Honestly? This thread makes MUCH MORE FUCKING SENSE than regular current mutators.
You get to customize your xeno without having raw stat buffs that removes huge ass balance. This would be the equivalent of attachies for xenos.
New features that are only usable once per xeno life would allow a multiple new amount of ways to play xeno and that would be not only funnier, but that would also benefit the whole gameplay removing our raw stat buffs.
They already hit a home run with healing off weeds. I don't need any more mutators. Never having to rely on dumbass drones again is the greatest thing that could have ever happened. Only mutator that would be better would being able to ignore stupid queen orders mutator.
Tbh it's kind of sad for me that now xenos are less reliant on team work and cooperation as a whole, that was one of the only things that really balanced the side out.
Yeah, healing off weeds is pretty non-bueno and should just be removed, or made 1/5 of normal heal or less.
Also, the static stat boosts plus the weapon rebalancing has resulted in a game where you HAVE to get the optimal mutators to not get immediately shot to hell. In effect, mutators promised more variation to meta and then the weapon rebalancing forced mutator meta.
Tyson 'Bunny' Sphere
Originally Posted by Madventurer
add more variation to meta, everyone instantly declares most op thing ever needs removed then bitches about no variation to meta
What kind of variation in meta is that? Single best "loadout", or being just worst in any kind of situation?
It's always tackle flaw, speed boost, HP boost and dmg boost for "average" caste beno like drone.
Nobody thinks: "Oh! I will now become armored tackler drone!"
It takes the Queen to order "capture hive", but benos still will be taking dmg, even when it is nerfed by her on the whole hive.
Even taking it into account: Mutators granted only one alternative: "capture hive" and it is the only alternative to "dmg hive".
Healing off weeds is just additional "must-have" for benos that are designed to work behind marine lines like runners and lurkers, but also sentinels if they decide to do it.
If you won't take it, then you are in disadventage as skirmisher.
Instead of sidegrades, benos got straight up boosts to choose from.
Add disadventages to any mutation and here we go.
Dmg mutation means less speed, Armor mutation means less HP, HP mutation means less armor, Speed means less Dmg, Tackle means less plasma and Plasma means less tackle.
Now it is variation, you have to choose if you want (for example) to be high HP, slower, but high Dmg beno that goes into the battle after faster sisters distract marines.
Or you could choose to be more of a "capture" beno with better tackle, armor and speed, but you are worse in direct combat and flamer is a counter for you.
Thanks to that system, you can't have easly the "meta loadout". Anyone will value each mutation in different way and choosed set will affect their playstyle, instead of just being better beno in nearly all situations. (Right now you can be perfect killer, or perfect capturer, only two situations that one beno might be worse than other beno from the same age and caste, but with different mutator set).
Mutators don't necessarily need disadvantages, there just needs to be meaningful choices.
A way to potentially balance mutators without having all of them needing to be competitive with each other could be to gate them to xeno age. So for example, straight-up stat boosts like speed, armour, health and damage would only be available at Young (so you can only choose one and not all), then a completely different set of mutators is available at Mature (and you can't choose another "Young" mutator), and so on. Mutators at Ancient would be truly awe-inspiring (for higher tiers anyway).
This way you can keep boring stat boosts and they'd still be meaningful because it's essentially a tradeoff.
Oh and I think it shouldn't be possible to choose a flaw at all, because there's always going to be one that's a no-brainer for a caste: unless they make flaws caste-unique (so for example Ambushers couldn't choose Plasma flaw, and tackle flaw as it is straight up shouldn't exist).
Last edited by That Happy Cat; 01-30-2019 at 01:22 PM.
Personal flaws are kinds skub yes. I like Hive flaws though, lets the Queen nudge the hive towards a certain play style.
I'd actually like to experiment with some of the other flaws, like slower maturation, once some of the xeno updates come out (like xeno defcon). Be interesting to say what happens.
Last edited by Chocolate_bickie; 01-30-2019 at 04:42 PM. Reason: Spelling mistake
As everyone could see happening from a mile away; mutator stats had to become the new baseline to balance around because otherwise marines were just getting megastomped every round.
Balance is just all-around a shitshow right now because there's a combination of marine and xeno changes happening at the same time that are getting implemented piecemeal, which is leaving balance as an afterthought.
I like the pace of development at least, and I'm glad that it isn't staying static for very long (I could not imagine playing 6+ months with xeno mutators and no marine changes; would probably have just quit), but there's clearly no balance design goal/structure to it.
If it were 1/5th of normal, there'd be no point. I definitely wouldn't bother with it anymore, personally. Nerfing it to uselessness is the wrong approach. (although I am absolutely not against just removing it entirely...)
Here's an interesting take: Heal off weeds means you can't heal ON weeds anymore.
Now there's a pretty significant tradeoff - you'd have to seriously consider if you want to play that way, and it completely changes how you play. It won't be an 'always take this' upgrade, and it comes with some severe tradeoffs, like - if you get hurt, friendly xenos are going to pull you onto weeds and you're going to die.
But at the same time, it doesn't strictly weaken the benefit of healing off weeds. You'll still be a much better lonewolf skirmisher who don't need no hive.
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