Campaign difficulty concern

[devxx]

-- i put this in the Escalation Experiments sub-forum but that doesn't seem to be monitored. maybe i can get some comments here. thanks

usually in games, the campaign is where you start and they usually start with fairly simple game mechanics and go from there. i have been waiting for this campaign addition for that very reason yet when i launch it tells me "Beware - this is hard and you gotta have lot's of experience" - something to that effect :-) anyway, even on casual, is the campaign brutal and for experienced players only? so for someone who is not really good at the regular game on Casual the campaign would be even harder for me, not easier. correct?

[Slend]

The campaign has a lot of debuffs on the player per map that do feel pretty broken at times. These debuffs can go very badly if it's a combo of things, extra worse when insurgent tactics also add on.

It's possible but can be tricky or sometimes outright impossible depending on the difficulty and modifiers. One thing to keep in mind is that governors and advisors can't be used repeatedly. Also, no multiple saves for each level and losing once means game over for the campaign.

I say you should try it but be very careful with your plays.

[devxx]

so you ARE saying that unlike most games where initial campaign missions are not actually tutorials but introductions to game play and mechanics with gradual difficulty escalation, the campaign in this game is brutal from the get go. is that correct? so me expecting this campaign, even on casual, to be a little less harsh than the original game (which is why i was looking forward to it) is poppycock? (that's an old word huh? :-)

[Ndemic James]

The campaign is designed to mix up the standard gameplay so it does go better if you are already familiar with the game. Give it a try and let me know how you get on?

[devxx]

so it seems if i'm having trouble with standard gameplay i will have even more trouble with the campaign. not the reason i was waiting for its release but....oh well, that's the way it goes.

[Eversor Assassin #2456]

Honestly the most B.S modifier that screws the player over the most is the 'all soldiers are national soldiers' one. What this means of course is that initially when the insurgents start pushing to take territory you're not gonna have anything ready fast enough to stop them and security initiatives are very slow to roll out unless you invest vital early game money in electricity and roll out speed in certain zones aka rural/urban/remote. Late game campaign when the insurgents start with up to 30% territory already makes it nigh impossible to win combined with that previous modifier

[Aniah]

The all soldier are nationals is broken. You are literally forced to watch as rebels destroy everything and you can't do anything about it because it takes 2 lifetimes just for these soldiers to build up.

[Jack91al]

Aniah님이 먼저 게시:

The all soldier are nationals is broken. You are literally forced to watch as rebels destroy everything and you can't do anything about it because it takes 2 lifetimes just for these soldiers to build up.

It's a little more easier when you have the warlord and the Drill Sergeant advisor.

But I agree that this is really a pain. If the game allowed you to have the first 2 national units develop faster then the rest, maybe this wouldn't be so bad :)

[Mcgan]

Play it with the smuggler, thanks to his special initiative you get the soldiers pretty quick. And since they're all permanent, that makes military issues... inexistent really.

One really horrible modifier is "weak supply chains". Hard to stop the insurgents with that.

[Eversor Assassin #2456]

Mcgan9500님이 먼저 게시:

Play it with the smuggler, thanks to his special initiative you get the soldiers pretty quick. And since they're all permanent, that makes military issues... inexistent really.

One really horrible modifier is "weak supply chains". Hard to stop the insurgents with that.

Gotta remember RNG is a real pain in the ass sometimes. I've seen the 'all soldiers are national soldiers' twice in a row towards the end with no alternate map to choose. If this were to happen three times in a row and you've already used warlord, general and smuggler perhaps then you're pretty screwed

[Mcgan]

Yeah... if RNG grants you the right to take the "Espresso Shots" tactic then you're good, but otherwise...

I'm actually having a lot of trouble with campaign mode. Once I selected a tactic which I thought would be a good advantage, but in fact just made the game harder.
The one which funds all the diplomatic initiatives, including "Democracy Transition" right from the start. Seriously...
Combined with "Corrupt Officials" and "Weak Supply Chains" I lost all reputation in record time.

[jwolfe]

It's the sleeper agents (spawn enemies on first stabilization) that kill me. You overall lose reputation from stabilizing zones and you can't get it back fast enough.

[The Mogician]

jwolfe님이 먼저 게시:

It's the sleeper agents (spawn enemies on first stabilization) that kill me. You overall lose reputation from stabilizing zones and you can't get it back fast enough.

The Sleeper agent modifier is arguably the worst thing that can happen to you..

[shobbs001]

i have beaten almost all lvls on brutal with most of the leader. the campaign is just sooooooooooo hard. operation F>>K ME is what i name it. the rebel spawning is worst then in normal mode. kinda point less to contain them in forrest/ mountains if they can just spawn at next to ur base and take a 14 reputation point before u can even move troops there. i seen it so any may as 5 spawn points close to the start. not a fan of the mode for now.

[FroBodine]

So, the campaign is not a way to learn how to play? That almost goes against the whole reason for a campaign. As the OP wrote, campaigns usually start out slowly, teaching the player the game mechanics, and letting them get their hands dirty without the immense pressure of a difficult mission. Then, as the campaign progresses, it gets more difficult and throws all the curveballs at you.

So, this game doesn't do that? Too bad. I was waiting on this campaign before I bought the game, as I kept reading how difficult the game is. I was hoping for a campaign that eases the player into it, and starts like a tutorial.

I guess I won't be buying this game after all. Bummer.

Is there even any kind of in-game tutorial currently?

[Multihack]

I managed to beat it on normal 1/5 attempts. The RNG is huge and there are some games where you cannot win at all. This is not balance.

After the first map you play and rebels get a buff, is a decider if you should restart or continue.
At the very least you should be able to carry over the unit buffs you pick-up on maps.