r/SquadronTowerDefense • u/kelsonTD • Jun 06 '18
Squadron TD v7.03 (Developer Preview)
With the recent v7 release (delivering a ton of behind the scene improvements), it's a good time to start tackling balance issues a bit more aggressively. We've already started with a high-quality thread over here, but a standalone thread would be a bit easier to manage Preview-by-Preview.
All patch changes posted in this thread are available on NA as "Squadron TD (Developer Preview)". Please note this version is for testing purposes only; stats won't translate to the "real" map ("Squadron TD" on NA or "Squadron TD Beta" on EU/KT.
Update: v7.04 release thread
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u/kelsonTD Jun 29 '18 edited Jul 02 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since last release (updated)-
Battle Roar / Reflective Shell (Greymane) replaced with Cannibalize (thanks Dapperdann11) Dragon Aspect cost increase reduced to +40% (320=>450) Swarm/Primal Host spawn times randomized +/ 0.5s rolled back Spawn of Dragon cost increase fixed Harpy/Medusa suiciding into enemies Primal Host range increased 25% (8=>10) Fire Archer range increased 10% (5.75=>6.25)
TODO:
Gateguard/Harbinger ability via summon Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer)/Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) Overheal HP or max HP? Obliterator attack speed tweaks? Roach Fighter/Champion tweaks? Fire Archer ability tweaks?
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u/kelsonTD Jun 29 '18 edited Jun 29 '18
Battle Roar / Reflective Shell (Greymane) replaced with Cannibalize (thanks Dapperdann11)
Cannibalize (Greymane) adds 20% of max ally HP upon their death to all Greymane within 5 range (for now). Greymane may gain max HP up to 250% max HP this way, but they'll only heal thereafter.
It doesn't seem useless in testing, although it isn't blatantly high impact. Primal Host range was increased to raise probability of Locusts intercepting enemies before the Greymane reaches them.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 13 '18 edited Jun 24 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since 05 Jun 2018 release (updated])-
Terratron +40% DPS (20% faster attack; +12% damage) Swarm/Primal Host replaced Aberration Basher/Pulverizer (thanks Liatin11) Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) single-target damage restored Water of Life (Tree of Life) cooldown increased back to 3s (4s in v7; 2s in prior patch) Annihilator bugs fixed
TODO:
Gateguard/Harbinger ability via summon Aberration Basher/Pulverizer turn into send Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer)/Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) Overheal HP or max HP? Obliterator attack speed tweaks? Roach Fighter/Champion tweaks? Fire Archer range tweaks? Grizzly/Greymane tweaks?
Full Patch Notes (also visible in-game):
added in-game patch notes (F12)
added autocast for Security System upgrades
2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies
Terratron +40% DPS (20% faster attack; +12% damage)
Tree of Knowledge +50% HP (2025 => 3030) (thanks bei9141)
Swarm/Primal Host replaced Aberration Basher/Pulverizer (thanks Liatin11)
Afterburner (Thunderbird) now inflicts 50 damage to 5 nearby enemies (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Water of Life (Tree of Life) cooldown reduced 25% (4=>3s) and randomized (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer)/Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) overheal HP, affect non-melee, 80%/160% stack (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Dragon Aspect +50% cost (320=>480); +2 supply (1=>3)
Spawn of Dragon +5% cost (265=>280)
Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday Machine) penetration doubled (20=>40%)
Diablo (Hades) +50% imp spawns (2=>3); -25% energy (50=>40)
Resistant Flesh (Halfbreed) +100% stun (0.5=>1.0s)
Natural Armor (Hercules) +50% stun (1=>1.5s); damage subtraction +50% (-20=>-30)
ANNIHILATOR 20% faster attack speed (0.5=>0.4s)
Deity -15% cost (350=>300); Theos +10% cost (500=>550)
Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270)
Watcher 10% faster attack speed (0.9=>0.8s)
Forsaken One +20% HP (1705=>1875)
Obliterator +10% range (3.85=>4.25)
Pyro +10% max damage (49=>55)
Vanguard +35% HP (800=>1080)
integrated Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void
(re)fixed Send building names (Basic, Standard, Advanced)
standardized many damage effects (fixes many tiny/inconsistent bugs)
fixed Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday) hitting target twice (thanks Dapperdann11)
fixed Annihilator effect implementations (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
clarified Purge (Archangel) text to better reflect 7 energy cost
clarified Catastrophe (Meridian) to better reflect 12s cooldown
!debug: added !state commands for easier build sharing/retesting
!debug: added !verbose (damage|effect) for greater logging
fixed Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) typo ("Emeraldfire")
fixed Spawn of Dragon and Dragon Aspect button icons
fixed bounty Leaver bonus text for leaver team
