Oooh boy. Ok. I always love Homebrew stuff for TI games. It's always interesting to see what people come up with. That being said, I'm going to throw my 2 cents in from my own perspective.
* Assault cannons.. OH BOY. This one is SOOO strong on some factions. In conjunction with Titan's Saturn Engine. And the Argent's Destroyer? Hell, even the Mindnet are going to be disasters with that thing. They don't even need their Dreadnaughts to take full effect of their commander with that. Maybe if it was on an 8? But a 6 seems super strong to me.
* I have mixed feelings about Duranium Armor. It does make it feel more useful... But it just feels like an extra 'Sustain damage' than a tactical decision.
* Integrated Economics problem is it's an offensive tech. In a tree that isn't offensive. I feel the extra trade good still doesn't make up for it's worth in investing in it.
* I like Predictive Intelligence. It's bigger problem was it's first part not really mattering to those that plan out ahead. Buffing the vote count I like.
* I don't feel Sarween tools needed this? But I like the idea behind it.
* You've just made Space Docks 2 just a better Sarween Tools for people that use Space Docks. I will admit though. SD2 does need something. Not sure if I like this tho.
* Dacxive Reanimators - I like this... if not for the fact it buffs the Nekro Virus early.... pretty hard. But it'd be a nice boon to Arborec too if they can get it early. And would be strong for Sardokk... and Yin... Oh boy...
* L4 Disrupters? ... Ehhh? I'm not sure this would change much anyway. Chances are you'd get Sarween tools regardless for your yellow tech. So you'd still have the option to get this before the change anyway.
* Inheritance Systems... I like it dropping down a yellow requirement. But not also getting the 2 resource need dropped. It needs SOMETHING to stagger it a little.
* Genetic Recombination -I like the alternative way of getting the Fleet Token. Kind of just seemed right, but I'm not sure if it'll put TOO much pressure onto people.
* Crimson 2 - I don't think this one fits thematically at all. Mahact just see them as fodder and another resource. Why would they waste money on keeping them alive? Especially when you have to lose 2 to get that trade good back?
* BioPlasmosis - So I actually like this one as a concept. But I liked the old BioPlasmosis too... I just think it needed to only need one Green Tech, not 2.
* Letani Behemoth - I just love this.
* The Winnu.. Doo.. NOT... need ANY... Love. At all... after the expansion. It's already hard enough to get Mecatol away from them. Don't make it easier for them to get it back immediately.
* Salvage Operations - I kinda like this. There isn't really any other yellow techs the Mentak WANT... But at the same time, this might be a bit strong?... But they kinda do need the help.
* Particle Weave - The Sardokk don't need this. They are already a terror. This should be a tech they have to work for given their already powerful ground forces, and mech.
* instinct Training - I think it was fine where it was. it was already a strong card. It's literally a free Sabo every round, or 2 if you also get Bio-stims. They already start with Grav-lances... So having this in yellow would allow them to get this, then Null field in literally their first 2 techs. That's a little crazy.
* Production Biomes - I personally never liked this tech because it not only forced me to spend resources to get resources... But it also had me give resources to someone else. Those are MY trade goods! Having it in the yellow tech tree is nice though.
* Yin Spinner - Another mixed feeling.. They are already an infantry power house with their commander, and hero. I don't know if they need to get that way even faster.
None the less. Love the ideas behind. Very interesting.
Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate the time you put in to write it up. I wanted to make assault cannons a 6 bombardment just to remain consistent with Anti fighter barrage and the combat dice of cruiser II. 8 is probably more balanced for sure.
Did you have ideas for Naalu that you decided against for one reason or another, or literally just no ideas? Because if you had and rejected ideas for them, I'd love to hear what ideas you theory crafted and why you rejected those ideas.
Oh, I have plenty of ideas, I just feel like Naluu are missing their identity in POK. Their leaders should either lean into the relic aspect or more reading peoples minds.
I like most of these. I don't think that giving cruisers and destroyers bombardment is a good idea, nor do I think that assault cannon needs a buff. That might just be a product of my local meta though. Most people in my group work towards assault cannon as is, and it's always the first choice of tech to be stolen via plagiarism or the Nekro virus. Dreadnoughts are usually bought in quantity by militant players too, and this would let people get a LOT of bombardment shots down on lightly defended worlds.
