I just beat the beta on Hard using an armada, but with the way the run went, I could have done it with a lesser ship. I've been through many runs on hard so far, difficulty has varied wildly. Randomness is not always a bad thing, but it was always at the extremes.
-One run with a memphis, I picked up 2 celestial death rays in the first sector alone. With 4 death rays, I still died to the unknowns because they swarmed me with 8 ships all equipped with multiple death rays.
-On winning run, I had no death rays, but used 7 schillae/wanderer rocket cannons in my fleet. I didn't even need more than 2-3 bolter drone bays. The unknowns seemed to have few ships and never swarmed me.
What I LIKE:
-Knowing what I'll be up against with the unknowns, I have to strategize early... meainng pick up as many alien rocket cannons as possible.
-Burst has valid trade-offs, usually making it a shorter range weapon.
-I love the vulcan cannon! The flak cannon goes in the gutter now.
What Needs Work:
-Dump death rays. These are boring game breakers, for the player or for the AI. The best aspect of harbinger vs other games are the slower paced battles. We don't need a super fast battle ender for either side. I'd like to see them done away with or made much much rarer. Laser cannons are fine themselves.
-Up close/short range fighting can be made a more viable option if certain ships were made faster. Skirmishers could run in with flak and point defense to deal with the enemy's missile ships.
-Too many hazard areas. Or maybe it feels that way because I have to wait for an FTL recharge too much. This is a bit boring. Maybe there can be a way to fast-charge ftl, with a trade-off.
-Missiles are too slow to be useful. The point defense on enemy ships is too good for them.
Keep up the good work!
