Some of our playtesters who love to do 2v2 Ace Matches raised a lot of good issues when it came to challenge. Mainly that Challenge is extremely good in small games compared to larger games, and whoever goes first in a 2v2 games gets challenge and suddenly makes for a very deadly turn.

Since we usually play with 5+ models for mobile suits and 3+ models for SRW games it didn’t come up often for us in playtests, but I definitely think it’s an issue after hearing of their battles.

They suggested to transform the bonus into a defensive one. Currently Challenge gives bonus hits against the two people in the challenge, they recommended making challenge give a bonus block against every other unit. So let’s say GP01 challenged GP02, those two units now gain +1 Block against any other unit on the battlefield.

I think this is a great idea, since the mechanic helps reinforce that the challenge is between these two units while avoiding the deathblows they mentioned in their games. I think it’s worthwhile to include this in the next revision, let me know if you like this one or if you have a different defensive idea that is simpler than this one.

Thanks!

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Related note, they would really really like for Tear through the Ranks to require a new target, that way Altron can’t melee attack the same target twice in one turn hahaha.

So this is a tough one, I think it’s best to keep the flexibility in allowing you to attack the same unit twice but I can see their point that some melee heavy units being able to attack again in melee against say a firepower type is very powerful, especially since VER9.4 turned Pilot bonuses into always on offensive bonuses.

I’m leaning towards raising the [M] cost but giving it a cheap option if targeting a Frame 1-2 unit.

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Lastly we’ve gotten some questions about facing in the last few months so we’re updating the bullets regarding facing to be a little more structured and easier to follow.

Here are three Commander traits in need of an update.

Unyielding

Old Rules: Commander rerolls any failed ARM Sv. Once per Game gain +5 Blocks.

This was updated to close a loophole in the past where a player could put dice on DEF, survive and then obliterate their opponent on offense. The +5 Blocks is nice but we’re going to update to encourage the Commander to always take point.

New Rules: Unyielding – Commander rerolls any failed ARM Sv. Gain +2 Blocks once per Round.

Impressive Skill

Old Rules: Your Commander has +1 Action & +1 Crit Hit per attack action.

VER9.4 introduced Dodge (+1 Evade) and Guard (+1 Block). We’ve been trying to cut down on bonus hits, since that devalues the Dodge choice.

We’ve also been working to cut down on bonus actions so it doesn’t devalue Seize the Day or the Tear through the Ranks Skill. This Commander trait has both but we didn’t have a viable solution at the time. We do have one we have enjoyed in testing but it may be too powerful.

New Rules: Reduce the cost of your Commander’s Universal Pilot Skills by 1 (Min. 0)

If you were to use the Defense Skill for +3 Blocks, it would instead cost 2. (The wording on the Defense skill would be updated to say you can use this skill once per weapon)

Decimator

Old rules: Gain ARM PEN+2 vs Frame 1–2 Units. Any Round where your Commander destroys a unit or reduces it to below 50%HP the enemy loses [M-2].

The 2nd part was upgraded recently and has been well received. The first part however only benefits certain units, the Kampfer for example does not gain too much of a benefit from ARM PEN+2 compared to a unit that exclusively used beam weapons.

New Rules: Tear through the Ranks cost [M-0] vs Frame 1–2 Units. Any Round where your Commander destroys a unit or reduces it to below 50%HP the enemy loses [M-2].

These are the current drafts for the updated Commander Traits. Now we need to evaluate if these changes make some traits better than others and if other traits need to be updated as well.

Thanks for all the feedback thus far on the VER9.4 Drafts. Here’ a summary

Continue reading “VER9.4 Design Goals – Precision & Barrage” →

While it may not be apparent nowadays the three primary inspirations for MechaStellar were the MS Era tabletop game by IronHands, The Official Gundam 1/400 Tactical Collection rules, and of course Warhammer 40k.  Many of the early mechanics in VER1 and VER2 had some direct similarities but in the years since then the game has changed and developed in a lot of different ways.

Continue reading “MechaStellar VER 9.4 Design Goals – Evade and Guard” →