Except for Ikari, where CB just updated their entire range of models with modern sculpts and then left their rules completely untouched. Anyway, here's some more random stuff to shove into White Company...
First, thank you for clarifying your point of view. Let me explain why the misunderstanding happened. In my earlier post, I mentioned that Ariadna, in N5, lost much of its uniqueness (since other factions can now also field large numbers of Camo Markers). This aligns with your statement that “Infinity is better when tools are less exclusive across factions”, but at the same time it left Ariadna in a position that is harder for me to introduce to new players, and is also one of the reasons why Ariadna struggles to stand out. Once a tool or playstyle becomes available to everyone, factions that are stronger in other aspects will always overshadow you. Looking back at the phrase “Infinity is better when tools are less exclusive across factions”, you can probably see why I misunderstood. It was wrong of me to illustrate with such an extreme example, and I apologize for that here. Ariadna is indeed constrained by its lore, which makes their design more difficult. And you’re right—it needs to focus more on what they do have.
I feel that while Camo is still a very powerful rule, in N5 armies that rely strongly on it (Shas, TAK, and to lesser extent Vanilla Ariadna and Haqqislam) have been negatively affected. Which feels weird as Surprise Attack now more effective than its been for a couple of editions. It might be due to their strong reliance on single wound models in those armies versus the general increased value of HI in the game. Having to rely on single wound models in N5 is dicey (pun intended). But generally, I feel the balance shift is worth it. It definitely feels like it is something that can be tweaked on the individual level though.
I’m on board with most of what’s being said here, but honestly I think Disco Ball really needs to be reconsidered. The whole point of factions being different isn’t just about having different tools or stats—it’s also about how they solve the same problem in different ways. Some sneak around with Cautious Movement, Camo, or IMP. Others throw Smoke or rely on HDP to block LoF. Now suddenly everyone except Ariadna has Eclipse, and it really makes Ariadna feel like they’re just being bullied. PanO having it? Sure, no problem. They’re the big power, high-tech nation, and in the game they’ve always struggled the most with not having visual-blocking tools. They actually need Disco Ball to function better. But for the others? That’s where I’m not convinced. Does JSA or Haqq really have the tech for it? Should Yu Jing instantly catch up to PanO’s tech level? Can Nomads just hack it together overnight? Even if you ignore the lore and just look at gameplay: JSA, Haqq, YJ, and Nomads all already have cheap and plentiful Smoke. Sure, Disco Ball would be nice for them, but is it really necessary? Back in N4, outside of Nomads, those factions didn’t have Eclipse either, and they weren’t completely helpless against MSV shooters. And then there’s the profile itself: Grenades and GLs don’t get a +3 range mod, but Disco Ball does? On top of having Double Shot? That feels off. They nerfed the classic Impetuous + Smoke combo, but at the same time added an even stronger tool for visual denial. To me, handing Disco Ball out so widely just muddles the distinction between high-tech and low-tech factions, and honestly, it feels like Ariadna is being laughed at for it. What you said about the weakness of single-wound units being amplified is definitely true, and it might be related to the changes in Fireteams. Standard DTWs are completely ineffective against 2W units, and regular shooting has also become much less lethal against them.
I disagree about Disco Balls being too high tech. By the fluff, they are "light-emitting jamming devices." That, to me, is much less hi tech than 3 dimensional perfect holograms produced by Holomask, Holoprojector, Impersonation, and even simple KHDs. CB also limited what profiles have access to them, so while Haqqislam technically has discoballers, you will rarely see them due to the specific profiles that have them. They are a reasonable step between Smoke Grenades and Eclipse Grenades. What makes Eclipse grenades, IMO, better than Disco Ballers, is that they are unlimited and can be used for Face to Face Rolls. Not being able to be Face to Face does have is benefits, but definitely limits it's utility. Honestly, I would not mind some Ariadna access to Disco Balls.
