How good is the Co-Op gameplay?

[LordWallDeMart]

I'm a big fan of turn-based strategy games where you have a set of unique playstyles for each run. Should I get this game now (worth full money) or during sale?

I have my buddy looking forward to purchasing this as well. 

Thanks. 🙂

[Foxassassin]

I play pretty much exclusively solo and Co-op. It's very good, but it has a decently steep learning curve. And if both people are struggling, it make the match rougher. Although you can highly customize your experience with a load of map and game settings.

I can't say much about the price, maybe a sale unless you're desperate for a game. Pro-tip though. Only whoever is hosting needs any 'unit' pack DLCs, they are shared. Both/all players will need their own faction DLC's however.

[HydraLord]

Hi there

As the game itself, yes, the game worth full price...still, i find the game a greter experience with all the factions (half of them come from DLC s), so, unless you are in a rush, i would wait for sale and make the investment count. The base game itself become pretty cheap on sale, so if your economy allows it i would say get the whole package.
Perhaps watching some youtube gameplays would provide a better view of the game and the game worth, and give more accurate info for you to decide.
At least that is my point of view.

As for the coop gameplay, i have been enjoying very much; so for coop i would say a yes as to should you get it...but tastes are tastes.

Hope this help
Have fun

[Maestro Rugosa]

Coop play is excellent. The AI factions use pretty intelligent tactics and strategy, and Gladius always provides a serious challenge.

The base game is currently on sale on Fanatical for $6, on Epic for $4, and the Steam sale is around the corner. I understand that the base game is even going to be the freebie on Epic next week.

And unless your personal Completist obsession dominates you, you should be able to totally enjoy and immerse yourself in the base game without any of the DLC at all. Though I expect most serious 40K fans will want to grab everything.

[Grotzel]

Coop is excellent - provided you have a good coop partner. You can assign individual difficulty levels even to human players - and could also add an AI in your team. It can be tricky to find the sweet spot where you feel challenged without getting crushed by the AI.

Matches with different AIs or even AI teams can lead to thrilling moments where you have to juggle commiting forces to different fronts ... and perhaps withdrawing in the hopes that AIs will attack each other. However. it can also lead to unfair situations where you are relentlessly attacked from all sides.

If you and your teammate are starting too far from each other, it might be prudent to start over ... unless you want to treat it as an exciting obstacle.

[Jey]

Originally posted by Maestro Rugosa:

The AI factions use pretty intelligent tactics and strategy

That is simply not true.

[Grotzel]

Originally posted by Jey:

Originally posted by Maestro Rugosa:

The AI factions use pretty intelligent tactics and strategy

That is simply not true.

That is simply a matter of perspective.

It depends on what you expect. I've seen dumber AI ... but also better although it's not always easy to compare AIs that have to handle different combat systems.

[Maestro Rugosa]

Well, perhaps I was a bit over-enthusiastic.

It's possible one could say that the AI "grand strategy" is occasionally lacking. An AI army might not withdraw fast enough to protect it's territorial assets, for example.

But it's tactics -- AI units targeting vulnerable enemies, retreating to recover, staging clever ambushes -- are pretty outstanding. Not sure of other PC wargames that provides smarter AI efforts.

[Grotzel]

Originally posted by Maestro Rugosa:

Well, perhaps I was a bit over-enthusiastic.

It's possible one could say that the AI "grand strategy" is occasionally lacking. An AI army might not withdraw fast enough to protect it's territorial assets, for example.

But it's tactics -- AI units targeting vulnerable enemies, retreating to recover, staging clever ambushes -- are pretty outstanding. Not sure of other PC wargames that provides smarter AI efforts.

Oh yes, withdrawing vulnerable units and healing them is definitely one of the strength of the Gladius AI. If you look at Wargroove - though I love that game - you find a far less capable AI that is unable to heal its units at all and never withdraws.

Meanwhile Age of Wonders 3 and Planetfall have a better tactical AI that uses special abilities more sensibly. I read somewhere that it cheats a little on the strategical layer, though, as it can see through the fog of war and detect hidden units - it just doesn't attack them.

As a slightly obscure example, we have good old ... well, ancient ... M.A.X. (surprisingly similar to Gladius in several ways) that has a pretty great AI which reacts to the units you build, handles repair units and ammunition trucks while also constructing complicated bases including defensive towers and bridges. On the other hand, there is basically only a single faction.

Sooo ... it's complicated. Compared to CIV 6, though, the tactical AI of Gladius should look pretty good. I just wish it knew how to handle certain faction abilities and properly outfit heroes with items (among a few other things).

[Jey]

Originally posted by Maestro Rugosa:

An AI army might not withdraw fast enough to protect it's territorial assets, for example.

Fun fact: Gladius AI prefers fighting a third party instead of defending its cities as seen by anyone who does the The Purge achievement.

AI units targeting vulnerable enemies

Yeah I mean that's a pretty light requirement :').
What would be great is if the AI didn't waste damage. How many times have I seen the AI use an unit that could one-shot the unit deal the last 0.5 HP?

retreating to recover

I admit I've never seen it, I hit to kill.

staging clever ambushes

I have never seen it either. As far as I know, the AI mostly moves in a big group. If you see some units, their main army is always right behind.
So, unless you bum rush whenever you see a Scout Biker and get surprised when there are actually other vehicles behind, you can't fall in an ambush.

Originally posted by Grotzel:

I just wish it knew how to handle certain faction abilities and properly outfit heroes with items

And use transports.
And build counters instead of "a bit of everything".
And build an eco.

[Grotzel]

Originally posted by Jey:

I admit I've never seen it, I hit to kill.

Soooo ... you've honestly NEVER run into a situation where there's an enemy unit that your guys couldn't kill in one turn? Or do you simply refuse to wound units if you have any damage left? I mean, I suppose you could simply stick to overwatch for the rest ... but I doubt that's always the better solution.

Originally posted by Jey:

And use transports.

Hmm ... from the top of my hat I can't think of an example of a game where an AI DID use transports - aside from scripted sequences. I'm pretty sure I've seen it ... but I can't seem to remember any case right now.

[Profile Name]

Originally posted by Grotzel:

I just wish it knew how to handle certain faction abilities and properly outfit heroes with items (among a few other things).

This was my main thing I noticed. It appears to use abilities whenever they are available, which is smart I guess so they are always fireing, but that does not mean the abilities are being used to their full potential.
I often will see a unit use ah...Hammer of Might? Wrath? some units have this and it increases their attack I believe. Well, An AI might use it, then move the unit. Not really attack with it at all. Just use the ability and move.

Still, the AI knows all the Ins-and-outs of it's own game...mmm...really? Can I say that? maybe that's just fancy talk, but I've heard of players having a hard time even on normal difficulty. But then, most new players don't explicitly know all the details of the economy numbers on a tile, but an AI does (Or does it even care?)

The AI is sort of like playing with an Uncle who knows everything in the game, but is too lazy to make detailed decisions.

[Slimurgical (Stormy)]

Tbh I routinely have fun with Solo, and am getting a game together with a couple others for Co-op, so I wouldn't mind playing it publicly in co-op too.

[SilasOfBorg]

To answer the OPs original question.. multiplayer co-op is excellent.

The Gladius AI is middling to poor, which is high praise from me because most AI reveal themselves to be almost completely brain-dead once you learn their patterns.

If you want good co-op multiplayer *AND* good AI, check out Pandora:First Contact (also a Proxy game, go figure). The AI in that game is literally the best in any 4X I've ever played, bar none, and it WILL wipe the floor with you at even settings until you're quite good at the game.