This is a curated list of mods that I use and enjoy for Mechwarrior 5, and a how-to for mod installation and ordering. These are mods that I actually use, so unless I miss something, they will all work together without beating eachother senseless with conflicts.
 
 
These mods should also work for coop, and once you get your mods directory the way you want it, you should be able to just dump the entire contents into one big zip and then send that to your friends so that they have a duplicate modstack.
 
 

[Cosmetic Mods 1]

These mods only affect visuals or sound or provide information without altering difficulty or gameplay.
 
 

Advanced Zoom
 by BobbertModdert
Advanced Zoom
 by BobbertModderthttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/412 - [nexusmods.com] 





I use the "Simple Zoom" version for an uncomplicated way to double the maximum vanilla magnification. There is a simple tweak to a game file with instructions in the mod description which allows you to unlock x8 zoom, but x4 just works out of the box with no further fuss.

 
 

Better Lighting in Home Screen
 by SankaraSamsara
Better Lighting in Home Screen
 by SankaraSamsarahttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/375 - [nexusmods.com] 





As in the name, the lighting is better (for my migraines) in the home screen. Since you spend so much time looking at it, it may as well be minimally migrainey.

 
 

Better Lighting in Mech Hanger and Operations
 by SankaraSamsara
Better Lighting in Mech Hanger and Operations
 by SankaraSamsarahttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/319 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2508746528 - [steamcommunity.com] 
This change isn't as important to your migraines as the one for the home screen, but it will do you some good to know that your dropship is looking just right while you are not looking at it.

 
 

Burning Battlefield
 by ljorder66
Burning Battlefield
 by ljorder66https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/443 - [nexusmods.com] 

Mechs and tanks continue to burn for several minutes after they are destroyed. It sounds simple enough but turning all the wrecks into pyres does make the battlefield that much more festive. 

This mod sometimes causes floating fires in the sky because the fires burn so long and aren't cleaned up properly at mission end and so persist into the next mission. But there is a 3-minute burn version, which I use myself, and it prevents most of that. If you see some, just tell yourself they're flares!

As of August 11th, there are now 12 and 3 minute versions which have proper lighting. Even in the dark dark of Very Dark Night (of Nearly Clear Nightvision), nearby objects will be illuminated, and it looks fantastic if your machine can handle the extra work.

If you were using an older version and switch to any 1.05 version, be aware that the name of the mod folder changed due to the author correcting a typo. If it's already in your modlist.json, just correct Burning_Battlefiled > Burning_Battlefield.

Conflict: With Volatile, as both replace default mech explosions. I have this mod's default load order set to 5 in order to allow Volatile's mech explosions to be used.

 
 

Casual Hires
 by Diji
Casual Hires
 by Dijihttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/291 - [nexusmods.com] 





This mod just makes it so that your pilots' truncated callsigns will display where ordinarily their full name and rank are displayed. In other words, you can have an AI hire named "PAIN" instead of "Lt. Pain McGilliguddy"

 
 

Change Company Name
 by Diji
Change Company Name
 by Dijihttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/294 - [nexusmods.com] 





It's your company, isn't it? Don't you want to be able to change the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ name any time you want?

Allows you to click your company name on the Stats tab under Operations to see the company name dialogue again.

 
 

Colorized Heat Gauge
 by CommandDork
Colorized Heat Gauge
 by CommandDorkhttps://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2507466797 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Changes the vanilla white heat gauge to a multi-colored one. Because why wouldn't you. Blue is cold and red is hot!

 
 
 

[Cosmetic Mods 2]

Enable Infantry
 by Piranha Games Inc
Enable Infantry
 by Piranha Games Inchttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/274 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2513326516 - [steamcommunity.com] 



This mod is a Pirahna Games official mod and adds itty bitty pathetic little soldiers who (sort of half-heartedly) fire their itty bitty pathetic little hand weapons at your mech. Until you sweep a single laser across them all and watch them erupt into flames, that is! See "Infantry Tweaks" below to make them even better?

 
 

Expanded Company Logos
 by g3n0
Expanded Company Logos
 by g3n0https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/381 - [nexusmods.com] 




Selection of extra logos to use with your mercenary company. You rarely ever see your logo other than on the dropship during travel. But, like the mod author, having such a small selection in the base game bothered me. I use the Battletech Pack.

 
 

Expanded Pilots
 by g3n0
Expanded Pilots
 by g3n0https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/433 - [nexusmods.com] 




Adds a large number of pilot avatars to the game. Note that these do not show up in Instant Action.

