Berserked Strider

[Talinsword]

Ancient warriors from far lands, these fighters rush into battle heedless of all danger. Slashing everywhere as they swarm past opponents, these men have seen death and bring it to all who oppose them.

Name: Berserked Strider
HP: 45
Armor: 15
Power: 25
Range: See Diagram
Block: 50%
Movement: 3
Wait: 2
(HP, Armor, and Block % are under consideration
and might change depending on suggestions)

The special ability for the Strider is his rush attack. When he attacks, he moves three spaces in a straight direction, attacking any units on one side. He can not attack directly infront of him, and any unit that is in the way of the Strider's attack stops the attack from completing.
The attack is not unblockable. And all units' blocking % are checked independantly of eachother.
S = Strider Start square O = Opponents
E = Strider End Square R = Opponents
B = Blocking Unit (Friendly or Enemy)

X X R E O X X
X X R X O X X In this diagram, the Strider can attack either
X X R X O X X the 'O' opponents, OR the 'R' opponents. But
X X X S X X X Not Both.
X X X X X X X


X X R B O X X In this diagram, the Strider can initiate his attack,
X X R E O X X but would only attack the first 2 Enemies. The unit
X X R X O X X that is blocking the path of the Strider ends his
X X X S X X X attack prematurely.
X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X In this diagram, the Strider is completely useless,
X X X O X X X as all the units are blocking his attack from even
X X O S O X X starting. It does not matter if the units are friendly
X X X O X X X or not. The strider can not rush thru.

-Due to the rage and anger of the berserker, they can not be targeted by Barrier wards. They despise the defensive nature of the devices, prefering to slaughter their opponents before they can be taken down.

-Due to their stand off-ish nature, the Strider does not move aside for any unit.

--------------------------------------------------------------

This is my first attempt at creating a unit.. I've searched thru many of the older posts and don't believe that there is anything similar that's been brought up in the past. If there has been, I apologize for copying it, and please bring it to my attention so I can compare...

As to tactics of this unit, it would be very usefull in any game. The power is larger than a Knight, making it a great offensive unit... But it's lack of defense and slow recovery time makes it easier to overwhelm. Plus the fact that a surrounded Strider is a useless Strider, it would be fairly easy for a gold just to target it with a Furgon to compensate for it's vast power.

The ability to travel a total of 7 squares if it moves and attacks in the same round makes it very handy in the beginning of the game. If placed correctly, and with an opening, the Strider could immediatly kill the Cleric from turn one. Although that would be a rare occurance (one that would never happen against the newbie layout), it would force players to re-think their set-ups to compensate. Also, by having the Strider rush immediately into your opponents pieces, you are leaving it wide open for a quick death.

Comments and Suggestions would be appreciated...
If you love it, tell me..
If you hate it, tell me..
If you want to flame me, -shrug- go ahead. I've got thick skin.

~Talinsword

[Lonely Tylenol]

I can tell right now that I'm going to like you.

Welcome to CAU. I'm Tylenol, the CAU veteran wannabe turned CAU veteran.

If that doesn't make sense, you can just call me LT.

I like the concept of the unit very much. However, considering the multiple target attack that the Berserked Strider has, I believe it might be wise to down down EITHER the attack OR the armor a little bit, to make it more balanced.

Again, well thought out unit. Have a rep.

EDIT: On second thought, just decrease the attack power, not the armor. We don't need another unit that makes Cleric killing easier (trust me, I created two with that potential when I first got here and I'll tell you right now, the other gold turtlers around here won't like you for it).

EDIT II: I've decided the likelyhood of this killing a Cleric on the first move is relatively slim unless you consider rushes, but nevertheless, it might be wise to tone down either the armor or the power for balance reasons. (Stoning this thing would be pretty cool, too.)

[kvon78]

:eek: im speechless... first off let me say thank you! for somone with 3 posts this is absolutly amazzing! great unit has some minor flaws that LT pointed out but over all an amazzingly lovley unit with potential.

