Empire Mode suggestion: Empire Equipment Cache

[Sir Arkatreides]

Empire mode is nothing short of fantastic! Thank you so much Devs for adding this to the game. It has made one of my favourite games of all time even more fun!

That being said, it would be great if there was a way to also make unique equipment be available between missions. Right now we can use Empire renown to have units, operations and mods, but there is no way to get my One-eyed Hawk or my Blackguard Tyrant vehicle to persist. It would be great if equipment, once found, could also go into our empire inventory to be requisitioned in future games. Maybe tie this to Hero level somehow so maybe a Level 5 hero could bring back one tier 1 piece of equipment, a level 10 a tier 2, etc.

 

[Demonic Spoon]

I really like this idea. Hero equipment is one of the iconic things that differentiate heroes while not being overwhelmingly powerful. I could see this keeping the balance very intact while giving a better connection between planets.

I think the gradation for hero level you suggest is too steep, though. Level 5 for a tier 2 weapon is quite steep given that you can start the game with one.

Since these would also have an influence cost and compete with free units or free resources, I think the hero level requirement should be pretty easy. Maybe you can always requisition tier 1-2 weapons (you can start the game with them after all), level 3 for tier 3, level 6 for tier 4?

 

[Ridixo]

The Imperial Hero Armory is a good idea

Imagine start with Edge

 

[LikeAFred]

It would be nice if you could unlock some extra traits for your empire heros with the level they gain. like bring a primary weapon with you or some unique mechanics tied to there secret tech like the random ones have. phase shift for voidtech heros and such kind

 

[Douglas Quaid1987]

You can requisition certain equipment. Oddly, Assembly allows you to acquire Thunderbreak and the Lightening Sword through requisition, and I think you can get most races and secret techs mounts the same way. However, there is nothing comparable to the Assembly, like medley for Vanguard or Festivity for Dvar.

 

[Tanel]

Yea heroes being forever stuck with their starting weapon load-out is sad. Making hero weapons and vehicles into requisitions would be a great idea.

 

[Loules]

As I already wrote in the discussions of the developers-diaries on the topic of DLC: not to add a system for transferring the hero's progress, as it was in the campaign - a huge oversight for the GE game-mode.

In fact, it was one of the most interesting and enjoyable gameplay features. Which not only allowed you to add an RPG element to the game, which is now almost non-existent, but also allowed you to get more attached and personalize your commanders.

Regarding RPG elements: almost all interesting and unusual builds can only be created by mixing different modifications/mounts/weapons. The lack of ability to transfer the progress of commanders completely kills the RPG element of the game:

1) You can't make an interesting build, because it usually requires certain rare modifications (not necessary for the army at the same time), and most importantly - weapons and mounts, without which these builds are useless. And playing the entire map with the hope that you will get exactly the right weapon for the build-only brings disappointment.
2) ... you lose any connection with the characters, because without the transfer of progress, when this is possible in the campaign, there is a sense of not a galactic Empire, but a different menu for creating "random games".
3) Commanders are clearly not the strongest fighting force of the game, and why did they deprive fans of playing through the development of commanders and builds for them - remains a very interesting and strange question for me.
4) for me, as well as several of my friends, the lack of ability to transfer the progress of the commanders completely killed interest in the new regime of the "galactic Empire". I'd rather create a random huge map and try to come up with an interesting hero build on it than watch a Galactic Empire where all my efforts are erased by each new planet.

I hope that, someday, the developers will not abandon their experience of story campaigns and I will also be able to enjoy the galactic Empire mode, where the transfer of commander items will be implemented.

 

[Taricus]

I think the big thing about not transferring the progress of commanders/heroes from map to map might be a balance one; you could easily get several heroes into the higher levels in a single map, and to then bring them over on that same level might be a little OP. Though it would be a good thing to represent that by making it possible to gain hero levels in the GE mode other than just participating in a planetary conquest.

Same goes for equipment too actually, a modded festivity would be a stackwiper in the early game in itself, but I'll definitely agree about that being an absolute bummer when you manage to get an loadout that's just right and then you lose it. Maybe add in an ability for commanders to get a free mod on upgrading their imperial trait, with weapon choices for both primary and secondary weapons enabled at certain levels? And perhaps even adding in new reliquary items to enable special equipment for requisition to really give a sense of earning them.

