Specialists For just a quick list/ranking of specialists, see my thread here:
http://forums.subterfuge-game.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1561The specialists are inevitably going to be a controvesial topic for people, because everyone has their favorites, and the usefulness of specs can sometimes be context specific to whats going on currently in the game. This list is built on generalities and the notion that the player has an average or large number of outposts. See the very end for specs as they relate to the turtle context.
Ratings are base on a 5 point scale, O = Solo Offense, D = Solo Defense, U = Utility. Utility is basically a catch-all category that acknowledges value that they have because of how well the combo with other specs, potential to promote into something great, etc. Especially good combos and counters will be highlighted in green, especially bad "counter by" or "avoid combos" will be highlighted red. THEY ARE NOT IN ORDER HERE. I will make a quick list later where I rank them in categories.
Promoted specs are scored by taking into account that they cost two hires, and also can be hired away from the queen. Promotable spec are scored taking into account the potential for promotion.
You should presume Double Agent, Martyr, and other Specs who either kill your sub or have no combat roll should not be comboed with combat specs. I'm not going to write that for almost every spec for the sake of completion.
Navigator -- O: 3 D: 2 U: 5Comments: Decent but not amazing spec used alone, but makes some of the best combos in the game. Use it to pull away from a losing attack and move instead to a vulnerable target, or just to get out of the lane to avoid sub-to-sub specs. This spec essentially shifts the benefit of reactionary moves from the defender to the attacker. If your turtle is about to be broken, use Nav to float queen forever, only to be stopped by pirate.
Combos: Pirate, Assassin, Martyr, any local speed
Avoid Combos: n/a
Counters: sub-to-sub specs, slow defenses, fast offenses, surprise counters
Countered by: pirate, smuggler, sentry
Admiral-- O: 5 D: 4 U: 5Comments: I peronsally consider this to be the best Spec in the game. Speed does everything, and the Admiral grants more total speed than anyone else. His global boost is the only way to stack speed bonuses. To put this in perspective, if you have just 2 admirals, Lt./General move slower than standard drills, and Helmsman would add nothing to drill movement (basically serving only as a ferry for other specs). His only drawback on offense is that he is SO valuable that I sometimes dont want to risk losing him in a failed attack. Great with tycoon because together they can mass up the fresh 6s faster.
Combo: self, tycoon, any local effect offense or defense (see: Double Agent)
Avoid Combo: n/a
Counters: non-speed boosted enemies
Countered by: smuggler, assassin
Lt. -- O: 3 D: 2 U: 3Comments: Just a solid worker, with modest speed and modest drill kills. Especially strong early in the game when drill counts are low, or if you can slip it in under an enemy trying to stream waves of 6. Keep in mind that people avoid drill killers by just avoiding fights with low numbers of drills.
Combo: War Hero, Thief, Inspector, and any other per fight local drill killer
Avoid Combo: faster specs
Counters: small wave offenses
Countered by: faster specs, admiral global, assassin, revered elder
General-- O: 3 D: 3 U: 4Comments: I understand the potential of general, but I virtually never use him because I strongly prefer small numbers of strong promoted heroes and 1 stacked up death squad on offense. That's literally the opposite of how you want to play with general because of how his global effect works.
Combos: self, saboteur, assassin, diplomat, war hero
Avoid Combos: promoted specs(other than self/WH)
Counters: Revered Elder
Countered by: Assassin
Hypnotist-- O: 0 D: 0 U: 4Comments: Extremely niche role. Even if multiple captured specs are available, the hire option needs to be available, and then Hypno needs to be brought to the location, with still enough time to make use of the captured specs. Yes the game is around 8 days long, but this timing is harder than it might seem. However, Hypno gains value by being promotable to an arguably OP spec.