 
 

Hide Dialogue Text
 by Diji
Hide Dialogue Text
 by Dijihttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/400 - [nexusmods.com] 

This mod hides the text from incoming transmissions while you are in the field but still shows the avatar of whomever is speaking.

 
 

High-Vis Torso Twist
 by CommandDork
High-Vis Torso Twist
 by CommandDorkhttps://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509859048 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Pre-Kestrel, this changed the color for the torso twist indicator from white to orange and made it thicker. In post-Kestrel times, it now continues to make the torso twist indicator much thicker, but is now green, probably due to the new Kestrel HUD. 

 
 

Infantry Tweaks
 by GKCinimod
Infantry Tweaks
 by GKCinimodhttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/465 - [nexusmods.com] 

This mod requires "Enable Infantry" to be loaded before it does anything. It spawns more infantry, it makes the infantry's pitiful attacks more aggressive, and removes the tiny little weapon icons above their heads. What the hell do you care what kind of pitiful ordnance they're carrying? Are you a mechwarrior or an entomologist?

These obviously aren't crucial mods, but I have gotten used to squishing infantry on the way to objectives.

 
 

Laser Visual Tweak
 by Lt47
Laser Visual Tweak
 by Lt47https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/297 - [nexusmods.com] 





Welcome to smooth lasers, which is the version you should download. Your problems are now over. Smoooooooth lasers.

This makes lasers a bright, solid color with minimal "grain", like Star Wars lasers. Chemical lasers are angrily puffy.

Conflict: Only partially works with part 2 of Prime8's Distinct WeaponFX, with most lasers losing some of their mighty puffiness. However, you can always just only load part 1 of that mod, like I do.

 
 

Mech Attribute Viewer
by MechcommanderMercs
Mech Attribute Viewer
by MechcommanderMercshttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/298 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2504888988 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Allows you to see any special attributes on mechs that you mouseover in the mech bay/market. Indicates XL engines, Endo Steel internals, Ferro Fibrous armor, Double Heat Sinks, or the presence of ECM or AP or MASC hardpoints.

 
 

Mech Lights
by GTADRIZZT
Mech Lights
by GTADRIZZThttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/498 - [nexusmods.com] 





Adds a hardcoded keybind ( i ) which activates headlights with three brightness settings. This looks great from the cockpit with ljorder66's Very Dark Nights and Nearly Clear Nightvision v1.1

 
 
 

[Cosmetic Mods 3]

Nearly Clear Nightvision [+Very Dark Night]
by ljorder66
Nearly Clear Nightvision [+Very Dark Night]
by ljorder66https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/428 - [nexusmods.com] 

I use version 1.1, which boosts visibility considerably, but be aware that if you use this version with any of the "darker nights" mods other than "Very Dark Night", you are going to be in for quite a light show, as it is intended to work with extreme dark.

The "Very Dark Night" mod is available on the same page, and it makes night so dark that it seems street lights and even the stars are being strangled by blackness, and thus, you can absolutely see better with night vision on.

 
 

Portrait Distortion Effect
by Lt47
Portrait Distortion Effect
by Lt47https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/132 - [nexusmods.com] 
("green" version pictured left)

Another Lt47 mod, this one adds a grainy, animated distortion effect to the comms avatar, and plays fine with Hide Dialogue Text, listed above. Your weird communications system is really coming together now.

 
 

Prime8's Detailed Compacted GUI
by Prime8king
Prime8's Detailed Compacted GUI
by Prime8kinghttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/173 - [nexusmods.com] 





This mod affects the look of equipment in item stores and in the mechlab. It compacts the size of individual pieces of equipment to make long lists more readable, and adds additional stats to the mouseover. If you try it, I highly recommend the optional "P8K_GUI_IconOverride_RPG" tier level icon override available from the same mod page which makes the new smaller icons more distinct. Make sure that you load the override last. Information on load order below.

Tier icons with the RPG override (from top, Tier 4, 3, 5, 1, 2)

Note that as of the time of this writing, there is a visual oddity with double heat sinks due to the way the mod reduces size...they will appear to only be taking two critical slots. Don't worry, this mod does not change any such rules--they are in fact taking three slots, as will be evident when you note that one of the open crit slots appears to vanish in the section where you place it.

