Post by redartrats on Oct 11, 2016 14:14:33 GMT -5
So, in the last two complete games I played, I've gradually developed a playing style that's centered on being lean and mean, accomplishing the mission objectives with the least amount of resources, both in terms of turn count and templar deployments. At the center of this style is crowd control using Overwatch to keep the xeno at bay, and Crippling Fire to slow down annoyingly fast xenos. I.e., keep the xeno out of my way while I dash to the next objective. So most of my deployments have been heavy on soldiers and scouts, and I found myself leaving my Hydras behind twiddling their burning thumbs while the soldiers did the real work. Especially since the default talent allocations for the Hydra gives you a pretty weak sauce Napalm Charge that's quite underwhelming in battle.
Well, in the last few levels, though, I've discovered that respec'ing my Hydra to max out Napalm Charge turns my weak sauce Hydra into a powerful killing machine that's also very good for crowd control. You wouldn't believe this, but I never realized that higher level Napalm Charge actually increases the area of the flames until I respec'd my hydra. By maxing out to Napalm Charge 10, the flame radius is 3 (that's 7 total diameter!), making my hydra serve as the ideal rear guard: just torch everything behind my squad so that nothing will ever come through again without being roasted into xeno BBQ. My last few levels have been fun BBQ fests where half the screen is fire, and the kill count just keeps rising for my hydra. Funnily enough, this was the 2nd hydra in my squad, that I hired for one particular level as an experiment and then kept around mostly idle... now thanks to Napalm Charge 10 he has levelled up considerably past my "main" hydra, and has replaced him as my go-to veteran when I'm craving some xeno BBQ. Even maxed out Napalm Lance on my first hydra can't compare.
TLDR: if you want real crowd control, respec(t) (haha) your hydra and max out Napalm Charge. Don't try to spread out your talent points on multiple skills, 'cos your hydra will just end up being a mediocre generalist, as opposed to a killer specialist.
Well, in the last few levels, though, I've discovered that respec'ing my Hydra to max out Napalm Charge turns my weak sauce Hydra into a powerful killing machine that's also very good for crowd control. You wouldn't believe this, but I never realized that higher level Napalm Charge actually increases the area of the flames until I respec'd my hydra. By maxing out to Napalm Charge 10, the flame radius is 3 (that's 7 total diameter!), making my hydra serve as the ideal rear guard: just torch everything behind my squad so that nothing will ever come through again without being roasted into xeno BBQ. My last few levels have been fun BBQ fests where half the screen is fire, and the kill count just keeps rising for my hydra. Funnily enough, this was the 2nd hydra in my squad, that I hired for one particular level as an experiment and then kept around mostly idle... now thanks to Napalm Charge 10 he has levelled up considerably past my "main" hydra, and has replaced him as my go-to veteran when I'm craving some xeno BBQ. Even maxed out Napalm Lance on my first hydra can't compare.
TLDR: if you want real crowd control, respec(t) (haha) your hydra and max out Napalm Charge. Don't try to spread out your talent points on multiple skills, 'cos your hydra will just end up being a mediocre generalist, as opposed to a killer specialist.
