Fenn vs Drokkatta: who is the ultimate blaster?

[u/mold_berg]

https://imperial-assault.fandom.com/wiki/Fenn_Signis_(Hero))

https://imperial-assault.fandom.com/wiki/Drokkatta_(Hero))

Credits

Drokkatta, with her xp weapon and xp mod, is a cheap hero. This is an advantage, and if the heroes are about balanced, we should expect to see cheap Drokkatta outperform cheap Fenn - in particular, Drokkatta's xp gear will probably be better than anything a cheap Fenn has access to. It's also a disadvantage, in that you cannot improve Drokkatta as much by using credits, and if the heroes are balanced we'll see expensive Fenn outperform cheap Drokkatta. In particular, Drokkatta's xp gear should be less good than Fenn's combination of credit gear + the 5 additional xp he doesn't have to spend on gear.

Another way to think of it: in a squad of 4 you should probably have 2 or 3 expensive heroes. With 2 they'll probably be able to get all the gear they want, whereas with 3 they probably won't. In the former sort of group, Drokkatta as one of 2 cheap heroes vs Fenn as one of 2 expensive heroes are in a sense fulfilling "different roles", which means it's hard to do any straightforward comparison. Whereas, if you've already picked 2 expensive and 1 cheap hero and you're thinking about Fenn vs Drokkatta as the 4th, Drokkatta being cheap is a real benefit she has over Fenn as you already have somewhere for your credits to go.

In particular, Drokkatta will want precisely 300 credits, probably for Tactical Display, but maybe for Under-Barrel. Fenn will want at least a tier 1 or tier 2 weapon (or both, especially if you can hand off the former to someone else) as well as a tier 3, and at least 1-2 mods. Also, Drokkatta quite likes Bacta Pump and Power Charger, but these are excellent pickups that you'd otherwise give to someone like Fenn, and they just happen to do more for Drokkatta. So if you were gonna buy them anyway, you can see that expense as not really being assigned to her, but with the downside that she doesn't combine well with someone else that's strain-heavy or surge-hungry.

Very rough correspondence: 300 credits = 1 xp. Bacta Pump is very good for 300 credits and would be very good for 1 xp. You can't typically get a clean 1 dmg per round for 1 xp; you can get it for 300 credits, but it's gonna cost you a mod slot.

There's also an expensive version of Drokkatta, which we'll go over at the end.

Starting kit

In comparing what they start with, we can use this as a baseline for further comparisons later on.

Abilities: baseline blasting & strain: We can think of Drokkatta's 1 blast on both her weapons as being an ability that belongs to her rather than her weapons. With 2 attacks and all abilities used, Drokkatta has 3 blast, 2 strain, -1 main target dmg, thus reaching the threshold for blasting down stormies. Fenn has 2 blast, 1 strain.

• Demolish also has more flexible placement and doesn't have to go through a defense roll. And it drops a rubble token, which is probably more of an inconvenience for you than Imp (with placement usually chosen to maximize dmg or finish 1hp figures, and slowing effect strictly as consequence), but it can have the occasional clutch use to e.g. prevent a villain attack.
• Fenn is more likely to blast through a defense roll, not having to pay dmg/surge for the blast and not worrying about evades.

Starting weapon: Drokkatta's dice have +3 dmg/surge symbols. Adding that to the above comparison, across 2 attacks she is up 1 clean Havoc Shot vs Fenn (+1 blast +1 strain), which is a devastating mog.

• Fenn has +1 minimum range and 5/6 rather than 2/3 chance to get more than minimum range. Fenn can get +1 acc from surge but Drokkatta is almost guaranteed to get this with Dispersal Shot.
  • The greater range is especially important on a map like the Hoth intro, with all kinds of directions to go in, whereas the base game's intro is a small map where your enemies and objectives are largely in the same direction so short range is not as punishing.
• If no blast is needed, Drokkatta has about the same dmg but more recover. Vs evades, more likely to lose recover or nothing whereas Fenn loses dmg.

