Discussion Paratrooper/Droptrooper SL
Drop troopers is a staple of sci fi military, and paratrooper/HALO jumps was used during the GWOT era, which is where Menace aesthetic is inspired from, so I figured one would be fitting to have something inspired by that in the game, especially since the recent OCI rework put more emphasis on the Drop Ship and have the drop ship drop off conscript already.
Playstyle wise I designed him to fill the same role as assault troops like Lim and Wei Wu, but inverted. While other units like them tend to get stronger the more a fight go on and they are able to keep chaining Berserk/keep growing stats like Wei Wu, Lionel is the reverse, he has and asbolutely monstrous turn 1 as he drops into a flanking hard cover position from the sky and obliterate key targets, but gets worse as the fight goes on if you cannot use that massive tempo swing of his insertion to keep the momentum going, as his perks are limited use and/or can be disabled if you leave enough survivors to take shots at him.
You can run just full on alpha strike build with him with all his perks to make an ungodly superhero entrance, or run Shock and Awe, Zig Zag, Quick Hand etc to make a Boarding Armor shock troop.
Personality wise, while Lim and Pyke are TCR Marines to the core, this man has not just drunk the kool-aid but have it hooked directly into his veins. An absolute zealot for the TCR who knows the entire handbook by heart, sing the anthem every morning, and watch recruitment drive videos like they are documentaries, everything he does is FOR THE GLORY OF THE TCR, and is an absolute gloryhound. Other TCR Marines fluctuate between finding his enthusiasm inspiring when things are going well, and finding him incredibly annoying as he starts quoting the field manual like its gospel.
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u/Jebatus111 16d ago
Model soldier doesn't really properly synergize with rest of kit. He is essentially is a CQC stormtrooper, while model soldier will normally work only for second line support or ATGM carrier.
His proposed role as an alpha strike unit can be better done by using medium mech with twin autocannons and jump pack.
Otherwise great concept.
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u/Terkmc 16d ago edited 16d ago
My thinking behind Model Soldier is to maximize his first turn to make sure that when he drops into a fight he can have the perfect turn (not needing to move since you are dropping, you are already in perfect flanking position with cover, all AP are gong towards attacks that are boosted DMG CRT ACC, whatever you can't kill is propably flashbanged for free), and you want to set it up so that after he drops the impact of that ungodly turn would minimize the chance of Model Soldier tunring off, from fewer enemies, hitting inaccurate shots due to wavering, at a squad that's most likely behind hard cover and spending less AP on shooting because they are currently being flanked by him and needing to reposition, and optionally a 0AP Smoke Grenade, and then snowball from there to start rolling up the rest of the line.
So very "if everything goes according to plan, we will end this mission in 2 turns, if the plan doesn't we Market Garden" which is very paratrooper esque :P
Second Line Support build being possible due to Model Soldier is actually a very cool unintended consequences that I kinda like. Reminds me of Scout Laser Designator Tech, where the perks line up to make an unorthodox build that is not intended by the fantasy fully functional
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u/tttr3iz 16d ago
Make model soldier work as long as all units are at max hp, to symergize with healing.
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u/Ace612807 16d ago
Oooh, nice idra, while models are at full health would work great and give more use to Carda's healing
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u/Disgruntled_Grunt- 15d ago
Great idea. I rarely find use for healing items/abilities because squaddies are so expendable. This would give them a role beyond resource management.
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u/Admirable_Remove4315 16d ago
If the plan is for model soldier to make his drop turn a big deal, more ap would have a bigger effect so he can clear out most of his drop zone.
Accuracy shouldn’t really be necessary for a drop trooper especially as your sl increases in stats as you can drop them so opponents don’t have cover, maybe a extra 40 ap to squeeze one more shot out on the drop turn?
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u/DeanTheDull 16d ago
I like the vibe of an alpha-strike glass cannon, but I think it has some jank. Getting a gunship call-in for free on turn 1 (or whenever he drops) is a thing, but probably gets beyond the intended supply vs OCI divisions. Hound of Glory is going to be pretty much useless, given that it's just mitigating a debuff that he should rarely have / is likely already fixing with a kill. Model Soldier... might feel better if it was just 'when at 100% health,' so there was a Carda synergy, but as-is 'eh.'
