Bounty Hunters are goofy

[Sasquatch]

I probably just don't really understand the mechanic well enough. But the archetype seems like a lot of work for no real gain. Most of the abilities are tied to the "prey", which makes sense. But you only get three "prey" per combat. And the buffs that come with "prey" aren't really that spectacular. I just don't see why I'd want a Bounty Hunter vs an Assassin that can use abilities endlessly on dozens of enemies. Can someone explain the use case? What am I missing?

[steventirey]

Claim the Bounty can be used on any enemy, and if you kill 3 targets with it you get another charge of Hunt Down the Prey. Using Hot on the Trail for the third time also gives another charge for Hunt Down the Prey. They also have a talent (Good Hunting) that restores a charge every 3rd critical hit.

So they only start with 3 prey. There is no actual limit, however. As long as you keep killing targets with Claim the Bounty, using Hot on the Trail, and keep scoring critical hits, you will get more charges to designate prey.

Now as for how good the archetype actually is, I can't say. Never used it. My operatives go assassin, and soldiers go either tactician or arch-militant. Bounty Hunter never looked appealing to me.

[Og-the-Trog]

It synergizes very well with someone like pasqal- an operative specc'd for exploits reapplies those exploit stacks with every extra turn they take, (which is what merc does, grant lots of extra turns), and can quickly make ALL enemies sitting ducks OR they can make your whole party nigh-immortal with Tactical Knowledge.
Haha, every turn nets you a STACKING +10-20% armor (or MORE if you pump the exploits up high enough and drain a single target) for the entire party until the end of combat, and a fat damage buff on the operative to boot.

I didn't go balls-deep on that strat, instead making him a grand strategist and mopping the room up with argenta/ulfar on turn 1. But an easy +12% armor for the whole party for the rest of combat for a 2 AP investment? I can see how this can get ridiculous.

[Sasquatch]

Originally posted by steventirey:

Claim the Bounty can be used on any enemy, and if you kill 3 targets with it you get another charge of Hunt Down the Prey. Using Hot on the Trail for the third time also gives another charge for Hunt Down the Prey. They also have a talent (Good Hunting) that restores a charge every 3rd critical hit.

So they only start with 3 prey. There is no actual limit, however. As long as you keep killing targets with Claim the Bounty, using Hot on the Trail, and keep scoring critical hits, you will get more charges to designate prey.

Now as for how good the archetype actually is, I can't say. Never used it. My operatives go assassin, and soldiers go either tactician or arch-militant. Bounty Hunter never looked appealing to me.

My experience was that it was non-trivial to use. Most of the bonuses only come if the BH is the one that kills the prey. Which is fine if you can 1-shot things. Otherwise, you have to chase the prey around the map. It also doesn't help with bosses since the bonuses don't kick in til the prey is dead. So you need a strong character to begin with so they can kill without boosts in order to get more boosts. And if I have to wait three turns for a BH to start earning boosts, what's the point. By then, my assassin has killed at least three enemies because the assassin earns boosts immediately.

Originally posted by Og-the-Trog:

It synergizes very well with someone like pasqal- an operative specc'd for exploits reapplies those exploit stacks with every extra turn they take, (which is what merc does, grant lots of extra turns), and can quickly make ALL enemies sitting ducks OR they can make your whole party nigh-immortal with Tactical Knowledge.
Haha, every turn nets you a STACKING +10-20% armor (or MORE if you pump the exploits up high enough and drain a single target) for the entire party until the end of combat, and a fat damage buff on the operative to boot.

I didn't go balls-deep on that strat, instead making him a grand strategist and mopping the room up with argenta/ulfar on turn 1. But an easy +12% armor for the whole party for the rest of combat for a 2 AP investment? I can see how this can get ridiculous.

But assassin also has armor boosts that work on the whole party. Or debuffs that work on all enemies. I don't see what BH brings to the party other than roleplay. To me, the goal is to end fights as quickly and decisively as possible. I don't see how BH contributes to that goal. I know they have some useful talents. I just don't think the mechanics for using those talents are very productive.

[Frikadelka]

It is just a second-tier support skill three. Get the prey, get the perks for it to work on allies and you have a midgame support.

[Sasquatch]

Originally posted by Frikadelka:

It is just a second-tier support skill three. Get the prey, get the perks for it to work on allies and you have a midgame support.

I've decided I'm not a fan of "support" characters. My current team doesn't even have an officer. Everybody talking about Officer being the bestest, most OP archetype because it gives extra turns to other characters. If that other character haaving extra turns is good, why not just make another of those characters? That's even better since it means you have the same perks at two different places on the map. Most of this game seems tied to keeping all your team huddled together.

[steventirey]

Originally posted by Sasquatch:

If that other character haaving extra turns is good, why not just make another of those characters?

Gear limitations could be a factor. Its not like other games where there are stores filled with multiple copies of items you want. You can't just go and buy several heavy bolters. Plus, buffs. Stacking the different buffs all on one character for a greater effect instead of spreading them out over multiple characters, or not even having the buffs because you didn't take the support archetypes at all.

[Soji]

Originally posted by Sasquatch:

Originally posted by Frikadelka:

It is just a second-tier support skill three. Get the prey, get the perks for it to work on allies and you have a midgame support.

I've decided I'm not a fan of "support" characters. My current team doesn't even have an officer. Everybody talking about Officer being the bestest, most OP archetype because it gives extra turns to other characters. If that other character haaving extra turns is good, why not just make another of those characters? That's even better since it means you have the same perks at two different places on the map. Most of this game seems tied to keeping all your team huddled together.

its more than just giving extra turns, the buffs and area of engagement they can place on the map are really helpful, especially on the Navigator since she is usually first in initiative. Giving your entire team temporary HP in this game is pretty helpful as well.

[Sasquatch]

Originally posted by steventirey:

Originally posted by Sasquatch:

If that other character haaving extra turns is good, why not just make another of those characters?

Gear limitations could be a factor. Its not like other games where there are stores filled with multiple copies of items you want. You can't just go and buy several heavy bolters. Plus, buffs. Stacking the different buffs all on one character for a greater effect instead of spreading them out over multiple characters, or not even having the buffs because you didn't take the support archetypes at all.

That's why I broke down and installed toybox. Heavy Stubbers for everyone! As for buffs, I haven't really noticed a real difference between the buffs an officer can give and the buffs an operative/assassin can give themselves. Combine talents that automatically add exploits to all enemies and that allow allies to benefit from those exploits, operatives can do a lot.

Originally posted by Soji:

Originally posted by Sasquatch:

I've decided I'm not a fan of "support" characters. My current team doesn't even have an officer. Everybody talking about Officer being the bestest, most OP archetype because it gives extra turns to other characters. If that other character haaving extra turns is good, why not just make another of those characters? That's even better since it means you have the same perks at two different places on the map. Most of this game seems tied to keeping all your team huddled together.

its more than just giving extra turns, the buffs and area of engagement they can place on the map are really helpful, especially on the Navigator since she is usually first in initiative. Giving your entire team temporary HP in this game is pretty helpful as well.

Operatives can buff the entire team as well. Won't be the same buffs. But the end goal is just to kill the enemy and operatives can make that happen. I went from Story to Daring with no support character. The only challenge has been adjusting my tactics to the difference in difficulty. I don't find myself suddenly needing Officers.
I've used the GS areas several times. I have a hard time getting them to really work for me. I don't like having all my people in one spot like that.