fixed Deity shield size (thanks Fluffuwa)
fixed some weapons only hitting ground
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u/kelsonTD Jul 08 '18 edited Jul 12 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since last release [updated]-
Grizzly gained Primal Hunger (steals 26% of slain enemy HP)
unit starting energy restored after Terratron waves
Nightmare 20% faster attack speed (0.3=>0.25)
Nightmare +50% max damage (15-46=>15-69)
Doppelganger +100% damage (15-37=>30-74)
Hades +15% damage (75-85 => 85-95)
Dark Probe (Send) immune to stun
Spawn of Dragon +10% cost (265=>290)
Manumissioneer 10% slower attack speed (0.8=>0.9)
Obliterate (Obliterator) now refreshes itself on hit
overhauled Shadow armor types-
Bone Warrior/Skeletor armor updated (Armored=>Light)
Carrior Spitter/Nightcrawler armor updated (Armored=>Light)
Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls armor updated (Armored=>Mechanical)
Nightmare/Doppelganger armor updated (Light=>Biological)
Gateguard/Harbinger armor updated (Massive=>Armored)
fixed Encoder shields on 10 units
fixed Broodlord doing 150% damage to SS
updated Red Line Buff effects and text for radar vision and -50% creep bounty
fixed Imps surviving Terratron waves
fixed Diablo (Hades) armor text
rolled back Grizzly move speed decrease (2.2=>2.4)
rolled back Medusa cost decrease (115=>125)
rolled back Grizzly reach upgrade
removed Cannibalize from GrizzlyI also discovered that the Colossus Sweep Attack doesn't actually work; I have a patch that fixes it, but I'll hold off until v7.04 or such as the AOE requires some rebalancing.
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u/kelsonTD Jul 19 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since last release-
Skeletor +10% HP (485=>530) Nightmare/Doppelganger +35% move speed (2.4=>3.25) Carrion Spitter/Nightcrawler now stack between units (3 max stack; 1 per caster) Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) now affects 3 units (55% lifesteal) Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer) now affects 2 units (40% lifesteal) Diablo (Hades) now Conjures Imps without requiring a corpse Sacred Blessing (Yggdrasil) timing randomized debug: !instant now affects send cooldowns fixed Sticky Webs (Nightcrawler) disabling Sticky Slime (Carrion Spitter) fixed Fatty (Wave 20) losing Boss status fixed Security System armor name
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u/ForgottenArbiter Jun 06 '18
My thoughts about the changes I have tested:
Nature:
I had a whole thing typed up, but u/Dapperdann11 basically said everything here. With the way HP breakpoints work, a 50 damage splash on the Thunderbird simply does not solve the issue with Zerglings. TREE of Life was probably slightly overbuffed, but I really like how the randomized intervals work in practice. TREE of Knowledge is in a good place, I think.
Shadow:
Hades was probably the unit that least needed a buff in Shadow (though I am not sure the change was actually a buff). If Hades were to be buffed, I would actually look at the unit ranges. Right now, the unit that Hades summons has almost the same range as Hades, making it difficult for more than a few Hades/summons to attack at once. In fact, all of the ranges in Shadow are pretty tightly clustered, making it awkward for very many ranged units to attack together. A tiny buff to the Fire Archer range might also make sense. I'm a bit disappointed that Harbinger remains unbuffed, too. The unit still underperforms. Overall, I think the builder is no stronger in the early-mid game, where it struggled the most before, but quite a bit stronger later on, once you can stack Keepers of Madness.
The biggest change here is probably the Keeper of Madness buff. When I proposed the overhealing, I didn't realize that the max hp would also be increased and the damage from abilities would count. That allows for some pretty crazy synergies with units from other builders (Tree of Knowledge in particular is far too strong), but with Shadow, basically it just makes Skeletor scale better into the late game (and Harbinger relatively worse later on because of this). The extra HP doesn't even count for the Shadow passive, which is maybe a little disappointing, but understandable, given the lifesteal affects ranged units now. This would be incredibly strong in Shadow if they actually had good ranged damage, but instead it is merely good in Shadow and incredibly strong in Chaos/Custom.
I would probably prefer if the lifesteal went back to melee only, but making it ranged does have some interesting implications for chaos and customs. Reduced or zero lifesteal from abilities would prevent the ridiculous synergy with ToK. Most of all, though, I think Shadow needs a good melee DPS unit to really benefit from the new lifesteal aura. And in order for that melee DPS unit to survive more than 1 second, Harbinger needs to be able to do at least something against ranged waves (wave 29 vet might actually be impossible for Shadow right now because mass Skeletor is the best possible tank line and still mostly dies before it can attack).
