If you use 'early guns' against mercs, you're going to have a bad day.
I cant even figure out what will hurt mercs, as a troll species they have most of the issues covered. Big guns nope.. explosives nope.. plasma shotgun nope.. generally melee is a nope too because they'll shoot you before you get close (and its always gauss and flechette). And thats just for the normal ones - then they get their own power armor dudes out after you. Im lucky in my last 2 playthroughs neither them nor the ethereals have been all that active.
From bug reports thread:
I agree that the
bandit patrols should get a map vehicle of their own. Complete with the FULL assortment of a base raid (possibly including a terror creature spawn, reaper cavalry would be okay).
I imagined something like this would be like the equivalent of a couple open-roof hovercraft. Think of actual transport hovercraft we use as ferries except futuretech'd, maybe 8x8 size with airvan style architecture (arranged side by side). Probably with gunports in the walls since it works as a portable defensive structure when they're raiding the countryside. They are moving at a speed of 100 so they would need vehicles of some kind, especially hover capable to do overland terrain. The vehicles dont need to give you anything all that great nor be salvageable, no plastasteel or engines.
Since you would need tractor beams to engage them (lateness of the game), it is a low value target but it should be worth something for bothering to do that rather than strafe them. A solid battle however brief... and you score points for the kills... and you can go after the whole fleet of them.
