interstellar Expeditions dig site from pirate raiders.

''Notes:'' This is the final tutorial-like mission, with the player now having access to the Starmap to travel freely around the [[Inner Sphere]]. Completing this mission also unlocks the full repair and modification system as well as co-op play. While the player has the option to rename the mercenary company at this point, for convenience and clarity it remains the Cavaliers here.

===Noble Cause===
* Reputation Level: 5
* Employer: [[Apex Mining Syndicate|Indentured Apex Employees]] (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Independents|Independents]])
* Targeting: [[Apex Mining Syndicate]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Mission Type: Raid
* Difficulty: 17
* Tonnage Limit: 200
* Rewards: 178,000 C-bills, 310 Reputation, one Tier 2 [[SRM-4]], one Tier 2 [[large laser]]

Seeking to expand their reputation and standing, the Cavaliers are hired by the Apex Mining Syndicate's indentured employees to hit them in their pocketbook, damaging vital facilities on [[Allerton]] to force the iron-fisted company to the negotiating table and treat its workforce more fairly.

===Target of Opportunity===
* Reputation Level: 6
* Employer: [[House Marik]]
* Targeting: [[House Liao]]
* Mission Type: Assassination
* Difficulty: 25
* Tonnage Limit: 200
* Rewards: 120,100 C-bills, 150 Reputation

Free Worlds League refugees forced from their homes by the Black Inferno fled into Liao space, only to be trapped by a malicious governor blocking their passage back over "ongoing security concerns." Deducing this is a ploy to destabilize the region, the League government hires the Cavaliers to assassinate the local governor on [[Hsien]] to teach House Liao a lesson and let the refugees come home.

===Collateral Damage===
* Reputation Level: 6
* Employer: [[House Marik]]
* Targeting: [[House Liao]]
* Mission Type: Demolition
* Difficulty: 40
* Tonnage Limit: 180
* Rewards: 220,250 C-bills, 200 Reputation

With an incensed House Liao launching raids against Marik border posts in response to the Hsien governor's assassination and the refugees still trapped, the Free Worlds League hires the Cavaliers to destroy a Logistics Center in an urban military complex on [[Capolla]] to weaken the [[CCAF]] enough to allow their return.

===First Strike===
* Reputation Level: 7
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Independents|Independents]])
* Targeting: [[Black Inferno]]
* Mission Type: Defense, Raid
* Difficulty: 40
* Tonnage Limit: 250
* Rewards: 100,000 C-bills, [[Warhammer|WHM-6R ''Warhammer'']] (damaged), two Tier 3 [[medium pulse laser]]s, two Tier 3 [[SRM-6]] with [[Artemis IV FCS|Artemis IV]], four tons of SRM Artemis ammo

Ryana and Spears' investigation into the refugee movements and Black Inferno attacks in search of a pattern appears to have paid off, discovering the Black Inferno have seized control of a fuel refinery on [[Foot Fall|Foot Fall III]] to power their offensive. Hired to defend a civilian settlement nearby, Spears gives the Cavaliers an opportunity and funding to strike the first blow against their hated foe.

===Distress Call===
* Reputation Level: 9
* Employer: [[Coalition of Farmers]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[Black Inferno]]
* Mission Type: Defense
* Difficulty: 60
* Tonnage Limit: 260
* Rewards: 440,800 C-bills, 700 Reputation, three Tier 3 [[medium laser]]s

With Ryana and Spears deducing that the Black Inferno are after [[LosTech]] after discovering all the refugees come from locations rumored of being near hidden [[Star League]] facilities, the Cavaliers race to defend a Coalition of Farmers main settlement a suspected SLDF base on [[Cole Harbour]] from a Black Inferno attack.

===Lock n' Load===
* Reputation Level: 10
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[Black Inferno]]
* Mission Type: Defense, Warzone-like
* Difficulty: 70
* Tonnage Limit: 315
* Rewards: 200,000 C-bills, [[Marauder|MAD-3R ''Marauder'']] (damaged), two Tier 3 [[ER PPC]]s, two Tier 3 [[Ultra_AC/5|UAC/5]], five tons of UAC/5 ammo

Learning more about the man who killed his father, [[Andreas Kane]], Mason eagerly responds to a call for help from another settlement on [[Cavanaugh]] seemingly under attack by Black Inferno, unaware their enemy lies in wait.