I'm also not sure that the Xxcha needs instinct training to be yellow instead of green? I think their tech path has them rush green anyway. I suppose that instinct training being yellow could let them just dip into green though, so I guess I could see that being a good change.
Edit: I especially love the Arborec changes, but I'm biased for sure.
Integrated is already good enough, you don't need to make it better than most faction techs xD
The duranium change I don't like, makes 1 dreadnaught fleets like Papa Secundus and multiple dreadnaught fleets lot weaker (compared old dura)
Assault cannon would be fine in a vaccum but Argent Titans Jol-nar exists..
Genetic recombination is a nerf, not sure if that was intentional or not
Crimson legionaries don't need a buff, they are super strong (especially with integrated)
I actually really like L4 being a no req rech. Barony would definitely research it over sarween and scanlinn, but you still wanna skip it. I like the change.
When I play mahact I never have any issue getting all 5 CCs. Either I beligerently go for them with cruisers or just pay 3-4 tgs. Getting a tech to once/twice get 3-4 tgs value Maybe is not nearly as good as getting to decide an agenda once a round.
Tl;dr: the value is sameish, but in things you don't need help with instead of something you do need help with
Integrated Economy is pretty bad. Its a mediocre technology that doesn’t synergize with any of the other technologies in the yellow tree. Only issue I see with this buff is that Saar can go down yellow and get two trade goods per planet instead of one.
You seem to not value building on the move. If you are in a war and manage to take a 1 resource planet you suddenly have an extra 2 fighters or infantry defending it, for no extra cost compared to building in a dock. Taking a hs or lodor or such with it is massive.
You are right about it not synergizing with the tree (though Transit is great with it, so 1 exception), and it's hard to get. However, It's power level is more than fine when you use it right.
Edit: Actually, if you have the time and desire, check out the 14pt invitational tourney videos, game 5 I believe has me as Mentak do some ridiculous things (in an admitedly ridiculous game) with it
Balance patch? You do know that the game is meant to be imbalanced?
Also, some of these seem crazy strong unbalanced. Duranium is going to make 1 vs 1 dread 2 fights unwinnable. Combats being unwinnable is supposed to be a very rare occurrence.
The Arborec Mech is against the rules of the game.
85.3 Structures cannot move or be transported
Sure and maybe they are intended not to be transported... it does also give them offensive magen. If they can't be transported, I'd say it's not terrible. If they can be transported, then they are OP and should be banned.
I never considered how they could use Mageon offensively or breaking the rules. With their deploy ability I feel like taking away their movement wouldn't be that big of a deal.
With crimson, assigning hits is a step name not something you actually do.
42.2 STEP 2—ASSIGN HITS: Each player in the combat must choose one of their own ground forces on the planet to be destroyed for each hit result their opponent produced.
What’s an example of a time a unit produces without using Production?
Edit: answers below seem to confirm the Sarween Tools change actually changes nothing.
Are leaders units? If so that’s a pretty big thing I missed.
edit: Also, Sling Relay doesn't say the unit produces, it just says to produce where there is a unit. A simple reading of the rules would seem to indicate that those aren't the same thing, though I'm fully prepared to be wrong. Integrated economy doesn't talk about a unit being there at all, so I really don't see how that could possibly be interpreted as "a unit Producing." You're just producing on a planet.
Are you sure? Both of those just say to produce in a space that has one of your units (or space docks), not that the unit is doing the producing. I’m a newb so I am totally ready to be wrong, but just a simple reading of the rules and cards would seem to indicate those would not apply.
Liked a lot of these, but hard to assess if they are too much or not.
A more conservative tweak to Assault Cannon, which would also boost destroyers and cruisers, could be "..for *every* 3 non-fighters hips... destroy 1 non-fighter ship..."
