Thoughts on the lord general
Posted: Thu 11 Dec, 2014 1:20 pm
As an longtime IG player and being someone who mains the LG (i used to main CL back in retail) i've decided to post a few suggestions i have in order to adress some issues that i think the comander/race have.
My intention with this post is to hear opinions and have a discusion i dont have an intention of proposing and outright change its just a compilation of ideas or thoughts that i've had while maining this hero.
First lets start with a point that i think is quite strong with this particular hero.
The leman russ drop is incredibly strong is 3vs3 not only you get a leman russ instantly anywhere on the field, you also dont pay any power which makes for a very powerfull strategy getting minimum t2 upgrades units (or directly skipping it) and instantly getting a LR since as the power requirement is 0 its affordable as soon as you reach t3. This can be quite devastating if you know that the enemy is going for a dred or some kind of vehicle play and you have already some map advantadge with your t1 play, getting a leman in mid t2 can be extremely hard to deal for some factions.
I would suggest at least giving some delay time to the drop since its literally instant and it can cause massive damage depending on the situation. Even in t3 fights where the enemy is trying to save their tanks/units.
Also perhaps should cost a bit of power in order to avoid getting it so fast upon reaching t3, i think that any amount between 20-60 power would be reasonable since the red cost was already decreased from retail (275-200). Requisition wise the amount is perfect, since also lets not forget that it cost 200 red, so increasing the cost to 600 req like it was on retail woudnt fix the problem of the fast tech and also would make the global less appealing (since that extra 100 req is worth the elite crew upgrade) and also saving 200 req in t3 as IG can be very useful in order to save for a RR.
The commisar retinue member while being usefull in my opinion its not worth the cost for what it provides and i will try to explain myself why:
First as all retinue members it can die and its somewhat expensive to re-purchase , especially considering that you will most likely want to get the storm troopers in order to soak fire for you retinue/LG so the bleed can be quite considerably if you are opting to get him. The main reason for getting this member is for the refractor field ability that it gives while being good for tanking with the lord general and giving protection to some units its quite mediocre when we have in cosideration a few things:
-First and foremost it cost 60 energy which is very expensive having in mind that nearly all of the other abilities cost 45 and its impact its far stronger than the 50% ranged damage reduction in a 8 radius. For the same energy price its more useful to give a medipack to a squad since it cost the same energy you dont risk blobing near the LG and get caught on some nasty AoE and its also good for tanking damage since you can use it just before you start losing models.
-The cooldown its also suprisingly extrmely long taking 90s in comparison to all others which usually are arround the 60s. If the cooldown where short at least it could had some use for using the LG more solo and using that ability to win ranged fights but since the duration is only 20 sec and the cooldown is so long its not worth it. Also using it for protecting squads its a bit poinless since the enemy can just wait out the effect and since the CD is so long it wont be used until the next engagement.
-The pasive trait of increasing damage while being very nice its not sufficient enough to justify the purchase in my opinion. The only situations that i would go for the commisar are the following:
1) When fighting FC or apo with ASM: I usually get meltas and then comie for extra damage and use the shield for protection aganist the scouts/tacs. Due to the short range and decent damage of meltas and the extra melee damage of the commie it works fairly well in order to counder their melee, especially considering that you are not taking barely any damage from range 50% reduction from the refractor and the modifier of range damage decrease while you are in melee. Also the energy cost its enough for activating fight harder and the refractor.
2) Protecting a tier 1.5 squad from range damage usually zoans, snipers or flamers. Pretty self explanatory it allows to negate bleed on expesive reinforcement in units such as catas spotters or HWT since you usually have only 1 you can afford them to fit them in your refractor bubble while not having your entire army blobbed exposed to AoE.
Having in mind those aspects i find it extremely situational to use since i usually go for these options to get more or less the same effect. Also the natural counter is just focusing your comander and with all the retinue its just usually better to retreat rather than taking loses since it can be very expensive if you have to reinforce a lonely LG. 2x Strom, 1 medic , 1 comie = 50+50+50=150/10 with vox would be 200/15 but if you are going for a commisar play you will rarely also get the vox as well i think.
I nearly always use the medic so i will instead use medipacks in all my squads to absorb some damage, the energy cost is the same you can give it to allies and you dont have to use the ability in the moment of the fight so the energy usage can be more efficient since you are always using it and not allowing it to fill the bar.
I will get any other weapon/armor to either increase my damage or absorb some, since all wargears from the LG do exactly that and they ofc dont bleed and the ability you get from them is far superior to the refractor field.
Grenades/Stabilizers/Flak: Aproach the enemy faster to recieve less damage/ move away. Heal while fighting and also affects allies. Outright damage reduction and KB imunity
Melta/Sniper: More DPS for both the LG and for all nearby infantry not just the comander.
I think adding another passive trait like extra energy or health regen to the retinue would do him very well and make him more viable. Also reducing the energy cost or cooldown could be benefitial since IMO its not worth it at its current state.
Finally i would also like to adress that with the inclusion of spotters the carpace armor its usually prety useless in comparison with the others since you already can control supresion teams with manticores, barrages, spotters or ol reliables and charge or outrange them with other wargears so it makes it very unattractive to use considering that the other 2 armors are way better. I think that the ability should give some ranged damage resistance more in line similar wargears like the storm and shield. Historically this wargear was used with ogrins to counter setup teams but with the inclusion of spotters and also having plenty of tools to control supresion now its not worth it to get it.