 
 

Prime8's Distinct Weapon FX
by Prime8king
Prime8's Distinct Weapon FX
by Prime8kinghttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/194 - [nexusmods.com] 

New particle effects and emitters for almost every weapon in the game including all ballistics, lasers and missiles. Missiles have a noticeable booster effect which engages a split second after leaving the launcher and ballistics have more distinct tracers and impacts. Destroyed equipment in mechs produces a distinct explosion. Visual improvement all around from vanilla.

however

If you worship at the altar of Smoooooth Lasers, like I do, you will be crestfallen to learn that this mod will demote your glorious puffy death beams into mere (still better than vanilla and quite distinct!) rinky dink little laser pointer lasers! However, rejoice! As this mod was actually split up into two halves, and one of those halves contains mostly lasers, you can just leave that one (part 2) out of your modstack and still reap the benefits of the effects to missiles and to most ballistics, with the unfortunate exceptions being the LB-10X and UAC5, which are bundled with part 2.

 
 

Throttle Gauge w Line Markers
by CommandDork
Throttle Gauge w Line Markers
by CommandDorkhttps://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509890520 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Graduates the throttle gauge into quarters and changes the color to minty green, which is cool! COOL, GET IT?

 
 

Volatile
by GTADRIZZT
Volatile
by GTADRIZZThttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/305 - [nexusmods.com] 

This mod changes the wispy white missile trails to thick black smoke, makes explosions more profound and in some cases multi-stage, and artillery explosions big and gross. It makes the battlefield just a bit more battlefield-y and is one of my favorites.

Conflict: with Burning Battlefield and Prime8's Distinct Weapon FX. I have Volatile's default load order set to 6 so that it is higher than Burning Battlefield's 5, allowing Volatile's mech explosions to be used, but that is below Prime8's Distinct Weapon FX so that the weapon effects of the latter are used. Shame to lose volatile's missile trails, but I like Prime8's missile and AC models. This is just a matter of which you like more.

 
 

VonBiomes
by vonSeiten
VonBiomes
by vonSeitenhttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/441 - [nexusmods.com] 

This one allows missions to generate on several new biomes that you don't see in the base game, including a jungle forest, a wide open marshland, a toxic waste dump, a war-ruined once-urban "no man's land" and a "hot sulphurous" world which is not kind to the heatsinks.

 
 

Weapon and Explosion Sounds
by ljorder66
Weapon and Explosion Sounds
by ljorder66https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/560 - [nexusmods.com] 

This is the new sound mod in my stack. No, not Kh0rnz' Sounds of the Succession Wars Audio Overhaul - [nexusmods.com] [www.nexusmods.com], nor Timberwulf518's MW5 Realism Audio Project - [nexusmods.com] [www.nexusmods.com]. Weapon and Explosion Sounds is just what it sounds like. I originally just got it to replace the Autocannon sound effects since Kestrel Lancers reduced the vanilla sound effects for them by like 99% and every other sound mod was busted, but I've actually taken a liking to it. It touches very few game files so it can work without conflicts with virtually anything else.

 
 
 

[Gameplay Mods 1]

These mods actually alter basic rules or otherwise affect the gameplay.
 
 

Artillery Tweak
by Garzjapan
Artillery Tweak
by Garzjapanhttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/523 - [nexusmods.com] 

This mod has several versions which affect artillery. One simply makes the artillery rounds take 2x the time to hit after being fired, and that one is compatible with another which makes the artillery inflict half damage. But the one I like is the third one, because it makes the artillery take twice as long, but makes the explosion radius 50% bigger. This sounds like it would balance out, but it's actually far less annoying for me to deal with artillery without feeling like I've nerfed arty out of existence.

 
 

Better Salvage Shares
by RedHellion
Better Salvage Shares
by RedHellionhttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/335 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2516303017 - [steamcommunity.com] 
This increases the amount of salvage shares you get per negotiation point from 3 to 5. This makes early game salvage much easier, and late game salvage like going to a preowned mech store. This is probably the cheatiest mod on my list, but I am unashamed. Picking through salvage is great, and it makes sense that salvage would be "cheaper" than straight upgrades to pay or insurance anyway, as it doesn't come directly out of your employer's pockets, and they only have to "pay" it if you WIN.

Warning: A post-Kestrel crash has been reported on the mod's workshop page when flying far enough to generate new missions, although I am unable to reproduce this crash.

 
 

Better Spawns 2
by Troopermanaic
Better Spawns 2
by Troopermanaichttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/7 - [nexusmods.com] 

VTOLS now spawn at least 3km away from you and appear in squadrons, while mechs and tanks all have to show up via dropship. No more mechs spawning just over a nearby hill. Garrison units will still spawn as normal, as these units were generated by the map and are "supposed" to be there.

Also makes turrets spawn less frequently, which is a good enough reason to use it in itself.