[Cross Punisher]

I guess I'll introduce myself.

Call me Cross or CP but please no Punisher, the friendliest experienced CAU poster/creator. :cool:

X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X In this diagram, the Strider is completely useless,
X X X O X X X as all the units are blocking his attack from even
X X O S O X X starting. It does not matter if the units are friendly
X X X O X X X or not. The strider can not rush thru.
In this example you posted I could move the Strider out of the place he is "trapped" now and then attack right?

It doesn't make sense that it can't be barriered.

And I don't think this kind of attack has been done before. Good Job. :bigsmile:

[Kyir]

hi, im Kyir, be glad i love this unit, a exelent first post, though im still a bit confused about attack patterns, ill re-read, its also tradional to add the side blocking in () such as

Blocking: 50% (25%)
saying sides in the things are optional though

[Cross Punisher]

its also tradional to add the side blocking in () such as

Blocking: 50% (25%)
saying sides in the things are optional though
Nah it's understood that the side blocking is half that of the front. Besides if you did put the side blocking in parentheses and messed up, a lot of people do, we'd have no choice but to laugh at you.

[Sanity]

I'm Sanity, but you can call me FFT. i really like your unit idea. this is a great effect, and seems to be very well thought out. if you were to lower the attack by a few points, this would be one of my favorite units.

[Talinsword]

Thanks all for the warm welcome... Let me see if I can reply to some suggestions and questions..

LT:
As to lowering the Power or Armor... When I first thought of this unit, I wanted something that was more powerful than the Knight, but had a somewhat reckless sense of it's own safety... Lower the Power so that it couldn't kill a cleric first turn would make it pretty much exactly like a Knight but with less defense.. So I suppose armor would be the best thing. How does an Armor value of 10 sound?

As to Gold Turtles not liking me: Heck! I don't like me for this unit... I play a Gold Turtle!!! (not a good one mind you.. But still a Turtle.)

CP:
As to Barrier... This unit has a sole purpose of attacking... It's 'Berserked'... To that sense, I figured that it needed a drawback for it's sheer offensive capability, and thought that making it so that it could not be defended with the Barrier would be the best approach.. It'll also stop people from rushing the Strider into the enemy's area and protecting it with the Barrier while the Recovery time finishes. Also, it fits well with the 'story' of the unit. A pure offensive Berserked fighter of Rage and Anger that wants nothing to do with hiding behind 'puny little magical walls'

And to the example:
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X In this diagram, the Strider is completely useless,
X X X O X X X as all the units are blocking his attack from even
X X O S O X X starting. It does not matter if the units are friendly
X X X O X X X or not. The strider can not rush thru.

The legend above the Examples in my first post states that all 'O' are opponents... Meaning that your units can not walk thru them. There-by stopping any use you have for the Strider until the way is cleared..
However, if the Strider was surrounded by friendly units, he can move to an open square and then proceed with his attack.

I thought that by giving the Strider this big of a drawback of being useless when surrounded would balance it out just a little bit.

Again, thank you all for your feedback. More would be greatly appreciated.

-------------
Just to verify, I'm re-posting the stats here with lowered values to try and balance it a bit.

Name: Berserked Strider
HP: 45
Armor: 10
Power: 25
Range: See Diagram
Block: 50%
Movement: 3
Wait: 2

[Cross Punisher]

You say O and R stand for opponent. Lots of units traditionally wouldn't want to be barriered like dragon tyrants for instance, and rushes hardly use BW.

[Talinsword]

I understand that many units wouldn't like to be barriered.. But there is the possibility of someone putting in a Barrier for the sheer act of protecting a unit during it's recovery. In my mind, it was a VERY minor drawback to compensate for some of the better points of the unit.

As to the 'O's and 'R's. I used two different characters to make it clear that the Strider could only attack one side while he was rushing. If he could attack both sides, the amount of damage he could do in a single attack would be way too overpowering. Think of 25 power * 6 units. That's a whooping 150 damage before Armor reduction. I knew from the onset that this unit may have some over-powering things to it... But I didn't want to make a Suicidal Idiot. I'm not Thick Skinned enough for those flames.