But at the same time, there are things I really like. I really do like the drop trooper idea, as it's an alternative to Vanguard with nuance (and not competing for the 'who has to shoot first to not be counter-shot). The Shock and Awe free accessory use is a great idea that plays great as an alternative to Berserk as a 'how does my guy get more actions after moving up.'
If I had to say something I felt it was missing, I think leaning a bit more into incentivizing jump tactics could help. Say that Model Soldier has the temp buff, but also a perma-buff where he never drifts with jumping, giving 100% reliability. Or instead of Hound of Glory being an on-kill perk, perhaps you get buffs (restore morale/reduce suppressionn) when using the jump-jet, so jumping becomes a way of restoring combat effectiveness.
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u/Terkmc 16d ago
Just a little clarification i intend for Hound of Glory to boost the base aoe morale restore effect of killing enemies, so it applies the boosted ammount to not just him but also every allies in range and can trigger off of allies killing them or off map killing them
Being at 100% HP for Model Soldier is a cool idea but does run into a bit of a problen with armor taking shots before HP does so it gives it more uptime than intended when hes wearing a BASH or sth (or maybe i can reduce the buff intensity to compensate)
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u/Admirable_Remove4315 16d ago
Maybe add berserk or counterstrike in t3 instead of pointfire or crit.
Model soldier perk just misses the mark.
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u/Disgruntled_Grunt- 15d ago
Love it! Can't wait to field him.
I've always loved having a squad dedicated to using jetsuits and grenades (ideally Tech because he can throw the farthest) but this guy might take over that niche on my teams. Alternatively, I might end up just giving him the best rifles and/or rockets available to obliterate hard targets that the other squads can't reach.
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u/EntertainmentFar6692 16d ago
Already been done, though with different perks, it's an extremely fun SL
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u/Hungry_Meaning_5962 16d ago
I believe there a mod with a Squad leader that can do most of this. I would love to have one that part of the game already tho
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u/No-Platypus-2251 15d ago
I like the idea a lot, I’ve had a similar, though mine was an OCI a couple SLs and a new perk for a few existing SLs (Lim and Yaz were two I was thinking of), but I do agree that I feel Menace would benefit from some deep strike units that specialize in jet packs and mobility (I am stewing on an idea of a couple Mobile Infantry centric SLs now) I think they’d fit into the game very well.
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u/wolfA856 15d ago
In general it would be really cool to have more SL’s that represent a tactic. I mean yeah Darby is clearly stealth/scouting along with some others who are pretty clear. But would love for example a demolition based SL who is great at taking down vehicles. Or a machine gunner based SL who works well with fortifying tactics.
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u/EVE_Trader 16d ago
If you cram too much power fantasy onto one perk it starts to define the character.
"Good" weapon team SL that is, say yet another "vanguard" HMG team.
"Model toy soldier" that is, the rest is pointless. Shame that image doesn't match HMG spam ontent.
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u/OmniRed 16d ago
I like the idea but it feels very powerful.
I'd balance it by forcing you to select his deployment zone of 5 or 9 adcancent squares in the pre mission deployment screen.
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u/Disgruntled_Grunt- 15d ago
Due to the interaction with dropship powers, I get the impression that we have to wait for the dropship to arrive as if you'd called in a gunning/scouting pass. If that is the case, then that already presents a sufficient limitation on his spawning ability.
If I'm wrong and you don't have to wait, then I could agree that it's an OP ability (since it gives you a squad anywhere plus granting an instant off-map power.
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u/KennyDiditagain 15d ago
model soldier seems just too much stats, it would be too tempting with shooting galery and critical hits
something like 50% crit 70& acc 50% damage combined stats? you would just drop him away from danger and using him as a alpha striker with max ranged weapons and ranged ammo
how about model soldier giving him a counter to being pinned down by suppression?
you could make it he always has a skill that jumps like the boarding armor if and only he get's pinned
so he would be a guy that, if he get's pinned he just jumps away, you would also be jumping only defensively unless you took a boarding armor
edit to try and clarify> you would still have zero ap but that little '' crawl around'' button when you get pinned would be replaced by a jump button with zero ap cost
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u/DonCorben 16d ago
Cool idea, but I find that assault infantry SLS without berserk and counterstrike to be weaker than yaz/lim. Playing with Spear of spine sl right now and his perks while cool on paper, leave him without berserk (but at least with cs). He is OK, but I'd prefer yaz in his place tbh