This steroid guy is unbelievable

[bunny de fluff]

Bobby "Steroid" Gontarski, has the Arnold accent which is funny, but how the hell do you work with someone that has 56 Agi and 48 Dex? What the hell is that stats : ) I mean the guy cannot even aim twice!

[blobs]

That game really lacks good mechanics, pretty much just Livewire, next is super expensive Vicki, its also annoying she has game warping free vision passive

[bunny de fluff]

Originally posted by blobs:

That game really lacks good mechanics, pretty much just Livewire, next is super expensive Vicki, its also annoying she game warping free vision passive

Yeah I am using Steroid as the mechanic now, felt like a huge mistake lol

[[ACPL] Jon]

So just, uhh... train him?

Even biggest of dum-dums start being useful after you grind training with a proper teacher (esp. teacher skills); but on the other hand I run the "mines never run dry" mods, so... time.

Still, training your worse personnel in every available moment between fights \ expansion \ militia training is your best bet. Widens your roster and lowers costs a fair bit.

[bunny de fluff]

@[ACPL] Jon_Gra_TTV: It's a bit tricky, Leadership is my imp's dump stat, I have 30, and the other two mercs are Meltdown and Dr Q .

[IlluminaZero]

I've never used Steroid partly due to his abhorrent Agility and the existence of Livewire. I also tend to use MD who actively dislikes Steroid. However I do think that Steroid has some promise.

I actually think Steroid is kinda similar to MD and Livewire - He's more utility/support rather than someone like Ice and Blood. With his optimal gameplay being very similar to Hitman... Hitman even has similar DEX and Marksmanship values.

Hitman can hold a position and offset a lot of damage (hopefully primarily grazes thanks to cover or prone) with Grit generated from his unique talent.

Steroid's 100 HP means that he can get all HP Perks and become far tankier than Hitman; particularly once can reach tier 3 HP perks, with his default stats + some levels.

Secondly I think the true benefit of his talent isn't the Unarmed aspect but the ability to use combat stims without any negatives. In my last game I never used a combat stim so they really added up. Giving them all to Steroid is very sensible.

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

Originally posted by bunny de fluff:

Bobby "Steroid" Gontarski, has the Arnold accent which is funny, but how the hell do you work with someone that has 56 Agi and 48 Dex? What the hell is that stats : ) I mean the guy cannot even aim twice!

has the best anti-communist lines (which is important. the most important actually).
cheap.
guy that covers the STR stat (not really needed tho) (definitely my pick above grizzly tho).
inventory space.
good 2nd mechanic (due to +25 mechanic perk-thing) (with lemonwire) (bad at modding tho, but that´s the lemons job). having 2 mechanics early is good bc of the gewehr 98 stash. in fact having an excellent and a decent mechanic (even wolf (bc +33% speed)) in one squad is worth it in my opinion.
decent shot, even tho his aim-bonus is minimal.
AP doesnt matter that much once he has a +3scope (again, aim-bonus isnt great).
also AP is extremely easy to train. simply move 12 AP in a combat, once every quarter of a level.
if trained a bit in explosives, his throw range is great (bc STR).
bad a stealthkills, like most.

at the end of the day / game, most mercs (untrained) can only shoot once with a +3 auto-aim sniperrifle, so it doesnt really matter.

whats the alternative?
grizzly? not in my books.
kalyna gets too expensive and the armor-pen isnt useful in the (cheap) early game. also bad WIS.
MD has great WIS and thus is much more trainable. usually my pick above Q bc red rabbies. not in my starter-squad.
omryn sux.
igor... nah.

barry is a must
lemonwire is a must
fox / mouse is a must (i´d go with fox)

for the early game, steroid is a decent shot for a decent price (compared to the other recruit mercs), covers the STR-base (80+), is a good mechanic (non-mod).

all that said, from my (mentioned) starter-squad, he´s the most skipable (ignoring the 3-5 day kalyna hire (for the rifle)).

