The first DLC package for BattleTech is poised to launch next month, and it’s bringing with it new ‘Mechs, a new mission type, and a brand new biome to stomp around in big old robots in.
BattleTech Flashpoint is the first paid DLC for the turn-based mech combat game, and it’s poised to change up the way it’s played. Right up front, it’s adding three new ‘Mech chassis: the Hatchetman, the Crab, and the Cyclops. It’s also adding a brand-new tropical biome, which has tons of foliage-based concealment, but also dangerous spore clouds to avoid or turn to your advantage.
Another new addition is the Acquisition mission type, which has you fielding light- and medium-weight ‘Mechs to control three map locations. That’s an interesting wrinkle in a game where heavier has generally meant better.
But the big deal with the new expansion is right in the name: Flashpoints. There are short little self-contained stories which you can pursue by accepting missions and following their event chain. Back in June, when Paradox announced its plan to buy BattleTech developer Harebrained Schemes, the acquisition was a bit of a head-scratcher. With the mission-linked capsule stories that are going to be introduced in Flashpoint, the collaboration is making more and more sense.
Here’s a breakdown of the new features coming with Flashpoint, courtesy of Harebrained Schemes’ BattleTech game director Mitch Gitelman:
If you’ve missed it so far, BattleTech is a fairly superb robot strategy game, and we gave it a very high score in our review.
Flashpoint is due to launch November 27. It’s listed at $19.99 on Steam, and a 10% pre-order discount currently has it at $17.99.