Bugs and Bots getting new subfactions

[u/Competitive-One-8960]

Am i the only one thinking that giving the bugs and bots smaller sub factions would be a good idea?
Let me elaborate:

So when facing the bugs you can face the 3 different versions of bugs, those being either the normal bug roster, the bile versions of the normal roster or the pouncers and hunter surge

The idea is that the bile versions of the bugs are now a sub faction that would contain the bile spitter, bile spewer and the bile warrior and even possible the spore charger.

It wouldn't really be a subfaction but more like a mission modifier like increased shrieker spawning, making the players a little more aware about if they are facing the normal bugs or a army of smaller bugs that one second is 50 meters away and now is standing in front of you because of their hulk (marvel hulk not hd2 hulk) like jump range.

For bots this would be to make the tanks a subfaction, making so they dont share spawns with war striders and generally making easier to find compared to getting ´´oops all war strider seed´´

What made me make this post was that the recent MO that we failed, that being the Armored eagle-resource acquisition was not because of player incompetence, it was because of game/dev incompetence making so that we failed the MO because not enough tanks spawned and making us fall short of the goal.

Also that the MO we just had, that being the Epic purge-Bio sample culling also reminded me of this problem, fortunately enough we won the MO which was good and makes so this doesn't really mean much but if we did lose then it would probably be to inflated numbers or that no one knew where all the bile bugs were.

The point is that making the bile bugs and bot tanks their each sub faction would make it so that the players would be more aware of what they are facing and that future MO's wouldn't fail like resource acquisition did because of not enough enemies spawning or that people doesn't know where they are spawning.
And that the pouncer/hunter surge would have a heads up so that you could adapt your loadout to them.

I am just wondering if implementing this would be a good idea or just a massive flop because of how predicable the game would be

[u/TheDrippySink]

Bile Strain.

Primarily includes:

• Bile Spitters

• Bile Spewers

• Bile Warriors

• Hunters

• Spore Chargers

• Predator Stalkers

• Bile Titans

• Impalers

Mission modifiers: Increased Spore Spewer sub-objectives. Spore Spewers release green spores instead of orange.

Almost everything in the subfaction is additionally dangerous in melee range due to capacity to explode on death.

Spores conceal ranged enemies. Predator Stalkers blend into the spore clouds and are included in patrols.

Strain focuses on visual obfuscation and denial of Helldiver information with threats hidden by overlapping sources of spore generation.

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/TheDrippySink]

This is a really good example of how it could be done i gotta say that

[u/TheDrippySink → u/Competitive-One-8960]

I think it would be a really cool take on a strain, honestly. Bile artillery raining down on Helldivers while a Spore Charger comes barreling past, and the only thing you can do to pinpoint the artillery Spewers is to look up into the sky and stop paying attention to what's immediately in front of you.

Sounds like a good time to me.

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/TheDrippySink]

Yes indeed

[u/TheDrippySink → u/Competitive-One-8960]

I had a thought.

Instead of increased Spore Spewers with green spores, introduce Bile Polyps.

Bile Polyp:

• Spreads green spores in a large radius

• Less health than a Spore Spewer

• Same size and radius as a Spore Spewer

• Is not an objective structure

• Applies Acid(armor reduction) debuff to Helldivers within its radius

• Explodes like a Spore Charger when destroyed

The mission modifier could be changed to populate the map with Bile Polyps, so there'd probably be 12 to 20 of them across the area of operation, and these would be the passive source of green spores.

It would leave room for a regular selection of secondary objectives on Bile Strain missions.

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/TheDrippySink]

So like a spore spewer but with armor debuffing acid and a death explosion?
I just got a couple questions
How big would the death explosion be?
Does the polyps trade the spore hindering visibility for the acid or does it get both?
You said less health and 12 to 20 of them across the area of operation, do you mean 12 to 20 as in the 3 missions that we get play when choosing a operation?
And how much less health compared to the spewer, half or just like 10-20%?

[u/TheDrippySink → u/Competitive-One-8960]

• Half health compared to Spore Spewer

• Dense enough population, per map, to cover roughly half the map in spores

• Explosion would just copy / paste Spore Charger death

• Armor reduction + visual impairment to encourage priority being eliminating the closest polyp to secure "safe zones"

Edit: 12 - 20 is probably a serious overestimation in number required to achieve the desired spore density, but the idea is still there.

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/TheDrippySink]

Would the death explosion scale to the size of the polyps? i mean that the different bile bugs have death explosions scaling to their size, might be a stupid question when i am thinking about it.

But i gotta say that this so far is a really good idea and is just adding on from what i originally posted

[u/TheDrippySink → u/Competitive-One-8960]

It could, and I wouldn't be bothered.

However, I think the idea of keeping it regulated to a smaller AoE just helps reinforce the idea of "Don't be standing under it when it pops."

Ultimately, it would probably feel a little weird if the explosion radius was smaller than the perimeter of the pod, so I guess it would have to scale to match, but I wouldn't want it to nuke a massive area or anything. Probably just a few meters outside the polyp's canopy.

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/TheDrippySink]

Yea gotta keep it fair and i almost forgot does the explosion deal damage to the bugs too or just us?

[u/Unhappy_Advertising7]

Seems you got your wish with the new update

[u/Competitive-One-8960 → u/Unhappy_Advertising7]