Teams
Mercs
The Merc team serves as the central narrative focus. Players forming the Merc team may select from a variety of pre-made Client Missions or request a custom campaign tailored to their own story.
Throughout the campaign, the Merc team will face a series of narrative-driven scenarios that test their strategy and teamwork. They will have opportunities to choose their initial loadouts and can earn additional mechs, weapons, and augments based on their performance and mission success.
Opposing Forces
This team represents the various adversaries the Mercs may encounter during their campaign — Security Teams, Rebel Forces, Rival Gangs, Corporate Death Squads, or competing Merc units.
Loadouts for Opposing Forces will be determined by the specific scenario, and their victory conditions will differ from those of the Merc team. Opposing Forces will typically outnumber the Merc team by at least 1 mech.
Recruitment for the Opposing Forces will draw from the available General Merc Pool and through invitations extended to established clans. Priority will be given to newer players interested in participating in organized games, as well as unaffiliated players seeking experience.
Team Setup
Merc Drop Slots
5 mechs per drop. Mercs may be awarded an additional Drop Slot between Campaign Arcs.
Starting Augments Choose 4
- Repair Expansion
- Nano Lace Armor
- Ammo Expansion
- Extended Magazine
- 2x Hip Motor
- Aim Stabilizer
- Auto Loader Mark2
- Engine Cooling
- Fixer Drone Update
- Gravity Lift
- Mass Expansion
- Overdrive
- 2x Optics
- Jet Fuel Recycler
- Down Thrusters
- Mass Extractor
Starting Weapon Choose 1
- Gaus-90
- Qrtz Heavy
- LR-FOS Beam
- 311-STAG
- Intimidator
- Howitzer-115
- Hul Cracker
Mechs
Default Loadout — Breaker Mech
All players have access to the starting Breaker mech (Medium Assault) and Basic Weapons Set.
| Category | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Chassis | Medium Assault Mech |
| Basic Weapons | Spitfires, Grads, Pulserails |
| Augments | None (default) |
Specialized Mechs
- Specialized Mechs are distinct mechanized units, each represented by a corresponding mech slot. To field duplicates, the correct mech slot must be available, and the mech must be purchased or awarded.
- EMP Medium Assaults are classified as Specialized Mechs but do not require a mech slot.
- It is recommended that the most skilled players be assigned to pilot Specialized Mechs.
- A Specialized Mech should be piloted by the same player throughout a single scenario but may be reassigned between missions.
- Specialized Mech pilots may switch between their assigned mech and the default Breaker upon respawn, provided they have not reached their reinforcement limit.
Mech Packages Choose One
2 Light Mech Slots
- Recon Scout
- Infiltrator Scout
2 Heavy Mech Slots
- Reinforcer Heavy
- Guardian Heavy
1 Light + 1 EMP
- Choose Light Mech Type
- EMP Medium Assault
1 Heavy + 1 EMP
- Choose Heavy Mech Type
- EMP Medium Assault
Campaigns & Scenarios
Campaign Structure
- Clients represent the NPC factions that inhabit the Sol System.
- Clients may contract the Mercenary Team to undertake a series of operations, collectively referred to as Campaigns, which serve to advance their faction's strategic interests.
- Each Campaign constitutes a distinct narrative arc, or "Adventure," comprising three Scenarios.
- Every Scenario is designed to simulate a tactical engagement with unique objectives, parameters, and conditions that distinguish it from standard IR gameplay.
Client Campaigns Choose One
- Saturnite Tech-Consortium — Heavy industry barons of Saturn
- Morningstar Protectorate — Mercury & Venus philosopher-militants
- ShadowNet — The criminal underworld's enduring alliance
Reinforcement System
Reinforcement Limit 3 respawns per player
Reinforcements represent the number of respawns allowed per player during a scenario. This system is designed to slow down gameplay and create a more tactical simulation experience. The focus is on resource management, team composition, pre-match strategy, and battlefield communication.
Currently, each player is given three respawns. This allows for limited loadout adjustments to counter opposing team compositions.
When Eliminated
- Once a player has used up their respawns they must remain within 200m of their spawn position
- Eliminated team members may still talk and provide advice and encouragement to their surviving teammates
- Enemy mechs wandering too close to spawn are free to be shot at — their deaths count towards their reinforcement limit
Critical Rules
- A screenshot of the Scoreboard at the end of the scenario will check for players going over the set limit. Be careful not to self-destruct.
