Perfect Nightmare Max score clear

[amordron]

Well as I just finished my run with level 4 achiv thought I would post it. I did this via playing two campaigns at once. The first I was playing around in and using it to see whats goes on in the mission ahead or two ahead than playing them on my perfect campaign. I feel the campaign is to punishing without foreknowledge if your trying for the achiv but thats fine as its not an achiv to get on your first run. As such was able to do it without save scumming. Thou in a way that takes twice the work save summing would be the easier way.

I don't think by any means i'm the first to do so more posting as a note about max score for people and my thoughts on campaign.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/483401506209529867/592523927235067905/unknown.png

75,000 victory score.

So for those that are wondering you are able to lose a few missions and get the lvl 4 achiv as you lose about 350 points per loss you get about 15 retrys over the run while still getting it.

My thoughts on the campaign:



NOTE: will be some minor spoilers going to keep it at minor so don't read if not wanting them.







Hero missions:

-Are borring as hell I wont go onto the hunt and seak stuff enough other have. My main issue with them is the lack of skills for the hero. A hero is a unit that stands out the heros we have are weaker than many units and are just overall ♥♥♥♥ as units. They need skills and stuff to make them stand out.

-The hero missions above all need a checkpoint system even if it gives you a "failed attempt" each time its used as restarting from the start is jsut lame as hell on the hero missions more so than any other only to do the hit and run crap again for an hour.


Tech tree:

- The tech tree has some MAJOR flaws. The main one for me being why the hell do some units or buildings get upwards of 6 upgrades that are useful to them like shock towers while other units get nothing at all like thanatos. There is already many reason to not use iron tier on the campaign to the point that I only used iron tier on 3 missions. There is no reason there is such a gross onesidness to the tech tree favoring some units WAY more than others. Even the new unit mutant a lovly unit but due to titans getting the 25% extra damage becomes rather meh quick.

-Missing some kind of upgrade to allow fast teching to speed of the early game. The early game in every mission is slow as hell. There should be tech you can unlock that eg makes snipers open in the soilder center without needing to research them. Would make them better as right now soldiers are basically the clear winner. Or a upgrade that lets adv farms be open from the start once you first place a farm. Witch would do wonders to making iron tier stuff more worth it. While leaving it at a cost due to needing to spend tech points to get the perk.

-some perks are just overcosted way to much. Eg +5 vision to CC for 100 is just to much should be 50 at most. Move those 50 onto snipers if wanting snipers to be that total cost. The gating tech is fine but make them cheaper and the thing your gating more expensive. It doesn't feel good to pay the same for +5 cc vision as +1 gold per kill the power diff between the to is night and day.


Missions


-Mission repetitiveness. This one is mainly in the early game to branch of the above. The first 20-30 days of any mission is exactly the same and borring we need some way to speed this up and get onto the "fun" of the mission faster even if its at a cost in the tech tree. The merc units tech help with this a bit but need more. Such as mabye a tech that gives a free solider or sniper every train car. Witch would go a long way to letting you push faster of the start while increasing noise so still limiting you but letting you do more in the days before soldier center and teching.

-Pop missions I know why there present (to make it so people cant sell there houses and need to win with enoguh leeway to repair any holes in your defenses) but esp the early 1/3 of the game the pop limits feel to high for doing that and just feels like a chore. In the later 2/3 there fine as at that point you reach that number just playing.

-wave warnings I dont mind them as is per say but would be better at least in lower diffs if the skull showing from day 1 showed the direction there comming from (for challenging and below) this would help for many new players while leaving the diff for the higher level.

-Till the last 20% there was basically no specials that even attacked the player even on nightmare save for chubbys witch was rather bland. Meant the same defense worked every time turning the missions into the exact same wave defense at the end. Till the final 20%. Should weed in the diff on waves more.

-Shocktower + wasp in combo is op as hell. That alone got me by 90% of the campaign for all defense with only single layer walls (i used double norm doubling with wood + stone to save minerals.

-lack of in mission story. Should have at least a little blurb at the start of a mission not in the map info but like an adviser talking to you or otherwise and mabye giving some helpfull advice over the mission. At least to give the player something to keep them interested. Mabye toss a joke in.

-Lack of story outside of missions. The event going to the throne is cool and all why is there not more of that plus other intermissions to draw the player in and explain mabye a lab that calls the gen with a "breakthrough" on the virus learning how it happened or otherwise. I can honestly say after the campaign I feel like I just played many hours of survival there was so little story that it just felt bad.

