stefan3iii wrote:
I'm not 100% sure on this one, but it seems that whenever you lower a target's hack defense using redscreen rounds or bluescreen bombs, it re-rolls the random variation in a specialist's chance to hack. At least I suspect so, because redscreen never changes hack chances like I expect, I've seen it go way up, and sometimes barely go up at all. Not sure if anyone can confirm or deny.
The chances for success on each of the two choices will change anytime any character takes an action. I was playing with this in a mission recently. I had a Hacker Specialist standing in a particular space trying to use Haywire on a drone further down the field, here's what I was doing:
1) I select the hacker, issue the Haywire order, select the drone as my target
2) when the hack screen comes up, I look at the percentages for stun/control.
3) I don't like them, so ESC to back out.
4) select my Ranger, fire once at an unrelated enemy
5) I select the hacker again, go back to haywire the same drone
6) when the hack screen comes up, the percentages for stun/control are now different. Nothing has been done to either the hacker or the drone, but the numbers changed.
I repeat steps 3-6, performing other actions with other soldiers, one action at a time, and checking Haywire after each action. I'm not moving the hacker around the field or anything. The numbers keep changing. Not always by a lot, mind you. Sometimes Control is 26%, other times it's 25%. Once in a while it drops to 19% or jumps to 30%. I didn't commit to actually do Haywire until the percentage was as high as I could get it.
To be clear, I wasn't save-scumming. This was all in one session, only backing out of Haywire to perform an unrelated action with someone else and then returning. I don't do this very much, of course, because it's cheesy and also it's tedious, but it's definitely a thing I've noticed. The same thing happens when hacking a security pole. I assume it's intentional? At least on Firaxis's part, if not Pavonis's.
I presume that using Redscreen/Bluescreen would change the target's hacking defense, so in addition to re-rolling the specific percentages because an action took place, the values would trend upward as the attack:defense ratio is now more in the hacker's favour. How much it goes up would still be random due to the above effect.