Planning for success: A guide to optimising your Battleforce
Nov 7, 2017 8:43:30 GMT -5
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Post by forgeking on Nov 7, 2017 8:43:30 GMT -5
Templar Battleforce has a wealth of gameplay before the missions even start, picking your requisition trees and individually customising your soldiers. So what's the best way to go about this? With the depth of the game, there's many valid answers to that and this is my take on it, tested on Brutal fresh games -> Ironman hell NG+ without losses multiple times.
Section 1: Requsition Overview
So let's start with Requisition Points (RP). Where do we get the most mileage for an effective force over the course of the game? The first place to look are initial deployments. Your Captain will always be deployed and thus is important to invest in. His unique and variable skills mean his optimal path is as a mobile assault unit, dealing high damage on his turn and moving long distances but he has no Overwatch or defensive talents apart from +dodge. Until he gets gear to compensate we will focus on his strengths to make the most of him.
The second unit deployed is a Soldier. Many missions begin with 2 Soldiers deployed (the last can have three auto deployed!), meaning not levelling them will result in lower RP to spend and weak starting troops - a recipe for disaster. They will be a heavy focus of early RP but scale well and can often keep pace after initial investments, providing the backbone of our Battleforce.
The third unit deployed is an Engineer and they are necessary to many missions, though expensive. Investing in multiple slows your game down due to their high cost and their weak solo combat potential without high RP investment furthers this. This means even less RP in the long run and a hard game, so we want to aim for a unit who does his specialised job very well: spearhead assaults on objectives like tact points, possible with a surprisingly small RP investment.
The fourth unit deployed is the Scout. Like the Soldier, missions can begin with two deployed and they can be effective specialist units, covering the weaknesses of Soldiers in single target utility and mobility for objectives, rounding out our force. However their tree is complicated, and quite RP intensive - investments must be made carefully and on a schedule to ensure we have key perks when necessary, otherwise their lack of versatility will prove a hindrance.
The fifth unit auto deployed is the Hydra, serving as AoE denial and punch. They are versatile and mobile, packing a large punch at closer ranges, fitting well with the objective to pass missions ASAP and provide almost unique utility with their long lasting flames. Their RP tree needs some heavy investment but the important stuff is close together - no special focus needs to be made on these but steady progress is important.
The last forced deployment is a Paladin, late into the game and his prohibitive cost will mean he is seen rarely. By the time you unlock him however your captain should be transitioning to sword and shield, taking a large RP burden off the paladin and allowing him to focus on a support healer role whichever you lack, providing late game stability to your experienced assault oriented force.
Smart investments into these six trees as detailed below will provide you with a wide set of specialised options for different missions in the campaign.
Req Tree Outlines and Reasoning
SOLDIER
A relatively simple req tree. We follow the soldier's main req tree to soldier 5 - this provides us a versatile ranged unit, combining decent penetration, damage, range, aoe and the utility of overwatch, along with a baseline of infantry gear and the ability to move into other trees as appropriate. From there we take LiTR to max for its various buffs, which should just be coming into play as will be seen later, then take soldier 6 and CiF to max to open endgame options for our soldiers.
ENGINEER
An unorthodox frontlining assault engineer build, taking advantage of the unrecognised strength of engineer gauntlets. The first focus is Striker 2 for both the important capture 6 and a decent all-round melee weapon. From the Soldier's tree, purchase the Dragoon Relic Armor - integral to frontlining, then take Provision Support 1 for added team utility, getting Engineer 4's defensive buffs along the way. After that, max out Striker Master to cap off your offence then Provision Support 4 for endgame utility.
SCOUT
Scouts have important talents spread between many trees and key levels of power spikes. An initial investment to sniper 1 provides the powerful crippling fire 3 and opens up many trees, though single target damage still lacks. Next, stealth operative 2 is taken, providing powerful weapons and overdrive's next mp boost - the last level before it becomes overkill. Sniper 4-5 should be unlocked in time for the narvidians' arrival, providing the single target damage just as it is needed and synchro sight relic for endgame as your scout levels.
