Very much looking forward to this patch! I appreciate the mix of balance tweaks, and balance overhauls. It helps keep the game fresh.
Now that this seems to be a "final" list, here's my rundown:
Space Marines:Very happy to see the Thunderhammer change!
I haven't ever felt that the VenDread was under-costed. It's req heavy, costs red and comes a tier later then the base dread and doesn't have the upgrade options, but charge and tons of health are good. ::shrugs::
I didn't grok how strong the LRR aura was so I didn't like this change at first. I'm always a fan of replacing hidden stats with overt effects though, so I've come around. An aura of massive damage reduction is invisible and causes "why the fuck did I lose?" moments, which suppressing flamers are very clear. "The flamers suppressed me, so I lost" - much more transparent and can be more meaningfully planed around (I need suppression resistance, or to attack from range).
I generally like the termie rotation speed reduction, not sure just how slow 200 is off hand, so we'll see in game. I almost want melee guys to turn faster, but the whole point is that it makes these insanely tanky units less killy, which I'm all for.
ChaosWhen tics went from 240 to 210 I complained a whole lot, but it turned out they were ok. So while my gut reaction is that this is a really dangerous change, I'm gonna try to keep my mouth shut for at least a month. The one thing I'll say is that 3x tics into T2 is a REALLY strong 1v1 strat (mix in a havok or T1.5 unit as needed), and a cost reuction is going to help it a lot. The melee damage of the tics is largely irrelevant, when 24 doomblasters close to melee against your T1 army, you retreat. 20% reduced mele damage will not change this. It WILL make them a lot more counterable by melee squads though - with a little micro to bait/mitigate doomblasts, tics were counterable with melee, so the damage reduction will mean a lot more there. We'll see!
Grey KnightsI have tons of opinions on GK naturally, so here goes:
Overall I like the direction of nerfing the BC. His over performance (mixed with a few other over preforming units) makes GK gameplay rely on him and skip a lot of sub-par units in favor of OP workhorses. Nerfing the BC and those units, while buffing up the slackers, will help make GK a more varied faction to play. This patch does not go as far as I'd like in these directions, but it takes some good steps. Here goes:
Please T1 req only Warrior Acolyte squad and bump SS to a T1.5 Power unit. This will make GK truly unique from their SM/Chaos counterparts.
BC change to medium size will be in line with the nerfs he's getting, and put him in line with the HT and WB's medium size.
Losing Flamefury Strike is a rather large nerf, it was very good to combo with GK's CC.
The Palli changes are perfect I think. They are now strong terminators, as opposed to nuts!
Teleport-Assault sounds like it'll be fun! I feel like GK termies could stand to lose the teleport skill if they are keeping retreat... but the Power cost increase might cover this.
Teleport-Pack being removed is great. I'd advocated for this before, I think it solved too many problems and was inappropriate on a commander who can't be suppressed or KDed.
Purifiers Blades needs a redesign or buff. With pack being removed, Purg is actually the only accessory worth buying.
Canticle changes sound REALLY interesting. I can't wait to see what combos this brings about.
Ops nerfs are the wrong nerfs, and too minor. Range changes don't fix what's toxic about them, it only makes them more all-or-nothing.
T1 Purgs are going to be so much fun. They were my absolute favorite part of playing GK in 2.3!
Rhino changes make me happy/sad. Happy cause it got the buffs it needed so badly, sad because T1 transport play was very interesting and unique. It needed more balance work to be a T1 purchase, and I wish it still was in T1, but it and purg should not be T1 together. I don't like GK having reinforcement in T2 either, just cause I thought it was a nice racial aspect that they didn't have it. ::shrugs:: I will deff be building this guy!
I'm scared of the SS change. If the Psilencer is good, SS are going to be OP
Them being better versions of tac/CSM in T1 was ok because they scaled real badly. I'm nervous that this will put them in an unhealthy position.
VA needed nerfs.
Purifiers needed buffs.
Flamer Dread needed buffs real bad.
I think psy-purg needs a small nerf to it's burst duration. The amount of damage 1 salvo will do is a bit too much spike damage to a vehicle that drives by them for just a second. I also reaaaaly think they should have a minor weapon cooldown to make them susceptible to suppression.
EldarDark Reaper Exarch seems pretty weak now for cost? Sight is great, but Rangers do that job better and Reapers aren't exactly a spearhead unit. He doesn't die last and is rather expensive.
I'm happy with the firedragon changes, their are now actually counters to them!
Imperial GuardThe hwt changes are wierd, I'm not sure how to take them. 20% increased total health, 20% reduced model health. Will make them better to execute as LC. More suceptable to AOE, but more overall health. It's a berf (buff+nerf)!
Having moved from GK to IG, I can confirm that Ogryns are nuts good, and that people who complain bout them are bad players. I think the reinforcement reduction is a minor but totally unneeded buff.
I love the Servo-Skull buff
Commissar power increase is a good change, they were absolutely under-costed.
I never make Kasrkin, and I don't think this will have me start making them. When I'm T3 I'm making tanks, new GM's to heal the tanks, or support squads (HWT, Manti, Ogryns). Another ranged infantry squad just doesn't seem to fit into my needs :/ I figure I need to play more IG to figure out when they are good, but unless I'm power starved it seems a no brainier to wait 75 more req and get a Russ.
Banewolf call in - It's still crazy OP and very hard to play around. Can the drop time at least go up to give a bit more of a counter window? Like the LRC -make it take a full 10+ seconds to arrive. I feel like such a cheesy fuck when I drop this right on a squad of light infantry!
NidsBio-Plasma can wipe nearly full health squads and has become a core part of my HT play against some races. I do not think it needs a buff! If it's cost is to be reduced, I would be happy to see the damage go down a bit. That said, HT is the weakest of the nid commanders, so... eh?
Genestealer changes are prolly for the best. More AV potential in T2 with the Zoan change, and less melee dominance on a squad that brings a level of dominance beyond any other T2 squad in the game... if paired with AG warriors.
Thornback only able to charge vehicles is a real interesting change. Saving the charge as an out won't work anymore, making the Fex much more aggresive, which I like!
VC and BS fex upgrades should still have their prices swapped imo. VC fex is still mediocre and BC fex is oh-so useful!
Any zoan nerf I'm in favor of. Losing snare hurts, but they are still a nuts good unit. I didn't think the passive stacked?!?!! Well, it damn well shouldn't so good change!
I like the Lictor melee skill increase. It's just too goofy to have a melee specialist T3 sub-commander with 60 melee skill
If he's OP now, nerf something else!
OrksGood change on Burnas, minor price bump seems fine for such a good upgrade.
I am SO excited for the Wierdboy controllable bomb!
All in all, great looking patch! Can't wait.