void-combat/CLAUDE.md

Void Command - Design & Balance Approach

This document describes the methodology used to design and balance Void Command's 14 factions.

Design Philosophy

Faction Identity First

Each faction was designed around a core identity that dictates their mechanics:

Faction	Identity	Key Mechanic
Imperial Navy	Reliable baseline	Naval Discipline (command re-rolls)
Chaos	Corrupted imperials	Marks of Chaos, Daemon Ships
Space Marines	Elite boarding	+2 boarding, Thunderhawks
Eldar	Speed and evasion	Holofields, Solar Sails
Drukhari	Hit-and-run raiders	Shadowfields, Pain Harvest
Orks	Aggressive melee	WAAAGH! Energy, ramming bonuses
Tyranids	Attrition swarm	Synapse, Regeneration
T'au	Long-range firepower	Railguns, Combined Fire
Necrons	Indestructible ancients	Living Metal, Phase Shields, 4+ armor
Votann	Stubborn dwarves	Grudge Tokens, Hold the Line
Grey Knights	Anti-daemon specialists	Teleport Strike, Psycannon Barrage
Custodes	Ultimate elite	6+ armor everywhere, +3 boarding
Sororitas	Faith and fire	Acts of Faith, Fire criticals
Mechanicus	Tech-priests	Repair mechanics, Graia zombie ships

Asymmetric Balance

Not all factions are meant to play the same way or have the same win rate ceiling:

• Elite factions (Custodes, Necrons) are intentionally strong (65% win rate) but field small, expensive fleets
• Baseline factions (Imperial Navy, Chaos) are versatile generalists around 44%
• Specialist factions have strong matchups and weak matchups by design

Intentional Hard Counters

Some matchups are deliberately lopsided for thematic reasons:

• Grey Knights vs Chaos (85% GK) - daemon hunters vs daemons
• Necrons vs Tyranids (72% Necrons) - ancient armor vs biological attacks
• Eldar vs Orks (60% Eldar) - speed vs melee-focused fleet

Balance Methodology

Simulated Playtesting

Rather than extensive physical playtesting, we used simulated matchups:

1. Create fleet lists at 750 points for each faction (Weak, Average, Strong variants)
2. Simulate all matchups across all power tiers (Weak vs Weak, Average vs Average, Strong vs Strong, cross-tier)
3. Calculate win rates for each faction
4. Identify outliers (above 60% or below 40%)
5. Apply targeted fixes and re-simulate

Balance Iteration History

Version	Issue	Fix Applied
v1	Eldar 78% win rate	Holofield 3+ requires 25cm movement (was 20cm)
v1	Orks 13% win rate	+5cm speed to Kroozers, WAAAGH! grants +5cm speed
v1	Imperial Navy 31%	Naval Discipline: 1 command re-roll per round
v2	Chaos 31%	Daemon Ship upgrade (+15 pts: 6+ invuln, +1 Ld, terror aura)
v3	Drukhari 31%	Pain Harvest persists 2 rounds (was 1)
v3	Tyranids 34%	Regeneration also repairs 1 critical per End Phase

Win Rate Targets

• Elite factions: 60-68% (compensated by small fleet size and high cost)
• Specialist factions: 50-56% (strong in niche, weak outside it)
• Generalist factions: 44-50% (consistent across matchups)
• Acceptable floor: 38% (no faction should feel unplayable)

Final Balance State (v4)

Win rate spread reduced from 65 points (13-78%) to 27 points (38-65%):

• 12 of 14 factions in the 41-53% balanced range
• Only Mechanicus slightly below at 38% (acceptable)
• Elite factions (Custodes, Necrons) at 65% as intended

Design Lessons Learned

Speed is Dominant

Fast factions (Eldar, Drukhari) with defensive mechanics (Holofields) were initially overpowered because they could:

• Choose engagement range
• Escape when threatened
• Force enemies to chase them

Solution: Make defensive bonuses require significant movement thresholds (25cm for 3+ save), creating risk/reward tradeoffs.

Melee Factions Need Burst Speed

Orks initially had no way to catch kiting factions. A flat speed increase helped but wasn't enough.

Solution: WAAAGH! Energy granting +5cm speed when triggered gives Orks burst capability to close gaps, while remaining unreliable enough to be balanced.

Snowball Mechanics Need Caps

Pain Harvest originally allowed cumulative +2 Ld, creating runaway advantages.

Solution: Cap at +1 Ld but extend duration to 2 rounds, maintaining the "momentum" feel without snowballing.

Elite Factions Need Limiting Factors

Custodes and Necrons have extremely powerful defensive rules. Balance comes from:

• High point costs (fewer ships)
• Fleet composition restrictions
• Specific hard counters (lances ignore armor)

Hard Counters Are Acceptable

Grey Knights destroying Chaos at 85% win rate is fine because:

• It's thematically appropriate
• Players can see it coming during list building
• It only affects one matchup

File Organization

void-combat/
├── rules.md              # Core rules (v1.7)
├── fleets/               # All faction fleet lists
│   ├── imperial-navy.md
│   ├── chaos.md
│   ├── space-marines.md
│   ├── eldar.md
│   ├── dark-eldar.md
│   ├── orks.md
│   ├── tyranids.md
│   ├── tau.md
│   ├── necrons.md
│   ├── leagues-of-votann.md
│   ├── grey-knights.md
│   ├── adeptus-custodes.md
│   ├── adepta-sororitas.md
│   └── adeptus-mechanicus.md
├── balance-matrix-v4.md  # Current balance simulation
├── playtesting-battles.md # Battle reports
├── imbalanced-lists.md   # Known powerful builds
├── README.md             # Project overview
└── CLAUDE.md             # This file

Future Balance Work

If new imbalances are discovered:

1. Document the issue with specific matchups and win rates
2. Identify the root cause (mechanic too strong/weak, missing counter, etc.)
3. Propose a minimal fix that preserves faction identity
4. Simulate the fix across all matchups
5. Verify no new imbalances were created

The goal is always minimal intervention - fix the specific problem without redesigning the faction.