...But in all seriousness, I am quite exhausted from my time writing on research papers and projects in college, so in all likelihood this is going to be a rather sloppy effort to offer a hopefully workable idea for the chicken. As a fundamental change to the chicken (spooky language), it will not just be a short end way to improve its stats, but actually tie to its property of essentially being a duplicate of the GC. So with that said: I ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS, and let me know what you think of it, be it supportive or not. I will no doubt skim over important details and issues that can come from this idea, so don't hesitate to let it be known! (Also, if you are expecting a TL:DR bit, may have to wait for me or someone else to summarize it
)The Ythotha (A.K.A. The Big Bad Chicken)
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Most people are familiar with the Ythotha and its stats, so far as to being one of the four iconic experimentals seen in the land game. We don't have to discuss much on that, but there are huge issues that a large number of FAF players know about it, and that is its pitiful combat potential. Although it has some impressive damage coming from its weaponry, we know that most other experimentals, from the hugging GC to the fatboy kiting and percival wrecking, to even a monkeylord getting close enough to obliterate its health. The seraphim already suffer the lack of a fourth experimental, and the deathball is hardly considered for its usefulness when already donating a huge sum of mass to help the enemy build a higher quality unit or experimental. Down and to it, though a cheap land experimental only surpassed by the monkeylord, it is an awful choice for the seraphim as far as a t4 baseline unit.
Now, with the change that I'm offering, my idea has much more to do for supporting the function and role of the chicken, since it is worth looking at the practicality AND the methodological approach as a general unit. We know the Seraphim lack the quality t3 land units that can be sustainable into the late game, and though the awesome killing power of the OC SACUs can be a worthwhile investment, we see them too seldom into those games, and they are not as accessible of a unit to throw up as quickly, something the Ythotha was meant to fulfill. However, the deathball often turns into a liability, and it generally cannot hold its own against anything on a 1v1 fight, or enormous engagement (you'll lose your chickens faster from their deathballs alone.)
So what can we do for this? Since Zock had discussed attempting to bring some sort of dynamic use and abilities for units (since the patches have shown), I might hope this fits somewhere along those lines. Of course, we do need to figure out the targeting and overall problems the chickens suffers from its unreliable firing, but this is something very specific to the overall design of the Seraphim experimental:
A Toggle-Ability for the Ythotha (A.K.A. TURBO CHICKEN)
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Here are the details:
1. Providing the Ythotha with a toggle-option that will change stats and features of the chicken depending on which one is chosen. We look at REDUCING, by appropriate margins though very slight, certain base stat when the chicken is in its default state, or OFF toggle mode, in particularly its speed and damage. How can this benefit it in this state? Well, in this default mode, the Ythotha will not drop its Deathball.
2. Here's the juicy part: when toggled ON, the chicken's stats will change, boosting its speed and damage output, as well as offering a few distinct features to using this ability:
a. In this state, the chicken will drop its deathball, a straightforward result of when this dies while using this ability.
b. Upon dropping its deathball, the chicken's wreckage will leave a reduced percentage of its reclaim, of course ONLY when it dies while its toggle is on. (This is a touchy proposal, but I will explain its resourcefulness later; just to think on...)
c. The chicken can be granted a health regen at a fixed rate, although I am debating between other options as to support this sort of boost to the chicken in this mode.
4. This ability is timed, and will wear off after a certain duration, and a cooldown, or some sort of cost, will be implemented so as to limit it as a spammable button.
Now allow me to explain:
The chicken, as it may have been the developers intention, was for the chicken to be some sort of rampant, suicidal weapon that functions as a two-way experimental, though as we've come to tell from our playing, it is not exactly a fitting weapon in this situation. THIS, as I am tentatively speaking, is something to emphasize as an improvement to this sort of style, fitting in as its role to run in and deal as much damage, and it may be exactly what Seraphim players are looking for in this stage of the game.
