Long Range Aircraft: the worst tech on balance?

[Black_Elk]

I have been playing a lot of AA50 lately, especially now that I have started gaming with the my HR that gives all VCs a starting factory (and no factories beyond these.) With this HR in place AA50 is hands down my favorite A&A board. But lately we have started introducing Tech and…

Once again I can’t shake the feeling that LRA is overpowered under the OOB tech rules. This has been the case across several earlier boards. I favor the way tech was handled in AA50 in most respects. LRA is the only one I take issue within.

With the movement advantage of air already so potent, increasing it by 2 additional spaces can be game breaking in many situations. Heavy Bombers are at least mitigated by the best of 2d6, or the ability of the opponent to research Radar or Advanced Factories, but their is no counter to LRA. Moreover it applies to both kinds of air units, and can be compounded with other air advances like Jets and Heavies to truly make the air even more overpowered.

Does anyone else find this problematic? I mean aside from the abstraction that takes no account of fuel, just in game balance terms, LRA strikes me as among the most deadly techs. Even under the tournament rules with delayed activation, it stands apart as the tech with the most potential to disrupt balance, particularly as regards air on naval battles.

Part of me likes to keep the OOB tech implementation just for simplicity. The other thinks a new way of handling tech would be best… One which focuses on tech at the endgame, as a game resolution mechanism, rather than as an ongoing thing from the very start of play.

I know others have experimented using a fixed tech or auto tech advance scheme to balance the game. But even then, whenever LRA comes into play, I can’t help but feel it disrupts things more than it should.

Does anyone play with an air tech alternative to LRA? Which are your favorites?

[Black_Elk]

ps. How about this as a solution…

Shift Paratroopers from the Land and Production tech tree, to the Air and Naval tech tree, in order to replace the overpowered Long Range Aircraft technology.

Then add some new tech to the Land and Production tech tree in its place. Any additional land or production tech you want to HR in, would probably be better on balance than LRA. Perhaps an additional armor advance of some sort, which would surely help the Russians in 1941. Or anything really that still leaves the Air war alone. With Jets, Heavies, and Paratroopers and you already have 3 air techs. Plus Naval Shipyards, Radar, and Super subs. Paratroopers makes more sense in the Air and Naval tree anyway.

So basically Paratroopers replace LRA, and then some new tech replaces Paratroopers…
An open call for land and production techs to add to the second tier in their stead?

[theROCmonster]

I agree with you that LRA is pretty powerful, and possibly over powerful if your playing competitor got it for cheap. I don’t agree with replacing it with paratroopers. Simply for the reason that paratroopers are aweful. Maybe make LRA +1 to air movement.

[axis_roll]

@theROCmonster:

I agree with you that LRA is pretty powerful, and possibly over powerful if your playing competitor got it for cheap. I don’t agree with replacing it with paratroopers. Simply for the reason that paratroopers are aweful. Maybe make LRA +1 to air movement.

the +1 on movement was also our solution to the way overpowered (compared to other techs) LRA weapon