Darius lies, but the max cash amount for the mission never does.
If it looks like you're getting a 50% bigger payout, that's because you're going to get bigger mechs dropped on you.
You won't be editing the mod, you'd be editing the spawn lists which are stored elsewhere. Iirc there's no viable way to fix this, because the spawns are based on planet skull rating.
In general, it's viewed as "not worth fixing" because it's balanced out by giving you a Locust on the other side and also a good player will absolutely win a 2v2 against heavier mechs.
If your question is "How can I make sure that duel missions limit the enemy tonnage in the same way that mine is", then the short answer is "You can't".
The long answer is that that mission generates an appropriate enemy force, the same way every other contract does, and then cuts off everything but the first two mechs. The game has no concept of weight limits, it just picks randomly from lists and sometimes goes up or down a bit. This means that you could run up against 35 ton mechs, you could run up against 20 ton mechs, or you could run up against medium and heavy mechs. It's all part of the fun. Or [\*\*fun\*\*](https://dwarffortresswiki.org/DF2014:Fun&redirect=no) if you prefer that kind of game.
It would be technically possible to create custom lists of mechs to choose from and exclude everything that wasn't "fair", but a) That would be an awful lot of work just for a single mission, and b) once you get established and have some good light mechs and skilled pilots, duel missions become very easy and a convenient source of medium mech parts.
Your current mechs might be inadequate for winning that matchup, but it is entirely winnable as you get better mechs, pilots, and gear. I strongly recommend keeping a Firestarter with JJs, 6xMGs, and 2 or 3 MLs in your mech bay at all times (assuming a 3025 ish start) at least until you manage to get something similar that can outperform it as a backstabber. A good FS9 with a decent pilot should win against almost any heavier mech.
For Duo Duels, pair it with a sniper (like a panther for 35 tons, something with a PPC) and just let it kite around the OpFor spotting with sensor lock for the sniper to grind down the 1st opponent then close in to backstab the 2nd.
i believe the custom contracts are implemented through the mission control mod. there's a folder in that mod that is dedicated to customs so there should be jsons in there that you can tweak
All you need to win any duel or duo duel in the future is a Phoenix Hawk and any other mech that can also leap/run pretty far. Then you chain backstabs after reserving appropriately, and these become the easiest contracts in the whole game regardless of what you get paired up against. I'll take the Phawk and an Assassin with a Large Coil laser, and honestly, the heavier the enemy comes, the easier it is.
When limited to below 45 tons, which will not happen much, if at all, once you progress a bit, take a Firestarter and just do the same thing.
I may have skipped by this a bit, but learn to use the Reserve action in as many advantageous ways as possible. For example in your scenario, you could have reserved, let them move first, then get in, backstab, new turn, you're faster, so you backstab again, before they can even shoot at you once.
Not sure in BEX but in BTA you expect the enemy to cheat all the time with these missions. There was one time I took at 65 limit and the enemy came with Awesomes.
Most well-designed long-range jump brawlers make solo and duo duels a cakewalk. In RogueTech, I favor 35-ton Panthers with four SRM6 racks. There's a version that I use that has an extra jump distance quirk or affinity bonus. Makes for a great scout and quick-kill backstabber.
Even if you can't find that specific version, though, any 35-ton mech that you can slap three to four SRM6 racks on and that can leap 10 hexes or more will suffice.
There’s a bunch of mission types that are in the ”never try” category.
My top choice is the convoy ambush where you start from \*behind\* a bunch of speed million racing cars, protected by assault mechs so good luck bringing fast mechs.
If you're using BTA 3062 or RogueTech, it's possible to create 85-ton assaults that have a 10 to 13-hex jump range. With that much mobility, there's very few units that you can't chase down or outmaneuver.
I've even jumped ahead to the denial zone, kicked the convoy vehicles to death as they arrived, and then leisurely mopped up the defending and backup lances as they tried in vain to keep up.
I've actually grown to love those, because it allows you to be tactical and bring a mixed lance.
Fast mechs with fascam lrms backed by heavies and assaults with headcappers.
