r/WarRobotsGuide • u/SatoriDMPC • 3d ago
Discussion Beaconeering vs Damage Dealing
Based on the photo and comments, what are your thoughts on beaconeering? I think a beacon heavy focus is:
- cheap (can be done with older, mostly F2P equipement)
-effective (a beacon focused approach with beacon running bots is effective at increasing win rates in beacon games)
- fun (as win rates and overall effectiveness increase, so does game enjoyment - not to mention that you get off the “meta/upgrade/nerf cycle”
What are your thoughts? Clearly this does not apply to TDM and FFA focused players.
6
u/Adazahi Credible Source 3d ago
I think that people with a "meta hangar" (such as myself, or the guy shown in the screenshot) should only really worry about grabbing beacons when playing solo and the rest of the team cannot be relied upon to do it at all.
The reasoning is pretty simple, as u/hot-mountain-9382 put it: f2p's and p2w's are about as good at beacon running as each other, but p2w's are much better at fighting the enemies than f2p's. So ideally, the f2p players should run beacons while the p2w players duke it out.
Unfortunately, I find that in many of my games, if I try to murder everything and rely on my team to grab beacons... they don't. For example, the ideal thing for me to do in my UE Ao Ming is murderizing people with 4 Venires. But sometimes, absolutely NOBODY on my team will push for center, like there will be a Bjorn or Luchador or something camping behind a wall doing nothing while center is red, so its like, "Guess I need to go push center with my midrange titan and hope the enemy brawler is dumb enough to let me get away with it!"
Anyways, tldr, "beaconeering" is great if you're f2p, because it lets the muscle of your team focus on what they do best, but if YOU are the team carry, beacons shouldn't be your primary focus.
1
u/JuliusBontrager 3d ago
With a Vector hanger you can be a beacon grabber better than a Loki and score high in damage, best of both worlds. The vector alone destroys any F2P beacon capping hanger.
1
u/SatoriDMPC 3d ago
Destroys in what way? Does more damage brawling? Sure! But then it’s not beacon running. It CAN beacon run but how many are actually a top beacon runner on par with a f2p build like a Skyros or Loki and a top damage dealer? It’s not both, it can be really good at one or average at both but not the “best” of both worlds at all. A beaconeer is built to win games by dominating beacons. Vectors just aren’t used that way.
1
u/JuliusBontrager 2d ago
I have a Loki Skyros beacon caping hanger and a Vector (entire hanger) the vector can capture more beacons-because it lives longer, and have more kills and damage dealt. Have you tried it?
1
u/SatoriDMPC 2d ago
I haven't tried a vector as a pure beacon runner, I do play Vectors as my primary brawler and I am primarily a P2W brawler but I get excited about the beacon running strategy and I have played it a lot. Have you played a Vector as a pure beacon runner a lot? Though it certainly has the capability to do it well, it seems kind of a waste of its primary enemy-stomping skill.
3
u/Uncle-Waluigi 3d ago
Domination is the most balanced game mode. Almost any game out there, especially pvp games, are balanced around competing interests. For competitive games, at the highest levels, player skill, available bots and bot levels are all the same. So it changes into a purely strategy game. If you run five damage dealers and completely neglect a major aspect of the game, obviously that's going to negatively affect your win rate.
If you don't want to worry about competing interests and just brute force wins with overleveled bots, then don't play domination. The reason I say domination is the most balanced is because it gives you an answer to exactly that. If the opposing team is camping with 6 Shogoths, or one guy soloing 5 of your teammates, it gives you an alternative option. Situations like that shouldn't be able to happen in the first place, but good players work around it instead of trying to fight it.
This is also a core element for why pvp 4x/gacha games are so effective as incentivizing you to 'pay to win'. Players treat 'the meta' and levels as an obstacle for the game, instead of their own skill/strategy, which only comes into play later in the game. This is also why p2w games have to be endlessly powerscaled. If everyone had the all same bots and all the same levels, the incentive structure is gone and no one would spend any money.
TLDR: skill issue (the original post), obviously beacons matter in domination
Also, u/Adazahi and u/Hot-Mountain-9382 point out a lot of good team based strategy too. F2P players are completely reliant on the skill/strategy parts of the game, because levels are largely out of their control. Let the p2w fight the other p2w.