 
 

Drop Fees
by BobbertModdert
Drop Fees
by BobbertModderthttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/502 - [nexusmods.com] 



Allows you to exceed the drop requirements for the mission for an escalating penalty to c-bills depending on by how much you exceed it. This is great for when you could actually fit another mech into the lance if you only had another 5-10 tons. It makes sense as a matter of contract negotiation anyway. The whole reason you'd want to limit the drop weight of the merc lance you hired is to minimize collateral damage and avoid pissing off officials, but officials tend to love money more than they love the people.

 
 

ECM and Active Probe Buff
by janistls2
ECM and Active Probe Buff
by janistls2https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/463 - [nexusmods.com] 

Simply doubles the ranges of all types of Active Probe and ECM. Bear in mind that this buffs both your AND the enemy's effective range, so get used to that reticle jitter. I use the version which respects the vanilla hardpoint limitations, but there is a version available which doesn't.

 
 

Extra Employers
by ianhoran1
Extra Employers
by ianhoran1https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/382 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2521326721 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Adds new factions to do missions for or against. This is actually very helpful in managing your reputation with the great houses, because it gives you new targets and helps to spread out your negative rep. It gets a demerit for immersion for adding "Nik's Cavaliers", which is the name of your character's company which is renamed in the intro. But you can always pretend that some deviant heard about your company's "destruction" and registered the name and emblem for themselves. The mod author actually recommends against using this mod in campaign mode, but nevermind! Use it, and imagineer your way around any conflicts, damn it! Do you want to live in a perfectly rational and consistent universe or do u wunnuh maek dat MUNNY

 
 

Field Repairs
by SgtBurns
Field Repairs
by SgtBurnshttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/282 - [nexusmods.com] 

Makes repairs to heat sinks and armor instant, but internal damage and removing and installing equipment take longer and cost more. There are two variants, with one making the increased cost and time 4X more, and another 2X more. I use the 2X version.

 
 

Larger Airstrike
by Garzjapan
Larger Airstrike
by Garzjapanhttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/520 - [nexusmods.com] 





Are you like me in that you never use your negotiation points for airstrikes? This mod actually makes your airstrikes worth the money. The main file doubles the bombing area, gives each individual bomb a blast radius of more than three times vanilla, and each bomb also inflicts 50% more damage.

 
 

Lore-Based Mech Variants
mace24de
Lore-Based Mech Variants
mace24dehttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/403 - [nexusmods.com] 

Adds 72 new mech variants to buy and encounter. The latest versions add an actual new chassis--the Thug. 80 tons, Dual PPCs, Dual SRM and a heaping helping of armor and heatsinks. yesplzthx. This chassis is entirely fan-made, but looks every bit as good as any vanilla chassis.

 
 
 

[Gameplay Mods 2]

Max Potential
by DonBeagles
Max Potential
by DonBeagleshttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/345 - [nexusmods.com] 

Allows all pilots to reach 10/10 60/60 maximum skill, although they still have to be leveled up. An alternate is available which affords this change only to special pilots that you get as rewards.

It's a cheat, since you don't have to micro your pilots, but that's exactly what I was after. I wanted to be able to hire the number of pilots I need, and then just concern myself with leveling them and keeping them paid rather than sorting through new pilots in the same way I sort through equipment.

 
 

Multiplayer Co-Op Permissions Update
by Cougarcat121
Multiplayer Co-Op Permissions Update
by Cougarcat121https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/140 - [nexusmods.com] 

This mod unlocks all of the dropship tabs for your coop partners so that they can look at most of what you can, although they can't affect everything.

Warning: I have not yet confirmed that this mod still works post-Kestrel DLC.

 
 

Prep Time
by Diji
Prep Time
by Dijihttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/350 - [nexusmods.com] 





Gives you between 0 and 14 days between multi-missions to repair mechs. If you are using Lore Style 1 Day Armor Repairs, this is often enough to completely restore any mechs which took only damage to armor in the prior mission.

This gives you a bit more flexibility in your active mech roster, since you can do late-game multi missions with fewer assault mechs on standby.

Make sure if you install this mid-campaign that you fly far enough on the starmap to generate new missions, as according to the description it can break multi-missions generated before installing it.

