OhwaithereareYuJingunitreviewsonthere I must now binge them and consume all the knowledge hidden within with extreme prejudice.
The new Bolt profiles are ace. I already liked Bolts, but I like them even more now! If it wasn't for Foreign Company I'd be disappointed that I couldn't use them since I stopped playing PanO, but now I'm going to get stuff for them instead! And maybe plan some conversions too...
And this, for me, is where the problem lies with the whole thing. They FINALLY do something about Bolts...but only when they get made available to a non-PanO force. And the "something" they do for the rest of the NCA Sectorial? It ain't impressive. It ain't creative. It reeks of trying to guarantee sales.
Ehhhh people have been saying Bolts suck for ages. I don't and never did agree, but the new profiles are cool and PanO has had lots of nice toys recently that nobody else gets, VIRD is a really gorgeous Sectoral with great minis, profiles and background. If they did update them because they're in FC as well.. is that really a big deal? PanO players are still getting the superior profiles, they can probably use them with more flexibility and link options (and definitely a higher AVA), and it's not like this is the only thing that PanO have received recently. I often think you make decent points about trying to defend the customer's position, but in this circumstance I think you're being uncharitable to CB. You've long wanted Bolts to get better, they're now better, and just because they can also be used in FC doesn't make them any less better in PanO. I mean, PanO just got another CoC option for 0 SWC, a 0 SWC Haris profile, loads of deployables, another MSV Sniper... sounds like good stuff to me. Incidentally how long has the NCA Machinist been a thing? I legit never noticed that...
I'll agree with you about the fact that there's a lot of hyperbole about Bolts being "unplayable". I've engaged in a bit of it myself--but my main issue always is and always will be the nonsense about them being able to be fielded without their 'signature' bit of the Drop Bear. Either price the unit with it in mind, ditch the price entirely, or something. I disagree about the whole "not the only thing that PanO have received recently" bit to an extent.We haven't seen across the board tweaks in vanilla that would really be showcased here. We've seen Sectorial tweaks. My remarks about the "guaranteed buy" had less to do with Bolts and more to do with the other various items that they package the basic Bolts with. They literally made the old shitty Multi Rifle Aquila Guard(which is only available in the NCA box, along with the Swiss Guard ML and Hexa Spitfire--all of them old sculpts that really aren't great now) into the Wildcard profile. They made the awful Bipandra sculpt into yet another "key" model for another Sectorial(what, we couldn't get a Bolt character added instead?)...oh look, another reason for people to 'have' to buy a Dire Foes set. I'm happy Bolts are better. I'm frustrated that it took Foreign Company for it to happen and I'm frustrated that the same level of care was not given to coming up with tweaks to the rest of the Sectorial. I'm also incredibly frustrated that it seems more and more like they can't ever correct when they handled things wrong. We STILL can't buy an Uhlan by itself as an example--a fricking TAG is still locked with an item from another Sectorial(and remember: Shock Army is gone, productwise, aside from the items that were packaged with others) for some unknown (likely ridiculous) reason. I think it came with Shock Army's death.
VIRD was entirely new. NCA and SAA both got tweaks while MO got a more significant rework; this is no less than any other faction has received recently, look at Nomads or even Haqq for example. Sectoral tweaks is what everyone has been getting recently, to bring them all a bit more into line in terms of flexibility and options. And you were unhappy about the cost of Bolts and the lack of their signature piece of wargear, now they have a reduced cost, more Drop Bear profiles and more options overall! They've literally given you exactly what you asked for! If we want to talk about whether we like sculpts or not, that's much more subjective. I like a lot of those sculpts and though I think a reworked half of the NCA starter would be welcome some of those minis have dated extremely well. Bipandra being a Wildcard, well, that's the same situation as all of the Dire Foes boxes tbh. Personally? I really like Dire Foes boxes, I've never had trouble splitting them with other players in my group and I have always liked civilian minis, so I'm always happy to see new ones. I feel a bit like you're frustrated that Bolts got updated because FC also happened. If FC hadn't happened would you be less frustrated? Because FC doesn't impact on what Bolts do in PanO at all, but they do give you another way to play with your PanO ORCs, Bolts, Croc, Akalis and REMs so really it seems like more of a bonus than a letdown to me. I don't understand that line of thought. Plus what other tweaks does the Sectoral really need? The rules for the vast majority of NCA troops are perfectly fine and good, not like they're any more poorly treated than anyone else (other than my feeling that ORCs being the generic HI of several PanO Sectorals is kind of lame). The reason why the two S6 TAGs are in the same box is probably because they aren't full sized TAG minis but they're too big to go in blisters really, so two in a box makes more sense. And it's a beautiful box. If you play PanO you can use both and so hey, you buy the box, you get one of each, not like the Tikbalang is remotely bad or anything. You're basically saying "why can't I just buy one thing in this box of multiple things?" Well because they need to keep SKUs down, so they need more than one thing in a box, and because obviously they want people to buy more stuff, if they don't, their business fails. That's hardly unreasonable.
