Concept
Unit role
You might say: unit job, unit archetype
A unit role is the job a unit performs—holding space, dealing damage, scouting, supporting, raiding or taking objectives—separate from the target type it counters.
- What it does
- Gives each roster entry a primary job and bounded secondary jobs before stats are tuned, so an anti-cavalry bonus does not become the unit's entire identity.
- Ask
- What should this unit contribute when its preferred target is absent, unavailable or already answered?
- Typical
- Choose one primary job and at most one or two secondary jobs; record preferred targets, bad targets, required conditions and the failure state before tuning numbers.
- Trouble
- If the only description is a target type such as anti-cavalry, the unit has a matchup bonus but no job; a generalist that owns too many jobs crowds out the roster.
Catalogue: Role focus
- Frontliner / space holder: Absorbs pressure, holds a location or keeps threats away from a vulnerable ally.
- Damage dealer: Converts an opening into damage through burst, sustained fire, range or target access.
- Support / controller: Improves allies or restricts enemy actions, space or timing rather than relying only on direct damage.
- Scout / raider: Creates information or attacks exposed economy, objectives or support before the main fight.
- Objective specialist: Captures, builds, transports or defends the objective even when it is not the best direct combatant.
Connections
- See also: Parts register
- See also: Interaction observation
Sources
- Brandon Casteel, In Defense of Hard Counters in Real Time Strategy Games, Attribute Design vs Bonuses and Penalties; The ideal design of a unit performs some unique function
ideal design of a unit is that it performs some unique function for the player, which the player can exploit or use skillfully
Use it on your project
teardown-apply: hold "Unit role" (counter-unit-role) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project
Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.
An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal