Pending Balance Changes Feedback Thread

I am also having mixed feelings about the change for the Bubble Shield, though I didn't want to be the first to say something without having tested them in-game.

However, now that others have spoken, here are my two cents:

Resource costs and regen time are a huge buff, yes, but the lack of shield HP is what was the main issue to begin with.
As far as I can tell, almost no one had any issue with resource costs or regen time, but rather with the SHP and SHP-related ratios with the associated resource costs.

To put it bluntly, what's the point of the upgrade if the Shield will collapse sooner due to a lack of HP during a push?
Sure it'll regenerate sooner, but, by then, 60 seconds of time without a shield, that's detrimental.
(Just ask the Cybrans).
If 2 or 3 Parashields can obtain the same protection for FAR cheaper, then I'll gladly take the Personal Shield over the suggested changes, regardless.

"Oh, but Overcharge Protection"
Yes, that's still one benefit of the Personal Shield, but that tradeoff is still not worth 2,000 HP.
I'd also argue that even if a mobile shield dies to OC, it paid for itself because it still protected the units anyway.

I quote myself from this Github Post:
(The balance changes suggested for the upgrade have been updated since this github post, but the information I mention is what I am referencing.)

The Bubble Shield's SHP-to-Mass ratio is still absurdly low when you compare it to the Personal Shield's ratio.
Bubble Shield (Current): 9,000 HP for 2,300 (3.913)
Bubble Shield (Suggested): 9,000 HP for 2,100 (4.285)
Personal Shield: 19,000 HP for 2,300 (8.261)

Even with the very slight decrease in mass and build time, the tradeoff between Bubble and Personal Shield is still far too great.
Personal Shield will still take precedence over Bubble Shield.
For 200 mass, you more than double the HP of your Shield.
No one would pass that up. Saving 200 mass is not worth losing out on 10,000 HP.

If I may offer, a more realistic approach would be to have Bubble Shield at around 12,000 SHP for a Mass cost of 1,500.
This would grant it a SHP-to-Mass ratio of 8.0. (Energy and BT costs can be adjusted to match.)
Slightly worse than the Personal Shield's ratio and stats (7,000 less HP), but still enough to make it a lucrative upgrade when compared to the Personal Shield.

That said, Bubble Shield and Personal Shield are not the same upgrades and should not be treated as such.
One is meant to protect one unit, while the other is meant to protect multiple units.
But, at a current HP of 9,000, it doesn't do much other than offer a few extra seconds of protection.

Regardless, I am happy the upgrade is still a focus to better adjust.

As for the Stinger... nothing on the Preloaded LAB idea from the Discord Server?

~ Stryker

AHHHHHHHH SNIPER NERFFFF AHHHHHHHHHHH IM COOOOOMINNMGGGGGGG

@waffelznoob said in Pending Balance Changes Feedback Thread:

AHHHHHHHH SNIPER NERFFFF AHHHHHHHHHHH IM COOOOOMINNMGGGGGGG

I'll take a damage debuff before a range debuff on my sniper bots.

@freemanitsnothe said in Pending Balance Changes Feedback Thread:

@waffelznoob said in Pending Balance Changes Feedback Thread:

AHHHHHHHH SNIPER NERFFFF AHHHHHHHHHHH IM COOOOOMINNMGGGGGGG

unfortunate, get good

t3 bots still slower than gc resi

Leave telemazor. Every good strategy game must have come back mechanics. Also it is very easy to defend against telemazor. You just have to remember to build t1 defense in base...

@gobblerpl And you have to do that as soon as you see a cybran commander on the enemy team, since once he has the upgrades it'll be to late. So you spend the resources on the defence and he won't make telemazor so he got a 3k*player count mass advantage just for picking cybran.

you mistyped 10k * player count

Hello,
I would like to give a big compliment to the balance team!

With a few exceptions, I think most changes that have being made in the last years to SupCom are absolutely correct and very well thought out. And especially with this patch!

In my opinion, every change makes sense.

But above all, I love the new shield discharge feature. Great idea, great work!

The tack missile changes are broken at the moment. MML for aeon are unusable and cybran split missiles misses even more now. Sera tml now hits tmd before it can even shoot them down.

This change was done a while back but the Salem seems a bit oppressive with the increased range. With the counter-intelligent boat in the mix the increased range is really beneficial and they can kite you until hell freezes over. And yes, I know about scout planes etc. but they reveal the fleet only for a second before being ´shot down. After that you will just take Salem fire without being able to shoot back.

In my opinion a balanced approach would be to reduce the range since the stealth can keep you hidden until you are in range.

I had an issue with Aeon Tac missile defense Vs. Seraphim Mobile Tac launchers even before this latest patch. The flare doesn't seem to get out fast enough.

I've also been having Salem issues. There's a few other tactics I can try, but it's rough.

My thoughts.
Good to have energy costs become more relevant. All the air changes seem good, but the gunship changes will inevitably need some fine tuning after seeing play for a few months.
Teleporter range reduction will reduce the possible fun strategies available in the late game. Since cybran mazer was already nerfed, this change seems like overkill. I'd rather have teleporter take longer to activate. This would still allow the "bad yet fun" tp strategies of proxy base building, while heavily hindering the viability of tele-mazer since the defending player can see the incoming threat for longer.
Can we also see a reduction to titan shield strength? Those shields pop on so fast, it's like their shield HP is doubled.
Also think the t3 maa changes will be healthy too since t3 static aa was recently nerfed.

Overall, most of the changes of this year have been on point and good! Well done balance team.

I'd also suggest having a map icon for incoming teleports inside vision. PLEASE INCLUDE THIS CHANGE INTO THE GAME!

Just remove teleport from the game at this point at this rate