Chapter 1 - Stop putting Bravo on FOB: Lessons from FOB Rework

General Discussion
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This isn’t a high-effort post so I won’t put it under guides, but I do hope to inspire CIC players to play a different way, while also recognising the demand meta puts on CIC players to conform to the same-y tactics.

1. What is FOB Rework

FOB Rework adds several crates to the Hangar. These are loaded onto the Alamo, and are deployed around the LZ. Doesn’t matter what it is, all you need to know is that LZ is completely immune as long as you hold the power generator (“transformer”) off the LZ. It’s one of the icons on your side of the map, that isn’t Comms. Maybe I’ll attach a picture later.

2. I’m stuck in Bravo FOB meta, what can I do here?

Use Echo:
1-3 (pop dependent) Comtechs (preferrably from Bravo)
Any volunteers that want to be on FOB Duty

Orders

Alpha-Bravo-Charlie-Delta: Move to Xeno metahold
Echo: Set up Transformer and barricade it.
Intel: Set up Comms
Chief Engineer & Maintenance Technicians: Set up LZ

Why can I get away with very few Marines on Transformer?

  1. Close to FOB (immune)
    1.1 FOB is immune. FOB Defenses 1-shot everything in the game.
  2. Transformer takes 10 seconds with a welder to fix, from there, it’s up to Comtechs how to reinforce it. It requires no maintenance.
  3. Only T3s can break the Transformer (i.e backliners don’t matter)
  4. Comms is a fake objective that doesn’t actually matter, and Comtechs can walk over & fix it if need be.

I’ve got no shipside Engineers

Make Echo set up LZ too, then move to Transformers. It takes me ten minutes alone to set up the equipment on a big LZ, they can do it.

I’ve got no Comtechs

Sob a little. Then ask for a volunteer, hand them a powerloader license from Requsitions. Ask an FTL, SL or IO to weld the transformer.

How do I activate Echo?

It’s in the groundside console in the bubble.
Transfer button is in each overwatch console, as well as several hand-scanning transfer consoles in CIC and the MP bubble in the Briefing Hall.

Why should I move Bravo off of FOB?

TLDR: You’re wasting Marines on guard duty that can be used to win the game for you in the field

Long Version: You’re wasting Marines, some of which are important, (SL) (FTL) (Corpsmen) on the FOB when they could be in the field winning the game for you. As well as this, you’re sending Marines to the front (SG) (Spec) without squad comms, and with no real leadership or idea what’s going on. Bravo SG and Bravo Spec are left blind if they don’t have the initiative to take a radio key.

Instead, you’re now sending a near-full co-ordinated squad to the front led by a competent SL (unless they volunteered for Echo)

Tip: Tell Bravo A.S.A.P. that they’re not on FOB, so they don’t gear up for it - take any volunteers into Echo.

Tip: Accept anyone into Echo, if they volunteer for FOB then they want to be there and should be allowed to be there.

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I agree with this from this point, though I am still personally against the FOB rework which is a different topic.

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instructions unclear, put delta on fob and they mutinied

it’s probably too bigbrained for CM but i’d be interested in seeing bravo utilized as a second layer who covers the rear and can peel off for QRF duty as needed. most bravo ppl are at the very least prepared to have to leave the fob /eventually/ as reserve and then there’s obviously backliner bravos, so i wonder how to best play into those things while making the most of the whole squad :thinking:

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Hmmm. Considering FOB is invincible when the transformer is up, this might be a good suggestion.

Though intel being on comms would mean there’s no one to guard comms, as intel has to walk across the whole map to find goodies.

Maybe bravo can be split into a fireteam, based on who wants to unga in the front and who wants to secure transformer or comms.

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Comms is NOT an important objective at any level. It is NOT worth garrisoning, and garrisoning often leads to the capture of these Marines. Repairing Comms requires a basic toolbelt and nothing more, and its loss is not detrimental at any serious level.

Again, this is covered. Any volunteers for FOB Duty can be moved to Echo. Bravo itself should be on the frontline same as Alpha-Charlie-Delta.

I want to stress this: Only the bare necessity for LZ Defense, all hands should be on the front line to break the Hive in the field rather than at the FOB.

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I might be old fashioned but I’d prefer if we can actually communicate on comms for a few reasons.

Firstly, since I main medic, Im well aware of how medics have to keep in touch with the GP to ask for medevac. I bring radio bags for the op but most medics i’'ve seen dont and they would be forced to walk all the way back to fob to medevac and risk being picked off by backliners.

if we want to push into caves, we also have to consider calling in OBs. Comms is especially important in lowpop as I know that there arent always an SL in each team so the aSL gets delegated to a spec or SG who dont always have a radio bag with them to ask for OB support to secure a push. We can argue that they can look for someone with a radio bag to relay the coords, but by the time they actually find someone, those coords might not even be relevant anymore as the xenos have already moved to a new position.

Comms also help SLs maintain unit cohesion and tell them where to push, compared to telling them in-character where only the nearest marines can hear while the others who might have lagged behind or pushed elsewhere would stay uninformed.

