Into the Breach - Mech Squad Tier List

[@conjecturemm]

Join the channel discord to see more Into the Breach Videos I'll be making! discord.gg/7QVrAtmZ

[@dirkkadirdir8378]

will u update this for the new squads

[@conjecturemm]

@@dirkkadirdir8378 yes!

[@deoxxys]

​@@conjecturemmWhere's that video dave

[@NawidN]

It feels kinda weird to hear the guy who was just teaching me math stuff explain his Into The Breach squad tier list. Still, I wish more teachers would do this!

[@conjecturemm]

It's a fun game and I'm trying to put everything I want to create on this channel, so here we go!

[@alluo1009]

@@conjecturemm you are/were a teacher? And in math of all subjects? Man, I’m just returning to this game and this is the first video of yours I’ve watched. Now I’m looking forward to the rest. An actual teachers making guides is dream for any game.

[@Eidenhoek]

Why was the y-axis called the x-axis?

[@IndianaBrown-id1bq]

@@Eidenhoek Vertical axis and y axis aren't the same thing

[@Eidenhoek]

@@IndianaBrown-id1bq Well, *typically* it is. But the axes are whatever you label them as.

[@conjecturemm]

This video probably only will appeal to people who are familiar with the game (which is not my current subscriber base). This leads me to an update: I'm experimenting with a lot of different types of content. I'm trying to hit the sweet spot between things I like making and things KZbin will actively recommend to my subscribers and new audiences. I feel like it's been a *long* time since I've created a video that actually did that. So I've got a wide variety of things planned for March, like [REDACTED; PATREON EARLY ACCESS REQUIRED]. My channel is going to feel like a random collection of content for a little while until I'm able to settle on something that I enjoy making and that KZbin will actually recommend. I know many people will says "just worry about what you want to make and don't worry about views," but it's hard to do that because (1) I'm still enjoying everything I create, and (2) I enjoy things more when other people enjoy them, too. So I'm searching for that sweet spot. Thanks for your patience

[@whalisten]

So sweet, we're here for you

[@tatianatub]

i have never played into the beach but this got me interested

[@Matthew-ux7pj]

i only just started playinng the game but if you have mafan as a pilot with the frozen titans the ranged unit never freezes itself (so would he not be better than the one you mentioned?), and you can permanently block units from spawning with the shield dude and the ranged units cus you can refresh their shields everyround while still dealing with other units.

[@82MPN]

Nice. I might add that by using your chart, that any squad with a science would get a HUGE boost to the "Immediate/Simple" direction with the use of the Mantis pilot. It's crazy how this chart shifts with the use of the "right" pilot.

[@conjecturemm]

Yeah, there's a lot more nuance that could added too but I have to stop somewhere lol

[@filurenerik1643]

What a brilliant, intelligent and well structured video! Thank you.

[@conjecturemm]

Happy to help!

[@conjecturemm]

Something I should have mentioned in the video: I made this tierlist with a hard, 30K victory in mind. So when I say more difficult or less difficult, it's with the intention of getting a 30K run.

[@minhangkhong523]

Question: Why at 0:20, the Combat mech is the most destructive unit? Did you use him to punch the building?

[@Phantom_Kraken]

This should be the default layout for everyone to rank the squads

[@t.b.6600]

Love this breakdown! In my mind there's a third axis at play (3D space): the squad's ability to respond to turn-scoped randomness - increased with ability to reposition the Vek, movement range, versatility of strategy, etc.

[@conjecturemm]

Right. First turn position also really matters

[@MrAbgeBrandt]

This is the best tier list I have seen so far, and that is not limited to into the breach. A very good approach!

[@chickenmanphil]

honestly, I wish more tier lists were done like this, not even just for Into The Breach but for games in general, like 50 50 between the "normal" kind and this kind, that way for games where certain characters are WAY better than others (like most fighters) you can look at the normal kind, but then once you know the good characters you can look at this kind of tier list to see which one fits you best

[@09airsoft]

Would love to see an update with the added squads! Great video love the format!

