Sorry man, but you have a very negative opinion of JSA in my eyes, and one I simply don't share. Nobody ever anywhere said that JSA is a closed bundle that's finished already. In my eyes what we see here now is "Wave 1" with lots of potential for new stuff incoming, and the fluff and CBs proclaimed future plans seem to support this idea. Does it "suck" for other factions who didn't get much love recently that JSA might get more love in the future and that they are more liked and thus get more stuff? Sure, but that's not my problem, I'm a JSA player and I look forward to it. I mean lets be real here, we are talking about the Japanese...a faction of Ninjas, Samurai, Anime, Ghost in the Shell, and Hightech Stuff, basically all that makes Infinity interesting to a broad spectrum of customers out there, especially those who normally might not care much for Tabletop, aka the Anime Fans and whatnot. It's quite naturally if you ask me that a faction like that would get more attention and love from a company than QK, who in my eyes (and I frankly know little to nothing about them), is just "Haqq with some Mercenaries"....which became even less enticing now that all those Mercenary companies have been released... Like I said, I don't think it's fair for things to be that way, but it makes sense and I am quite optimistic that JSA will be treated better than QK has been in recent years, or the french for that matter. As for the specialists thing: You sound like you expect JSA to be "the one faction that does it differently"....if all other factions have "less picked choices" why do you somehow expect JSA to be the only one that avoids this by not getting any more options? More diversity is always a good thing in my eyes, and if CB has cool miniature ideas, the fact that it might make other choices less desirable, shouldn't be a hindrance, and hasn't been in the past in quite a few cases. Of course they said something different to the Yu Jing playerbase, but lets be real here...they had to come up with SOME excuse to do what they did...the same excuse doesn't stop them in any other faction apparently... And I don't "sell" anything to anyone, people reading this forum tend to 99% already play (or at least bought) this game I find, so talking about potential cool new ideas, stuff that could come, and things we might want to see/expect should be totally fine, on the contrary going in with a negative "That's that, we're done, no more advancement, everything is dead" philosophy is boring and demotivating, something maybe fit for the Yu Jing community where rage and salt reign supreme at the moment due to what happened, but in JSA people should be happy and excited for their new faction, the doom and gloom can come in a year or two should our hopes and dreams turn out to be false. If you've read my previous posts in the YJ section you should know that I'm not some naive "everything is awesome, buy Infinity" kind of guy, but I still believe that at least for the next year or so, JSA's future will be fun and filled with excitement, and I refuse to be all grumpy about it right from the get go.
Source on that, please. Outside the Uprising fluff that says how Japan is launching his R+D program. It seems to me then that you are not much interested in the game or the community. I worry when the game gets diminished, even when it's not hindering me, and I worry when the company makes blunders, because that means less players overall I can play with. Online campaigns notwithstanding. Anime? The inspiration to the whole game. As for the other two, Aleph has a claim there too. Before the release of Haris for everyone, they were the only ones with it. Before the mercenary companies, they were the only faction able to field a 100% not-my-faction list. Before the mixed fireteams of NA2 and ISS, they were the only faction with "I have 1-2 guys on each fireteam that might, or might not, be what they look like", also called hafzas. One could say that QK was the testbed, and deserving to be so again, of several features. Or that it has been rendered obsolete, opening a door that includes the JSA as "in 2-3 years your faction will be so forgotten not even us will remember it". See why I care? And their fluff is "Santiagos from Haqquislam". Oh, I mean, space soldiers to crew and protect the Haqquislamite fleet. You are mixing stuff. Having more miniatures? Be my guest, but the only confirmed ones atm are the Aragotos. And having JSA receiving new profiles and models while Tunguska is launched and gets 2 profiles and 5-6 new models? Obscene. JSA might be the darling, but that not means it's the wife. And having everything everywhere? Please confirm that, because I see little reason to have more than one army if all are "standard Mcstandard" ISO-9000 certified clones of one another with simply different miniatures. Yup. But new guys do come on the forum. They might not post, but the come, see and read, deciding what they will get IF they do. But not my problem, as you say.
Xag, as a 'new guy' I can say that optimism is what new guys want to see at this point. The Yu Jing forum has become such a toxic swamp of people determined to hate CB no matter what, that I just don't want to read it anymore, and YJ is the faction I picked up the game with, I lost minis to the JSA split, and yes, there are things I would like CB to do about it (acknowledge issues, release Yu Jing side of fluff and maybe some IA stuff) but I understand that companies work in cycles - even if they didn't realize there would be this anger, they can't just throw IA stuff at us, because it may not be ready for another six months. I think people are failing to realize how much a cloud of negativity will turn away the new guys, and I really, really doubt there is gonna be another 'uprising' style thing for a long time, if ever, as there are no other factions with an inbuilt conflict like YJ had, to my knowledge. I think it is appropriate to point out concerns, but the way people have fallen into accusing those who want to move on from constant complaining 'fanboys' and 'a cult' has been very negative. As for the future of JSA - I certainly hope they release more sculpts down the line. There is enough now for any new guy to get started, which is great, but I hope they squeeze in a few NA2 releases next year.
