Mechabellum - Can They Prove Me Wrong?

I'm drn and this is our first game in this week's tournament. They must've seen our video saying that Mustangs are weak and are out to prove us wrong!
Anything you think I've done wrong or could do better please let me know, I'm always looking to improve both my gameplay and the video quality. Thanks again for watching!
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Mechabellum is available on Steam here: store.steampowered.com/app/66...
If you want to know early when videos are dropping, or provide feedback and discuss Mechabellum and other games feel free to join the crew helping drn! This is our discord: / discord
Part of the ship, part of the crew! Appreciate all the help I've been given, big thanks everyone.

[@inoperative]

Big ups to editing DRN! Great use of unit cards with upgrades to make it more clear what you are talking about.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks Inop! Doing what I can to make it easier to follow both the action and my train of thought, know I can be a bit helter skelter sometimes! :D

[@CypherC300]

Came here to say this.

[@mathieuscharr8296]

​@@CypherC300same, awesome way to help viewers learn about the game

[@Drone_101]

@@mathieuscharr8296 & @CypherC300 Thanks guys!

[@ianstandardYT]

I am LOVING the overlay work!! You can probably save yourself some of that but the lines, the arrows, the upgrades, all fanTASTIC for drawing the eye. Not sure if I'm telling this to drn or editing drn 😂 both deserve a raise, well played

[@Drone_101]

Haha! Thanks Ian! Hope the work trips treating you right :D

[@AyoLeger]

Full hearted agree

[@achilles8804]

Editing is constantly improving nice work and great game! With the postbellum analysis and in game pop ups your videos are extremely accessible for newer players/watchers

[@Drone_101]

Appreciate both you noticing and the compliments given, thanks! Stay awesome.

[@erikmontin4176]

The editing is perfect! Easy to keep up ! Well done!!!

[@Drone_101]

Thanks! Takes a wee while but I think it's defo worth the effort.

[@tastysnacks8094]

Seconded!

[@Drone_101]

@@tastysnacks8094 You're all far too kind!

[@tim1906]

The new editing makes it easier to follow at a glance. Combined with the unit cards for people like me who don't play a lot is awesome. Also glad to see the amount of subscribers is going up you deserve it.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks Tim! I'm glad the edits are helping. Never stressed myself about subscribers or other youtube metrics. I'm not seeking fame or fortune - just sharing something I'm really enjoying with the wider world!

[@danenobile4686]

Great game as always!! I was shocked when tables turned. I don't fully understand how the power slipped away from you. The Anti Missle System stopped the stormcallers, but shouldn't have affected much of the rest of your board. As for the editing. The slides helped so much, I don't know know all the techs nor know all the details of the ones I do. Clear, good, didn't linger to long, and was there long enough if I wanted to pause and read it. I don't know how difficult Editing DRN's life is right now, but know it helps the viewers like me a lot. As always, wishing you the best of luck and at least a starting Sledgehammer!

[@Drone_101]

Haha! Thanks dude, the Sledgehammers have deserted me for a while now; I'm rarely seeing them as starting units these days - it's a nightmare! Glad the edits help. Once I've got the system in place it should be fairly easy to add them to videos, it's just a lot of work making the template for each unit and every tech. Thankfully many units have fairly consistent techs and there are some that don't need explaining (e.g. +40 Range speaks for itself). The hardest part was the motion tracking and getting it to look smooth. Still not completely happy with it but hopefully will get better with practise. Good luck and may you get both the Sledgehammers and the Sabertooths whenever you need them! Think you'll enjoy the next video :D

[@FighterofThe501]

I appreciate you new and improved editing DRN

[@Drone_101]

Cheers! Do my best to take onboard suggestions - had a few comments from people who don't play the game but do watch the videos. Sometimes it was hard to keep up with what's going on or what I was talking about so hopefully these additions help where needed and aren't too obtrusive for folks who don't need them.

[@FighterofThe501]

@@Drone_101 i allso dont play the game. so the cards help alot, and are perfect to see during setup. i like the lines to see more clearly where you are thinking of placing your units. and i love it when you cut in from the edditing room. you are doing great! keep up the good work!

[@Drone_101]

@@FighterofThe501 Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, doing my best to keep everyone engaged and let you know my thinking and try to explain why I'm thinking that, even if I'm wrong at times. It helps people give me specific feedback to improve, and I think it helps folks less familiar with the game keep on top of what can often be an overwhelming board state.