[@francescobr9796]

Into the brach is currently my favorite strategy type game, thanks for all the tips about the squads! It helps me a lot 😊

[@ChristopherCadlum]

Probably the best mech analysis I've watched. Awesome! It's interesting to hear your pronunciation of Abe Isamu. In my head he's Japanese so for me it's Ah-be Isamu with all short vowels :)

[@conjecturemm]

Yeah pronunciations is going to be one of those tricky things in a game where the names aren't said out loud lol. Glad you liked the tierlist!

[@damnfreakingsien]

Just played this on mobile for a few weeks, and I got to say, this is the most accurate squad tier list. Now waiting for AE tier list, I think most of the AE squads feels complex and require quite a fair bit of investment to make it work!

[@PolyxTheWise]

Awesome explanation! I just picked this game up on Steam not too long ago, and loving it thus far! (: Starting to upload some gameplay videos on it as well. I liked your list, seems well thought out, and I look forward to trying some of the other squads as I unlock them.

[@conjecturemm]

hope it goes well!

[@S.A.M-MK3]

0:30 round of applause for this guy censoring the secret squad (0:27 or trying to anyway)

[@conjecturemm]

lol yep it was a pretty uhhhhh not well made video back then

[@Prodigial]

Flame Behemoths are heavily undervalued here imo. I have 500 hours into the game and have gotten 30k results x5 for every squad (I got way too into this game lol) and I think the Behemoths are easily the second best squad. Learning how turn economy works and managing the fire accordingly makes Vek spawns easy to control while being able to deal with the ones currently alive with minimal interaction. Swap Mech is also the best mech in the game by a mile; starting the game with +Mech Reactor and dumping it into this baby is insanely good; you want to max it out ASAP. I agree this squad takes more nuance to understand, and I think the Rift Walkers are the best squad as they can get similar results far easier, but the Behemoths are top tier when played right. Note: The Frozen Titans are the best squad with Mafan or Bethany. It's the closest the game comes to "easy mode". It's funny because they are arguably the best with those pilots but, without them, they go from the best to one of the worst squads in the game.

[@waterisdelicious6887]

WHAT!? I never new that starting the ice mortar off with Bethany jones stopped the mech from freezing itself! Thank you so much for telling me this! Your tier list is superb btw! You should make a "recommended pilot per mech team list". Do you have any tips on where to place mechs at the beginning of a mission that aren't "no shit sherlock" tips?

[@conjecturemm]

Hey, I'm glad I could help! I'm considering making a video about that, since first-turn placement seems to be a very common question I see.

[@jjr8108]

Good stuff, man! I just got into this game a few days ago. My first time playing and I spent 19 straight hours playing lol ridiculous.

[@conjecturemm]

yeah, it's a fun game!

[@zegerb]

I really like this more nuanced way of looking at it. Hazardous mech are my favourites and I love that you can find something that suits your preferred style in this game. ❤

[@Chasecharb]

I like taking the pilot with flight on blitzkrieg and putting him into the hook mech. Flying over holes and yoinking people in is so satisfying

[@conjecturemm]

ah that is an interesting strat, though for me my strat is to replace the hook mech as soon as possible lol

[@someweeb4110]

I unlocked the Blitzkrieg squad first and was struggling so hard this has justified some of my pain lol I like em though, 10 hrs in ganna keep learning almost beat the game tonight

[@CuriousPlumber88]

Great tier graph, love how you explore the teams traits rather than whether they are good or not. Also, I would move up the frozen titans into simple category for sure. I think they’re simpler than the fire squad and rusting hulks. The jet’s smog attack is similar to steel judoka flip move and they are difficult to consistently pull off.

[@conjecturemm]

I think I said this in the video (I forget, it's been a while) but if you're playing them with bethany or mafan, then I'd agree they are simple. However if you're playing them with any other pilot, I'd say it's less simple because you'll be freezing yourself each turn in the beginning.

[@matheusvitorinomachado4642]

Loved the video. The best tier list on the internet, very well thought out. I only disagree about the hazardous mechs squad's position, as for me the strategy is essentially simple, high damage, but it requires more attention and care. In that sense, I would position them at the center of the axis. (Im still trying to get those four island run with steel judoka, seem impossible to me)

[@PaleRust]

I have to admit its pretty cool seeing all the squads with gold medals. You should flex on that lol.

