Could be better, could be worse. Could've gotten something along the lines of "this irregular is regular if X", could've gotten an absolute word spaghetti of restrictions on the Crusade team. Only Tarlok Fireteam has so far gotten just a straight bonus.
The main point to consider here is this, this is a framework, it will be hopefully tested by the players, feedback will be distributed and more things can be added to it onwards.
The reasons I dislike new MO are different from link situation (though the main bonanza link team is really bad) - my small disappointment comes from a fact that MO was one of the focal points of Raveneye book so I thought some more changes are coming. But this is minor. In general I'm happy that a bit of a mess with Joan was fixed. The introduction of Curator is... strange (but could be worse see general problem of Crosiers and Order Seargents). Also Raveneye officers are really making solo Order Seargents obsolete to a really bad degree. But I'm happy for th new fireteam rules, faction/link team suplementar rules seems like a new cool tool for designer, let see where will it being us.
Hm interesting, I have to say I do field solo Order Sergeants, but never without their flamebot, so I guess these are not the solo order sergeants you mean right?
Yes definitely this. And again, HRL OS with Auxbot is one of the most killy things for under 20pts in this game. OS have strong overlapping roles/functions with Crosiers, and now for 12 PTS you can get a minelayer with a decent gun+specialist. (it's even worse, for 12 PTS you get 2 templates) I know he is only AVA 1, but I'm not sure MO would use more due to slots limitations.
Well I have converted one of them to have the dual antennas to represent the controller so I cannot disagree.
Allright, here we go. The good: The new layout. Much, much, much easier to configure a Fireteam or to explain to people how it works. We also seem to have gotten significantly more options added for mixing and matching. Duo got nothing to make it worth using, but up to two are available to Vanilla now where the plain mobility boost is welcome. The Discover Buff to a native Haris is minor and not what they needed, but nice nontheless. Steel Phalanx is in a lot better place right now. The bad: Implementation. Not a single existing 5 man team I've seen is still good. They're all -2 BS and lost their bonus to Discover. This butchered every single defensive Fireteam in the game I am aware of. While not addressing the elephant in the room that is Vanilla armies or the overall problem to keep your opponent at bay with AROs N4 introduced. The ugly: This isn't even a change. It's a flat out nerf bat. Who thought N4 Dakinis with CSUs in the same link are an oppressive problem that needed to be reigned in? Fireteam based Sectorials with no other stand out option than their Fireteams didn't get any of their problems addressed. -2BS to Core Link, done. Morats got an instant fix for this (and they sure deserve it), so someone seems to have been aware the new restrictions aren't great, then went on to decide burdening everyone else with it was a good idea? I'm already playing my Vanilla Factions over Sectorials in N4 for them being a bit higher on the curve. Now I'll simply have an incentive to double down on that.
<Snip> Agreed, and it's enough to make me happy with the changes overall I think. Except the Regular Sniper core in SAA! This is the big thing. Well, duos are a huge buff to Vanilla...