 
 

Purchase Salvage
by BobbertModdert
Purchase Salvage
by BobbertModderthttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/543 - [nexusmods.com] 




Allows you to claim salvage by paying for its value (plus a little extra) in C-Bills even if you did not negotiate enough salvage points. moar salvujj

 
 

Repair Bays
by BobbertModdert
Repair Bays
by BobbertModderthttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/485 - [nexusmods.com] 

You know how repair bays ONLY show up in story missions? Well this mod allows them to spawn in any old mission. It even stores variables in a file on your hard disc (%LocalAppData%\MW5Mercs\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\Game.ini) which you can then edit to tweak several values, including how many times you can use the bay, and how much armor and ammo using them restores. You can even change a line in the file to cause the use of the bay to repair your whole lance, since your AI companions are not smart enough to walk into things without breaking them.

 
 

Salvage Tweaks
by moddingisthegame
Salvage Tweaks
by moddingisthegamehttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/562 - [nexusmods.com] 

Increases the chance that a legged mech will show up as salvage from the default 40% up to 80%, and the chance for undamaged equipment from 60% -> 85%

 
 

Star Map Mouse Over - Mission Logos
by Cougarcat121
Star Map Mouse Over - Mission Logos
by Cougarcat121https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/150 - [nexusmods.com] 




This mod shows which factions are offering which missions and against whom with just a mouseover of any nearby star system so you know a little more detail about the jobs available there before you pay the jumpship fare.

 
 

TTRulez_AIMod
by Oraeon1224
TTRulez_AIMod
by Oraeon1224https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/269 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2545594508 - [steamcommunity.com] 

Greatly improves AI behavior and accuracy. Lancemates will also keep up with you better and do less wandering around. One version of this mod rescales all vanilla chassis, making them tabletop-accurate size-- making an AI mod one of the only functional mech rescale mods currently available on Nexus.

 
 

UpdatedHighEmployment
by ljorder66
UpdatedHighEmployment
by ljorder66https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/566 - [nexusmods.com] 





This is ljorder66's updated version of a mod by Diji which increased the maximum number of jobs per system from three to five. ljorder says it is the same, but his updated version seems to increase the max jobs per system to at least eight. Which is just fine with me!

 
 
 

[Fixes]

Mods in this section are just for fixing problems with the base game, which makes them the least fun but the most important.
 
 

Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix
by moddingisthegame
Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix
by moddingisthegamehttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/371 - [nexusmods.com] 

Without this mod, mechs with double engine heat sinks have the same base cooling rate as mechs with single engine heat sinks. The reason I use this mod instead of SeriousHeatSinkFix is because this mod ONLY does the heat dissipation part, whereas SHSF does that plus also increases the heat cap on heat sinks. I dunt wunt that.

 
 

Mech Fixes (Lore-Based Mech Variants)
by mace24de
Mech Fixes (Lore-Based Mech Variants)
by mace24dehttps://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/403 - [nexusmods.com] 

This is available as an alternate download from the Lore-Based Mech Variants files, and fixes armor allocation on Jenners, Cicadas and Stalkers. It also moves hardpoints and weapons to their loreful positions and lets KingCrab punch.

 
 

Remove Jumpship Animation
by cszolee79
Remove Jumpship Animation
by cszolee79https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/100 - [nexusmods.com] 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2499290119 - [steamcommunity.com] 
Gets rid of the stupid part of the jumpship animation, i.e. the part where it isn't actually loading anything. This might be the most humble mod on the list while also being the most useful one in terms of the amount of time it will save you. The longer your campaign, the more wasted time it spares you.

 
 
 

Example: Installing from NexusMods

Just a how-to for installing Smooth Lasers as an example of how to download and install mods on NexusMods.
 
 

• Navigate to https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/297 – [nexusmods.com] 
• Click the “Files” tab.
   
   
   
  
• This mod has an alternate branch, “Smooth Laser”, which is what we’re looking for, so click Manual Download under Smooth Laser and download the file.
   
   
   
  
• The file is a .zip so in windows you can just double click it and move the folder out. If it were a .rar or .7z file you would need to extract it- I use 7zip – [7-zip.org]  for that.
   
   
   
  
• Move the folder to (default) Drive > Steamapps > Common > MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries > MW5Mercs > Mods, or if you are using a steamlibrary on a different drive (as pictured below) Drive > SteamLibrary > Steamapps > Common > MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries > MW5Mercs > Mods
   
   
   
  
• Now just start the game and verify that it shows up when you click Mods
   
   
   
  
• Make sure the mod’s checkbox is “checked” so that it is enabled in-game
   
   
   
  
• Restart Mercs and you are done!

 
 
 

Information About Load Order

The order in which MW5 loads your mods will determine which mod’s changes will actually stick when two or more mods modify the same asset file. The mod that is loaded last usually wins–whatever changes it makes tend to take precedence.
 
