Every Day We Fight is a game about combat and tactics; each Thorn has a skill tree that allows them to specialize in a variety of ways. Finding the right combination of skills and weapons can greatly increase the Thorns combat effectiveness. Here are some of the dev team's favorite pairings.
Vivienne: Deceptive and Deadly
Progressing in Vivienne’s skill tree to the Virtual Motivation node grants bonus Action Points for each enemy that targets the Hologram. This skill has some interesting potential synergies, including equipping Vivienne with a sniper rifle. Typically, this weapon is quite expensive to fire and reload, but by focusing on the Action Point economy, Vivienne can overcome this and fire multiple rounds per turn from a safe range.
Vivienne’s Active Ability is the Hologram, a deployable decoy that can be used to distract enemies.
Vivienne’s Hologram can also be upgraded to leave a fire surface when it's defeated. An effective trap against melee enemies.
Dylan: Up Close and Personal
Dylan will receive a prompt to use his Proximity Punch when enemies approach him. This allows him to walk up to an enemy and knock them out - disabling them for one turn. This is a powerful skill, but it leaves Dylan in an exposed position. Choosing when to use it can be tricky, but by selecting the Dust in the Wind upgrade, you can deploy a smokescreen to reduce the accuracy of enemy units' ranged attacks - greatly enhancing Dylan’s survivability at close range. Equipping him with a shotgun allows him to leave the smoke with a bang, dispatching enemies within a short range.
Ending your turn near enemies or choke points can lead to opportunities to use Dylan’s Reflex Ability - Proximity Punch.
Proximity Punch can be upgraded to restore health to allies to specialize Dylan into a support role.
Leo: Fire Superiority Expert
Covering Fire is effective at suppressing enemies which can reduce the Action Points they can use on their turn. By investing in Dead Arm in the skill tree, we can apply the Paralyzed Arm status effect to any unit hit while using Covering Fire. This can be very effective at shutting down tanker armored units, but by equipping Leo with an Assault Rifle, we can use Covering Fire to spray bullets in the direction of a group of enemies, stopping them from using their weapons on their turn. Finding a rare weapon muzzle can enhance this further, decreasing the weapon bloom while Leo is firing in full-auto, greatly enhancing his accuracy.
Leo’s Reflex Ability is Covering Fire, allowing him to come to the defense of allies under fire by returning fire on enemy units.
Covering Fire can be specialized to ignite enemies on fire and have them take burn damage for multiple rounds.
Choosing which weapon to use with each Thorn is part of the tactical decision-making, which empowers you to customize your squad to overcome the Rifters. These enemy units pose various challenges for you to solve, each with strengths and weaknesses. Luckily, there are more than just skills and guns in your arsenal for you to customize. You can expect the next dev diary February 11th - we’ll dive into weapon customization, consumable items, and how to use the Rifter’s weapons against them.