- Depleting an enemy team's reinforcement pool or reducing their numbers enough to complete scenario objectives is a valid win condition.
- Surviving mech pilots must continue to push towards objectives in a timely manner. Do not hide and wait out the clock.
- If a team deems they have lost too many pilots to continue, they may withdraw by leaving the lobby en masse.
Team Leaders
Role Overview
Team Leaders are responsible for coordinating their teams, maintaining communication with the Merc Admin, and ensuring that all players uphold the rules of conduct. They act as both organizers and battlefield commanders, guiding their teams toward success while promoting fair and strategic play.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Provide a post-match debrief to the Merc Admin after each mission — include a screenshot of the final score (visible on the wrist menu in the post-game lobby), a brief summary, and any notable highlights or epic moments
- Report any disputes or rule concerns that occurred during the match
- Ensure players follow the official rules of conduct at all times
- Organize and facilitate training and strategy sessions before scheduled matches
- May appoint a team member as Tactical Officer to assist with session preparation
- Act as the battlefield shot-caller during gameplay — final decisions on team composition and pilot roles
- Relay results of any team votes or decisions to the Merc Admin (e.g., Merc Store reward selections)
Selection & Structure
It is recommended that experienced and mature players serve as Team Leaders, as the role requires both leadership and diplomacy.
| Team | Max Leaders |
|---|---|
| Merc Team | 2 |
| Opposing Forces | 3 |
Combat Footage — Camera Mech
Optional RoleCamera Mech Protocol
Each team may reserve a drop slot for a "camera mech" — non-combative players who volunteer to follow their assigned team and capture dynamic footage. These players should have good recording capabilities.
- Camera Mechs do not count towards a team's drop limit
- Designated as Infiltrator mechs with Mass Expansion and Extractor augments, bright yellow camo, and FOS Beam loadout
- Must stay invisible as often as possible and follow their team to capture footage
- Must not engage in combat or help their team in any way aside from observing
- Assigned the FOS Beam as a visual indicator — firing it can lead to team penalties
- If spotted and shot at during battle, must withdraw and remain cloaked if possible
Rules of Conduct
Mandatory- No Spawn Camping
- No Team Killing
- No Playing over Reinforcement Limit
- Do not play outside of your team's designated loadouts
Client Factions
Saturnite Tech-Consortium
The Saturnite Tech-Consortium serves as the overarching authority, safeguarding the collective interests of a sprawling network of Saturn-based enterprises — Barons of Industry, military tacticians, master fabricators, and strip-mining magnates — all vying for dominion across Saturn's myriad worlds.
Specializing in heavy industry, the Consortium commands vast foundries dedicated to weapons and mech production, orbital mining endeavors, and colossal fabrication forges that shape the backbone of interplanetary commerce and conquest.
Many of its great houses trace their lineages to the military-industrial complexes of Old Terra, carrying a heritage forged in war and tempered by technological might into the farthest reaches of the Saturnite cultural dogma.
Morningstar Protectorate
Representing the interests of both the Mercury and Venus colony worlds, the Morningstar Protectorate holds seats on the Empire's Centurion Council. Born from a union of visionary academics and volunteer defense militias, the Protectorate's founders endured a brutal twenty-year siege during the Scarcity War.
Their survival was secured by audacious raids on the genetic vaults of the long-fallen Governments of Old Terra. Harnessing advanced genetic manipulation and terraforming technology, they repelled their adversaries and safeguarded their future.
Steeped in a culture guided by militant philosopher-scholars, the Morningstar Protectorate relishes the ever-present challenge of adapting to interstellar life. The Protectorate conducts sweeping humanitarian efforts throughout the solar system.
ShadowNet
From the earliest records of human civilization, the criminal underworld has always existed. When humanity fled to the stars in the aftermath of the Scarcity Wars, it carried its vices with it. Smuggling rings thrived in asteroid colonies, data-pirates prowled the comm-nets, and cybernetic enforcers ruled neon-lit districts.
Across the centuries, countless organizations have claimed dominion over this criminal sprawl, each rising and collapsing as swiftly as the mega-corps they sought to infiltrate. Yet one name endures in whispered conversation and encrypted data streams alike: the ShadowNet.
An ever-shifting alliance of hackers, mercenaries, and black-market brokers bound by profit, secrecy, and the belief that the system itself is the ultimate crime.