[N5] Débat sur les changements à l'ariadna

[Wizzy]

Hello la Sphère,

Voici un sujet pour parler des changements qu'on apporter la N5 à l'ariadna par rapport à la N4.

[Wizzy]

The dice abide a fait un article sur le dark net des changements apportés à l'USariadna dans la N5.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VL5XA-y-5rIB8LIZyLk76y9vU-hZmZAKAxeLuVknuts/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0


USARF Changes
or, Screaming Into the Void, by TheDiceAbide
A Bit of Background
I want to start off by saying, I usually hate these kinds of articles or forum posts. I am very much someone who enjoys working with what they've got, and figuring out interesting ways to solve problems. With that said, the game itself has changed dramatically since USARF came out, and the army has remained static... it is an army made for an entirely different game than Infinity N5.

I've been playing USARF since they first came out, they're the army that got me into the game, and odds are, if you've ever wanted to read about them, you've read an article written by me.

When USARF came out, the game was very different. There was no cap of 15 models, and despite this, most armies in the game were around 12-16 models (12 was often considered the sweet spot, since you still had 10 after having 2 removed turn 1). Usually Ariadna lists, especially USARF and CHA lists, would end up between 16-20. This meant a CHA/USARF player had about 4-6 orders more than their opponent. These orders were important so that Ariadna could use less efficient methods of handling enemy threats. Coordinated orders, sacrificing a model to let 3 other models shoot unopposed, at a Total Reaction bot is a good example (not order inefficient, but it did expend a trooper). Another is using speculative fire against Mim (-6) models, or setting up Intuitive Attacks with flamethrowers through smoke. Fire based attacks used to permanently (until engineered) remove Mimetism, so you could burn a target, then coordinate more powerful attacks against it.

Since then, point costs across the game have been driven downward, while a cap of 15 models was placed. This means that Ariadna, and especially USAriadna, no longer has extra bodies to sacrifice, but also no longer have an advantage on Orders either. Ariadna overall is very much on the low side of NCO options and Tactical Awareness, if not the lowest, depending on sectorial (though some NA2 are in the same boat). Compared to N3, USAriadna has fewer tools, less orders, and the game has added more threats that they lack counters to.

It's also worth pointing out that Ariadna was always also the one-wound faction, dogs being the notable exception. This is another concept that worked fine when you could have more bodies than other factions to compensate. Now that isn't the case, so it really needs to be reconsidered.

I'm not going to say that we should uncap the model count (though I do think it could help), because the lower cost of models across the game has also made it so other armies would be able to take advantage. Even my old N3 army list with 19 models, is now about 30 points cheaper! I'm not sure you can put the genie back in the bottle, so instead, factions need to get updated with consideration for the 15 model cap, and the new order structure, and the expected power level of units. Ariadna (and Haqq) can't play the game of outnumbering and sacrificing troops to win, Infinity does not support that play style anymore.

I'm going to only really talk about this in the context of USARF, because it's the army I know the best, and it's the army that has had the least attention paid to it since release. You can go back and find the old N3 profiles, and aside from Ohio being changed in the totally wrong direction, Rosie being added, and the Unknown Ranger being buffed, you can see that there have been almost no changes to the faction, and none at all that help them with the 15 model limit.

Given USARF hasn't had a meaningful update since launch, they are now listed as out of catalogue, and I've been advocating for fixing them for years... I'm not very optimistic that anything will happen. But who knows, maybe we'll get lucky this time and they'll finally give them some proper attention before sending them off into the sunset.
USAriadna Army Concepts
The USARF units can broadly be broken down into two parts: Tough troopers and light skirmishers, or Hunters and Hounds. For a long time they were the only Ariadna with bikes, and the only army with 2 different bike units. Similarly, they were often characterized as slow and heavily armored. I think leaning into those two aspects, without having to change a single model, could make USARF a far more interesting army.

