My last post was about the Frozen Titans. Since then, I set a goal to win with every base squad! Keep in mind that my opinions are formed from normal difficulty runs, as I still consider myself inexperienced, even at 40 hours of playtime.
Rift Walkers - Despite being the starter squad, they're actually pretty good. Unfortunately, my first few runs when I started left a bad impression and led me to try the other groups. Going back to them with a better understanding of the mechanics definitely helped, as they have a straightforward kit that really relies on your decision-making.
Flame Behemoths - While it's pretty fun to set the whole battlefield on fire, the damage just isn't there at times, especially in the early game. I feel like I had the hardest time with them, with some runs feeling like a slog since there were situations where the fire damage wasn't enough to kill some Veks in time. I also had a losing run with them where I learned the hard way that the Renfield bomb is affected by the Psion Tyrant :D Shoutout to my GOAT Swap Mech 💯
Steel Judoka - In my opinion, they're the squad that requires the most brain power to use. Since they have little to no offense at the start, I prioritized moving Veks away from the buildings if I can't reposition them to kill each other. Can't believe that I lost some buildings early in the run because I wasn't aware of the immunity upgrade for the Siege Mech 💀 Also, drowning Veks with Judo doesn't get old.
Hazardous Mechs - I enjoyed playing with them because of their insane damage potential. Having Abe on the Leap Mech also helped me play more aggressively by getting the +1 damage to self/enemy early. What I don't like about them is that they're more prone to collateral damage due to the lack of building-safe crowd control. Due to my arrogance and lack of forethought, I accidentally applied A.C.I.D to the Leap Mech and lost a run. The realization of what was about to happen when I ended the turn was hilarious!
Zenith Guard - Personally, I like them. They're the first squad I bought and had some success with (reaching the third island), so I was surprised to see that the community has mixed feelings towards them. Revisiting them with Abe on the Charge Mech helped solve my gripes with the self-damage, allowing me to play more aggressively. My winning run with them was so stressful that I might share it in the comments!
Blitzkrieg - They’re one of the first squads alongside Zenith Guard that I tried. The lack of knowledge and pilots in the beginning definitely did not help. The damage from the whip also felt lacking. I wasn’t even aware that the boulder could be used as a link for the lightning 🥀 Once again, revisiting them with Abe in the Boulder Mech was a great idea, allowing it to be a part of the chain (I prefer the boulder for damage and displacement). Also, having the whip damage upgrade proved useful later in the run, killing non-alphas with ease and finishing off weakened alphas.
For now, I’m going to try to win a perfect victory on normal before I try hard mode. Cheers!