[@Studious_Studios]

Thank you. I took a screenshot and pasted it on my google doc notes. I'm playing with the blitzkrieg squad even though I'm a beginner... It's hard, even on easy lol.

[@conjecturemm]

It takes time to get used to! I wasn’t great at first, either!

[@tirell2075]

This is a really interesting tier layout and I mostly agree. My favourite squad is the flame behemoths and before you tiered them I was thinking about how a reactor core is a night and day difference for the flame mech, currently fishing for a skilled reactor pilot with the new update. Being able to fire through an enemy without pushing them into buildings, fire through buildings to push an enemy on the other side, double the amount of flame squares per turn to control enemy movement or just burn something and set a spawn on fire too. Gana can be a huge help too putting in your prime mech, I tend to think of attacks that set enemies on fire in terms of how many ticks they get before an enemy does a threatening move, like the flame mech having push most of the time is a "2 damage" move from nulling one enemy's turn while the meteor mech is often a "1 damage" attack due to the lack of push on the middle tile. Gana pushes up those damage ranges by 1 on the initial turn to allow Flame Behemoths to better take control of the momentum with beefier enemy spawns and get the flame mech targeted often to create more wasted enemy turns for damage to tick over. Generally I find the Rusting Hulks even easier to use than the Rift Walkers, it could be a playstyle thing but it feels like the momentum often gets out of hand with Rift Walkers with a few bugs on the map, forced push on every attack with bugs hugging buildings, just controlling bugs instead of killing them leading to more attacks to answer. Smoke has no directional requirements, upgrading the storm generator buffs the damage of multiple team members, Jet Mech is incredibly easy to position and the range upgrade helps to litter the map with smoke if it isn't getting a two for one while the Rocket Mech generates easy two for ones when being used as an active combatant, pushing one with an arced attack while smoking another. On the topic of two for ones, I'd push Frozen Titans closer to complex for the Mirror Mech alone. I hate that Janus Cannon. Being a shot with push with fixed directions leads to so many lines where you can't fire without damaging something else, and when you have to attack in such specific angles I actually prefer to lack push so I don't also lose the option of hitting a Vek dead on that'll push it into the building it's threatening. The Frozen Titans are cool for the Bethany synergy alone, but there's not often a use for the mirrored shot if not to free the Ice Mech. With the new DLC the Heat Sinkers' Quick Fire Mech is like "you, but stronger" for me, with the amount of freedom in shot angles, toggle on push and it's really fun to use with the Napalm Mech, but I'd also honestly just take it with the Frozen Titans in a heartbeat too.

[@Its_me_Stolas]

I picked the game yesterday, played it through that day (November 5th, 2023). Like really, I woke up, logged into the game at 9 am and finished easy mode at around 8pm. And I figured that some of the squads thrive on the different islands at the start. They are all good, but to master some complex squads you do need to master someone like Rift walkers. And of course the pilots and enemies should be mastered as well. Especially natural elements

[@Miketar2424]

This is a great analysis. You should do a job where you , like, analyze things. Well , I guess you already do. This game is an all time classic, up there with chess in its depth and fun. It also has plenty of mods, which I have tried. One has an aircraft carrier that uses drones , which is best used with Silica as it need not move to be effective. The best compliment I can give this game is that no sequel is needed , because it is in a complete form, with no improvement necessary.

[@Laikafan02]

I don’t have a favorite squad, but if I had a favorite, I’d be a custom squad with the flame behemoth prime mech, rift walkers prime mech, and the mist eaters ranged mech. Feels good to use tbh.

[@luiegiii]

This is the coolest tier list I’ve ever seen. I follow the smash bros scene as well and I feel like those tier lists are always lacking. This a actually does a good job of managing the various aspects of the characters and their complexity. Good stuff.

[@conjecturemm]

Thanks! I follow smash too and have seen on some occasions lists like these being used, which I think (?) is where I got the idea

[@animarthur5297]

A tier list, ranking or just overall breakdown of each individual mech would be cool. It could be helpful for people who like custom squads

[@animarthur5297]

Speaking of custom squads, the Rocket Mech and the Smog Mech synergize insanely well. Add a Jet/Thruster Mech to the mix and you have an amazing squad. When fully upgraded, you can fill up to 6 or 7 tiles with electric smoke per turn - all of which disable attacks and deal 2 damage per turn - and that your mechs are completely immune to _and_ get repaired by when they stand on it.