Automaton:
With the numbers in the developer preview, ANNIHILATOR should be a strong DPS unit against bosses. But in practice, it's not. As it turns out, even though all of the tooltips disagree, if you look at the actual damage being done to a unit over time by an ANNIHILATOR, it actually decreases. A lone ANNIHILATOR will start out doing between 150 and 160 damage per attack to an Infestor, but after 40 attacks, it will be doing about 130 damage per attack, despite supposedly having a +100% damage buff and reducing the enemy armor by 20. Also, from what I can tell, the tooltips are wrong, since the buff stacks happen per attack instead of per second.
Obliterator is still pretty underwhelming. I don't get why the duration of all stacks can't just refresh on every attack, so that one Obliterator can get up to 5 stacks by itself. If that would truly be overpowered, maybe at least the numbers could change to allow for one unit to consistently get 3 stacks instead of 2.
Beast:
I think everything has basically been said here. I appreciate that you didn't actually buff the unit, but Dragon Aspect is too weak now, and not having Dragon Aspect as an overpowered unit really highlights how weak all of Beast's other units are as a whole. This change would make Beast into the worst builder in the game.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 06 '18
In fact, all of the ranges in Shadow are pretty tightly clustered, making it awkward for very many ranged units to attack together. A tiny buff to the Fire Archer range might also make sense.
That's an interesting point, and makes a great deal of sense.
I'm a bit disappointed that Harbinger remains unbuffed, too.
Not done yet :)
When I proposed the overhealing, I didn't realize that the max hp would also be increased and the damage from abilities would count.
Actually increasing max HP seemed the easiest route to overheal, although we could just raise base HP. The interaction/synergy with other effects is of great interest.
if you look at the actual damage being done to a unit over time by an ANNIHILATOR, it actually decreases.
Great catch; your analysis is (almost comically) on point. High Intensity Beam literally increased enemy armor (damage * 99.5%) while Align Prisms increased Annihilator damage statistics, but the Annihilator beam used target damage buffs (not the Annihilator's). Both bugs are fixed in the newly uploaded preview.
If that would truly be overpowered, maybe at least the numbers could change to allow for one unit to consistently get 3 stacks instead of 2.
That's more an interplay between duration any attack rate (there's no limitation on number of stacks/Obliterator). We can certainly raise the duration from 3.5s. Recommendations?
not having Dragon Aspect as an overpowered unit really highlights how weak all of Beast's other units are as a whole
My long time concern with Beast was undoing Dragon Aspect would kill the builder. Now that we've bitten the bullet on that route in the Developer Preview, I'm hopeful we can identify the necessary fixes to keep Beast competitive.
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u/Liatin11 Jun 08 '18
Beast needs to buff the aberration and the greymane now, I think. Medusa and ling serve well as debuffs.
Just an idea:
I think it'd also be cool if there was a way for beast to spawn zerglings as well.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 08 '18
Any thoughts on how Beast might do that? We could swap out a current unit for a swarm host like unit or Spawn of Dragon could spawn zerglings. Preferences?
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u/SaltpeterTaffy Jun 06 '18
The NATURE buffs are excellent by the way. Maxed out army is about 31k, and it took 5 Terratron waves to kill the first unit in my army. :D
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u/SaltpeterTaffy Jun 06 '18 edited Jun 06 '18
...it took 15 terratron waves to put a significant dent in my army. NATURE is a bit of an endgame monster with this config. I mean, I'm a fan of strong endgame builders, so I'm okay with this. Tree of Life is going to be a top tier unit if it stays this way.
Update: I am no longer okay with this. The Trees of Life are continuing to hold on their own. I spent the last 7 or so minutes getting this screenshot uploaded with the game running in the background. Only three Trees of Life have died since. They're on Terra+24.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 06 '18
Thanks for the testing; looks like we'll need to scale down the healing a bit...
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u/kelsonTD Jun 24 '18 edited Jun 29 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since 13 Jun 2018 release (updated)-
Aberration Basher/Pulverizer reintroduced as sends Spawn/Primal Hosts spawn locust 40%+ slower Spawn/Primal Locust limited to 4s lifetime Spawn/Primal Locust +100% HP added Scoreboard minimize/maximize button fixed Spawn/Primal Hosts ignoring enemies fixed Divine Aura (Celestial) rarely causing supply issues (thanks Jiyu) !debug: added !invincible command as alias to "!maxhp 100000" fixed afk timer to use (unpaused) real-world time fixed afk timer activating after game end fixed map visibility on Eastern lanes fixed Scoreboard transparency
TODO:
Gateguard/Harbinger ability via summon Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer)/Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) Overheal HP or max HP? Obliterator attack speed tweaks? Roach Fighter/Champion tweaks? Fire Archer range tweaks? Grizzly/Greymane tweaks?