Combos: none
Avoid Combos: assassin
Counters: nothing
Countered by: diplomat
King-- O: 5 D: ? U: 5Comments: The defensive possibilities rely strongly on current drill count, how controlled your border is, and drill production rate. If war can be contained to small areas of border, the King drill bonus can be much higher value than the shield would have been, even more so if the drills can be quickly rebuilt. King self stack is OP because the negative effect can't stack. Also remember the positive effect kills drills, not shields. Generally I don't use King much because it doesn't really match my style, and because usually 18 hours with no use for a Hypnotist seems like a waste.
Combos: self, engineer, thief, inspector+smuggler, war hero, tycoon, foreman
Avoid Combos: security chief
Counters: ...infiltrator
Countered by: drill killing specs, general
Foreman -- O: 3 D: 4 U: 3Comments: Drill producing specs are a bit better on defense than they are for offense, because you can place them on the outpost to be defended, whereas any offense will need to actually get the bonus drills to meet up with your attacking force, which gets further and further away the more success your offense has. Note that well timed Smuggler and other speed boosters can help avoid missing production cycles due to travel time.
Combos: tinkerer, minister of energy, tycoon, King, speed boosters
Avoid Combos: n/a
Counters: n/a
Countered by: thief
Engineer -- O: 4 D: 4 U: 3Comments: If drill cap is hit, foreman transitions nicely into engineer, who helps keep drills alive now that they are built. Stacks extremely well with self, so if 2 are in a winning local fight, no drills are lost. A smart enemy will retreat from Engineer and avoid losing drills in losing fights, till certain of winning thus nullifying effect. The optimist view is the making the enemy retreat is a win.
Combos: self, thief, King, revered elder
Avoid combo: just standard martyr/DA
Counters: nothing specific
Countered by: assassin,
Inspector -- O: 1 D: 4 U: 5Comments: This above average defender gets amazing when comboed with max shield specs and/or speed specs, so much so that it can be pushed into an offensive role that shuts down any chance of a counter attack.
Combos: King/Queen/Security Chief+any speed spec
Avoid combo: tinkerer without navigator
Counters: small wave attacks. offensively- shuts down counter-attacks
Countered by: infiltrator, offensively- surprise undercutting by speed specs, or pirate
Security Chief-- O: 0 D: 4 U: 2Comments: That extra layer of white wall will visually intimidate any would be attacker. However, Im not convinced the effect is actually all that powerful. 10 extra drills killed per outpost isn't all that strong when you consider a war hero does twice as much with no need to replenish itself between fights. Obviously a war hero can't be at every fight, but usually defense will take place at only a few outposts at a time unless you're getting ganked, and if you're getting ganked, an extra 10 wall per outpost will likely not be enough to save you anyway.
Combos: self, Inspector, tinkerer
Avoid Combo: King
Counters: King
Countered by: infiltrator
Smuggler -- O: 4 D: 5 U: 5Comments: Arguably the best specialist. 3x speed outruns everything. However, the downside is that while the smuggler can get your offense in position, it cannot itself grant speed to your attack. Promotes to another one of the best specialists.
Combos: Inspector, Sentry, foreman, and most other defensive specs.
Avoid Combo: none
Counters: basic attacks
Countered by: synchronized attacks on multiple locations
Tycoon-- O: 4 D: 5 U: 1Comments: Considered by some to be the best spec. Defensively I agree, the number of drills he puts out is incredibly difficult to penetrate. Offensively... he's quite good. Drills are drills. However, he runs into similar issues as foreman, in that you actually need to gather the drills he makes together, and then actually get them to the fight, and that delay in time hurts his effectiveness.
Tinkerer-- O: 0 D: 0 U: 5Comments: I can't think of how to properly rate his O/D ability, because his effect is so indirect. This spec is probably the most underrated when people talk about specs being "OP". In 90% of my games, I NEED this spec. It's not a matter of "oh, this spec would be great," no, I need this spec, and no other spec will do the job. Lots of specs are great on offense or defense, Tinkerer and its promoted counterpart are the only specs in the game who do what they do. I personally have more appreciation for Tinkerer than Minister, because Tink is only 1 hire, and can be buffed up with shield specs, and his negative effect is less negative.