-laugh-

~Talinsword

[Cross Punisher]

Did you just say suicidal idiot (http://www.tacticsarena.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16333)?
A rush will not include a BW even to protect the all necessary DSM because it takes away from the "rush." It isn't meant to be conservative and protect your units, but attack continiously. Not letting it be barriered just makes it more vunerable in a turtle even though gold turtles hardly include BWs either.

[Talinsword]

yes. I was mocking another idea... What can I say... I give little room to idiots. -shrug-

Hmm... Very true about the Barrier thing... BW not being in Rushes, and rarely in Turtles... Then again, there have been some occasions in which I've barriered an opponents piece specifically to stop it from being healed.
(I know.. I'm evil in my mediocrity.)

Do you think that maybe it wouldn't even need that minor drawback to be balanced?

Because, in my honest opinion, a unit is supposed to have it's little quirks. And the inability to defend the unit does fit the idea I was trying to create...

If you think it's not needed, but the unit does need a drawback to balance it out, what do you think could replace the Anti-Barrier flaw?

~Talinsword

[Cross Punisher]

Drawbacks include that it has a limited way of attacking. Unlike a Scout, pyro, etc which can attack from multiple spaces in multiple ways this unit will have to attack you from likely the side. Also the fact that most people will not have 3 units lined up in a line for this to attack make it ok.

But still it's your unit, it's important that you do what you want.

[Talinsword]

I thank you for the credit.. But I must say.. That this is a unit I would love to see actually make it in to the game. And I want other people's feedback in that effort. As we're all going to have to deal with it in some form or another... I want people's opinions. I don't want it to stray too far from the original thought however...

As to the Barrier Flaw... Since it's been pointed out that in most cases, people wouldn't use this unit with a Barrier Ward on the field, I'll take the flaw as an unneeded one... However, I still think that it fits the 'idea' of a raging warrior, and will leave it in for my own personal ego.

~Talinsword

[Mithrandir]

This is a very impressive unit for a first-time CAU designer.

By the way I'm Mithrandir, you can call me Mith cuz everybody else does, mostly because they're lazy or stink at spelling. :p (jk) I have a unique style of creating and looking at units in that I think the game needs units that rely heavily on tactics, like the furgon. I despise stupid overpowered units and criticize rather harshly when it's especially over the top. I am a reasonable person though.

As a whole I don't like the unit a ton because it is overpowered, though not ridiculously so. You have to make the attack power less, I'd say less than a knight because it does so much that a knight can't. The attack pattern is definitely original, very well done. I have high hopes that you can inject some creativity into a forum that has been mostly dead in the last couple of weeks. :)

[Cross Punisher]

This is a very impressive unit for a first-time CAU designer.

By the way I'm Mithrandir, you can call me Mith cuz everybody else does, mostly because they're lazy or stink at spelling. :p (jk) I have a unique style of creating and looking at units in that I think the game needs units that rely heavily on tactics, like the furgon. I despise stupid overpowered units and criticize rather harshly when it's especially over the top. I am a reasonable person though.

As a whole I don't like the unit a ton because it is overpowered, though not ridiculously so. You have to make the attack power less, I'd say less than a knight because it does so much that a knight can't. The attack pattern is definitely original, very well done. I have high hopes that you can inject some creativity into a forum that has been mostly dead in the last couple of weeks. :)
Once again think of ME as the friendly and humble one in times of need. :blush2:

[Mithrandir]

What's that supposed to mean?

[Cross Punisher]

Remember that thats just my thing. A good first unit which it appears thought went into = Praise from me so he'll stay and people like Soul-shadow will leave. Nothing against you Mith (Yes kinda lazy to type the whole thing plus Mith sounds cool in my head).