We've done Uprising. I think CB will drip feed us the updated sculpts and that's what we'll get for the rest of the year. more possibilities for profiles and models are something that would come much, much further down the road. there are so many more updates and new sectorials to come this year it would feel like a step backwards to release MORE JSA stuff after we had our time in the spotlight
Wasn't one of the reasons JSA came first because they were the most complete and needed the least tweaking? (rules-wise). It's always nice to get new stuff, but JSA feel pretty complete, they lack long range firepower but that feels like a purposeful restriction. With 4 more sectorials coming out this year, each of which needs significantly more new material than JSA did, I wouldn't expect any significant expansion until the next large Human Sphere style expansion. There's always possibilities for Hakim/Davanas style random releases though.
I imagine future JSA releases, after the arigato, will be sporadic. I doubt they'll miss the chance to cash in with releases from time to time.
Not so much negativity. Noone wants to stymie creativity. But JSA is one of many releases getting attention this year... There are more coming next year... Not to mention all the existing Sectorials still waiting their turn for attention. With all that in mind, I expect more mini releases that support JSA, but I don't expect a ton in the way of new units or profiles in the future. All fun ideas, sure. But there's some history here that's valuable for understanding how JSA has historically been designed. JSA has never had an AD unit, because JSA access to both bikes and Infiltrators means CB (from a balance perspective) doesn't want them to also have access to AD dropping in the backfield. JSA's existing options means the fast attack element is covered. As for a unit with a bot attached, that's considered to either very advanced tech (PanO, ALEPH, Combined Army) or advanced alien biology (Tohaa Chaksa, Ariadna Antipodes.) But hey, I'd love to see it. I already think it's broken, to be honest, by giving Specialist to Saito. With Saito as a Specialist, I think he invalidates a ton of Ninja profiles. Even the Ninja KHD is a choice you basically settle for... Taking a highly circumstantial weapon in exchange for just having a Specialist. If you can have the utility of a Ryuken-9, with all their amazing versatility, who can also push a button, I don't know that I'd ever want to pay the points premium for a Ninja of any kind. I'd just take the two Ryuken-9 and Saito, who I already include in almost every list I use. We're not a new faction, but rather an update of an existing Sectorial. It's a really important distinction. When an updated sectorial gets its update, it typically has to wait a long time before it gets anything again. I don't think that's necessary. I started playing JSA 6 years ago. Just a note too... I think the creativity is a great idea, and there's always a possibility it would happen. When I first started with JSA as a fresh player, I came to the forums and said "hey, I love JSA, wouldn't it be cool if the O-Yoroi pilot was awesome in close combat?" That was back in the day when CC was a very different role, and the pilot had a generic profile that was nothing like the current O-Yoroi pilot. I was pretty universally shot down for the idea, with players saying "look, that's now how it works." Now, the O-Yoroi pilot exactly fits the vision I had back then. The concept I had in my head came true. So share your ideas, but also acknowledge that players may not agree. Share them anyway, who knows what CB will do.
Why would a hacker Ryuken-9 have forward deployment (of any description)? The HRL doesn't. Let's say... Mimetism, Hacking Device (Upgrade: Stop!), Pitcher and <whichever weapon Ishikawa would have> (Hackind Device simply because Assault HD or Killer HD both exist with the more elite Ninja and Aragoto, a Hacking Device would mean you have an alternate spot for it than with the Keisotsu link)
Take the HRL profile replace the HRL with a SMG + AHD (which I think should be ~23pts). It'd be interesting and wouldn't 'add to the concept': you have the backfield Ltd Camo units and the midfield ODD units. And particularly with the dearth of repeater coverage it's not like it'd be ridiculous. But you can play some fun games with 'guess which Ryuken' this is: deploy the Mine in an obvious HRL ARO location and the AHD in a 'mine' location watching an 8" firelane. Particularly if you're running Rui Shi. I think no Pitcher or Upgrade programme: Zoe is a top tier hacker and gets Stop! we're talking about a faction that isn't nearly on that level. Equally a cammo'd HD is problematic: if you're taking a regular HD it's really there for supportware. Whereas a KHD Ninja + AHD Ryuken + HD Keisot with a Rui Shi, Sensor + Flashpulse bot is actually quite interesting. The Keisot looks like a soft target: but the repeater coverage is actually well protected by unexpected Hackers.
Zoe also have higher WIP and Pi-Well. This Ryuken was more an attempt at a slightly worse Danavas (and that also offers something Keisotsu doesn't, but I guess the upgrade is superfluos if you've got a pitcher).