Combos: Tycoon, Foreman, self, King
Avoid Combo: inspector without Navigator
Counters: n/a
Countered by: direct pressure on his outpost
Minister of Energy-- O: 0 D: 0 U: 4.5Comments: I've noticed people are overeager to promote to this spec. Don't promote to this until you are right up on your drill cap. The negative of minister is significant. I'm not a math expert, but going from 6 to 5 is, what like a 15% drop to your total production? Don't take that loss until you must.
Combos: Tycoon, Foreman
Avoid Combo: self
Counters: nothing
Countered by: nothing
Sentry -- O: 1 D: 4 U: 4Comments: Like Security Chief, the defensive strength of this specs largely comes from the perceived dangerous red circle, rather than from its actual damage it does. The damage is not something to underestimate, but I've seen this spec shut down an offense because of fear rather than strength. The promotion for sentry is one of the best promotion transitions in the game, because the logical way to avoid a percentage based attack is to attack in small waves. If someone tries this, all you need to do is promote to war hero and kill every wave. Because they already cant come in small waves, big wave killers are good combos. Note the range of sentry gets larger with help from vision enhancers.
Combos: Princess, Intelligence Officer, Saboteur, Double Agent, Martyr, Smuggler, self
Avoid Combo: none
Counters: King
Countered by: offensive speed enhancing specs
War Hero-- O: 2 D: 3 U: 4Comments: Can be extremely strong early in the game when 20 drills is a lot. 20 continues to be a good amount late into the game, and can be further enhanced by combining with other specs. His low offense score is because he is too slow on his own, and needs to be comboed with a speed spec. When comboed hes great on offense, great on defense even solo. Like Lt. and other drill killers, if your target is smart they will back up to avoid losing free drills until they have enough in one place to win, while on defense they will likely attack in 1 large wave anyway and will just build up an extra 20 drills if thats what it takes to win (and if you have to withdraw, you dont get the 20 kills). The positive view on this is that forcing your opponent to delay and play around you is a win in itself.
Combos: General, other speed specs, other drill killers
Avoid Combo: n/a
Counters: King, Tycoon, Foreman,
Countered by: Assassin, Revered Elder
Pirate-- O: 4 D: 2 U: 5Comments: Very fun and popular spec. Great value for 1 hire. Highly complex, and hard to cover all the facets of this spec in 1 paragraph. Takes some time getting used to this spec's targeting and mechanics, but if you are a new player I highly recommend you get to know them, because not only will it help you learn to play pirate, but it also help you learn how to play against it. Pirate is a great tool for killing fleeing queens or other specs. Great for stealing gifts. Great for saving specs lost in sub-to-sub combat. If paired with Nav, have an ally send out single drills to take best advantage of the 2x speed.
Combos: Navigator and/or Assassin, Double Agent, General and other Drill killer specs, Martyr
Avoid Combo: Infiltrator
Counters: Navigator, self
Countered by: self, Assassin
Thief -- O: 2 D: 1 U: 3Comments: Onderwhelming on his own. His role is late game(Or other big drill situations), offense, combined with a speed spec and another offensive spec. Even in this ideal role, theif is only "sufficient". He has the potential to make a big difference, but usually doesn't. One good thing he has over the other per-fight drill killers, is that if your opponent continually backs up to avoid losing drills to the spec, the drills taken are % based, so a big stack is no worse than a bunch of little stacks (whereas war hero or Lt would much prefer lots of little stacks). Theif is not built for defense at all, but can sometime surprise an enemy by using him defensively against an incoming sub-- however this can mean losing the theif, or needing a pirate/diplomat to save him.