On first glance it looks like they used the FT core nerf to prop up sectorials that weren't doing so hot: - ISS got a lot more flexible with the option of two Haris and a coherent Wu Ming + Zhanying core - StarCo now gets Knauf Haris - Ramah gets coherent Ghulam/Zhayedan core and Al Fasid Haris - QK get coherent Hafza in almost all cores and Azrail Haris - Druze are coherent between Druze, Brawlers, Diggers, Aida, Arslan and Taowu - Onyx get a coherent core with Unidrons + Nexus (Engineer) + Kerr Nau (Pitcher) - Morats get lots of coherent options Meanwhile: - Nomad and PanO sectorials got pretty much shafted with their mixed cores, so did Ikari, White CO, Starmada and Dashat, it seems. - JSA is still holding up well with a solid Keisotsu + Yuriko + Kempeitai as well as interesting new Haris options (Shikami). Mixed Domaru Core got hit hard though. - White banner lost their Shang Jisus + friends core but gained regular Shaolin DUO/Haris. - OSS retains a strong coherent Dakini + Deva core - Hassassins can't have a coherent core with Yara Haddad anymore, but they retain the OP Asawira Wildcard for strong Haris options - IA lost the coherency in cores with Haidao, which is huge. They have a bigger incentive to run pain trains now, relegating Haidao to Haris. - Kosmoflot can't have a coherent core with the UKR, but Volkolaks are still possible and Patchers look interesting, too. - TAK, similarly to IA, are incentivised to invest into more expensive cores with Veterans and Frontovik. Gained Ratnik Haris option. So my first impression after digesting all of this is that CB did: - nerf most mixed core teams, which was heavily requested. The downside is that several sectorials relied on those. - buff Haris across the board with more flexible and useful combinations and negligible coherency bonus (+3 discover) - buff (SWC) line troops that were previously almost never used - buff certain sectorials by giving them the option to field two Haris or a coherent mixed core - buff Vanilla factions with no drawback by giving them Duo options, further increasing the attractiveness of vanilla What does this mean? I expect the focus to shift from core teams to capable Haris for many sectorials, maybe complemented by a cheap defensive line trooper core now and then, which now actually has a place – even at 3-4 members. Haris teams got better and more varied across the board, so there will be a lot of tinkering going on to find useful setups. Select sectorials will retain their very strong mixed cores and be difficult to contest, but some if not all of the worst offenders took a hit here. Stacking MODs on a mixed core fireteam leader now comes at a cost of 2 BS. You can still push the numbers all the way by keeping it coherent, but it's going to be a bigger investment and less flexible. Pitcher shenanigans was mitigated for some and retained by others. Any reduction is welcome here.
Played a few tournament games yesterday, the option to put Line Troopers into a Haris was surprisingly handy. A Fusilier MULTI Sniper on a roof had a serious chance of repelling some Cores, and was scary enough in active turn that my opponents couldn't leave anything out to ARO or advance towards objectives without committing their own Fireteams to the midfield. It's also a much more palatable LT bunker than a Core. Definitely liking what this does to internal balance, though external balance still needs work- PanO Sectorials have been crutching on their links for years now and badly need a hand with efficient mixed Cores being toned down, and Vanilla usually remains superior for most factions.
I think with the factions that have 2 haris available, we might see Tohaa-like armies. 2 haris and one 3 man core. There's goign to be times where I'm going to want a 3-man unmixed core because I want the +3 to discover instead of taking more figures I don't want or need to get more bonuses.
I indeed like the fact that now in PanO I can create a fusilier haris and dedicate the core to something else.
White Banner feels like an entirely new army. I love it. It now feels like White Banner actually should. I can mix ambushers, Buddhists, and armored elements in so many cool ways now. I'd kill to see an HI monk element, but as it stands, what used to be one of my greatest disappointments is looking to become one of my favourite factions.
I think OSS actually got a little Buff. While Dakini fireteams lose coherence for adding CSUs, that only saved you 2 points, but if you do want to save points they can now add 2 CSU to the team (up from one previously), and can have a Dakini Haris. Also, Danavas can now join the Dakini FT, which gives us the linked pitcher we've been asking for for a while, and gives the Davanvas 6th sense in a 4+ model team, another boost to a great hacker. Bounty Hunters can also now form a Haris (previously only duo), and Miranda has been added as an option to the sectorial. The only thing that really feels nerfed was the Yadus, who have no flexibility options and lose coherence if you add anything else.
It would be a topic in the forum or somewhere to gather inputs players could provide? Or only it will be a thing about checking what people say over here and others media (podcast, facebook, etc). If wanted to give (or receive) any input it could be easier to havea place where to do it...
Same here. I was very frustrated with the WB before. Now there's an actual reason for me to get Jujak! I also need to finally get ahold of a Jing Qo. I never got the Kaldstrom stuff.