Unfortunately no, they haven't. My ask was them to just flatout remove the non-Drop Bear profiles for the CR+LSG. And I'll say that one of the things I have privately been concerned about has come to pass with regards to the BSG+Drop Bear profile--there's been quite a bit of talk about how great that is for cheap Drop Bears. Would have preferred BSG+Drop Bear to become only the Hacker or to get an Engineer profile to boot, so that it becomes a bit more justifiably expensive. Let's talk about Dire Foes real quick: Why do they seemingly need to be Linkable? Why can't we get some that actually justify their character status? Maybe. I can't say because it did happen. I'd still be annoyed about the Drop Bear profile bits most likely. For me it's that unit selection. Akalis were Shock Army and, IMO, the only reason they're here? The Shock Army got discontinued and they're trying to keep from having new players getting frustrated about the fact that a starter set contains a model from a discontinued Sectorial. And yeah yeah yeah Vanilla exists, but I feel like people here really do underestimate how much of a draw a themed force can be from the outset. Aquila Guard could have used a serious looking at. Auxilia really need something serious done to them. Fusiliers are a known issue for me, so not going into that. I actually am less irked by ORCs being the "generic HI" for multiple Sectorials than I am the VIRD only profiles. Nothing about VIRD, IMO, makes them really justifiably needing their own profiles to the extent they got them. Which is the issue I've had with it since day one. It's a "PanO" box with a big ticket item, not some small double blister where I'm out a couple of bucks for an item I didn't want. It's like if the Devil Dog or Gecko had come packaged with something from another Sectorial. That kind of stuff does matter to people like myself who are after a themed force, not Vanilla. PS: Sorry if this seems snippy towards you Solar. Not the intent.
See this is what I can't understand. You'd be happier with less stuff! I think that's not a viewpoint which will get much traction. Auxilia don't need anything doing for them. Look, I think what we're seeing here is an overattachment to a personal vision of what a Sectoral might look like in your notebook, which then makes the actual Sectoral unsatisfying. And that's exactly what happened with IA too; people spend a lot of time playing the game, they love the game, they scribble out troop profile ideas on notepads while on boring calls at work (been there, done that!) and then they create an expectation of what NCA should be, or whatever, rather than taking it for what it is. And the main reason for me thinking this is bad is because, well, if you aren't the developer you're only going to set yourself up for disappointment. You wanted all Bolts to have Drop Bears, and they don't, so it's bad. Well, who said they'd all get them anyway? Why would they? Why should they? Why should AuxIlia be more than they are? You might say "because I think it's more interesting that way!" and yeah sure, that's a debate we can have, that's a debate that's led to the new Bolt profiles and the nerfed Symbiomates. But I think to be constantly disappointed about the stuff you're getting and then to be more frustrated because you're getting more stuff is... well. I dunno. I don't see how that's remotely enjoyable. If you only play Sectorals then that's a way to play but it's not how they push the game, I'm afraid. And I've always said to people "don't play a Sectoral, play a faction, you'll be much happier that way" for good reason. Knights are a big culprit there (another reason to make them NA2...) and I can appreciate you saying "well I want everything I get to be usable in Sectoral" but I think that's like... well I doubt it'll happen but sure As far as rotating out SAA goes, but putting an Akalis in FC... yeah? That seems fair, now you can use that troop in a Sectoral with current active minis. That's a good thing. That's more options. I can appreciate you being annoyed about SAA rotating out as well, but there absolutely are business concerns with SKUs. They can't just ignore those. Those concerns are significant and they are clearly taking them seriously, which they should. I don't want the wargame I play several times a week to be run by idiots with no business sense, who crash the company and then oops dead game now. I played Dystopian Wars and that's exactly what happened.
