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That's a pretty great arrangement of final battles. I look forward to them all, when the time comes.
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Mar 12, 2012 23:11
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Okay, let's close the poll and count this up: Andy 1 Max 2 Sami 24 ... well, that was straightforward.
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Mar 13, 2012 12:28
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Paul.Power posted:Max 2 The four-time Final Battle should be wonderful  Incidentally, what do you think is the worst possible setup for your teams in TFB?
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Mar 13, 2012 17:05
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Allan Assiduity posted:Max could've made a comeback. All things considered (not trying to speak for Paul.Power here, just giving my own two cents) I'd probably figure Olaf and Drake. Drake's rain screws up Olaf, Olaf's snow screws up everybody, there's no ocean for Drake to take advantage of, it's just a mess all around. KataraniSword fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Mar 13, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 18:41
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Beaten but yeah, it's Olaf and Drake. I remember an issue of Nintendo Power throwing that one out as a challenge to its readers. E: I think they cited Grit and Kanbei as the "best" partners but there are better combos I'd say. C-Euro fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Mar 13, 2012 |
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Mar 13, 2012 18:48
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Drake is actually a pretty good partner on his own due to Tsunami forcing Sturm to waste a bunch of funds, but he's far from the best on his side, and well, adding Olaf there just makes the whole thing worse.
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Mar 13, 2012 19:01
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Mission 8: Sami's Debut! (or "Who needs T copters?") And so, the Trousers of Time converge. This trio of screenshots does rather make Sami look like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Don't worry too much about being late, Sami, it's my fault for being so much of a completionist.  Andy, Max... and special advisor... Paul, wasn't it?Hey there, good to see you.  Who are you?And for once he manages to ask the question in a civil tone. My name is Sami. I'm the Special Forces commander. I was supposed to join you earlier, but my last mission ran long. Well, better late than never, right? I'm an infantry and mech unit specialist. My units can seize and secure new bases faster than any other CO's. My transport units are top of the line, too.Okay, sounds useful.  Don't hesitate to deploy me and my troops as you see fit. I'm ready for action! Looking forward to working with you, Sami! That's the spirit! Oh, I've got some information, too. Word is that Olaf's forces are marching toward Yellow Comet.Not that we'll ever catch up with them, but oh well. I hear Yellow Comet's nice this time of year. Let's go get 'em! ...Wait a minute... who's that?  Andy says "It's my turn!" on the "confirm CO selection" screen, Max says "Here I go!" and with Sami you get "Do I have the command?". Kind of fits their personalities.   Fun fact: depending on the route you took through Blue Moon, this is either mission 8 (M route, O route) or 7 (A route). I guess we'll call it 8? Day 1 Best goddamn theme song   Do you remember them, Paul?Yes, yes I do. Probably better than you do, Andy. Those look like Green Earth troops."Either that, or I'm colour blind." I've heard they have an independent battalion around. Maybe this is it. They're supposed to be really tough. Especially the air units. Outstanding! Paul, Sami, you both know your stuff!Hey, wouldn't be much of an advisor if I didn't.  But how did you get this intel, Andy? I ran into 'em once, and...... sort of flew over to their HQ and captured it without much trouble, really. Hey, you survived, didn't you? That's pretty impressive, Andy. Even with Paul's help, that's good work! Way to go, kid! All right, let's roll!Nice to see Max get a bit more pally with Andy  . But for the sake of argument, and since I had to play this mission three times anyway, let's see what happens if I'd answered "No" when Andy asked if I remembered these emerald enemies... Those look like Green Earth troops. I've heard they have an independent battalion around. Maybe this is it. They're supposed to be really tough. Especially the air units. That's a Special Forces commander for you! Always up on the latest intel.Basically, this time Max only compliments Sami and not just me. Hey, guess I'd deserve it if I had forgotten about Eagle and Co. But how did you get this intel, Andy? I ran into 'em once, and... Hey, you survived, didn't you? That's pretty impressive, Andy. Yeah, Nice work, Andy. All right, let's roll!Yeah, think I prefer the "Yes" version.  Sami says this terrain's made for her, and she's not far off. All these mountains and rivers are meat and drink to footsoldiers. Trouble is, they're also meat and drink to air units, which - given who we're facing - is a problem. This is kind of why Max is the best CO here, as in many ways his air force is better than Eagle's.  