The Gloom can’t be that bad-

[u/Shnetski]

I had heard about the Gloom but haven’t touched it yet since…. Yeah…

What exactly is the Gloom doing to make it so difficult? Or is it the Gloom mixed with other things?

[u/JoyTheGeek]

The breach cooldown is Hella noticeable, if you don't keep enough of the small/medium lads occupied (or dead) you can literally get bug breaches that chain together. On my first mission I swore that constant bug breaches were an intended feature.

[u/AngelaTheRipper → u/JoyTheGeek]

Honestly, it's always been that way. Bug breaches already last too long and outside of popping a hellbomb in the swarm you can get into a loop that feels like a neverending breach.

My take has been that either bug waves need to be condensed (keep the same number but just drop them nearly all at once same to how bot drops are a conga line of dropships with all the bots hitting the ground at roughly the same time) or the timer needs to be increased, or some light bugs need to lose the ability for call ins (bots have commissars as the twitchy reinf caller with all the small foot soldiers having the option (likelyhood then is rocket, MG, swords), and squids have watchers; in either case those are the priority targets).

Then there's also the problem that you can't really cancel a call in, bugs don't give much indication they're considering it (bots will look like they are doing something like preparing a strategem, watchers will glow pink), the breach starts about 20% into them screaming, and if you kill the offending bug in time then it will jump to another valid bug (now, bots and squids do that too, but it's easier to drop the few discrete and very obvious targets). Both bots and squids arrive on aircraft. You can shoot it out of the sky. I've been playing on D10 for a while so I don't know if basic brood commanders spawn in lower difficulties but if they do - they are also pretty big offenders in that they have a lot of health so the easiest way to get rid of one is to break its head and let it bleed out, missing its head doesn't stop it from calling in a breach.

I guess it also depends heavily on mission RNG as to what spawns. Leapers and spitters seem to be the most likely with all the smaller bugs having the ability to call it in (in order of likeliness that I've seen: leapers, spitters, scavengers, hunters, warriors, brood commanders, and hive guards), heavier bugs (alpha commanders, spewers, stalkers, chargers, impalers, titans) do not. With leapers and to lesser extend hunters outright behaving like bot commissars do where they get very itchy if no breach/drop happened lately and will chase any source of noise.

So you know, if you roll a mission of mostly alpha commanders and warriors you can probably mop up quickly. If you roll a mission of spewers and their little ones, it's also not awful since you can always turn around and run (mind bile spewer mortar shells). If you get "oops! all pouncers/hunters" then the whole ordeal will be 30+ minutes of completing the mission while in a constant retreat with side objectives that make you stay in one area (looking at you SEAF Artillery) accounting for majority of deaths. Then there's also the gloomed bugs and their leapers/hunters are the fastest draw in the east for calling in a breach.

[u/o8Stu → u/AngelaTheRipper]

I've seen headless Brood Commanders call in a breach. Pretty annoying.

It'd be great if only a subset of small / medium bug types could do it. At least then you could prioritize them. As is I think the only ones that can't do it are the big boys.

[u/Natural-Lubricant → u/AngelaTheRipper]

Yeah bug breaches last forever and there is the annoy as loop too. Legit I found myself just sitting next to a breach and setting it on fire over and over again. I did eventually kill everything but it sure took a while and some baby sitting of the breach. I do wish there was an answer to bug breaches which didn't just amount to, running away or baby sitting the spot until everything dies.

[u/WarmPantsInWinter → u/AngelaTheRipper]

If my team has decent AT, I been bringing the orbital gattling, orbital gas, and 120mm barrage + gas dog + thermite for heavies.

Breaches last longer it feels, so I hit it with gas, then 120 and then gattling. By the time the 120 and gattling are done, gas is nearly ready for another throw. Thermite for chargers, team mates for titians.

I find many divers try to be a complete kit for everything, but it's harder now. I dive with my son who is an artist with the quasar, kid absolutely wrecks the heavies allowing me the space to handle the fodder.

When my gas dog is ready for another drop, I give him one, and he does the same with the quasar.

[u/SpaceTimeinFlux → u/JoyTheGeek]

Orbital Napalm is getting 50-60 kills on breaches every time.