by Plasma_Wolf » 11 Nov 2018, 19:20
The original FA vet system gave 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% on each unit and made it impossible to defend against a monkeylord rush. That's why the experimental mass cost has been changed several times. Additionally, you had to put a million engineers on one T3 land factory, so you might be able to build enough Percivals to kill the ML before it arrived at your base, murdered all your engineers and got vet5 in an instant. Before this change, the few Percivals you had allowed you to take down the Monkylord for 50%, and as a result of that vet system, it got a total of 150% of its max HP. So after the Percies and engineers are dead, the ML is at full health.
The engie mod has been made, giving the system of T2/T3 HQs and normal factories, so the million engineers is no longer necessary.
The vet system has been changed repeatedly, from giving different points of veterancy to killing different tier units, to making it based on mass killed. Both of those changes made it harder for a unit to get veterancy because the requirements became higher in the changing process. In addition to that, the increase in vet was 10% with each level, not increasing from 10% to 50%. Since these changes I have very rarely seen experimentals steamrolling a base because they get consecutive vet levels in the battle.
Add to it that the build time of experimentals has been increased in the latest patch, along with the delay of T3 land, and the result is that experimentals are now having trouble getting the vet levels. You now have plenty of time to find experimentals and prepare a defense. I have mixed feelings about this. What's the point of the vet system if vet5 is rarely seen? For example the CZAR less effective: you now have to have air domination and zero enemy SAMs to clear an area. Otherwise it's a mass gift. And using the CZAR as a wrecking ball on SMDs is the use, if it even arrives.
As for the ACU vet still being what it is, I think this is a good thing. The 1v1 games with the ACU being strong on veterancy is what makes those games far more dynamic, and a mistake is not GG immediately (it still is close to GG). If that vet system gets changed people will be far more conservative with the ACU.