Using fast units, and infiltrators, they chase enemies out of cover, into the firing lines of the heavily armed and armored main forces. When I wrote these changes, I thought about where they could live in this context. Some units squarely tough firepower units (Ohio, Grunts, Blackjacks), others are flushing enemies out of cover (Mavericks, Desperados, Hardcases), and some are a bit of both (Marauders).
Army Changes
They were also the first army outside of Haqqislam to have Haris fireteams, so give them Haris 2, not that it is a big deal in N4 with the fireteam changes.

Make the Commlink models usable outside of Escalation games, and make it Commlink (+3)... +2 doesn't help that much. If you want some extra sauce, give Commlinks the ability to re-roll the contents of their Speedballs, or +3 PH for their airdrop (since not all armies, like Ariadna, have access to EVO for that).
Profile Changes
Ohio Minutemen
Change:
CC 17
WIP 13
Arm 4

Remove:
CC Attack (-3)
Combat Instinct

Add:
BS Attack (-3)
No Wound Incap. (or Regen)
Number 2
X-Visor
Warhorse
Courage
NCO to all profiles (maybe, I go back and forth on this one)

Add Profiles:
T2 shotgun, Grenades, Paramedic. Anyone with an Ohio HMG also has an Ohio with Shotgun, there is no need to remove them from the game.

Ohio Minutemen need the most help, so I'm starting with them. The changes that they've received have been extremely unfocused, and nothing they've gained has actually helped them in any meaningful way on the table, or helped solidify their role. They've always just felt like an over priced grunt.

Including some way to represent the medical bags sculpted onto every model would be cool. Giving them medikits could be interesting, but changes their role too much IMO. Regen was a thought, but too unreliable for a single wound model of that cost, so I opted for NWI. Maybe that medical kit is how they have NWI, just a bunch of stimulants to keep them going.

Regardless, the goal is to drive their points and effectiveness up. Yes they've been given a lot, but USARF needs more expensive tools. They have had no meaningful changes since the 15 model cap, and are probably the worst affected by it, due to poor distribution of mid-to-high cost units. This also puts them into an interesting place compared to other Ariadna HI units, with some unique capabilities.
Marauders
Replace Heavy Pistols with Silenced Pistols
Add Combat Instinct (or Sixth Sense)
Add Tac Aware to Shotgun profile

If any unit should get CC20 and MA1 (or CC Attack [-3]), it's Marauders. They operate deep in enemy lines, stalking the jungles, combat instinct seems important for hunting antipodes. Mimetism (-3) if you want to get spicy. Silenced Pistols seem fun for ambushing, and works with their Stealth to make it a bit more interesting and fun.

I don't think they need their points driven up, they're in a good spot for list building now, but could some more thematic choices (instead of just being a Grunt +1)

Blackjack
MOV 4-2
Arm 6
BS Attack (AP)
BS Attack (+1SD)
Immune (Arm)
Transmutation (2)
Dogged

Super tough walking tanks, when they go down, they go down, and there is no bringing them back. Transmutation (2) means they only use the weaker profile when Dogged. This feels befitting of their enormity, and mentality of the operator, just continuing to pull the trigger while the systems are failing, alerts going off and the whole rig is falling apart around him. I think +SD would be more interesting than +B here due to working in ARO, BS Attack (-3) could also work, but that's been given out too much already, and I prefer it for the Ohio Minutemen.

If this sounds like a bit much, then I'm doing it right... I want to push the points and effectiveness up to high 40s, maybe even low 50s. They should at least be on par with a Vet Kazak, and visually they're closer to TAGs. Blackjacks get extra pitiful when compared to other HI with HMGs in their current points level, check out the Azra'il, the Penitent Observant AP Spitfire, even the Mobile Brigada HMG.

If B4 AP HMG with a +2SD is too OP in a fireteam, just get rid of their fireteam option...
Grunts
Add profile with Light Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher, NCO

Grunts are fine, just bring back LGL profile... anyone that bought the Grunt box, has the model. Make the grenade launcher NCO instead of Lieutenant, and maybe give it a smoke grenade launcher too. Basically like the Ghulam.

