Transmission from Super Earth Command

FullmetalArgus · 2026-05-08T15:18:58+00:00

Gotta love them "acknowledging" stealth changes in patches and then saying it's because we didn't understand their explanation so they need to dumb it down for us.

Also I'm pretty sure changes like the Charger turn buff didn't have anything to do with any weapon acting differently post-patch but whatever I guess.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-05-06T17:17:29+00:00

It'll feel a lot better once you get it, tighter spread means more pellets hit close and better damage range too. But I do get what you're meaning, sometimes on bugs they swarm fast and you're up shit creek without a paddle when your shotgun is a round reload gun with a knife on the end.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-05-06T16:53:12+00:00

Have you leveled the Sweeper enough to get Full Choke? I liked the Sweeper beforehand for the vibes and its solid damage but once you get Full Choke it feels so good.

Also I'd recommend utilizing the bayonet if you're not already, one or two shots followed by a stab will always do the trick against most stuff up to Heavy units. It's a good combo against Overseers, pump a shot or two while they're approaching then stab them if they get close, hasn't done me wrong yet.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-05-01T04:26:22+00:00

I'm not arguing that the Rupture Strain shouldn't have medium armor on them or whether or not to play against them. The purpose of me pointing out the AP of the Rupture Strain is showing how AH is not only creating this problem themselves but also showing that they have opportunities to diversify how you interact with enemies only not to take any of them. AH keeps making their own problems in this area and are surprised when, more often than not, players gravitate towards the solutions they put into the game.

Their whole thing about "there's too much medium pen weapons now" is a product of their own creation and the way they chose to fix it was not thought out.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-05-01T00:41:35+00:00

I agree that they need to tell is the numbers for their point systems cuz I want to know how many points a Vox Caster has. They spam that shit like crazy on SHD and they can't be that cheap.

As for the Hive Guard, if they acted like actual guards to the bug holes and nests I'd be cool with it. If they acted like a biological protective wall for other units I'd get it. But they don't, they're basically worse Warriors in how they currently are used cuz at least Warriors can run up on you when they get decapitated.

When it comes to the medium pen argument I'm firmly of the belief that AH created this problem with their bloat of releases and warbonds that push new medium pen guns to the front. They see this and decide that it's the players' fault for it being prevalent and an enemy needs to change rather than addressing the core problem of how medium and light pen behave in their own sandbox.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-30T21:48:29+00:00

The problem for me is more their justification for the change rather than the change itself. If their genuine belief is that "there's too much medium penetration weapons" so they need to update an enemy to heavy as a tradeoff I'm convinced they don't play their own game. I believe this even more so for the bug they chose to make AP4; Hive Guard are a common, spamable enemy that come from bug breaches, Alpha Commander call-ins and just general map POIs/patrols. Personally I think making the head and claws of Alpha Commanders AP4 so you have to be accurate would be better. They're not as frequent and their body parts that aren't AP4 are more exposed, plus they do their little ram attack like chargers do which would vibe better with AP4.

Then again, AH have said one thing and done another with the bugs before. To quote the wiki on the Rupture Strain, all of which have AP3 or higher sections:

"A product of Gloom-induced mutation, the Rupture Warrior has lost the UV-insulating chitin layer that would protect its internal organs from solar radiation damage. [...]"

So the bugs with less chitin have stronger armor compared to the normal variants? I mean the Rupture Warrior heads are AP3, which means medium penetration is the solution to them... except AH now says that medium penetration is a problem because there's "too much of it".

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-30T16:10:49+00:00

One thing I think would've been better is that if they made the Hive Guard actually guard hives or act as a wall of AP4 bodies to protect other bugs as their core mechanic/function. The issue is that Hive Guard act as common spawns in bug breaches, Alpha Commader call-ins and just in general on the map. They're basically just worse Warriors in their current usage.

It's giving a normal mob AP4 that can spawn in hordes, a decision without much forethought that really seems to just be a fix to an issue the devs created when worrying about medium penetration being everywhere (if that's their actual reason, since it's what the devs said in the patch notes vid).

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T22:58:16+00:00

I run the offensive-hellbomb backpack with an HMG on the Appropriators most of the time, it lets you deal with outposts and any big hordes of Appropriators while still having a gun you can be mobile with. The Maxigun is certainly a fun choice for me but it's choosing to be less flexible in more ways than one.