[@whalisten]

I don't know why am I subscribed here, but I love it

[@conjecturemm]

I love it, too!

[@NorkiNorkiGaming]

The X axis is the horizontal one. A kid in my class at school said he remembers it by the saying "X is a cross".

[@conjecturemm]

Ha did I misspeak at some point and call it the vertical axis or something?

[@NorkiNorkiGaming]

@@conjecturemm At 0:55 you say "the X axis", but use the Y axis for simplicity/complexity. It's a great idea for a tier system though. Great vid!

[@novusfool]

i just got this game over the weekend and had never even heard of it before but it was on sale on the e shop and i was going on vacation and wanted something for the ride so i bought it and instantly fell in love but it was a bit overwhelming with all the content and that i’d never even heard of the game before, really appreciate the video helped amazingly. side note the steel judokas were the first squad i unlocked after only playing the game for about 2 hours and i was immediately in love with the squad. edit: i just finished the video and find it hilarious that the first two mech squads i unlocked in the game were the two classified as “advanced players” 💀 ig that’s one way to learn the game

[@conjecturemm]

haha well no worries! It's all for fun and also just an opinion! Glad you're enjoying the game!

[@DelphanGruss]

The Blitzkrieg Lightning Mechs are the biggest pain in the ass because the bloody lightning mech's attack hits friendly units - which SUCKS on islands like the Desert Island where it means that you can't attack Vek next to the 'terraforming units' without killing the terraforming units and failing the mission. I had a mission auto-fail on the first turn last run because the three Vek just surrounded the objective and I couldn't dislodge them with only the boulder/hook mech; it was impossible.

[@conjecturemm]

Yeah imo part of playing the game at a high level is knowing which missions to select based on your squad comp. However sometimes you’re forced to pick a mission in an island regardless of whether you want to or not, so in times like that you might just be screwed 🤷‍♀️

[@zlorfik2428]

More people should do tier lists like that

[@SnakeLee1]

Will there be an updated video for the 5 new squads coming in july?

[@conjecturemm]

indeed there will be!

[@leojones1964]

Amazing video! Though Steel Judoka is one of the first teams I unlocked and is one of my absolute faves. I weirdly found them easier to use over Zenith Guard

[@monx94]

I know the video is old but I found Blitzkrieg with Kai on lightning pretty decent, as you can deal a lot of damage if you position all the enemies well Other mechs also help well to connect all the enemies, particularly I'd appreciate that the hook mech is armored which helps withstand the lightning mech attack

[@mr.t244]

Thank you on this video, I just downloaded this game few days ago and needed some context.

[@conjecturemm]

Glad it helped!

[@mr.t244]

@@conjecturemm Do you have any recommendations on games similar to this one ? I really like this turn-based strategy stuff with sorta rpg characteristics like the upgrading of mech and improvement over time.

[@Phantom_Kraken]

@@mr.t244 I’ll be honest Into the breach is really unique with how you move units and its objectives so there isn’t anything exactly like it although i can still recommend games with similar appeal e.g: Mario + rabids has a similar appeal as it has unique systems to exploit and relies on movement also if you play on the default difficulty it’s surprisingly challenging relying on utilising all the characters(every level I find my self using entirely different teams because the maps have so much variety you can’t stick to one strategy) Faster than light which was made by the same devs Civilisation and polytopia

[@filurenerik1643]

@@mr.t244 FTL, by the same devs.

[@NovemberOrWhatever]

Fun video. I wonder what it'd look like if the axes were damage and maneuver instead of simplicity and time to payoff

[@auricanmajere6236]

well, I know you didn't uploaded any video since near a year and I don't know the reason but... would be great if you made another video with the expansion squads, thanks

[@duross101]

Thank God someone actually implement strategy into their tier list. I sometimes stare at the screen for 10 minutes before I even move something

[@conjecturemm]

glad you liked it!

[@TheFearsomeRat]

I use the first two Rust mechs and the Prime from Flame with Gama in it for my custom squad, parts of the map end up flooded with electric smoke and fire, to the point some Vek are flat out unable to do anything meaningful, and when you can make more smoke on the desert island or water on the ice one empty space runs out very quickly. It is a fun comp for a squad but early on it lacks a lot of direct damage.