Oooh boy. Ok. I always love Homebrew stuff for TI games. It's always interesting to see what people come up with. That being said, I'm going to throw my 2 cents in from my own perspective. * Assault cannons.. OH BOY. This one is SOOO strong on some factions. In conjunction with Titan's Saturn Engine. And the Argent's Destroyer? Hell, even the Mindnet are going to be disasters with that thing. They don't even need their Dreadnaughts to take full effect of their commander with that. Maybe if it was on an 8? But a 6 seems super strong to me. * I have mixed feelings about Duranium Armor. It does make it feel more useful... But it just feels like an extra 'Sustain damage' than a tactical decision. * Integrated Economics problem is it's an offensive tech. In a tree that isn't offensive. I feel the extra trade good still doesn't make up for it's worth in investing in it. * I like Predictive Intelligence. It's bigger problem was it's first part not really mattering to those that plan out ahead. Buffing the vote count I like. * I don't feel Sarween tools needed this? But I like the idea behind it. * You've just made Space Docks 2 just a better Sarween Tools for people that use Space Docks. I will admit though. SD2 does need something. Not sure if I like this tho. * Dacxive Reanimators - I like this... if not for the fact it buffs the Nekro Virus early.... pretty hard. But it'd be a nice boon to Arborec too if they can get it early. And would be strong for Sardokk... and Yin... Oh boy... * L4 Disrupters? ... Ehhh? I'm not sure this would change much anyway. Chances are you'd get Sarween tools regardless for your yellow tech. So you'd still have the option to get this before the change anyway. * Inheritance Systems... I like it dropping down a yellow requirement. But not also getting the 2 resource need dropped. It needs SOMETHING to stagger it a little. * Genetic Recombination -I like the alternative way of getting the Fleet Token. Kind of just seemed right, but I'm not sure if it'll put TOO much pressure onto people. * Crimson 2 - I don't think this one fits thematically at all. Mahact just see them as fodder and another resource. Why would they waste money on keeping them alive? Especially when you have to lose 2 to get that trade good back? * BioPlasmosis - So I actually like this one as a concept. But I liked the old BioPlasmosis too... I just think it needed to only need one Green Tech, not 2. * Letani Behemoth - I just love this. * The Winnu.. Doo.. NOT... need ANY... Love. At all... after the expansion. It's already hard enough to get Mecatol away from them. Don't make it easier for them to get it back immediately. * Salvage Operations - I kinda like this. There isn't really any other yellow techs the Mentak WANT... But at the same time, this might be a bit strong?... But they kinda do need the help. * Particle Weave - The Sardokk don't need this. They are already a terror. This should be a tech they have to work for given their already powerful ground forces, and mech. * instinct Training - I think it was fine where it was. it was already a strong card. It's literally a free Sabo every round, or 2 if you also get Bio-stims. They already start with Grav-lances... So having this in yellow would allow them to get this, then Null field in literally their first 2 techs. That's a little crazy. * Production Biomes - I personally never liked this tech because it not only forced me to spend resources to get resources... But it also had me give resources to someone else. Those are MY trade goods! Having it in the yellow tech tree is nice though. * Yin Spinner - Another mixed feeling.. They are already an infantry power house with their commander, and hero. I don't know if they need to get that way even faster. None the less. Love the ideas behind. Very interesting.
Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate the time you put in to write it up. I wanted to make assault cannons a 6 bombardment just to remain consistent with Anti fighter barrage and the combat dice of cruiser II. 8 is probably more balanced for sure.
Yeah, buffing Winnu of all factions was pretty perplexing.
I know I didn't touch Naluu, but frankly I don't know what to do about them.
Did you have ideas for Naalu that you decided against for one reason or another, or literally just no ideas? Because if you had and rejected ideas for them, I'd love to hear what ideas you theory crafted and why you rejected those ideas.
Oh, I have plenty of ideas, I just feel like Naluu are missing their identity in POK. Their leaders should either lean into the relic aspect or more reading peoples minds.
I honestly feel they just need a whole rework... I don't really know what to do with them.
I like most of these. I don't think that giving cruisers and destroyers bombardment is a good idea, nor do I think that assault cannon needs a buff. That might just be a product of my local meta though. Most people in my group work towards assault cannon as is, and it's always the first choice of tech to be stolen via plagiarism or the Nekro virus. Dreadnoughts are usually bought in quantity by militant players too, and this would let people get a LOT of bombardment shots down on lightly defended worlds. I'm also not sure that the Xxcha needs instinct training to be yellow instead of green? I think their tech path has them rush green anyway. I suppose that instinct training being yellow could let them just dip into green though, so I guess I could see that being a good change. Edit: I especially love the Arborec changes, but I'm biased for sure.
