Hello all! This is our 3rd combat dev diary, and today we’re looking at two more units, this time from the Dvar and Amazon races! These units sit in the same place in the roster as last week’s units, they are the first tier 2 combat unit their races can unlock.
The Dvar Bulwark
While most Dvar combat units are based on modified industrial machinery, the Bulwark is a dedicated gunnery platform designed to guard Dvar facilities against thieves and aggressive native fauna. As a sop to the idea that not all threats require lethal force, the Bulwark can fire non-lethal rounds, but its main function is to put as many bullets into as many things as possible.
The Bulwarks main armaments are its autocannons, high damage no-frill ranged weapons with the simple purpose of killing whatever they are pointed at. While the autocannons can be fired actively, their main strength comes from being used in Overwatch. Typically a unit in Overwatch will fire a number of shots at a target equal to the number of action points it had when it entered Overwatch. So, a unit might move, and then enter Overwatch with 2 AP remaining, giving it two shots at the first thing to enter it’s overwatch zone. The Bulwark’s Unlimited Overwatch means that the unit always fires 3 shots (the maximum) regardless of action points, it also means the unit can fire on more than one unit during overwatch (normally a unit will leave overwatch after attacking). Putting out this volume of fire does apply a penalty to the weapons accuracy, but this is small price to pay for the volume of damage the unit is capable of.
As a secondary attack, the Bulwark can also fire off a concussive volley, a ranged attack with a very high chance to stun and biological or cyborg unit it hits for a single turn.
Looking at the rest of the unit card:
The Amazon Lancer
Typically deployed to patrol the vast forests where the Amazon’s conduct their research, Lancers are the pinnacle of self sufficiency. The Arrowtails they ride do not require fuel, and their laser weapons do not require ammunition, allowing Lancer’s to remain deployed for extended periods without support.
The lancer’s main armament is actually closer to a glaive then a traditional lance. It’s a fearsome melee weapon, and can also be used to shoot out a medium laser blast. As is typical of melee units, the Lancer will automatically go into melee overwatch at the end of its turn, giving it single a free attack against any opponent who moves or acts in an adjacent hex. Its melee attacks also stagger opponents, which further increases the unit’s potential for disrupting enemy formations.
In combat, lancer groups typically use wolf pack tactics. One group of lancers will approach the enemy head on, relying on their energy bucklers to protect them from incoming fire. While the target is distracted, other lancers will use their superior mobility to move into flanking positions, where they can maximize their damage.
Looking at the rest of the unit card:
Quick Q&A
It’s been pointed out that there’s still a huge list of questions that I left unanswered last week. I won’t be able to answer all the questions, because we still have a lot of dev diaries to write, but I can answer a couple more now!
Is it still defender gets to move first, attacker gets to retreat?
Yes! Defenders and their allies always go before the attackers, and only attackers may retreat. We don’t let defenders retreat because we can’t prevent the attacker just attacking them again, which would lead to a lot of frustration.
Is there combat concealment or is it abstracted so, for example, a unit in a wheatfield ("cover") gets extra defence?
There is no fog of war in combat, you will always be able to see where all the enemies units are. However, there are things like long grass on the battle field which provide a defensive bonus to the light units within them (they get harder to hit). Heavy units cannot make use of these bonuses however, typically they destroy things like wheat fields when they move onto them.
Will there be impassable terrain in combat, e.g. stretches of river? If so, will there be units/abilities that bypass this?
Yes, there will be chasms, indestructible rocks and other types of blocking terrain in combat. You’ll be able to get past them by flying or floating. A very small number of units also have the ability to simply move through obstacles.
And that’s it for this week! Next week we’ll be going back to the World Map.
The Dvar Bulwark
While most Dvar combat units are based on modified industrial machinery, the Bulwark is a dedicated gunnery platform designed to guard Dvar facilities against thieves and aggressive native fauna. As a sop to the idea that not all threats require lethal force, the Bulwark can fire non-lethal rounds, but its main function is to put as many bullets into as many things as possible.
