Maneuvers Modifier changes how melee units work in battle because Reach becomes very important. Units placed on the second position can now attack like they are in front which makes team building more flexible. This Modifier makes melee units feel more useful and less limited compared to normal battles.
Because Reach is active for many units, you can do more combos with melee units that are normally not allowed. Back line units can now deal damage while staying safer than usual. This makes players think more about ability and combos instead of just which stats is better.
Maneuvers - All units have Reach (can use melee attacks from the second position).
| Modifier | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inspire | Gives all friendly Units +1 Melee attack. | |
| - Inspire works very well in Maneuvers Modifier because most damage comes from melee units. Since Reach allows melee units to attack from second position Inspire boosts both unit's damage at the same time. This makes Inspire feel more valuable than in normal battles. With Inspire active, every melee hit adds 1 point of damage. It feels little but over multiple rounds, it can accumulate. Even low damage units start to feel useful. This ability fits naturally with the modifier if you want to take advantage of it. | ||
| Armored Strike | This Unit gets an additional melee attack using its armor stat. | |
| - Armored Strike is tricky in Maneuvers Modifier but Reach helps it a lot. Since Armored Strike counts as a melee attack it normally needs the front position. With Reach the unit can stay behind while still dealing Armored Strike damage. This is important because losing armor lowers Armored Strike damage. Staying in second position keeps the armor longer. This makes Armored Strike more consistent across the fight. | ||
| Triage | Heals the friendly back-line Unit that has taken the most damage by a third of max Health. | |
| - Triage becomes more useful than many players expect in Maneuvers Modifier. Units in second position are treated as back line units which means Triage can heal them. This gives extra value to the ability. Instead of using Tank Heal, you can spread healing across the team with Triage. If the second unit takes damage from Blast or Scattershot, Triage can help restore the health back. This makes the frontline harder to break. | ||
| Shield | Reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks by 50%. | |
| - Shield is a strong answer to melee heavy teams in Maneuvers Modifier. Since Reach allows more melee attacks, Shield cuts that damage in half. This makes your frontline harder to deal with when they used the Maneuvers modifier against you. When both teams rely on melee damage Shield gives a clear advantage. Units last longer and halving the damage also means they can take more damage. Shield ability fits well into any team especially if they want to take advantage of the modifier. | ||
| Thorns | When hit with a Melee attack, does 2 Meele damage back to the attacker. | |
| - Thorns still works even when units attack from second position. Melee attackers take damage every time they hit which adds up fast. This increases the value on Thorns and may affect more units if you put it in the front. Even strong units can die slowly from the damage from Thorns if they hit multiple rounds. Thorns helps you destroy melee focused teams faster. |
Early Game:
I honestly thought I was being smart and cheeky in this battle. In order to take advantage of Reach, I added Daigendark Surveyor in the front for the Magic Reflect and Giant Alpine Skink behind her. The idea is that if the enemy had a lot of magic damage, they would get damaged first and potentially removing some of the low health ones. This, in turn, allows Giant Alpine Skink to tank longer since he doesn't have any defense against magic damage. The enemy didn't have a lot of magic damage so this idea didn't happen.
Mid Game:
I was scared in the mid game since my two tanks are already dead at this point and the enemy has two tanks with Corrosive Healing and Repair. I am certainly at a disadvantage by this round.
Late Game:
I got saved by my Snipe and Sneak units, Torrent Sniper and Saltwater Mage. They bypassed the tanks and directly hit the enemy's lower health back units. Therefore, even if I don't have proper tanks at this point since they died early, my team was steal able to turn it around by sheer damage.
Maneuvers Modifier changes melee battles in a very direct way. Reach allows more melee units to attack while staying safer which makes ability combos more important. Inspire, Shield and Thorns all play a big role in how fights end. Manuevers modifier might be simple but simplicity is not the limit of the creativity. Just like what I did in the battle, using Reach properly can really create some unique lineups that normall wasn't possible.