[@conoyl]

I slapped Abe in the Hazardous mechs's prime and delighted in careening around the map, slamming down on vek and obliterating them. Brute has good damage to start and doesn't need to watch its health too much, and the science fella can set up damage with either. I would call myself intermediate, but adored how scrappy these fellas turned out to be

[@YoungGarrett]

Just beat my first game with Rusting Hulks, sure enough with Camila Vera! Completely by accident!

[@icarus255]

Rift Walkers are op as heck for me. The Dash punch of the main mech helps a lot and deals tons of damage, especially the skill that causes you to damage all nearby enemies but sacrifices health points. It is also a tank one too. The tank is more on hit and run, in which it makes everything more easier. The artillery is one of the best support mechs to have, since you can attack the building without damaging it while pushing the Veks away. Edit: Place your pilot with +2 hp on your main mech since its hp can go up to 7

[@markthemedic6672]

I’ve always found steel judoka to be a pretty good squad even early into a run, it’s also probably my favourite to play

[@lyrrakell]

I hated them when I first started playing with them, but holy crap, they were so powerful at the end. And I didn't cheese them with replacing all of their weapons with other stuff--just used and enhanced what they had. I had the passive that gave extra bump damage plus the swap weapon, so I could really position them to kill each other well.

[@OLDILAENDER]

Great idea to put all the squads into this system!

[@wonder6835]

glad people are still playing this game. good video.

[@foodbag312]

No idea if there was extra content added since this video, but I recently started playing on mobile and had an absolute blast beating it with the bombermechs.

[@theslimeyboi]

About a year ago the advanced edition update came out, which added more squads

[@hoboryan3455]

Real cool way to do a tier-list!

[@conjecturemm]

thanks Hobo Ryan!

[@Yes4theWin]

Cool tier list, can you please update it when the advanced edition comes out?

[@conjecturemm]

Absolutely!

[@Nagytika]

Flame behemoths and blitzkrieg are opposite for me. I had to start over with fb 3 times and now I'm doing easy mode just to get all the achievement and not to fail at the 2nd corporate island. Blitzkrieg in the other hand, i just failed once, then second run on normal, happened like a charm.

[@renimusmaximus]

My favorite custom team is the artillery mech from the rusting hulks, the ligtning mech, and the swap mech with a zoltan that rolled a bonus mech reactor (Major Mafan in my personal headcanon) on the swap mech for the swap range of 3. You have the priority target kill and the utility of buffed smoke and escape options with tbe rocket mech, swap mech is my favorite mech in the game hands down, and lightning mech is fodder control. All your bases covered at the expense of issues with certain defense missions and less mountain busting options. My least favorite team is the steel judoka. They just aren't very fun for me, and I tend to mock them lightly with friends.

[@conjecturemm]

A lot of people hate on the steel judoka. I don't mind them, but it's fun to make a custom squad however you want!

[@Boilio2]

Well now that the advanced edition is out I think this video deserves a sequel

[@conjecturemm]

It’s coming!

[@Bltrommer]

Yup…great list! 🤙🏼 GG!

[@yuenin5318]

hey im a little late but this video is insanely well made and i enjoyed it, subscribed.

[@conjecturemm]

Glad you liked it!

[@sonicrocks2007]

blitzkrieg was my first team I beat easy and normal with and one of my favorites. So I didn't find them advanced. But maybe that is just me liking their mechanic

[@a.t.fa.t.f7031]

Honestly I dont use any specific pilots when playing lol. I have been working on getting all the hard medals for my squads but have at least 1 for each team. I found that this tierlist I mostly agree with, however I found Frozen Titans and Biltzkrieg pretty straightforward, and I never actually got anything enw foor the hook mech during my victories with it, rather utilizing its hook to chain enemies more efficiently (or drown / draw vek into environment hazards). My favourite is probably Flame Behemoths or Blitzkrieg, I just think its satisfying to get a ton of kills in a single turn with Blitzkrieg and the Teleporter mech is EXTREMELY fun when using it in conjunction with Vek Hormones.

[@grenity]

I love this game so much... Nice video!

[@conjecturemm]

Me too, thanks!