[Mithrandir]

I thought my response was pretty nice. It was encouraging yet at the same time an honest evaluation and careful explanation of what I thought. Now when it comes to ridiculous horrible units, I admit, you're nicer than me. :)

[Talinsword]

Mithrandir, first off, thanks for the welcome and the intro... I'm glad that there are people who will truthfully critique any units I come up with... I don't enjoy a group of nay-sayers who despise everything, nor do I want a bunch of 'yes-men'

As to overpowered... Wouldn't you think that the increased recovery time, coupled with the low armor/block make up for the power? Against a good player, or even a smart one (they arn't always one and the same), 2 turns recovery and 10 armor would be more than enough to kill the Strider once it's attacked even once. Plus, as you said, the attack pattern is unique. And as Cross Punisher mentions, you'll be hard pressed to find a situation in which the Strider can attack all 3 of it's avaliable targets. The opponent would have to line them up for you.
(Could be the very first move against a Front-Line rush... But if people know this unit is out there, and don't compensate for it... Well...)

I'm not saying that you are wrong in your thoughts... I'm just kinda debating weather the power should be reduced when this is a purely offensive unit. I do believe that it should be more powerfull than a Knight overall, as this would be a Gold-Only unit, and therefore should be a tad better than Grey units. (not too much better.. just a little bit.. Incentive to actually go Gold)

Anyways.... Keep the Comments coming! I love them! Haha!

~Talinsword

[Cross Punisher]

Don't worry, I'll get tougher and go into more specific detail as time goes on.
:yes3:

[Lonely Tylenol]

Mithrandir, first off, thanks for the welcome and the intro... I'm glad that there are people who will truthfully critique any units I come up with... I don't enjoy a group of nay-sayers who despise everything, nor do I want a bunch of 'yes-men'

I'm not a yes man! Aside from my unit, yours is the best I've seen all week. :p And since it should probably be the best for my ego to leave me out, that makes yours the best of the week.

The unit is unique, somewhat balanced (although a little on the overpowered side), and, here's MY favorite part, minimal abuse potential (the only abuse potential actually present is the offchance that it can kill a Cleric).

You got compliments from Kyir, CP, AND Mithrandir, although not necessarily rave reviews, and the four of us pretty much make up the remaining CAU regulars here. (Kyir's compliment was the one that really threw me off track; he's the biggest critic here, and he feeds off newbs/noobs and their early post ideas. And the souls of rabbit babies.)

You have a valid point about its vulnerability and the unlikelyhood of it being used against 3 units, however, that might be more of a reason to balance it out with more defense, instead of keeping a high offense. When the unit attacks, it puts itself in an extremely vulnerable position, as if the slim defensive capabilities weren't enough. Offsetting this with more attack creates a sort of imbalance.

[Cross Punisher]

:search:
You got compliments from Kyir, CP, AND Mithrandir, although not necessarily rave reviews, and the four of us pretty much make up the remaining CAU regulars here. (Kyir's compliment was the one that really threw me off track; he's the biggest critic here, and he feeds off newbs/noobs and their early post ideas. And the souls of rabbit babies.)
Where is everyone anyway. Some people I haven't seen in a while.
:*dntknw:

[Sanity]

I've been wanting to CAU for a while, but i can't. i currently hold the title of The Only Person Currently With More Than 1,000 Posts That Has Not Made A Single Thread. :)

[Mithrandir]

A new person that shows creative potential, is polite and respectful YET will argue with me. I’m definitely gonna like the new guy. :bigsmile:

Obviously you won’t usually hit 3 units though that could be involved in the tactics of the unit. It still seems unbalanced. The overpowered offense is supposed to be balanced out with very bad defense and I’m not a big fan of that concept.

And generally when you create a unit that is superior to another unit in almost every way, there’s gonna be a problem. Fortunately your isn’t this to the knight but it’s close enough that it seems it should be adjusted, in my opinion anyway.

