Andromeda is definitely much more viable now she has this rule. And I hope she keeps it! Specialist Operative was a skill brought in to interact with Infinity's growing scenario system. It's still here, and it's a cool skill. Datatrackers are a new role, with no existing game mechanics directly interacting with them. A rule which does sounds good to me, could this be a way of broadly playtesters that? I hope so, and it would help bring the game even further back from camo specialist spam.
And by the way, I absolutely love those "small" events, that shack up the game a bit. "Don't use that character - he/she is in prison."-> for some weeks. Well, I like to be challenged to work around that and I like to know, that my little figurines have a life outside of their little 4-by-4-world. And now, they got a new ability: they are more eager to find those, who falsely accused them - by being better Data-Trackers than before. I also like the different treatment of the human and alien factions. CA and Tohaa and even NA2 are a bit special. It is reflected in their rules, in their fluff and even in those events. That's nice. Last thing: I would really like to have a fitting order-token (maybe similar to the "special" LT.-Order?). Please give us an official one.
Voronin would need to be able to apply is Strategos to the Datatracker order... but he would be sooo the choice for "keep your DT hidden under a rock in the most unaccessible place of the table"... Andromeda has the same problems as always: deployed at the first line, usually alone, with a wide array of skills that do not support each other, a horrible melee rule (three tables for melee "martial arts" with levels, plus berserker and NBW and... excessive. Plus S4 for her...), and her being almost the only Mimetic trooper, plus closer to the enemy, in a faction "weak" on the reactive turn... more trouble, in general, than what she gives back. And Rao's kinda a joke here, since most people pick him only linked... Gifts I am grateful for. This is no gift: we bought the models, and the characters "paid" for it for the ban.
Of course he gets the most out of the extra Irregular Order. But I am only talking about your statement the he is automatically the LT Datatracker now, and that I personally would not make him LT for the reasons I stated above.
S4 means less cover, and harder to find total cover. You will be an easier target (and remember, Andromeda will probably be the datatracker, the one the opponent will want dead). You will probably never do a cautious move, because your base is 40 mm, your movement is 100 mm, so it will only work if the opponent have less than 20 mm of sight. You may have to do some extra moves because you can't pass through some narrow way a S2 would use. Some roofs, stairs or balcony won't be large enough for you to fit in. That's some big problems for a miniature who is supposed to navigate between sceneries to reach objectives. Less possible paths = easier time for the opponent to predict and block your movements.
Wow, @xagroth , I really read a lot of your input in this forum - so... I somewhat fell related to you. And I don't want to get that statement wrong... Am I right if I read it as: You are seriously feeling betrayed by the outcome of the backd00r-crisis?
Nah. I feel like it was an ineffectual attempt to move things along. The problem is that somehow, first it got totally outshined by Uprising and the JSA exit to NA2; second, the selected characters were "meh" aside from Tarik and Kusanagi, but they all are somewhat asimmetrical; third, the "one size fits all" solution that left them comparatively at the same position between each other, and only Tarik will say "this changes nothing from my situation from before, but improves me!", etc... My problem with this, and most important with its resolution and blatant (and clumsy) attempt to make Tunguska look cool just because (seriously. It is "just because". Fluff wise, I would have expected the friggign Observancy to actually do something. With their SUPERIOR REVEREND being the target and all that, and they being the ones behind Arachne...); well, not "just because", but to make them go even higher than they are for the launching... I digress. My problem is simply that I DIDN'T CARE. There were other stuff going on when b4ckd00r happened, the times were elongated, the premises were changed mid-race with the JSA exiting to NA2 (despite being told that JSA would be counted as YJ for the whole thing), the publicity were less than minimal (tons of people didn't realize this was happening until the end), and there were two factions who were there just to kick the others because whatever happened, they would not lose anything. Nor win. A community event makes everyone wanting to be in it. This one discarder 2 factions from the start... three if we count the Druze were exempt (and then the Japanese...). Then the "prize" was being excluded of the next step. I avoid zero sum games, and this was one.
