Think of Operations as instanced multi-stage missions.
You can launch solo or with up to four Commanders. The Operation Runner moves the squad to the scenario, acts as the respawn point, and returns you to the action after defeat.
Mongrel Field Manual
Operations Field Manual
Start with the basic loop, then go deeper: squad formation, Runner mechanics, scenario selection, ship and suit preparation, Merc Coin economics, MERC modules, grind planning, advanced role assignment, and the odd little rules that can save an entire run.
Pick the scenario for the reward and the squad you actually have.
Do not select Hard because it exists. Match ship engineering, suit grade, player count, and role coverage to the scenario before the Runner jumps.
Quick Reference
The Numbers Worth Knowing First
Fixed rules are separated from community-tested planning values so you know what is guaranteed and what can change with balance passes.
Squad size1–4 CMDRs
Current Operations7 scenarios
DifficultiesEasy / Hard
Expansion requiredOdyssey
Current MC bonus band1,000 MC / week*
Easy payout planning~30–50 MC/run*
Hard payout planning~100–150 MC/run*
Death penalty in OpNo normal redeploy penalty
*Planning values: current community reports show a 1,000-MC weekly bonus/soft-allowance band, not a hard stop. Merc Coin can continue after that point at a reduced rate. Individual payout varies by scenario, difficulty, weekly bonus state, and balance changes.
Mercenary Mode
Default Operations mode. No Powerplay strategic consequences. Use this for ordinary squad runs, practice, and Merc Coin grinding.
Powerplay Mode
Allows the squad to undermine an eligible enemy Power. Unaligned Commanders may join but do not receive Merits.
Ships Lock at Start
Choose the ship before the Operation begins. You can change suits by returning to your ship, but you cannot swap to another ship after launch.
Start Here
From Mission Board to Operation Runner
The basic loop is simple. Most problems happen because the squad skips preparation before pressing Begin.
Dock Somewhere With a Market
Operations are accessed while docked at supported starports, Fleet Carriers and Squadron Carriers. A leader can create the squad and select the scenario.
Choose Mode + Difficulty
Pick Mercenary or Powerplay Mode, then Easy or Hard. Hard pays better, but Operation type is the bigger reward variable.
Form the Squad
Invite known Commanders or use matchmaking. The squad can form from across the galaxy; members do not need to fly to the same station first.
Lock the Correct Ship
Bring the ship that fits the job before launch. Once the Operation starts, ship selection is locked for the run.
Deploy From the Runner
The Runner is the central hub, entry point, respawn point and final extraction location. Destroyed ships are repaired, refuelled and rearmed before redeployment.
Finish the Extraction
Do not mentally check out when the objective completes. Follow the extraction prompt and confirm the reward screen / MC balance before starting another grind run.
Solo rule of thumb: Frontier designed Operations around teams. If you insist on solo, their own launch guidance was to use at least the Hard recommended equipment while playing the Easy variant.
Scenario Selection
Seven Current Operations
The first six launched with Operations; Under Siege was added with the Rhino update. Use this table to decide what kind of squad and gear the run demands.
| Operation | Primary activity | Suggested players | Easy baseline | Hard baseline | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal Prosecution | Ship combat / mixed | 2–4 | A-rated ship + light engineering | Full G5 ship | Clear a criminal fleet and force the boss encounter. Strongest fit for dedicated combat pilots. |
| Tactical Takedown | Mixed on-foot + ship | 3–4 | A-rated ship | G4–G5 ship / strong foot kit | Megaship infiltration, intel/download defense, power restoration, then a combat finish. |
| Reclamation Point | Mixed on-foot + ship | 2–4 | A-rated ship | G4–G5 engineering | Retake a hijacked megaship. Expect both interior clearing and hostile ships. |
| Rapid Response | Rescue / planetary | 3–4 | G1–G2 foot gear | G4+ engineered foot gear | Evacuate a surface port before enemy reinforcements overwhelm the site. |
| Firestorm Rescue | Station rescue / ship-heavy | 3–4 | A-rated ship; basic foot kit | Full G5 ship; G5 foot kit | Break the siege, manage station heat and evacuation pressure, and move survivors out. |
| Biohazard Takedown | On-foot assault | 2–4 | G1–G2 foot gear; A-rated ship | G4–G5 foot + ship | Board the megaship, identify the researchers, then eliminate the targets. |
| Under Siege | Settlement defense / mixed combat | 2–4 estimated | Combat-capable ship + foot kit | Strong engineered ship + foot kit | Respond to a planetary distress call, lift the blockade and neutralise forces trying to take the settlement. |
Current balance note — Under Siege and post-Rhino combat
Under Siege was added in update 4.4.1.0 and received tuning immediately afterward in 4.4.1.1. Community reports also suggest some Hard ship-combat encounters can feel substantially more punishing after the Rhino update. Treat exact enemy composition and time-to-kill as dynamic rather than assuming an old launch-week walkthrough is still exact.