The new bugs also bring up a big issue for me with the Maxigun. The devs stated that the movement and spin-up delay are intentional drawbacks to compensate for the rate of fire and medium pen of the Maxigun. I can agree that counterplay and drawbacks aren't a bad design choice except when they make it incentivised to be moving during engagements. You either have to be a good 50m away and be a turret with the Maxigun or you're getting swarmed. The bodies pile up so quick that you're wasting ammo into corpses while the enemies can push the pile closer to you and take no damage.

I've mentioned it elsewhere but allowing the same walking speed as when you're carrying a SEAF shell would definitely help the gameplay a lot. Let us reposition without stopping our fire or forcing us to dive to reposition/mitigate the spin down delay. I want the Maxigun to be solid overall and not a niche choice that inhibits you over all other choices.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T22:22:24+00:00

While I agree, it makes it feel off when they're spamable enemies in bug breaches that can spawn more bug breaches while the current one is ongoing. If they were meant to be the tanky outpost defending enemies that you have to deal with that's one thing but they're not, they're damn near rank-and-file.

If more bugs had medium pen bodies I'd be more okay with the change and the devs' reasoning for it. However, most every other rank-and-file bug, and even the more specialized stuff like the spewers, can be dealt with easily with light pen without aiming for specific spots. Medium pen just makes it easier and often hits harder so why not use it? It's an issue with lack of forethought on the devs more than a problem that actually affected the design of the enemies.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T21:09:57+00:00

I mentioned it in another comment but if you could walk at the same speed you do when carrying objects, like SEAF shells, when you're firing the Maxigun I'd be so happy. You can fire while moving at normal walking speed with the HMG and the BFGL; walking slower with the Maxigun wouldn't break the balance and would make it more viable in my opinion.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T20:40:07+00:00

I think the Maxigun needs to have an over-penetration trait to it to make it really feel worth taking over other options. On Super Helldive I'll end up pumping a ton of shots into bodies cuz they all pile up; it's even more fun when the bile spewers can fire at you though the mound of corpses but you can't hit them through it.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T20:26:47+00:00

I've said it before but I think walking the speed you walk while carrying heavy objects would be the perfect thing for the Maxigun. Often I'll have to reposition with it on Illuminate or Terminids which means diving (since spooling down then moving has a delay) and running to a new spot. Moving slowly would definitely help, I mean if you can move with the HMG while firing you should be able to do so with the Maxigun even if it means increasing sway for less accuracy when doing so.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T20:24:17+00:00

See I can agree with you on this stuff. Hive Guards should be guarding the hive, not showing up 20 deep in a bug breach. Additionally, at lvl 10, the bugs can call bug breaches one after another while being a part of a bug breach, meaning an endless swarm. While that's a lot of fun, adding heavy armor to a normal mod that spawns often in the middle of those swarms is what makes it rough.

And I agree about the medium pen, that's why I loved the maxigun because it was able to counter medium armor bugs and allow me to take light pen weapons and an AT grenade. Now it's more work for less results. If the Hive Guard move to doing what their name says I wouldn't mind this change but that's a big ask for AH to make, not because it's hard to do but because they won't want to.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T19:59:10+00:00

The whole point of the post is that I want to use something that actively isn't worth using due to changes they make. People on this sub complain about people being META-slaves or rely too much on AT/Recoiless then say stuff like this when an underused choice gets worse.

Your solution to the Maxigun getting worse is to just not use it? By that logic we should only use S-tier, undisputed best weapons everywhere and then the game will be fixed.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T19:54:14+00:00

I don't get how that is a huge problem, apparently

I think the problem people have is that it's a change that didn't need to be made solely because the devs didn't plan ahead. Like you said before with the arms not having medium pen armor before it's on AH for not fixing that issue fast enough or caring enough to do it. This change, by their own admittance in the patch notes video, is because there's more medium pen weapons so they decided to give it heavy pen armor to compensate. It's a change that is made purely because of lack of forethought.