Grunt infiltrator nerf is annoying, but I can live with it. Maybe give them Infiltrate (PH=0) if you want to keep them from deploying on the enemy table side, but still let them deploy half way up? I always hated to roll to infiltrate (anecdotal, but I basically never made that roll, I've failed every roll in a tournament using 4 each game... I hated it, haha). But honestly, they're still fine as it is.
Airborne Rangers
Add Engineer profile, people have been asking for it forever, and an airborne demolition specialist is cool.
Add Shock Mines or Grenades to BSG profile, losing its template took away some of its utility, but grenades or mines could make it more interesting.
Bring rifle + assault pistol profile back, give it NCO. This was probably my favorite profile, even if it was too expensive. Perhaps NCO could keep it at a higher cost, but just fix the points if that was the only reason nobody took it.

Stats are fine, it just needs some profile love.
Unknown Ranger
W2, Remove NWI
NCO
Chain of Command
Martial Arts 2
Nanoscreen, No Cover (or Arm 5?)
Add profile with T2 Rifle

I get the nerf, even if I don't agree with it. The shield as a Nanoscreen would just be kind of fun, but I don't think it's necessary.

NCO + Chain of Command, he's the super soldier, listens to orders and ready to step up and take command when things look dire.

Bring back the Rifle as T2, discontinuing the LE model is lame.
Van Zant
MOV 6-2
Berserk (+3)
CC Attack (T2)

Van Zant doesn't need a ton, but he has definitely lost his pizzazz. I'm not sure the Chain-Colt (+1B) is a step in the right direction, when he's so fragile, you don't want to be trading pieces when you cost 35 points. Higher movement and Berserk (+3) give him some tools for running around in the back axing things. Maybe Dodge (+3). I could also see trading Dogged for NWI, but not having Immune (Shock).
Hardcase
Add Minelayer profile with PARA mines.

Makes them a bit more into antipode hunters living on the fringes. Setting up decoys and snares to trap antipodes.
Desperados
Add Mine Dispensers with PARA Mines to all profiles.

Similar to the Hardcase, these are the cowboys using space lassos to take down fleeing antipodes. This will help both the Hardcase and the Desperado feel a bit more interesting, without just giving them more damage output.
Mavericks
Add a Lieutenant profile. Doesn't help anything, but it would be super cool.
Vystrel Mobile Artillery Regiment
Add AVA1 to USARF.

Makes sense to not be in Kosmo, they're not a space ready unit. Keep AVA 2 in TAK, since they made it first.

[Wizzy]

Puis il y'a eu des débats tier list dont est passé la faction.

Tier list global avec un chapitre sur cette faction
- Épisode 130 - le MEGASODE de la N5 sort
https://lossoflieutenant.podbean.com/e/episode-130-n5-release-megasode/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5xPXy22RyA
- Infinity N5 All Factions Tier List - Dérangé, deux jours après la sortie, édition Hot Take
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_rHGPcTav4
- Épisode 132 : Le retour de la faction N5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCf46MeSE84

[Wizzy]

Voici un récap des commentaires qui faisaient des analyses en réponses aux vidéos réac.




Ariadna
- @soapy5365 C'est une période difficile pour être un joueur d'ariadna... ce qui m'ennuie le plus, c'est de voir comment nous avons autant d'infanterie lourde qui ressemble vraiment à de l'infanterie moyenne qui est zappable avec E/M

- @lossoflieutenant1886 Le BS moyen dans le jeu a diminué, ce qui n'est bon que pour Ariadna et ils ont récupéré le Vystrel avec quelques buffs notables à Knauf, Vassily, Vat Kazaks, EM5, Apaches et quelques duos vraiment cool. Ils n'ont certainement pas la variété qu'ils avaient autrefois, mais ils tiennent assez bien et surclassent définitivement la plupart des NA2 et tout ce qui est actuellement dans le niveau C