Combos: Speed specs, Navigator, pirate, basically any offensive spec
Avoid combo: defensive specs
Counters: King, Tycoon, Foreman
Countered by: Assassin, Revered Elder
Revered Elder-- O: 2 D: 3 U: 3Comments: In most scenarios, 2x assassins are just better. However, she is still maybe one of the most forgotten about and underrated specs. She breaks and makes turtles. She can nullify an offensive death combo. She can crack really annoying defensive combos as well. The problem with elder is that she is the perfect counter to some specs, while conversely she does literally nothing to others. So if you choose Elder early, your oppponent can simply choose specs that are unaffected by Elder. Therefore, choose her late in the game when your opponent has already invested heavily on things the Elder can counter. The other problem with Elder, is that she does many of the same jobs as Assassin, but you don't get 2x.
Combos: fits in any offense or defense
Avoid combo: self
Counters: all specs (except martyr) with direct combat effects
Countered by: self, Martyr
Martyr -- O: 3 D: 2 U: 3Comments: Really popular and fun, but one of the most over-rated specs, especially at low level play. Martyr is largely for making or breaking turtles. You should be extremely aware of how they work, because more often I see people accidentally kill themselves than get any value. One of the best ways to use the Martyr to break a turtle is to send it at a distant ally's base where the lane is within explosion range of the turtle base-- and have your ally send a single drill in the same lane but opposite direction to detonate it. The only way to stop this is with a sacrificial pirate, or to run away. If they run away, gift the martyr so it isn't triggered and see if you can line up another try. You can also pair the martyr with a pirate or navigator to escape the lane as well, but remember that those are 2 premium specialists who you will not get back. Defensively, avoid hiring the martyr till you actually need it, because any combat the martyr fights in will destroy yourself. Wait for the enemy to come with a massive army, then hire the martyr and look to inflict maximum damage in the lane.
Combos: Pirate, Navigator
Avoid Combo: most/all other specs
Counters: large single wave attacks, comboed specs, turtles
Countered by: Pirate
Double Agent-- O: 0 D: 5 U: 4Comments: Maybe the best big wave killer. The down side is that usually after you use it, you've just given it to your enemy. This downside can be cleverly avoided by undercutting the outpost he is headed back to, or maybe with a pirate if you value the DA higher than the Pirate (not recommended). The DA is at his best when holding down a turtle. Often the danger of this spec will mean you won't have to use him up. For an offensive combo, you can pair him with a Pirate and use them to kill a big drill queen sub, or force a favorable trade for a stacked up offensive sub, like engineers, war heroes, or admirals.
Edit: If you can pull this off, you probably didnt need this guide in the first place:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDqcybdvR0E Combos: Pirate, Admiral
Avoid Combo: Diplomat, General
Counters: large single subs
Countered by: Navigator, Revered Elder, Saboteur(?), Pirate
Helmsman -- O: 5 D: 3 U: 5Comments: Its easy to forget about Helmsman because he's not as fast as Smuggler, and doesn't have the global like Admiral. Keep in mind though, Smuggler can only be used on defense, Admiral costs 2 hires, not to mention Smuggler/Admiral are two of the absolute best specs in the game. The fact that Helms compares to them should indicate how valuable he is. Helms can be more effective on offense than Admiral because he represent less value, therefore he is more expendable. Also Admiral coming into play has a way of making Lt. feel (nearly) worthless, where Helms still would have an important role. Offensive specs need as much speed as possible to ensure they get maximum exposure to combat, and Helmsman does that very effectively. Speed is important not just because it gets you to what you want sooner, but also because it significantly reduces the opponent's chance to get defenses in place in reaction. Also has best portrait!
Combos: all offensive specs
Avoid Combo: n/a
Counters: everything but smuggler
Countered by: Smuggler
Assassin 2x-- O: 1 D: 4 U: 3Comments: People generally try to use this spec wrong-- they try to use it offensively. While it does fit in some offensive combos like Pirate/Navigator/Assassin, this spec does not do well alone on offense, and even struggles to be useful in offensive combos excluding the previously mentioned P/N/A. Yes, it can force something like a War Hero to move, but scenarios like that are not common. Yes, you can get more action out of your general because of the 2x. In general though, Assassin is best on Defense, where with .5 of a hire, you can shut down a killer offensive combo, basically making them go with drills alone if the offense is to proceed. Especially effective against specs who have higher combat priority.
