Melee heroes/units
I'll preface this with the an admission that this is my first weekend and I've only played a few games. I don't see how melee units can be viable in the current gameplay.
I usually enjoy a good melee hero/character. I'm not the run and gun type. I'm more the flank and demolish type.
While playing Atlas I felt that my hero (Hydros) was pretty worthless. I had no ability to enter or leave the front lines with any kind of efficiency. Mainly because I was constantly stuck behind mob walls or other heroes. By the time I reached the frontline, if I could at all, I was already mostly dead.
The Scuttleguards felt pretty useless as well. With the "zergling roll" I could get into battle pretty well, but they simply are not durable enough to handle fire from even a medium sized mob of faster ranged enemies. Focus fire way lays Scuttleguards. And forget about trying to get them out of battle. The cool down on the rolling ability is too long and their normal movement is too slow. At best they are cannon fodder.
Shield Slugs I felt are too slow. Slow moving, slow firing, not enough damage. They died faster than the Scuttleguards. I don't know that I got a single kill with them.
Those two units seem like they should be the tanks of the army, but they don't play that way. They are, in my opinion, effectively worthless against ranged heroes and mobs.
The Engineer is pretty awesome as a support unit. The Ion Cannon needs to be mobile to be effective. That's a lot of investment that just sits there. A slow moving mech-like cannon that can, slowly, advance after some kind of transformation would make it better.
The Healer I liked as well. That mob seems fairly well balanced.
I had a hard time getting to anything more advanced because I was spending too much stock and resources on replenishing my army.
Anyway, I just felt like I could not significantly contribute to my team with Hydros. Maybe I'm just too inexperienced, but given that everyone I've seen so far is playing ranged units I don't think it's only that.
Replay ID: Gf096a529958e45e6a2e421fce973fc38
Comments
I don't know so much about Hydros, but as Grath (The other Melee T1 hero) its all about getting the right engagement. Terrapin Troopers beat most other T1's 1v1 but as you mentioned its hard to get them in range.
My experience is you have to spread out your units as much as possible and try to to block their escape with your superior mobility. But more than anything its about fighting in the right place at the right time. You HAVE to get that surround so every unit can attack and they can't kite. Once you get them there, you can normally wipe their whole army with nearly no losses.
As I said though, I played mostly Grath not Hydros but I think the playstyle is similar.
Some advice for Hydros and Scuttles...
To do well with them, you don't even really need to defeat them straight up. One of the most deadly aspects of Hydros/Scuttles is to use them to exploit your opopnents collision.
The 'baneling rolls' can gain in speed over time, if you take out the enemy wards & let the runspeed stack up a bit, you can be at near full speed by the time you come out of fog, and once they are snared, you can use the scuttles to surround your opponent.
Another tactic to mesh with this is the fact that you can split off 1-2 scuttles and have them go in for the roll, while keeping your other scuttles ability at the ready. This allows you to bust out a snare at your leisure, and stay ready for chasing your opponent down.
He's definitely a character you want to combine with your team mates. He's very disruptive and downright scare to run in to when your out of position. But he needs backup, and a wise player who knows when to initiate. If you pull the trigger too early your allies won't be able to assist you. If you pull the trigger too late teh enemy will be able to drop a ward or see you coming.