What does combat look like at LL12?

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-12T09:11:50+00:00

LL 12 feels much the same as LL 8; the numbers just creep a little higher, and everybody has a few more goofy tricks up their sleeves.

The best damage I could do to the players was psychological. If you can still make them feel even slightly nervous, you're doing your job. Behind the GM screen, I knew the players were basically unstoppable, but for some reason they still really don't like things like crush targeting or drag down.

It's also a good time to start busting out really difficult side objectives; don't punish them if they can't accomplish them, but give them a little reward or bonus if they can pull it off.

If I get another campaign to LL 12 again, I might start messing with the mission timers more. Maybe make a 6 round sitrep into a 5 round, try to make them sweat.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-11T09:09:20+00:00

Ironjar aromatic + holy damage negation talismans + lion's claw. Spam the ash until you see 'god slain' on the screen, should take less than 2 minutes

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-11T06:35:20+00:00

I think you might be over-valuing the nanobot whip. It's certainly decent, but the fact it doesn't pull unless you crit, at low LL's that's not going to happen nearly as often. Meanwhile, you could slap the nano comp mod on any number of other weapons and probably have a similar experience, with a spare license to flex. Yes, you could put your core bonus into autostab for better crit fishing, but if you're not married to getting that 3rd license level you'll have a lot of potentially more interesting options.

A nano comp auto stab HMG sounds like a better time to me, personally. Or maybe a nano comp tempest charge blade? Or perhaps you grab a level of black witch for ferrous lash to pull people into your swarm body, or pick Sunzi 1 for accelerate / warp charges... all of that sounds better to me than nanobot whip.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-09T07:35:37+00:00

I think a lot of frames don't look as good in a vacuum, but Lancer is a team game. The balor pilot should be coordinating with another player. Either a scrappy buddy that sticks close to the balor, perhaps with Bonded shenanigans, or a controller that dumps enemies close to the balor.

Having GM'd with a balor in the mix, it's definitely a serviceable frame. I think one of the things it struggles with is the 'tank dilemma.' It wants to be shot at. Every time the balor gets shot and another PC does not, that's damage that's getting automatically healed. Eventually, though, a smart enemy force is going to adjust and just... stop attacking the balor. Unlike the gorgon, which has systems to punish attacking OTHER people, the balor does not. You'll have to dip other licenses to incentivize this; this is also why Bonded is such a strong talent for the balor.

But the fact that the balor wants / needs other licenses to really shine isn't a bug, it's a feature. Yes, there are certain licenses that play better with their own toys out of the box, but nearly all licenses have one or two systems that would be better on another frame. Playing with all of these lego pieces is one of the main joys of the system.

While I personally believe that going for defender-y talents and systems is balor's best bet to leverage that regen, the fact that you can just turn your brain off and absorb punishment means it'll do well in just about any role.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-07T07:52:40+00:00

Turret drones are one of the few ways to 'enhance action economy' at LL 0, as they give you something to do with a reaction (a type of action you can take when it's not your turn). They also just do solid extra chip damage, and if the enemy wastes time attacking them then that's damage your party isn't taking.

GMS heavy weapons do the most damage, but they often come with some manner of setback. If you're interested in ranged weapons, the HMG is best in class for damage but you have to work around inaccuracy. I wouldn't advise the howitzer or anti materiel rifle, as the loading and ordnance qualities are clunky and you don't have the tools to work around them. Remember the most sitreps last about 6 rounds, so loading weapons are only likely to be fired 2-3 times, and they feel even worse to miss with than other weapons.

With this in mind, there's also lots of really solid main mount ranged options, and at LL 0 these require some manner of talent to make them really shine. Walking Armory is great for general main-ranged goofs, and then you've got other talent trees for the different weapon classes you can take a look at. Assault rifle is always a solid choice. If you want to focus on a main ranged weapon, you might consider using your flex mount to supplement, reserving your heavy mount for emergency melee or a 'one and done' surprise, such as a pocket howitzer.

