Lancer NPC Overview - Support

 

Art by Retrograde Minis

Target

Support - Support
A surprisingly durable mech who's name says it all.

Range 

Short/Support

Threat 

Low

Complexity 

Low

Overview 

Ah, the lowly Support. A mech that is a sort of platonic ideal of its class, representing what almost purely focusing on providing benefits to your allies can accomplish. While it seems to lack any true offensive potential, i'm here to tell you that's not quite true! While it's certainly lacking in comparison to its plethora of Condition denial abilities, the Support has a few traits that allow it to become quite problematic in its own way under the right Conditions. But of course, focus on utilizing it to support its allies and cause frustration for those reliant on piling up statuses.

So let's talk the bread and butter. The Support is a relatively tanky, large, and medium speed mech that is fairly well rounded. Its weak against Agility saves itself, but has okay Hull and great Engineering. Moderate sensors, moderate defenses, good heat cap. While certainly not inherently problematic to take out, the Support does rank as requiring some effort to get rid of. The biggest problems it will face is the face it is Size 2, which means it gets less cover options, and its inherently short range on many of its effects. It tends to need to be within Range 3 to 5 to use many of its active abilities, and its passive traits require adjacency. As such, this guy will likely be hugging a specific target in the back or moving up with the offensive front.

The Sealant Gun is an... okay support tool. Removing Burn often isn't the biggest problem NPCs face, but if it's really a problem the Sealant Gun can be used to do something about it. The issue is that it Slows allies hit with it, which can often be a much worse trade. However, this is a much more interesting offensive option. More on that later. Otherwise you have the Restock Drone and Nano-Repair Cloud, both strictly support tools. The Restock Drone is admittedly fairly meh at Tier 1, but from Tier 2 and on it's a fantastic HP healing option that will keep many NPCs in the fight for much longer then they ought to be. Nano-Repair Cloud also means that allies hugging the Support won't suffer too much from any effects that require them to Save. This can mean Grenades, Tech Attacks, and other common Save effects simply aren't terribly effective on the Support's allies, but the Support themselves does not benefit so it may absorb the effects instead.

Offensively, the Support has two real options. One the obvious side, there's the Sealant Gun's offensive option. While it requires CQC ranges to be utilized at all, it's a surprisingly potent control effect that can really hinder mobile enemies. Even if the Slow doesn't stick, they're still covered in Difficult Terrain that will inhibit their ability to move anywhere in a hurry. And if the Slow does stick, they're probably not going anywhere. Its other optional comes in the combination of its +1 Hull, its natural propensity to be closer than other supports might to the enemy, its durability, and its Size. The Support is a fantastic grappler. Size 1 PCs, the most common variety, will find that a Support that's grappled them is quite problematic. And worse, a support intending to Grapple can also Sealant Gun someone it's got in its clutches, meaning even if they do get out, good luck getting away!

Besides that little quirk, the Support really does live up to its namesake. Use it to trouble PC Controllers, keep important NPCs in the fight longer than they otherwise would, and possibly wrestle with those who underestimate the Support. Many of its abilities do tend to naturally redirect attacks towards itself, so although it's tanky for a Support it's not going to survive a focused effort to kill it.

Optionals 

Remote Reboot - Clearing some of the most common and the most devastating of Conditions, this is a fantastic thing to bring along for a Support who has a dedicated partner or several high value Strikers. Works great with Berserkers, as a means of clearing Impaired and Slowed from Fragment Signals it's almost certainly going to absorb. A flexible tool, keep it in mind.

Empowered Cloud - Even more fun for being adjacent to a Support! Now even if the effects stick through saves, it'll just end as long as a Support is next to them. Requiring adjacency can make this a bit tricky to use, but it does incline the Support to spend more actions getting close to allies afflicted so they can start their turn and clear it. Does put the Support in more danger, so keep that in mind.

Remote Cloud - Personally I find this to be one of the weaker Optionals the Support has. Especially at Tier 1, the small amount of healing spread across several NPCs requires a particular situation to come up to use correctly, and it uses the Support's whole turn to put out in the first place. A bit unreliable, a bit too little HP to often matter, and requires hitting multiple NPCs to be as effective as a single Restock Drone.

Defensive Pulse - Get fucked, Swallowtail. Personally i've not found Jammed to be so prolific a condition as to require an AoE to get rid of, but if your group is reliably putting it and/or Lock On on multiple targets each sitrep, this is quite handy. A bit niche, but it has its place.

Latch Drone - Now this is something. A superbuff applied to an ally, that can be potentially thrown out multiple times. Incredibly powerful and almost certain to keep an ally alive longer than the players would like. Even if they shoot the Drone off, that's damage spent not killing the NPC it was attached to so it's still a win. Fantastic, versatile tool useful to apply to almost anything.

Recommended Sitreps 

Supports fit in well with any Sitrep, as long as they have powerful allies to support. Their gameplan rarely changes because of the Sitrep, so I don't have much to say here.

Recommended Allies

Supports really like allies that can actually survive a few hits. Allies that get deleted from full health can't benefit from any of the Support's healing abilities. Similarly, melee NPCs can struggle to benefit from all of the Support's tools so they're often not the greatest choice. Otherwise, Supports fit in well with most Strikers and Defenders, and some of their optionals can negate the weaknesses of some Controllers and Artillery, like a Latch Drone on a Bombard. They pair especially well with Size 2+ Guardian mechs, as then they can remain adjacent and not only constantly provide a bonus to their cover but also get a benefit from that cover.

Other Considerations  

Supports don't like Grunts. They can potentially like being Grunts, but rarely do their abilities matter for those that withstand approximately nothing without dying. They themselves can really benefit from an Elite upgrade, but Ultra is probably a step too far in most circumstances. Latch Drones are terrifying if multiple enemies have them.

Final Thoughts

I slept on these guys for a while, but once I realized their potential as wrestlers I enjoyed them a lot more. It just sucks when a Support loses all the allies they were Supporting and can do very little about it, y'know?