Cobra

[Sodamoeba]

Cobra: One of natures deadliest stealth creatures, the cobra will coil in wait, then attack its prey, dealing minimal damage, but injecting venom into its victim.

HP:48
Armor:0%
Blocking:0%
Power:16
Attack Range:2 (The Cobra uncoils and strikes)
Move Range:3
Recovery:2

Poison: Every unit it attacks will be injected with a venom, which will make it lose 1 movement point, make its attacks 20% less likely to hit, and will make it lose 1.5 HP every square it moves, rounded up if it doesn't add up to a whole number (a knight moving the full possible distance will take 5 damage, or 3 if it moves 2 squares). Poison will NOT kill a unit, just like poison from a wisp will not. There are 2 ways poison can be cured:

1) The cleric heals
2) Every turn, there is a 33% chance that poison will go away


Why it is what it is:

HP: 48 HP allows everything with DMW power and up to 2 hit the snake, everything GA and above can 3 hit it even with a heal, and every unit except the pyro can 3 hit it without a heal.

Armor: Obviously armor would mess up all of the HP balance.

Attack: Since the poison takes effect at the beginning of each turn, an attack automatically does 18 damage. The real threat of this unit is once the cleric is recovering, or once he is dead.

Attack and Move range: I wanted this unit to be able to hit a unit well in the distance, but not necessarily be able to run away.

Recovery: Obviously 1 would be an underpowered recovery, and 3 would be way overpowered.

~Soda

[Cross Punisher]

Kinda busy, but didn't feel like seeing a thread get 0 replies.
Same applies here

[JesusCraig]

You keep bumping them cross and I'll keep responding.

The nature of the ability seems rather counterproductive. You make it take 1 damage per movement square, but then you make it lose 1 movement range. (This also means that your hit and run scenario is quite possible, since most units trailing will have 2 movement range) Its a nice idea, which utilizes movement ability into attacking though, creating a dynamic really seldomly used.

[x-useme]

I like the idea. Think of the cool graphics a cobra can have, especially when it attacks :D

[Cross Punisher]

You keep bumping them cross and I'll keep responding.Twas only two:p

[Hellblazer]

Hmm...The effects of the attack seem kinda, for lack of any better word but JesusCraig's, counterproductive. I mean, if you move a poisoned unit, it gets dealt one damage, but loses one movement. That would mean eventually it can't move and therefore won't be damaged.

[Forest_Archer]

I wanna say the attack's a little overpowered, but you have a very well balanced unit here with the statistics.

[Sodamoeba]

Hmm...The effects of the attack seem kinda, for lack of any better word but JesusCraig's, counterproductive. I mean, if you move a poisoned unit, it gets dealt one damage, but loses one movement. That would mean eventually it can't move and therefore won't be damaged.

You miss the point of the ability i think. It doesn't lose 1 movement square everytime it moves, it loses 1 movement range TOTAL.


I wanna say the attack's a little overpowered, but you have a very well balanced unit here with the statistics.

Heheh thanks. Ill see what I can do about the attack.

The nature of the ability seems rather counterproductive. You make it take 1 damage per movement square, but then you make it lose 1 movement range.

I was debating between two concepts for the special attack. I dont know which you like more:

1. 25% less chance to hit, loses 1 HP every half-turn (the beginning of each players turn)

2. 25% less chance to hit, loses 1 HP every square moved, loses 1 move point.

(This also means that your hit and run scenario is quite possible, since most units trailing will have 2 movement range)

I was thinking that, with a recovery of one for moving, all melee units could catch up to the Cobra within 2 turns of being attacked, more than enough time to hit it before it runs. Here is a diagram:

Scout - Move when poisoned/recovery 3/1 Cobra's move/recovery 3/1
Knight - Move when poisoned/recovery 2/0 Cobra's move/recovery 3/1
Assassin - Move when poisoned/recovery 3/0 Cobra's move/recovery 3/1
Pyro - Move when poisoned/recovery 2/1 Cobra's move/recovery 3/1
DMW - Move when poisoned/recovery 2/1 Cobra's move/recovery 3/1



These are just grey units. Gold units have decidedly higher move and attack range. Shown here, every unit has similar or greater movement than the Cobra, and all but the Pyro and DMW can catch the cobra even when poisoned. Just something to consider.

[Forest_Archer]

You know I think I'm going to take my overpowered comment back about the attack, but I have a question. What do shrubs and wards do when they are venominized? :p How about teleportation units?

[JesusCraig]

Shrubs would die when they were hit, so they can't be venomed. And I know that those units CAN catch the cobra, I was questioning the effectiveness of it.

It will require two turns to catch the cobra, and it can happen one of two ways:
Either they can spend two turns moving and take additional damage, per square.
Or they can heal first turn then move.

I like the idea of the unit, maybe that wasn't portrayed in my post I think its a GOOD unit. I just think the ability seems rather counterproductive, if you have a portion of it affecting movement perhaps another portion should effect something else. Or, and I just thought of this right now so I'm not sure of the ramifications, you could make damage per square increased to say, 2 damage. So if they choose to attack the cobra and chase it down, they sacrifice a worthwhile amount of life. If they choose to heal, they've used a heal and you can get them next turn perhaps.

I still like the idea even if you don't change it, I just don't think it works effectively as it stands, 2 damage is not enough of a deterent.

[Sodamoeba]

Well, at minimum it would take 3 spaces to catch the Cobra...I guess 6 damage is a reasonable amount. Im not just trying to agree with you to make you like it, but I can see that I would surely sacrifice 3-8 HP to catch a cobra...6-16 I might think twice about. I will raise the damage caused by moving to 2.

Also, what do you think of the 25% less hit frequency? I wanted to add an extra incentive for healing as soon as possible, but I am worried that this could get frustrating if you decided to chase down the cobra. What do you think?

Teleporting units keep their ability to teleport, but still lose 1 movement range.

Thanks for the input guys! :)

~Soda

[JesusCraig]

I personally try to avoid using percentage to hit, since it will only result in more complaining about blocked attacks on the forum :D

However its a worthwhile ability, even adds to the tactics as your chancing that you'll be able to attack the cobra, so the damage you take would be for nothing, adds a potential threat and thus I enjoy it.

[legacy67]

This with a rush, double scout, muddy and wispy formation is a deadly combination. All you ned to do is just kill the ceric as quickly as possible, then start biting. Even though it seems small, 1 hp per square moved could be a lot, especially late in the game. You just have to use this in conjuntion with the wisp and muddy and it is total anihilation. I do not like this unit because once the cleric is dead you can virtually garuntee a win unless you play like an idiot. This would destroy knights and scouts especially. All in all, this is too strong.

[JesusCraig]

While your attacking the cleric something has to die, not to mention it can either move forward to attack wait to be attacked, either way its going to get hit and its likely going to die before it retreats much farther. With the combination you have this unit really doesn't fight the genre anyway, I'd much rather have a knight in the given situation.

Not to mention that actually moving it into enemy lines is far more hazardous to it then a knight, so it's a rather not rushlike unit. If I was using it I think it would more likely be in my turtle.

[Sodamoeba]

In addition, the poison wisp is almost as deadly when the cleric is gone...basically, the game gets significantly harder if you lose your cleric, but if you are a good player, you can avoid it. For example, when someone brings a scout through my turt to attack my cleric, I have a field day, because I leave a chanty right next to the cleric to freeze the idiot. :)