I haven't posted much in the way of battle reports for Net Epic Evolution so people may be forgiven for thinking that I have given up on playtesting. Nothing could be further from the truth! Unfortunately I haven't got time enough on my hands to post up proper battle reports at the moment but I'm using this thread just to report back on ongoing Net Epic Evolution playtests.

I played a Eldar v Squat 4,000 point battle during the week and despite the result going against me again (I was Eldar) the game was thoroughly entertaining and despite a terrible start for the Eldar, ended up being a close affair fought over three turns. As usual, the ridiculously high break point thresholds greatly aided the Squats, although they were frustrated that my Warlock Titan would not die! Both wing weapons destroyed, head damage that quartered the Titan's CAF and the legs completely crippled and yet it survived the battle! It pretty much came down to a struggle for an objective in woods, and was decided by Squats getting some lucky rolls as Striking Scorpions attacked them. 3 out of 4 Scorpions were slaughtered by snap fires and the objective was lost, ending any chance of victory...

Today I'm back as the Orks in a 5,000 pointer against Squats again. I don't mind my miserable run of defeats continuing if I get another battle that's half as enjoyable!

I know now that Orks can win! The bad news is that my IG lost to them in a 5,000 pointer. My miserable run of results continues...

On the plus side, Net Epic Evolution continues to work sucessfully!

A new problem occurred to me about Titans going back to standard orders. Under Evolution it makes Praetorians more powerful than Titans because the Praetorians can move 10cm + gain the advantages of First Fire. Therefore, to correct the disparity I propose the following:

Titans may act as though on first fire when on advance orders provided they move no more than 10cm.

This fix may not be perfect but it provides Titans with the same benefits as Praetorians whilest protecting Eldar Titans, eg a Eldar Titan on FF is unfairly penalised in terms of holofield saves. This way the Eldar Titan gains the FF bonus even though benefiting from Advance saves for holofields.

I'm determined to even up the power of Titans with those of Praetorians but at the same time making sure that the overpowered Charge/First Fire situation doesn't arise again. Thoughts?

I'm intrigued! My main concern is no firing beyond the usual advance rate of a Titan, that's what caused absolute mayhem with my playtests.

I await your findings with interest!

There's a bigger advantage to being on First Fire in this new version of Net Epic (you get a +1 on to hit rolls). I'm not happy that Praetorians get to move and gain this advantage when Titans do not. It particularly annoys me because Praetorians are far cheaper to buy than Titans.
I think there is a general consensus that there is a disparity between the Titans and Praetorians - it's why the Titan Plasma rules were devised - but getting the perfect balance for the Evolution ruleset is proving to be frustratingly elusive so far!

I have every confidence that we'll get there in the end though!

Well, there is your answer then. Praetorians move and shoot as if they are on charge and first fire. The keywords there are "as if". Being that they do not receive order counters, they could be excluded from the bonus to hit. For fairness sake, you'd also (probably) want to just flat say that any unit that does not receive order counters does not get the bonus to hit. This would mean that Command units would lose the bonus, but they already get a lot anyway.

Alternatively you could require that a unit not move at all, regardless of orders, to receive the bonus to hit. This form would allow Praetorians and Command units to still get the bonus, but only if they do not move.

Another alternative could be to make Titans have a fixed Move value like Praetorians do. That is, their Move would not double for being on Charge. This could allow them to use the rule of not receiving orders and still be balanced. You would probably want to increase Move values slightly (perhaps +5cm generally and +10cm for ones with Agile or similar).

After all, what is a Titan except a semi-sentient Praetorian mounted on legs? They both use hit location templates, perhaps their rules should have more in common than they currently do.

As a note, while any of the three ideas above could solve your problem, using both #2 (not move) and #3 (fixed move) at the same time might be a good idea as well.

1. Praetorians only gain the +1 bonus if it doesn't move. Praetorians due to size and slow speed ALWAYS grant a +1 bonus to hit them.

2. Titan use standard order. For any given orders it may move its standard base move (use the titans current base move), thus:

First fire: moves base move, may fire receiving the bonus and penalty related to first fire. May only fire before or after movement (may not fire during movement, this simulates staying still for increased accuracy).

Holofield save 5+

Advance: moves base move +5cm for imperials and orks, +10 for tyranids and eldar. May fire at any point of movement (allowing to fire and use cover). No penalties or bonus to to hit roll.

Holofield save 4+

Charge: moves base move +10 for orks and imperials, +15 for eldar and tyranids. May fire at start or end of move, not during move with a -1 penalty on all to hit rolls. All weapons that may scatter, automatically scatter the maximum distance. One shot weapons and plasma weapons may not be used since the time it takes to prime these weapons is longer than the time a charge order provides

A titan should be able to fire under all circumstances, so I gave them a fire option under charge orders, but with a penalty and restricting what can be fired. I think it gives all orders for titans a tactical value.

Thoughts?

Primarch

We need a facepalm smilie! Excellent idea chaps! Ok, into the nitty gritty...



This fixes the problem outright. Perfect.



If we limited charging Titans to firing only at the start of their move, all my issues about firing on charge would be resolved. The problems have been because of them getting far too far up the board and then unleashing their arsenal. If we applied this one tweak then I'd be more than happy for all other Titan rules to be applied as they currently stand - though I think the -1 on rolls to hit should also be thrown in for good measure. After all, that was the rule in Adeptus Titanicus...