The disco ball is a pretty big whiff in its current state. It has a better range band that smoke, multiple units can get +1SD, and can be reactived. It is legit the best piece of equipment in the game because it can score you points unopposed and they for some reason made it very reliable/low order cost with range bands so forgiving you don't even need to position them. It also appears to cost a single point cost to lots of units. Its a massive buff that should be much more restricted or at least given to less optimized profiles as a way to encourage their use. Folks are pointing to the idea that PanO should have access to all the tech with the strongest profiles is a fine thematic argument. Right now they feel like the human version of combined army (i thought that was Aleph but okay). The trouble is KCF and vanilla having all the tech, all the guns, all the skills, all the best links, all the optimized profiles makes it so they are a faction with no functional downside. Its becomes why play faction X if PanO just does that better, while having PanO toys to play with. Ariadna suffers from a lot of the problems now in N5. It seems to be the only faction that has to be fully restricted on theme and its theme is all the stuff that sucks in N5. Angus is pretty spot on with it, but I would also add it has the problem of being 4 factions jammed together in one. A lot of its unit profiles are simply sidegrades of each other so their home nation faction can have its version of a unit class and three of those home factions are completely dead in the water. There are so many dud profiles in Ariadna designed like that were just pulled out of N3. Ariadna is now the faction that literally does nothing better than anyone else while still having massive gaps. Until one of those two things change it is always just going to be left behind.
Also, they are disposable. Ariadna had access to various forms of reasonably high-tech weapons since the day one of Inifinity: E-maulers (now called E/M Mines) and ADHLs (now Adhesive Launchers) since N1. Fluff-wise, these were imported Nomad technologies - whether the Nomads provided licenses & know-how for local production, or they directly supplied Ariadna with such weapons, I don't really remember. In N2HS, they got (limited) access to Viral ammo, fluff-wise, acquired in limited quantities from Haqqislam in a trade for neomaterials like Tesseum and such (which, curiously, was never acknowledged to influence Haqq troops in any manner - neither by T2 ammo showing up on any unit*, nor mentioned in the unit fluff anywhere). Therefore, there is precedent for this: Liet serves two masters ;) and I see no reason why Ariadna couldn't just buy a supply of Discoballers from anyone who has adequate tech level to produce them, and equip a select unit with such equipment. Or if not an unit, then a character (see Druze Bayram - IIRC, only Arslan packs Discoballer there). * N5 gave T2 ammo to all Contenders, game-wide, so it doesn't apply.
Only ariadna use Tesseum for ammo, other factions use them for spaceships, bunkers and things like that. Also, sidenote, T2 ammo come from bad refined tesseum (good refined tesseum has AP properties) and is worth more as raw material than as ammo. So probably most of the T2 ammo was reshaped in metal ingots and resold again.
I think technology should be divided into different “categories.” If we use Impersonation as a benchmark for technological level, then ALEPH not having it while only Haqq does wouldn’t make sense. If the requirements for that tech really weren’t high, or if there were no such categorization, then why is it that in N4 only PanO, Nomads, CA, ALEPH, O-12, and Tohaa have access to it? As for Disco Ballers, their range modifiers are better than Eclipse Grenades, and the N5 optimization for Baggage also helps. I don’t think there’s an absolute “better” here.
The only solely N2 release I can recall (memoria fragilis est) was the Brawler Box (and Brawler Hacker, being LE model for a book, I can't recall which one). ...okay, Arslan was also NA2 only for a moment, before he turned up in QK. And I guess some merc characters too. For a time.
Sure. But Druze has constantly been receiving minor stealth buffs here and there over time. And at the turn of N5, CB also dumps half a sectorial's worth of extra trooper profiles into White Co. Meanwhile, Ikari is mostly the same as they've been since N3, and yet CB has been putting out new sculpts for Scarface, Anacondas, Krakots, among a bunch of other relevant sculpts, all at around the same time. It wouldn't take much to for CB to take a quick pass and readjust some fireteams, maybe toss in a fitting profile or two that has yet to make it to the faction. It's just odd to see so much Ikari compatible stuff come out all at the same time without a mention of the actual faction by CB.
It might be better that way. Copper did a great interview on the WIP 12 podcast on Ikari. Sure their LT options are still bad, but they got so many buffs. Keisotsu, Wu Mings, Bashis, Tankos, Krakots, and Yuan Yuans got some nice changes and Desperadoes and Rui Shi are still great. They lack BS 14 shooting, Camo, LT options and a midfield, but they play differently (multiple mediocre guns) and have a lot of tools. On PanO being good: They deserve it for being in the desert for so long. Good for them.