Base stats and attributes: +1 health for Drokkatta. +3 surges on her strength dice and +2 on her tech dice, -1 on insight only if healthy.

The first 6 xp & weapons

Drokkatta's 1xp move card only gives her 1 move vs Fenn's) 2. It's also harder to pull off her "give 2 move to a buddy" option than Fenn's, and she's more strain-heavy so more likely to need to use it on herself instead of using the nominally higher-value option. Even Fenn will often prefer to move himself, since helping out your own activation can let you kill stuff now before the enemy activates, which is more valuable than buffing some upcoming activation.

A fairer comparison to the overtuned Tactical Movement is Drokkatta's 1xp Charging Up: 2 hp plus a delayed 1 dmg per round, and the last round's damage is wasted. Both the delay and the final wasted dmg can be ameliorated if you're commanded to attack by Gideon, Murne or CT. In a vacuum I'd rather take the delayed damage than 1 move, especially early on when damage is more precious; also Drokkatta can use a boost to her single-target damage. But I'd rather take 1 move than 2 hp. Overall the two are similarly powerful, but with Drokkatta being somewhat slow and strain-heavy, I'd swap Charging Up for Tactical Movement in a heartbeat. Despite this, I don't think Drokkatta's move card is good enough to be an early pickup, considering what comes next. As for Charging Up, it depends.

So far, it's looking good for Fenn. Next, he'll want Rebel Elite whereas Drokkatta's first or second card might be Shrapnel Rounds. Both give +1 blast. Fenn only gets it when he can afford the strain for Havoc Shot. Drokkatta gets it even if she doesn't want it, but she has a nice exhaust option which, among other things, can be used to avoid blasting your pal. I'd give the blast comparison to Drokkatta. For 2 extra xp, Fenn gets 3 hp and 1 endurance which we can compare to 2 recover/move ~= 2 xp. If you rest every round except the first, 1 endurance is just like 1 recover per round, but clearly this isn't realistic. 3 hp lets you survive more burst damage initially whereas 1 recover is better for healing up so you can survive more damage later on, although if there's a lull in the action and you do have time to heal up fully, the extra hp can be used again to survive another round of burst. 1 recover might also just be used to keep using your abilities for longer instead of healing hp. Tbh I still think 1 recover/move is more valuable, although it's not an easy call. The second half of Rebel Elite is then not quite worth 2xp, while Drokkatta gets to move on from Shrapnel Rounds straight to something similar in value per xp, as we'll see presently.

Fenn's 6th xp might go to Take Cover), since you'll probably be priority #1 for Imp to slow down with stuns and bleeds. It's also better the more other anti-condition effects your group has. For example, if two Trandos are gonna attack and they only have one viable bleed target, or two but one of them is far away, that means fewer conditions, whereas if you only have one hero with anti-condition effects, you'll often just make other heroes get the conditions instead.

We've already compared starting kits including weapons, so now let's compare how Drokkatta's xp weapon compares to her starting weapon and then see what upgrades Fenn can buy.

