Finished my Menace "Hardcore" Campaign (Expert base, player supply 75%, enemy supply 170%). Writeup with my thoughts.

This is a writeup following the completion of my "Hardcore" (for lack of a better term) campaign of MENACE. The goal was to actually make the game challenging as in it's current state even Expert difficulty becomes easy outside of the first 2 or so operations, even more so with the removal of promotion tax. The "Hardcore" ruleset is simply the base Expert difficulty with Player supply points dropped from 100% to 75%, and enemy supply points raised from 130% to 170%.

Of course, the extra enemies does make the game more challenging, but the primary difficulty of this ruleset comes from the decreased supply points to the player, requiring actual tactical decision making and the hard, penny pinching cost cutting measures that you had to employ while promotion tax was around.

The challenges this ruleset brings about are:

1. Ammunition management: Basically a non-factor in the base game by the end of the second operation, the increased enemy count and fewer units on your end means you will have to manage your ammunition supplies carefully. Bags and Belts becomes the second most powerful perk outside of Scout, allowing you to bring extra ammo in most cases along with the standard accessories you will want to outfit your squads with for their role. The Supply Drop OCI, practically useless in the main game, rockets to top tier. Picking "larger magazines" in the game customization as I have seen many people doing with this kind of ruleset completely destroys this challenge, and you should not do so.

2. Increased numbers + the new aggressive AI actually allows the enemy to employ tactics: Sure, you might get flanked on standard expert mode, but your gunline simply obliterates the single flanking unit and goes right back to molesting the pinned down squads at the front. Now with many more enemies and less ways to deal with them, you will find yourself facing a wall of smoke to your front while Rogue Army walkers and Stormtroopers sneak around that hard cover building you were not considering. In my campaign, there were a few times where I had to gasp actually RETREAT and regroup to avoid a total blowout.

3. Actually varied squads instead of the same tired gunline routine: A normal expert campaign has you putting battle rifles on your backline, an assault rifle on your frontline, and anti-vehicle weapons on your vehicle, and simply demolishing everything in sight. Now, the lower ammunition count of battle rifles actually causes issues. Heavy armor has less accessory slots so you may have to find yourself relying on energy weapons for your frontline squad. Your vehicle is going to eat up a significant chunk of your supply points and if it gets taken out or rendered combat ineffective you might not have anything left to deal with enemy armor, so simply charging it in blindly is a huge risk. Small weapons teams are exceptionally useful.

4. Vision is king: Well, this is no different to the base game, but with this ruleset if you do not have a scout you will be minced by EVERYTHING. The ranged functions will destroy you from FOV, and the bugs will creep up on you in no time. Scout is already the most powerful perk in the game, but you will frequently find yourself pairing your scout squad with the binoculars for EVEN MORE vision and detection, it is that crucial with this many enemies on the map.

5. Squaddie management, especially in the early game, is crucial. Losing too many before you get your WOO up and running can end your campaign in the first operation.

The balance of squad leaders also changes with the new ruleset. This is not a complete list and I will be omitting many as I didn't end up getting/running them in this campaign, but it should give you a general idea.

Top tier SL:

Yaz: The ability for Yaz to replenish his own ammunition gives him incredible sticking power. Additionally, more enemies on the map means more chances for chain morale breaks, so his increased morale damage is exceptionally useful. He can run as a frontline squad with Counterstrike, or a 3-man weapons team with a HMG, Autocannon, or ATGM, allowing him to easily take out multiple targets per turn with Berserk. The best SL in the game for this ruleset in my opinion.

Pike: Pike is already probably the best squad leader in the base game, but his perks and command ability make him very well suited for this ruleset. Taking him at the start gives you both your Scout and your gunline rifle squad. Even if he runs out of ammo he can still provide AP to another unit.

Rewa: The best pilot in the game, it's no surprise that Rewa is still top tier here. As an anti-armor unit, she can take out multiple targets per turn and one-hit most of the lighter vehicles in the game with the Long Barrel Tank Gun and ATGM. Revel in Slaughter is perhaps the most powerful passive in the game.