[@jessebrunette4915]

Welcome back DRN! I wasn't able to do Saturday tournament. But I won my first mini (intermediate 2 - gotta start somewhere). Glad you're back, hope to run into you this week sometime.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks always appreciate the warm welcome I get here! Grats on the win in Intermediate 2, you will have been just a handfull of combat power away from facing me. Maybe this week!

[@Bietente]

Cool game and great editing. I like the unit cards and techs. I think i know the game enough that they are not that useful for me anymore, but for new players those should help immensely. For me I really loved the arrows to help us focus on what you're talking about in the middle of the action. Not too intrusive but guiding our eyes to exactly where the action is. Overall great job thanks for all the work put into it.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks! Yeah, was watching some of my early videos back and trying to picture myself as a less invested player trying to follow along and realised it'd be really hard work especially when the board gets crowded and there's a lot going on. Thought we'd try and make things more approachable without being too off putting for already enfranchised players who can keep up without them. Hopefully we've found a reasonable balance but we'll keep trying to improve for everyone's benefit!

[@Lugoun]

Love the 'fool of a took' moment.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks, was a silly insult from my younger days as a Hobbit in the Shire :D

[@Nautiliam]

Others said it, but the little editing additions are great!

[@Drone_101]

Thanks! Editing drn is grinning ear to ear right now, was a lot of work but I'm glad it's appreciated!

[@andrewbell6855]

Hey man! I've played you a few times and always found you're little polite messages super nice! Loving the commentary it's great! Such a shame this game isn't getting the traction it deserves.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks man! Thanks for the support, really think the game is great but probably a bit niche. It's a PvP focused Mech Autobattler so wont be everyone's cup of tea but I'm having a blast! Just doing my best to be a positive influence on the world around me, sharing the things I love and being nice to folks doesn't take much effort and makes the world a tiny bit brighter for all of us! What goes around, comes around.

[@WerdnaTheRed]

I think I'd have to say it was the anti-missile devices that pushed you into further rounds, even beyond one taking a blast so the sniper could k.o. your scorpion. In the rounds without the AMDs, your stormcallers took out the first line of fangs real quickly then needed an extra volley or two through intercept fire that was barely in range. Even as the round went on, they seemed to take out a good chunk of the missiles anyway. While keeping AMDs up put them on the back foot economically, they were on the back foot /and alive/. Love the byplay between playing and editing drns, and the pointer arrows and lingering cards are a helpful addition, though in my opinion no need to overwork yourself if they're a hassle

[@Drone_101]

Yep, spot on with your analysis as always. Those Anti Missile Devices are a pain if you're relying on the Storms as chaff clear or for EMP utility. On the bright side every time we kill one it's +100 gold advantage to us and our Stormcallers become more and more cost efficient. Really should appreciate starting Stormcallers more often they seemed to make a huge impact on the economy and flow of this whole game. Thanks for the kind words about the edits! It does add an extra step to the process but I think they're worth the hassle, just worried I'm going to fall behind on the production schedule. Will do my best to stay on top of things!

[@SparkIgnitionv2]

Love the new editing style, it’s good for clarifying and explaining your choices/thought process to less experienced players like me. Wouod you consider making videos dissecting some common current strategies (such as carry arcs) explaining things like optimal layout, signs your opponent is going for it and common counters? High mmr plauers reference these known tactics a lot but I’m yet to find a good guide about it.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks! Great idea. Must admit I still struggle vs Carry Arclights from time to time so maybe I'm not the most qualified for that particular topic :D My videos have mostly been experiential rather than educational but I'm making a list of ideas and this is a great one for it, thank you!

[@SparkIgnitionv2]

Fair! Carry arc was the first example that came to my head because I had just watched a video where you lost to them haha.

[@Drone_101]

@@SparkIgnitionv2 Haha, yeah - I don't want to put myself up on a pedestal and pretend I'm better than I am. There's far better players than me for educational content - Surrey (RAT) and Sacco are top notch for it! I'm just enjoying the journey and appreciate I can't really dedicate the time to truly master the game. Especially when I spend more time editing the videos than playing these days. I still have a great time though and really enjoy both playing in the tournies and making these, despite what Editing DRN says! :D

[@AyoLeger]

Love the round when you skipped because you needed the money and then left 50 in the bank at the end of the round 😂 of course, the cash still there for next round but still loled at that

[@Drone_101]

Shhhhh... there is No War in Ba Sing Se!

