Suggestion: Bomb Bots Burrow to Become Mines

What do you guys think?
This would be an automatic feature; idle Bomb Bots would burrow if stood in the same place for a few seconds; you wouldn't need to tell them to do so.
They would not be able to move whilst burrowed and Radar would reveal them.
Moving your Bomb Bots would cause them to surface and become visible to your opponents.

I really like this idea, but just one question - can units hit them when they are burrowed? Because if not you could use this very offensively - send out a wave of them and then burrow around someone's base locking them in. That could make for some cool gameplay, but it could also be OP. Maybe any non-laser units should be able to hit them?

we have mines already making bombbots into mines aswell may make them too powerfull ... i rather would want them to be like firebeetles decent hp, high damage medium area of effect and propper control for targetting groups of units and structures ...

If you had Radar coverage they'd become visible and you'd be able to zap 'em

I really like this idea, although I would make them invisible to radar but not to scouts. This would further cement scouting as being important, otherwise you could get seriously mauled by bomb bots. Also if they are visible on radar, it might be a bit too trivial to take them out at a distance, especially if/when land-based mobile radar comes into play.

Next step: advanced bomb bots that have decent area of EMP/stun effect

That's a pretty nifty idea! I like it.

That'd add validity to them.

Mines need balancing though.

So, would the bomb bots have the same damage stats as mines? Or would they defer?

I vote for them behaving exactly like mines – however that ends up being balanced.

This is a good idea. It'd make the most basic unit (Scout) valuable mid-late game as minesweepers.
Also as Radar's range is quite large, it'd be a bit too easy to find mines via Radar.
With you on this!

I don't like the idea due to the addition of micro.

In order to find these mines I have to get a scout and stop everything that I'm doing and fly around looking for mines. That's a very micro oriented mechanic.

If burrowed when they exploded, I'd agree they should do the same damage/aoe as mines. They're just the same bombs with legs to me.
I think when surfaced they should do a bit more damage. They should also be a tad more expensive than mines

Or have 5-10 scouts in your Tank/Bot blob the same way you intermix AA?
If you're that aware of what's above you, why not what's under you? ^^

Having ground AA in your army is very different than hiding an entire unit group so it is only visible by one unit.

We have multiple forms of anti-air capabilities.

You're proposing hiding an entire unit so it is completely invisible except for one unit. That's simply majorly micro intensive.

Reminds me of cloaking units in Starcraft. You can see where the cloaked unit is firing from. You know exactly where it is. But because you don't have the cloak detecting capabilities, you can do literally nothing against it.

It wouldn't be more micro intensive really. Just scout an enemy base before your attack. Even if you can't destroy the mines for whatever reason, you could still avoid them.

But if you don't scout and rely on radar, then your army will be ripped to shreds.

Not necessarily, the mines would not really even matter if your units don't die on them, it's just wasted resources. All you have to is add a few skitters to your mix and they than can be destroyed. Also if it were an early game boom at a metal spot it would just make you cautious, encouraging scouting before action.

If it's done properly there shouldn't really be any micro involved; once the offending bomb bots are picked up by the scouts, the scouts/units should be able to pick them apart pretty easily on sight before stepping on them. Target priorities would need to be adjusted so that the enemy couldn't just kite some cheap units to distract your forces until they stepped on the mines they were no longer shooting at, but other than that I don't see a problem. It would also ensure T1 scouts are good for something pretty late into the game.

We had mines in one patch. I'm not sure if we still have them. But I know in pa there staying away from secondary abilities so far.

It is by definition extra micro.

It is an entirely new mechanic that you absolutely must be watching what's going on to see it. There's no way around it other than staring and controlling exactly what's going on.

I simply don't like that addition.

I absolutely love this idea. Burrowing special unit abilities are cool all on their own, but this idea here is pretty genius.

It reminds me of an idea I had where the basic tank unit (whatever they are calling it nowadays, I mean the Ants) could burrow into the dirt like a Tick Tank from Command and Conquer. I guess it would sacrifice mobility for a hefty defense/hp bonus and/or maybe a radar/ranged fire bonus as well.

When you're saying this, are you implying that the units you're watching don't have scouts in them, and that's where the extra micro comes in from watching them? If so, you're not making that clear.

Assuming you have scouts, the units should simply open fire when they see the bomb bots. If you don't, watching the units will be meaningless, as you won't know where bomb bots are until many of your units are blown up. That is the risk, and hence adds a layer of strategy to decisions regarding how to outfit groups of forces. How great is the risk of mines? Is this force worth spending the extra protective scout cost on? Etc etc.

Surely it's a macro thing?

Hey ... why do my attacks do nothing in this sector? I'm throwing a huge amount of material here?

Watch that particular battle more carefully - "oh heck, they have mines".

Insert more minelayers into your armies.

It's the same principal behind AA. "Why do my units keep on failing to make a dent in this sector? Oh.. because they have gunships".


The whole point of mines is to be a suckerpunch to people who aren't gathering intell properly. If you just make it so "radar is all the intel you need", that's a very shallow intelligence system.


I guess a good solution would be to reveal the mines to the player immediately before they explode, so that they know they are dealing with mines, and can see that stuff from the strategic view.

I'm not sure I understand the micro argument. If you have a scout, it lets other units target the bombs. Otherwise, they get to blow up units. it's more of a binary macro (build scouts and mix them with your army like you already do with AA) than micro.