When we do want to go for an all-in push into their hive, relaying information over the radio help us keep track of any flanks thats happening as well. One thing thats always been a risk for an all-in push are backliners or flanks picking us off one by one, and having no comms make it especially harder to coordinate a counter to that.

We can gamble that a hell push to their hive might succeed but doing so without the capacity of having teamwide communucation makes it especially more risky, because we are forgetting the reasons why some hellpushes failed in the first place.

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This man gets it. I will gladly shake my can with you!

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To clarify, this isn’t a call to completely abandon Comms. However it can be maintained (through batteries or repairs) by a small walk off the transformer. My overall point leans more that a dedicated garrison pulls Marines off the front and risks trapping them for an easy capture if backliners get their act together.

I just don’t see it as an objective on equal importance to transformer.

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comms are 100% vital and any belief otherwise is immense cope

rtos are a fine bandaid but they are absolutely not a solution, and serve as a fog of war that can get the marine forces not only hit, but obliterated without falling back in time because of slow motion of information.

An unguarded communications isn’t just a ‘weld it and turn on lmao’ because xenos will always get one over that can smash the apc, which takes a minute or so to rebuild alone, uses finite circuit boards, makes you vulnerable etc

EDIT: A lack of communications also serves as a morale penalty to the entire front line

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The importance of comms is inversely proportional to the competence of the players in CIC

However, the amount of time comms is online is also (usually) directly proportional to the competence of CIC.

If you have extremely competent CIC, comms is a nothingburger and any competent marine will operate fine without it- CIC is enough to compensate- However, any competent CIC will also keep comms online (and probably fix both).

If you have bald CIC, the lack of comms is equivalent to a total communications blackout where you know absolutely nothing about what’s happening outside of your 15x15 tile hugbox because there will be no command or squad announcements whatsoever to relay information. Where is everyone else? Are they dead, scattered or at FOB? Who the fuck knows?

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comms could prob be maintained by intel (if they survive) or by the backlining bravos which makes having a garrison there questionable, 1 guy with cades and maybe a sentry can 100% hold out against backliners long enough for more marines to show (though he’ll die of boredom, the biggest reason why comms duty sucks)

If you have extremely competent CIC, comms is a nothingburger and any competent marine will operate fine without it- CIC is enough to compensate- However, any competent CIC will also keep comms online (and probably fix both).

yea, though CAS will suffer pretty badly and information will always be at least a bit slower even if CIC is cracked out of their minds, but as you said, good CIC will keep comms on
a good compromise would be putting 2, maybe 3 guys max on comms so they can hold against any backline threat and maybe rescue dead dudes near them

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Only a T3-sized Xenos can smash the APC beyond repair and the times that happens is extremely rare because T3s are best on the front.

In relation to both quotes - trust me when I say you do not need a garrison on Comms. I’ve tried Echo FOB on multiple rounds of FOB Rework.

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To be honest @DangerRevolution, @Lmwevil and @BasilHerb make superb arguments for the importance of coms. In my almost 4 years of playing this game loss of coms is a huge loss. Could you expand beyond “trust me bro”? Thank you in advance for time and answer.

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I’m writing a Chapter 2 to this where I’ll expand slightly more and hopefully it’ll make more sense.

My main point hinges on that having the Comms tower up is important, but a dedicated garrison is not. I’ll leave it at that for now.

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All in all, I agree with points made here. The only round I bothered to CIC for marines on FOB rework I pulled bravo off FOB and sent them to front, but their SL and comtechs ignored me so I let those three be. I did also have to deploy myself as XO to kick the queen’s ass and rally the marines before they break, which led into a healthy hellpush into the hive where all xenos promptly died.
Even if Bravos on the front were few, they likely were the major reason of turning of the tide that LV round.

Comms is just another beast entirely, you can safely ignore it and turn it on every so often, until one hour in. Then on afterwards if you lose comms - you’ll be giving xenos a free pylon. The pylon itself wont do much, all they’ll get is maybe +5 attack, but the implications of having one drive some xenos… mad. Warriors suddenly may pull off the front and sit on comms to lunge the unsuspecting comtech, or a drone comes around and fortifies everything, sometimes I even seen a few T3 players leave the front entirely and sit on comms with queen pheros and heals which utterly devastated any bravo attempts of solely recovering comms.
Generally I think you should prioritize transformer above all else, and have the bravo\echo push cades towards comms if its close-by, or make a separate cadeline on comms that they periodically visit and fix up if needed, maybe with a sentry or two. Generally backliners wont touch comms if they see someone checking it and\or there’s turrets that can get them killed.

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Completely agree here, happy to see someone see the wisdom in Echo :grin:

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Honestly I really like the idea of just using Echo as a volunteer-FOB squad (except for the CTs, those fuckers are being forced in regardless). Half the people in bravo don’t actually want to do FOB, they just got fucked on their rolls and squad preferences.

I’ve seen you use it in a few rounds and it was fine.

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Fair dude. Can’t wait to read it.

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