[@Baller-1-1-3]

Good video keep it up :D

[@Drone_101]

Cheers Baller, thanks for the carry in the 2v2s :D

[@Sheldonal]

Hey DRN, nice vid and love the new editing. A couple random questions haha. I'm low ELO (just hit 1k today) so i feel like some of the thing i do is probably bad even when it works. I feel like I'm just doing noob traps with quick supply where i always just buy 2 packs of the 200 cost units (unless i'm required to buy marksman for AA cause they start pheonix). Is this an okay mind set? And is it ever right to buy the two 100 cost upgrades in the first round haha, ive always thought about doing that but feel like it can't be correct haha. One last question, any chance you'd ever stream a tourny (on yt or twitch) :D Thanks for posting your vids as always :D

[@darloth]

Buying the tower upgrades straight away gives up tempo compared to buying them later, because in the first round you usually can’t afford two picks worth of expensive units (you always start with one cheap and usually one slightly more expensive unit option). Unlike anyone else quick supply specialist can have that second purchase of expensive things like phoenixes from round 1, which lets them get more experience earlier. You’re giving that up if you spend it on tower upgrades instead, but I’m sure there are still games where it makes sense to do that - I wouldn’t buy phoenixes vs starting marksmen probably for example. Quick supply is expected to win round one to be competitive though, and if you don’t you’re a bit behind.

[@Drone_101]

Thanks for the support! Never let a number limit you, just because you're at 'X' MMR doesn't mean you can't have great ideas and make good plays. Yeah, as Darloth said above, but another way to put it is: think of the tower upgrades as a force multiplier, together they give everything you own +10% damage and +15% health. So for them to be worthwhile you need to consider how much more relative strength could you get for your 200 gold right here, right now? Imagine you've got your starting units, all five of them and spending that 200 gold on the towers gives you ~12.5% more power on board (a little less in reality because chaff will still get one shot). But buying two more 200 cost units instead of the normal 100 cost units people buy in turn 1 would give you maybe 33% more power on the board compared to what your opponent has access to. It's generally better only to get the tower upgrades when you have a bit more presence on the board already - or if you need them to hit specific break points, like I mentioned on the last video with our Crawlers getting just enough HP to survive equal level Arclight shots when we got the +30% HP defence specialist. Ask yourself is +12.5% right now worth more than just buying bigger stronger units? Hope that makes sense in a round about way! Good luck and remember, never put yourself down, you're doing great and keep going - one day you might face off against me in a tourney!

[@Sheldonal]

@@Drone_101 @darloth thank you both for the detailed responses!😀

[@volodymyrboitchouk]

Games like this really make me question scorpions as a unit. I don't think it's healthy to have a unit who's nest counter is itself. I have a theory that this game has a serious problem with "do everything" units. The scorpion is strong against mid sized units, hard counters steel balls and sledges, and is good against giants. The stormcaller is good against literally everything on the ground with a few upgrades. And I don't think any explanation is needed for the overlord. These units are too effective in too many matches and don't have enough badatchups, leading to them appearing in every game and warping the meta around them. I don't think any unit should ever be good against giants and chaff at the same time.

[@Drone_101]

Quite agree and think the developers do too but they're moving the needle gently so it's less jarring for people who love and rely on these units a lot. The last few weeks they've been nudging the Overlord away from the generalist DPS role and more into the "Medium+ crusher" role. Scorpions are a tad too good at taking out huge chunks of everything on land, even Crawlers who you would expect to counter them, so I wouldn't be surprised if their attack speed was slowed a smidge or perhaps a little of their AoE was trimmed down - one or the other I suspect. Think Scorpion's are 'healthy' if they encourages players to take air units but possibly too strong right now and are really forcing Vulcans completely out of the Meta, as you can see with the constant buffs Vulcans are receiving at the moment. It's complicated, everything is linked and impacts everything else in the game. Boats counter Scorpions, and because Boats were insanely strong for months then Scorpions had to get a lot of help to find a role worthy of their 300 gold price tag but now the Boats are being toned down and we're left seeing 300 cost units out ranging and out DPS all the land Giants so they've buffed both Forts and Vulcans to try and fix that problem. I don't envy the problem the developers face trying to balance everything, but I would kill to have access to all their backend data and a good sit down and chat about options and levers we could use to improve overall game balance. Think the devs have done a fantastic job in general but there's still a few bumps on the road ahead of us!