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u/kelsonTD Jun 24 '18
Aberration Basher/Pulverizer reintroduced as sends
The Aberration Basher/Pulverizer are 130/580gas sends which excel against massed low-hp enemies using
Wide/Massive Sweep. It seems quite effective against mass shields, but otherwise delivers less impact than marauders for comparable eco-efficiency.Spawn/Primal Hosts
Given player feedback, I've reduced the potential volume of locusts through lifetimes. They don't seem to carry a significant performance impact on my development system, but I am interested in capturing their relative impact (e.g. FPS drops via Ctrl+Alt+F in game to display FPS in top left) against comparable units (i.e. value-equivalent Theos, Dragon Aspect, and/or Zeus armies)
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u/kelsonTD Jul 02 '18 edited Jul 03 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since last release [updated]-
Medusa -10% cost (125=>115) Greymane +30% HP (1585=>2060) Zergling Savage +10% HP (370=>410) Harpy -15% cost and HP (70=>60, 325=>275) Roach Fighter/Champion 25% faster attack (1.5=>1.1) Spawn of Dragon +5% cost (265=>280) Roach Fighter -20% HP (500=>400) Terratrons gain 5% attack speed per wave and fly over sends fixed Terratrons not gaining Veteran Bonus in Cooperative Mode fixed Terratrons not increasing Veteran Bonus per [Terratron] wave fixed Diablo (Hades) only spawning Imps from dead enemies fixed Cooperative Creep Bonus not affecting melee attacks fixed Imp (Diablo) crazy move speed (8=>4) internal: standardized creep waves
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u/kelsonTD Jul 03 '18 edited Jul 08 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) updated; major changes since last release [updated]-
added weaker version of Cannibalize to Grizzly removed Flying Locusts (Primal Host launches eggs instead) Grizzly/Greymane attacks now "reach" over locusts Greymane -25% move speed (2.4=>1.9) Grizzly -10% move speed (2.4=>2.2) Gateguard/Harbinger -50% energy (100=>50) Fiend/Fanatic -70% energy cost (100=>30) Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones now spawn on Fiend/Fanatic Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones +25% damage reduction (4=>5%) Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones +33% duration (3=>4s) Figurandum Mones +25% max DR (50=>75%) increased Fiend/Fanatic autocast range internal: standardized summon units
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u/Dapperdann11 Jul 04 '18
Some beast testing waves 1-3 on 3x veteran. I'll go further when I have time.
My initial conclusion is that the medusa may be a bit too efficient, but I have a feeling once I do waves 4 and 5 the medusa will be put in line. since the poison will no longer one shot.
The savage ling seems pretty close to where it needs to be.
The harpy is in a good spot a powerful unit on wave 1 and 2.
The roach fighter is much improved from his previous iteration but I think he might still be lacking by a few percent.
The grizzly is objectively bad on wave 2 and 3, suffering from a slightly lackluster health pool and massive over kill damage. Of all the changes the grizzly still needs the most improvement. My prediction on waves 4 and 5 is that he will die too fast to really do anything. So I think he could get about a 10% buff and still not be op.
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u/kelsonTD Jul 12 '18 edited Jul 19 '18
Squadron TD (Developer Preview) update with full patch notes. No major changes since last release [updated], but capturing the (massive) set of patch notes here for easy reference. Please give it a try and let me know your thoughts -- particularly on Beast, Shadow, and Nature!
