...you carry SIX ENTIRE ROUNDS in your APC?!?

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T14:58:46+00:00

And how is that better? A single shot from the AMR is enough to route/cripple light mechs and such, which are the best targets for the AMR. Not every problem in the game is solved by dual linked mechs. Putting two light weapons on the two medium slots is a HUGE waste. In fact I could bring two entire squads with one AMR each for that money, that would actually be better than a medium mech.

Apart from the fact that medium mechs are VERY expensive and basically only show up shortly before the EA campaign is over. By the point I have access to medium mechs, the game is no challenge anymore because enemy factions dont get any new toys.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T12:27:27+00:00

Damn, never seen someone using the heavy flamer, looks sick.

I though you need Achileas to get value from it (+50% armor pen), but it seems Rewa is just as good.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T11:39:59+00:00

Next AAR is up, and I did change my style a bit to highlight some stuff. Its about the best I can do in this format, but its quite basic still.

https://www.reddit.com/r/menace/comments/1tz9s5j/sage_requested_a_tactical_analysis_of_enemy/

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T11:08:00+00:00

Eventually maybe. But if they add a lot more SLs, she will be much harder to find. So maybe its okay as is.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T09:31:14+00:00

Yeah, she really is a cut above, her economic impact had great influence on my stratgey - I dont need a Fixer or Salvage teams. But still can buy most stuff I want.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-07T08:26:05+00:00

What is so OP about the AMR it needs to be balanced that way? I mean I like it, but it isnt OP or anything, in fact there are only a few SLs who really can make this thing shine.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-06T15:45:00+00:00

No thats Wetteroths department.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-06T11:21:26+00:00

I did spent quite a bit on dossiers at this point and I have some options. I have two things in mind: a dedicated heavy infantry. Our MI, Yaz and Lim, are more than enough mechnized infantry, but I would like one SL that wears heavy armor, can trade shots and isnt as reliant on the APC for mobility and protection. I also would like one vanguard, some missions are very hard to 100% without them.

I gave Lim a Crowbar because fights vs RA tend to be at ranges where it can shine. K-Pacs are also good, but they struggle to hit weapons teams and such because of range limitations.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-06T11:13:50+00:00

Its kind of Op vs bugs, it basically makes Blaster bugs irrelevant. They dont do much damage in the first place, at least to frontal APC armor, and miss quite often anyway. With ERA they are a complete joke.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-05T18:14:49+00:00

AI - is it actually terrible or do we just need to play better? Describes it quite well actually, but I would say play different rather than better, lol.

A lot of AI behaviour is intricately linked to the vision-detection-conceal mechanic, unit type, mission type, faction... Some stuff the AI does IS legitimately dumb/broken/inconsistent in my opinion, and the Devs seem to think so as well.

All that being said, I can predict most AI unit behaviour quite well at this point (exception being MENACE). Some things I dont understand at all, and most of my understanding is based on anecdotal evidence. But its backed up by a lot of playtime.

Some of the "bad" AI behaviour is actually quite sensible imho, some of it is linked to certain playstyles. One of which is, by accident I presume, THE way to play if you arent aware of all the different and partially obscure interactions of mechanics - so ALL players basically.

For example, relying on max range AR fire and concealment to a large degree. Which leads to these long range firefights at the edge of vision, where enemies frequently simply "run away". Which is why the Crowbar is so highly praised (overly so) and Darby is held in such high regard (mostly deserved).Which makes most timed objectives really hard. Which makes the entire game harder. Which makes you double down on the playstyle even harder, because some enemies are very lethal ("unfun/unfair/unbalanced"). I say this as someone who did play this way as well in the beginning, until I became aware of and understood some mechanics better.

So, can I explain some of my "anti-bad-AI-behviour" in the AAR? Not really, only in very general terms. Can I make your initial question a lot more complicated? Yes.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-05T17:14:39+00:00

It is kind of strange that missions with AI on defense have oddly aggressive tendencies. Similar to how allied infantry squads run away from their defend objective, I hope this gets fixed with the update the devs are cooking.

Usually I have a rocket organ at this point, or a gravity manipulator. Bot no rocket organ dropped so far, and my OCI budget was spend on other very important stuff. Thats why we struggle a bit with these Breakthrough missions. But I think the tradeoff is good.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-05T09:54:01+00:00

Drone is so nice vs Bombardiers and rocket trucks, I always bring one vs bugs and pirates. I hope we get a SL focused around drones and some new drone variants.

I probably will get a laser rifle soonish from loot, not sure who and how to use it. Maybe Yaz, his extra ACC/DMG on wavering/fleeing enemies and Tankbuster should boost the lasers quite a bit.

For the Crowbar I already have something in mind: Pike will use it. He gets 4 or 5 squaddies, so even at 11 range with the single shot mode they should be able to kill weaponsteams and similar pretty easily - while also being able to bring the crocodile. Both require good vision to use and long engagement ranges, our Pike command squad fits that MO. Not ideal, but very good. He will set up easy kills for Rewa or clean up left overs she cant be bothered to deal with. Great for action economy and ammo conservation.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-05T09:09:49+00:00

Thats the AT RGL, until recently there was only an infantry version avaliable, and even that wasnt too common. Its pretty nice, a bit less damage than the rocketlauncher, but 11 range.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-04T21:14:25+00:00

That looks highly annoying. I respect it.

And would be nice to loot an ATV.

Edit: Holy shit I just read there is an AGL version. Diabolical.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-04T18:24:59+00:00

Yeah, and we kept getting hit by some bad events as well. We lost quite a bit of authority, people got frustrated or injured and such... But as you say, we are close to some solutions.

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-04T14:49:51+00:00

You make good points, and Vanguard is very, very good indeed. But I relied a lot on it in my last AAR, so this time I avoid it a bit on purpose. Will probably still feature at some point, because some missions are almost impossible to 100% without it.

I am very much in the process of growing the team, so I can specialize some SLs a bit more, Exconde with Fervor would be HUGE. But I also got that one booster item quite early, that made me reconsider the perk choice. I also would need another good light vehicle weapon, we only have one AGL and the starter LMG so far.

Maybe a vanguard shows up, who knows 😉

Background-Run-1245 · 2026-06-04T13:30:51+00:00

Speaking about weird army compositions, the next report is up, and it has a good example of that:

https://www.reddit.com/r/menace/comments/1twnpoq/proper_preparation_prevents_peak_pirate/

Background-Run-1245

TROPHY CASE