@FtXCommando said in Reclaim:
So since no interesting pushback against reclaim reduction I think I’ll do one.
TL;DR: As an attacker, you can/should get some/most reclaim for yourself. Your analysis ignored the lost mass while the mex didn't exist, and the time/focus/opportunity cost to do the reclaiming/rebuilding. I'm a really aggressive, semi-high rated player who sucks at every skill in the game except for understanding this mechanic and I should have credibility on this issue.
Full post:
This is pretty unfair and you totally ignored my post. In all your posts about the value of a t3 percie raid etc., you also totally ignored the possibility of the attacking player getting some of the reclaim for themselves. I know it's possible because it's an aspect of my play I've worked on developing, grabbing some of the reclaim as the attacker by giving engie orders to an area I know I will attack with enough strength. If an attacker can hold a specific area they are attacking for even 25-30 seconds, they can get back a lot of the reclaim of the battle they just won. And, as the attacker, you have the big advantage of knowing exactly where and when you will attack! Utilizing this advantage is key to being a successful attacking player, and grabbing some/all of the reclaim is a big part of that.
Again, just because people don't play well and don't take advantage of something doesn't mean it's a problem.
And if you're talking super late game, combat SCUs could make this super easy.
Further, Your analysis of the t2 mexes a percie would need to kill etc. totally ignored build-time, lost mass income while the mex is being built, and opportunity cost/attention for the engineers doing the reclaiming. If you launch a percie at me, suicide into my base, kill one t2 mex, and die, surrounded by idle engies who are happy to reclaim the percie, the mex, and rebuild it asap, that sounds like a bad raid. No reason it should be a good value.
In real games, in my experience, often it isn't so trivial for the defender to snap up all the reclaim, as there is reclaim all over the map and it's not easy to get. Further, if "raiding", it might be better to go for a more isolated mex that isn't so easy to rebuild. If you deny your opponent a minute or two of a t3-capped mex existing, use his attention to rebuild, and then a minute or two later he gets a percie wreck, it's honestly a good raid.
Not to mention, percies seem like a bizarre "raiding" unit to pick off a random mex, probably a loyalist/harb would make more sense, or if it's a defended position and really late game, SCUs that can pick up reclaim (heck you could be cute and do a little with a few harbs).
The bigger reason why there is more raiding early and less late is because early there are a lot more undefended or lightly defended positions. The nature of firebases and defense being so strong in sup com, and the exponential economy, means that by the t3 phase most important positions are very well-defended.
If you really wanted to alter this, again as has been said, map design would go a long way. Since I try to play so aggressively every game, I can say from personal experience that the maps where all the bases are clustered together, with a ton of mexes in the bases, are brutal for aggressive play, and those maps are super popular (hilly plateau, canis, etc.). Fewer really safe mexes, and not having the bases so on top of each other would make a big difference (Badlands, Open Palms, Lush NA all are way better for this).
If you really really wanted to push this, buffing aggressive options (mmls? titans? harbs? combat engineers? t1 arty?) or nerfing tmds or t2/t3 pd would make an impact. But, again I don't think any of that is really necessary.
I don't know what rating you are these days, but last time I saw your rating we were around the same. And I am genuinely awful at micro, managing the battle, and generally all RTS skills. The only thing I have going for me is good strategic decision-making on raiding, unit-composition, etc. Understanding this sort of situation is actually my only strength as a Forged Alliance player.
Further, as far as I can tell, I play way, way, more aggressively than the vast majority of the player base and always try to push them hard while they are teching. When I win in a team game, it's because I've pushed successfully enough and reclaimed enough to overwhelm an enemy, and when I lose it's because I fail to do so, and I refuse to ever get a t3 mex. I know if it comes to a nuke/t3 arty game I'll lose, so I do whatever I can to avoid it coming to that. I'm telling you it's absolutely possible right now to take advantage of players teching too hard, because it's the only thing I do well.
I've got to be one of the most aggressive, semi-highly rated players out there and understanding strategic decisions is my only strength as a player. I have to have some credibility when I say lowering reclaim isn't necessary to achieve the intended effect, and might actually be counterproductive (because attackers should be getting a lot of the reclaim from a successful attack). You don't see me weighing in passionately on t3 land balance, or destroyer balance, or SCU ras or whatever, but this one change is in the one area where I really have some expertise.
Lastly, reclaim is one of the unique/interesting mechanics of these games dating back to TA. It'd be such a shame to see it diminished like this as a result, in my opinion, of poorly executed/decided late game attacks.