FFFL 2018 - Discussion / Interest Thread

One idea would be to introduce random daylight conditions along with random maps. Conditions would be rolled before each game (so you can build a fleet appropriate to the conditions), but it would require smart unit selection in the draft and might promote more units changing hands through trades and waivers. This is the chart Brigs and I have been using in our Escalation game (seems to work pretty well):

1 - Dawn (turns 1-3 night, turn 4+ day)
2-3 - Day
4 - Dusk (turns 1-3 day, turn 4+ night)
5-6 - Night

The potential for dusk/night/dawn games really keeps carrier airpower in check, but the threat of fighting in daylight forces you spend points on air defense . Patrol bombers, subs and DDs gain a lot of value, as do units with special night abilities (Rufe, Black Cat, Kirishima, Myoko, etc). It has lead us to build some pretty interesting fleet building so far and it would likely influence the way everybody drafts a fleet.

I'm in!

I think the blacklist doesn't have to be rounds of the draft. There was some strategy to blacklisting certain power units out, but I think there's probably a few that we can make a consensus on and just no have them options.

I suppose one way that we could work some more diversity in would be to allow players to "disallow" one unit from their opponent's roster before the fleets are decided.  People would have to have their rosters set a bit earlier before matches started.  But you could say a particular unit (for example a particularly potent one) cannot be disallowed simultaneous weeks, and maybe only twice overall. 

Another option could require you to build two fleets and submit them both, then randomly roll which one you actually use. Some limitations on the composition between them so that they can't be the same fleet altered by one or two insignificant units. 

Add a point - or several - to popular units.

That's an interesting idea. Maybe combine it with the... lets call it a greylist. Everyone can choose 2 units to greylist. Destroyers, auxiliaries, subs, CVES, and air units add 1 point each. Cruisers and CVs/CVLs add 2 points. Battleships add 3 points. You can still bring these units, but Chikuma is now running you 23 points rather than 21. Assuming greylist status, Helldiver is 15 points, Grace is 16, Avenger is 15.

I like that. An air build may have Helldivers, but the player also tries to supplement it with a lesser bomber for cost savings.

I will say, I was able to put together a decent air build the past two tournaments; however, it was extremely limited by OOB and often led me to a surface fleet in order to even have a shot. So much is dependent on getting one or two plum units; anyone who gets them has more than a leg up on the rest of the field.

It'd be interesting to adjust the OOB rules. What if players were limited in the total number of hull points they could bring? Or you could go the other way - have no banned ships and let the chips fall where they may. I also saw folks play who had put all their eggs in one basket (CV or BB) and get blown out of the water by a lucky vital, or who went swarm and just didn't have the stamina to survive a battle of attrition. I don't know - but looking forward to finding out!

I've found rolling for day/night after fleets are posted really kills carriers all together. If we use a day night roll, I'd recommend the following order:

Draft (obviously), then each match -> Roll for a random map, random squalls, random time of day -> then build a fleet.