Dansavas are a specialised top-tier hacker. Upgrades are top tier abilities. I can't think of a non-standard Upgrade that isn't on a specialized 'Hacker' troop (ie all of their profiles are hackers of one description or another). A better aim point would be Pheasants, Zhangying, or Hexa. These are examples of other 'not a specilised Hacker troop-type' with HDs. That being said it appears most 'normal'* sectorials can get basic HDs on more than 1 profile. But these aren't particularly popular profiles. So a 25pt Ltd Camo SMG Ryuken HD is an option: I just think you'd get more value out of an AHD. The only reason to take HD over a AHD is Supportware and Shield programmes: the Keisot does Supportware does these well. Losing your markerstate to do these is quite often a waste. * Ie ignoring Ariadna and Tohaa.
When min-maxing or wishlisting, yes, but I doubt JSA would get a hacker that's perfectly layed out. I also don't think a third Ryuken-9 would share any of the other R9 profiles' unique traits, so no limited camo and no ODD. Could be there could be a normal camo profile, but if so I doubt it'd come with a hacking device, sniper rifle or infiltration because Ryuken doesn't strike me as very... standard... profiles.
Well, CB did make profiles for Section 9 back in the waybacks (stats are in the Why can't JSA make Section 9 army lists? thread). So I'm expecting JSA models now. So far, they've released models that look like the Major and Batou (or Boma) as Ryuken-9, and Togusa and Ishikawa as basic Keisotsu. That leaves Saito the sniper, Boma the hacker+engineer+heavy weapons, and Pazu the infiltrator/impersonator+CC monster. Well, plus a few other people from the manga, but that's it for the anime. While there is already a Saito-expy in the Moderator Sniper, I'm expecting that CB will make the Kempeitai MSV2 Shock Marksman Rifle look like Saito. The Moderator sniper is an old sculpt, anyway. I could see sticking Pazu into the actual Ryuken-9 unit, either as another ODD+SMG or maybe a KHD (for cybermask-impersonation) and some serious MA skills. Otherwise, Pazu would be a fun Ninja KHD sculpt (since I'd rather use the Major as a Ninja hacker than Ryuken-9). Boma, as I mentioned, is a hacker, bomb tech, and heavy weapons type. So, if we're going to get a resculpted Support pack, he'd make a good Engineer. Otherwise, Ryuken-9 Limited Camo Spitfire (engineer+D-Charges optional). Too bad the model that looks like Ishikawa is a Keisotsu.
CB did nothing of that, so you shouldn't expect anything. Bibliotek Files was a fanzine/E-zine, from the early years of Infinity, completely unrelated to CB, done by fans for the community. Actually I recall well I was the one who translated into english those profiles for section 9. Profiles nowadays I would consider completely unbalanced and clearly a sign of stuff done by amateurs instead of game designers.
I'm sorry, but this statement makes no sense in the context of Haqq having bikers, infiltrators and AD, and Aleph having bikers, infiltrators and AD, and Ariadna having bikers, infiltrators and AD... A Japanese themed AD trooper, even if it's just parachutist, may not happen, but you can't rule it out on the basis that CB doesn't want a specific combination of skills in an army when they are more than happy for that combination to exist in 3 other armies (and 1 other sectorial).
Yes, but Haqqislam is a full faction. Name one of their sectorials that have all 3, same with Aleph. Ariadna (US) has their own limitations, such as no TO, their AD only coming off the side of the board, no TAGs, only 1 (degrading) 2 wound gunfighters. These limitations aren't an built into a faction as much as they are into sectorials. JSA is only a NA2 "sectorial" so you're going to see it more. If you want to compare it to anything (which isn't ideal) do it to a sectorial or other NA2s. It's not impossible, but it's about as good as Lloyd Christmas getting the girl. On another note. Whatever happened to those YJ/JSA impersonation mercs?
It's dishonest to ask me to name a sectorial with all 3 skills available, then arbitrarily declare the one that has them, that you are perfectly well aware of, as invalid for your own reasons. USARF has the single best AD trooper in the game (and the others it has aren't in any way bad), it has wide access to bikers (it can put 11 on field if it wants), and can pack the midfield with infiltrating camo while lining up HFT toting MI along the front of the enemy DZ. Oh, and try multiple 2 wound gun fighters, it's amazing the number of people who ignore the Devil Dog 'cus it only has short range weapons.
Trying to suggest adding a type of unit to a limited sectorial while using another sectorial as an example and not addressing any of its limitations in turn is pretty dishonest. I think you need to look up what a gunfighter is. It's not someone with a shotgun or a Chain rifle. Wishlist all you want though.
I'm well aware what a gunfighter is, and a smoke toting missile that ignores almost all sources of inflicting multiple wounds in the reactive turn while bringing both additional orders and an additional body to the table ultimately does the same thing as a gunfighter, kill the enemy, just in its own way. Your position is still arbitrarily adding limitations above and beyond what I was originally responding to, with no justification to back it up other than your own reasoning. We call that moving the goalposts. Be a downer all you want though.