Preparation
Bring a Role, Not Just a “Good Ship”
Operations reward specialization. A four-person squad is stronger when every Commander solves a different problem instead of bringing four copies of the same general-purpose build.
Heavy Combat Anchor
Examples: Corvette, Anaconda, Cutter, Type-10. Prioritize engineered shields, resistances, SCBs where the build supports them, and sustained ammunition. In Hard ship combat, survivability is often more valuable than paper DPS.
Useful baseline: keep 4 SYS pips when absorbing focus fire; one Corrosive multicannon in the squad is enough to apply the armor debuff.
Fast Interceptor / Finisher
Examples: Kestrel Mk II, Python Mk II, FDL, Corsair. Use mobility to stay on small agile targets and prevent the heavy ships from wasting time chasing them.
Why it matters: Operation NPCs can include extremely agile Kestrels and other engineered ships that punish slow tracking builds.
Rescue / Evacuation Ship
Example: Lynx Highliner configured for passenger throughput and enough shields to survive the route. In rescue Operations, capacity and cycle time can matter more than weapons.
Community data: one optimized Hard Rapid Response run reported a 2,460-passenger team target and roughly 3:15–3:20 per evacuation trip in a tuned Lynx.
On-Foot Assault
Easy: G1–G2 can work with a team. Hard: plan around G4–G5 Dominator-class combat equipment and engineered weapons.
Carry a shield-strip / armor-kill pairing rather than one weapon type for everything. Ammo economy matters in long interior holdouts.
Mixed-Phase Utility
For Tactical Takedown or Reclamation Point, bring a ship that is not crippled when the mission transitions from flying to boarding. The best “mixed” build is often the one that survives unattended while you are out of the cockpit.
Squad Redundancy
Do not put the entire run on one specialist. If only one Commander can do the passenger phase, one disconnect can end the Operation. For critical roles, aim for at least two people who can cover the task.
Rewards & Progression
Merc Coin: Set the Goal Before You Grind
Operations can reward Credits, Materials, Merc Coin and—when applicable—Powerplay Merits. MERC equipment is where planning matters because purchase and Grade 5 costs are separate.
Current planning model: treat 1,000 MC as the weekly full-rate bonus band shown by current players. You can continue earning afterward, but community reports show reduced Merc Coin returns. If the module target is above 1,000 MC, either accept reduced post-band efficiency or split the grind across weeks.
Purchase Cost ≠ Finished Cost
A 950-MC module that needs another 415 MC to reach Grade 5 has a real savings target of 1,365 MC, not 950.
Blueprint-Only Rewards
Some MERC engineering options apply to standard modules instead of requiring a MERC-branded module. The current squad chart includes Plasma Conversion for Beam/Burst/Pulse Lasers and Scoop Rate Enhanced for Fuel Scoops.
Hard Is Not Automatically Best
Hard pays more, but failed runs pay nothing useful. A reliable 20-minute Easy/fast scenario can beat an inconsistent Hard clear in MC per hour. Measure success rate and cycle time, not just reward per completion.
Savings Calculator
What are you saving for?
Current MERC savings targets
| Target | Path | Buy | G5 | Total | Est. Hard runs* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading squad MERC data… | |||||
*Hard-run estimate assumes roughly 100–150 MC per successful run before major post-allowance reduction. Use it as a goal-planning range, not a guaranteed payout.