-Mini quests, Why is there only the main obv in missions there is a perfect opertunity to map little hidden things to find for bonus RP or EP to boost the player as a bonus or hide tech within missions so you cant buy them till you find the mission its hidden in. To give more to do.



Replayabilty

-Why cant I go back to missions and play them again with my tech just to have fun after clearing the campaign the missions should unlock and let you return. Give a full respec to the talent tree only AFTER clearing the campaign and let players play around. Having to restart the campaign to replay is silly as hell. People dont want to replay 40 hours in order to play the mission they want to replay they want to just play that mission.

This would also allow so eg if you missed the achiv by 100 points you could go bakc and improve after the run just make the campaign score stay the same and have the total victory points as a new heading go up base the achiv on the total.



Otherwise I did like the campaign overall but those are my mainpoints. I don't mind the ironman system or replaying normal missions from the start on loss but the hero mission replaying is a joke. Thou I find the hero missions all in rather ♥♥♥♥♥♥ they could of been fun with real heros as they stand they only feel like chore.

[MagnusGrey]

Yea im playing on nightmare now and should come close to a perfect score on my first run. So far I have only lost 2 swarms early on by not understanding their difficulty and 1 regular map due to a stupid error and letting the dudes in.

I think they should prolly have just made the hero missions more like regular missions, just without unit spawning and different kinds of objectives (clear way to point on map, assasinate a enemy giant, find tech from ruins surrounded by zombies etc) the solo hero clearing and pixel hunting was prolly not the best choice.

[amordron]

Messaggio originale di MagnusGrey:

Yea im playing on nightmare now and should come close to a perfect score on my first run. So far I have only lost 2 swarms early on by not understanding their difficulty and 1 regular map due to a stupid error and letting the dudes in.

I think they should prolly have just made the hero missions more like regular missions, just without unit spawning and different kinds of objectives (clear way to point on map, assasinate a enemy giant, find tech from ruins surrounded by zombies etc) the solo hero clearing and pixel hunting was prolly not the best choice.

That or at least allow your hero to find "merc depots" and buy units with empire points something like 10% of your total empire points can be used at this to get supporting troops. Than once out thats it. That way the missions would feel more spec ops as you have a small force going into a base but its not just a single borring hero with no skills.

The mercs would be set based on mission so you can buy only the type the mission allows but as many as you want so long as you got the EP. So you cant jsut unlock luci in the tech tree and cheese them.

Honestly donno thou to me a hero has skills and is better than a normal unit the heros in TAB dont feel like heros they feel weaker than a named mob.

[MagnusGrey]

Yea adding 1-2 abilities per hero would have been nice.

[kirill-busidow]

How useful are wasps, how much damage they do and how fast?

What units you used most of time - snipers or soldiers?
And what endgame unit you used: thanatos, lucifer or titan?

What most useful upgrades you found?

[prayanspray]

good review dude.

[SiN-]

Messaggio originale di kirill-busidow:

How useful are wasps, how much damage they do and how fast?

What units you used most of time - snipers or soldiers?
And what endgame unit you used: thanatos, lucifer or titan?

What most useful upgrades you found?

I would suggest you watch TAB streamers for your question; https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/They%20Are%20Billions

[kirill-busidow]

Messaggio originale di ✪ SiN-:

Messaggio originale di kirill-busidow:

How useful are wasps, how much damage they do and how fast?

What units you used most of time - snipers or soldiers?
And what endgame unit you used: thanatos, lucifer or titan?

What most useful upgrades you found?

I would suggest you watch TAB streamers for your question; https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/They%20Are%20Billions

Why watch if i can ask?

[One Man Army]

Very nice review and congratulations on your flawless win.
I agree with all your points.

Like you said the missions are too punishing without foreknowledge of what's coming.
To overcome that on the first run, you either need to save scum or play two campaigns in parallel like you did, which is fine I guess, but still showcases the problem with the missions.

The most difficult part of all missions is the first wave and what to expect.
After that it's the same thing over and over and just a wait time until the end of the mission, it's dead easy.

The missions maybe should indicate what kind of zombie types you can expect like the swarm missions (not numbers, simply type of zombies), to give you an idea if you have the tech for it or not.

[One Man Army]

Time for apocalypse! Good luck everyone!

[GatyKahn]

Messaggio originale di kirill-busidow:

Messaggio originale di ✪ SiN-:

I would suggest you watch TAB streamers for your question; https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/They%20Are%20Billions

Why watch if i can ask?

They are good, basically walls that shoot with no upkeep. They are nice to defend small tight spaces without breaking the bank. They are also a lot more efficient against fast moving units.