"Disposable" combat colonists.

[SangoProductions]

So, like, it's so freaking risky to send colonists or (most) pets in to combat. Thus, what happens is that we just restrict the colonists to the safe area, and let the turrets do the work. And to be honest, that's kind of boring. All of this ignores mods which can make personal combat more (if not too) effective.

Why is this? Because colonists take a whole lot of effort to make good. And then one stray bullet can basically cripple, if not outright kill them. And animals? Moodlets. Enough said. Also, animals are kinda stupid.

So, how could we fix this? By making disposable colonists. Not those lousy assassins who are good for nothing but combat, and are really hard to recruit. I was thinking maybe something like combat droids, or cloning facilities - a place where generic clones can be made, and they would slowly decay after about a day of being "active". Perhaps done like flicking a switch. So, they are going to die no matter what. May as well send them in.

Combat droids might be an upgrade in that they are hardier and aren't doomed once activated (and can be deactivated), but are a bit more expensive. Maybe the material worth of 2-3 turrets? After all, they are designed to be thrown-away. We don't want them to be very expensive.

But the big thing, again, is that yeah, they are supposed to be throw-away units. They shouldn't be that expensive, or time-intensive to create. Maybe the facility would be, but that's another matter.

[SangoProductions]

Oh, oops. I added this to the general discussion, instead of suggestions. But, it wouldn't be bad to get a discussion going about this.

[Spdskatr]

That's why you get everyone to carry melee weapons(except for your hunters) and get them to hide in your corridors until the enemy comes too close, then... AMBUSH!

Colonists are worse than stormtroopers at shooting.

[OFWG]

For what it's worth I agree. This game strikes exactly the wrong balance between getting attached to your pawns and killing them off like worthless livestock (with the extra QoL fail of forcing you to watch the crappy combat at 1X speed). I'm still hopeful that it's a game balance issue that'll be tuned up.

[Harold3456]

I don't know, I always thought that the "anyone can die" aspect of Rimworld meshed really well with its "life is tough and ultimately meaningless" theme. Having robots to do all your fighting for you would take a lot of the suspense out of the combat. I'd say if you want "disposable" fighters, recuit fighters who are really only good for combat.

Every time I've lost a favourite colonist for a dumb reason, it's managed to resonate with me - and that's what this game's about. I still remember the time that I sent Lucy, Drifter (armed with a shotgun, wearing power armour and a helmet) alone to take out a straggling, elderly bandit with cataracts who was shooting a solar panel in the middle of the night. Thanks to RNG, this blind old lady with hardly any clothes and no shooting skill took out one of my pluckiest, longest-lasting, most versatile colonists with a single headshot.

That kind of event sticks with you far longer than if this old lady had just sniped some robot, mercenary or turret.

[Elixiar]

It doesn't need fixing.

What has always made this game so great for me is that some times I will have a colonist, one of the original landers who is and has become the best of the best. At times that colonist has been the single life line from losing the entire colony, hauling downed pawns to the hospital, 1v2'ing centipedes in the ruins of the town square as it burns in multiple places.

A hero.
Then one day an attack comes. Small. Nothing I can't handle. I have my 6 best equip some weapons and head out to dispatch the threat.
Cool, about 3 enemies down, 5 to go. All I have to do now is-

Bang. (Sniper fire)
"____ has been shot to death."

... What?
*brain - destroyed*.
Just like that. All that pawn ever was, all they have accomplished, gone in the blink of an eye.

Hey I could reload right? Wrong. There is tragedy in that. There's no storytelling in "letting the turrets do it all".

This is a gameplay mentality I just don't really understand. If losing colonists is such a massive concern why do you play on anything but pheobe base builder?

How do you cope with a game like Xcom?

Here's a tip. Play only with perma death on. Then what becomes a hinderence becomes something you just have to accept.

Game is more fun that way.

[mumblemumble]

I agree, actually....the game is easy if you save scum sure, but if not, shit happens and things go bad...I've lost colonists from getting too aggressive, too slow, mismanaging supplies, and often the death is not caused by something in that day, but something I did MONTHS ago which bit me in the ass.