- @lossoflieutenant1886 La majorité (pas tous) des sectos ont des fireteams moins bonnes en général. La majorité (pas CA) des vanilles ont perdu une certaine variété d'unités qui les a poussées au-dessus des variétés sectorielles auparavant. Je ne dirais vraiment pas que les choses que vous avez mentionnées ont fait du mal à Ariadna de manière irréparable. Les ours ont été nerfs, mais ils étaient une unité de niveau S auparavant, maintenant ils sont tout simplement « bons ». Ils gardent beaucoup d'armes modèles et de bonnes en plus. La fumée est un peu un succès, mais il existe actuellement un profil d'ours qui lance des fumis sur les 20 et ariadna a un PH élevé en général. Les escouades sont en fait meilleures dans Vanilla et TAK, Kosmo et USA sont cependant à la poubelle. Berserk est différent, mais sur certaines unités, meilleur qu'il ne l'était. Les Apaches ne font plus d'échange mais de FTF et gagnent le jet de manière fiable, de même que les duos Cadin et Highlander. Les chiens guerriers sont toujours en Vanilla et vont parfaitement bien.
Ils gardent toujours leur TAG, leur camouflage, leurs excellentes unités de diablotins, leurs bons PA et leurs bons ARO, y compris les tourelles et les bagages super bon marché.
Je ne serais pas surpris de voir quelqu'un s'en sortir extrêmement bien.


USariadna
- @RattlerNxt Perdre le Grunt Infiltrator est un gâchis. Et celui FD+8 a gagné un point ! Les États-Unis sont juste dans une situation difficile.

[Wizzy]

TheDiceAbide a fait un long post sur le forum officiel : Mise à jour d'Ariadna pour N5
https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/updating-ariadna-for-n5.43327/#post-480939


What Made Ariadna Special
Back in the wee days of N3, Ariadna was a very different army on the table than any other. They didn't get access to a lot of the cool spooky tech, but had their own ways of solving problems. What characterized Ariadna was playing the game by the core rules, you had to learn to use all the rules of the game to get around your technical limitations.

Need to handle a Total Reaction bot? Coordinate an order, sure one of them will get pasted, but the other 3 will be unopposed. Need to move up the table? Use more cautious movement. Trouble dealing with enemies in smoke, bust out that Intuitive Attack. ODD (mim-6) enemy around a corner? Toss them a grenade!

All of these tools required the Ariadna player to know the core rules well enough to know when to use what. Furthermore, they required the Ariadna to make up for their inefficiency in fancy tools, by expending more bodies, and having more orders on the table. The 15 model cap however has effectively made all factions fight with the same number of models, so we can no longer rely on having extra, expendable troops to throw into the enemy, on top of that, we have very little access to multi-wound models (aside from dogs/bears, but the later was just nerfed), even NWI models are rare. Furthermore, Ariadna has the just about the worst access to NCO, Lieutenant +1 Order, and Tactical Awareness in the game. When Ariadna was designed, they had the most wounds and orders on the table, now they have the least. TAK and USARF have had no fundamental changes since they were initially designed, so I don't buy that the 15 model cap had them in mind.

Now, I'm not saying we go back to unlimited models, nor am I saying Ariadna should have special access to more minis. The game has changed a lot since N4, and point values have dropped considerably, so I think uncapping it will just make it worse for everyone. Instead we need to look at what can make Ariadna special in the context of N5.