I quote and address you because you related to my previous post, but what i'm about to say is generic, for everybody to read and understand. It seems that you want (in this case) Andromeda to be able to do everything. There isn't a single model in the game that can do everything (apart Achille, if you listen to him) and THIS is the greatest strength of this game. Every frigging model NEED back up. She need it too. You cannot pretend to throw her in the frontline without support. We all have our comfort zone. If you manage to try something different, you could find a way to benefit of it.
Yup, but... she is where she get none, unless the list goes around her. She is mimetic and closest to the enemy... at best, Achilles will be by her side, otherwise not. For ARO... the greeks are not engineered for it. The have some tools (every faction as a TR, they have the thoras...) but she is a target of opportunity quite often, specially if the other targets are the smoke-dodging mirmydons or an ODD character... To have her prone all the time... better cary two thoras.
As i said before, she suffers from an internal competition: Thrasymedes (and nagas in vanilla) who do the same thing, just better. The problem is not that she can't do everything, the problem is that she suffers from a single flaw that ruin the whole profile. Even if she were S2, she would still be a bit bloated, thus costy for what she does, but since she is S4, she is essentially a sitting duck. That's a rather big concentration of force, isn't it ?
Panties out of bunches, folks. Yes, an extra order on Tarik is a lot more powerful than the other guys. That could have been balanced better against the other factions' troopers. But the addition of the extra order to the -less- popular profiles (like Andromeda) was a cool idea, and this is a good way to test it in a temporary form. I'm with @HellLois , definitely see how it plays out in various groups before you judge this by your own local. Maybe we could ask CB nicely for a data shot on how often the units with these buffs get taken during their buffed period, as compared to before/after. For those claiming the whole things was lame, the order will matter in one context particularly: Limited Insertion. I know at least one guy taking Steel Phalanx to the Interplanetario who just added her to his lists for that extra order, mainly for the go-get-stuff missions. A 9% boost in orders for free is pretty sweet, and Phalanx isn't high on infiltrating or fast specialists. Same would go for Xi for me if I were taking ISS.
I think the whole thing was just lazy. Story time, people doing bad things, these characters are involved. We are taking them away for interrogation. You are getting the back with an extra order, the end. Just summed up 6 months of story. They could have had mini stories for each one that reflected a unique thing they gained from the event. Instead it feels like 'Uprising, oh yea we removed those characters a few months back didn't we, guess just give em a free move and hand them back. Does anyone remember which ones we took?"
Nope. All you're doing is putting an Agema behind wherever your many Myrmidons already are. Phoenix is also an ARO monster, and even the non-infiltrating version of Thrasymedes is deeply annoying in a Thorakites link.
An Agema behind a Myrm link that's moved up the board is to be expected, and not that easy to deal with unless your toolbox is well equipped and undamaged by an Ekdromoi or whatever. Agemas have long range and a wide arc too. Incidentally, I think part of the problem with Andromeda is internal faction balance; V:NWI with a degree of CC skill and gunfighting ability plus forward deployment and a specialist would be highly desirable in PanO or Haqq, but in ALEPH she's competing with a lot of the same kind of thing. Incidentally I do wish she was S2 with a CC capable robot dog instead, since having multiple minis with one statline on one base is a break from Infinity's norm I don't love, but whatever. Anyway, an additional free order? Definitely useful and something SP will appreciate too. Worth considering that Agemas plus smoke can deal with overwatch troops too; should be able to advance in the open.
No, it would be exactly accurate to compare data-trackers here. That was what every army got, but they did not benefit evenly. Essentially you're saying "don't criticize."
I believe its "don't whinge". But then I like the story line events, and have no issues with the minor shake up.
You don't have to balance it for Veronin, if there's going to be a new Veronin. Fingers crossed comrades.
