Crucible - MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Guide - IGN (2024)

This is a walkthrough for Crucible, the final campaign story mission of MechWarrior 5. After completing Crucible, you will view the credits and ending. For other missions, please see the Walkthrough page on the IGN wiki.

Crucible is the twenty-first and final campaign story mission. You will only encounter other mechs on this mission, but there will be a lot of them. You'll also have two chances to repair your mech, but the repairing only applies to you, not the AI. You'll need to take the brunt of the initial attacks but you'll also need to think and fight carefully. The repair bays will not restore lost limbs, so you'll need to know when to break away from combat and let the lance deal with the fight. Use your best weapons in this fight and be sure your all your chosen pilots, including Commander Mason himself, has max skills.

You'll start the mission already deployed on the lowest level a multi-tiered terrace. After a minute, two DropShips with light and medium mechs. Don't engage them on their level. Run to the far left, then fire downward while they make their way up the ramps to try to get to you. Remember to use the terrain to peek around corners or otherwise isolate the targets so you only have to deal with one or two at a time as long as possible.

If you're still using the Nightstar the way you found it, it will do the job. It has enough armor and power to make short work of the lighter mechs, and even the mediums will suffer with the Nightstar's sustained firepower. As with the last few missions, aim for center mass or the head. You need these mechs gone as fast as possible.

After the first eight mechs are gone, Ryana and Spears will radio you that more are on their way. The turrets on the next level of the terrace will activate, and Ryana will activate a repair bay marked on the radar with a blue wrench. The repair bay looks like a flat landing pad, but you don't want to stand on it. Two little ramps lead up onto it. Stand on a ramp, then hold E when prompted to activate it. This will cause the entire garage to rise out of the ground.

Get near the doors and walk in, then hit the brakes and hold E when prompted. Your mech will automatically power down and get repaired after a few seconds, and then you can walk out the other side. The repair job will restore armor if it's gone, and it will heal structure and and armor damages. The repair job is a flat gain, so it won't be a 100% heal if you're severely damaged.

After getting repaired, again go to either the far left or the far right of the terrace and wait. You may need to issue a Go To command on the terrace because the lance tends to want to move out to meet the next wave of enemies. Repeat the tactics from the first wave by waiting near the edge of the terrace and peeking down the ramps to use the invincible walls as cover. The turrets won't do much damage, but they will do just enough and cause a small distraction to keep you safer.

This second wave of enemies is stronger than the first. They'll have more missile launchers at their disposal. Remember that they won't fire their LRMs if they don't have line of sight, so keep moving and peeking. Aim for center mass, and let the lance fire at will. Don't order a focus fire unless you need them to get an enemy off your back or if there is only one left.

After the second wave, Ryana will radio you that more are on their way and she'll advise that you retreat to the top terrace. Follow her advice and make use of the repair bay, then prepare for the final push of the MechWarrior 5 storyline.

Ryana will tell you that she needs five minutes to get out of her location and rejoin you. During that time, you'll encounter multiple lances of entire Assault-weight mechs. Running out to meet them is suicide, so stay on the upper terrace and wait. If you go to either extreme end of the terrace again, it will take them 90 seconds to reach you.

You will not survive in a toe-to-toe fight with them due to their number and high armor. Attack them if you have the opportunity, but you need to keep moving. The best piece of cover is your DropShip, which sits on the upper terrace near the door. Depending on your angle, you can fire underneath its wings to pick at the enemies' legs without exposing yourself to return fire. The enemy AI is not smart enough to do a similar trick, but they have the numbers that they'll quickly approach and flank you if you stop moving.

Do not order your lance to do anything but follow you. They'll help watch your back and if too many enemy mechs start attacking you, turn tail and run circles around your DropShip and the rocks. When the enemy loses sight of you, your lance will help distract them. It's risky, but you need to ensure your own safety. If you still have all your weapons, ammo, and armor, you'll be able to hold out for a minute or so in a direct firefight, but not much longer.

After five minutes pass, Ryana will radio that she's ready to go. A waypoint will appear at the north side of the DropShip. You need to get to that point; simply touching the DropShip from another angle won't be good enough. Remember that the mission will end the moment you get there, so don't bother firing if you can quickly get there. The screenshot below shows the player standing at the exact spot that will trigger the end of the mission.

As soon as Ryana radios that you've done the job, you'll be safe. Speak to her on the bridge once you're back to the JumpShip, and you'll get to experience the ending! Congrats on beating MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries!

There are no specifically post-game story missions, but you can continue playing as you fulfill contracts on your own. Some unique side quests will open up as well. You may even change the territory map the more you play!