The Bulwarks main armaments are its autocannons, high damage no-frill ranged weapons with the simple purpose of killing whatever they are pointed at. While the autocannons can be fired actively, their main strength comes from being used in Overwatch. Typically a unit in Overwatch will fire a number of shots at a target equal to the number of action points it had when it entered Overwatch. So, a unit might move, and then enter Overwatch with 2 AP remaining, giving it two shots at the first thing to enter it’s overwatch zone. The Bulwark’s Unlimited Overwatch means that the unit always fires 3 shots (the maximum) regardless of action points, it also means the unit can fire on more than one unit during overwatch (normally a unit will leave overwatch after attacking). Putting out this volume of fire does apply a penalty to the weapons accuracy, but this is small price to pay for the volume of damage the unit is capable of.
As a secondary attack, the Bulwark can also fire off a concussive volley, a ranged attack with a very high chance to stun and biological or cyborg unit it hits for a single turn.
Looking at the rest of the unit card:
- 40hp and 2 armor make this a fairly typical tier 2 unit in terms on defense
- 24mp puts this unit at the low end for move speed, which is common for Dvar units. This is more an issue for the world map, Dvar armies are strong but take a longer time to get to were they need to be.
- All Dvar units gain a morale bonus in Arid terrain
- Being mechanical makes the Bulwark resist psionic damage, but weak to arc attacks.
The Amazon Lancer
Typically deployed to patrol the vast forests where the Amazon’s conduct their research, Lancers are the pinnacle of self sufficiency. The Arrowtails they ride do not require fuel, and their laser weapons do not require ammunition, allowing Lancer’s to remain deployed for extended periods without support.
The lancer’s main armament is actually closer to a glaive then a traditional lance. It’s a fearsome melee weapon, and can also be used to shoot out a medium laser blast. As is typical of melee units, the Lancer will automatically go into melee overwatch at the end of its turn, giving it single a free attack against any opponent who moves or acts in an adjacent hex. Its melee attacks also stagger opponents, which further increases the unit’s potential for disrupting enemy formations.
In combat, lancer groups typically use wolf pack tactics. One group of lancers will approach the enemy head on, relying on their energy bucklers to protect them from incoming fire. While the target is distracted, other lancers will use their superior mobility to move into flanking positions, where they can maximize their damage.
Looking at the rest of the unit card:
- 50hp, 1 armor and 3 shields make this the tankiest tier 2 unit we have seen so far. However, Energy Buckler is front facing, meaning it loses its shields when flanked. Shields also do not protect a unit against melee attacks.
- 40mp makes this unit one of the fastest things on the battlefield.
- The Flanker ability means that the unit does an extra 25% damage on all flanking attacks (on top of the 20% bonus that units normally receive).
- Amazons are all experts in Forest Warfare, they get morale bonuses when they fight in forests (Forest Affinity) and can move more quickly through them (Expedited Movement Forest)
- Like the Vanguard, Amazons prefer Arcadian terrain, and also get a morale bonus from that.
Quick Q&A
It’s been pointed out that there’s still a huge list of questions that I left unanswered last week. I won’t be able to answer all the questions, because we still have a lot of dev diaries to write, but I can answer a couple more now!
Is it still defender gets to move first, attacker gets to retreat?
Yes! Defenders and their allies always go before the attackers, and only attackers may retreat. We don’t let defenders retreat because we can’t prevent the attacker just attacking them again, which would lead to a lot of frustration.
Is there combat concealment or is it abstracted so, for example, a unit in a wheatfield ("cover") gets extra defence?
There is no fog of war in combat, you will always be able to see where all the enemies units are. However, there are things like long grass on the battle field which provide a defensive bonus to the light units within them (they get harder to hit). Heavy units cannot make use of these bonuses however, typically they destroy things like wheat fields when they move onto them.
Will there be impassable terrain in combat, e.g. stretches of river? If so, will there be units/abilities that bypass this?
Yes, there will be chasms, indestructible rocks and other types of blocking terrain in combat. You’ll be able to get past them by flying or floating. A very small number of units also have the ability to simply move through obstacles.
And that’s it for this week! Next week we’ll be going back to the World Map.
