Post by drspendlove on Aug 30, 2017 15:25:11 GMT -5
I'm thinking of running a playthrough of this game (once I finish the no bullets challenge) where the following rules are in play:
- Play on whatever difficulty you'd like, with ironman or otherwise. More props go to those who finish on harder settings and with ironman, of course.
- You cannot deploy additional templars until you have at least 3 engineers on the field. When possible, you must switch out templars in your starting teams to include at least 2 engineers.
That's all of the rules. I'm thinking of having a diversified team of three engineers (more than that would be madness) with the following stat/talent combinations:
The Traditionalist:
+ Strike (at least until 2 AP capturing)
+ Sentry Turret
+ 1 or 2 points of Repair. Normally I hate this talent, but if I'm going to have three engineers most of the time, I'm likely going to take some hits to the TPs and my sentry guns will be a primary fighting force that will need survival. If my proposal to make higher ranks of repair impact a cross-shaped area, I'll likely invest more than 1 or 2 points here to reach that.
+ 1 or 2 points of Heat Sink. I don't want to dilute talents here too much but some heat management will save this group.
+ Invest in fortitude/willpower for defensive purposes and to manage heat.
+ Invest solely in Engineering for powerful talents.
The Pyro:
(Using flame gear, of course)
+ Flame Turret
+ Turret Stance. With so many turrets, this talent will really shine.
+ Fortify Position. Normally I don't go for this buff due to the extreme AP cost and better alternative talents, but with three engineers some diversity will be needed.
+ Invest in Strength/Fortitude for accuracy and survival.
+ Invest in Engineering/Gunnery for accuracy, AoE coverage, and turret power.
The Support:
+ Power Field. Tons of points here to give immense benefit.
+ 3-4 points of Grapple. Engineer's gauntlets have incredible penetration. The points here will lend enough accuracy to keep counter-attacks at a minimum and the buffs will be somewhat significant to allow survival against further foes.
+ 1 point of Sentry Turret. This will mostly be a distraction and will slow down foes with OW, but won't really kill anything.
+ 0 or 1 point of Scorch Order. The high tactics skill this engineer will have may make this make sense, but I'm not sure if it is worth it.
+ Invest in Strength/Fortitude for accuracy, critical hit damage and survival.
+ Invest in Tactics/Warrior for AoE coverage, critical hit chance, melee defense and accuracy.
Ignored Talents:
- Direct Shot. Only the Pyro will be shooting things and Direct shot simply offers too little to be of worth. I wish this talent scrapped the tiny damage bonus in favor of additional accuracy but it doesn't.
- Sensorkit Scan. Due to the painfully high SP cost of deploying engineers, I'm going to end up with a remaining composition of only Scouts and Soldiers. Thus I'll have this covered already.
- Manual Vent. Slowing down a group of engineers, scouts, and soldiers sounds too dangerous to consider despite the excellent cooling properties.
Any thoughts to this challenge or things I should switch up before I begin it?
- Play on whatever difficulty you'd like, with ironman or otherwise. More props go to those who finish on harder settings and with ironman, of course.
- You cannot deploy additional templars until you have at least 3 engineers on the field. When possible, you must switch out templars in your starting teams to include at least 2 engineers.
That's all of the rules. I'm thinking of having a diversified team of three engineers (more than that would be madness) with the following stat/talent combinations:
The Traditionalist:
+ Strike (at least until 2 AP capturing)
+ Sentry Turret
+ 1 or 2 points of Repair. Normally I hate this talent, but if I'm going to have three engineers most of the time, I'm likely going to take some hits to the TPs and my sentry guns will be a primary fighting force that will need survival. If my proposal to make higher ranks of repair impact a cross-shaped area, I'll likely invest more than 1 or 2 points here to reach that.
+ 1 or 2 points of Heat Sink. I don't want to dilute talents here too much but some heat management will save this group.
+ Invest in fortitude/willpower for defensive purposes and to manage heat.
+ Invest solely in Engineering for powerful talents.
The Pyro:
(Using flame gear, of course)
+ Flame Turret
+ Turret Stance. With so many turrets, this talent will really shine.
+ Fortify Position. Normally I don't go for this buff due to the extreme AP cost and better alternative talents, but with three engineers some diversity will be needed.
+ Invest in Strength/Fortitude for accuracy and survival.
+ Invest in Engineering/Gunnery for accuracy, AoE coverage, and turret power.
The Support:
+ Power Field. Tons of points here to give immense benefit.
+ 3-4 points of Grapple. Engineer's gauntlets have incredible penetration. The points here will lend enough accuracy to keep counter-attacks at a minimum and the buffs will be somewhat significant to allow survival against further foes.
+ 1 point of Sentry Turret. This will mostly be a distraction and will slow down foes with OW, but won't really kill anything.
+ 0 or 1 point of Scorch Order. The high tactics skill this engineer will have may make this make sense, but I'm not sure if it is worth it.
+ Invest in Strength/Fortitude for accuracy, critical hit damage and survival.
+ Invest in Tactics/Warrior for AoE coverage, critical hit chance, melee defense and accuracy.
Ignored Talents:
- Direct Shot. Only the Pyro will be shooting things and Direct shot simply offers too little to be of worth. I wish this talent scrapped the tiny damage bonus in favor of additional accuracy but it doesn't.
- Sensorkit Scan. Due to the painfully high SP cost of deploying engineers, I'm going to end up with a remaining composition of only Scouts and Soldiers. Thus I'll have this covered already.
- Manual Vent. Slowing down a group of engineers, scouts, and soldiers sounds too dangerous to consider despite the excellent cooling properties.
Any thoughts to this challenge or things I should switch up before I begin it?