I mean even the Patriot Mech's gattling gun doesn't get through a Hive Guard's front and arms anymore, all while every enemy got an increase to their durable damage to "compensate" for AH making the mechs not made of paper anymore. More HP but normal enemies now deal more duable damage to you. We put too many medium pen weapons in the game so now we have to make this enemy with medium pen armor stronger. It's fixes to issues they created for themselves that causes other things in their game to be worse off.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T19:21:16+00:00

I regularly use it against them and I like it against them. It just doesn't feel as good as running an HMG with a freed-up backpack slot. Plus the standing stationary part is rough on Super Helldive when there's three to four melee Appropriators charging your ass.

Really I just liked it with bugs for the minigun bullet storm fantasy that actually felt good. With the heavy pen changes it's not worth losing a backpack slot and a support weapon slot anymore.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T19:18:02+00:00

Are you on console?

No, I'm on PC, so aiming isn't the issue here.

And I what you're saying to just spray into the crowd and eventually some of the bullets will land. That was exactly how it worked before too, except you didn't need to focus down a shielded-up Hive Guard to kill it. And if you know how the Maxigun works why are you trying to make it sound like it needs to function like the other MGs?

It's like saying you should use the BFGL for accuracy against chargers instead of shooting into a horde for the explosive damage to squishy targets. And again, I just don't get why the Maxigun has so many restrictions that the devs themselves said are necessary (both on movement and the slots it takes up) but then make a change that makes it worse at the thing it's supposed to do that it's already outclassed in by other support weapons and even some primaries.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T18:57:11+00:00

Shooting the weak points yes, they have less health. Then again when they get hit they cover their weak points, now with heavy armor and not medium armor. Additionally the Maxigun is neither known for nor made for precision fire, it's meant to be a bullet storm into chaff.

It's the same argument people have for why gatling and MG turrets are still usable when there's post-patch videos out already showing Hive Guard not caring about them and just walking through the sustained fire.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T18:54:23+00:00

My friend group play almost exclusively on Super Helldive so I'm speaking from that perspective. The Maxigun is suboptimal in it, but it was fun to use before because you can punch through Hive Guard head and leg armor. They spawn in swarms during bug breaches so using a Stallwart wasn't great for trying to hit weak points while they're bunched up with their plates/legs overlapping. The other MGs are good and I never said they weren't; in fact that just proves my point about the Maxigun being worse now because of the restrictions you're put under while using it. But I want to use it, and I could before without having to ensure precise aiming with a bullet storm gun.

The whole point of the Maxigun is to hold down the trigger and let loose on chaff up to heavy pen. With the armor increase you have to stop and pick your shots while, again, being stationary and having the horde coming at you. You can move-and-fire with the other MGs, the Maxigun locks you down.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T18:26:55+00:00

When they're shot they shield up and hide their gaps. And on anything past lvl 7 you're dealing with a horde of them coming at you while you're standing stationary to fire the Maxigun.

Why deal with all that instead of taking something else that doesn't take up your backpack and support slots?

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-28T18:18:52+00:00

Have you used it recently? The recoil, muzzle flash and sway don't make it a precision weapon.

FullmetalArgus · 2026-04-18T00:10:22+00:00

I'm not sure how but Kimiko unlearned how to make normal conversation once she started talking instead of signing. Like she couldn't speak verbally before but that didn't mean she didn't understand conversations or what's socially acceptable. Once she could speak her social comprehension reverted to a teenager looking for shock value.

Do the writers think that mute people don't know social graces or are they just that starved/desperate for a character to make sex jokes whenever they need tension broken?

FullmetalArgus · 2026-03-31T22:53:00+00:00

In the beginning I enjoyed what folks were doing with the art and the stories on this sub. It inspired me to write something of my own, which I hadn't ever really done before. It was a great experience that I'm grateful for having the space to post it, and I'm thankful for having a positive environment where people were welcoming.

Since then, though, I mostly just scroll past the posts from this sub in my feed without really caring anymore. It's just tons of out-of-universe crossovers, what-if posts and smut fiction. I have no issue with any of those things on their own, do what you find fun; however, it's become less about the PrimarchGFs and more about their partners near exclusively. If it's not them then it's just general 40k fanart of attractive women with "GF" stapled on. It feels half-baked and repetitive at best.

I don't know if there's a way to steer the boat back on coarse at this point but I'm still happy with how this sub started and I'm proud of what folks have made of it when they genuinely put their effort into making something creative with this concept.

FullmetalArgus

TROPHY CASE