But Sami can hold her own here. Our goal is for our T copters and infantry to hug the northern border of the map while the other units move through the woods and along the roads to try and take out as much of Eagle's stuff as they can.  Sami's low firepower in direct combat and Eagle's superior air defence means we might have a few... issues damaging his planes and copters.  Oh well, still a pretty good shot. Might be more of an issue when we take on Eagle's fighters and bombers, though.   The B copters go in, and here we get to see Sami's happy face.  You're probably wondering why I used my B copters when I've got two AAs sitting back there that would have done a better job. Well, remember that bomber I pointed out? The AAs would have been in range of it. Not good. At least bombers can't hit B copters.  Anyway, let's load up the T copters and send them to the far north of the map so we can get this HQ capture plan started. Note that they moved 7 squares rather than 6 - that's Sami for you. Her transports get an extra movement point to work with.  Not that my APC's going to need it right now, as it picks up and drops off a mech on these cities over here. Don't really need them, but it wouldn't be much of an introduction to Sami if I didn't show off a particular... something about her.  Tanks, arty and missile launcher follow the road...  ... while my AAs and remaining mech cross the river.   This time, I won't be beaten by Andy and his ilk. I shall crush them with one stroke!But aren't you kinda more famous for crushing people with two strokes, Eagle? Oh well, whatever. Day 2  Okay, so we can see a bomber and a tank. Probably a whole lot more out there though.  First up, let's keep these T copters moving.  Although I have a feeling they won't be moving much longer, what with all these fighters and B copters around the place. So I'm going to drop the infantry off here. Still some way to the HQ, but that won't matter too much.  Whole bunch of action. AA finishes off B copter, fighter attacks bomber, B copters work together on Eagle's tank. Can't finish it off though.  So okay then, what's the big deal with Sami? Well, let's try capturing a property. Hmm, is that an asterisk next to Capt? Wonder what that could mean...  ... whoa. Yeah, okay, time to formally introduce our newest addition to the team: Paul.Power's CO Notes: Sami  Sami's Theme  Awesome guitar coverAlthough Max is the best CO in AW1, I'd say that Sami's my favourite. Certainly a lot of my fanboyism for Sensei in AW2 stems from learning to love infantry and mechs with Sami in AW1. They get superior firepower and, most notably, capture at 1.5 times the standard rate (rounded down). Now okay, that still means she takes two turns to capture a property at full health. But it means that a 7HP Sami footsoldier can still capture a property in two turns. It also means that if a full health Sami footsoldier starts capturing a property, you've got to knock it down to 3HP or less to stop it finishing the job the next day. Sami's transports also have an extra movement point, and her CO Power, Double Time, increases the firepower and movement of her footsoldiers. The drawback? Her non-footsoldier direct units take an attack penalty. Not as bad as Grit, but it can still be frustrating. Hopefully you won't have to worry too much about firepower with the queen of HQ Capture in charge, though. Background/Personality: Orange Star's special forces commander, and one of the game's more serious-minded COs. While it's not official, she's effectively Nell's second-in-command by virtue of being more responsible than Max or Andy. Sami isn't particularly strong academically, but her diligence tends to make up for it. She does have some tender spots though... particularly where Eagle and a certain other CO we haven't met yet are concerned. Have I mentioned that I really like her theme tune yet? I really like her theme tune.  Setting a trap for the bomber via good ol'  . Hey, at least it's on a city. Got more chance of surviving than those T copters. And moving up the remaining units. Okay, brace yourself for a lot of Sami angry faces...  That's one T copter down.  There goes the other.  The APC just about makes it out alive.  But there goes my 7HP B copter. Day 3  Yeah, owch  . On the plus side, our power meter's charged up - and for once, we're going to get to use it before the AI gets to use theirs. There's a reason for that, actually, and now seems as good a time as any to discuss the mechanics behind how the CO Power meter fills up, which I haven't really done yet. In AW1 and 2, your CO Power meter fills up according to the economic value of damage you receive, plus half the economic value of damage you dish out (e.g. if one of your medium tanks took 5HP's worth of damage, that's 8000G into your meter. If you hit the enemy's medium tank for 5 damage, it'd only be 4000G). Note that most of the time we're dishing out far more damage to the AI than they are to us - which is generally why they tend to get their CO powers first. One other thing to quickly note is that COs can't fill their power meters up again on the turn they use their power - which makes it a really good (albeit difficult, given all their buffs) time to launch a counterattack.  