A new rulebook, errata, balance, experimental rules! Let’s take a look at what’s new for Dropfleet Commander.
With the new 2-player starter going up for pre-order this week we ought to take a look at what else is changing with this update for Dropfleet Commander.
Experimental Rules
First up we have some experimental rules for large games, as well as some new combinations of Cruiser you can make with the plastic cruiser sprue.
Reconquest sized games let you go as large as you want, with fleet size based off of how many thousands of points you want to play at. It’s great for those of you that want to play the biggest games of space combat possible, or use every spaceship miniature you own.
The Burnaby is a veritable battlestar, as well as a heavy cruiser you can make with a single cruiser sprue. Due to size constraints for the box for the new 2-player starter, they only come with a single plastic cruiser sprue for each faction (but get the two single-part cruisers each). This means that the UCM miss out a bit on making a heavy cruiser from the starter. Worry not though as the new 2-player comes with a pair of resin UF-6400 guns to assemble a Moscow, but those of you that want a bit of versatility (and launch) can opt to use the Burnaby as the starter’s heavy cruiser. Regular starters remain unaffected by this box size change, I should add.
Scourge, PHR, and Shaltari all gain an experimental cruiser type as well, all to be added to the resources section on ttcombat.com today.
Errata & FAQ
Included in the FAQ document are a couple of new FAQ answers as well as errata for the original rulebook and the Battle for Earth book. These are included in the updated digital download as well as in the new 1.5 rulebook.
Most of these changes are minor, such as regenerate working even when crippled, or Mauler being split up into its constituent parts. Big changes are the proper addition of the experimental Dreadnought and Overcharge rules that were in the previous FAQ and Errata document.
Before we go onto balance changes, I’d like to address a sort of meta FAQ.
“With the introduction of resin ships into the 2-player starter, are you stopping making the plastic sprues? “
No. Absolutely not. Plastic sprues are staying and not going anywhere. Only the 2-player starter has the resin single-piece ships (due to box size constraints) and no other starters are affected.
Balance Changes
There’s a lot of balance changes in this document, over 50 ships have had some sort of tweak. These range from a minor points change (very minor in some cases) to a complete overhaul of how that ship functions.
The community has been a great help with feedback on the state of ships thanks to the efforts of Adam D. A big thanks to you Adam and everyone else that contributed to the balance document. Nothing is going to waste and anything that hasn’t been looked at in this balance pass, we’re keeping the feedback for it in mind for the next one.
All of these changes are being made to the builder over the next few days, but all are included at the end of the FAQ document if you want to get your fleet on the table as quickly as possible.
UCM players will be sad to hear (maybe) that the Reykjavik and Venice have seen adjustments to make their interaction less…dramatic. In return though are buffs to all 3 battleships, as well as the Istanbul.
Scourge get the Parasite adjusted and some minor adjustments to Battleships. The Umbra also gets a reworked Oculus Booster. This new version of the ability plays more into the faction playstyle and offers your opponent more of an opportunity for counterplay.
PHR get a gamut of changes. A lot of them are changes to broadside names on broadside ships for a little bit more command card interaction. The Agrippa’s debris field gets a nerf, and the Ouriana gets a bit of a rewording. Battleships also see some changes to give them a bit more punch.
Shaltari get a swathe of small points adjustments and other small changes, like Ion Aura on various ships now having a static amount of shots. One big ship of note is the Haematite. Shaltari are all about breaking the rules and ignoring (or making creative use of) game mechanics. Standard Orders is no exception, but, there should be a price paid for firepower that would make even the most grim Starchief drool.
Resistance have a major overhaul, with changes in quite a few places. Bonuses for full groups of Sagittarii, extra reach on the Armstrong thanks to the breaking apart of Mauler, not to mention various points changes across the cruiser lineup. Unfortunately, something had to be done about double weapon heavy frigates, which have lost their Subsystem Network special rule.
Fluff!
Earlier this week we released the lore from the original Dropfleet rulebook, and we have more for you today. To go along with the 4 single part resin cruisers in the 2-player starter set, Dave made 2 for the other factions as well! These single part cruisers are new variants seen late in the reconquest and Dave has written up some lore to go along with them. It’s a bit long for just a website listing so we’ve drawn up stat sheets for the 10 single part cruisers.
The new 2-player starter goes live on the website tomorrow! If you’ve been itching to try Dropfleet, now is a great time to start. Or if you’ve been out of the game for a little bit, time to dust off those ships and try out the new state of the game.
Before I go, a final shout out to the facebook fan page and discord communities. There was A LOT of feedback on a lot of ships and we hope this balance pass goes a way to making the game a better experience for all. The Amundsen Gambit Campaign kicks off its 3rd round soon, so head over to the facebook fan page and https://thecabal.co.za/the-amundsen-gambit-campaign/ to get involved!