In current FAF:
- UEF has beefiest factories, mex, and pgens. UEF is the "turtle" faction and their special tech is Jamming.
- Cybran is the "micro" faction with most fragile base structures. They prioritize high blast radius over raw damage and accuracy. Their special tech is Cloak and Stealth.
- Aeon is the "glass cannon" faction. They prioritize range and damage over hp. Their special tech is chrono dampener and shields.
- Seraphim is the minimalist alien faction. They prioritize regeneration and multi-function units. Their special tech is regen.
Current FAF balance is confusing in some ways. Why does Cybran have buildings that regen even though regen is Seraphim's special tech? There are other confusing incongruities as well. (Although I'm glad that the Wailer jamming issue was fixed awhile ago, so the Wailer now has stealth instead.)
FAF balance should be as such:
- Given a default factory/mex/pgen health
- UEF should add "tanky" attribute: All structures have +20% health. Perhaps increase it to +50% for Tech 3 factory HQs
- Cybran structures should add "radar" attribute: All mex should have a small radar radius (40 or 50) for free. Perhaps increase it to 100 or 200 radius for Tech 3 factory HQs. Mex should also have innate stealth, like the Spy plane.
- Aeon structures should have "vision" attribute: All mex and pgens have +50% vision radius. Perhaps increase if to 300% for T3 factory HQs.
- Seraphim structures should own the "regen" attribute: All structures have small innate regen (but Cybran does not), with increased regen for T3 factory HQs.
These sorts of faction themes would be very interesting and improve balance.
It's worth noting that I took these themes to an extreme when I made my "Faction Diversity" mod ~10 years ago. I made many changes such as: Aeon did not have radar at all. Their T1 radar provided a wide vision radius, as did their Omni and their Spy plane. All Aeon units had vision, none had radar. Cybran units all had reduced vision, but most units had radar. Even the mantis had tiny vision but relied on radar. Seraphim units had regen, and UEF had extra HP + jamming.
Just some thoughts.