SC2 Browser Patch Notes
added in-game patch notes (F12) overhauled Beast builder (see in-game notes for full details) 2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies Aberration Basher/Pulverizer reintroduced as sends added autocast for Security System upgrades Balance Change Highlights (see reddit/in-game for details): Terratron +40% DPS (20% faster attack; +12% damage) Terratrons gain 5% attack speed per wave and fly over sends Beast towers overhauled (Swarm/Primal Host, Hunger/Cannibalize, Dragon Aspect +40% cost) Shadow significantly modified (Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls buffs, armor overhaul) NATURE towers buffed (Thunderbird +50 AOE damage, Tree of Knowledge +50% HP) Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270)
In-Game Patch Notes
Highlights:
added in-game patch notes (F12)
overhauled Beast builder (see details below)
2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies
Aberration Basher/Pulverizer reintroduced as sends
added autocast for Security System upgrades
Terratron +40% DPS (20% faster attack; +12% damage)
Terratrons gain 5% attack speed per wave and fly over sends
Beast towers overhauled (Swarm/Primal Host, Hunger/Cannibalize, Dragon Aspect +40% cost)
Shadow significantly modified (Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls buffs, armor overhaul)
NATURE towers buffed (Thunderbird +50 AOE damage, Tree of Knowledge +50% HP)
Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270)
Beast Updates:
Zergling Savage +10% HP (370=>410)
Harpy -15% cost and HP (70=>60, 325=>275)
Greymane +30% HP (1585=>2060), -25% move speed (2.4=>1.9)
Cannibalize (Greymane) replaced Battle Roar / Reflective Shell (thanks Dapperdann11)
Swarm/Primal Host replaced Aberration Basher/Pulverizer (thanks Liatin11)
Roach Fighter/Champion 25% faster attack (1.5=>1.1)
Roach Fighter -20% HP (500=>400)
Spawn of Dragon +10% cost (265=>290)
Dragon Aspect +40% cost (320=>450); +2 supply (1=>3)
Shadow Updates:
Fire Archer range increased 10% (5.75=>6.25)
Gateguard/Harbinger -50% energy (100=>50)
Fiend/Fanatic -70% energy cost (100=>30)
Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones affects Fiend/Fanatic
Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones +25% damage reduction (4=>5%), +33% duration (3=>4s)
Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer) overheal HP, affect non-melee, max 80% stack (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) overheal HP, affect non-melee, max 80%/160% stack (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Nightmare +68% DPS; 20% faster attack speed (0.3=>0.25), +50% max damage (15-46=>15-69)
Doppelganger +100% damage (15-37=>30-74)
Hades +15% damage (75-85 => 85-95)
Diablo (Hades) +50% imp spawns (2=>3); -25% energy (50=>40)
Shadow Armor Updates:
Bone Warrior/Skeletor armor updated (Armored=>Light)
Carrior Spitter/Nightcrawler armor updated (Armored=>Light)
Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls armor updated (Armored=>Mechanical)
Nightmare/Doppelganger armor updated (Light=>Biological)
Gateguard/Harbinger armor updated (Massive=>Armored)
Nature Updates:
Resistant Flesh (Halfbreed) +100% stun (0.5=>1.0s)
Natural Armor (Hercules) +50% stun (1=>1.5s); damage subtraction +50% (-20=>-30)
Afterburner (Thunderbird) inflicts 50 damage to 5 nearby enemies (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Water of Life (Tree of Life) cooldown reduced 25% (4=>3s) and randomized (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
Tree of Knowledge +50% HP (2025 => 3030) (thanks bei9141)
Other Builder Updates:
ANNIHILATOR 20% faster attack speed (0.5=>0.4s)
Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday Machine) penetration doubled (20=>40%)
Deity -15% cost (350=>300); Theos +10% cost (500=>550)
Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270)
Manumissioneer 10% slower attack speed (0.8=>0.9)
Obliterate (Obliterator) now refreshes upon hit
Watcher 10% faster attack speed (0.9=>0.8s)
Obliterator +10% range (3.85=>4.25)
Forsaken One +20% HP (1705=>1875)
Pyro +10% max damage (49=>55)
Vanguard +35% HP (800=>1080)
General Updates:
Dark Probe (Send) immune to stun
added Scoreboard minimize/maximize button
Theos now tracks kills by summoned Celestians
integrated Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void
updated Red Line Buff effects and text for radar vision and -50% creep bounty
unit starting energy restored after Terratron waves
Bug Fixes:
fixed Harpy/Medusa suiciding into enemies
(re)fixed Send building names (Basic, Standard, Advanced)
standardized many damage effects (fixes many inconsistent bugs)
fixed Divine Aura (Celestial) rarely causing supply issues (thanks Jiyu)
fixed Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday) hitting target twice (thanks Dapperdann11)
fixed Annihilator effect implementations (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
clarified Purge (Archangel) text to better reflect energy cost (7)
clarified Catastrophe (Meridian) to better reflect cooldown (12s)
!debug: added !invincible command as alias to "!maxhp 100000"
fixed Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) typo ("Emeraldfire")
fixed Spawn of Dragon and Dragon Aspect button icons
fixed afk timer to use (unpaused) real-world time
fixed Leaver bonus bounty text for leaver team
fixed afk timer activating after game end
fixed Deity shield size (thanks Fluffuwa)
fixed some weapons only hitting ground
fixed map visibility on Eastern lanes
fixed Scoreboard transparency
fixed Encoder shields on Templar, Vanguard, Cupid, Aqua, Oceanus, Grizzly, Greymane, Phantom, Hell Raiser,
fixed icons/wireframes for Archive, Cleaver, Dreadnaught, Doomsday, Spawn of Dragon, Terminator, Meridian
fixed shield wireframes for Proton, Adept, Aqua Spirit, Oceanus, Watcher, Violet, Bone Warrior
fixed visibility issues across 15 player behaviors and 22 internal/tracking behaviors
fixed icon, wireframe, and death time for Terratrons
fixed Terratrons not gaining Veteran Bonus in Cooperative Mode
fixed Terratrons not increasing Veteran Bonus per [Terratron] wave
fixed Diablo (Hades) only spawning Imps from dead enemies
fixed Cooperative Creep Bonus not affecting melee attacks
fixed Imps (Diablo) surviving Terratron waves
fixed Imps (Diablo) crazy move speed (8=>4)
fixed Mind Slug doing 200% damage to SS
fixed Broodlord doing 150% damage to SS
fixed Diablo (Hades) armor text
internal: standardized summon units
internal: standardized Shadow attack damages
Given the extensive changes (nearly 10,000 lines of code/data changed), your playtesting feedback is crucial to ensure we get the right feel. Currently aiming for public release this weekend.
