MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries: PC requirements and the PC you need

About MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is a giant robot action game from Piranha Games, set in the year 3015 in the BattleTech universe. You pilot huge walking war machines called BattleMechs, blasting enemies and flattening cities, while running a mercenary company, hiring pilots, repairing and upgrading your mechs and taking contracts. Up to four players can team up in co-op, and it supports Steam Workshop mods. The makers recommend a GTX 1070 or RX Vega 56 and 16 GB of memory, so a mid-range gaming PC runs it well.

What MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries needs

In plain words: to play at all it needs basic graphics: built-in graphics on a modern processor, or an old entry-level card, and to play it well the makers suggest a mid-range graphics card from a few years ago, with 16GB of memory.

A low-spec PC or a high-spec PC?

The gap between the minimum and recommended spec is modest, so a mid-range gaming PC gives a good experience.

On a PC that only just meets the minimum, the game will start and play, but on low settings: simpler shadows and textures, shorter view distances and fewer frames each second, so fast moments can feel less smooth. A 1080p screen is the sensible match.

On a PC that meets or beats the recommended spec, you can turn the settings up: sharper textures, proper shadows and lighting, more detail in the distance, and a smoother picture. A stronger PC also lets you use a sharper 1440p or high-refresh screen.

Questions about MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on PC

How we match: we compare the graphics card and the memory in each PC with the makers' spec, because those decide most of how a game runs. For very new or demanding games, ask us and we will check the processor too. More help: graphics cards explained, how much RAM, which screen.