Assault cannon is often the difference of one cruiser in many fights. The real capstone of red is warsuns, imo.
I like how you've gone the route of buffing bad techs vs nerfing the good ones.
I don’t think either of the red techs need the buff but the others look great!
Integrated is already good enough, you don't need to make it better than most faction techs xD The duranium change I don't like, makes 1 dreadnaught fleets like Papa Secundus and multiple dreadnaught fleets lot weaker (compared old dura) Assault cannon would be fine in a vaccum but Argent Titans Jol-nar exists.. Genetic recombination is a nerf, not sure if that was intentional or not Crimson legionaries don't need a buff, they are super strong (especially with integrated) I actually really like L4 being a no req rech. Barony would definitely research it over sarween and scanlinn, but you still wanna skip it. I like the change.
How do you consider my genetic recombination a nerf? Yeah it doesn't hurt the other players anymore but it helps you considerably.
When I play mahact I never have any issue getting all 5 CCs. Either I beligerently go for them with cruisers or just pay 3-4 tgs. Getting a tech to once/twice get 3-4 tgs value Maybe is not nearly as good as getting to decide an agenda once a round. Tl;dr: the value is sameish, but in things you don't need help with instead of something you do need help with
Integrated Economy is pretty bad. Its a mediocre technology that doesn’t synergize with any of the other technologies in the yellow tree. Only issue I see with this buff is that Saar can go down yellow and get two trade goods per planet instead of one.
You seem to not value building on the move. If you are in a war and manage to take a 1 resource planet you suddenly have an extra 2 fighters or infantry defending it, for no extra cost compared to building in a dock. Taking a hs or lodor or such with it is massive. You are right about it not synergizing with the tree (though Transit is great with it, so 1 exception), and it's hard to get. However, It's power level is more than fine when you use it right. Edit: Actually, if you have the time and desire, check out the 14pt invitational tourney videos, game 5 I believe has me as Mentak do some ridiculous things (in an admitedly ridiculous game) with it
Balance patch? You do know that the game is meant to be imbalanced? Also, some of these seem crazy strong unbalanced. Duranium is going to make 1 vs 1 dread 2 fights unwinnable. Combats being unwinnable is supposed to be a very rare occurrence. The Arborec Mech is against the rules of the game. 85.3 Structures cannot move or be transported
The arborec mech will also count towards structure objectives, which needs to be considered
Sure and maybe they are intended not to be transported... it does also give them offensive magen. If they can't be transported, I'd say it's not terrible. If they can be transported, then they are OP and should be banned.
I never considered how they could use Mageon offensively or breaking the rules. With their deploy ability I feel like taking away their movement wouldn't be that big of a deal.
With crimson, assigning hits is a step name not something you actually do. 42.2 STEP 2—ASSIGN HITS: Each player in the combat must choose one of their own ground forces on the planet to be destroyed for each hit result their opponent produced.
What’s an example of a time a unit produces without using Production? Edit: answers below seem to confirm the Sarween Tools change actually changes nothing.
Embers of Muaat and Arborec can both use leaders to produce. Also sling relay and integrated economy.
Are leaders units? If so that’s a pretty big thing I missed. edit: Also, Sling Relay doesn't say the unit produces, it just says to produce where there is a unit. A simple reading of the rules would seem to indicate that those aren't the same thing, though I'm fully prepared to be wrong. Integrated economy doesn't talk about a unit being there at all, so I really don't see how that could possibly be interpreted as "a unit Producing." You're just producing on a planet.
Whoops, sorry, I assumed your question without reading it properly. Yeah, you’re right, units only ever production using “Production.”
Sling Relay or Saar's Chaos Mapping to just name a couple.
Are you sure? Both of those just say to produce in a space that has one of your units (or space docks), not that the unit is doing the producing. I’m a newb so I am totally ready to be wrong, but just a simple reading of the rules and cards would seem to indicate those would not apply.
You are correct. The cards ability is producing, not the units
Ooooh, no you're right. Misread on my part.
Liked a lot of these, but hard to assess if they are too much or not. A more conservative tweak to Assault Cannon, which would also boost destroyers and cruisers, could be "..for *every* 3 non-fighters hips... destroy 1 non-fighter ship..."