 
If two mods report a conflict in the in-game Mods list, it means that there is at least one file that both mods are modifying, although this can happen and both mods may still do something. Sometimes this is even part of how the mod is meant to function. When a mod is meant to modify a specific file or files after another mod is loaded, this is what’s called an “override”. This is exactly how Prime8’s RPG Icon Color Override – [nexusmods.com]  works. The main mod does the bulk of the work of compacting the GUI, then the RPG Icon color override loads and overwrites the assets pertaining to the icons indicating tier level, resulting in both mods working together.
 
 
You can see the order in which your mods are being loaded (except where default load order is concerned, see below) by editing the file “modlist.json” in your mods directory using notepad.exe or any basic text editor, the default location being [Drive Letter]\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries\MW5Mercs\Mods.
 

 
 
As you can see above, each mod has an entry with the following form:
 
 
“a name matching the name of the mod folder in quotes”:
 
{
 
“bEnabled”: true
 
},
 
 
So, if you want to change the order in which two mods load, you would literally select/highlight all of that, including the quotes and commas and drag/drop or ctrl-x/ctrl-v it where you want it to be relative to the other mods.
 
 
The only exception to this will be the last listed mod, which will NOT end with a comma.
 
 
Steam mods follow all the same rules as above, but have the added wrinkles of showing up in modlist.json as a long number and also of not being stored in the normal mods folder, but rather in \steamapps\workshop\content\784080. The number they will show up as in your modlist.json is their workshop ID, which will be part of the URL at which you found the mod. For example, Colorized Heat Gauge can be found at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2507466797 and its workshop ID is, as expected, 2507466797. If you subscribe to it, you will find a subfolder in \steamapps\workshop\content\784080 called 2507466797
 
 
Thanks to commander matercula for helping to correct this section!
 
 

---

 

Default Load Order

 
 
Note: The latest version of dhs heat sink fix has a default load order of 0 rather than 51. Otherwise, this section is still accurate in regard to the way default load order works.
 
 
Individual mods may also have a “default load order” assigned to it by the mod author. If a mod has a non-zero default load order assigned, it will take precedence over its position in modlist.json and always load after any mod with a default load order set to zero. Higher default load orders load after low ones.
 
You can find out if a mod has a default load order assigned by editing its mod.json file, which will be directly inside the mod’s folder.
 
 
For example, if you have Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix installed correctly, you’ll find the mod.json file for that mod in
 
\steamapps\common\MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries\MW5Mercs\Mods\dhsbasecoolingratefix
 
 

 
 

 
 
As you can see, Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix has a default load order of 51, which will overwrite any mod with a DLO 50 or lower–it’s so high that it will often overwrite things you don’t want it to overwrite, like the changes Mech Fixes makes to vanilla Cicada and Jenner variants.
 
 

 
 
Happily, I’ve found that there is a mostly catch-all fix for this, which is to simply change whatever value is assigned to the default load order of the problem mod to 0. This will force the mod to respect the order determined by your modlist.json file.
 

 
And with that correct, the problem is fixed.
 
 

 
 
Keep in mind that if you reduce a mod’s default load order to 0, it will now be at least partially overwritten by any conflicting mods with a non-zero default load order. If that caused problems, you could either set ALL the conflicting mods’ default load orders to 0 and set the load order with the modlist.json as above, or modify all of the involved mods’ default load orders to arrange those mods relative to one another.
 
 
I currently have DLOs altered for these mods in my stack:
 
 

• Volatile, (default 7) is set to 6 (Below P8K’s Distinct Weapon FX, for missile and AC effects)
• Burning Battlefield, (default 7) is set to 5 (Below Volatile, for mech explosions)

 
 
 

My Current Load Order

I’m not saying that this is the best way to order them, but it works for me. This list is in the same order as the modlist.json file.
 
 
After culling mods post-Kestrel, there was so little overlap that the ordering almost doesn’t matter, so I arranged my modlist.json in the same order as the mod folders when they are listed alphabetically. The exceptions are the steam mods being near the bottom, as they live in a different directory, and I have the infantry mod at the very bottom with Infantry Tweaks right above it because ancient forum wisdom once spoke of technical problems if it is not listed last.
 