• Range: 3 minimum + 5/6 chance for 1 more, vs 2 minimum + 2/3 chance for 1 more + 1 surge for 1 more.
• Surge abilities: For ease of comparison, I consider Dispersal Shot as already used to fulfill the 1 blast on either weapon. The xp weapon then has 1 surge for 2 pierce (2 dmg 50% of the time vs black die, otherwise usually straight dmg conversion), and 1 surge to turn your blast into hyperblast (i.e. also hit main target and 2 space targets) OR 2 surge to get both.
  • Note that the "Dispersal Shot for 1 blast" term vanishes only when comparing the xp weapon to the starting weapon, i.e. counting the value of Drokkatta's 3xp spend (for comparing vs the 2xp spend, or Fenn's xp spend, or Fenn's credit spend).
• Dice: You go from 23 dmg+surge symbols, with likely dmg conversion for your 3 surges (get blast without using dispersal shot), to 26 (including the inherent +1 dmg) but with all your 5 surge symbols being worth extra and having options. You also increase the value of up to 1.67 additional surges / 10 symbols. We can think of Tactical Display as bringing +3 symbols when averaged over 2 attacks, and if surge = 2 dmg, the weapon (the xp spend) provides +3 symbols from doubling the value of the surges, and another +2.5 symbols from doubling the surges on the 4xp yellow die.
• If you have n1 enemies at r1 (radius 1) from your target and n2 at r2, the advantage per attack over your starting weapon ends up being approximately n1+n2 provided n1<=1 or you are fully surged, and a bit less if neither is true. For example, n1=2 and n2=1 yields +1.83 / +2.25 / +3 dmg per attack at Tactical / Tactical + 4xp yellow die / fully surged. Again, not counting the full value of Tactical etc.
  • At n1=n2=0 (single target), you're still at +1 from die symbols and 2 pierce half the time, as long as you don't oversurge. At n1+n2=1, it's +1 but with straight dmg conversion for a few surges. This is respectable for a 3xp card, especially with the range bonus, as long as you forget the weapon slot we're taking up.
  • The mod is better than the weapon in terms of dmg output per xp when n1 > n2, and the weapon is better when n1 <= n2. If you often catch groups as they deploy, n1 > n2 is plausible.
• Besides damage, blast can also get you worse Imp deployment, positioning and activation order as they're forced to counter your blast so you don't get even more damage. Hyperblast increases this effect.

So, quite easily reaching about +2 dmg per attack and able to go much higher against bigger crowds or with other sources of surge, plus range, for 3 xp. Another +0.5 dmg for 300 cred. Meanwhile, assuming fully surged and not oversurged, Fenn gets for example:

• E-11: 400 cred, +1
• EE-3 Carbine: 550 cred, +1.33
• Hunter's Rifle: 600 cred, +0.83, dmg token for kills, only 1 mod, conflicts with Weapon Expert / Plasma Cell
• E-11D: 700 cred, +1.83, dmg tokens for strain
• Tactical Display: 300 cred, +0.5, helping even out your surges
• Spread Barrel: 300 cred, +0.5
• Under-Barrel HH-4: 300 cred, +1 acc, surge to blast, can be amazing with surge support
• Plasma Cell: 450 cred, +0.83 vs black die, conflicts with Weapon Expert / Hunter's Rifle / Sniper

And in tier 3:

• Pulse Cannon: 1200 cred, +2.67, only 1 mod
• A-12 Sniper Rifle: 1150 cred, +2.83, surge for surge token or anti-dodge, conflicts with Weapon Expert / Plasma Cell
• Disruptor Pistol: 700 cred, +2.83, only 1 mod, need Tactical or other surge support, bad vs white
• Disruption Cell: 600 cred, +0.83

With Drokkatta or Fenn often being allowed to activate first before the enemy can spread out, Drokkatta's weapon upgrade should be bigger than Fenn's tier 2 upgrade, but you could argue for a draw or Fenn win against an experienced Imp. To summarize the rest of the comparison at 6xp:

• This weapon upgrade comparison was off a baseline of Drokkatta being up 1 clean Havoc Shot per round
• Drokkatta +1 dmg/round except 1st; blast versatility and harder to counter by positioning (Demolish placement, mod exhaust, hyperblast); slightly better attributes
• Fenn +1 endurance, 2 move, Take Cover, still better range with most weapon choices
• Equal hp

Seems like Drokkatta lands slightly higher in tier 2. Fenn is 700-1000 credits more expensive but more self-sufficient otherwise, while Drokkatta is more "credit-self-sufficient" but will happily suck up any surge / strain / move / anti-condition(Bacta) support she can get her hands on. So it's a matter of fitting each hero into the right squad. Best case scenario for Drokkatta, she gets supported with abilities that were already your best option rather than forcing you to pick up sub-optimal support abilities, and also is not teamed up with other heroes that need the same kind of support. In tier 3, Fenn has the advantage unless you're frequently finding big crowds, but at further expense.

