Last Man Standing - MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Guide - IGN (2024)

This is a walkthrough for Last Man Standing, a campaign story mission of MechWarrior 5. For other missions, please see the Walkthrough page on the IGN wiki.

Last Man Standing is the fourth mission of the campaign and last one before the game's universe opens up. After clearing Takedown, get your repairs going, then speak to Fahad then Ryana to continue the story. She'll tell you that it's time to name your mercenary company, which you can do from the computer in your private quarters. You cannot change the logo, but you can at least rename it to anything you wish from the default "Nik's Cavaliers" if you choose. After that, speak to Ryana one more time to get an update on the situation, as well as which contract you need to accept next. For this mission, it's advised you use the Centurion with maximum armor.

For the rest of this walkthrough, it will be assumed you will work with getting repairs and such done to your mechs between every mission, and that you will speak to the specific people on your ship you need to in order to advance the story. They will always be marked with obvious waypoints.

From the DropShip, proceed forward to find six helicopters. Take them down, then head forward down the hill into the main dig site. You'll find a fellow mech and its pilot, Freeman, defending the area from bandits, so help him out. You'll fight only a mix of helicopters and tanks at first. Be very careful where you step because you can do damage to the dig site, although destroying any of the trees will not count against the dig site health. Also, there are unpowered turrets that you don't want to accidentally destroy.

When the first wave is over, Freeman will chat you up and lead you to a hill with a power generator. Stay with him until you get to the generator, then hold E to power it up and turn your turrets on.

The next wave will attack when you turn on the turrets. A dozen units split half-and-half into tanks and helicopters will attack. No different tactics will be needed. Freeman pulls his weight and will likely take several enemies out on his own, but you'll need to help him to survive.

After the wave, Freeman will tell you there's a repair bay nearby, and the second turret generator will need to come on. However, another wave of enemies will attack before you'll have a chance to do so. A new icon will also appear on your HUD as a blue box; that's the generator. Head full speed toward it. Some helicopters may fly over your head, but don't get into chasing them. If you can hit them on the way, do so, but don't stop moving at maximum speed toward that generator. Power it on as you did with the previous one, then start taking out targets. The turrets will greatly help you out during this wave. Another wave will approach immediately after the second from the side of the camp opposite the second generator.

When the three waves are clear, Ryana will warn you of an incoming DropShip. Two medium mechs will then engage you. Even if the camp has taken serious damage, it's best to wait until they approach before engaging. Freeman will want to stay near the camp and the turrets can help you out, plus the enemy mech pilots will target you and Freeman rather than the camp itself. If the camp takes any damage, it'll probably be collateral.

One of the mechs will prefer to stay on the edge of the battlefield and lob missiles at you. The other will come and personally engage you, though sometimes it will engage Freeman. If you can get behind it, that's the time to aim for the legs, as it will not have enough armor to survive more than a few sustained volleys from all your weapons. Manage your heat carefully.

The mech that stays on the outside will likely be far enough away that Freeman won't want to engage it. It also won't move that fast, so you should be able to get behind it even in the Centurion. Lay into it with everything you have, and the mission will end once both mechs are destroyed.

After the end of Last Man Standing and after speaking to Ryana, you'll enter the main part of the game. Co-op will unlock, so you can get some friends to help you out with missions. You'll also be able to move around the full star map as you wish; traveling to another system allows you to buy new mechs, new gear, or hire pilots. Of note, you'll pick up a side mission called Armed Robbery that you can take to get some good supplies in a nearby star system, and it's easy to do even with just you and Freeman. One of the rewards for that mission is a mech torso, so grabbing that will likely put you at four total mechs.

With more mechs than pilots, one of the first things you should do is find a system where you can hire pilots. This generally will be outside of conflict zones. Mouse over a system, then look at the panel in the lower-right corner of the screen to see if "Pilots Available For Hire" is written. You can also stock up on other ammo, new weapons, and additional gear for all your mechs including your starting Javelin.

The next story mission will be available after you've run several missions to raise your reputation to Level 5. Take contracts that seem interesting to you. Higher difficulty ones will also provide better rewards at greater risk. Repair between each mission and consider saving, especially if you have three or more save files going to ensure you can go back a step in case something goes horribly wrong. Build up your power and consider buying new mechs or salvaging damaged ones you get in the field. Sell off mechs you don't want and keep your eyes open for any discounts and deals on the starmap. You'll want to have a strong lance before the next story mission.

The next mission of the campaign is Noble Cause, which is the start of Act 2. For other missions, please see the Walkthrough page of the wiki.