 
These are the workshop ID’s of the three mods which are only found on Steam:
 
 

Mod Name	Workshop ID
Colorized HeatGauge – [steamcommunity.com]	2507466797
Higher Visibility Torso Twist – [steamcommunity.com]	2509859048
Throttle Gauge w Line Markers – [steamcommunity.com]	2509890520

 

---

 

1. Large Explosion ( Artillery Tweak – [nexusmods.com] )
2. Better Lighting in Mech Hangar and Operations – [nexusmods.com] 
3. Better Salvage Shares – [nexusmods.com] 
4. Better Spawns – [nexusmods.com] 
5. Burning Battlefield – [nexusmods.com]  (3 minute burn version)
6. Casual Hires – [nexusmods.com] 
7. Change Company Name – [nexusmods.com] 
8. Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix – [nexusmods.com] 
9. Drop Fees – [nexusmods.com] 
10. Expanded Pilots – [nexusmods.com] 
11. Battletech Pack ( Expanded Company Logos – [nexusmods.com] )
12. Weapon and Explosion Sounds – [nexusmods.com] 
13. Extra Employers – [nexusmods.com] 
14. Field Repairs – [nexusmods.com] 
15. Hide Dialogue Text – [nexusmods.com] 
16. Increased Active Probe Range ( ECM and Active Probe Buff – [nexusmods.com] )
17. Increased ECM Range ( ECM and Active Probe Buff – [nexusmods.com] )
18. Larger Airstrike v1.1 Damage Increased ( Larger Airstrike – [nexusmods.com] )
19. Better Lighting on Bridge (Home Screen) – [nexusmods.com] 
20. Very Dark Night ( Nearly Clear Nightvision – [nexusmods.com] )
21. Lore-based Mech Variants – [nexusmods.com] 
22. Max Potential – [nexusmods.com] 
23. Mech Fixes ( Lore-based Mech Variants – [nexusmods.com] )
24. Mech Lights – [nexusmods.com] 
25. Mech Attribute Viewer – [nexusmods.com] 
26. Multiplayer Coop Permissions Update – [nexusmods.com] 
27. Nearly Clear Nightvision – [nexusmods.com] 
28. Prime8’s Detailed Compacted GUI – [nexusmods.com]  part 1
29. Prime8’s Detailed Compacted GUI – [nexusmods.com]  part 2
30. Prime8’s RPG Icon Color Override ( Prime8’s Detailed Compacted GUI – [nexusmods.com] )
31. Prime8’s Distinct Weapon FX – [nexusmods.com]  part 1
32. Portrait Effect Green ( Portrait Distortion Effect – [nexusmods.com] )
33. Prep Time – [nexusmods.com] 
34. Purchase Salvage – [nexusmods.com] 
35. Remove Jumpship Animation – [nexusmods.com] 
36. RepairBays – [nexusmods.com] 
37. Salvage Tweaks – [nexusmods.com] 
38. Simple Zoom (Advanced Zoom – [nexusmods.com] )
39. Star Map Mouse Over – Mission Logos – [nexusmods.com] 
40. Smooth Laser ( Laser Visual Tweak – [nexusmods.com] )
41. TTRulez AI Mod 2 (Rescale) – [nexusmods.com] 
42. Updated High Employment – [nexusmods.com] 
43. Volatile – [nexusmods.com]  [default load order 7 -> 0]
44. vonBiomes – [nexusmods.com] 
45. Colorized Heat Gauge – [steamcommunity.com] 
46. High-Vis Torso Twist – [steamcommunity.com] 
47. Throttle Gauge w Line Markers – [steamcommunity.com] 
48. Infantry Tweaks – [nexusmods.com] 
49. Enable Infantry – [nexusmods.com] 

---

 
 
 

Recently Updated Mods

When I notice a mod on this list has been updated, I’ll note it here.
 
 
October 03
 

• Lore-based Mech Variants – [nexusmods.com]  (Mech Fixes too.)

 
October 02
 

• vonBiomes – [nexusmods.com] 
• TTRulez AI – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 30
 

• Weapon and Explosion Sounds – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 29
 

• TTRulez AI – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 26
 

• Double Heat Sink Basecoolingrate Fix – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 25
 

• Drop Fees – [nexusmods.com] 
• Mech Attribute Viewer – [nexusmods.com] 
• Purchase Salvage – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 24
 

• Double Heat Sink Base Cooling Rate Fix – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 23
 

• Volatile – [nexusmods.com] 
• vonBiomes – [nexusmods.com] 

 
September 21
 

• Mech Lights – [nexusmods.com] 

 
 
 

Guide Updates

October 2nd, 2021

 

• Updated description of Better Salvage Shares to indicate reports of a possible crash.
• Added Updated High Employment – [nexusmods.com]  to Gameplay Mods.

