Well, IMO Monofilament would be actually too far. But feed the Lizard's GL with DA or even EX. With Continous Damage (incendiary grenades). Maybe EM. Or Smoke. Why not AP+ something, too? The beauty being, the rules allow to use several types of ammo on the same GL-armed model, and if the model is a TAG, it doesn't stretch the imagination, really. However, this would be a solution for the GL-armed Lizard only. Not for the HFT one.
Monofilament seems to much, since an indirect bombardment which could literally ERASE anything without Immun(Total) with a lucky single hit, will highly probably cause significantly bad gaming experiences. DA ammo would do, I suppose.
I mostly propose this because it hits on 8s under best-case scenario when used indirectly, can be opposed by Dodge (usually on a better roll!) and even then still needs a 12 or lower on an enemy ARM roll to kill. It's stupidly low odds for an active-turn attack, though I can see the potential for bad experiences if a player gets extremely hot dice or an opponent puts a whole link under the template. I still think the better fix is for CB to FIX THE DAMN LAUNCHERS, but if a year and a half of precisely no GLs other than Core Druze or Emily being used in ITS hasn't cured them of the notion that the weapon is useful as is, nothing will.
Or a TAG. Imagine it: an Avatar gets one GL hit form the Lizze's Mono GL. One hit on DAM 12 w/ no ARM, and poof, 120pts are gone. No regard for its Mimetism -6, ARM 9, STR 3, it's ECM: Guided -6 (which is supposed to protect it against such out-of-LOS attacks), and its two levelr of Unconscious. A third (more or less, depending on the size of the game) of the list, gone. Well, I guess they've had too much bad experiences with these back in N2... Now, fixing that for the Lizard would be as simple as slapping a +3 to-hit modifier specifically on GL BS attacks. doesn't solve the GLs all across the board, but solves the Lizzie's one. ...Thought: maybe give the Lizzie's GL BS Attack: Guided? We have guided mortar ammunition IRL, why not make it smaller and smarter in Infinity...?
I know, right? Perfect modern Infinity /s In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure that an Avatar or poorly-deployed Cores are the only place this is even a problem. Hacking, which Bakunin is great at and Vanilla is best-in-game at, handles any other TAG with minimal difficulty and about as much interaction these days. Because BS Attack: Guided is currently absurdly powerful when combined with good Hacking networks, and should be handled very carefully. Biggest NPE I've ever gotten from opponents is from a White Company list using the GML and Spotlight combo. Proliferating the combination, especially in Vanilla Nomads who have access to Hackers that are near-immune to efficient KHD counterplay, would be unfun for a lot of people. If I were to genuinely tailor the Lizard to Bakunin's needs, I'd focus on its ranged firepower. Bakunin lacks a LI HMG, requiring a Moira, Reaktion Zond or Taskmaster to take up the role if the player doesn't go with the TAG. The Moira already has nasty modifiers, the RZ is accurate with an EVO buff and is useful on the defensive, and the Taskmaster is as bland as the Lizard but does the job best if it needs doing. Since Bakunin can typically play around needing HMGs with its LoS blockers, Infiltrators and Hacking, the Lizard will be most important in game modes that feature exclusion zones as they force engagements at longer ranges and don't leave time to futz about with Smoke and White Noise. Typically, this will mean linked snipers or Hidden Deployment units, nearly always with Mimetism or MSV to some extent. Since Mimetism and MSV on TAGs tends to be a bit strong, not to mention lack of MSV being one of the Nomads' few remaining weaknesses, I'd focus on the "to-wound" side of the equation, relying on the few hits that sneak through to be fatal. Giving it a really nasty main gun would be the best way to pull this off; my pick would be BS Attack(Impact Template) to deny the Cover bonus to ARM, boosting the likelihood that lightly-armoured units will get Shocked off the table and HI can't boost their saves too much against AP, as well as keeping any stacked-up Hidden Deployment units' heads down.
Good point. I still remeber being on a receiving of an N2 Nomad HD+ & GML... Dunno. There are MSV L1's in the Nomads, including specifically in Bakunin (Riot Grrls have it). Gettin another one, even if on a TAG doesn't seem to be that much of an issue IMO. Then again, I don't play Bakunin. BS Attack: Impact Template? I don't really see the point. You have either a GL (which is Impact Template) or HFT (Direct Template). How about Marksmanship, at least on the HMG?
EM on the HGL would be good. Making guided slightly worse and GLs slightly better would be better though.
Take a look at how much MSV there actually is in Nomads. Off the top of my head I can name Wildcats, Intruders, Grrls and Grenzers, and that's for Vanilla. CB seem to be really cautious about giving Nomads any direct counter to heavy MODs. On top of that, the only TAG which actually has MSV right now is the Marut. I can only assume these restrictions are in place for a reason. The point is to slap a cover-ignoring, Noctifer-scaring Template on the Damage 16 MULTI HMG attacks. In most cases, it's equivalent to a further +3 Damage, and gains further benefits in clearing clustered targets. Marksmanship on an MBT is to be avoided, because it would be crazy-good at winning face-to-face rolls and make the Gator look like a chump. Seriously, it's the best shooting rule in the game and the four units that have it are all top-tier.
Y'know, I think that a Burst 4 Terminal Template HMG attack is actually more scary than Marksmanship on a HMG (and that's assuming the same platform). Especially given it is on a highly mobile platform like a TAG. Exactly because of its ability to affect multiple targets with one hit. And, given its Burst, not unlikely to land a number of hits with each Burst in Active Turn. In reactive, with EXP shot, it becomes equal to a Missile Launcher.
The Lizard isn't in a problematic unit. It works just fine as MBTs go. It's the Gator that is the problem. In my opinion Lizard should be left as a standard MBT, while Gator's cost should be recalculated upward. Wanting to upgrade Lizard to make it more interesting is perfectly valid, but many of the ideas here fall under "give Nomads all the toys" design philosophy. Your TAGs shouldn't be the best out there. Now, for the actual upgrade: what exactly is that Bakunin would need its TAG for, and how would it fit into Nomad vanilla? If anything, I'd give Lizard (and its pilot) a Hacking Device.
I second, third and fourth this! Without knowing the actual intent of how GLs should work at all in N4 I'd suggest to either give it a unique +3 range (16" - 24" for example) or to modify the Speculative Attack rule that GLs don't apply the -6 MOD when attacking targeted enemies.
GL with max 3 shots per turn. unique +3 range? Sure! Having been on the receiving end of silly repetitive Spec fire grenades in previous editions, the 'play' experience of responding to 5+ un-interactive attacks is annoying. Same for Guided munitions. CB, with the evolving online rule changes, should put a cap on GML attacks, or other high trend imbalances(?). Otherwise my gamer brain will naturally gravitate towards choosing brokenness, even when trying to play each and every model in my collection... So many models, I forgot the Lizard doesn't have a Repeater in my last fielding, Ha!
This is the right fix for this narrow issue -and- the broader issues with Infinity in general right now (besides removing AP from Oblivion and lowering the proliferation of DTWs). Hear hear. Nomads have enough tricks and overoptimized stuff already, and In say this as a diehard Nomad player.
Grenade Launchers with a +3 band back and both them and guided being disposable 2 or 3 would work I think