Good/Situational:

Vamplew: With such stressed supply points, Vamplew's armor cost reduction makes him a solid choice as a frontline squad. In Level 6 armor with the Workshop armor plates he has more armor than many light vehicles and his ability to regain action points keeps him working. Doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of raw damage however.

Darby: Still a great pick. Her stealth makes her exceptionally useful for the infinite-respawning bug mission or as a weapons team, and her general high accuracy and damage are of course still amazing. Her high cost and squaddie tax keep her from being top tier with the lower supply points.

Corlain: Corlain excels against bugs, especially in the aforementioned infinite-respawn mission. While the pistol perk is a bit of a meme, I can't deny it was very effective at dealing with them as they got close. Overall a very versatile SL, he acted as my secondary/backup Scout squad and overall performed well.

Achilleas: His high cost prevents him from being an exceptional pick, but Achilleas was an ideal sub for when Rewa was weary and the one time she got destroyed by being marked and then shot at by 3 Rogue Army ATGM teams in one turn. Once Rewa gets up to max Revel in Slaughter she is basically just as effective in combat as Achilleas, so I don't see any reason to take him over her.

Not Recommended:

Lim: Lim just doesn't bring anything that great to the table. The few things he can do well are either not really viable in this ruleset (mobile infantry) or are done better by other squad leaders.

Tech: Same as Lim.

Carda: Carda's cheap cost makes her great for the early game, but her severe lack of action points and general low stats just becomes too much to deal with outside of the first few operations.

Sachin: Unless obtained very early, I would not recommend Singh for this ruleset. Pike can do basically everything he can and the extra suppression is not enough to make up for his lower action points.

Wu Wei: Already a dubious pick on standard Expert, Wu Wei's aggression really can't be utilized against any enemy except for the bugs. Rushing in will simply get him pinned down and destroyed by any other faction.

Bog Bog is really only useful in this ruleset in conjunction with Recycled Parts as the pilot of a radar truck or dedicated ATGM truck. Otherwise his lack of Action Point economy and bad accuracy makes him all but useless.

Overall, I'd now recommend picking Pike, Darby, Rewa, and Achilleas as your starting squad leaders. You will only have enough points to field a single vehicle and 2 squads at the start, so lack of a third infantry squad doesn't really hurt you. You will have the only two vehicle SL you will ever need for the game so you can basically ignore trying to recruit more and focus your efforts entirely on getting the good infantry SL. Honestly I will probably change the starting Squad Leaders from 4 to 3 in my next run to prevent this.

The OCI selection also changes a little with this ruleset. As another self-imposed rule, I decided that (excepting sensors) I would only be allowed to purchase one OCI each, so no stacking AI Logistics or anything like that. Like always, the WOO should be your first pick, and a single basic WOO will be able to sustain you the entire campaign if you play correctly. Fixer is a primo early-game pick, and you can later sell your med bay and Slot in Auto Supplies and AI Logistics. I wouldn't recommend any repair bays, just keep backup vehicles.

Intel is of course very important, especially as you progress into the midgame. Get your sensors up so you can accurately assess the battlefield, specifically to spot Menace Carriers and other high priority vehicles.

Unlike base Expert, Armaments are actually useful due to the high enemy density. The Unguided Missile and Ion Cannon are probably the best overall due to their ability to take out several enemy squads as well as enemy objectives.

As mentioned at the start, the Supply Drop is exceptionally strong with this ruleset, and you should try to get it as a priority. It will alleviate your many ammo concerns in the mid and late game.

Your Black Market strategy shouldn't really be much different from a standard Expert campaign. The increased enemy count means more loot, so once you hit the midgame you should generally be able to buy whatever you want. I will probably account for this by lowering black market resale value in future runs.