What Can be Done in N5?
There is a lot of design space in N5, supposedly the unpacking of rules, and addition of new traits, was to increase this space... so why was it totally ignored for Ariadna?
- Let's dish out some BS Attack (-3) on some of our troops who are known for unleashing hellish amounts of ammunition (Blackjacks, Ohio, etc).
- Ariadna needs Warhorse. TAK might get an okay amount of it, but another source of BS-3 has been added to the game, and Ariadna is the least equipped to handle negative mods. Warhorse doesn't represent gear, it represents training, which Ariadna gets plenty of.
- Give up on Ariadna being the 1 Wound faction, or at the very least, give out more NWI. At this point there is no reason Ohio and Moblot need to be as fragile as they are.
- Tactical Awareness, NCO, Lieutenant +1 Order... again, there is no reason for them to be so limited in this faction. It does not build faction identity.
- I have no notes on hacking, I'm happy not having them.
- T2 Ammo has been handed out like candy in other factions, that has diluted Ariadna identity. Sadly, in some cases, I preferred having AP (like the Ojotnik). I'm not sure we can take it all back, but giving Ariadna some AP + T2 would make their bullets very spooky, and a combo you don't find elsewhere. It's really not better than AP+DA anyhow (arguably worse).
- Stun Ammo and Riotstoppers can be distributed in Ariadna. Stun was classically a tool for handling antipodes (so much so that Loup Garou used to be armed with lots of it), and adhesive as well. Both are interesting, non-lethal tools... It's not like grenade launcher range bands are very good now anyhow, so what harm could it do?
- Now that Marksmanship can be negated, giving it out a bit more in Ariadna could give them some extra identity. They may not have fancy gear, but they're damn good shots, used to dealing with antipodes in tight quarters and dense terrain.
- More Minelayers can also help indirectly help with order efficiency, they're tools that both save you orders, and cost your opponent orders to deal with.
- Finally, the the more I think about it, the more I like giving them fairly broad access to E/M Weaponry. I don't think of it as particularly sophisticated equipment, it can just be frying electronics with microwaves, but it leans into the guerilla, asymmetric concepts in Ariadna. Giving them some E/M grenades & launchers, E/Mitters, E/Marats, more E/M Mines, and Jammers (not E/M but similar), would give them tools to use the enemy's own technology against them, I can think of nothing more Ariadna.
- Most of these changes do not suggest increasing the lethality of Ariadna, instead they give them more tools to fight on uneven grounds, without resorting to giving them more technological solutions. They will have more tools to handle enemies, but those tools wont be more, bigger guns, visors, hacking, or other fancy tech.
- FWIW, I thought the Mormaer was the pinnacle of Ariadna design space for bully pieces. It was heavily armored and fired lots of very mean bullets. I wish it was still around, and upgraded it's Dogged to NWI.

Controlled Beasts
Another way I think CB could address wounds/orders in Ariadna is to put some more thought into all the various controlled beasts they get: Streloks, Antipode Assault Packs, Polaris Teams, Kibervolk Teams, Devil Dogs, and Carmen Johns. These models all give multiple wounds per army composition slot, and in a more interesting way than just slapping wounds onto things.

The two teams that seem a bit off to me are the Polaris and the Kibervolk. Both of these units are made up of a controller and a beast, but neither of them operate in a way that feels like that. By making both of these units Peripheral (Control), and giving Tactical Awareness to the controller (much like the Antipode Assault Pack), you can help with the Ariadna order structure issues: fitting more wounds on the table, and more access to tactical awareness. This also helps the tax of taking the controller feel more like a feature, than a punishment for wanting a bear.

To take the concept one step further, I'd suggest a new trait "Warbeast" (or something like that), which could be used on the Morat pets as well. Add this to all of the Peripheral Antipodes, Bearpodes, and to the Jayth's Taigha, Oznat's Preta and Tyrok's Skurgot.

Warbeast - Automatic Skill
Obligatory
Activation
Automatic when the model enters the Disconnected State.
Effects
The model may continue to use Automatic skills and Equipment while in the disconnected State.
The model gains the Impetuous, and No Cover automatic skills.
The model may be activated only with use of its Impetuous Order, and may otherwise not be activated as per the Disconnected State rules.
Cancellation
The effects are automatically cancelled if the model recovers from the Disconnected State.
�
This is more of a pie in the sky idea than my other thoughts on Ariadna, but I do think it would do a bit to help. Getting more wounds on the table, and more tactical awareness to help them operate within that 15 model limit. It would also just be really cool, and differentiate these beasts which are pressed into combat, from helper remotes which can't independently operate. Since the controllers can't be linked, it really means the Tactical Awareness order is for the peripheral, so you can't abuse it to give extra activations to other units.