My intention with this post is to hear opinions and have a discusion i dont have an intention of proposing and outright change its just a compilation of ideas or thoughts that i've had while maining this hero.
First lets start with a point that i think is quite strong with this particular hero.
The leman russ drop is incredibly strong is 3vs3 not only you get a leman russ instantly anywhere on the field, you also dont pay any power which makes for a very powerfull strategy getting minimum t2 upgrades units (or directly skipping it) and instantly getting a LR since as the power requirement is 0 its affordable as soon as you reach t3. This can be quite devastating if you know that the enemy is going for a dred or some kind of vehicle play and you have already some map advantadge with your t1 play, getting a leman in mid t2 can be extremely hard to deal for some factions.
I would suggest at least giving some delay time to the drop since its literally instant and it can cause massive damage depending on the situation. Even in t3 fights where the enemy is trying to save their tanks/units.
Also perhaps should cost a bit of power in order to avoid getting it so fast upon reaching t3, i think that any amount between 20-60 power would be reasonable since the red cost was already decreased from retail (275-200). Requisition wise the amount is perfect, since also lets not forget that it cost 200 red, so increasing the cost to 600 req like it was on retail woudnt fix the problem of the fast tech and also would make the global less appealing (since that extra 100 req is worth the elite crew upgrade) and also saving 200 req in t3 as IG can be very useful in order to save for a RR.
The commisar retinue member while being usefull in my opinion its not worth the cost for what it provides and i will try to explain myself why:
First as all retinue members it can die and its somewhat expensive to re-purchase , especially considering that you will most likely want to get the storm troopers in order to soak fire for you retinue/LG so the bleed can be quite considerably if you are opting to get him. The main reason for getting this member is for the refractor field ability that it gives while being good for tanking with the lord general and giving protection to some units its quite mediocre when we have in cosideration a few things:
-First and foremost it cost 60 energy which is very expensive having in mind that nearly all of the other abilities cost 45 and its impact its far stronger than the 50% ranged damage reduction in a 8 radius. For the same energy price its more useful to give a medipack to a squad since it cost the same energy you dont risk blobing near the LG and get caught on some nasty AoE and its also good for tanking damage since you can use it just before you start losing models.
-The cooldown its also suprisingly extrmely long taking 90s in comparison to all others which usually are arround the 60s. If the cooldown where short at least it could had some use for using the LG more solo and using that ability to win ranged fights but since the duration is only 20 sec and the cooldown is so long its not worth it. Also using it for protecting squads its a bit poinless since the enemy can just wait out the effect and since the CD is so long it wont be used until the next engagement.
-The pasive trait of increasing damage while being very nice its not sufficient enough to justify the purchase in my opinion. The only situations that i would go for the commisar are the following:
1) When fighting FC or apo with ASM: I usually get meltas and then comie for extra damage and use the shield for protection aganist the scouts/tacs. Due to the short range and decent damage of meltas and the extra melee damage of the commie it works fairly well in order to counder their melee, especially considering that you are not taking barely any damage from range 50% reduction from the refractor and the modifier of range damage decrease while you are in melee. Also the energy cost its enough for activating fight harder and the refractor.
2) Protecting a tier 1.5 squad from range damage usually zoans, snipers or flamers. Pretty self explanatory it allows to negate bleed on expesive reinforcement in units such as catas spotters or HWT since you usually have only 1 you can afford them to fit them in your refractor bubble while not having your entire army blobbed exposed to AoE.
Having in mind those aspects i find it extremely situational to use since i usually go for these options to get more or less the same effect. Also the natural counter is just focusing your comander and with all the retinue its just usually better to retreat rather than taking loses since it can be very expensive if you have to reinforce a lonely LG. 2x Strom, 1 medic , 1 comie = 50+50+50=150/10 with vox would be 200/15 but if you are going for a commisar play you will rarely also get the vox as well i think.
I nearly always use the medic so i will instead use medipacks in all my squads to absorb some damage, the energy cost is the same you can give it to allies and you dont have to use the ability in the moment of the fight so the energy usage can be more efficient since you are always using it and not allowing it to fill the bar.
I will get any other weapon/armor to either increase my damage or absorb some, since all wargears from the LG do exactly that and they ofc dont bleed and the ability you get from them is far superior to the refractor field.
Grenades/Stabilizers/Flak: Aproach the enemy faster to recieve less damage/ move away. Heal while fighting and also affects allies. Outright damage reduction and KB imunity
Melta/Sniper: More DPS for both the LG and for all nearby infantry not just the comander.
I think adding another passive trait like extra energy or health regen to the retinue would do him very well and make him more viable. Also reducing the energy cost or cooldown could be benefitial since IMO its not worth it at its current state.
Finally i would also like to adress that with the inclusion of spotters the carpace armor its usually prety useless in comparison with the others since you already can control supresion teams with manticores, barrages, spotters or ol reliables and charge or outrange them with other wargears so it makes it very unattractive to use considering that the other 2 armors are way better. I think that the ability should give some ranged damage resistance more in line similar wargears like the storm and shield. Historically this wargear was used with ogrins to counter setup teams but with the inclusion of spotters and also having plenty of tools to control supresion now its not worth it to get it.
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