TL;DR version is in the comments below.
As a way to reduce enemy spam, FatShark is making an effort to differentiate the Moebian Sixth from the Admonition. They want the Scabs to fit the theme of an elite regiment who doesn’t need high numbers to be a challenge to the players compared to the less professional Dregs who are supposed to be strong in higher numbers.
I have been thinking, aside from increase in health, what else could be done to make the Sixth feel more experienced and skilled in warfare? After giving the matter careful thought, I think I found a way.
FatShark can implement a change to the behavior of the Scabs.
It’s not really anything huge. Let me elaborate:
The Moebian Sixth is a regiment, which means that a lot of their soldiers are definitely equipped with some form of radio that could allow them to quickly communicate to every troop that they have just spotted a loyalist within a specific sector.
That means that the moment we are spotted by the Scab enemies, all the Sixth that spawns into the map later down the line should already be aware of us and be ready for an engagement.
Shooters and Gunners
These troops can take cover when fighting us. Going with the behavior of already knowing that we are coming, upon spawning they could immediately take defensive positions by going into cover, before we, as players, even see them. So when we do come into contact with them, from our perspective, they are already in cover. And since they know that we were going to show up sooner or later, I think that significantly shortening their reaction time (as in, the time it takes them to start shooting the moment we walk into their sights) would be appropriate. It could even be made so that their reaction is quicker, the higher the difficulty is. To add to the role of soldiers further, I believe that Shooters and Gunners should have an increased resistance to suppression, given their militaristic backround. Most of them seen war and had bullets flying over their heads on Nox Alpha, so suppression shouldn’t be as effective on them as it should be on the Dregs.
Stalkers, Shotgunners, Plasma Gunners
These enemies are supposed to fill the role of shocktroopers. They are immune to suppression and do not take cover as the regular Shooters and Gunners do. I think the way to have them appear as if they are ready for us, is to have these enemies appear in patrols.
What I see as patrols in the game are groups of enemies, wandering from one spot to another, that vary in numbers. There can be small patrols that consist of only two chaff ranged units (Shooter/Stalker) and one chaff melee unit (Bruiser). There can be medium patrols consisting of a couple of chaff ranged/melee units and one or more Elite ranged units (Shotgunner/Gunner) or melee units (Ragers/Maulers). And of course there can be boss patrols. They can have things like 8 Crushers/Bulwarks/Reapers or 8-16 Elite ranged or melee units.
The reason as to why I suggest making these Scab units only appear in patrols is because it makes sense for them to scout the area they were ordered to guard. A single Scab Stalker shouldn’t just stand around aimlessly. Instead, he would have been grouped up with the rest of the squad and told to go patrol the place they are guarding, because they have just received a report of Loyalists sightings a couple of sectors away. Because of this, I think that, once again, shortening the reaction time of these enemies would be adequate.
Bruisers, Maulers, Ragers
These are our maniacs. Crazy lunatics who would throw themselves into the line of fire for the Sixth. But I think that even the crazy melee, Nurgle-worshiping lunatics would still hold some kind of order within their ranks. That is why, once again, making those units only spawn in patrols would help to differentiate them from the unorganized cultists of the Admonition. Also yes, I would, once again, suggest shortening their reaction time, since they’ve already been told that Loyalists are on their way, so it would make sense that they are already on edge and would react very quickly upon seeing people dressed in armor with markings of the Imperium that they so much despise.
The new differences between the Moebian Sixth and the Admonition
In conclusion, I think that, aside from the heath buffs, changing the way the Moebian Sixth behave, and making them much more responsive to seeing us, would really help in differentiating them from the Cultists of the Admonition. With such changes, the Dregs would come across as much less professional. They would appear less in patrols and in more disorganized groups, standing around and taking longer to attack us, since they have no idea that we’re coming. Also, their ranged units would be much more vulnerable to things like suppression, which makes sense because the Dregs are no soldiers. No matter how much blessing they received from Nurgle, human instincts still remain. Without military training and experience of warfare, once the first bullets fly, a regular cultist shooter will flinch and react much more to the incoming fire compared to the seasoned trooper of the Sixth.
End
So what did you guys think? What do you think of these suggestions? Would these suggestions fit the Scabs, and would they really help the players differentiating them from the Dregs? How would that work out gameplay wise? Would it impact the gameplay experience significantly?