Some Unit Comparisons
Finally, there are some units that I really don't understand, and sadly make me feel like Ariadna was not seriously looked at this edition. I get that you're supposed to look at a unit in context of an army, but I don't think we can totally ignore the capabilities of similar units in other armies, at the same (or less) points.
- Para Commando Spitfire costs more than a Tiger Soldier, more than a Rajik, both of which are far more maneuverable now. It is the same price as the Crusader spitfire, which got a ton of buffs. I'm not sure AP comes close to being worth more than combat jumping, with 6" super jump, higher BS, Dogged, or great CC skills...
- Ohio Minuteman HMG costs more than the Zuyong HMG, or the Wu Ming HMG. Again, not sure AP comes close to the benefits those units get.
- I'm sure there are plenty more to add to the list, looking forward to other additions from the community.

[Wizzy]

Ensuite le fil de fofo est une suite de long post d'analyses des profils en N5 et de proposition de ce qu'il y'aurait pu y avoir.

[Wizzy]

The dice abide a fait un nouvel article sur le fofo off des changements apportés à l'USariadna dans la N5 : Rendre à USAriadna sa grandeur
https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/make-usariadna-great-again.43326/#post-480934




...or, Screaming Into the Void, by TheDiceAbide

A Bit of Background
I want to start off by saying, I usually hate these kinds of articles or forum posts. I am very much someone who enjoys working with what they've got, and figuring out interesting ways to solve problems. With that said, the game itself has changed dramatically since USARF came out, and the army has remained static... it is an army made for an entirely different game than Infinity N5.

I've been playing USARF since they first came out, they're the army that got me into the game, and odds are, if you've ever wanted to read about them, you've read an article written by me.

When USARF came out, the game was very different. There was no cap of 15 models, and despite this, most armies in the game were around 12-16 models (12 was often considered the sweet spot, since you still had 10 after having 2 removed turn 1). Usually Ariadna lists, especially USARF and CHA lists, would end up between 16-20. This meant a CHA/USARF player had about 4-6 orders more than their opponent. These orders were important so that Ariadna could use less efficient methods of handling enemy threats. Coordinated orders, sacrificing a model to let 3 other models shoot unopposed, at a Total Reaction bot is a good example (not order inefficient, but it did expend a trooper). Another is using speculative fire against Mim (-6) models, or setting up Intuitive Attacks with flamethrowers through smoke. Fire based attacks used to permanently (until engineered) remove Mimetism, so you could burn a target, then coordinate more powerful attacks against it.

Since then, point costs across the game have been driven downward, while a cap of 15 models was placed. This means that Ariadna, and especially USAriadna, no longer has extra bodies to sacrifice, but also no longer have an advantage on Orders either. Ariadna overall is very much on the low side of NCO options and Tactical Awareness, if not the lowest, depending on sectorial (though some NA2 are in the same boat). Compared to N3, USAriadna has fewer tools, less orders, and the game has added more threats that they lack counters to.

It's also worth pointing out that Ariadna was always also the one-wound faction, dogs being the notable exception. This is another concept that worked fine when you could have more bodies than other factions to compensate. Now that isn't the case, so it really needs to be reconsidered.

I'm not going to say that we should uncap the model count (though I do think it could help), because the lower cost of models across the game has also made it so other armies would be able to take advantage. Even my old N3 army list with 19 models, is now about 30 points cheaper! I'm not sure you can put the genie back in the bottle, so instead, factions need to get updated with consideration for the 15 model cap, and the new order structure, and the expected power level of units. Ariadna (and Haqq) can't play the game of outnumbering and sacrificing troops to win, Infinity does not support that play style anymore.

I'm going to only really talk about this in the context of USARF, because it's the army I know the best, and it's the army that has had the least attention paid to it since release. You can go back and find the old N3 profiles, and aside from Ohio being changed in the totally wrong direction, Rosie being added, and the Unknown Ranger being buffed, you can see that there have been almost no changes to the faction, and none at all that help them with the 15 model limit.

