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The Trial of Position is only a free for all if someone's shot strays and hits the opponent that's not their designated one. For gameplay it's a necessary evil - beginners and those not used to BT can fight one on one. It's easier on the game engine too. It would be nice to see a lore accurate trial but this is okayish.

Honestly, it'd be better if the devs went with a series of simulator battles before doing the Trial of Position- sorta like treating it as a boss battle - and introducing a series of bonus objectives; Two kills being the minimum, but more for better and better rewards. If, say, you wipe out all other combatants, you wouldn't get the highest rank possible, but you'd get your choice of battlemech with a custom loadout as a consolation prize. That said, Piranha has been immensely disappointing with their handling of the setting and I would prefer to jump through the hoops necessary to get Mechwarrior 3 up and running- or hell, see about bullying 2/Mercs into working on my system.

@@cakeboss4194 Clan warriors don't do simulator battles. All exercises are live fire training (with powered down weapons) as those give the cadets the best possible simulation oif real combat. Just like the old Hegemony navy used live fire excercises to keep their crews at their best level possible. Also: trials of position are usually 2 cadets vs 3 pilots each. If one cadet hits the opponent of his partner it becomes a free for all. Of course if a cadet manages to defeat not only his 3 but also 1 or even 2 more his rank rises even higher. Natasha Kerensky for example finished her first trial of position with the rank of Galaxy Commander (5 kills) and her retrial after she was recalled ended with 4 kills earning her the rank of Star Colonel. Incidentally when the Houses met on Outreach to devise plans against the Clans Jamie Wolf had the heirs of each house (except House Marik as Thomas Marik had no heir in that age group) undergo a similar trial of position. Kai Allard-Liao actually managed to down 5 Mechs and came close to even beat all 6 of his opponents (the last one was Jamie Wolf himself and he stated "Had the battle continued further I might have handed command of my Dragoons to Kai"). But usually this gamble is not worth the risk as the majority of cadets usually just defeat one of their opponents and call it a day.

Sorry, you remember incorrectly. The Trial of Position was best described in the Jade Falcon books, where Aidan (later Pryde) lost his. Each potential warrior has to face three oponents, each of them in bigger, better mechs and each of them a more experienced fighter. All three will stand at the side of the circle of equals, but only the smallest, lightest will enter. Only after the first one has been defeated, the second will enter the circle. If there are several contestants, the circle will be bigger and there will be three opponents for each potential warrior waiting at the side. Each of them will face his or her own opponents. The brutal free for all you remember only happens, if any of the potentials will violate the rule of Zellbrigen, by causing even the slightest damage to any mech other than the one who is their current opponent. Once that happens all opponents still standing on the side will enter the circle and start to try to kill whomever they can kill and also the other contestants are now free to get their kills by killing a Sibko member (Aidan was shot by his sister Marthe for her own second kill). What you mean is probably the Grand Melee as a different version of Trial for Position. If a bloodnamed warrior dies and the name needs to be given to another warrior, each member of the bloodhouse can sponsor one warrior. One last spot will be determined by the Melee, at which ALL unnamed warriors of the bloodhouse who did not find a sponsor, yet still want to get a bloodname, will face one-another in a battle without rules. Last warrior standing gets the last slot in the following trials against the sponsored warriors.

I get the impression that the Mad Cat fight is a cutscene and thus railroads the player to only having two kills, as otherwise Jayden would have been able to attain a higher rank and thus escape the narrative railroading done by Piranha.

Gameplay ends after the hellbringer and the 3rd fight is a cutscene.. so yes, you are forced to attain Star Commander.

Kids given weapons and told they are only worthy if they kill each other.

Because they're not just MechWarriors, they're soldiers first and foremost. Their training is more than just piloting a 'mech. Some of those injuries were probably sustained before they even set foot in a 'mech simulator for the first time.

@@topsmug3409 ... so german style academy duels, sounds retarded. That checks out of the clans.

Clanners aren't soldiers- they embrace the idea of being 'warriors'- there is a distinction between the two titles. Soldiers value teamwork above all else, while warriors focus on personal skill and glory. Additionally, the Clans are exceptionally hidebound to their customs and laws, and the vast majority never bothered to study their enemies in detail before blundering into the Inner Sphere, hellbent on imitating Amaris in all but name. That is one of several reasons they got beat by the phone company.

@@cakeboss4194 Clan warriors emphasize individual achievement for two reasons: inclusion of their DNA in the Clan breeding program, and because Nicholas created their rules of engagement (Zellbrigen) to mitigate the amount of damage that would be caused by warfare. But otherwise they still adhere to a strict command hierarchy and they still cooperate to the extent possible while following the bounds imposed by Zellbrigen. I think the concept of individual honor and glory is exemplified moreso by the Kuritan Samurai ideal (at least before Theodore Kurita's reformation of the DCMS).

There's a cutscene where your character rips his ass about it after he talks that way to sa'khan Weaver. I assume it's a way to assimilate the player into the clan mindset without looking too hand-holdey.

It's his way to rebel against being named after their clans founder

Thank you, it's based on the Sinanju.

lmaoo th-cam.com/video/Wp3t9Nwjr_8/w-d-xo.html This track from ACVD is pretty much saying that in the lyrics lol