Strategies for dealing the the factions obviously changes with this ruleset:

Bugs: The bugs will now actually pose a threat of overrunning you at all stages of the campaign. Having a solid frontline and ways to deal with the armored warriors is essential. Be prepared to have 10+ units to shoot at with bombardier bugs backing them up. Overall still the weakest faction until they can find a way to make Blaster Bugs an actual threat. The infinite-spawning alien mission where you have to destroy the nests requires absolute stealth. Make sure you have at least one concealment unit (Darby or Colrain, ideally both) ready for it. Unguided Missle/Ion Cannon can take out the objectives as well. If the bugs spot you, you will be completely overrun and not able to punch through their numbers to reach the objectives. The new mission where you have to defend the infantry squads against the enemies that all come from the one corner of the map is INCREDIBLY easy as they will all mass-morale break repeatedly. I think the developers should adjust the morale of bugs in general but it's particularly egregious with the increased numbers.

Pirates: The Pirates still suffer from not really having any threats in the late game, but in the early and mid game their increased numbers and fast light vehicles will allow them to flank easily if you push carelessly. The new boarding commandos will tear your squads and vehicles to shreds if you don't account for them. Overall you should play back, remove their suppression threats to prevent yourself from being bogged down, and be prepared to retreat out of sight range if needed, especially if you're being bombed by a rocket organ (or two lmao yes it will happen).

Rogue Army: These guys have probably gotten the biggest buff from this ruleset. Be prepared to have 3-4 walkers + a tank on the screen, all while you have an officer marking your vehicle and two ATGM teams in the fog ready to blast it. Explosive Reactive Armor is CRUCIAL against the Rogue Army, and the new signal jammer is a life-saver against the ATGMs. Even with both of them I was finding that my vehicle was STILL at threat: being slowly peppered down by Stormtrooper laser fire and random Autocannon blasts. Stay back and defeat them in detail. Don't get bogged down fighting them in line-of-sight blocking terrain/buildings where their mortars and ATGMs can work you down. "Protect Outpost" missions are exceptionally difficult. By the time you are even able to reach the outpost you will have enemies in the point capturing already. The large enemy numbers and central location of the outpost means you will always have a flank to deal with. It is possible, but very hard. I'd avoid these missions if you can.

The MENACE: Honestly they are more annoying that anything. Since they are so tanky and ammo is already a concern, you will frequently find yourself running dry. Having energy weapons (Laser rifles and/or the squad and vehicle plasma guns) are essential for staying in the fight against them, especially since they don't flee and even leaving one mook alive in a squad means he's going to blast your vehicle with a mining laser. Carriers are PRIORITY targets: Be sure to note their location using your intel and try to eliminate them as soon as possible with an ATGM, otherwise hit them with the Long Barreled Tank Gun and pray. Only use energy weapons against their spawned floaters, don't waste your ammo. Make sure your Scout squad is well equipped with binoculars or the Thermal Scope to be able to spot skirmishers before they destroy you.

Overall thoughts: This campaign was the most fun I have had playing MENACE so far. I was actually stressed out on many occasions and had to employ unorthodox strategies. During my first bit of experimentation I tried setting the enemy supply to 200%, but this simply made the early game FAR too difficult. Overall I think I could manage it in the mid and late game, but early on it is just too much when you also have reduced supply. That being said, in the mid-game I was still able to field a good solid 4 squads: One vehicle, two full infantry, and one weapons team, and I found that was more than enough in most cases. For my next run I think I will make the following changes:

Reduce player supply from 75% to 70%, and increase enemy supply from 170% to 180%: Overall I think I can accommodate this. Once again the early game is the biggest concern, I will have to test it out more to see how tedious it is.

Reduce starting Squad Leaders from 4 to 3: You will only really be able to field 3 squad leaders in the early game if you're running a vehicle, so having 4 starting picks means you can select a solid backup SL early on. I don't like this and think I will make this change because of it.

Lower Black Market resale value: Not sure how far I will adjust this, but the increased loot from having more enemies on the map definitely made the black market more manageable, especially with the new ability to reset it. With Fixer, once you get to the mid game you can basically buy whatever you want.

Overall I think you should give this challenge a try if you're finding Expert too easy. I cannot go back to any lower difficulty than this now and I hope they give us even more ability to customize the game and make it harder.