One thing I will say about NA2, incidentally, is that I really wish they'd redo all the unit icons when they're in a NA2 Sectoral. So your FC Securitate can be a regular Securitate symbol but in FC colours and maybe slightly adjusted. The lack of icon design coherency pains me when I open IA! Al'Waziri in QK have it, give it to the rest!
I'm ok with attempts to guarantee sales. More money for CB means Infinity stays alive and healthy for longer. CB can feel free to guarantee sales like this more often as far as I am concerned. More toys for us players and more sales for CB. Its a win win in my eyes. ;) Bolts originally sucked because they were not much more effective than wildcats (arguable less so) while being more costly and lacking haris. Why was the drop bear, their signature item only on one overpriced profile? Now you can take it on a 18 point profile. Thats exactly what Bolts needed. Compare the original Bolts to Druze and notice how Bolts were almost as costly yet lacking in equipment/skills in comparison. They were not worth their price.
And this is one of the big issues between our two viewpoints I think... You think that I'm "happier with less stuff!" or that vanilla or whatever means "More stuff!". That's not the case for myself(and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this). I'm happier with a more focused force. I'm unhappy that it, seemingly, takes a "new force"(that really just takes existing products) for those focused forces to get attention. I get that they have limited time, yadda yadda yadda, but it really feels more and more lately like GW circa early/mid 2000s. They keep doing these half-measures to sell old items rather than investing in the time to really do something significant with those existing items. And by comparison, I think that the developers working on these projects just aren't interested in some cases. I feel like they keep going on about the whole "artsy" mentality they have going rather than realizing that having someone on their shoulder asking "What makes this force different to that one? What makes this unit emblematic of this subfaction?" isn't a bad thing. Why shouldn't they? For me, again, it isn't that they "don't all have Drop Bears"--it's that the profiles don't feel like they are worth it in some cases. I can't see a place for CR+LSG Bolts when there's a BSG profile that's notably cheaper with Drop Bears thanks to their points and the way things play out. Now if that BSG profile was an Engineer or Hacker(with the points bump that entails) or a special character? Oh look, all of a sudden there's still a more defined place for CR+LSG w/ DB Bolts. Arguably with Auxilia it's less "they need to be more than they are" and more "they need a defined role". PanO isn't, IMO, heavy on the jack of all trades units. Auxilia need something meaningful to make them different to Fusiliers, and I don't think CB is equipped to really do that when they keep thinking the solution to buffing outdated Sectorials is Wildcard Link Teams and a few profile point drops here and there. At the very least, you can see why I keep taking breaks from posting. It's not a "mwhahahaha, stir the shit!" and then leave thing(I've had a few people try to claim that). It's a "clear my headspace with something actually enjoyable before I post my opinion"(although sometimes it still isn't a great post). The longer I spend posting, the longer I feel agitated over things relating to Infinity and getting dogpiled on like sometimes happens doesn't make things better. Matters also aren't help that it feels more and more like the game itself is going in the same direction that 40k did when I took a lengthy hiatus from it and discovered Infinity in the first place. Agree to disagree on this. I don't really feel they push the game in any way, shape, or form as any one thing. Just "Here's our stuff! Buy it!". I don't get Grunts in the Frontovik box. I don't get Jaguars in the Securitate. I didn't get an Anaconda with the Geckos. It's worth noting that really the only other instance of cross-Sectorial bits of late? The Ariadna Support Pack and the inclusion of the Kazak Doctor rather than a new 112 on foot or a Dozer with Akrylat-Kanone...and that seemed to cop a decent amount of flak as well. I feel like this is another opinion thing. You see it as "more options", I see it as them trying to squeeze in an orphaned product. And yet those "business concerns with SKUs" aren't being taken seriously enough it seems. Two Zulu-Cobra models released as individual blisters(means they'll have to repack it later), a lone Kamau Hacker(why didn't they pack in the Kamau HMG from Beyond Icestorm as well to add a bit of "oomph" for the purchasing incentive?), and all the various profiles they're leaving out entirely from their boxed sets(Feuerbach Securitate, Hacker Brawler, etc) are concerning to me looking at a company that claims they want to cut down on waste and product SKUs.