Given USARF hasn't had a meaningful update since launch, they are now listed as out of catalogue, and I've been advocating for fixing them for years... I'm not very optimistic that anything will happen. But who knows, maybe we'll get lucky this time and they'll finally give them some proper attention before sending them off into the sunset.

USAriadna Army Concepts
The USARF units can broadly be broken down into two parts: Tough troopers and light skirmishers, or Hunters and Hounds. For a long time they were the only Ariadna with bikes, and the only army with 2 different bike units. Similarly, they were often characterized as slow and heavily armored. I think leaning into those two aspects, without having to change a single model, could make USARF a far more interesting army.

Using fast units, and infiltrators, they chase enemies out of cover, into the firing lines of the heavily armed and armored main forces. When I wrote these changes, I thought about where they could live in this context. Some units squarely tough firepower units (Ohio, Grunts, Blackjacks), others are flushing enemies out of cover (Mavericks, Desperados, Hardcases), and some are a bit of both (Marauders).

Army Changes
They were also the first army outside of Haqqislam to have Haris fireteams, so give them Haris 2, not that it is a big deal in N4 with the fireteam changes.

Make the Commlink models usable outside of Escalation games, and make it Commlink (+3)... +2 could help a bit, but 3 gets spicy (means it's more models than orders you can have denied with command token usage).

Profile Changes
Ohio Minutemen
Change:
CC 17
WIP 13
Arm 4
Remove:
CC Attack (-3)
Combat Instinct
Add:
BS Attack (-3)
No Wound Incap. (or Regen)
Number 2
X-Visor
Warhorse
Courage
NCO to all profiles (maybe, I go back and forth on this one)
Add Profiles:
T2 shotgun, Grenades, Paramedic. Anyone with an Ohio HMG also has an Ohio with Shotgun, there is no need to remove them from the game.
Ohio Minutemen need the most help, so I'm starting with them. The changes that they've received have been extremely unfocused, and nothing they've gained has actually helped them in any meaningful way on the table, or helped solidify their role. They've always just felt like an over priced grunt.

Including some way to represent the medical bags sculpted onto every model would be cool. Giving them medikits could be interesting, but changes their role too much IMO. Regen was a thought, but too unreliable for a single wound model of that cost, so I opted for NWI. Maybe that medical kit is how they have NWI, just a bunch of stimulants to keep them going.

Regardless, the goal is to drive their points and effectiveness up. Yes they've been given a lot, but USARF needs more expensive tools. They have had no meaningful changes since the 15 model cap, and are probably the worst affected by it, due to poor distribution of mid-to-high cost units. This also puts them into an interesting place compared to other Ariadna HI units, with some unique capabilities.

Marauders
Replace Heavy Pistols with Silenced Pistols
Add Combat Instinct (or Sixth Sense)
Add Tac Aware to Shotgun profile
If any unit should get CC20 and MA1 (or CC Attack [-3]), it's Marauders. They operate deep in enemy lines, stalking the jungles, combat instinct seems important for hunting antipodes. Mimetism (-3) if you want to get spicy. Silenced Pistols seem fun for ambushing, and works with their Stealth to make it a bit more interesting and fun.

I don't think they need their points driven up, they're in a good spot for list building now, but could some more thematic choices (instead of just being a Grunt +1)

Blackjack
MOV 4-2
Arm 6
BS Attack (AP), BS Attack (+1SD), or both?
Immune (Arm)
Transmutation (2)
Dogged
Super tough walking tanks, when they go down, they go down, and there is no bringing them back. Transmutation (2) means they only use the weaker profile when Dogged. This feels befitting of their enormity, and mentality of the operator, just continuing to pull the trigger while the systems are failing, alerts going off and the whole rig is falling apart around him. I think +SD would be more interesting than +B here due to working in ARO, BS Attack (-3) could also work, but that's been given out too much already, and I prefer it for the Ohio Minutemen.