CAPTAIN
The first focus is wraithbone kit > commander 3 - sighted sidearm will be the main weapon, powerful and achievable with little investment. Commander's deployment plays an important role in long missions. Next pistoleer 1 provides minor aoe apart from grenades. Next focus is captain 6 as warrior's wrath provides a powerful buff to both ranged and melee builds and hunter's shield and null blade are unlocked making it the perfect transition to your paladin/melee captain for narvidians. Late game, get blademaster commander then captain 8 and pistoleer devastator for NG+ xeno combat.
HYDRA
The hydra's tree is simple, straightforward and effective at its role. Precision fire 3 provides adequate talent levels and decent offensive gear and the important openings in your tree. Next to take are the buffs and advanced armor from the second last level of heatmaster (devs, the last level is also called heatmaster 4 instead of 5), then CiF 1 for boosted reactor, then precision fire master for the slayer c - maximising our lasting fire damage. Hellstorm and napalm charge are excellent talents and endgame offensive and defensive gears are already unlocked with the two trees, the utility of +mp requiring only one branch off.
PALADIN
Work on this tree starts late, thankfully there's already a good amount of overlap with gear allowing you to forgo most of the gear on the tree to start. Healer 4 is the most important thing - your paladin will already be set for the final mission with just that. Spare RP can go to paladin 5 for the defender's shield, then warrior 4 for battle tact and talents but these are low on the priority list for endgame.
Section 2: Understanding Talents
Now that we have the tools to build our Battleforce, it's time to implement them. There are three places to customise each individual Templar: Talents, Gears and Stats. Talents drive a unit's specialisation more than anything else and thus will be our first focus. To optimise talents, there are three things to understand.
The first is scaling. Talents do not scale equally with points invested. All talents have excellent increases from levels 8-10 and many have special stat increases around 3,5 and/or 8. Recognising power spikes, weak scaling and value pointsdump skills allows you to make the most of the points you spend. Let's take a look at some examples: The Soldier's Rallying Charge has a power spike at 4 points, providing 2 MP and +14 damage. Point 5 only adds +2 damage. Talents should always sit on spikes where possible and never on weak levels, only pick them up on the way to a later spike. Dump skills are ones such as Overwatch which will always be used with fairly standard scaling and value points are skills like Concuss-Grenade or that can mop up AP or provide valuable utility with a single point like Warrior's Wrath and Pressing Need on a Captain for movement.
The second is synergy. Talents can interplay to assist each other either by buffing each other or covering respective weaknesses. As stated earlier however, talents often gain their best scaling later later on, so synergy must take place between either 2-3 levelled skills supporting one another or taking advantage of spikes and value points with one high levelled skill. An excellent example is the Overdrive/Headshot combo on scouts. Headshot sets MP to 0, though its crit chance and accuracy are unparalleled. If overdrive is used after a headshot however, the scout can move with whatever MP overdrive provides them on that turn. Better yet as will be seen later, the first 2 points of Overdrive scale very well, meaning more points can go to headshot which does not spike until 10. Another excellent example is of one skill supporting multiple on the Captain, Warrior's Wrath. Its damage, accuracy and crit chance scale with levels and apply to all attacks, meaning value points can be taken in Arc Fire and Frag Grenade and they and Precision Fire will all be able to perform as though they were all well levelled without the massive talent point investment that would take. The synergy of team buffs is complicated and will require a later section.
The last is situation. The talents of your soldiers as said before drive their specialisation. This specialisation must fit the mission and map, both in objective and playstyle. Individual units of the same class can be specialised to different individual roles or to spread out important team buffs, higher level. Generally higher levelled units make better use of skill points in individual attack talents, while less deployed units can still contribute powerful team buffs. An example of situational planning is that a Capture 6/Grapple 4 Engineer will be less useful than a Sentry 5/Grapple 3/Heat Sink 2 Engineer on a mission without tact points, despite the first taking better advantage of both scaling and synergy. Advanced talents (further down the talent list) and team buffs also tend to have much larger heat costs, most buffs also become unusable above 100% heat - making them prohibitive in mobile missions and general purpose use.