===Black Harvest===
* Reputation Level: 11
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[Black Inferno]]
* Mission Type: Demolition, Assassination
* Difficulty: 75
* Tonnage Limit: 250
* Rewards: 200,000 C-bills, [[Victor|VTR-9B ''Victor'']] (damaged), one Tier 3 [[AC/20]], four Tier 4 [[small pulse laser]]s, three tons of AC/20 ammo

Barely surviving the ambush on Cavanaugh, intercepted transmissions reveal the Black Inferno is backed and protected by [[ComStar]] and that Kane's homebase is on [[Xinyang]]. Seeking to enhance their strength while weakening Inferno's, Spears buys black market intel revealing the location of a key Inferno refit base on [[Eaton|Eaton III]] for the Cavaliers to strike.

===Extraction===
* Reputation Level: 11
* Employer: [[House Davion]]
* Targeting: [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Outlaws|Outlaws]]
* Mission Type: Warzone
* Difficulty: 75
* Tonnage Limit: 340
* Rewards: 3,202,500 C-bills, 2,000 Reputation, one Tier 4 [[AC/10]], one Tier 4 [[LRM-10]], one Tier 4 [[LRM-15]]

Having killed Inferno member [[Zavarov]] and reclaimed Nikolai Mason's 'Mech, the Cavaliers discover more clues to Mason's father's hidden past in the process. While the heavily encrypted coordinates are being deciphered, Ryana has secured a contract to extract a highly valuable [[Federated Suns]] pilot held hostage by pirates on [[Leganes]] in the [[Lyran Commonwealth]].

===Blood and Treasure===
* Reputation Level: 11
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Independents|Independents]])
* Targeting: Outlaws
* Mission Type: Warzone
* Difficulty: 80
* Tonnage Limit: 360
* Rewards: 3,501,000 C-bills, 2,500 Reputation, one Tier 3 [[LB_10-X_AC|LB 10-X AC]], two Tier 2 [[Gauss rifle]]s, two tons of LB 10-X AC ammo, three tons of Gauss ammo

With the Cavaliers almost strong enough to take down the Black Inferno, Spears proposes as a partnership to take their secret benefactor ComStar down a peg too. To assist in both goals, Spears offers a contract to eliminate mercenary group [[Death's Legion]] who've gone rogue and hidden a treasure trove of stolen advanced weaponry on [[Grumium]].

===Killing Kane===
* Reputation Level: 12
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[Black Inferno]]
* Mission Type: Demolition, Assassination
* Difficulty: 80
* Tonnage Limit: 330
* Rewards: 250,000 C-bills, [[King Crab|KGC-0000 ''King Crab'']] (damaged), one Tier 5 AC/20, one Tier 5 large laser, one Tier 4 LRM-15-ST with Artemis IV, two tons of LRM Artemis ammo

With assaults 'Mechs, advanced weaponry, and Spears' assistance, the Cavaliers are finally ready to put an end to the Black Inferno by killing Andreas Kane and razing their home base on [[Xinyang]] to the ground, but ComStar will not take kindly to their interference.

''Note:'' On the approach south to the main fortification, taking the path along the west ridge will avoid triggering the swarm of 'Mechs, tanks, and VTOLs in the open field.

===Deliverance===
* Reputation Level: 12
* Employer: [[House Kurita]]
* Targeting: [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Outlaws|Outlaws]]
* Mission Type: Assassination
* Difficulty: 80
* Tonnage Limit: 360
* Rewards: 3,752,500 C-bills, 2,500 Reputation, one Tier 4 AC/10, one Tier 4 AC/20, one Tier 5 [[AC/2]]

While Black Inferno's reign of terror has been ended, [[Kenzo Yamata]], Kane's [[ROM]] handler was able to escape. He left enough information behind to determine that ComStar has been using a Star League Defense Force map found on Xinyang to recover Star League caches, and that ComStar's interest in Nikolai's coordinates was to fill gaps in that map. Cracking the encryption on the coordinates is proving harder than expected, with Ryana signing a contract with the [[ISF]] to break a siege on [[Sulafat]] to ensure the unit has funds to continue its mission while they wait.

===Lifeline===
* Reputation Level: 12
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: Outlaws
* Mission Type: Defense
* Difficulty: 85
* Tonnage Limit: 380
* Rewards: 4,160,500 C-bills, 3,250 Reputation

A shipping company serving as the only source of supplies to outlying Combine worlds is being run out of business by incessant raider attacks, raiders who are secretly backed by ComStar to force the inhabitants to leave to allow their LosTech excavation efforts to go unnoticed. Spears needs the Cavaliers to protect the company's main supply depot on [[Kandis]] to prevent the company from folding.