If this sounds like a bit much, then I'm doing it right... I want to push the points and effectiveness up to high 40s, maybe even low 50s. They should at least be on par with a Vet Kazak, and visually they're closer to TAGs. Blackjacks get extra pitiful when compared to other HI with HMGs in their current points level, check out the Azra'il, the Penitent Observant AP Spitfire, even the Mobile Brigada HMG.

If B4 AP HMG with a +2SD is too OP in a fireteam, just get rid of their fireteam option...

Grunts
Add profile with Light Grenade Launcher, Smoke Grenade Launcher, NCO
Grunts are fine, just bring back LGL profile... anyone that bought the Grunt box, has the model. Make the grenade launcher NCO instead of Lieutenant, and maybe give it a smoke grenade launcher too. Basically like the Ghulam.

Grunt infiltrator nerf is annoying, but I can live with it. Maybe give them Infiltrate (PH=0) if you want to keep them from deploying on the enemy table side, but still let them deploy half way up? I always hated to roll to infiltrate (anecdotal, but I basically never made that roll, I've failed every roll in a tournament using 4 each game... I hated it, haha). But honestly, they're still fine as it is.

Airborne Rangers
Add Engineer profile, people have been asking for it forever, and an airborne demolition specialist is cool.
Add Shock Mines or Grenades to BSG profile, losing its template took away some of its utility, but grenades or mines could make it more interesting.
Bring rifle + assault pistol profile back, give it NCO. This was probably my favorite profile, even if it was too expensive. Perhaps NCO could keep it at a higher cost, but just fix the points if that was the only reason nobody took it.
Stats are fine, it just needs some profile love.

Unknown Ranger
W2, Remove NWI
NCO
Chain of Command
Martial Arts 2
Nanoscreen, No Cover (or Arm 5?)
Add profile with T2 Rifle
I get the nerf, even if I don't agree with it. The shield as a Nanoscreen would just be kind of fun, but I don't think it's necessary.

NCO + Chain of Command, he's the super soldier, listens to orders and ready to step up and take command when things look dire.

Bring back the Rifle as T2, discontinuing the LE model is lame.

Van Zant
MOV 6-2
Berserk (+3)
CC Attack (T2)
Van Zant doesn't need a ton, but he has definitely lost his pizzazz. I'm not sure the Chain-Colt (+1B) is a step in the right direction when he's so fragile, you don't want to be trading pieces when you cost 35 points. Higher movement and Berserk (+3) give him some tools for running around in the back axing things. Maybe Dodge (+3). I could also see trading Dogged for NWI, but not having Immune (Shock).

Hardcase
Add Minelayer profile with PARA mines.

Makes them a bit more into antipode hunters living on the fringes. Setting up decoys and snares to trap antipodes.

Desperados
Add Mine Dispensers with PARA Mines to all profiles.

Similar to the Hardcase, these are the cowboys using space lassos to take down fleeing antipodes. This will help both the Hardcase and the Desperado feel a bit more interesting, without just giving them more damage output.

Mavericks
Add a Lieutenant profile. Doesn't help anything, but it would be super cool.

Vystrel Mobile Artillery Regiment
Add AVA1 to USARF.

Keep AVA 2 in TAK, since they made it first. Most other factions share the attack remotes within their sectorials, such as the Vostok in Nomads, or Peacemakers and Bulleteers in PanO. I could see not wanting one in space though (nobody wants holes in their station).

[Wizzy]

Le reste du fil fait quelques réactions d'analyses et des propositions d'ajouts dont du fanmade.

[Wizzy]

Niveau contre jeu tourelle face à l'adversaire, j'ai lu ça sur le fofo off concernant l'Ariadna gnéraliste et la TAK, c'est assez spécifique et limité mais ça existe.

- Les Irmhadinos désactivent les tourelles sur 19+ hors LdV. Vous pouvez également utiliser des fumigènes pour y parvenir, ce qui est un créneau mais vaut la peine d'être gardé dans sa poche pour éviter de tirer sur les tourelles occasionnellement. Le Ratnik a également un désactiveur - à condition d'être un adepte du Ratnik.