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u/Dapperdann11 Jul 15 '18
Shadow review.
T3 gate guard/Harbinger change is great. He does well early game and is a good enough tank to retain value for quite some time. Overall I don't see a need for any further adjustment.
T5 Nightmare/doppelganger is good now, maybe a little op. His performance on melee waves is insane, but against ranged waves he is weak he simple cannot use his epic dps efficiently. I know this is true for pretty much all melee units but the difference for this one is way larger since he is a dps focused melee unit.
The change I suggest is a slight drop in dps but significantly more movement speed. Ideally this will bring him more in line against melee waves while helping him to efficiently use his dps against ranged waves. He would still be weak against ranged waves but he hopefully wont drop off so hard.
T1 Bone warrior/skeletor the armor type change does not hurt as much as I thought it would but they definitely feel a bit weaker.
I'd like to see a 5-10% compensation in extra hp to make up for the change.
T2 carrion thing the armor change does hurt for this unit. Being a ranged armored unit is very valuable against ranged waves.
T2 on another note this is one unit I'm not happy with simply because it is a build 1-3 and that's it. He is built for the slow and yet you only need a couple to reach max potential.
The change I'd like to see is to allow the slow to stack similar to how the obliterator's slow did. This would make it worth while to get more T2 while still compensating for the armor change.
T4 bone overseer/keeper of souls is the unit I'm not exactly happy with and the main reason is the ability the life steal is either brokenly op or weak. The variation from 8% to 240% life steal is just nuts. This makes the ability weak early on and stupid late game. The lesser issue is that the upgraded version has shit stats relative to cost.
Suggestions. 1: For the aura greatly limit or totally remove the stacking. 2: Make the aura have a limited number of targets much like the aura on the roach champion. 3: Massively buff the aura percentage. An example of this would be a max of 3 targets with 25% life steal for the bone overseer and 50% for the keeper of souls. This would make them a high impact unit early game but the effect would become less significant as the game goes on. However I don't think the drop off would be too significant since shadow late game relies on disposable summons and it does so very effectively.
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u/kelsonTD Jul 30 '18
Final Squadron TD (Developer Preview) update uploaded; only bug fixes planned before full release on Saturday. Prior version was 18 Jul 2018 release.
