Haqqislam in the age of 3rd Offensive

What really surprised me about 3rd Offensive is, that only a few armies got new rules. I was under the impression, that like with human sphere, its a gamewide update. It would have been a perfect opportunity to align the old armies to the new ones. But those wont obviously be touched any time soon. Some may get rules from the next book, but that would leave us with completely untouched armies, some with a little update from 3O or the next book and the newest ones with (almost) everything new. Cant say I like that direction for the game at all.

 

I don't post much on the infinity side of the fourms, because I'm too new and have played too few games. But, I have played their new game Aristeia and the CB staff post regularly and respond to our questions even without request! So, what I am trying to say is that CB staff seem to be very upbeat about answering questions. They get my awesome stamp of approval that Privateer Press once got, before they walled up like Gamesworkshop. Point and case there was a thread about future releases in Aristeia and they dropped in and gave us assurance there were going to be some awesome releases 2019. So, has anyone thought about asking if their are any plans for an entire faction update including sectorial? I'm sure there is someone who could lay out a very well written and non-bias fact based post showing the validity of the claim to CB staff. I think they would listen. I'm obviously optimistic, plus in the game Aristeia, they have made a point that core characters are not left in the dust as future releases occure if that helps any. :)

Here is to Haqqislam.

 

CB have said that smaller books with more focused narrative updates will be the standard from now on as opposed to a big book every 2+ years. They've already hinted at a new book Q1/2 2019 so getting out a book every 6 months is pretty good going.

I strongly suspect the next book will be focused on the more space based areas of the Human Sphere as we still need the Tunguska narrative. I'd guess that Ramah will be released along with Shasvastii and Corregidor getting updated like MO and Morats have in 3O. I'd also guess that QK is going to get MRRF'd. It's possible that Corregidor and QK could be swapped over though.

As for HB I'd really like to see some mixed links for them. Giving Govads Wildcard would fix all the problems with taking them IMO as they'd add some good utility to Ghulam or Muyib cores.

 

Wildcard Govad and Yasbir are quite interesting ideas. I have never been thrilled with Govad team performance. Lasiqs would go from the least used fireteam to competitive with the inclusion Yasbir (or Leila Sharif). I think Muyibs are still perhaps the best fireteam in the sectorial.

Finally, I can't imagine the QK would get 'MRRF'd', as @Smiler puts it. I think they are hugely popular and are arguably more iconic to Haqqislam's character as caravan guards and mercenaries than the Bahram's as the long deadly arm of the Wise Man of the Mountain.

 

I love the idea of Wildcard Govads. I'm a huge fan of the Muyib core link and I swear by them but the only thing I wish they had was an HMG, so from my point of view it's a match made in heaven. Not only that but often enough I also find myself wanting that MSV1, but I just can't justify the core link over the Muyibs or even Ghulam for that matter.

I've been thinking of fielding the HMG loadout just on it's own to engage with tricky mimetic roadblocks like the Nisse and Q-Drone but needless to say slotting them into another link would be stellar.

All that being said I have to continue agreeing with the other voices here in that at the very top of my HB wishlist is a Lasiq rework. The models are so gorgeous and were a big factor in drawing me to HB to begin with, and while the sniper does good work for me the other profile is hard to justify taking and the fireteam is essentially non-functional as we all know.

For my own preference I would just trade their linkability for some specialist profiles. New loadouts would be cool to but I think CB has run out of design space on viral weapons, I'm not sure what else you could arm them with that would be fair.

 

Lasiq viral rifle on Suppression mode is magic area denial. As far as other weapons, there's also a viral flavor to the marksman rifle, but we already have shock marksman, and rifle + xvisor is in the same wheelhouse (but replaced VR with VMR would be spicy).

Also, reducing Ghazi AVA to 2 in generic would help the HB stand apart.

I can't speak to the utility of extra orders gained by LT2, NCO, and TacA. They seem very good given that orders (even more so than burst!) is king, and they would potentially synergize in an OP way with Dogged units.