[@Ahourigan]

I really like this method

[@conjecturemm]

i really like u

[@charlesajones77]

I agree with most of what you said, but I would swap Steel Judoka and Blitzkrieg on the simple/complex scale. I find that Blitzkrieg is relatively straightforward once you get the lightning mech's building conduit upgrade (which should always be your first upgrade). Then it's just a matter of using the other two mechs to set up long lightning chains. Steel Judoku OTOH is never straightforward, no matter what you do. And the mechs really don't complement each other very well. Unless I'm missing something, they're just a pain in the ass to use.

[@witherman4406]

I agree with everything but hazardous squad. I beat the game with them on medium while drunk(can't remember if it was 3/4 islands tho)

[@conjecturemm]

Haha something I should have said in the video but didn't was that I had geared this toward hard/30k/no objectives failed runs. Playing on medium or easy would probably make this chart much more variable

[@a7mdftw]

Great video man

[@Soulsphere001]

Do you have any advice for using the Zenith Guard on hard? I am having a very, very hard time getting the three and four island victories. They are my weakest squad by far. Oh, and I have been using Mafan for the Charge Mech, since that was the only way I was able to make a two island victory on hard. There are new squads now, which I just found out, but not including those the Hazardous Mechs and Rusting Hulks are my favourite squads by far. The Flame Behemoths might take third place for me, though I am not entirely sure. EDIT: Putting Hazardous Mechs in the Eh category is fighting words for me. :P :D I suppose I can see Rusting Hulks going in good but not best. They can be tricky to use in the final battle on hard and it is nice to get a direct fire weapon at some point.

[@Ratatosk80]

Nice video. Helped me a lot when I started playing a week ago. Such a good game and seems like it's pretty unknown. Very confusing though at first. Almost uninstalled since there was so much stuff to keep track on when you are new and don't know everything by heart. Just started up a new profile. Planing to try and unlock everything in the game by only playing unfair difficulty. Anyone given that a try? Had the most awesome start of the run. Manage to get a perfect island first attempt with rift walkers. Humblebrag. :D Really changes how you must play the maps when you are that underpowered. Seems like it's all about selecting maps with environment dangers, artillery etc and get the mobs to attack each other. Hopefully I am as lucky on the next island with maps. :) Would be nice to see an updated tier list as well. Kai seems pretty insane. Tried him out with adrenaline Conservative in Lazer and Jet mech on my normal difficulty profile.

[@conjecturemm]

Glad you’re liking the game! Yeah Kai is pretty great. Gonna update the list pretty soon!

[@songanon]

I went from rift walkers to blitzkrieg lol. I got a few island wins with them but was curious if the other mechs would be harder, I guess there not thank god lol.

[@Jewnboy]

Great video, lots of detail. Earned a subscribe from me :) My own favorites are the Frozen titans and the Zenith Guard as well. Curious what you think about mixing and matching with the custom team option.

[@conjecturemm]

Custom teams are fun. You can do whatever you want and synergize. What custom teams do you like?

[@Jewnboy]

@@conjecturemm I've recently been playing with the Aegis, the Ice Mech and the Defense Mech. Low on damage so it's hard to hit those "kill 7 vek" goals, but it's great for blocking/preventing damage. The Ice Mech with a shield is incredibly good (as you noted in the video). Do you have a favorite?

[@tirell2075]

