BattleMech and vehicle weapons are designed to penetrate large amounts of armour, and cause damage to solid items by punching holes into their innards. At this, they are very effective. Against infantry scattered over a large area, the average large weapon is not well suited.
To simulate this, infantry damage is handled depending on the type of weapon being used to attack them, further modified by the terrain that the infantry is in.
| Weapon | Damage |
| Lasers, PPC's | 1 per five points scored by the weapon |
| Pulse Lasers | As Standard Laser, + 1 point |
| Autocannons | Half Damage * |
| Cluster Rounds | 1 pt per point scored by the weapon |
| Gauss Rifles | 1 pt |
| LRMs | 1 pt per missile that hits * |
| SRMs | 1 pt per missile that hits * |
| Flamers | 1 pt per point scored by the weapon |
| MGs | 1D6 per point scored by the weapon |
| Artillery | Half Damage * |
| Mines | Half damage |
| 'Mech Physical Attacks | Half Damage |
| 'Mech A Pod | 1D-1 |
* These weapons target individual squads, but the weapons have a blast radii, thus if the damage destroys the squad, excess is passed on to the next infantry squad in the hex, starting with enemy troops.
| Terrain | Effects |
| Clear, in the open | Normal Effects |
| Cover (Woods, Rubble, Rough etc.) | Half damage (round up) |
Heavy armour, while making a trooper carry more weight, can save his life from the lethal weapons on the modern battlefield. Against most direct fire from heavy vehicular weapons it is effectively useless, but from other weapons can have some effective.
Against weapons that have blast radii, heavy armour gives each trooper an extra hit. The first destroys the armour, the second kills the trooper.
Heavy armour also protects against AC Cluster rounds, MGs, flamers, mines, 'Mech A Pods, anti-personnel weapons and ammunition options and infantry weapons.
Other weapons that don't have blast radii (such as lasers and gauss rounds) ignore the effects of heavy armour. A small laser for example, will kill a trooper dead regardless.
Infantry weapons do damage like LRM attacks, and is grouped into five point units, with any remainder into it's own group.
Each five point of damage has its own location and centre point rolled, but unlike LRM damage, every point of damage inflicted will hit the location, so if any of the damage would miss or spill over into another location, it is applied on the other side of the template so that it all hits the same location.
A leg attack is conducted as per the normal rules. If it scores damage, roll on the normal Battletech Critical Table. If a 7 or less is rolled, then it is treated as a normal 4 point infantry attack, although the centre point may be moved so that all the damage is inflicted on the 'Mech.
If a critical is rolled, then roll a centre point as normal, and look down the column to the first undamaged piece of equipment. Give this equipment one point of damage, which will render it useless. If there is no equipment, roll for another centre point, and continue to do so until some piece of equipment is destroyed.
Swarm attacks are also treated as normal, and like Leg attacks, the infantry damage centre points may be moved so that all the damage is inflicted on the 'Mech. If a critical is also rolled, then follow the same procedure as that for Leg attacks.
Infantry can also act in 7 man squads (four squads to a normal infantry platoon, 3 per jump platoon).
In this case use the Squad Record form provided, which lists the reduced damage that these squads do.
Note that a squad functions as a platoon in all respects with the following exceptions:
Four may be stacked in a hex, in which case they are treated as one platoon for stacking purposes.
Squads may combine (upto to four) in a hex to perform anti-'Mech attacks (like Swarm attacks).
All damage inflicted by a squad will hit the same location.