[BastardSword]

Yeah his agility stinks. Livewire is a much better mechanic and can mod anything right from the start of the game. Kalyna is an ok mechanic, starts with a useful rifle, and is good for training militia due to her somewhat high leadership. Steroid's speciality is his strength stat, but strength is pretty useless most of the time, and I think Barry can pass those checks when you need to use a crowbar on a box or whatever. There's one car I know of that you can lift with a high strength stat near the start of the game, but all you get is like 12 parts, wow.

But, yes, it's real easy to train any stats for your mercs. The only timed things in the game that I know of are N-Night and Biff. You can intercept raiding parties headed to Biff to delay going there (or just get it over with, or ignore him) and N-Night is pretty easy especially if you get the junkyard guys and Coffee Beans to help plus some militia if you feel like it.

In my current campaign once I dealt with N-Night and Biff I've been doing a lot of training. Livewire and Dr Q start out as terrible shooters with marksmanship in the 60s and I've got them up to the low 80s now so they're much better. Anyone like Nails with crappy 60ish agility is now more like high 80s or low 90s.

I guess mercs with high leadership are better teachers, or there's the gifted perk which you can give your IMP guy which makes them a faster/better teacher. Buns and Raider have this perk as well. Using these guys as my teachers means my people earn +5 stat points instead of +1 after a training session.

I think once you get used to the game you can pick whoever you want (as long as you have mechs/bombers for mods/repairs/mines) and use training to mold them how you want, and just experience their funny lines and personalities. Shooting skills is the most important for me, then agility so mercs can get into cover or get closer for more shooting. Yes at the start of the game you won't have time for training but everyone starts out kind of crappy anyway. For someone a bit gimpy from the start like Steroid you could just wait and hire him for your second squad, then have the more established first squad do training on him when you get a chance.

[IlluminaZero]

One thing to note is that while both Agility, Dex, and Marksmanship can be easily trained via field experience - The same isn't really true of HP - Technically Strength as well unless the character is melee.

I personally find HP to be among the most important stat for rifle characters. They're typically taking cover while in LOS of enemies and are always in danger of getting hit by grazes and lucky hits. Being able to generate grit is VERY important for characters in constant enemy LOS.

Kalyna and Livewire are basically forced to be stealth snipers as they melt under any enemy fire. A stealth sniper is far less useful than a rifleman who can hold a defensive perimeter while also functioning as a sniper on demand. (Yeah garbage DEX, but scope + bipod goes a long way)

Basically from a pure combat perspective I would rather have Steroid than Kalyna or Livewire. If Steroid had 80 Mechanics (IE sufficient skill to meet all map thresholds iirc) then I would see no issue basically using him as substitute for Livewire.

Strength is also comfy for just looting and general inventory space. Thanks to Livewire's garbage strength stat + required item slots she is basically a dud character looting wise.

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

more HP / health means the merc gets tired slower, that´s why the lemonwire needs to rest while steroid could go for another day or two.
steroid cant travel twice as far as lemon, but by the time lemon rested, steroid could´ve done a bunch of repairs.

also i´d like to double down on the inventory space.
collecting / buying a bunch of explosives, rocket launchers and MGLs for the military event makes it trivial. (mortars are s__te tho).

[IlluminaZero]

Yeah the map travel negative is actually very noticeable as well.

I've actually used Livewire in both my games and her map fatigue is so bad that my IMP Merc (with 85 HP) typically has perpetual "well rested" status thanks to Livewire. IE the team has to stop so much to rest thanks to Livewire that characters with ~85 HP rarely lose their well rested status.

This would likely be doubly true for Steroid. <<

Addendum: Actually - I think that might be one of the reasons why I find myself constantly putting off repairs with Livewire. Like - When Wolf was in my team he was constantly doing repairs while Livewire was resting.

I would still consider Livewire for weapon modding but eh - Her lack of HP is a real significant indirect nerf to her field repairs.

[bunny de fluff]

I am going to get back to all of you soon. The reason I discard my imp leadership is because im going to hire raider and raven, no point having two person with high leader.