@@conjecturemm As of the latest update, I finally used custom teams to use the Napalm Mech with the Flame Mech. It's pretty easy to take the stronger elements of teams in custom, honestly some mechs feel like they're designed to balance the power of their assigned squad, and I didn't want to power game. Having even more flame mechs to mess around with is too fun though, plus I love the Napalm Mech but less so its squad. The Quick-Fire mech is cool, the Dispersal Mech has an awesome design but it feels so below average without upgrades and those upgrades are extremely expensive. It's kinda a love/hate relationship because its new weapon has features I wish the Flame Mech had, baseline 2 range, 1 damage baseline is nice, but the squad desperately wants more fire and that fire upgrade takes 3 reactors. The push angles are awkward and doing damage means no push, but it feels big and cool with the side push and range of 4. For the actual custom squad, I started with the Meteor Mech alongside Napalm and Flame but then realised that the Smog Mech feels so much better. It can kill 2 health enemies with direct fire because of the baseline 1 damage, still has the same 2 damage upgrade so it even reaches 1 turn kills on a ton of alphas unlike Meteor Mech late game, the smoke is an unconditional attack cancel compared to the push and for some reason from the Mist Eaters its best mech (in my opinion) also has the mist eating passive, so squids are nullified, squid/web combos aren't deadly and the smoke doesn't interfere with mech positioning. 1 damage baseline also means that the comp has something to boost that isn't the Flame Mech attacking an already on fire enemy, but that happens plenty when both it and napalm have range upgrades. This is getting really reactor heavy and is more of a 4 island run plan but Silica in the Flame Mech can become pretty potent with the Napalm Mech in the same team. There's already the synergy of setting up fire and then burning the same target, or just flaming an already on fire 5 health enemy twice to help the flame mechs reach high health thresholds which normally give them trouble, but Flame Shielding doesn't require a slot in with Heat Engines on the same team, free slot to slap on the indiscriminate weapons that Silica likes to use. Missile Barrage in particular is pretty fun with Heat Engines. Could slot in the Quick-Fire mech over the Smog Mech to more easily take advantage of boost still, or could try Lightning Mech with all the boosting and have a cool fire and lightning motif. Slapping the Smog Mech in place of the Pulse Mech in a custom Rusting Hulks is absolutely busted, by the way.

[@themoonsevilsister1561]

after 305 hours in this game I can confidently say every squad is the best squad

[@conjecturemm]

Based

[@nintendude794]

Who’s here during/after the week of the Advanced Edition update launch?! WOOOO!

[@Keizrel]

Steel Judoka is trash, depending on the enemy to do things is the most complicated way to solve problems because you can't control how the Veks will act. Good video.

[@aPache43211]

Can you update this with the advanced edition?

[@HeNeedsAnHaircut]

Love it. Thanks

[@TheGuardimaster]

i was preparing you were saying the rift walkers are simple and immediate I feel so embarrassed bc these are the only squad I can't even achieve victory T_T

[@alter5793]

I definitely won't say Rift Walkers is either the best squad or having the best immediate power. While their weapons are great on the first island, upgrading them cost an extremely hefty amount of cores, too hefty that sometimes would cause trouble mid-game. Also, 3 cores into +2 damage seems to be a fair deal, but it is pretty hard to get it for all three mechs (sadly, the tank only gets +1 damage). It is pretty good that all three weapons have knockback though. Also, after the advanced edition I am sure that Cataclysm IS strictly the best squad, almost worth considering break. - Each of the 3 mechs has a damaging weapon, including a freaking damaging SCIENCE weapon (which is also super strong) - One-shooting Alpha veks which won't die to water anyway - 4-health 4-mobility prime mech with a blatantly powerful tossing weapon - Rather low upgrading cost

[@conjecturemm]

Cataclysm is definitely good, and the science mech being a damaging weapon that not only cracks tiles but ALSO turns them around (if no kill) is kinda nuts

[@billbobert]

Great vid

[@el0menati11]

Me who played Into the breach today for the first time and seeing that the first squad that i buyed is for Avanced players (Blitzkrieg). ops haha

[@conjecturemm]

no worries! It's just advanced if you're trying to go for the best completion possible. Nothing wrong with casual play

[@dmews7141]

This video is amazing!

[@polarp15]

Just started playing this game, bought stell judoka and blitzkrieg first, then saw this video

[@conjecturemm]

ha well nbd. You get infinite amount of tries in this game!

[@takeo5515]

I really liked this good work

[@conjecturemm]

thank you!

[@prcklypear3963]

Any squad can shine in the late game. Picking up wind generator alone makes any squad a beast, for instance, or a shield + ice generator. The squads that are more powerful early game are just plain stronger I think, although of course it’s possible to perfect with any squad. Judoka just have a higher amount of turns where the prime mech and the gravity mech literally can’t do anything useful with their starting weapons, much more than something “beginner” like the rift walkers. I’d say judoka especially are actually just a low tier faction, and and Blitzkrieg is way better in lower difficulties due to lack of displacement on the lightning whip. The boulder mech is top tier but I don’t think either of the other mechs are that great. These squads do better in the hands of experts like any squad, but just because they are more difficult to use doesn’t mean they are equally rewarding to master as far as raw success rate goes.