--More to come--
Section 1: Requsition Overview
So let's start with Requisition Points (RP). Where do we get the most mileage for an effective force over the course of the game? The first place to look are initial deployments. Your Captain will always be deployed and thus is important to invest in. His unique and variable skills mean his optimal path is as a mobile assault unit, dealing high damage on his turn and moving long distances but he has no Overwatch or defensive talents apart from +dodge. Until he gets gear to compensate we will focus on his strengths to make the most of him.
The second unit deployed is a Soldier. Many missions begin with 2 Soldiers deployed (the last can have three auto deployed!), meaning not levelling them will result in lower RP to spend and weak starting troops - a recipe for disaster. They will be a heavy focus of early RP but scale well and can often keep pace after initial investments, providing the backbone of our Battleforce.
The third unit deployed is an Engineer and they are necessary to many missions, though expensive. Investing in multiple slows your game down due to their high cost and their weak solo combat potential without high RP investment furthers this. This means even less RP in the long run and a hard game, so we want to aim for a unit who does his specialised job very well: spearhead assaults on objectives like tact points, possible with a surprisingly small RP investment.
The fourth unit deployed is the Scout. Like the Soldier, missions can begin with two deployed and they can be effective specialist units, covering the weaknesses of Soldiers in single target utility and mobility for objectives, rounding out our force. However their tree is complicated, and quite RP intensive - investments must be made carefully and on a schedule to ensure we have key perks when necessary, otherwise their lack of versatility will prove a hindrance.
The fifth unit auto deployed is the Hydra, serving as AoE denial and punch. They are versatile and mobile, packing a large punch at closer ranges, fitting well with the objective to pass missions ASAP and provide almost unique utility with their long lasting flames. Their RP tree needs some heavy investment but the important stuff is close together - no special focus needs to be made on these but steady progress is important.
The last forced deployment is a Paladin, late into the game and his prohibitive cost will mean he is seen rarely. By the time you unlock him however your captain should be transitioning to sword and shield, taking a large RP burden off the paladin and allowing him to focus on a support healer role whichever you lack, providing late game stability to your experienced assault oriented force.
Smart investments into these six trees as detailed below will provide you with a wide set of specialised options for different missions in the campaign.
Req Tree Outlines and Reasoning
SOLDIER
A relatively simple req tree. We follow the soldier's main req tree to soldier 5 - this provides us a versatile ranged unit, combining decent penetration, damage, range, aoe and the utility of overwatch, along with a baseline of infantry gear and the ability to move into other trees as appropriate. From there we take LiTR to max for its various buffs, which should just be coming into play as will be seen later, then take soldier 6 and CiF to max to open endgame options for our soldiers.
ENGINEER
An unorthodox frontlining assault engineer build, taking advantage of the unrecognised strength of engineer gauntlets. The first focus is Striker 2 for both the important capture 6 and a decent all-round melee weapon. From the Soldier's tree, purchase the Dragoon Relic Armor - integral to frontlining, then take Provision Support 1 for added team utility, getting Engineer 4's defensive buffs along the way. After that, max out Striker Master to cap off your offence then Provision Support 4 for endgame utility.
SCOUT
Scouts have important talents spread between many trees and key levels of power spikes. An initial investment to sniper 1 provides the powerful crippling fire 3 and opens up many trees, though single target damage still lacks. Next, stealth operative 2 is taken, providing powerful weapons and overdrive's next mp boost - the last level before it becomes overkill. Sniper 4-5 should be unlocked in time for the narvidians' arrival, providing the single target damage just as it is needed and synchro sight relic for endgame as your scout levels.