Squad Tactics
Make Four Players Feel Like More Than Four Guns
Operations get easier when the squad assigns jobs before the objective timer starts.
Call the Anchor
One Commander owns navigation and regroup calls. Everyone should know where to fall back when the instance gets chaotic.
Split Objective + Security
Do not send all four people to press the same button. Two people advance the mechanic while the others control spawns, ships, entrances, or extraction routes.
Focus Fire
Hard ship enemies are much easier when four ships delete one target than when everyone duels independently. Call the Kestrels and high-DPS threats first.
Preserve Tempo
If one Commander dies, the Runner can restore them. The surviving squad should keep safe progress moving instead of all abandoning a nearly complete phase.
Use the Right Difficulty
A clean Easy clear teaches route, doors, timers, extraction and role handoffs. Learning a scenario on Easy usually saves more time than wiping repeatedly on Hard.
Track MC per Hour
After three or four runs, note average completion time, failures and MC received. The most profitable Operation for your squad may not be the one with the highest single payout.
Deep Dive
The Weird Little Things That Matter
These are the details newer Commanders often discover only after wasting a run.
Death Can Be a Logistics Tool
Operations remove the normal redeploy penalty. In space, destruction returns you to the Runner or last Operation-specific dock with the ship restored. That changes risk calculus: survival still protects tempo, but death is not the financial disaster it is in normal space.
Premium Ammo Can Persist Through the Run
Community reports indicate synthesized premium ammunition can remain useful through Operation redeploy/restock behavior. Treat this as community practice and re-check after balance patches before spending rare materials casually.
The 1,000-MC Number Is a Soft Band
The UI/community-observed weekly allowance reduces later payouts instead of shutting Merc Coin off. That means a 1,365-MC goal is not literally impossible in one week—it is simply less efficient after the full-rate band.
Scenario Knowledge Multiplies DPS
Knowing which door, terminal, regulator, clamp, or landing pad matters can save more time than adding another 10% weapon damage. Operations reward route memory and role discipline.
Long Runs Need Ammo Planning
High-DPS builds can become bad builds when they run dry halfway through a multi-stage Operation. Extra-ammo experimentals, synthesis reserves, and weapons with sustainable magazines can outperform burstier paper builds.
Patch Notes Matter More Here
Operations are still being actively tuned. Under Siege was adjusted almost immediately after release, and Frontier has already fixed reward, extraction, NPC crew and objective issues. Old launch-week guides can be mechanically wrong.
Scenario-specific notes worth remembering
Tactical Takedown: the megaship phase can involve a defended download followed by restoring power with multiple regulators before the final combat phase. It is much easier when one pair handles the objective while the other pair controls enemies.
Biohazard Takedown: community pilots have demonstrated very fast solo clears; one published Hard speed run was roughly 10 minutes. That makes Biohazard a useful candidate for experienced solo/duo MC farming—but only if your on-foot build and route knowledge are already strong.
Rapid Response: community testing on Hard reported a 2,460-passenger evacuation target. A tuned Lynx pilot reported 1,533 passengers in 7 trips at about 3:17 per trip. Treat those as field data, not a universal guarantee.
Terminal Prosecution: recent post-Rhino reports describe unexpectedly hard-hitting NPC ships even against fully engineered Corvettes. Bring a proper combat build; do not assume ordinary HazRES difficulty.
Source Quality
What Is Official vs Estimated
This guide deliberately labels community numbers rather than presenting them as hidden official formulas.
Frontier / Official
Core rules: up to four players, Mercenary/Powerplay modes, Runner behavior, rewards, difficulty, ship lock, no Operation redeploy penalty, launch scenarios and Under Siege.
Squad-Maintained
MERC module purchase prices and full Grade 5 cost targets are maintained by the Regiment of Imperial Mongrels from CMDR Wolf258's planning chart.
Community Field Data
MC-per-run estimates, Rapid Response timing/passenger examples, solo speed runs and post-patch combat observations are explicitly treated as estimates or community observations.
Use them to plan; re-measure them when Frontier changes balance.
Reviewed 14 September 2026
Operations remains an actively evolving feature. The guide should be revised when new Operations, MERC modules, reward curves or major balance updates are introduced.