Different COs have different rates for filling their meter. In Advance Wars 2, it's pretty easy to see how quickly a CO's meter fills up, thanks to the star system that that game introduced (with each star being 9000G, and different COs having different numbers of stars to fill). Back in ol' AW1 though, all the meters appear to be the same length - but appearances can be deceptive. Most of the COs we've met so far require 30,000G to fill their meter. But Eagle and Sami are both different: it takes a massive 50,000G for Eagle to get Lightning Strike, and just 25,000G for Sami to get Double Time. Naturally this reflects how good their powers actually are: Double Time is nowhere near as much of a game changer as Lightning Strike. But it has its uses, as we'll see shortly.  Hmm... even with a CO Power active, Sami still isn't doing much damage with her fighter.  Well that could have gone worse. But the worry is what Eagle will do on his turn. Turns, even.  Oh well, let's focus on the positives. Look at this infantry unit. Just look at it. Not only does Double Time give Sami's infantry and mechs +1 move, but her infantry now cheerfully ignore terrain cost. Mountains? Rivers? Feh, all in a day's work.  And we're in range of the HQ already. Who needs T copters?  And now, a montage of air units blowing up.  Missiles take out the bomber that attacked my APC, as the APC retreats into the woods. Northern AA takes down the B copter that killed my own B copter, and southern AA finishes off that 2HP bomber.  May as well finish capturing this base.  B copter and middie take down an infantry unit, and it's Eagle's turn.  Yeah, Lightning Strike's charged. Though obviously he isn't going to use it yet.   First he's got to deliver some hurt to my remaining B copter. No idea what Sami's smiling about here, but she isn't smiling for long.   And then comes the lightning.   Fighter down .Day 4  The good news is, Eagle did nothing to bother the infantry units headed straight for his HQ.  Not complaining.  Tank spots fighter...  AA takes it down.  Can't reach the other fighter though. I guess it doesn't really matter, though, since we're out of units that fighters can attack... Day 5  Eagle did bugger all that turn, so let's waste no time.   Who are you calling Andy? Eh? I think I'll take offense at your mistake. Do I look like a boy to you?Well, Sami, you are a bit of a tom... all right, all right, I know when not to push my luck. Who are you? The name's Sami. I'm an Orange Star CO. I... I lost to... a girl?Hey, is it that surprising? The three female COs in this game are probably the three who have their heads screwed on tightest. And at least Sami's an adult. I think. You're careless. That's why you keep losing! I don't think you're ready for war. You need to go back to basic training!Owch. Wonder if Eagle can patch this up?  Excuse me, Orange Star CO... Sami? Yes? I would like to apologize for my behavior. It was inappropriate. Oh, OK... I vow by my lucky goggles that the next time we meet, I will do better.Lucky... pft... lucky goggles... pfhahahaha... Now I will take my leave. Farewell. Wait, wait a minute! No one said you could leave. Come... He's gone!Yeah, sorry Sami, these guys have a bit of a habit of escaping. Even when we capture their HQ. I don't even know how they do it. He seems like a pretty decent guy, after all.... Hmm. I think I'll leave you guys to work out where the writers are going with this.  Well, it's an S-Rank - just. We took a bit of a pounding on Technique. Actually, there's a funny story here - you know how I had to play this mission three times anyway given the nature of The Plan? Well, this was the third attempt - the other two came out as A-Ranks, again with Technique at fault. I guess I lost one fewer unit this time - the APC, I think. The other two runs also took 7 days and 6 days rather than the 5 here because I loaded mechs rather than infantry into my T copters. That didn't affect the score, though, as this mission's Speed criterion is oddly lax - 12 days, I think. Not complaining.  One funny upshot of this? Technically you just watched Mission 7 rather than 8, as my third attempt happened to be on the A route save. Still calling it 8 though - it's tidier that way. I ranked up to Rose Rat on all three saves, incidentally.  Now then, we've found our way into Yellow Comet, and a mission that we have to finish in 8 days or less. Not that we fail the mission if we don't finish in that time, but as with the Rout on Olaf's Navy, we've got secret missions to gain access to. In summary, we've got to finish this mission in 8 days, the mission after that in 10, and the mission after that in 12. The upshot of this is that I'm going to declare author veto and say we're using Max for this next mission. Don't worry, we'll be seeing Sami and Andy soon enough (in fact, for the mission after I'll probably use author veto again for "anyone but Max"), but I'm gonna need Max's firepower here. Paul.Power fucked around with this message at 01:52 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 01:44
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They really made Kanbei ugly in AW1.