 

October 1st, 2021

 

• Re-added Lore-based Mech Variants and Mech Fixes – [nexusmods.com] 

 

September 29th, 2021

 

• Added Weapon and Explosion Sounds – [nexusmods.com] 
• Added Salvage Tweaks – [nexusmods.com]  to increase the odds of salvaging legged mechs and undamaged equipment.
• Re-added Repair Bays – [nexusmods.com] . Getting fixed up in the field is fun!

 

September 28th, 2021

 
Re-added TTRulez AI – [nexusmods.com] . Updated for Kestrel and everyone is less stupid again! I think! Most of the time.
 
 

September 27th, 2021

 
Re-added Advanced Zoom – [nexusmods.com] , as it has been fixed for Kestrel
 
 

September 26th, 2021

 
Purchase Salvage does allow you to buy salvage at the end of Kestrel missions
 
False alarm, the problem was caused by the previous version of Purchase Salvage.
 
 
FakeID is causing a crash in career missions when accepting a contract. Removed from the stack for now.
 
 

September 25th, 2021

 
I have culled a number of mods to remove the ones broken by Kestrel and also just to remove mods that I suspect may have issues, ones I don’t really use much or don’t care as much about anymore, fixes that I’m not sure are necessary any longer, or moreover mods which I just don’t plan to use for the immediate right now.
 
 
Mods Removed Because Kestrel Broke Them
 

• Compass Numbers – [nexusmods.com] 
• Lore-Based Mech Variants – [nexusmods.com] 
• Mechwarrior Enhanced – [nexusmods.com] 
• MW5 Rebalance Mission Changes – [nexusmods.com] 
• MWO Replacement Style HUD – [nexusmods.com] 
• Repair Bays – [nexusmods.com] 
• Simple Zoom ( Advanced Zoom – [nexusmods.com] )
• Skip To Event – [nexusmods.com] 
• MW2 Betty – [nexusmods.com] 
• MW5 Realism Audio Project – [nexusmods.com] 
• Lore Style 1 Day Armor Repairs – [nexusmods.com] 

Mods Removed Because Assorted Reasons
 

• Beachhead Objective Fix – [nexusmods.com] 
• Mech Variety – [nexusmods.com] 
• Cockpit Light ( Ultra Visual and Weather – [nexusmods.com] )
• Cockpit Glass – [nexusmods.com] 
• Laser Lens Change – [nexusmods.com] 
• Mech Fixes ( Lore-Based Mech Variants – [nexusmods.com] )
• 42’s Mechs of Beauty – [nexusmods.com] 
• Mission Tweak – [nexusmods.com] 
• TTRulez_AIMod – [nexusmods.com] 
• Unlock Hidden Color Schemes – [nexusmods.com] 
• XenoPax Optimize 2.3 – [nexusmods.com] 
• XenoPax Foliage – [nexusmods.com] 

Mods Added
 

• Purchase Salvage – [nexusmods.com] 
• Field Repairs – [nexusmods.com] 

In addition, I moved Remove Jumpship Animation to Fixes, because as far as I’m concerned, it’s a fix.
 
 

September 22nd, 2021

 
As expected, the DLC has wrecked old mods. The guide title is changed to indicate that it’s Outdated. I will resume daily nexus trawling and when I’ve assembled a respectable stack, I will update the guide again. For now, rather than clearing it all, I’ve decided to just leave the mod showcase for future reference, and for anyone who wants to remain on the beta branch to play (if that still works).
 
 
Godspeed, commanders.
 
 
o7
 
 

September 21st, 2021

 
Legend of the Kestrel Lancers – [steampowered.com]  comes out tomorrow. When Heroes of the Inner Sphere came out, it broke every mod in existence and while this one may fare a little better I will not be surprised if everything breaks again.
 
 
If that happens I will be re-assembling the stack from the ground up as I collect and test a new collection as the mod authors all update. I will either remove all of the mods which are broken or just label them broken. But other mods may be gone forever. For example, the author of MWO Style HUD has said on his mod page that he’s no longer able to update, so if it breaks, that’s it. No more MWO Style HUD.
 
 
We’ll see what happens, but you can expect that the guide might be wrong or super wrong for a few days while I get a handle on what the expac has done to modding.
 
 

August 30, 2021

 

• Added Drop Fees – [nexusmods.com]  to Gameplay Mods
• Added Artillery Tweak – [nexusmods.com]  to Gameplay Mods

 
 

 
 
Hope you enjoy the post for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries List of Mods in Game + Links Download, If you think we should update the post or something is wrong please let us know via comment and we will fix it how fast as possible! Thank you and have a great day!