[bunny de fluff]

@[SCZ]Celestrian: has the best anti-communist lines - lmao, couldn't agree more : )

@BastardSword; he will not be my main mechanic, I plan to hire Vicki this time around. Steroid will go sit together with maybe Barry in the future for choke point defense or something. My own imp is explosive expert.

@IlluminaZero: I am sure health can be trained in field experience too, by taking damage (yup) and then get healed back up.

[Gillsing]

I'm reading a 400+ comment thread about how Kalyna is an awesome new merc, in which someone argued that Steroid is better because his main weakness (low Agility and Dexterity) can be trained away, while Kalyna is forever low Wisdom. Though it's too bad for Steroid that Fox doesn't like him, because she's the best teacher for Dexterity and Agility.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1084160/discussions/0/7405656898319420955/

And somewhere in that thread I read that you're supposed to use the Pin Down option for Steroid when he uses a rifle. I'm not sure if that's a guaranteed hit though? And even if it is, that's still only one shot every two turns.

And there is of course the use of combat stims without losing energy as a consequence. But I don't know how many extra AP that is, and I don't find enough to be used every battle, even if I had someone who'd use them.

As for Livewire's lack of Health, that's something Buns (or a teacher IMP) can train up to a decent number. Right after everyone has Dexterity 91 and Marksmanship 91. I get a lot of scouting done while some mercs are stuck in my mobile boot camp. And reliable headshots are so nice.

[[SCZ]Celestrian]

Originally posted by Gillsing:

I'm reading a 400+ comment thread about how Kalyna is an awesome new merc, in which someone argued that Steroid is better because his main weakness (low Agility and Dexterity) can be trained away, while Kalyna is forever low Wisdom. Though it's too bad for Steroid that Fox doesn't like him, because she's the best teacher for Dexterity and Agility.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1084160/discussions/0/7405656898319420955/

And somewhere in that thread I read that you're supposed to use the Pin Down option for Steroid when he uses a rifle. I'm not sure if that's a guaranteed hit though? And even if it is, that's still only one shot every two turns.

And there is of course the use of combat stims without losing energy as a consequence. But I don't know how many extra AP that is, and I don't find enough to be used every battle, even if I had someone who'd use them.

As for Livewire's lack of Health, that's something Buns (or a teacher IMP) can train up to a decent number. Right after everyone has Dexterity 91 and Marksmanship 91. I get a lot of scouting done while some mercs are stuck in my mobile boot camp. And reliable headshots are so nice.

the best merc for agi + dex is not fox.
it´s my IMP.
field training +6 agi is pretty much a guarantee, when one reaches the point where training mercs makes sense and dex will get gained via stealthkills (in combination with fox´s first strike).

anyway, it´s here like on every single other steam gameforum, there will be a ret-iodic reddit brained discord jannitor who will argue for -what common folks would call- complete insanity.
add to this basic fact that russia marched into ukraine (for reasons i´m not interested in discussing, as it is not part of this discussion) in early 2022, while this game came out in mid 2023 and features as a new character an ukranian merc. for everyone not befallen by brainrot, it is clear that this will lure in the one or other person commonly known as "reddit user".
if kalyna was added to this game for the above mentioned reason, idk. i can very well this being the case, however even if this would be the case, it was done very much in the okay-green-zone (in my opinion) (aka it could´ve been A LOT worse).

on the training side, it´s somewhat a minor-thing that kalynas wisdom is bad. this simply means she needs to be trained (for a whole lot) longer than other mercs, which means this extra time can be spend training other mercs in (for example) explosives, which are insanely powerful when spammed across the map.

also since agi - the pretty much the most important stat (bc bipoded +3scope snipers exist thus almost nullifying bad marksmanship) - is so easily field-trainable (aka can be forced to happen in (almost) every single fight)... yeah, whatever.

higher dex simply gives a higher aim-bonus, which is nice, but again bipoded snipers exist (probably immediatly capping out steroids MM) and steroid has enough AP for that. his stealthkills are going to fail, but it´s hard to imagine a full squad which has steroid as the stealth-opener-guy.

having the best anti-communist lines easily beats all the drawbacks that steroid has.

also training is optional, but since money isnt a factor when reaching mid-game... whatever.