MechWarrior 5 Clans’ first big DLC adds essential PvP and horde modes

While maybe not the most polished experience around, MechWarrior 5 Clans is a bit of a diamond if you love mecha games. With satisfying combat and some decent storytelling in its campaign, it’s got plenty going for it. It’s about to get even better, too, with two essential game modes, a new difficulty setting, and mech omnipods all arriving today – however, while some of it exists in a free update, the majority of the good stuff is locked behind a premium DLC called Trials of War.

While Armored Core 6 spoiled us last year on the mech front, MechWarrior 5 Clans is an understated but excellent newcomer that continues to fly the flag for those that love nothing more than beating up giant robots. Clans arrived just over a month ago, and while it hasn’t set the world alight quite like Armored Core did, it is still a really solid experience. Now, the robot game is upping the ante with loads of new content, but some fans are feeling aggrieved.

That’s because the headline acts of this paid DLC are the new five-player PvP mode, which comes with a generous helping of ten arenas to compete on, and a relentless co-op horde mode. While there’s excitement for both modes, fans are voicing their displeasure on the DLC’s Steam page and on the MechWarrior subreddit about the fact these core experiences are locked behind Trials of War. Some are also making accusations of this being “cut” content from the main game that’s been repackaged as DLC, pointing to the fact that Trials of War is arriving just over a month on from launch as the smoking gun.

Already, the CEO of developer Piranha Games, Russ Bullock, has addressed the concerns. “Selling DLC is often controversial in the marketplace. But I feel PGI over the years has maintained a very positive reputation regarding DLC with [a] good amount of paid content coupled with significant free updates boosting the base game,” he says.

He also reminds fans that Trials of War has DLC sharing enabled for these two modes – that means that you can squad up on someone that owns the DLC and play either PvP or the horde mode without owning it yourself. Additionally, Bullock says that the DLC itself will receive updates over time to add things like new maps, and he shoots down the claims that this was cut content, claiming that neither mode “even existed as ideas when we shipped MW5 Clans. The [ideas] were planned and built from scratch all since MW5 Clans launched.”

I definitely sympathize a bit with the fans that are complaining about this – I personally don’t like the idea of online multiplayer or co-op modes, especially ones that feel pretty essential to a game like MechWarrior 5 Clans, being locked behind DLC. It may also make it harder for those that do buy Trials of War to matchmake and find opposition in PvP Arenas, especially. However, DLC sharing does alleviate that concern to an extent and does make this less egregious, and the promise of future updates to it does at least give it more value over the long term.

The Trials of War DLC for MechWarrior 5 Clans is out now, and you can get it with 20% off until Thursday, December 5. The base game is also 20% until December 4 if you’re interested in jumping in for the first time, or you can find it among your favorite Game Pass games as it’s included on Microsoft’s subscription service.

Away from Trials of War, there is also a free update dropping today alongside the DLC which adds a brand new high-difficulty mode called Trueborn, eight new omnipods, and dozens of bug fixes and UI improvements. So at least there is a bit of new content heading to all MW5 Clans players at no extra cost too.

For more, head on over to our expert recommendations for the best action games and best multiplayer games on PC right now.

You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.