 

[Loules]

I think the big thing about not transferring the progress of commanders/heroes from map to map might be a balance one; you could easily get several heroes into the higher levels in a single map, and to then bring them over on that same level might be a little OP. Though it would be a good thing to represent that by making it possible to gain hero levels in the GE mode other than just participating in a planetary conquest.

Same goes for equipment too actually, a modded festivity would be a stackwiper in the early game in itself, but I'll definitely agree about that being an absolute bummer when you manage to get an loadout that's just right and then you lose it. Maybe add in an ability for commanders to get a free mod on upgrading their imperial trait, with weapon choices for both primary and secondary weapons enabled at certain levels? And perhaps even adding in new reliquary items to enable special equipment for requisition to really give a sense of earning them.

You can simply introduce level limits on the progress of the commanders. Link progress to specific levels of the Galactic Empire, for example. There no balance In GE mode already, so why exclude commanders progress system?...

We can already make the strongest units and modifications in this mode "for free". I do not see how the introduction of the progress of the commanders can affect the balance (which is already missing).
If the question is in hiring already equipped heroes, you can simply enter a progressive scale for the cost of hiring additional heroes (more items = more cost).

But as already mentioned, the most effective system would be to introduce a separate section of equipment (like mods/units/operations). You can take with you up to 3 of any items to the planet (hero-only mods / weapons / vehicles), and let the hired heroes use the basic equipment (or give them one of the three taken items).

 

[Ethorin]

Same reason you don't get to stick your Hero in a Paladin Exemplar.

But it's also worth noting, specifically for the level stuff. Wouldn't that just result in someone taking forever on a map on purpose in order to max out hero level? And then you'd have a hero who started at max level, fully kitted out, and then how do they set it up for there to be any challenge at all? Right now, it takes a heck of a lot of conquering to get a really high level hero, so by the time you have one you've already seen all the modifiers in play most likely, so it's not that bad if you can trivialize them by deploying a ludicrously strong hero, and, even then, that hero isn't Peak Power because they don't have their ideal loadout.

On top of "some people actually like challenges", there's also the "I get to see how my hero loadouts CHANGE when I deploy them in different circumstances". Maybe one game you are playing around with Addiction, and the next game you are working with a Trance Sniper, maybe one game you are toying with an Ethereal Spear, and the next you are running around in a Paladin Champion.

Frankly, I'd be more annoyed than thrilled if I was bringing One-Eyed Hawk along after picking it up, especially if it worked like Campaign and I had to keep it equipped on my hero to actually keep it. If I don't have Firearms mods I'd rather have a Sniper I have mods for. On the other hand, if I bought it with Renown... ugh, that just doesn't feel special at all.

Right now, there's the POTENTIAL for a challenging experience, and alot of that is that the devs can go "this is the absolute strongest a hero can be right off the bat".

 

[Loules]

Nope, because as I said in my post - In my idea it doesn’t matter how much you play on a single map - you gain experience only for N-planets. And like this for each hero. So you have your full-heroes much later than your T4 - pretty much balanced, I think.

Challenging experience: no heroes, but with overpowered T4’s for renown - ohh... what a challenging experience. Really?

 

[Ethorin]

Challenging experience: no heroes, but with overpowered T4’s for renown

600+ renown to buy them with Renown, also "overpowered T4s"... Well, maybe the Therian Apex fits here... maybe... but mostly I find T4's are incredibly mod dependent, especially the ones who aren't "my stack is better now" as their functionality. And the ones who ARE "My Stack is Better Now"... I don't see any of them as terribly OP tbh, especially since, you know, you still need a stack.

Also, "no heroes"... ummm, wot? Did you seriously just say "Heroes that level slowly and don't bring along their old gear" is "no heroes"?

Also also, still no counter to my "I like the variety enabled by NOT always having my end game loadout immediately and would be sad if I had to keep using a really good weapon in one circumstance in a situation I dislike it in because I want to keep the weapon for a different situation."

Also, No T4 is as overpowered as a well built hero.

you gain experience only for N-planets

...this is literally how it works right now... have you even PLAYED Galactic Empire?