How I think sea could be improved.
Posted: 01 May 2018, 05:17
I think there is a lot of improvement that can be made to sea combat in Balanced Annihilation, as there are very few players who currently find sea fun to play, and very few sea maps getting played. First, I'm going to state what I think are the problems with sea, and what I think some reasonable goals are.
The problems with sea:
1. Sea games snowball way too quickly, with T1 defenses becoming obsolete once the opponent has a destroyer. Once you are behind slightly, the game is over.
1b. The main counterplay to destroyers are a swarm of short-range units, which can result in feeding if you don't send enough.
2. There isn't enough strategic use of terrain (largely due to weak defenses), so early strategy is based on what unit you build first rather than what areas you want to control
3. T2 sea is horribly imbalanced, with subs winning against everything. The only sub counters are seaplanes and T1 support ships.
4. It should be very clear which amphib units can use torpedoes against sea, as a new player would have no idea.
What I want achieved with sea:
1. I want sea to be a relevant battlefield throughout a longer portion of the game, rather than decided in the first few minutes
2. I want sea to have to use terrain as part of its strategy, to a similar degree that terrain determines land combat/expansion
3. I want T2 sea to be interesting and balanced
Some ideas I have to improve sea:
1. Defense should be easier to build, more effective, and use the map's terrain. At the very least, con ships should be able to build a guardian/punisher, and coastal torpedo launchers should be buffed. This would allow land to be a strategic consideration, where building a guardian on an island can help you secure a large area of sea. This might require increasing ship con build range, or guardian terrain tolerance
2. Add a powerful sea defense platform that can only be build on shallow sea (possibly replacing the floating HLT). This platform would be directly connected to the ground under the shallow water. This could make sea depth a useful strategic consideration.
3. The destroyer needs a large nerf, and should be a unit that supports your fleet instead of the main part of your fleet. I think a -20% damage nerf to its main cannon would be a good start. The ship will still be useful as artillery and anti-sub, but would be more easily outclassed by groups of assault corvettes or assault frigates
4. Buff assault frigates. Currently, 2 assault frigates lose to a destroyer in direct combat (similar cost), which is not acceptable. 10% health and damage buff?
5. Shark/Piranha subs are supposed to be anti-sub, but they are currently anti-everything. I think that these subs should be more specialized. I suggest an additional -30% damage against non-subs, and +20% health. The extra health is so that the sub lives longer when its part of the main fleet, making it better at its support role
6. Sea radar should be cheaper
7. Amphib to sea combat should be more intuitive. Pelicans and gimps can fight against sea, but the current description doesn't mention that.
8. Sea is not balanced for both factions, with arm usually having better ships than core. The corvette, assault frigate, piranha, battleship are a few examples. If both factions aren't going to be equally balanced, they should be specialized so that there is a reason to play both factions(arm ships faster but core ships healthier?)
The problems with sea:
1. Sea games snowball way too quickly, with T1 defenses becoming obsolete once the opponent has a destroyer. Once you are behind slightly, the game is over.
1b. The main counterplay to destroyers are a swarm of short-range units, which can result in feeding if you don't send enough.
2. There isn't enough strategic use of terrain (largely due to weak defenses), so early strategy is based on what unit you build first rather than what areas you want to control
3. T2 sea is horribly imbalanced, with subs winning against everything. The only sub counters are seaplanes and T1 support ships.
4. It should be very clear which amphib units can use torpedoes against sea, as a new player would have no idea.
What I want achieved with sea:
1. I want sea to be a relevant battlefield throughout a longer portion of the game, rather than decided in the first few minutes
2. I want sea to have to use terrain as part of its strategy, to a similar degree that terrain determines land combat/expansion
3. I want T2 sea to be interesting and balanced
Some ideas I have to improve sea:
1. Defense should be easier to build, more effective, and use the map's terrain. At the very least, con ships should be able to build a guardian/punisher, and coastal torpedo launchers should be buffed. This would allow land to be a strategic consideration, where building a guardian on an island can help you secure a large area of sea. This might require increasing ship con build range, or guardian terrain tolerance
2. Add a powerful sea defense platform that can only be build on shallow sea (possibly replacing the floating HLT). This platform would be directly connected to the ground under the shallow water. This could make sea depth a useful strategic consideration.
3. The destroyer needs a large nerf, and should be a unit that supports your fleet instead of the main part of your fleet. I think a -20% damage nerf to its main cannon would be a good start. The ship will still be useful as artillery and anti-sub, but would be more easily outclassed by groups of assault corvettes or assault frigates
4. Buff assault frigates. Currently, 2 assault frigates lose to a destroyer in direct combat (similar cost), which is not acceptable. 10% health and damage buff?
5. Shark/Piranha subs are supposed to be anti-sub, but they are currently anti-everything. I think that these subs should be more specialized. I suggest an additional -30% damage against non-subs, and +20% health. The extra health is so that the sub lives longer when its part of the main fleet, making it better at its support role
6. Sea radar should be cheaper
7. Amphib to sea combat should be more intuitive. Pelicans and gimps can fight against sea, but the current description doesn't mention that.
8. Sea is not balanced for both factions, with arm usually having better ships than core. The corvette, assault frigate, piranha, battleship are a few examples. If both factions aren't going to be equally balanced, they should be specialized so that there is a reason to play both factions(arm ships faster but core ships healthier?)