Without a true counter, this unit really should be just a T3 unit with vision. It's really that simple. ANY UNIT, which can't be targeted but can target, just sets the stage to be hated in RTS. GPG was wrong. Maybe this unit should have been SP only.
@CumCitron, @Ske - Should UEF really have only (3) T4 units? Fine. But UEF deserves something for the subtraction. You can't even build this out of spite now (or is that the only reason remaining?).
@DommyMommyDostya - Its no DPS increase as much of the wasted damage is in traversing time arising out of the 4500% targeting speed. Thats my take.
@nomander, ty for break out response but your vitriol is surprising! I just wrote a provocative post because it was fun for me to write, and I wanted it to be at least entertaining. I wanted to point out the heavy hand here seen. I meant no personal slight at balance team. I'd support the game if I wasn't poor, and your & others volunteer efforts don't get thanked enough. Yes, I'm a drifter who could disappear into static.
Since you replied, for what its worth:
"Not an arguement" - I'll try again, there's an "a" and "b" to the argument I meant to convey:
a. Slow response units are less fun to use. This was never a Megalith or FB, it was a scalpel. It rewarded micro through timing, punishing that shield breakdown/stray engie. Now it's by comparison, a limp, localized lag laser.
b. Because it fires while retargetting, that grass cutting DPS is utterly wasted.
So, this appears to me the biggest nerf- its less fun and less effective. Math can't see this. An AI wouldn't either. But only a human is going to be like "WTF, this thing so slow, unresponsive, and wasteful of a preciously short firing time".
"Post a replay of transports [shielding]..." - I doubt you've never have seen people do this. Its very ineffective but I didn't make it up, either. Was stupid of me to distract from 1 AoE ->.5 Thats the real nerf here sir.
"Yes... second sentence = nonsense" - I meant to sort of restate 1b, the shortened firing time means it fires uselessly as it moves to target. So not only does it not switch between targets quickly (a pivot movement), but it also shoots as it approaches the new target.
This happens if you change targets mid firing cycle. So if perhaps, you've qued some targets and one dies (or you retarget), before the laser is finished, the rest of the charge goes into the dirt while the sat moves to the new target. (See minute 2-3 of this replay https://replay.faforever.com/27635804 )..So after wasting the shot, it arrives over the new target on cool down. Now if the DPS was 'shield poping' (you show that its not), might be good use of hover-bomb-esque hold fire micro.
4 & 5. This is still new behavior and therefore adds weight to the total scale of the nerf. But other than that fact, I'm wrong, fair enough & thank you. I read the Charge Cost & Drain rate incorrectly (I see that's the total duration of the firing cycle).
Agreed, its a nerf.
Just replying to the issues you had with my points. I didn't go into GitHub, or Discord and 100% only read the FAF News Change Log page, and then tried the unit.
Again, this balance change was just very significant. Very unlikely to ever use this unit, (164) t3 scouts seem like a better investment.
