DLC 5-compatible. :)

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**Major update (Jul. 21st, 2023)!!

The mod has, once again, been restructured, in addition to having its accuracy curves reconfigured.

The mod now has pilot distribution with the full spectrum of pilots (like vanilla) for *all* difficulty levels. Lancemate A.I. accuracy has also been improved both at close range, as well as long range to improve their overall performance, in addition to helping compensate with the increased difficulty levels. Accuracy modifier values (those negatively affecting both movement accuracy and lateral movement accuracy) have now been expanded to include *all* enemy pilot skill levels (unlike vanilla).

Lastly, a greater emphasis has been placed on an enemy’s ability to aim at close range (with their base accuracy having been increased) like in an earlier version of the mod, but with balances made to make avoidance still viable given the right conditions/player movement.

Please enjoy! (This involved an ample amount of testing!)**

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Enemy difficulty was originally structured in order for players to play through the game while learning as they go; resulting in an easy difficulty at the start, and progressing to a harder (the hardest) difficulty at the end. This happened to coincide with getting heavier ‘mechs; resulting in the hardest missions being the ones with the heaviest tonnage being deployed. Unfortunately, this makes replays of the game trivial at the start for experienced pilots, and only makes the game more fun in a challenging way for high-tonnage missions.

To remedy this, I created this mod in order to create something this game lacks: difficulty levels.

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The available difficulty levels are as follows – from easiest to hardest: Increased (easiest), Challenging (less easy), Hard (moderate), Very Hard (hard), and Extreme (very hard).

Each difficulty level has its own accuracy curves for the A.I., as well as adjusted values for the chance for an enemy to overheat; levels of focus-fire on exposed components; enemy damage mitigation; and lance coordination in targeting a player or A.I. companion that has generated the most aggro at a given point in time. For those afraid of or irritated by the level of focus-fire on display in the vanilla game, know this: I have adjusted the values in order to minimize such unusual behaviour, while still making the A.I. a significant challenge – especially at higher difficulties.

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Difficulty levels have been scaled (as best as possible) to have the lowest difficulty (“Increased”) serve best as a challenge for those with intermediate skill while using power-enhancing mods (such as YAML or my mod “Re-balanced and Expanded Weapons”) or for a very hard challenge while playing vanilla MW5, while the highest difficulty level (“Extreme”) is for only the most highly-of-skilled pilots that are using power-enhancing mods (that are well-balanced). Like my weapon mod, all creations are meant to serve a purpose, so do not ignore the lower difficulties unless you are highly confident in both your abilities, and the power of the ‘mechs you have access to build. (I have tested the mod using ample use of YAML’s extended features for the lowest difficulty, and have still met considerable resistance – especially on higher-difficulty missions, for example.)

Both pilot distribution and weapon potency/rarity have been scaled to become increasingly more difficult/powerful based on the selected difficulty – with the lowest difficulty having the least powerful combination of the two, and the highest difficulty having the most powerful combination. Distribution within each difficulty level has the lowest difficulty missions have the least difficult/powerful combination of pilots and weapons, with the most difficult having the greatest. *All* difficulty levels have a chance to spawn all levels of pilots and weapons; making it essential to pay not only attention to the ‘mechs being faced, but also the pilots in control of them. Keep in mind that, as a result, although the A.I. gets higher-powered weapons, you also will have the chance to loot them, should you defeat them (making salvage more rewarding, and making you more capable of beating them!).

As for accuracy, the A.I. has been changed so as to have much greater accuracy at close range, with an exponential drop off in accuracy at long range. Long range accuracy, however, has been greatly increased – with the lowest difficulty (“Increased”) having a minimum accuracy equal to the *highest* accuracy in vanilla (the “Elite” pilot difficulty). As a result, getting too close (“face-hugging”) for big damage is discouraged and can result in catastrophic damage, while lateral mobility and positioning for damage avoidance is more greatly encouraged so as to further exercise and test the player’s skill. This has not (intentionally) been done so as to punish close-range play, but so as to make players more careful as to *when* they choose to engage; how they engage; and to engage quickly and powerfully when then choose to do so. (This can help to reinforce better aggressive play up-close – which is a normally desired outcome (a “win-win”) for close-range brawling builds.)

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All vanilla and adjusted values can be found here on the following Google Sheets data sheets (as usual):
Enemy difficulty and accuracy: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JrfOR082HYYqi02_3vYpZsCRp9zgBDLucy38coJo1bE/edit?usp=sharing
Enemy pilot distribution by difficulty level: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jl9D6V8gCXAY4waiJfN9ZWfPHZ2emu2jllvc5WBApl0/edit?usp=sharing
Enemy weapon distribution by difficulty level: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X1PdTknnMr0nrueCb42JjcvFfK6oHPhHYj2vRvZRpGk/edit?usp=sharing
Lancemate A.I. statistics and accuracy: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ocjqbP7ad9bmLLLUcj6Z12kXXntb7CzNMMRogN1Wq8c/edit?usp=sharing

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Again, be aware that the easiest difficulty (“Increased”) is significantly harder than the vanilla difficulty, with each increase in difficulty adding a noticeable increase in challenge. It may behoove you to try the easier difficulties first before trying the harder ones in order to get accustomed to the increase in difficulty; to learn the ways in which difficulty has been adjusted; and to avoid frustration from trying too hard a difficulty. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

Please enjoy. :)

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Other mods by me!:
Alternate Flamer Visuals: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/847
Dimmer Loot Beam: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/851
Enhanced Critical: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/848
Enhanced 'Mech Traits: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/910
High-damage Critical: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/860
Improved Airstrike: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/850
Increased Treefall Animation Rate ("The 'Timber' Mod!"): https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/852
Increased Warzone Rewards: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/849
Increased Warzone Rewards (Light): https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/854
Party Critical: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/866
Projectile-based Machine Guns: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/748
Re-balanced and Expanded Jump Jets: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/858
Re-balanced and Expanded Weapons (My main mod): https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/744

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I now have a Ko-fi!

Contribute here if you'd like to: https://ko-fi.com/altamasters1011 :)

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Installation Instructions:
To install, download the .7z file; extract the contents; open the resulting folder and cut the folder inside; and place (paste) into your MechWarrior 5 "Mods" folder within your video game library (please see the provided, simplified guide to locating the folder if you don't know where to find it). The remaining folder (the folder with the same name as the .7z file) can be discarded (deleted).

Please be aware that MW5 requires the player to select the mods they wish to activate within their own mod menu within the game (simply titled "Mods"), and then requires the player to restart the game for it to take effect. See information on load orders in case any conflicts occur, and both download and arrange the mods as you see fit; depending on the version of the game you have (Epic Games vs. Steam).

{Here are the general folder paths to follow to install the mod:
For Steam: <OSDrive>:SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries\MW5Mercs\Mods
For Epic Games: <OSDrive>:\Epic Games\Library\MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries\MW5Mercs\Mods
For Windows: <OSDrive>:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\MW5Mercs\Mods}