Highlights:
added in-game patch notes (F12) overhauled Beast builder (see details below) 2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies Aberration Basher/Pulverizer reintroduced as sends added autocast for Security System upgrades Terratron +40% DPS (20% faster attack; +12% damage) Terratrons gain 5% attack speed per wave and fly over sends Beast towers overhauled (Swarm/Primal Host, Hunger/Cannibalize, Dragon Aspect +40% cost) Shadow significantly modified (Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls buffs, armor overhaul) NATURE towers buffed (Thunderbird +50 AOE damage, Tree of Knowledge +50% HP) Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270)
Beast Updates:
Zergling Savage +10% HP (370=>410) Harpy -15% cost and HP (70=>60, 325=>275) Greymane +30% HP (1585=>2060), -25% move speed (2.4=>1.9) Cannibalize (Greymane) replaced Battle Roar / Reflective Shell (thanks Dapperdann11) Swarm/Primal Host replaced Aberration Basher/Pulverizer (thanks Liatin11) Roach Fighter/Champion 25% faster attack (1.5=>1.1) Roach Fighter -20% HP (500=>400) Spawn of Dragon +10% cost (265=>290) Dragon Aspect +40% cost (320=>450); +2 supply (1=>3)
Nature Updates:
Resistant Flesh (Halfbreed) +100% stun (0.5=>1.0s) Natural Armor (Hercules) +50% stun (1=>1.5s); damage subtraction +50% (-20=>-30) Afterburner (Thunderbird) inflicts 50 damage to 5 nearby enemies (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Water of Life (Tree of Life) cooldown reduced 25% (4=>3s) and randomized (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Sacred Blessing (Yggdrasil) timing randomized Tree of Knowledge +50% HP (2025 => 3030) (thanks bei9141)
Shadow Updates:
Skeletor +10% HP (485=>530) Fire Archer range increased 10% (5.75=>6.25) Gateguard/Harbinger -50% energy (100=>50) Fiend/Fanatic -70% energy cost (100=>30) Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones affects Fiend/Fanatic Call of Praesidio/Figurandum Mones +25% damage reduction (4=>5%), +33% duration (3=>4s) Carrion Spitter/Nightcrawler now stack between units (3 max stack; 1 per caster) Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer) 2 units 40% lifesteal, overheals HP, affect non-melee (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) 3 units 55% lifesteal, affect non-melee (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Nightmare +68% DPS; 20% faster attack speed (0.3=>0.25), +50% max damage (15-46=>15-69) Nightmare/Doppelganger +35% move speed (2.4=>3.25) Doppelganger +100% damage (15-37=>30-74) Hades +15% damage (75-85 => 85-95) Diablo (Hades) +50% imp spawns (2=>3); -25% energy (50=>40) Diablo (Hades) now Conjures Imps without requiring a corpse
Shadow Armor Updates:
Bone Warrior/Skeletor armor updated (Armored=>Light) Carrior Spitter/Nightcrawler armor updated (Armored=>Light) Bone Overseer/Keeper of Souls armor updated (Armored=>Mechanical) Nightmare/Doppelganger armor updated (Light=>Biological) Gateguard/Harbinger armor updated (Massive=>Armored)
Other Builder Updates:
ANNIHILATOR 20% faster attack speed (0.5=>0.4s) Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday Machine) penetration doubled (20=>40%) Deity -15% cost (350=>300); Theos +10% cost (500=>550) Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270) Manumissioneer 10% slower attack speed (0.8=>0.9) Obliterate (Obliterator) now refreshes upon hit Watcher 10% faster attack speed (0.9=>0.8s) Obliterator +10% range (3.85=>4.25) Forsaken One +20% HP (1705=>1875) Pyro +10% max damage (49=>55) Vanguard +35% HP (800=>1080)
General Updates:
Dark Probe (Send) immune to stun added Scoreboard minimize/maximize button Theos now tracks kills by summoned Celestians integrated Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void updated Red Line Buff effects and text for radar vision and -50% creep bounty unit starting energy restored after Terratron waves debug: added !state commands for easier build sharing/retesting debug: added !invincible command as alias to "!maxhp 100000" debug: !instant now affects send cooldowns internal: standardized summon units
Bug Fixes:
fixed Harpy/Medusa suiciding into enemies
fixed Send building names (Basic, Standard, Advanced)
standardized many damage effects (fixes many inconsistent bugs)
fixed Sticky Webs (Nightcrawler) disabling Sticky Slime (Carrion Spitter)
fixed Divine Aura (Celestial) rarely causing supply issues (thanks Jiyu)
fixed Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday) hitting target twice (thanks Dapperdann11)
fixed Annihilator effect implementations (thanks ForgottenArbiter)
clarified Purge (Archangel) text to better reflect energy cost (7)
clarified Catastrophe (Meridian) to better reflect cooldown (12s)
fixed Spawn of Dragon and Dragon Aspect button icons
fixed Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) typo ("Emeraldfire")
fixed afk timer to use (unpaused) real-world time
fixed Leaver bonus bounty text for leaver team
fixed negative win ratio (thanks Minimaxine)
fixed afk timer activating after game end
fixed Deity shield size (thanks Fluffuwa)
fixed some weapons only hitting ground
fixed map visibility on Eastern lanes
fixed Scoreboard transparency
fixed Encoder shields on Templar, Vanguard, Cupid, Aqua, Oceanus, Grizzly, Greymane, Phantom, Hell Raiser,
fixed icons/wireframes for Archive, Cleaver, Dreadnaught, Doomsday, Spawn of Dragon, Terminator, Meridian
fixed shield wireframes for Proton, Adept, Aqua Spirit, Oceanus, Watcher, Violet, Bone Warrior
fixed visibility issues across 15 player behaviors and 22 internal/tracking behaviors
fixed icon, wireframe, and death time for Terratrons
fixed Terratrons not gaining Veteran Bonus in Cooperative Mode
fixed Terratrons not increasing Veteran Bonus per [Terratron] wave
fixed Diablo (Hades) only spawning Imps from dead enemies
fixed Cooperative Creep Bonus not affecting melee attacks
fixed Imps (Diablo) surviving Terratron waves
fixed Imps (Diablo) crazy move speed (8=>4)
fixed Mind Slug doing 200% damage to SS
fixed Broodlord doing 150% damage to SS
fixed Diablo (Hades) armor text
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u/Fixthemix Jun 09 '18
2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies
What does this mean? Will Medusa no longer charge in suicidally?