As said, when drawn away from the t2 advantage associated with the Seraphim, they tend to fall behind and fail to compete against the hardline quality that both the Cybran and UEF players have with bricks and percivals, and the Aeon have a reliable t3 bot that accompanied with a GC, is going to lead to an inevitable loss for Seraphim, since their t3 falls well behind. Yet if we cannot do much to help the t3 composition of the Seraphim army, what can this change do? Well, hopefully what it's exactly what it was designed to do from day one...
With the dynamic we see in the t3 stage of the game, a seraphim player will often, if the game is not lost already, be forced to either rely on the cruddy t3 units and hopefully pull out air control, or will look toward building a Ythotha. To put its use in theory, we know the relatively cheap cost and lower build time would allow a seraphim player to readily get to work on this exp at a stage in the game where they can afford it, and very likely, if not a mirror match up, will see the following: Cybrans rushing a monkey and spamming bricks, UEF slowly but surely massing the t3 wall of doom, or the Aeon's gathering of harbs and soon the construction of a GC. This is not entirely the suitable case, since there is such a thing as air and unit composition, but this is the premise to what we will see from the Ythotha.
A Seraphim player will have something to gain from building this Experimental, and once thrown out onto the field to get to work, we hope to see the dynamic of the battle shift at this point. For one, though the exp is slightly weaker at its base stage, the player can reliably hope to use it as a defensive weapon, supported by its own army, and not have to burden the seraphim player to have to throw it away in fear of it killing off all of its own allied units. Surely this is enough to ward off a battle that could have turned incredibly sour for the seraphim.
HOWEVER:
Putting it to this toggled mode, a seraphim player is easily given a very aggressive, hard hitting unit that will be able to rush firebases and output a much harder amount of destruction when it runs in. Keeping in mind that by using this ability, it ENCOURAGES Seraphim players to drive it into places that should keep the opponent quite occupied, since now they are focused on dealing with an EXTREMELY ANGRY CHICKEN. This does a number of things, but hopefully, for a Seraphim player, it will deal enough damage to an enemy's base and eco, and give them exactly what the Seraphim seem to truly thrive on: time.
Hopefully in practice, this will give the seraphim player some breathing room, and allow them to eco harder and catch up if they are already falling behind with the advantages dealt from the other factions. Optimally, a seraphim player wants to deal as much damage to gain the lead, not necessarily to secure the win, with the Ythotha, and its suicidal nature is reinforced by how much faster it can run in, and be a far more IMPORTANT threat to deal with, since it should become a raging alcoholic tearing through your door on a late night and threatening to take your money RIGHT NOW. Although it is questionable HOW much faster it can move, or deal damage, it will have a far more dangerous implication if this is not dealt with early on, and though its not as fast to build or cheap like a monkey, this should serve a far better function as a direct fire experimental that is just as terrifying to deal with, if not killed right away, especially if put into the hands of a player than can use it effectively.
This sort of style should suit the chicken, and not necessarily punish the player for trying to use the chickens advantages as a dual-experimental, since its deathball, though not entirely dependable, CAN inflict some serious damage when positioned well (there is talk of perhaps allowing its movement to be controlled...?) The reclaim value idea does as much justice, so as to not throw an entire experimental's worth into the opponents base and get right ahead with little loss, which makes the opponent see killing the Ythotha a MUCH more urgent target to deal with. Of course, optimally you do not want to have the chicken die when the ability is off, which presents the risk there, though hopefully when timed correctly, a chicken can suddenly dark into, say, a UEF firebase of ravagers, and get deeper in to harm more important stuctures that otherwise was impossible to reach, as well as with some sort of boost in health, you have to really fire down and kill before it jumps right into where it will REALLY hurt.
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IN CONCLUSION:
Well, sort of. I am INCREDIBLY tired, so I can't think of too much else to contribute, since I know there will be issues and concerns for how this will work in game, the values, balance, etc. I will leave that to the feedback, and hopefully can properly engage and perhaps persuade some to find some good in this sort of change. Of course, this might be a waste, eventually, either completely disregarded or improbable to actually change, but I figured it is worth just bringing to the table.
Thanks for reading!
