FUCKING. what. O w n s Anyone not seeing how strong Wildparrotz are on ad troops will be feeling it. It's gonna be really good.
Having that Squalo facing something down, giving them the choice: “do I eat the Zapper and fry trying to shoot back, or do I Dodge and eat either the Zapper or B2 Heavy Pistol? Lovely, lovely!
Fair points, sure. Call me cynical but I think this trick works as described exactly once per opponents lifetime. It's like eating a Van Zant. You remember what that threat tastes like and you pre-empt accordingly during follow up games. Again, fairly normal and still going to be effective. Having the parrot 'fly' in a straight line ignoring obstacles gives you a threat vector that's way harder to counter. And that's what I'm trying to communicate here. It feels like Yu Jing got a crazy threat vector with the AD Explosion. You'll know better to huddle too close but that damn thing is still going to hurt whatever it lands on. In comparison we got something with relatively normal threats. Not a bad thing but to me, doesn't seem like its going to be as much of a game defining thing as the Montessa biker or the AD Explosion. Also, dumbass question: Would the E/M effect IMM-2 non-hackables? I thought it'd just be isolate.
Still a planning/WIP stage. I may have to 'creatively source' bits like Constantinos' sword for the Order Sergeants. I would totally rock the hoverboard as the 'motorcycle' for the Montessa...
Sometimes the threat existing is enough to do its job -- people deploy against JSA as if there will be Oniwabans, or deploy against HB as if there will be Fidays, regardless of knowing whether or not there will be any. That is a strength in of itself.
I don't think it's going to matter how the Parrot deploys, they are going to frakkin amazing even if they DO just waddle along the ground!
Yes, THIS. People usually really underestimate the "actual range" of many templates. When taking into account the size of Echo Bravo (model base) and base of Wildparrot you can actually get a "straight line threat range" of 1"+4"+8"+0.5"+8.5" which is HUGE.
And that's not enough in itself? The WildParrot also has a much longer threat-range than Van Zant, due to not needing LoF. In particular, against Hackable targets you can set up the WildParrot and then send in a mid-field Hacker. If they try to Reset against the Hacking Attack, boom goes the WildParrot. Something doesn't have to be game-defining to be freaking amazing. And IMM-2 was specifically in reference to 'TAGS and Remotes'.
Until N3, that was the full name of the unit. Of all the Sectorials to get AVA Total Fusiliers, it was always going to be Varuna.
True, I'd forgotten the extra base width of the FastPanda/WildParrot itself. So best-case actually gets the end of the teardrop more than 24" in from the edge of the board.
Van Zant is a threat that can be anticipated. He enters in a certain fashion, then his shooting or CC danger is linear from there: anything he moves and gets LoF to will be in danger. With the Parrot though, it's an entirely separate ranged attack vector from the Echo Bravo himself. As @eciu mentioned, the range of the Parrot is huge when you factor in the template reach, the Parrot's Mov, and the EB's first Mov skill, all in one order. Unlike shotgun wielder or mine droppers who want to cling to cover and approach safely, the Parrot can move into a position to hit max targets without triggering AROs or overly risking the EB. It's going to be really hard to defend against.
And, as mentioned (I can't remember if it's this thread or another) before, combining the EBs and WildParrots with other troops, such as an AHD Croc Man or Jammer Zulu Cobra, or with the ORC Feuerbach read to snipe the enemy, is the kind of dilemma PanO has had difficulty setting up in the past.
The idea is that it deploys like a Fast Panda, then detonates like an e/mauler upgraded to E/M2. Since a Fast Panda is just a repeater of course, that doesn't really imply movement or offensive capability on its own, so we have to assume it then functions like a mine or functions like a koala. Theoretically it could function like a Koala too, but the rumor seems to indicate a template blast like a mine.