Combos: Pirate and/or Navigator, General, Smuggler
Avoid Combos: Hypnotist
Counters: General, direct effect offensive specs
Countered by: Revered Elder
Saboteur 2x -- O: 0 D: 2 U: 2Comments: I must be missing something, because I struggle to find real value with this spec. 2x makes it another good combo for General I guess. Theres a really bad downside of losing your Sab whenever you use it, and not all the great of an upside in just redirecting their attack temporarily (without doing any damage to it). The downside can be minimized by recovering it with a pirate or diplomat. So theres ways to make it better, but do you really want to start basing choices around something that isnt very good in the first place? Edit: Use them at the last possible moment to ensure maximum travel time.
Combos: Diplomat, General, Sentry, Pirate
Avoid Combos: most local effect specs
Counters: buys time, doesn't really counter
Countered by: Navigator, Revered Elder, Martyr
Intelligence Officer -- O: 2 D: 2 U: 1Comments: Vision... is nice I guess. The spec is a luxary I would not use a hire on unless my other choices were extremely bad. Some people use his vision to extend the range of Sentry, but the amount you get is not much from this guy.
Combos: Sentry
Avoid Combos: Nothing
Counters: Nothing
Countered by: Nothing
Princess-- O: 2 D: 3 U: 3Comments: Princess technically grants less total vision, but because theres usually only 1 or 2 players who you need to keep a close eye on, the Princess does a pretty good job at focusing the vision where you actually want it. Serving as a backup Queen is something you'll hope to never have to use, but will be glad you have if it comes up. She also does a much better job of giving bonus sentry range.
Combos: Sentry
Avoid combos: Nothing
Counters: Queen killer combos like Pirate+Navigator+Assassin
Countered by: Nothing
Infiltrator -- O: 2 D: 0 U: 2Comments: I keep hiring this spec thinking I just got unlucky with it last time. Mistake every time. He lacks any defensive capability, has no effect on drills, doesnt even get the 20 value on most outposts because at max, most have 10. He has no speed, yet needs to be the first into the fight, so without a speed spec (or sometimes with one), you need to decide if you want to wait hours for infiltrator to get there first, or continue to let infiltrator be worthless. If you attack from multiple sources and actually needed the infiltrator to win because the sheild makes the difference, a smart defender will just send the drills out to kill the infiltrator in sub-to-sub combat, so you lose because the infiltrator doesnt take effect. Thus he's only really useful if you can get him out of the lane, or if you didnt actually need him anyway. He technically hard-counters Security Cheif, but not well enough because then many of the shields will be 30 or higher. This spec is much better on paper than in action.
Combos: Maybe general?, Speed spec is required
Avoid Combo: Pirate
Counters: Security Chief
Countered by: King, Assassin, Revered Elder, Smuggler
Diplomat-- O: 0 D: 0 U: 4Comments: The ranking system I came up with doesn't accurately represent this spec, because he inherently only interacts with other specs, and doesnt do anything on his own. He is pretty good. If you build around him, and just kamikazee your specs into your enemy, it probably a very viable spec offensively. I don't play this way so I can't really say how strong it is, but conceptually does not seem as great as just a standard stacked up 3 spec offense. On defense I think he's much better. You can actually land hits in losing fights with drill/spec killing specs, then get your specs back again for the next fight. Note: Never had to test this, but I think queen can save a captured queen, which is pretty amazing.
Combos: General, Saboteur, drill killers, Revered Elder, Pirate+X
Avoid Combo: Double Agent, Martyr
Counters: Pirate
Countered by: Assassin, Double Agent
Last edited by
kevlargolem on Mon Jan 18, 2016 11:41 am, edited 10 times in total.