Uses for purity unique units besides battlesuits?

[Alkaid]

So I finally tried out a game as purity after mainly going supremacy most games, and I must say I'm kind of dissapointed by the performance of the units.

I noticed I rarely used any of the unique purity units. Battlesuits, of course, are the exception which were very good and relatively early to unlock, just as many have said, but aside from them literally every other purity unit seemed out-shined by even the basic upgraded versions of non-affinity units. LEV tanks seemed no better than upgraded rangers and the same goes for the walkers.

The ultimate purity unit was the most disappointing of all. Despite it has about the same base damage as an ANGEL, which I do like, it felt like it wasn't doing all that much damage in comparison to my basic units with it. The splash was cool, but still not that that helpful in most cases. Compared to xeno titans and ANGELs it seemed to do a lot less work in my battles, despite being the only ranged one.

I found my mid and late-game army consisting of pretty much basic units + some battlesuits because the rest of the purity units didn't seem to offer anything more when I used them, It was like why spam walkers tanks when rangers are a bit cheaper and do just as well as my ranged units. Buildings like sky cranes and LEV plants seemed like better use of floatstone unfortunately.

Any tips or things I'm missing about these units? I actually think they're all pretty cool, especially the LEV tanks. I really like them but it feels like it's not worth going for the techs to unlock them sooner since rangers and whatnot seemed to perform the same roles just as well and without resource needs. In contrast when I play as supremacy I always have quite a few CNDRs, SABRs and ANGELs since I find them all pretty helpful(not so much CARVRs due to the resource cost compared to CNDRs, though). I want to use these more/to better effect and am just wondering if others are finding them to be good or agree they're rather lackluster.

 

[Bandobras Took]

Being on oceans without embarking. Both LEV units receive this ability, and though my memory may be failing (I'm writing this at around five in the morning with a bad case of insomnia), I don't think Supremacy units do (I think the Angel gets coastline only).

Not needing to embark saves time on intercontinental invasions and allows for better placement around coastal cities when attacking. Purity gets it with the LEV Tank, which should come a little bit earlier than Ultimate units for any Affinity. Depending on the strength of the LEV Tank vs Gunboat/Upgrades, oceans can be easily controlled. If you're playing an archipelago type map, it can get even more fun.

I'll shut up now; I think I'm rambling.

 

[afito]

They're pretty neat for naval dominance to use with Dreadnoughts taking down the citites, followed by a Dragoon conquering. Combined with maybe 2 or 3 Bastions full of Predators traited into intercepting the best way possible, there is nothing you opponent can do to even touch your navy.

 

[Esperr]

Forget oceans, just not having to micro your units across a map full of canyons, mountains, marshes and other rough terrain is worth it. Saves so much time.

 

[afito]

Yeah but the ANGEL can cross canyons as well, has also a 1 ranged attack which (when improved) has 102 ranged combat, but at the very same time has also 102 melee strength compared to the LEV Destroyer who only has 64 melee strength. Angel + Redeemer would just tare a apart an army of LEV Destroyers + Dragoons. The ocean stuff is the only thing that makes a LEV Destroyer better than an Angel.

 

[Bandobras Took]

Yeah but the ANGEL can cross canyons as well, has also a 1 ranged attack which (when improved) has 102 ranged combat, but at the very same time has also 102 melee strength compared to the LEV Destroyer who only has 64 melee strength. Angel + Redeemer would just tare a apart an army of LEV Destroyers + Dragoons. The ocean stuff is the only thing that makes a LEV Destroyer better than an Angel.

He was asking about all Purity units, though. The LEV Tank is available much earlier and costs fewer resources for the terrain advantage.

 

[Empedocles]

I can only really speak for the LEV tank, since I haven't used the destroyer. If you get it right at purity7, it is stronger than any other available ranged unit. It is also much more tactically versatile than other ranged units. It ignores terrain modifiers, so it can always move and shoot. It is like a civ 5 scout crossbow that can walk on water and some mountains . If you can position it on canyons, then that makes its somewhat low melee strength irrelevant. Plus, it has an antiorbital strike, which is really useful in a lot of situations.

 

[ggmoyang]

Purity 9. Still, LEV Tanks are really good.

 

[Alkaid]

After a couple more long purity domination games I agree LEV tanks now feel pretty good due to their versatility.

As far as naval combat ships + dragoons for taking cities is all that's needed, and the tanks aren't necessary to have tag along, but it's an option mainly if there's satellites I want to clear out. The Destroyer still seems pretty terrible with it's set up and only 2 range/2 move. Unfortunately I never seem to have the 5 supremacy in time to get the set up removal upgrade. I'm thinking maybe the +1 range at full health may be better than the splash if it's manageable to keep it from getting targeted, since it's not even getting to contribute to attacking most of the time as tanks and dragoons clear everything out most units and take cities before it has the chance. Even with floating over water they're way too slow to follow ships around late game.

For the Aegis I'm thinking maybe I'm just never in a situation where it's use shines. It's +60% in cities makes it seem best as a dedicated defender, which fits the name I suppose. I think I'd stick with the +50% in cities gunner still though, unless floatstone and titanium are plentiful enough to spare on walkers instead of more tanks. I tried using them along with my army to attack and they ended up kind of like the destroyer and being too slow to do much.

So I'm liking the tanks a lot now and walkers seem to have a niche purpose. Destroyers still seem hard to justify building and fitting into an army though, unfortunately.

 

[Mysticforce]

Lev tanks are good - think of it as a much beefier siege unit. Great for pot shots from the back line, anti-orbital strikes, and it actually won't die if attacked by anything that isn't ranged.

Lev destroyers are expensive, but they are awesome as a support unit. Battlesuits are still your front-line damage soakers, while the LD sits back and pounds things into mush.

With aircrafts in game, LD is never at full health... so I wouldn't take that perk.

 

[Kaigen]

Just finished a game in which I used Aegis to reinforce my Battlesuit/Gunner assault as they started encounter opponents with higher affinity. Upgraded Aegis get two attacks per turn and automatically heal adjacent units by 10 each turn, like half a Node that can walk around and shoot things. Once I had a pair of them parked behind my Battlesuits, they weren't getting dislodged any time soon, especially since I upgraded them with the Prime/Supremacy path for the +20% when adjacent to an ally. LEV Tanks are great, but very floatstone intensive, so the greater resource efficiency of the Aegis was appreciated.

If you're using them defensively, whether they're better than Wardens depends on the terrain and your enemy. Wardens have 78 ranged attack strength with the city upgrade and can get attack over obstacles if terrain is rough or +1 range if your enemy is bombarding you from a distance. True Aegis have 64 ranged attack strength with the city upgrade, but shoot twice and heal adjacent the melee units that are blocking the enemy (though I don't think this will stack with a Node if you built one).

Basically, if I'm playing Purity and I need a blitzkreig force, I'll focus on LEV Tanks and Dragoons. If I need a durable force that can withstand counterattacks and hold terrain, I think I'd rather field Battlesuits and Aegis (with perhaps a token LEV or Devastator or two to provide anti-orbital strikes depending on how much Floatstone I have).

As a side note, one of the things I've come to appreciate about the Purity unique ranged units is that they actually have a decent amount of normal combat strength; enough not to explode in a red mist when an enemy rover looks at them funny, at least.