[@conjecturemm]

yeah I mean there definitely are some squads that are stronger in the beginning. But due to the nature of the game and gaining upgrades and pilots it becomes more a combination of luck and player skill the further you go, imo. Like you said, any squad can shine in the late game, which is why structured my tierlist like this instead of a traditional "x is better than y"

[@normalguycap]

What about the 4 new ones?

[@scbtripwire]

Does this list mean that you just don't recommend the squads you left out? I just started playing and finished the game for the first time on normal (4 islands). Lucked out with a pretty crazy combo of Archemedes in the combat mech, Silica with the cannon and Henry with the artillery. 🙂

[@owencappelli2127]

i wish you would make a fowlow-up with the new squads

[@hannabelphaege3774]

I despise Steel Judoka but thinking more about it, manipulating/baiting the AI was the last skill I developed. Absolutely loved Blitzkrieg though. It's cool how differently two people can experience the same game

[@conjecturemm]

Yeah, that's what makes it such a fun game!

[@Bicloptic]

Excellent video

[@conjecturemm]

Thanks!

[@Bicloptic]

@@conjecturemm hope you make new videos for the enhanced edition. It’s on Netflix and all my friends are playing it again.

[@conjecturemm]

I will! Probably will update the pilots on very soon

[@jean-lucgodard6841]

Nice vid there! But I may kindly disagree the idea that "every squads can be strong, it just needs strategy" blitz squad is the only squad I didn't get perfect (never hit, all objective accomplished) If a squad is so limited in a lot of missions (train/earth mover/robots protecting), if a squad have a weapon set that can do less things than other weapons do, then the squad is objectively inferior..

[@conjecturemm]

you could argue that, but it's equally likely to argue that you should just not select those missions when it comes to the island selection screen. or alternatively, have the lightning mech be on defense for those missions and the other two be on offense

[@jean-lucgodard6841]

@@conjecturemm but the problem is that sometimes these types of missions are compulsory, or at least you will lose some additional reputation or cores. Lightning mech is not very helpful on defense as the lightning chain can't do any form of displacement. In fact I think the whole game is all about displacement, which is why I think lightning mech and laser mach is so not good (all I said is given that you play with their original weapons, you can always swap other weapons that's for sure.)

[@jean-lucgodard6841]

@@conjecturemm I think your idea of multi dimension assessment is generally good, for ranking all other squads, but zenith and blitz are just worse.

[@conjecturemm]

I guess we'll just respectfully disagree :) I don't think they're as bad as you say

[@ricardoricric]

First time I played the game, Zenith team was hard to play with.

[@deoxxys]

Best new squad updated list?

[@joaocalife9996]

Yoooo, new political compass just dropped!

[@bluevenator8888]

Would you consider playing with some of the Mod Squads and placing them on the tier list? (Particularly the ones created by TosX)

[@conjecturemm]

I haven't played with the mod squads yet but I want to check them out!

[@bluevenator8888]

@@conjecturemm Sweeeet. The Mecha Ronin is my favourite Mod Squad

[@ignaciogomezlima3416]

As a noob I found flame behemoths to be the easiest to use, specially with the teleporter upgraded 1 level.

[@conjecturemm]

Glad you liked them! It is a fun squad

[@c97x]

rusting hulks plane rush is just so easy.

[@charlesajones77]

Any chance of an update with the new advanced edition squads?

[@conjecturemm]

They’re coming! I’m just on vacation rn lol

[@bananafone1414]

@@conjecturemm excited to see it!

[@natemorgan7446]

I downloaded this game 100% blind, and the first squad i got was blitzkreig

[@attilagama168]

Now do it with the advanced version squads

[@conjecturemm]

As soon as I can play them all and form my own opinions, I will!

[@nguyenthetan1332]

Hi can you also rate other squads like this

[@Ronin20181]

Now I agree with most things in the list, except where the blitzekreg, zenith and steel teams are positioned. In my opinion, steel is one of the absolute worst teams in the whole game, while zenith is more of an ehh team, and blitze is both amazing to use and very easy for beginners