So someone actually thought of a way to dissuade players from MCV rushing. Interesting ^‿^
Hi there, NorthFireZ. I'm not an analytical expert on the shifts in gameplay but today I am going to try. Think of me as your friendly neighborhood weatherman because I'm warning you now, Hailstorms are a coming.
General: Stolen Tech and MCV packing speed are the things to watch out for here. The many tense games ruined by a single driller or Jackel can really make the game feel unfair sometimes. Now, everyone faction must work hard for the dastardly hard to get, but powerful, Stolen Tech. I am wondering if the MCV infiltration effects will still be in place after this change, guess we will have to see. While the Stolen Tech change is to prevent players from losing in the mid to late game, the MCV deploy speed changes are happening because of lame map design. Actually, excuse me, I am not a map designer and thus have no right to really say anything, but taking a look at many multiplayer maps: the centralized gem placements down right forces players to pack up their MCV and move to gems. Otherwise, they will outright lose. Slight adjustments to packing speeds would help alleviate this phenomenon.
Allies: Normalized tech building time, Cyrocopter buffs, and Black Eagle nerfs are all fine and dandy. There is just a bit of a problem. Nowhere in the nerfs list was the suppressor. So that means: Pacific Front will still have the soul-crushingly good late game combo that is capable of self-sustaining with back warp on Battle Tortises. Not even mentioning the hidden update no one else has talked about, the Chrono Boost. Maneuverability was the Allies' niche, now combine the Chrono Boost with the steam roll nature of PF, added with still really solid air force harassment ( Barracudas are a thing PF players!) and we got ourselves a Hailstorm season. (Darkie can smell your fears) Factions to play? Pacfic Front > the other two. Reason? PF still retains their ground power and with general Allied buffs inc, their power will go even further beyond.
Soviet stats supreme: Seriously it is like all Soviet sub-factions decided not to use shitty ammunition in their flak guns anymore or something. BUFFS BUFFS BUFFS all across the board with EMP mines really the only thing being negatively affected. We got range buffs, health buffs, Rate of Fire buffs, price decreases, and firepower upgrades. All pretty solid things to have, however, this would not make the Soviets great or even overpowered. These stat buffs serve only to really let the Union serve as the macro oriented faction they are meant to be and to compete with other factions down the line. Rhino tanks still will still suck, but hey at least they get repaired a lot quicker, making the Tank drop ability with a repair drone much more viable. One thing to really watch out for is the Borillo and Armadillo health increases. Now from experience, I can tell you that the Armadillo, the only tier 2 ground vehicle with heavy class armor, is strictly bull shit. The amount of damage the thing soaks up, not to mention the double flame thrower it gets, is insane when one remember that it also have two more passenger slots than the Borillo, only one speed less, only 200 credits more, AND HAD 150 HITPOINTS MORE THAN THE BRILLO. Now I understand bring the Borillo up to par with the 80 health buff, BUT does the Armadillo really need that 50 health??? Mind you 50 health is with heavy class armor. Nerfs definitely need to hit the Armadillo, most effectively in cost, or else China players won't even have to build a Centurion anymore. So Factions to play next patch? China> Russia > Confederation. Confederation still has no way to deal with a lot of Foehnbullshit, but skilled players will be able to get the most of the slight Catastrophe buffs and Smoke Bomb changes.
Epsilon: Ladies and Gentlemen Boys and Girls, the long awaited Chimera Core change is here. No more will your rush simply because the enemy acquired T2. Little Strength buffs across HQ and PC, which would help them out in the long run. Scorpion Cell fans are disappointed yet again. Their pitiful Plague Splatter only received minor buffs, however, it did just become the same price as a Cavalier tank, but in my opinion, the Cavalier will probably still do more dps to structures than the splatter. There is an interesting trend happening in the PC department though. The magnetron armor class got changed from light to medium. We just saw the same thing happen to the Marauder not too long ago. Which is probably a shift towards solidifying the PC late game, since they do not have a proper damaging T3 unit. Faction to play? HQ>PC>SC Reasons? HQ always had a solid game all around with Colossus, Irklla and Rahn, and no changes really affect that power triangle. PC just keeps getting buffed again and again, which could have something to do with many players considering them to be a weak 1v1 faction. SC in my honest opinion is an extremely hard faction to play right. To those who plays the sub-faction well, and to those who want to venture into the SC kingdom, I say good luck to you. But there is a huge discrepancy between the skill levels of the player base and I suggest players to stay away from this faction.
Foehn: Well. it seems like Foehn is here to stay (despite CodyFun's constant remove foehn comments) So normalizing the infantry game was probably the best way to go. Soviets still have no chance in defeating Knightframes, but this range nerf really gives Foehn less breathing room earlier on and allow Allies and Epsilon to lay down the power of drafting (forced or volunteering). Jackel and Clarvoients rush nerf will be the best thing that happened since Anime was created. With Gharials no longer immune to mind control, Foehn players would really have to watch out for spamming this unit against Epsilon. This change was REALLY needed in order to make the sub-faction have some kind of weakness. Because let's be honest, when a LB player have a group of God's Banes, deivatress, and Gharials to back it up, what can you really do as Epsilon? I understand this nerf would cause a lot of confusion in the LB enthusiasts, but honestly you should really be playing Hailhead or Coronia instead ;p Factions to play? Hailhead/Coronia > Last Bastion. Reasons? Hailhead and Coronia are relatively untouched this patch, but I think due to the buffs to the other factions, we might see a balance in gameplay unheard of in 3.3.
TL:DR Throw away 3, 4 and 6 from Hmshark's points, add a little bit of Cinamon, put it in the oven at 450 degrees, wait approximately three years, and out comes the oven with a beautiful, not to mention balanced in calories, Mod.
Edited by NorthFireZ, 09 May 2017 - 03:55 AM.
