Just finished the game at Ironman, a couple of considerations

[Khor]

First as it`s custom, another great Game Trese Brothers!
Then since you guys seem really interested in what the players think and i`m on a loong train ride, here`s a few considerations:

Scouting
Scouts, while MVP, are pretty bad at scouting.
They lack a bigger vision radius and Sensorkit Scan is heat restricted hence normally usable only the first few turns.
Plowing ahead and getting too close to the fog of war (even with stealth) is very risky for a fragile scout.
I`ve found scouting is best done by a fast tank.


Debuffing attacks
Except for the last boss, aliens go down with 1/2 hits and don`t have enough defense to require a Templar to waste precious points in debuffing instead of a real offensive ability.


Counterattack
Unless you are a berserker with unlimited counterattacks this is kinda useless...
Since you are limited to 2 counterattacks each turn and auto block proc one, you are better off raising autoblock instead for your melee Templars.


Healing
You don`t always need it, but when you do(insert meme here) it`s the difference between life and death. Healing ordnances are bad, that means deploying a Paladin is paramount and that further means less choices while fielding a squad


Xp, squad, deployment
I guess it was amply discussed but...

The game chooses Templars for you, and due to the SP limitation the current swap system doesn`t really offer much flexibility.
Furthermore, thanks to the XP system, after a Templar has been used for a few missions he became the better choice.
Most maps i don`t have enough point to, say, swap Dalan for a Neptune and even when i can it`s not worth it. It`s much better to have a high level Soldier than two medium level Templars.
This definitely limit experimentation. In the whole campaign i never had the occasion to deploy a Berserker or a Neptune


As a pet peeve: Ironman hell is too easy
The hell xenos are way weaker than the Narvidians.
It`s more like Ironman cakewalk :P

Ok.. that`s all folks, thanks for your time!

[Trese Brothers]

@khor - thanks for the post and we'll work through each item individually to see how we can improve! It would be interesting to hear what squad build you put together.

[Khor]

More or less in priority order :


Tank (high block, fortitude) Captain with warrior`s wrath
Overwatch Soldier + rallying charge, Assault rifle high crit
Tankish Hammer Paladin with battlefield enhancers
Headshot Scout
Napalm Charge Hydra
2nd Headshot Scout


Pyro Engineer


Hope the feedback can be somewhat useful and sorry to come off as a yet another know-it-all annoying customer

[Trese Brothers]

@khor - always great to hear feedback, we soak it up and turn it into better games. So thank you for taking the time to share.

I think one change you may see shortly is Sensorkit Scan coming off heat restriction. That is a pretty clear fix to me. We've been working on a fog engine rewrite that would allow certain classes to have extended vision, but it is a major piece of surgery at this point.

I definitely agree that Autoblock % trumps Counter-attack %, or at least until you have good AB %. Then, you'll start to want to build up Counter-attack to make sure you get them both. Also, good Counter-attack % can let you strike back even when you take a nasty hit.

Paladins can be a rock within a squad, but in my best Ironman runs, I don't use them -- focusing on the good offense is best defense (and therefore healing) kind of plan.

[Khor]

Seriously not sold on counterattack.
My point is:
1% counter is 1% chance of attacking
1% block is 1% chance of attacking AND avoiding damage
Until cap it`s better to prioritize block.. not that`s really otherwise possible for most Templars, there isn`t much gear with only counter and no block.

When block is near the cap of 75%, 1/2 enemy hitting you are enough to attack twice just from block.
If counterattack was on a separate attack limit or something similar, sure! Like this i`m not seeing the usefulness of spending gear weight raising a stat that HAS A CHANCE of MAYBE being useful.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to answer!

[happyscrub]

I have questions:

1. With what you said about XP. Is it more viable to rush the classes you want using RP then spend RP to specialized 1st so you can start early leveling up the classes you plan to use all game?

2. Can you or someone be so kind to break down your reason for AB and counter attack? Im having trouble understanding the mechanics. Like how you said you can only AB once per turn and counter twice yet you say AB is better.

I'm new.

[Trese Brothers]

Originally posted by happyscrub:

I have questions:

1. With what you said about XP. Is it more viable to rush the classes you want using RP then spend RP to specialized 1st so you can start early leveling up the classes you plan to use all game?

2. Can you or someone be so kind to break down your reason for AB and counter attack? Im having trouble understanding the mechanics. Like how you said you can only AB once per turn and counter twice yet you say AB is better.

I'm new.

For the rules for Counter-attack and Auto-Block, I'd suggest reading the Combat Guide sections first. My general feeling is that Auto-Block is most important, as you don't want to take hits from your enemies. Counter-attack allows you to strike back even if the enemy beats your defense. It can be very powerful but unless you are using a buff that graints "unliminted Counter-attacks" you get at max 2 per turn.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=522600159

If it is your first play thru, my suggestion with RP is to spend it when you need it. It never goes away. When your Soldier hits a new level and you need more Soldier gear, then spend your RP to buy a new shiny weapon or whatever. If you bring on a Neptune, that is the time to spend RP to kit him or her out. If you spend too much RP in advance, you can find you've spent it in the wrong places until you get the feeling for the advancement speeds. I hope that helps!

[Samseng Yik]

Agree on Paladin, Healing, Scout and Debuff.

The healing exclusive on Paladin is almost deal breaker.
Is like developer never play other game to encourage diverse party setup...... Example in WOW there are multiple healer, multiple melee damage, multiple range damage so player can always mix and match the party setup without screwing any department.
In Templar Battleforce. Your only choice is Paladin because Healing Ordance is under Paladin area. Player might as well invest into Paladin instead of self impose challenge.

Captain plague with lots of useless skill (aka debuff), and cannot wield gun + shield (make sense for tactical, but maybe not make sense for proud templar or developer.)
Making Captain actually is almost the best to have healing skill tree.

[Trese Brothers]

Originally posted by Samseng Yik:

In Templar Battleforce. Your only choice is Paladin because Healing Ordance is under Paladin area. Player might as well invest into Paladin instead of self impose challenge.

It's odd you keep mentioning that. The most affordable healing ordnance is easily accessible without reaching the Paladin at all.