And really, losing someone important really is pretty deep...I also encourage a permadeath run,  I lost a damn good fighter to a inferno cannon strike, and he was burning to death with a  centapede blocking him...there was absolutely nothing I could do as he was burnt alive, into ash. And this was very tragic. But it made me appreciate the ones left far more.

[MikeLemmer]

I'm fine with random deaths in combat from lucky shots by the enemy. Frankly, 90% of the time (unless the combat is a colony killer) I get through a fight with no deaths. Sure, some of them are missing noses, but it could be worse.

I'm less fine with random deaths in combat from my colonists suddenly deciding that throwing grenades into melee fights is a good decision.

[Dukkha]

I play intense or extreme and almost never use turrets. I'll take a few good shooters with assault rifles and a tactically thought out base over a bunch of thoughtless turrets any day.

[ArguedPiano]

I play intense or extreme and almost never use turrets. I'll take a few good shooters with assault rifles and a tactically thought out base over a bunch of thoughtless turrets any day.

Agreed!  ^

Are your pawns not already disposable? Sure it sucks to loose one that you had trained for a long time. But that it what makes the game exciting and gives it a sense of danger. There will always be more pawns.

Plus wouldn't "Disposable Pawns" make the game too easy? I mean where would be the challenge? I used to have a habit of save scumming when I first started playing but the game quickly got boring and stale.

Perhaps if it were to be implemented I could simply *not* use them such as I don't currently use turrets, mortars, traps, or save scumming.

[RawCode]

its how game is designed, everyone mortal and everyone hard to replace.

ever animals made "punishing" intentionally, especially if multiple animals bounded to single colonist die at once or pawn die and his animals go berserk.

[keylocke]

always have shield bait brawlers and put them in full cover. (i often use two, and i alternate between them to allow one to recharge depleted shield)

gist is : as long as your shield bait is drawing fire by placing them between your enemies and your gunners, your gunners are safe from enemy retaliation.

-shield bait brawlers generally act as crowd control and tank. so you really need to draw the attention of both enemy brawlers and gunners.
-if you got a beastmaster and animal army. outflank the enemy while they're distracted by shield baits.
-try to get enemy brawlers to a position that they'd get hit with friendly fire from enemy gunners. you can turn them into your meat shields.
-when your brawlers are engaged in melee, force fire your gunners to target enemy gunners instead of the enemy brawlers. friendly fire is your main enemy.
-as long as your shielded brawlers are standing with their shields on, you'll win. usually with minimal damage. (cuts and bruises to brawlers)
-try to avoid being aggressive in fights where you think your brawlers are gonna get overwhelmed. so instead, let enemy forces get distracted and fragmented as they try to destroy your base. then prioritize ganking the isolated enemies that got separated from the others.
-during indoor combat. just gang up and punch enemy gunners to death.
-kite enemy brawlers. with your bait running around, while the gunners shoot enemy brawler to death.

these are the typical non-killbox tactics with minimal casualties.

[Dukkha]

^ That's a good intro to Rimworld tactical combat. Once you discover combat outside of gun turrets and kill boxes you open up a whole new game of challenge and satisfaction.

Also, those disposable drones you're asking for are called Huskies.

[ZestyLemons]

I'm not sure I can completely agree. Combat robots would be an awesome addition, but I don't think it would be a good idea for it to completely replace your colonists going into combat.

Maneuvering, defensive structures, and combat gear is essential to reducing injury and chance of death for colonists. Even when those tactics fail, it makes for a great story when your colonist is badly hit and is barely alive because of armor/heroics/dumb luck. I had this happen in my current colony and it was a direct hit on her spine, and the only reason her spine wasn't ejected from her torso was thanks to an armor vest.

Those kinds of scenarios are less thrilling in my opinion if you have a disposable, repairable robot army. Like I said, supplementary robots would be cool, but I never want colonists to get replaced by 'em.

[Elixiar]

I wouldn't mind some kind of armour bot. Like you can move it about quickly and it can deploy 2 'wings' to provide 3 cover spots. Moving cover basically.

That would be cool. it could even have a mini turret that deploys when it goes stationary too. But its primary purpose would be supremely tanky cover. Probably expensive too since I imagine it to be end game content.