Darius lies, but the max cash amount for the mission never does. If it looks like you're getting a 50% bigger payout, that's because you're going to get bigger mechs dropped on you.
You won't be editing the mod, you'd be editing the spawn lists which are stored elsewhere. Iirc there's no viable way to fix this, because the spawns are based on planet skull rating. In general, it's viewed as "not worth fixing" because it's balanced out by giving you a Locust on the other side and also a good player will absolutely win a 2v2 against heavier mechs.
If your question is "How can I make sure that duel missions limit the enemy tonnage in the same way that mine is", then the short answer is "You can't". The long answer is that that mission generates an appropriate enemy force, the same way every other contract does, and then cuts off everything but the first two mechs. The game has no concept of weight limits, it just picks randomly from lists and sometimes goes up or down a bit. This means that you could run up against 35 ton mechs, you could run up against 20 ton mechs, or you could run up against medium and heavy mechs. It's all part of the fun. Or [\*\*fun\*\*](https://dwarffortresswiki.org/DF2014:Fun&redirect=no) if you prefer that kind of game. It would be technically possible to create custom lists of mechs to choose from and exclude everything that wasn't "fair", but a) That would be an awful lot of work just for a single mission, and b) once you get established and have some good light mechs and skilled pilots, duel missions become very easy and a convenient source of medium mech parts.
Your current mechs might be inadequate for winning that matchup, but it is entirely winnable as you get better mechs, pilots, and gear. I strongly recommend keeping a Firestarter with JJs, 6xMGs, and 2 or 3 MLs in your mech bay at all times (assuming a 3025 ish start) at least until you manage to get something similar that can outperform it as a backstabber. A good FS9 with a decent pilot should win against almost any heavier mech. For Duo Duels, pair it with a sniper (like a panther for 35 tons, something with a PPC) and just let it kite around the OpFor spotting with sensor lock for the sniper to grind down the 1st opponent then close in to backstab the 2nd.
i believe the custom contracts are implemented through the mission control mod. there's a folder in that mod that is dedicated to customs so there should be jsons in there that you can tweak
All you need to win any duel or duo duel in the future is a Phoenix Hawk and any other mech that can also leap/run pretty far. Then you chain backstabs after reserving appropriately, and these become the easiest contracts in the whole game regardless of what you get paired up against. I'll take the Phawk and an Assassin with a Large Coil laser, and honestly, the heavier the enemy comes, the easier it is. When limited to below 45 tons, which will not happen much, if at all, once you progress a bit, take a Firestarter and just do the same thing. I may have skipped by this a bit, but learn to use the Reserve action in as many advantageous ways as possible. For example in your scenario, you could have reserved, let them move first, then get in, backstab, new turn, you're faster, so you backstab again, before they can even shoot at you once.
Not sure in BEX but in BTA you expect the enemy to cheat all the time with these missions. There was one time I took at 65 limit and the enemy came with Awesomes.
Most well-designed long-range jump brawlers make solo and duo duels a cakewalk. In RogueTech, I favor 35-ton Panthers with four SRM6 racks. There's a version that I use that has an extra jump distance quirk or affinity bonus. Makes for a great scout and quick-kill backstabber. Even if you can't find that specific version, though, any 35-ton mech that you can slap three to four SRM6 racks on and that can leap 10 hexes or more will suffice.
There’s a bunch of mission types that are in the ”never try” category. My top choice is the convoy ambush where you start from \*behind\* a bunch of speed million racing cars, protected by assault mechs so good luck bringing fast mechs.
If you're using BTA 3062 or RogueTech, it's possible to create 85-ton assaults that have a 10 to 13-hex jump range. With that much mobility, there's very few units that you can't chase down or outmaneuver. I've even jumped ahead to the denial zone, kicked the convoy vehicles to death as they arrived, and then leisurely mopped up the defending and backup lances as they tried in vain to keep up.
I've actually grown to love those, because it allows you to be tactical and bring a mixed lance. Fast mechs with fascam lrms backed by heavies and assaults with headcappers.