Frankly, even if I never take the combi-bolt w/ drop bear Bolt I still want the option to exist. That combi provides extra range and that in itself makes it useful.
Honestly I’m still glad that it exists because BSG sculpts for PanO models are rarer than African White Rhinoceroses. Seriously we have a single Bagh Mari BSG ... in a box, a single Bolt BSG ... in a box, a Hospitaller BSG ... in a box, an old style ORC BSG, an old style Croc Man BSG, an old style Santiago BSG ... in a box, that’s not even legal to play anymore! Seriously CB we need some more BSG sculpts that are easy to convert!
What's wrong with them squeezing in an orphaned product? If you buy Icestorm, you can use that Akalis in Vanilla and you can use it in SAA, except SAA are oop. But you can also use it in FC, who aren't oop! I think the main difference here is that you'd rather have less stuff in general but more focused and polished stuff in specific, and I'd rather have more stuff overall because I don't think what we have is unfocused.or unpolished. You want Auxilia to be more meaningfully distinct, and I just think Auxilia as they are seem just fine. You want Bolts to be whatever you want Bolts to be and I'm happy looking at what Bolts are and thinking hmmmm, what could I do with that? I think that with me the attitude I always try to take is to remember that someone else is designing the game, they're going to push it in a direction and give me troops and options and stuff, and the best thing for me to do is to enjoy exploring those options and finding what works for me in that framework. Yes, maybe I'd personally make some changes, but I'm not going to be able to. Instead, why not focus on making the stuff we have work? I feel like that's a much more productive and enjoyable experience.
What's wrong is, IMO, it's them trying to have their cake and eat it too. They orphaned the product and to this day, I still haven't heard any serious discussion/citations that make it clear that yes things will come back. But because that product was contained somewhere else they haaaaaaaaaaad to find a spot for it And, again, I feel like SKU bloat is something that they're not actually trying to actively solved. The two Cobras in individual blisters, the constant refusal for alternate parts and the like. These all smack of them not trying to fix the problem but instead contributing to it. And that's not even getting into the fact that they are literally the only ones who keep doing this to themselves. They're a private company and effectively they don't "answer" to anyone but themselves. These Army Packs we get? They're a better intro product than these half-cocked starter sets ever have been for most armies. I'd rather have a finished, polished product overall yes. I don't feel like Infinity fits that bill anymore. We're always seemingly waiting for the Next Big Thing to drop to fix the mess from before. I want all units to really have a place. I don't want things like Fusilier Link Teams to reign supreme. It's why I keep agitating for Fireteam: Triads to be made common to every army's more elite Fireteam options. Not like we have to worry about stepping on the Tohaa's toes anymore.
You're arguing something I've not said. I've said that I want the standard Combi-Bolt to just become the Drop Bear Bolt. We can ditch the non-Drop Bear profiles just as easy as we can ditch the Drop Bear profiles since they're not actually modeled anywhere. However we could just as easily also ditch the non-Hacker Bolt with BSG profile(and arguably should since it makes the CR+LSG profile less valuable) since the BSG profile is wearing the Hacking Visor.
Honestly I feel like what we get is really nice and polished these days. Like, the new RTF profiles? Hell yeah, love it. Tunguska? Massively enjoy playing Tunguska. I do think there are some factions which I don't really personally enjoy the design of, the main one probably being StarCo, but that's probably more on me tbh. This is probably where the main disagreement comes in, you're not happy with where the game is, I'm really happy with where the game is.