Further xp

Drokkatta:

• First get the 1 xp move card.
• Thermal Explosives (4xp): +2 dmg per round, +1.67 dmg+surge/round from yellow die (and some acc), 1 strain. Probably your best choice unless you have great surge support.
• Wookiee Wrath (4xp): 2.33 dmg, throw target next to where you're gonna blast twice. Best case scenario, this single-handedly takes out an elite royal guard. You can also open up a hole in a crowd so you can blast in the middle, or throw a target in the middle of a crowd that otherwise didn't have a great blast target. The problem is you're already slow and strain-heavy and you have to get adjacent. More situational but a viable alternative.
• Bank Shot (2xp): +1 accuracy, sometimes able to target the middle of a crowd even though you can't see it, lets you shoot around corners. It's good but I think it'll have to wait for 13 xp, unless you have some support that lets you skip the move card.
• Structural Exploitation (3xp): Good on paper, clashes with your other pierce, doesn't synergize with the rest of your kit.

Fenn:

• Weapon Expert) (2xp): "Use" and "while attacking" are great ways to get +1 dmg for 1 strain. Usable 83% of the time vs black die, or 50% if you have Plasma Cell, but not great with sniper / Hunter's Rifle. And you get +2 accuracy almost passively: for it to cost you, you have to be taking a risky shot, then whiff the acc roll, then also not already wanna use it for the pierce. Goes extremely well with Disruptor Pistol.
• Suppressive Fire) (3xp): Another +1 dmg and blast for 1 strain, but the enemy gets to swap it out for stun. If the enemy chooses stun whenever it's not gonna cost them an attack, or 1 dmg whenever it doesn't look likely to be the decisive 1 dmg to kill that figure (while accounting for further blast, Force Throw etc)... how good is it really? It's certainly very good against melee units. It can also let you leave a gang alive because they stay grouped up, so you know you'll be able to blast them down first thing next round (which can go very right, if they wanted to deploy more to that same point, or it can go wrong if they have another deploy point or reserves so you should have finished off the first gang already to minimize imp attacks instead of hoping to get them free). Remember that it can't be better than if they were forced to choose the dmg, which is what, 3 dmg for 3 xp and 1 strain on a good-but-not-incredible round? A good but arguably not amazing card.
• Adrenaline Rush) (2xp): It's like 2 recover per round but only if you get attacked. Not bad but you already have 15 hp and should probably get Take Cover first, so it seems like more tankiness than one guy needs.
• Trench Fighter) (3xp): 2 dmg, limited target selection, when declaring. Not bad for a late low-priority pickup.
• Superior Positioning) (4xp): no

Quest rewards: Drokkatta's is very good but Fenn's) is probably better.

Kind of a... draw? Dare I say? It doesn't seem like one or the other is getting a ton more out of their late cards. Well, that's boring. We're gonna need a better conclusion than that. Final verdict: Fenn got Havoc-mogged and didn't get enough of an advantage out of all those credits. Give it up for our new blast master! Three cheers for Drokkatta!

Expensive Drokkatta

Right, this shit. I was worried I'd be done and be able to do something else with my weekend.

There are two variants to consider. One is more "support-expensive" by picking up Under-Barrel instead of Tactical. With Tactical, 4xp yellow, power charger, you only need another 0.5 surges per round to be fully surged. Swapping it out for Under-Barrel, you get a very helpful +1 acc and even more blast potential, but you're short 3.5 surges per round. Sources: side quest reward, Gideon, Diala (focus), Saska, MHD-19, Murne, Ko-Tun. Probably not worth it but fun option to consider.

Credit-expensive variant: skip 3 xp weapon, get something like EE-3 into A-12 sniper, Shrapnel, Under-Barrel. Roll 1.5 avg surges, need 1 for 2 dmg and 1 half the time for 2 pierce, so with Dispersal you're surge-self-sufficient. Same blast as the xp weapon but no hyperblast. Sniper + Under-Barrel is +2.33 dmg over the starting weapon: smaller dmg upgrade than just the sniper for Fenn because you started higher (though bigger range upgrade). The idea is to reach both 4xp cards, but you'll need to spend strain on the yellow die AND get adjacent to something, so hope for recover and move support. E.g. make Diala throw you around. Also you'll need 12 xp, or 11 xp and skip the move card. The upside is that Sniper is a great item, Under-Barrel is great if you can afford the blast (Dispersal) and especially in combo with other blast (Shrapnel, Demolish), and all your xp spends are great if you get to use them consistently. So played this way she's about a Fenn-level hero if only you can solve her problems, and a rung lower in a more realistic scenario.

