R42 - Stun now conclusively beats countdown

Unknown

From the patch notes:

Gameplay

- Stunned characters will no longer have their Countdown tiles decrease while stunned. S.H.I.E.L.D. still mystified as to how H.A.M.M.E.R. Snipers managed to line up shots with active concussions.

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure how to feel about this.

Yes, I was among the many who found it weird and annoying that stunned HAMMER guys could still shoot you if their countdown tiles ticked down.

However, that seemed like a balancing factor that kind of gave countdown tiles/characters a fighting chance.

With the exception of occasionally playing Iron Man Model 40, I don't play any countdown characters at the moment because frankly, I think they suck. And now that stuns halt countdowns, it seems like they suck even more (while stuns are even stronger). Again, it doesn't really effect me...just makes me feel kinda bad for countdown characters and players

How do people feel about this change? Are countdown characters even less viable now?

Unknown

haven't been able to play since i can't dl patch from work but...

that's a good point, his countdown ability causes stun so it won't...countdown? lol.

Unknown

Saying they're less viable now implies they were even slightly viable before. So no, they're not less viable now.

Unknown

forgrim wrote:

haven't been able to play since i can't dl patch from work but...

that's a good point, his countdown ability causes stun so it won't...countdown? lol.

The stun occurs when the countdown hits 0, not when you trigger the ability. It still works.

Unknown

someguy wrote:

With the exception of occasionally playing Iron Man Model 40, I don't play any countdown characters at the moment because frankly, I think they suck. And now that stuns halt countdowns, it seems like they suck even more (while stuns are even stronger). Again, it doesn't really effect me...just makes me feel kinda bad for countdown characters and players

How do people feel about this change? Are countdown characters even less viable now?

Same here. Only countdown char I use is IM40 and even then I feel I'm taking a big risk when using his recharge ability. I've often had my countdown tiles wiped off the board before activation due to the AI randomly putting the countdown tiles in positions likely to be matched.

Unknown

someguy wrote:

From the patch notes:

Gameplay

- Stunned characters will no longer have their Countdown tiles decrease while stunned. S.H.I.E.L.D. still mystified as to how H.A.M.M.E.R. Snipers managed to line up shots with active concussions.

I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure how to feel about this.

Yes, I was among the many who found it weird and annoying that stunned HAMMER guys could still shoot you if their countdown tiles ticked down.

However, that seemed like a balancing factor that kind of gave countdown tiles/characters a fighting chance.

With the exception of occasionally playing Iron Man Model 40, I don't play any countdown characters at the moment because frankly, I think they suck. And now that stuns halt countdowns, it seems like they suck even more (while stuns are even stronger). Again, it doesn't really effect me...just makes me feel kinda bad for countdown characters and players

How do people feel about this change? Are countdown characters even less viable now?

I had assumed that the countdown timers were a way to represent the opponent being able to get in their best shot. Several heroes ought to be able to shrug off damage from small caliber weapons yet are heavily damaged by pistols and assault rifles. So if they are stunned, how can they get in their best shot? If spiderman stuns all of the opponents, who fires the flamethrower when the countdown reaches 0?

Attention! This benefits storm!

Unknown

CaptainBatman wrote:

Same here. Only countdown char I use is IM40 and even then I feel I'm taking a big risk when using his recharge ability. I've often had my countdown tiles wiped off the board before activation due to the AI randomly putting the countdown tiles in positions likely to be matched.

I generally try to clear all the yellow matches before using recharge, so there's less chance of that happening.

Occasionally during the Heroic Mode tourney, I would trigger recharge once, then get enough yellow to do it again on the next turn, before the first tiles reached zero. I could use recharge a second time to queue up some more AP, and only suffer one extra turn of stun. With this change, now the first set would trigger, stun IM40, halt the countdowns on the second set, then stun him again when he came out of it and the countdowns resumed (assuming they had survived the intervening time).

Unknown

The Hood's black ability is actually pretty useful in lowering the chances of your countdown timer from getting wiped out.