===Coordinated Effort===
* Reputation Level: 13
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Factions#Independents|Independents]])
* Targeting: [[ComStar]]
* Mission Type: Defense
* Difficulty: 90
* Tonnage Limit: 375
* Rewards: 750,000 C-bills, 10,106 Reputation, two Tier 5 [[Extended-Range Large Laser|ER large lasers]], three Tier 4 [[SRM-4]] with Artemis IV, three tons of SRM Artemis ammo

Breaking the encryption on the first set of coordinates, Ryana discovers that they point to [[HD-276914]], a reportedly uncolonized world outside Kurita Space. The fact Nikolai was willing to die to protect its location implies that something exceedingly valuable must be there, with the Cavaliers discovering ComStar is already one step ahead of them and prepared to do anything to cover their tracks.

===Blackout===
* Reputation Level: 13
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[ComStar]]
* Mission Type: Demolition
* Difficulty: 90
* Tonnage Limit: 400
* Rewards: 4,545,00 C-bills, 3,250 Reputation, one Tier 5 AC/20, one Tier 1 [[LRM-5]] with Artemis IV, one Tier 4 medium pulse laser

Preserving the ComStar Stellar Research Facility on HD-276914 from destruction has revealed that ComStar's [[Explorer Corps (ComStar)|Explorer Corps]] is searching this uncharted region system by system to try and find more clues to the systems of the last two coordinates the hard way. To buy time for Ryana and Spears to crack the encryption on the coordinates, the Cavaliers must strike a ComStar communications hub on [[HD-417328]] to slow down their efforts.

''Note:'' Approaching the base from the south will trigger an abrupt and large swarm of tanks and VTOLs.

===Reckoning===
* Reputation Level: 14
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[ComStar]]
* Mission Type: Assassination
* Difficulty: 95
* Tonnage Limit: 390
* Rewards: 750,000 C-bills, 10,106 Reputation, [[Nightstar|NSR-9J ''Nightstar'']]

The second set of coordinates have been unlocked thanks to IE resources, pointing to [[HD-389202]], another supposedly uncharted system that is found to be the site of a massive and long abandoned Star League spaceport, with ComStar and Yamata again one step ahead of the Cavaliers.

===Turn and Burn===
* Reputation Level: 13
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[ComStar]]
* Mission Type: Demolition
* Difficulty: 95
* Tonnage Limit: 400
* Rewards: 4,750,000 C-bills, 3,500 Reputation, one Tier 5 ER large laser, two Tier 5 medium pulse lasers

Commander Mason's final defeat of Yamata is overshadowed by the discovery of a pristine ''Nightstar'', a 'Mech extinct for two centuries, and the revelation that it belonged to Nikolai. Still unable to determine just where Nikolai really came from as much as they are unable to yet crack the encryption of the final set of coordinates, Spears enlists the Cavaliers to eliminate a ROM forward operating base on [[HD-367482]] used to assist the Explorer Corps investigation of the region to again delay ComStar's efforts.

===Crucible===
* Reputation Level: 15
* Employer: [[Interstellar Expeditions]] (Subsidiary of Independents)
* Targeting: [[ComStar]]
* Mission Type: Warzone-like
* Difficulty: 100
* Tonnage Limit: 400
* Rewards: 750,00 C-bills, 10,106 Reputation, two Tier 5 UAC/5, two Tier 5 PPCs, two Tier 5 [[LRM-20]], seven [[double heat sink]]s

With the last set of coordinates finally unlocked the Cavaliers head to [[HD-438297]], well beyond the Inner Sphere boundary in the Periphery. Confronted by an unknown derelict SLDF [[JumpShip]] upon arrival, the Cavaliers and Spears prepare to land to investigate a [[Castle Brian|massive SLDF base]] on the surface seemingly untouched for centuries. As Ryana works her way inside in search of answers about his father, Mason must defend against the arrival of a sizable ComStar military force to allow Ryana to download and delete a Star League memory core to deny it from the Blessed Order.

=The Mercenary Life=
A post-campaign transmission which acknowledges the end of the game's story and that the player can continue to engage in mercenary contracts across the Inner Sphere. Ryana sends four [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/High Reward Quests#Transmissions|transmissions]] indicating [[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries/Conflict Zones#Post-Campaign Conflict Zones|new Conflict Zones]] have become available.

[[Category:MechWarrior 5 Resources]]