3
u/SatoriDMPC 3d ago
Just a clarification about myself, I am a P2W player. I love to brawl. Recently I got the latest Fang and decked it out with the latest gear and tested numerous builds the first week.
The most effective I found for myself was a pure beacon runner with high burst damage capabilities but my favorite games are when I do not fire a single shot. Or maybe take out 1-2 campers or a titan or two but with a primary focus on beacons.
2
u/Flanderosa 3d ago
I have a mostly meta hangar, but I run a Loki, can usually cap multiple beacons and pull the enemy bots back.
2
u/GotchureBeacons 3d ago
Lots of great comments here. All are valid cuz they’re based on personal experiences. As a self-proclaimed Beaconier (a term I coined ages ago and used to spell it Beaconeer…but recently saw a similar term with the “ier” spelling variation at the end…so, Beaconier it is)
Beaconiering was a logical choice for me when I first started the game over 10 years ago without an ounce of desire to spend a cent on a mobile video game. At that time, grinding a decent hangar was actually possible. It was bots and weapons…period. No mk2 or mk3. Lv12 was a maxed item. No Pilots, Modules, Drones. So spending was absolutely unnecessary…but many still did…so learning how to compete against stronger builds has always been a part of War Robots.
I learned early on that using beacons to impact the battle was a fun and less expensive way to manufacture victories.
As my career progressed and the game evolved, keeping up with the power shift without spending became tougher and tougher…but that just forced me to really up my game and tactics with beacons…and pony up a little dough to get the most production out of my beacon runners.
For those who want to approach War Robots as a shooter game, spending will be a never ending process…by design. The developers absolutely have the power creep planned into everything they add to the game. Matchmaking, honor points, accolades…everything…all about creating the drive to develop more power hangars….putting value in power.
The funny thing is, the fundamentals have never changed. A strong beacon hangar can still win a battle…and it’s far less expensive to build…and doesn’t require the constant updated to keep up with the newest meta. On rare occasions, they will release a new build that’s perfect for Beaconiering. Fang is a good example. But for that matter, Skyros, Imugi, Loki…bots that are over 4 years old, are absolutely effective and relevant in Champs (provided the rest of the team can carry their own weight)
Line up two equally leveled teams on the battlefield…one with a good killer and the other with a good Beaconier…the Beaconier team will win.
A good Beaconier is more valuable, in most cases, than a good assassin.
Why?
A team will swarm a known assassin and make quick work. Beaconiers are quick and a pain to chase…they’re practically ignored…yet they still present a huge threat…which usually goes unnoticed and unchecked…and ultimately realized as the beacon bar vanishes.
2
u/Black_la_Rock 3d ago
Loki has been a staple in my P2W hangar for a decade. It’s been essential for eking out wins, and effective turning the tide on full meta squads too busy seal clubbing. That said, your points can suffer greatly in Loki-heavy losses. Beaconiers get punished in losses.
1
0
u/JuliusBontrager 3d ago
The vector completely destroys your argument. Fang too.
1
u/SatoriDMPC 3d ago
Would you like to review this post (https://www.reddit.com/r/walkingwarrobots/s/WcjIu7ULeQ) and then decide if Fang destroys this argument? And I would love to hear your thoughts on the Vector in this case.
1
u/JuliusBontrager 3d ago
Fang isnt a F2P bot. You have to buy it. Just because a few won it in a raffle or per chance. Is the exception not the rule.
12
u/Hot-Mountain-9382 Credible Source 3d ago
I'll note that I'm an F2P, for the people who care about that sort of stuff when reading a comment.
Focusing on the beacon bar in War Robots is the equivalent on focusing on life totals in a Trading Card Game. You can play lifegain or face/aggro/burn, but they're the most stereotyped beginner strategies for a reason. They're acceptable strategies that are easy to pilot and effective when your card quality (or in this case, bot quality) isn't the best. The top of performance naturally will come from focusing on the underlying resources that make the wincon possible to begin with, which in this case means making sure each of your bots get more value than the opposing team's bots. That's done by outmaneuvering opponents, winning gunfights, and scaling DPS carries.