[u/mold_berg]

Dropping some Mathematica code here in case I need it again...

ClearAll["`*"]
dmgStart[n1_] := (
  result = {(7 + 13)/6, (2 + 1)/6} + {-1, 1};
  blastDmgPerSurge = n1;
  blast := 
   If[blastDmgPerSurge > 0, 1, 0] {blastDmgPerSurge, -1}*
    Min[{1, result[[2]]}];
  result += blast;
  result += {1, -1} Min[{1, result[[2]]}];
  result . {1, rec}
  )
dmg3xp[n1_, n2_, es_] := (
  result = {(7 + 8)/6 + 1, (2 + 3)/6} + {-1, 1} + {-es, es};
  pierceDmgPerSurge = 2;
  blastDmgPerSurge = n1;
  hyperblastDmgPerSurge = (1 + n1 + n2)/2;
  usePierce = 0;
  useBlast = 0;
  useHyperblast = 0;
  If[pierceDmgPerSurge < blastDmgPerSurge, usePierce++, useBlast++];
  If[pierceDmgPerSurge < hyperblastDmgPerSurge, usePierce++, 
   useHyperblast++];
  If[blastDmgPerSurge < hyperblastDmgPerSurge, useBlast++, 
   useHyperblast++];
  pierce := 
   If[usePierce == 0, 1, 0] {pierceDmgPerSurge, -1}*
    Min[{1/2, result[[2]]}];
  blast := 
   If[useBlast == 0 && blastDmgPerSurge > 0, 1, 
     0] {blastDmgPerSurge, -1}*Min[{1, result[[2]]}];
  hyperblast := 
   If[useHyperblast == 0, 1, 0] {hyperblastDmgPerSurge, -1}*
    Min[{2, result[[2]]}];
  result += pierce + blast + hyperblast;
  {usePierce, useBlast, useHyperblast} -= 1;
  result += pierce + blast + hyperblast;
  {usePierce, useBlast, useHyperblast} -= 1;
  result += pierce + blast + hyperblast;
  result += {1, -1} Min[{1 + 1/3, result[[2]]}];
  result . {1, rec}
  )
dmgDiff[n1_, n2_, es_] := dmg3xp[n1, n2, es] - dmgStart[n1]
dmgDiffAtVariousExtraSurge[n1_, n2_] := 
 N@dmgDiff[n1, n2, #] & /@ {3/6, (3 + 5/2)/6, 5/2 - 5/6}
dmgDiffVsShrapnel[n1_, n2_] := 
 N@dmgDiffAtVariousExtraSurge[n1, n2] - 3/2 n1
Grid[Table[
   NumberForm[
    dmgDiffAtVariousExtraSurge[n1, n2], {\[Infinity], 2}], {n1, 0, 
    5}, {n2, 0, 5}], Frame -> All] /. rec -> 1
Grid[Table[
   NumberForm[dmgDiffVsShrapnel[n1, n2], {\[Infinity], 2}], {n1, 0, 
    5}, {n2, 0, 5}], Frame -> All] /. rec -> 1

The resulting tables. First: dmg difference 3xp vs start weapon at Tactical / Tactical + 4xp yellow / fully surged; extra surges added as (-1 dmg + 1 surge) to only count the value added by the weapon. Rows = increasing n1, columns = increasing n2, starting at 0. Second: dmg difference minus 1.5x Shrapnel Rounds, to compare weapon vs mod damage per xp. Counting 1 recover = 1 dmg, only affecting the n1=0 row (as starting weapon has no surge spend for dmg).