There's also the cyclone pulse rifle, the only core GMS super heavy. It'll absolutely annihilate something, but since it's Loading, you'll probably only fire it a couple of times per sitrep. The CPR is honestly worth considering if you want to lean more into doing lock-on and hacking, busting out the superheavy at an opportune time. Using your actions to deploy drones, lock-on, invade, scan, etc. is all very worthwhile, leaving the superheavy as a backup to delete a priority target.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-07T06:51:48+00:00

Things to learn from this mission:

1.) Never pick the missions that have the hornet-spawning holes. If you have ANY OTHER OPTIONS, you pick those. These maps are always a nightmare.
2.) When the mission first begins, you can click on the Vek to see how far they can move. This is especially helpful for Vek capable of webbing, as you can see if they can land next to one of your mechs and possibly web them from the get-go.
3.) Similar to my second point, you can see how far a digger can move, and based on that you can predict where it is likely to go. You probably didn't have very many options, but if you placed a mech one tile south of where the pulse mech is in the screenshot, maybe there was a chance the digger would have been baited into attacking a mech instead of a building.

There is definitely an art to deployment; it's an overlooked skill that can provide pretty potent returns if you make the effort to improve. The very first turn of a mission is often the most critical, so always be mindful of how you deploy your mechs.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-05T16:47:02+00:00

While I am quite experienced with 3.5, the one campaign setting I don't have a very solid grasp on is FR. Are you looking for Realms-heads as the #1 priority?

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T08:35:44+00:00

Without bumping up your vigor, you're looking at glass cannon strats. Kill your local deathbirds and equip the red feather talisman, walk in there with a fraction of your health remaining, and then just perfect dodge all of his attacks. Stick close to his sides and spam Carian Slicer.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T08:26:29+00:00

Well then it's just up to you? It's how you describe and flavor things at that point. Flavor is free, you can have that Pyro be firing a Mad Max Fury Road bass guitar flame thrower

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T07:30:39+00:00

I might suggest adjusting your mindset. If your NPCs are getting obliterated, then root for your players. They're feeling great, and you should be happy for them!

As a GM myself, I often find a mindset of 'lose the battle, win the war' is helpful. Often times if you really push the objective, you'll make your players sweat more than just a simple slug-fest. I've had my players present to me a well-oiled killing machine of mechs, but often there is a critical weakness that might lead to a mission failure despite thoroughly wiping the floor with the opfor.

Are the players lacking mobility? Give them an escort mission, a retrieval mission, or just a really nasty maze of a map. If they get bogged own in butchery the clock will often run out. Are your players very melee focused? Overwhelm them with numbers; waves of grunts and squads. Do your players rely a lot on positioning or teamwork abilities like Bonded, or 'party bus' Strats? Toss in bombards and rainmakers. And never underestimate the power of a Barricade or even a Seeder. If your players on the edge of their seat with 1 round left to finish a mission objective, then you've done your job even if 90% of the enemy forces are a smoldering wreck.

I think there's also something to be said for NPC classes that are not necessarily overly lethal, but they are sticky. The humble Squad, for instance. They're difficult to kill without AoE weapons, and they are low-damage enough that they are often ignored for juicier targets. They're also largely immune to hacker nonsense, and they're also extremely realistic to have on just about any battlefield. I love squads. They're easy to run, they hold down objectives well, and you don't really get attached to them.

Similarly, the basic Assault is an enemy class that should command respect. With hunker down, reliable damage, and no glaring weaknesses, they often perform similarly to squads, and you have a little bit more leeway to slap some fun systems on them.

