Stormrunner review of the Preview test server on October 7, 2016

Did someone say Peephole?

By:Jon Irwin   &   George Argyropoulos

a/k/a Specs    &    a/k/a Dragon_Bane

Tonight we got to see a glimpse at the direction the team is taking the October Raid. While the targets are not finalized and in no way should you expect what you see or read about here to be the final working target. George and I wanted to share our thoughts and with the blessings of CM DoomRooster and GD Raikan what we saw and recorded today.

REMEMBER THIS IS NOT THE FINAL PRODUCT, AND THESE TARGETS WILL BE MORE THAN LIKELY DIFFERENT BY RAID.

The goal here is to show you with video proof that various fleets with different builds could do the targets as they are designed. Which you will hopefully agree that they made a giant step in the right direction with the ideas they are putting together leading up to this Raid.

Jon:

First I wanted to try the largest target with my HellWraith. I did not make any changes from the build I used in September raid as I wanted to see how they would hold up with the new targets. This fleet was able to do the TLC and the 114/112 with massive coining. I still have not claimed my phantom HellWraith because I just do not want to part with the coin yet with the raid so close. I might try to get it and then build it based on what I saw others doing in the preview. I also did a level 75 target with the same hell wraith fleet.

Hellwraith Build

Second I wanted to show a Spectre fleet doing the raid with just technology received from the Forsaken Missions. I do not think I used anything from the raids or higher than Tier 4 in the weekly. I understand that not everyone will be able to receive all these prizes this raid. I also understand that you might not have the phantom Spectre. For what it is worth I do feel the lowest tier will be possible without a 5^th sub. I did one video with 0 ranks and another with full rank. The difference between the two was stark. The no rank would take a bit more time, but at full rank, you could do the target in one hit.

Spectre Build

The last thing I wanted to do was use my Tiger fleet to take a level 57. I used what I already had built, and it is a typical Tiger fleet that many will have. It was fully ranked and had 4x Cobra scattergun on one sub.

Tiger Build

Now, I would think (and I could be wrong on my assumption) the level 35 should be Tier 3, 57 will be Tier 4, 75 would be Tier 5, and the 105 will be Tier 6. So the fleets I used to tackle each of the targets should be what you are striving for in the coming raid.

Video of my fleets in action

Jon: Last thoughts

I did thoroughly enjoy the targets compared to the previous VXP weekend targets, the TLC targets. I would rate them a solid 4 out of 5 on the fun factor, with a five given if the point payout to coin spent is in line with what I expect. I know that the targets could change in the coming week, and I expect them to tweak them. However, the way the target flowed, the way my fleets handled them (even with all my mistakes) gives me hope that we are not looking at Scourge redeux.

George:

I am going to avoid getting into anything with specificity. I do have some pics and my build and a few notes to add. ALL THE TARGET INFO IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

First, I tried all the targets with just my HW's due to time.

So, we did get a peek at several levels and since Jon has the 105 covered, Here are the 57 and 75.

57

75

What I saw was a very promising change from the TLC targets we have all.... uh... loved. Yea, we loved them... lol.

I am going to avoid saying anything in particular on the targets because the are still being worked on. I CAN say that I enjoyed them far more than the TLC version. They are doable and they do require some skill. I think they are still going to be polarizing because of the simple fact that Subs are a polarizing mechanic.

I will say this as well, one thing that goes hand in hand with a skill requirement is a time investment per target and a 'heightened attention' requirement form the player. I am leery of this only because I know how many players play, particularly during raids. The following is my run in a 75 level target. My concern lies with this: the time it takes to 'skill' through the target. You can clearly see when my patience runs out while doing this target. I truly hope this issue is one that gets some attention before the next raid starts:

That said, I have to say this was a very good change of direction. I feel this is a positive change and offering if this is indicative of things going forward. Let's hope this trend continues!