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Mar 14, 2012 01:56
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"Hahaha, we just murdered hundreds of soldiers in a pointless battle, cya next time! (ciao!)"
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Mar 14, 2012 01:58
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I always viewed the wars world as being insanely aristocratic, as though only COs are real people and the others are just so goddamn low on the totem pole of life that their deaths and suffering are basically immaterial to the upcastes. Also i just noticed that sami is holding her ammo belt between her legs. how the hell does she plan on marching like that.
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Mar 14, 2012 02:12
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Paul.Power posted:
The goggles! They do nothing! (I am so, so sorry.)
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Mar 14, 2012 02:21
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I would've voted for Max anyway. The next three missions are kind of custom-made for our three COs. Anyway, I really hate maps where the enemy starts out with a big predeployed air force. You have to waste turns killing them before they can murder your army, and since planes are so expensive the AI's guaranteed to get a free CO Power by the time you're done. Also, just a correction: dealing damage charges the CO meter at one-fourth the rate of taking damage, not one-half the rate.
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Mar 14, 2012 02:25
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Paul.Power posted:This is kind of why Max is the best CO here, as in many ways his air force is better than Eagle's. Message to all aircrafts: Ramming speed.
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Mar 14, 2012 02:48
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Wait, so Super CO powers are based on economic value of losses? So the more medium tanks Colin throws away, the more often he can Gold Rush for additional funds, and the more medium tanks Colin can afford to build and throw away? 
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Mar 14, 2012 03:13
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Now you see why "broken" doesn't even begin to describe Colin.
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Mar 14, 2012 03:18
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Hah, Yellow Comet even looks like Japan. Not sure how I never noticed that.
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Mar 14, 2012 03:21
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Pittsburgh Lambic posted:Wait, so Super CO powers are based on economic value of losses? In the later games, Colin generally doesn't bother stopping at mere Md Tanks.
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Mar 14, 2012 03:25
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Max vs Kanbei is kinda the ultimate battle of the 2 guys who just like smashing things, so I'm totally cool with that.
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Mar 14, 2012 03:29
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LordBaxter posted:"Hahaha, we just murdered hundreds of soldiers in a pointless battle, cya next time! (ciao!)" I need to link this now. It pretty much describes what you said perfectly. http://awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=092208
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Mar 14, 2012 03:31
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I've always seen the Fire Emblem series as the antithesis to Advance Wars's cheery, carefree take on war. The games aren't post-apocalyptic like Days of Ruin, but they outright punish you if you ever treat a single one of your soldiers as an expendable asset -- if anybody dies during a mission, you get to hear his or her last words, often mentioning a loved one they'll never see again. 
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Mar 14, 2012 03:48
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Tulip posted:I always viewed the wars world as being insanely aristocratic, as though only COs are real people and the others are just so goddamn low on the totem pole of life that their deaths and suffering are basically immaterial to the upcastes. Hell, one of the villains in AW2 indirectly calls you out on this in a way.
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Mar 14, 2012 03:53
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Paul.Power posted:The upshot of this is that I'm going to declare author veto and say we're using Max for this next mission. That's okay. You can use Sami on the next two missions.  She's definitely my favorite CO, probably in all of the cartoony AW games (though Sensei and Drake are strong runners-up). Her strengths lie in the weakest combat units and the one unit type in your army that can't even fight back, and her power isn't actually too powerful in the traditional sense, but that's what I like about her. Using Sami always seems to require a bit more actual strategy, especially since most of her units are a bit weaker so you have to use them more carefully than if you were playing Max or Andy. Not to mention picking her consistently later on is basically hard mode for that section, in a good way. Plus the music! I think y'all know who I'll be voting for from here on out.
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Mar 14, 2012 08:02
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Sami's music is the best music in the entire series.
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Mar 14, 2012 09:12
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What do Lightning Strike and Double Time even do? I know you probably explained them in the AW2 LP, but I haven't read that yet.
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Mar 14, 2012 11:07
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Waffleman_ posted:What do Lightning Strike and Double Time even do? I know you probably explained them in the AW2 LP, but I haven't read that yet. Lightning Strike allows all non-infantry units to move a second time at the cost of a significant hit to the offense and defense. (I think it's -20% offense, -30% defense) Changed in AW2 to be more expensive but with buffing the units instead. Double Time increases move of infantry by 2, allows them to ignore terrain, boosts their firepower, and I think increases troop transport's move by 1.