 

Yeah, i think that's a wounderful idea. And would help stop the blaming so much about Ghazis at Vanilla

 

So quick to take away.

 

Ghazis are a strong choice and I am not an Infinity expert here but I always get the distinct feeling that vanilla Haqq is a house of cards balance wise. If you nerf the ghazi in anyway you could throw the whole army out of whack.

I was having an abysmal time with vanilla Haqq until I started using Ghazi. Now I have just an awful time. But that might also because I was trying to play RTF through vanilla and RTF units kinda suck outside of the Taureg and presumably Tarik.

 

Look, i didn't talked about nerfing Ghazis, only reducing AVA for Vanilla, cos AVA 4 should be only for HB where Ghazis are really needed, Vanilla can manage to have only 2 Ghazis and deal with a lot of stuff with other units.

And like @Errhile said, perhaps you need to adjust your playstyle, when i started OCF i tried to play it like Haqq/HB and didn't go well hahaha

 

I'm going to plop another non-sequitur idea on RTF and Haqq being "medic faction" here because it's not like I'm up for productive posting.

So I wonder, wouldn't it make sense for RTF, being Haqq secotrial full of expensive (and occasionally still fragile) models, to have some sort of medic with Tactical Awareness? Probably some RTF-specific variations of existing Doctor profiles with that rule. A Hakim would benefit from that quite a lot, but someone designated to your own DZ would be nice too. Non-AD TA Hakim? TA Ghulam Doctor without the linkability?

Because let's face it, the main problem of healing in infinity is that it's hard to spare orders on that when we aren't talking about the most cornerstone models. Heck, at this rate I wouldn't mind an Irregular TA Doctor (is it a minmaxing when it's for mechanic that isn't, perhaps, particularly powerful most of the time?).

Also, obligatory "shame if RTF is not going to have Akbars" goes here.

 

I might open your eyes or not but AVA 2 ghazis is not a good idea now a days.

1. Ghazis are the only troop to take down things like Avatar, cutter, and all the TO or camo ips in the game (TO/camo troops too). If you know how to kill this things with vanilla I would like to know. (Please dont say tarik going face to face with TO's/odd -9 in cover, going 7, lucky shoot or crit) I want to know something optimal to face them.
2. Ghazis are the cheap smoke we need to advance.
3. Ghazis are extreme impetuous (they die normaly with this order if your oponent knows how to play)
4. Ava 4 for me is the possibility to survivie at the first impetuous, at least 2 of them.

When they rework haqqislam and the sectorials, with ramah incoming we will see, if we get something strong to face the strongest troops/tags they can go with AVA2 ghazis I would be agree.

 

I kinda share that outlook, especially considering point about countering certain powerful pieces (e/maulers are cool and all, but much more limited).

That's why I said initially that I'd prefer some of their strengths moves elsewhere within faction (with consideration to HB, preferably).

Also, nice avatar, @Fenrir :P

 

I don't think they could MRRF the QK...its a MASSIVE military force spread out through the Human Sphere, and supplemented by mercenaries. BUT seeing the lazy narratives provided for ACON (really...an entire planetary force?), and MRRF (they rarely left Merovingia....suddenly most of them all go on 2 planes and get shot down...which was the exact reason they didnt do that before....whatever), it is entirely possible.

I don't mind armies cycling out, what I do mind is the very lazy writing for why they are.

 

I am honestly super big on Govad links, I think they kick ass. If Lasiqs could Haris that'd be my go to Core/Haris setup.

Next book I think will come with some stuff to refresh Haqq a bit, the last one didn't cover Haqq or Nomads but the next one will probably be Human Edge which is a big deal for those factions.

 

The massive cosmic change? Maybe we will see some kind of all out war between human sphere and a rapidly dissolving and splintering CA? With all forces either being O12+CA Traitors or CA remnants+Sepsitorized agents. All factions deleted, all sectorials deleted. Just make 300 points out of whatever minis you want. Total chaos. Complete madness. No more balancing required.