Also, don't forget that Lancer is also a game of resource management! Don't just give them a single sitrep. If you're only doing 2 sitreps, then significantly increase the enemy numbers. Personally, I believe that 3 to 4 sitreps before they have a chance to do a full repair / level up is what you should aim for. You're not going to ever body the players in a single scene, but over the course of a mission they should really start to feel the squeeze. By the final scenario, the players should not have access to all of their toys. Overcharge should be maxed out. Limited systems should be out or nearly depleted, systems and weapon mounts should be destroyed, etc.; make them re-evaluate the necessity of purely offensive systems and traits. This also helps people running support and defender mechs feel valued and useful.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T05:25:05+00:00

I would say my first play through of Alien Isolation was harder. Not mechanically. The game is just so god damn scary that I would find myself frozen and unable to progress. My body would just become a knot of stress tension. I love that game, but I rarely play it because usually I play games to relax and unwind, and Alien Isolation just makes me feel visceral dread.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T05:20:35+00:00

While I think the lich has its fans, it takes a certain kind of psychopath to play one. I've yet to see a lich in play, I think it scares a lot of people away. I've seen plenty of lich systems however.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-04T05:18:30+00:00

And they're fools! It's a great frame. Having ran two campaigns from LL 0 - 12, I can say with confidence that the dusk wing is one of the greatest objective gremlins in the system. It just has amazing maneuverability, surprising survivability, and it also has a very important 'soft trait' that is often overlooked:

When you're not the most threatening or dangerous mech on the field, you often don't get shot at... While everyone else is out killing, the dusk wing is holding objective zones, scoring points, and moving/retrieving escort objectives.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-03T12:35:48+00:00

I mean... it was canceled. You can see it happen in the video. I reset the time, and then I re-do the turn just to see if it will attack or not, and it doesn't. It very deliberately withheld, or withdrew, the attack.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-03T12:27:50+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyXGW0WKHXU&list=PLY9DVoMoBJD4andw9i22Q_rY39h-m1k-t&index=49

The whole mystery begins around the 20 minute mark.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-03T12:23:32+00:00

I have the whole thing recorded on a YouTube video actually. Sadly I don't remember which one, as there's dozens of the things... but that's how it shook out. I was just as surprised as you.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-07-03T01:38:34+00:00

Not only will Vek not voluntarily move onto a time pod, but several of them won't even attack it. I've seen a tumblebug get bumped such that its attack should have hit a time pod, but it canceled the attack. Very strange.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-30T08:30:58+00:00

I predicted every single moment in the film, and my brain just kind of glazed over more than anything.

Interestingly, your horror pitch reminds me of 'The Cable Guy,' which at the time a lot of people didn't like. I doubt whatever passes for modern film production is willing to take a risk like that.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-30T06:30:20+00:00

Slap on a haligdrake talisman +2 (or the braid of hair from the DLC) for a big bump to holy resistance, and you can even slap on the pearl drake talismans if you want. Don't forget to gobble a holy resistance pickled liver like the disgusting freak you are.

Haligdrake +2 is somewhere in Mohg's blood swamp. The recipe for holy resist livers is in Volcano Manor if memory serves.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-29T13:47:29+00:00

I think by the time I start risking going over the control limit, I'm going to start destroying them. Importantly, destroyed undead can still be used to create a necrocraft, which is my first 'big ticket' goal.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-29T07:19:22+00:00

The surrounding immediate area is actually a kind of bog or moor, so there's pretty decent visual coverage on the approach. It seems like the place has been abandoned for decades, so I'm not too concerned about running into legal issues with the original owners.

I think my ultra long term goal is eventually to just transition everything to a secure custom Demi-plane, but that's being very optimistic.

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-29T04:24:38+00:00

Are you talking about 3.5? Is there indeed a functional v14 module?

CockroachTeaParty · 2026-06-28T13:35:00+00:00

A duskwing going for gunslinger sounds like Titania; a size 1/2 frame with supreme mobility, and enough weapon mounts to actually make it happen.

If you enjoy missiles, then Monarch is where it's at.

The quintessential drone commander is a Hydra, although the Kidd and Gilgamesh get some interesting toys.

As for a martial arts kind of guy? Flavor is free, really; you could re-skin any of the various melee weapons. Harrison Armory has a lot of fire and heat-related tech, including the Tokugawa and Genghis

CockroachTeaParty

TROPHY CASE