In MechWarrior 5, what determines if a Mech is available for salvage at the end of the mission? I've tried blowing the legs off, but that doesn't seem to be the deciding factor.
For clarification, I'm not asking about getting enough salvage parts to claim one, but what makes them show up in the available salvage in the first place
Exact numbers in the base game:
Info source: https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/28
Note: The mod description explains the base values before talking about what it changes.
https://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/276398-mechs-for-loot/
According to this, there is a percentage chance that a mech will show up in the salvage list depending on how it was destroyed. So you were probably just unlucky when you took out the mech's legs and it didn't show up as salvage.
It appears that the way to claim salvage is not linked to the recover-ability of the mech itself (I.e. how much damage you do to it), but rather in how much you invest into the shares at the beginning of the mission, and the size of the mech(s) you are attempting to salvage.
I don't have a precise graph at this point as to the ratio of shares:weight ratio, is, but this video explains that the maximum amount of salvage shares is 18, which covers a 60-65 tonne mech.
There appears to be a few factors that go into accessing shares, such as reputation with the employer of the mission, and your own mech reputation.
