This is a topic about fabrication bots! Note before reading: I am not so good in english overall. I am from Norway. But I hope this is understandable! So after these bots where added to the game I saw them used, not much but they where actually used and I also used them my self. But after a balance uber made (I think this was because commander rushes where used by top players and almost impossible to counter if your opponent knew what he/she was doing) they are not often used, I've so far in two months seen anyone been using these bots in early or mid game, sometimes seen in late game for invasions, but not often because it normaly ends up with nuke war or orbital snipes. So therefor I would like this to added to the next balance update (or later but it's NEEDED (in my opinion at least) Here is how their where balanced (t1): Also as far as I know the unit database should be correct for PA v.62165 as it is now, haven't seen any balance fixes since that (on fabrication bots) Build PA v.61250: HP: 150 Build cost: 300 metal Built by: T1 Bot Factory; took 25 seconds (Without any assist) Eco usage: Fabrication metal consumption: 15 / s Fabrication energy consumption: 2500 / s Energy consumption per metal: 166.7 PA v.62165: HP: 50 Build cost: 540 metal Built by: T1 Bot Factory; takes 45 seconds to build (without any assist) Eco usage: Fabrication metal consumption: 20 / s Fabrication energy consumption: 2000 / s Energy consumption per metal: 100.0 So I want to start with the t1, lots of tragic stuff hapened to it. First of all they cost twice as much now, they take 30 seconds longer to build, and 100 less HP. This is only t1!! Problems: HP: I've tried to use combat fabbers latly while playing with a friend of mine and they are use less. Especially t1 but also t2. All you need is one hit with a sniper bot or vehicle. And when you use them all you're enemy need is one pelter and get a hit with it and all you're fabbers (of course only if grouped together) are destroyed and then you're perfect healing strategy is screwed. A way to prevent this from happening is by placing your fabbers behind all you're units, because of their range (something I didn't do). Cost and time: So now t1 combat fabbers take 45 seconds to build them and they cost 90 more metal than a t2 leveler. And that's only t1. Also a leveler only take 10 second to build (without assist). Not that leveler or fabbers (combat) have anything in common, but we're only talking diffrences between t1 combat engineers and t2 vehicle. So latly I've seen people use them, i don't know why, but when they are used they don't make to much diffrence. Of course it depends on what the heal target is, but it feels like the only way these combat engineers are usefull is when they heal t2 vehicles. Also I want to add one more thing. And that's Movement: I just thought about one way to change it in a good way, always when combat engineers are set into a fight they will move behind (meters of distance) so they don't get killed too fast. Probably something that can change the strategy of the game alot in mid game stage, and it's something that won't make them too OP. Please comment your suggestions, and opinions about the topic and please leave a vote! Also if you find many grammar and spelling mistakes in my text please post them below so I can edit it and it will also help me learn (especially as I have an english test tommorrow) Note: I am not sure if the database here is 100% correct. (source: http://www.nanodesu.info/pa-db/ )
An interesting thought... for me about the only time I use them is to put 1-2 in Turret areas to strengthen the position from raid attacks. Nothing says " I hate you " more then that walled turret being healed. But otherwise yeah, no one uses them as all units die so fast healing them is basically pointless.
Seems to me that they are just not useful in their role (as I see them) as combat medic. Perhaps increasing their repair rate is key. If they can't do that then they are not going to get fielded and thus the rest does not matter.
I thought they are a bit pointless since they got into the game, because everything is around dying fast and large scale, i don't know if medic units could fit to this game.
I think they need a little more HP, a lot less cost (they cost more than a leveller right now!), and mines need work. By "mines need work" I mean they should be less super tiny (I know this is a game of epic scale with thousands of units, but it can be hard to see small stuff!). Less super tiny = 1 mine could have a much larger blast radius, more damage, and cost more. That way you could click a few times to cover an area how you want it, rather than dragging out awkward lines and having the combat fabber spending most of the time walking between mines it's building. Also, since radar is pretty good (better than when combat fabs were introduced), and vanguards have radar, mines are almost always seen. I think this could be countered by making them invisible completely to the other teams, BUT flash a lot and make a lot of "I'M HERE AND THIS IS A MINE" when units get close, so that you can micro around them, and when you're stuff runs into them, you know it was mines that did it. I've talked a lot about mines, but one more thing! Maybe mines could be removed. Yeeaaah, and boom bots could burrow and hide like mines. That could make boom bots more useful late game (just hide them!). The bots could jump out of the ground and into units that walk near them automatically. Less micro, a way to keep T1 units relevant late game, and would look awesome.
I think they should just have a radius around them in which things are slowly healed. it should repair an army while it is marching to the next battle, not in the battle itself. also, remove the tier 2 version. there is no need for 2 of them.
Or we could have advanced version be able to resurrect wrecks to lets say about 25% health. They would prioritise resurrecting over healing. That way basic and advanced combat bots would compliment each other. T2 raise new troops and T1 heals them to full power.
The T2 combat fab just needs some cool fancy ability. Ideas, T2 combat fabs could: Be the only one to heal air. "reclaim" incoming projectiles (here you go all you "catapults need a counter" crazies). Overheal. Vanguards with 1.5x health yes please muhahaha. Be able to build a few structures like T1 radar or turrets. Be a more viable alternative to normal fabricator spam when you need lots of build power (better initial cost/build rate ratio)
Agreed for the T2 part. They do the exact same thing as a t1 combat fabber, but just better (healing faster I think, not sure really, focused too much on the t1 stats) but doesn't really have too much more health either (so these are really even more useless in practice maybe not on the "paper") So T2 really needs something new and better! Because they are just too weak to be called ADVANCED/T2
These or the ressurect ability sound cool. Not sure which ideas work. But overheal might be my favorite. "Fortify" units to take just one extra tank shell would be small enough not to be OP, but used widespread would be strong enough to build some.