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Mar 14, 2012 11:13
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Waffleman_ posted:What do Lightning Strike and Double Time even do? I know you probably explained them in the AW2 LP, but I haven't read that yet. Paul.Power posted:
Paul.Power posted:Paul.Power's CO Notes: Sami Paul.Power fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 11:44
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Pureauthor posted:Lightning Strike allows all non-infantry units to move a second time at the cost of a significant hit to the offense and defense. (I think it's -20% offense, -30% defense) Changed in AW2 to be more expensive but with buffing the units instead. It should be mentioned that both of the CO powers shown in this mission were kept in the second and third game pretty much exactly as they are in AW1 and used as the basic CO power. For comparison, Grit's AW1 CO power became his super CO power in AW2.
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Mar 14, 2012 12:04
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Huh? I forget if they changed it in Dual Strike but in 2 Eagle's basic CO power is just a regular ol' firepower boost for his air units, isn't it?
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Mar 14, 2012 12:13
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Endorph posted:Huh? I forget if they changed it in Dual Strike but in 2 Eagle's basic CO power is just a regular ol' firepower boost for his air units, isn't it? Lightning Drive is a generic stat boost in AW2, it goes back to '2X move but weaker' for Dual Strike.
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Mar 14, 2012 12:43
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Endorph posted:Huh? I forget if they changed it in Dual Strike but in 2 Eagle's basic CO power is just a regular ol' firepower boost for his air units, isn't it? Yeah, that's Lightning Drive, which gets changed again in AWDS to what is essentially this game's Lightning Strike, except maybe a bit weaker. e: Wow, I even previewed to make sure no one had already answered.
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Mar 14, 2012 12:43
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Walliard posted:Yeah, that's Lightning Drive, which gets changed again in AWDS to what is essentially this game's Lightning Strike, except maybe a bit weaker.
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Mar 14, 2012 13:03
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But in AWDS you can just Double Strike him with Sami to move an APC or T-Copter twice, drop with it, move the infantry at Sami's extended range and capture the HQ in one turn, which is just ridiculous even with the long meter.
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Mar 14, 2012 17:02
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Keiya posted:But in AWDS you can just Double Strike him with Sami to move an APC or T-Copter twice, drop with it, move the infantry at Sami's extended range and capture the HQ in one turn, which is just ridiculous even with the long meter. Good luck EVER getting that one to go off, though. I think the only Tag Break it takes more work to get is Hawke and Lash doing Rebel Yell.
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Mar 14, 2012 18:54
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Keiya posted:But in AWDS you can just Double Strike him with Sami to move an APC or T-Copter twice, drop with it, move the infantry at Sami's extended range and capture the HQ in one turn, which is just ridiculous even with the long meter. Might just be me though, I just generally prefer fast-charging utility powers rather than something that might win you the game but takes forever to arrive (why yes, I do like the T block in Tetris more than the I block, how did you guess? )
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Mar 14, 2012 18:55
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Agent Interrobang posted:Good luck EVER getting that one to go off, though. I think the only Tag Break it takes more work to get is Hawke and Lash doing Rebel Yell. For a Rebel Yell, you have to cry "MORE MORE MORE"? (I need to stop making jokes I need to apologize for.) BrooklynBruiser fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Mar 14, 2012 |
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Mar 14, 2012 19:39
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So why aren't we going into Green Earth? We feel sorry for them having such a reckless CO?
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Mar 14, 2012 20:45
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Glazius posted:So why aren't we going into Green Earth? We feel sorry for them having such a reckless CO?
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Mar 15, 2012 17:41
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The Cold War, V-J Day, and then V-E Day. It's like World War II in reverse!
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Mar 15, 2012 18:05
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Glazius posted:So why aren't we going into Green Earth? We feel sorry for them having such a reckless CO? At this point in time Orange Star is supposed to be on relatively good terms with Yellow Comet (although what terms would allow a country to just up and move armed forces through another country without even a treaty or deal about it is beyond me). As our two engagements with Eagle have shown, the same cannot be said for Green Earth.
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Mar 16, 2012 02:07
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So wait, because someone says that they're from Green Earth and has their troops using surplus Green Earth equipment, that suddenly means that Orange Star is at war with Green Earth? How does Orange Star know that it's not just a CO who went rogue, or someone from Yellow Comet/Blue Moon trying to stir up trouble between the two factions?
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Mar 16, 2012 07:20
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