Not sure what to think about hundun having HRL and not ML. All our platforms for both weapons are either very expensive or not really good outside of link teams (and when I play ISS I tend to take kuang shi). ML seems to have more destructive ARO potential and can pay for itself with a single hit. HRL is cheaper though. Maybe you have more experiance about those weapons and can convince me that HRL is a better deal in this case.
I think ML is a better ARO weapon overall because of the destructive 1-shot power and the rangebands. However, that's considering regular deploy. If the Hundun has some kind of Infiltration or FD, then the range bands for the HRL become more appealing. Also, it makes it better to use it in the active turn as well. Fire ammo can be devastating as well. I think it is a sidegrade and not a downgrade from the ML given this assumptions (I could be wrong and the Hundun could just be a regular deploy unit, in which case the ML sounds better and we will be using the MSR more often than not I guess).
2:05 Carlos says that these four factions are "the chosen ones" which means that they get "the Code One treatment", which in turn means "all of the / their releases for this year will cover the needs of them playing in Infinity Code One", all their releases will be "essential basic SKUs covering the basic needs of a new player, a mix of new units, resculpts of old units and certain repacks of quality sculpts that will fit the rules of their army". Can somebody with a better ear for Bostria's accent please check the bolded part? Because either everything for a year is PanO / YJ / O-12 / CA and the rest are fucked or everything those four factions get for a year is Code One stuff.
Rocket Launchers, regardless of weight, tend to pay for themselves all the damned time and unlike Missile Launchers, Rocket Launchers and Snipers can actually be worth putting orders into in the active turn. I personally consider Heavy Rocket Launcher to be far superior to Missile Launchers in general and that there is only one missile launcher platforms worth their salt - and that's on Remotes and in 5-man defensive links with Supportware on them. Rocket Launchers, though, have several great platforms and can burn away Marker states and ODD which is in itself a great benefit.
Forgot about fire ammo burning camo. I met HRL once in my life and it was phoenix so with his link bonus he is a different kind of beast. Hundun looks like medium infantry so he might have FD1 if it stays in N4.
ML is a very focused ARO piece. It does one job very good. The HRL is more flexible and has the ability to turn into an attacking role with better rangebands and burst. For example your Hundun is guarding a flank, but doesn't get an ARO as your opponent pushes a link team towards the central objective. That Hundun can in your turn reveal itself and push forwards to tackle the link from the side in an unexpected vector. If it was armed with a ML it would be firing in the +0 rangeband and only have 1 burst, making it a pretty sketchy endeavor. Using an HRL it will most likely be working with a +3 bonus and an extra dice.
Fun fact: ML can also be absolutely devastating in active turn, especially if the unit is linkable. You have better odds than in reactive turn, and can control range better. I've had some good experience with F-K ML in OS link.
Thanks for responses. @Triumph post gave me another thought. HRL is definitely better active hunter than ML but is killing link teams that got into the middle of the table really isn't a problem with tools already at our disposal. I've always felt that YJ struggles with long range reactive engagements and has to rely on DZ control and DTW ARO. Maybe it's because in Poland, tables tend to be densly covered, but with that setup, I'm sometimes more comfortable in reactive when playing YJ or ISS, rather than my OSS, which is considered one of the best reactive armies. Back to the topic, if I want to kill that link team, I can throw chain rifles at it but if I want to force >32" reactive engagements, there is only Lunah as our decent sniper. Daoying could also be sufficient but that hacker profile is just too good. And both don't have impact templates.
Linkability is sadly not the case here. I wonder if we will get another linkable troop. Jujak looks like wildcard or "counts as ..." profile but running him in zhanshi core would be too similar to IA with shangji (spitfire option of course)
True, but this means we won't be up against enemy links, too. And BS 14 together with long +3/0 range bands can get shit done. But I digress from the thread topic ;)
Listening to the Mayacast podcast, Bostria mentioned something that he would like to see is Noctifers with no TO Camo state, which I feel would be a welcome nerf, especially in open tables. Obviously not official, but if the powers that be are considering making HD profiles without a camo state, like the noctifer, then the Hundun w/ HRL may become one of the best ARO surprises in the game. N4 creates so many possibilities, I'm so excited to see what it brings.
On Mayacast he said there would still be regular Infinity releases alongside. So everything for those 4 factions this year will be Code One (and obviously also usable in N3/N4), but other factions will still be getting stuff.
Daofei 6-2? Wow. The Hundun is BS13 and ARM3, what a beast. I just don't see anything on the Nokia that makes them look like they should be on the same page, PanO BTFO
Increased CC to 19 as well... and while Hidden Deployment seems to be cut in CodeOne, Hundun might have Bioimmunity. Similarly hard to tell, but it seems like Näcken is indeed not a camouflage trooper, but more like a budget Gangbuster, though there might be a few-lettered ability hiding. It's kind of endearing that they got the definitive form correct. The Boarding Shotgun also doesn't have a mention of the blast mode that Bostria spoke about - cut in CodeOne or that mission maybe?
