Suggestions for NOD Faction Themes Thread - One Vision mod for Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Hi all, just my two cents' worth of suggestions here.

I really like the faction themes that Zocker's used for the mod, and frankly the themes really give each faction a unique play style. However, while the strategic options are almost endless (especially if you combine separate factions' tech), I do have some suggestions to further improve on the faction's overall themes.

For now, I'll just list my suggestions for the Brotherhood of Nod's factions. GDI and the Scrin can wait, haha.

1. The Renegades

"This classic Brotherhood faction features a contrast between mobilizing masses of guerilla fighters and making use of expensive, yet powerful nuclear technology.
Many Renegade commanders where banned to the exile because their actions were deemed to be too cruel even for Nod's standards. They consider consider mass sacrifices necessary and do not fear to cause massive collateral damage in order to achieve their goals."

Having been exiled from the Brotherhood, I feel that the Renegades ought to make more use of unconventional weapons since they no longer have access to Nod's eclectic arsenal selection. I do believe that some Renegade commanders would have secreted away a few goodies from the main Brotherhood, but in terms of play style, the Renegades should really go all out with asymmetric warfare. Stealth tech would undoubtedly be a key asset, and they will definitely make full use of Disruption Pods, Mine Drops, booby traps ("heh, you said 'traps'") and the like. Their initial tactics would be to debilitate and confuse the enemy with lightning raids, phantom armies, and well-executed ambushes (Raiders and Bikes are extremely important war assets for the Renegades). It's all about the micromanagement, essentially.

Because they're willing to go the extra mile to "achieve their goals", they should use chaos to their advantage at all times. Highly mobile attack forces make up the bulk of Renegade armies, with Raiders and Bikes serving as both recon units and also capable attack units for hit-and-run tactics. Scorpions are also fielded as the Renegades' choice of armor, and can be equipped with upgrades that prolong its lifespan on the battlefield, and quickly turn enemy armor into flaming wrecks (the Scorpion ought to be able to use Autoloaders, instead of the BH, and can be upgraded with something like Junk Repairs that gives them auto-heal - not at a very fast rate, but just enough that they can survive another engagement). Suicide runs are also common among their ranks: give the enemy no quarter, even in the face of death!

As they tech up they can finally bring out the big guns against their enemies; since they won't be able to field higher end weaponry like Spectres and Avatars, they make use of unconventional weapons like Dawnbringer Devices and Desolators, as well as dedicated anti-armor weapons (a Tank Destroyer comes to mind) and support units too (long-range howitzers that aren't as powerful as Spectres, but still potent if used carefully). At the same time, these units are relatively weak health-wise, and so a good Renegade commander knows how to quickly get in and out while causing enough damage and avoiding heavy losses.

If you prefer that the Renegades retain Nod's arsenal, I suggest retaining the Spectre as a heavy artillery option. Avatars, while formidable, don't really go well with the Renegades' fast attack approach, IMHO.

2. The Black Hand

"The zealous Black Hand make heavy use of flame based weapons to purge everyone they consider an enemy of the Prophet. Their religion bans the use of all soulless machines and demands to engage enemies directly. Because this requires the abstinence of stealth technology and aircraft, Black Hand forces utilize passive and active buffs to gain an edge on the battlefield."

The Black Hand is able to field a wide variety of units that complement each other. Their unit choice won't change much, but they will place a stronger emphasis of army strength that goes with their avoidance of "soulless machines" and cowardly stealth technology. Prophet's Blessing is still required for them to field Carryalls and use the Black Widow support power; I feel that they eschew air power because true glory comes from facing the enemy directly on the field of battle, rather than merely dropping bombs from up high.

To support the advancing infantry lines, Reckoners are equipped with speakers that spread the Word of Kane to its adherents (I do feel that the Word of Kane upgrade should go to the BH, as befits the religious faction of Nod), boosting their morale and combat effectiveness. In place of Scorpions, the Black Hand fields Avengers that are slightly tougher than their Scorpion counterparts; Conflagrator Tanks push their armored spearhead forward with gouts of superheated death, augmented later by the Purifying Flame upgrade that makes it easier to turn the enemies of Kane into ash. Shredder Turrets are replaced with Inferno Turrets, which launch great balls of fire at any poor soul that happens to wander into their firing range. I believe that the Black Hand revere the power of the flame as much as they revere Kane himself, and so heat-based weapons are, like, the go-to weapon for the Black Hand.

Also, Thermobaric Rockets instead of Tiberium Core Missiles. Increased damage (maybe less than Tib Core missiles, because of the next point), plus bonus splash damage. That would be devious.

3. The Marked of Kane

"Apart from Scrin, Marked of Kane possess the most advanced technologies known to mankind. Their strong cybernetic forces are a force to be reckoned with and their defensive capabilities are unmatched by most factions. However, Marked of Kane most of all uses fragile prototypes and various gimmicks that require proper commander management to cause true havoc."

Admittedly, I love cybernetic units, and I do really, really like the concept of the MoK. So going with Zocker's central theme for this faction, I would like to complement it with an emphasis on armor and advanced weapons tech.

Let's face it, cyborgs are a tough lot. As such, they should have upgrades that focus on the durability of these cyborg warriors. Cybernetic Legs is a good start that improves their speed, but it should also be complemented by upgrades that boost their overall armor (much like ZOCOM); in fact, for the Enlightened I'd suggest that the more damage they take, the harder they become to kill, but I'm not sure if that will work in KW. I'd even go as far to suggest that the Cybernetic Legs upgrade should be omitted; so what if they're slow? Even the hardiest of commanders would shudder at the sight of marching legions of cyborgs headed towards their base. And no matter what they throw at the cyborgs, they just keep marching on without stopping and oh my God they're coming everyone get out get out NOW.

Meanwhile, their armored forces would not receive such upgrades. Instead, where the cyborgs serve as the shield, MoK's armored battalions are the sword that strikes at the enemy. It would make for a unique combination: traditionally, infantry are meat shields while the armor wrecks the enemy's forces and base. Instead, the MoK emphasize on stronger infantry lines and fragile yet devastating vehicles; sure, the cyborgs still are the meat shields, but with weaker vehicles MoK commanders are forced to buttress their tank rushes with infantry forces taking the brunt of the damage, and also dealing significant damage themselves (especially once the Tech Lab is up, and Laser Matrix and Supercharged Particle Beams are available to upgrade). MoK will need to fork out a bit more cash to spend on its forces, and that will require players to carefully plan their tactical approach instead of just rushing to victory. Also, all MoK units are cyborg-controlled, and thus EMP affects all of their forces, as well as increase the damage they take while they're disabled.

The MoK can field what I call the Blessed, a cyborg squad that are 'blessed' with the fortitude of Kane; they are unable to attack, but they can soak up a good amount of damage (and a lot more once upgraded), and have an ability like Taunt that redirects fire to them. Besides that, Shield Generators can replace Disruption Towers, reducing the damage taken by units within its shield.

That's all, I guess, so I look forward to feedback from anyone. Many thanks for taking the time to read

Edited by: hxazgalor

Very well written. I am very busy at the moment and work only very little on the mod. However, you can expect a more detailed answer eventually and if you are interested, we can talk about the factions in Skype. I really appreciate when somebody brings some input to the mod and think we have a very similar conception of how the factions should play out.

Thanks Zocker; I don't actually use Skype, but I'm sure we can arrange something in the future

Since KW came out, I've always been rather impartial to Nod. Sure, GDI and the Scrin are fun with all that firepower, but the BH and MoK really upped things for the Brotherhood.