Nerf everything
S
SpiteAndMalice
Seriously, the whole game feels like it is suffering from power creep. Both on the player side, and the AI's side, everything is too powerful, too dangerous, and combined with small map sizes this leads to missions where everyone is on top of each other and the most viable tactic available to the player is to alpha strike your opponent on the 1st couple of turns.
There are separate threads appearing for some of the main culprits; rage burst, dash, mind control, and acid, but it's not just those; the whole system needs scaling back a couple of notches.
walan
My primary concern is tactics in a tactical game.
My definition is that for every action there must be a countermeasure to counter or at least the possibility of noticeably reducing the effect. However, if your team has already been halved after the first turn or your legs have dropped out due to an extreme chiron range, the fight is practically over after this round. This means that no further tactical countermeasures are possible.
Generally:
- Mobility: As long as the maps are based on their current size, it seems totally unrealistic that the entire map can be crossed with the combo max speed and skills.
- Weapon Range: Sniper and Chirons can often dominate the action from their starting position. You don’t feel like you have to put yourself in a tactical position (just like your opponent). Especially because of the unfair “OP” skills, either you damage the opponents massively in the first round or they sweep you away immediately afterwards.
Enemy:
HEAVY “OP”
- Bomb Chiron (mortar?): Often discussed … not fulfilling the tactical definition above.
- Acid Chiron: just absolutely unfair?
- Siren: stands behind the wall and can take over several soldiers without line of sight … has also been discussed many times. Maybe the Siren can cancel the entire “WP” on the first turn and take control only on the next turn? So you would have more time to react …
- Number of opponents: You currently need “OP” skills to simply cope with the amount of opponents. The level of difficulty should make a significant difference in the number. It will also make the long turns of opponents run faster.
LIGHT “OP”
- Goo Chiron: not that much experience …
- Arthron: Bomb is dropped for 2 AP. This will at least severely limit tactical responses, especially when he’s standing next to you.
- Return Fire: can be avoided, but looks unfair when triggered. When I get shot, I don’t shoot back with full precision!
PP soldiers:
HEAVY “OP”
- RB sniper / heavy: Of course …
- Electrical Reinforment: is stackable and the soldier can half-make his “WP” again in the same turn? wow … (Maybe the effect can only take place in a 10 tile radius, as with priest, and / or cost 1AP additional)
- Adrenaline rush: someone sprints towards you and shoots you with heavy weapons for 1AP several times. fair?
- Rapid Clearance: Can be combined to create unfair terminators.
- Double Stealth Damage: stacking with other boni, OP with many builds. (Currently only usable with DLC) --> Under certain conditions, even EXTREME “OP”
- Rally the Troops: Can’t a radius be introduced here, like for priest? However “Multiple Rally” makes this skill heavy OP. 4 Squaddies with Rally effectively gives every Squaddie in the team 2 turns for every 1 turn of the Pandas.
LIGHT “OP”
- Quick Aim: Shoot 2 times with heavy weapons or how about firing the pistol for 0 AP?
- Boom Blast: + 50% range -> similar to the Chiron, but for 2AP. The difference, however, is that the Pandoras have significantly more HP. Here either the range extension or the AP costs should be deleted.
- Dash: massive mobility … Not much significant alone, but in combo with HEAVY “OP”, well …
Florin Adrian
Nerfing everything is difficult. It means rebalancing everything.
But what you are arguing for is prolonged encounters. There are multiple ways to skin that cat.
XCOM does it by having much bigger maps. I don't know if that's possible with PP, it depends on the limits of the graphical engine. It would certainly be welcome, more space, more fun.
If not, maybe the devs have some workable idea...