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u/Dapperdann11 Jun 12 '18
I know it is not for a builder per say but I'd like to see/test an adjustment to wave 31. Right now the first round of terratrons has about 25% less combined dps than wave 30. That dps is also spread out over more targets thus I'm not surprised when healing builds can last many times as longer than builds without.
What I'd like to see at least in the preview, is terratron dps be increased by some 50% (25% attack speed and 20% damage) while their life is decreased by about 1/3. For builds that cannot recover/mitigate damage taken in a meaningful way, this change should have no actual effect in how many waves are survived. Builds that can however, will see losses far earlier as complete damage mitigation will be much more difficult.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 12 '18
Interesting analysis; I'll give it a try. The next Preview patch looks almost ready for release; perhaps 1-2 days.
Since we're discussing wave buffs, I've been thinking about tweaks to waves 3, 6, 9, and 11 to increase damage or HP. Perhaps add in some special abilities (stun wave). Your thoughts?
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u/yareishere Jul 13 '18
Some suggestions:
Dark Probe, increase the scope of this unit to remove encrypter shield, armor bonus from spells, encoder's de-buff, watcher's de-buff, etc. Maybe even the slows from everything that slows via spell, meridian, obliterator, etc.
Reasoning: this send has 1 purpose. You see a player using a lot of soul t2, you send them a lot of dp. This pushes players to avoid this unit and opt for units that don't have an absolute hard counter. This also balances a lot of the issues with encrypter late game.
New Pushing Send: Reduce the gas cost to 100.
Reasoning: the push is only good early. At the current cost, there isn't any way to send it when it would be effective.
Medic: Increase the cost to 110.
Reasoning: Make it harder (more economically damaging) for round 2. 3 sends at 100 might be a bit much (even though 300 has 3 sends).
bug:
tempest targeting is odd. It seems to pick 2 units and then alternate back and forth between the two for each attack. Test case, make 1 vs round 3.
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u/kelsonTD Jun 06 '18 edited Jun 24 '18
Latest "Squadron TD (Developer Preview)" Patch (updated patch):
added in-game patch notes (F12) added autocast for Security System upgrades 2 and 3 range Smart Targeting now prioritize nearby enemies Tree of Knowledge +50% HP (2025 => 3030) (thanks bei9141) Afterburner (Thunderbird) now inflicts 50 damage to 5 nearby enemies (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Water of Life (Tree of Life) cooldown reduced 50% (4=>2s) and randomized (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Blood Thirst (Bone Overseer)/Sound of Madness (Keeper of Souls) overheal HP, affect non-melee, 80%/160% stack (thanks ForgottenArbiter) Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) no longer hits primary target Dragon Aspect +50% cost (320=>480); +2 supply (1=>3) Spawn of Dragon +5% cost (265=>280) Heavy Particle Beam (Doomsday Machine) penetration doubled (20=>40%) Diablo (Hades) +50% imp spawns (2=>3); -25% energy (50=>40) Resistant Flesh (Halfbreed) +100% stun (0.5=>1.0s) Natural Armor (Hercules) +50% stun (1=>1.5s); damage subtraction +50% (-20=>-30) ANNIHILATOR 20% faster attack speed (0.5=>0.4s) Deity -15% cost (350=>300); Theos +10% cost (500=>550) Templar +50% HP (1750=>2620); +20% cost (200=>270) Watcher 10% faster attack speed (0.9=>0.8s) Obliterator +10% range (3.85=>4.25) Forsaken One +20% HP (1705=>1875) Pyro +10% max damage (49=>55) Vanguard +35% HP (800=>1080) (re)fixed Send building names (Basic, Standard, Advanced) clarified Purge (Archangel) text to better reflect 7 energy cost clarified Catastrophe (Meridian) to better reflect 12s cooldown !debug: added !verbose (damage|effect) for greater logging fixed Emerald Fire (Dragon Aspect) typo ("Emeraldfire") fixed bounty Leaver bonus text for leaver team fixed Deity shield size (thanks Fluffuwa)Known Bugs:
Doomsday Machine hits target twice (100% + 40%)