CAPTAIN
The first focus is wraithbone kit > commander 3 - sighted sidearm will be the main weapon, powerful and achievable with little investment. Commander's deployment plays an important role in long missions. Next pistoleer 1 provides minor aoe apart from grenades. Next focus is captain 6 as warrior's wrath provides a powerful buff to both ranged and melee builds and hunter's shield and null blade are unlocked making it the perfect transition to your paladin/melee captain for narvidians. Late game, get blademaster commander then captain 8 and pistoleer devastator for NG+ xeno combat.
HYDRA
The hydra's tree is simple, straightforward and effective at its role. Precision fire 3 provides adequate talent levels and decent offensive gear and the important openings in your tree. Next to take are the buffs and advanced armor from the second last level of heatmaster (devs, the last level is also called heatmaster 4 instead of 5), then CiF 1 for boosted reactor, then precision fire master for the slayer c - maximising our lasting fire damage. Hellstorm and napalm charge are excellent talents and endgame offensive and defensive gears are already unlocked with the two trees, the utility of +mp requiring only one branch off.
PALADIN
Work on this tree starts late, thankfully there's already a good amount of overlap with gear allowing you to forgo most of the gear on the tree to start. Healer 4 is the most important thing - your paladin will already be set for the final mission with just that. Spare RP can go to paladin 5 for the defender's shield, then warrior 4 for battle tact and talents but these are low on the priority list for endgame.
Section 2: Understanding Talents
Now that we have the tools to build our Battleforce, it's time to implement them. There are three places to customise each individual Templar: Talents, Gears and Stats. Talents drive a unit's specialisation more than anything else and thus will be our first focus. To optimise talents, there are three things to understand.
The first is scaling. Talents do not scale equally with points invested. All talents have excellent increases from levels 8-10 and many have special stat increases around 3,5 and/or 8. Recognising power spikes, weak scaling and value pointsdump skills allows you to make the most of the points you spend. Let's take a look at some examples: The Soldier's Rallying Charge has a power spike at 4 points, providing 2 MP and +14 damage. Point 5 only adds +2 damage. Talents should always sit on spikes where possible and never on weak levels, only pick them up on the way to a later spike. Dump skills are ones such as Overwatch which will always be used with fairly standard scaling and value points are skills like Concuss-Grenade or that can mop up AP or provide valuable utility with a single point like Warrior's Wrath and Pressing Need on a Captain for movement.
The second is synergy. Talents can interplay to assist each other either by buffing each other or covering respective weaknesses. As stated earlier however, talents often gain their best scaling later later on, so synergy must take place between either 2-3 levelled skills supporting one another or taking advantage of spikes and value points with one high levelled skill. An excellent example is the Overdrive/Headshot combo on scouts. Headshot sets MP to 0, though its crit chance and accuracy are unparalleled. If overdrive is used after a headshot however, the scout can move with whatever MP overdrive provides them on that turn. Better yet as will be seen later, the first 2 points of Overdrive scale very well, meaning more points can go to headshot which does not spike until 10. Another excellent example is of one skill supporting multiple on the Captain, Warrior's Wrath. Its damage, accuracy and crit chance scale with levels and apply to all attacks, meaning value points can be taken in Arc Fire and Frag Grenade and they and Precision Fire will all be able to perform as though they were all well levelled without the massive talent point investment that would take. The synergy of team buffs is complicated and will require a later section.
The last is situation. The talents of your soldiers as said before drive their specialisation. This specialisation must fit the mission and map, both in objective and playstyle. Individual units of the same class can be specialised to different individual roles or to spread out important team buffs, higher level. Generally higher levelled units make better use of skill points in individual attack talents, while less deployed units can still contribute powerful team buffs. An example of situational planning is that a Capture 6/Grapple 4 Engineer will be less useful than a Sentry 5/Grapple 3/Heat Sink 2 Engineer on a mission without tact points, despite the first taking better advantage of both scaling and synergy. Advanced talents (further down the talent list) and team buffs also tend to have much larger heat costs, most buffs also become unusable above 100% heat - making them prohibitive in mobile missions and general purpose use.
--More to come--
