I've been checking into the game frequently hoping the game would be patched. Rebellion had me so disgusted for a while there that I gave up on multiplayer and went to single player. The AI won't exploit the game, but a person will.
I've always enjoyed the chessmatch that is multiplayer sins. I would still argue the best version was the original before entrenchment came out (more on that later).
I've been playing with each faction trying to figure out the ins and outs, what makes them special with rebel vs. loyalist. Here are some points I hope the devs will consider.
General Comments:
- Corvette Balance -
Switching these little guys to anti-light was an awesome move, but I'm very nervous when I see Yarlen saying further changes are coming. Specifially, they'll get a new damage type. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the corvette is essentially a fighter you can buy in frigate form. I.E. it's a more practical anti-light damage dealther than fighters. Fighters counter bombers, corvettes are a better fit for fightings off lrms. Fine by me!
All I can say is please don't take a step backwards.
- Starbase Balance -
Let me make this clear. I hate starbases, and it's not for the reason you think. I'm all for providing the game with adequate defensive structures (gauss turrets won't cut it if you actually want to defend). I think starbases fit that role well.
Here's what I REALLY don't like. Imagine you're in a spot where you can get a serious economy going, and I mean in multiplayer. The player has to consoiusly choose to either go for a big econ or a big fleet. You're going to be stuck with one or the other because with a fleet comes taxation. Starbases NEGATE that balancing factor.
An econ player can effectively have a stronger military presence than a player who decides to fleet up. What's the guy with a fleet supposed to do? His fleet should be his advantage, but the econ player can spam starbases so he can't be touched.
To fix this, I think the only solution is to make a starbase have a fleet cost, or perhaps a cost similar to capital ship slot techs. The more starbases you want, the more expensive they get because you have to buy more starbase slots. It's ridiculous that an ECON player can churn out such a strong military presence with no penalty. This kills the balance of the game for me.
TEC Rebel:
My experience so far with the TEC rebels has been solid. I have nothing to say here.
TEC Loyalist:
The two starbase per gravity well ability blows my mind. Specifically, a player can have two starbases with the red button ability. The only effective counter I know to fight the red button with is to use capital ships with a mix of bombers. That's fine and dandy, but the red button ability got BUFFED a while ago. You can do 14000 damage per explosion. A capital ship can survive one of these, but not two. I'd even bet a low level titan would be wiped out by this. I don't know what the answer is here, but I'd like to see something fixed. If I see two starbases beside each other, the only way you can get through is to LET the opponent destroy your fleet and pray you can rebuild quick enough before he gets two more in there.
Vasari Loyalist:
The nerfs to the loyalists didn't go far enough in my opinion, but it's a step in the right direction. I've never understood the community's love for "stripped to the core". You're far better off letting the planet earn you resources over time instead of destroying the planet entirely. I only use this ability as a "scorched earth" technique. If the enemy's going to take the planet, strip it so he can't have it. Does anyone else remember when you could scrap neutrals? Bwah ha ha! Same idea.
I'd like to see stripped to the core GONE or at least, the "turn into dead asteroid" part gone. That ruins the game if all the planets are dead asteroids.
Vasari Rebel:
Oy vey. No. I refuse to play against someone who is a vasari rebel. If this player makes it to late game, it's over. The jumping orky is still a mess. How do you fight a maxed out orky than can jump from grav well to grav well? Easy answer, you can't. A vasari player can econ all he wants and buy a fleet in jumping orkies. No cap ship slots, no fleet supply cost. It's just a unit that can potentially BEAT some of the titans. The only penalty currently is one orky can move at a time per single grav well.
I've seen two answers that make sense. You can either
A) Make the phase engines a tech on the orky. You must buy it and it takes up 5-6 of the starbases 8 slots.
Make the orky (and all starbases for that batter), take up something like 25-50 slots. I'm dead serious. I know starbases are either slow or stationary, but they can pimp slap capital ships around all day. The cost vs. payoff for a starbases is WAY too high.
Advent Loyalist:
I saw the Advent titan got a buff, which is great. The thing was a little weak for my taste. Other than that, my only concern is it feels like the loyalists didn't really get good techs with rebellion, or at least, not in comparison to what the TEC and Vasari got.
Advent Rebel:
A few things. First, you can buy an ability which gives you 1 of 10 ships back at your homeworld. I'm not sure this is working properly.
Second, wail of the sacrified reminds me way too much of the TEC red button. It's an ability that can wipe out an entire fleet with little to no warning for the opponent. I understand it costs the advent player a planet, but still, how can you react to something like that?
That's it for now. The two factions I really have issues with are the TEC Loyalists and the Varari Rebels. I understand the need for giving races character and diversity, but balance must reign supreme in the end. Take my thoughts for what you will.
Raging Amish