[Dangle]

Let me get this straight, if this unit is standing still and you use it to attack maybe one or two enemy units does that mean u can move it after it's attack is finished? Cause with all other units you have the choice to Attack then move, or Move then attack. This brings up another question. Even though you may only select "Attack", this unit still moves in the process which can be seen as making it wait its full recovery time. Plz clarify this for me

[Talinsword]

Let me get this straight, if this unit is standing still and you use it to attack maybe one or two enemy units does that mean u can move it after it's attack is finished? Cause with all other units you have the choice to Attack then move, or Move then attack. This brings up another question. Even though you may only select "Attack", this unit still moves in the process which can be seen as making it wait its full recovery time. Plz clarify this for me

If you use this unit to attack first, you have the option of moving afterwards... Just like with any other unit.

And if you just use the 'Attack' command, it only waits half of the recovery time. The movement part of the attack (The rush of 3 squares) Is considered part of the attack and therefore is seperate from the Movement phase of your turn.

On that note: You can not choose to lower the amount of squares you rush when you attack. If you attack, you move the full 3 squares unless another unit is blocking you from completing it. In that case, you move as far as you can, and end your attack prematurely.

As to offsetting the unit to make it more balanced (As numerous people have stated that they believe it so be slightly overpowered) How do these stats sound?

Name: Berserked Strider
HP: 45
Armor: 18
Power: 22
Range: See Diagram
Block: 50%
Movement: 3
Wait: 2

The armor increase will allow it to live a little longer, While the decrease in power puts it on the same level as the knight. With the consideration that you can hit 3 units if properly placed, AND the fact that it would be possible to attack an unit, end your attack 3 spaces away from that unit, and then move another 3 squares for a total range of 6 squares away from the enemy.. I thought that even with the lowered power, it'll still be worthwhile...


Give me your thoughts on this.

~Talinsword

(Note: Also.. A question. As I'm fairly new, and don't know where to ask this, I figure I'd do so here... How often are new units introduced into the game? Is there any real chance that the units we think up will actually see the light of TAO?)

[Mithrandir]

I think with the stats the way they are now the unit works. Good job.

[Cross Punisher]

Some will say no unit's thought up here are used, and others will say some ideas are used. The furgon, golem ambusher, and wisp are similar to units that were made here.

[Kyir]

(Kyir's compliment was the one that really threw me off track; he's the biggest critic here, and he feeds off newbs/noobs and their early post ideas. And the souls of rabbit babies.)


babies? never! fetuses.....mabey, i do dine on the occasional raccoon though

[Admiral Moor]

MAGNIFICENT. THIS IS TRULY THE BEST IDEA I HAVE EVER SEEN. by the i'm Admiral Moor. Just call me moor. I am the idealist. i units that have no tactical value, just for future reference. though i don't think your gonna need it looking at this unit.

[bloodreign]

Good unit, although the hitting while moving has already been done....BY ME. Although not as a human unit but as a TYRANT KING.Your unit reminds me of that GOD OF WAR cover with a dual weilding barbarian...Good unit
interestingly enough my TYRANT KING could not be barriered as well. :confused:

[Admiral Moor]

yours was crap. this one is no comparison to yours. it is much better

[Kyir]

Moor, just.....dont post for a bit, ok?
leaving out words in sentances gurts my head
like the
"i units that..."

[Admiral Moor]

bbbbbbbbbbbllllllllllttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhh!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

why don't you get LT to check your spelling!? :tease:

[Mithrandir]

This unit was just certified gold. I felt it worthy of a shameless bump. :)

[Master Shu]

I like the idea...sounds interesting...i give it a OK :dry:

[>C H A l N]

Uhhh.....er...um, sorry to interupt here but how do i make one of those banner thingys?

[Mithrandir]

There's a stickied thread about it in general discussion.

[Talinsword]

Hey, Mith!

Isn't is my job to do the shameless bumps when my unit gets certified gold?
:p :p :p

hehe...

~Talinsword

Shameless Bump

[Wizard__99]

i think its a very good unit