I have to agree here success v success hasn't got the feel of a tie, instead a tie is just a special instance of a shared success level on the dice roll representing a stalemate where neither side can better the other.
I do sometimes feel a little dissatisfied with the gradations of Tie : Marginal / Minor / Major / Total by my way of thinking Marginal and Minor are very similar and I prefer to think of Marginal as a partial or mixed success, Minor as a standard success, Major as a success with added benefits and Total as yielding lasting advantage.
I think Mountain Witch has a better gradation of success: Tie / Partial / Mixed / Regular / Critical / Double
Which could suggest a possible adaptation to HQ:
Tie : Partial / Mixed / Regular / Total
Mixed is not a Tie or a Partial victory but a Regular victory where the opponent also gains partially (remembering that this is the final state, providing a new situation to continue the story from, not a cue for a continuation of the conflict).
Note that the only difference between Mixed and Regular here is that the opponent gains a benefit when Mixed; and that Partial is worse than Mixed because it is not a full success.
This makes each gradation a clear difference in my mind, representing a qualitative change in situation, making HP expenditure work thus:
Tie : Partial + HP = Mixed : trading a stalemate or incomplete victory
for a regular victory with a concession to the opposition.
Mixed + HP = Regular : negating the opposition's partial victory,
removing the need for concession.
Regular + HP = Total : gaining lasting advantage over the opposition.
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