Firefight: Regelpreviews zur 2. Edition

Mantic Games haben in verschiedenen Blogeinträgen weitere Details zur neuen Firefight-Edition veröffentlicht.

Today we’re kicking off a new series of blogs that will delve deeper into the rules for Firefight: Second Edition. We’ll be exploring elements like movement, shooting, assaulting and lots more, so you’ll be ready to hit the battlefield from April 19^th when the game starts shipping. In this blog we’re starting with one of the most important elements of Firefight: Second Edition… Command Points.

But before we tell you what Command Points are, let’s quickly talk about one of the big design elements of Firefight: Second Edition. You see, we really wanted Firefight to play quickly and have lots of dynamism, not only in terms of how units move and shoot, but also in terms of tactical gameplay. One immediate way to add some dynamic play is the use of alternating activations, so you can immediately respond to the actions of your opponent. The other big element for dynamic play is the introduction of Command Points.

WHAT ARE COMMAND POINTS?

A good commander is able to bring the best out in their soldiers with expert leadership and tactical acumen. To simulate this we use Command Points to represent your ability to get the most from your Strike Force.

At the start of each Round both players create their Command Dice Pool by taking three BLACK Command Dice. Additional dice of the appropriate colour (BLACK, ORANGE or GREEN as shown on a unit’s profile) are added to the roll for any of their units In Play with the Tactician Keyword.

Each player rolls all of their Command Dice and adds up the Command Points. This is the total number of Command Points you have available for the Round about to be played. You may re-roll one Command Die for each Command unit you have In Play.

HOW TO SPEND COMMAND POINTS – STANDARD USES

Now let’s get onto the juicy stuff – how to spend those delicious points! First up there are two ‘standard’ uses.

The Extra Activation will be familiar for those that have played Deadzone. This additional unit activation can really help to get the jump on your opponent or team up particularly powerful combos, which brings us to Orders.

Meanwhile, we’ll come to pinning in a later blog.

HOW TO SPEND COMMAND POINTS – FACTION ORDERS

The really exciting element for Command Points are Faction and Command Orders. These work slightly differently, but can be used to unleash some truly devastating special abilities. First up, let’s talk Faction Orders.

Faction Orders are available to the Strike Force as a whole and represent the capabilities of that faction or species, rather than those of an individual commander or officer. They’re a great way to give each faction a certain flavour that fits into their background and lore, however you’ve got to be within 12” of a Command Unit in order to use them.

Here you can see the Asterian Faction Orders. Energy Shields are a big part of the Asterian list, so being able to bolster them is extremely important for keeping your troops alive. Meanwhile, something like Noh Charger can boost Marionettes or Cyphers to make them more deadly in combat.

HOW TO SPEND COMMAND POINTS – COMMAND ORDERS

Finally you’ve got Command Orders. While Faction Orders are unique to each Faction, Command Orders are unique to a specific Commander to represent their abilities to control their combatants in the field.

Command Orders will have either Aura or Instant effects.

• Auras last until the end of the Round. Aura effects will provide the stated benefit to all friendly units with at least one model within X inches of the Command unit’s Leader.
• Instant effects are resolved immediately when the Command Points are spent and have no ongoing effect.

For example, in the Cypher Prime profile, you can pay two points to trigger an Aura, which boosts Cyphers, Cypher Wardens, Black Talons and Marionettes within 15” of the Cypher Prime. The Aura lasts until the end of the Round, so you can concentrate your following activations around making the most of the Command Order. Also, don’t forget that you can trigger a Command Order, e.g. an Aura, and then pay to activate a second unit to immediately make the most of that Aura.

As you can see, Command Points are a fantastic way to respond on the battlefield to the actions of your opponent. We always wanted games of Firefight to be won by tactical brilliance, rather than won at the list building stage, and Command Points really help to bring the game to life.

How to Play Firefight: Second Edition – Movement

Hello and welcome to another of our in-depth Firefight: Second Edition rules previews. After looking at the all-important Command Points in our previous blog, today we’re talking movement.

You may remember in our previous post that we described how dynamism was one of the key elements behind Firefight, which we’ve pulled off with the alternating activations and Command Points. The other important design choice was: speed. We always wanted to make sure that Firefight played fast and furious, so you can spend less time moving stuff around the table or measuring distances, and more time rolling dice and making ‘pew pew’ noises.

One of the important elements to help speed the game up is the way we’ve approached movement and measurement. You see, when you create your squads (whether that be smaller units of just two models, all the way up to units with 10+ models) you nominate one miniature to be the Leader. In the classic tradition of wargames, this is normally a miniature that’s pointing or has taken their helmet off (because leaders need to able to see better… or something).

All models within a unit must remain within 3” of the Leader – this is increased to 6” if there are more than 10 models. This is called Coherency. Where you place the models within that Coherency is totally up to you – the Leader could be placed in the middle, or could be leading from the front. What’s more, the Leader will always be the last mini removed from a squad… so you can go to town on making them look suitably impressive.

MAKE YOUR MOVE, PUNK!

To makes things really easy when it comes to moving your miniatures, you simply measure the distance from the edge of the Leader model’s base and move the Leader model up to the maximum it can move for the action being performed. This move can be in a straight line, or curved to avoid other models or terrain. Once the Leader model is in position, move all the other models in the unit back to within Coherency from the Leader. Note this may mean that some models may move further than their maximum movement would normally allow, but we allow this for simplified play.

This ensures that movement is really quick because you only have to measure once, then can quickly grab the rest of the unit and arrange them back around the Leader. It’s particularly important for large horde units, like Veer-myn or Plague, because rather than having to measure for 10+ minis, you only need to measure and carefully move the Leader.

As a result, the speed of gameplay means you’re never having to wait an age for your opponent finish, so you can have your turn. Instead you’ll be straight back into the action in a matter of minutes.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT

While we’re on the subject of movement, it’s worth mentioning that Firefight: Second Edition uses the same system of Short and Long actions, as games like Deadzone and Vanguard. Your units can perform two Short actions, e.g. Advance and Shoot, or one Long action, e.g. Sprint.

Although you can’t normally perform the same action twice, i.e. two Shoot actions in the same turn, you could potentially Shoot and then Advance into combat, or Advance and then Hit the Dirt to get into cover. A little like the alternating turns, this ability to combo different types of actions during a single activation really helps to keep the game fluid and allow you to respond to the actions of your opponent.

How to Play Firefight: Second Edition – Shooting

Welcome wannabe Firefight commanders to another of our rules blogs! So far we’ve covered the importance of Command Points and how we’ve kept the movement rules nice and simple to keep things fast. Today then we’re getting onto the juicy stuff: shooting.

A little like the rules for movement, which have been designed to keep the action coming thick and fast, shooting follows a very similar path. You see, rather than having to work out if all the individual models in your squad can see the target, you only have to worry about whether the Leader model can see them.

You start by drawing Line of Sight from the Leader model to the base of the closest model in the enemy unit. Then all weapons in the shooting unit that have a listed range equal to or greater than the distance measured to the target, are eligible to fire.

For example, if you’re taking aim with your Enforcer Operatives, then the standard weapon load out is the Genling 45 Laser Rifle, which has a range of 18-inches. You measure from your Leader and confirm that a bunch of dirty Veer-myn are 14-inches away. This means that any Enforcer in the unit can shoot away to their heart’s content.

“Hang on though, Mr. Blog Writer, what happens if my Leader is EXACTLY 18-inches away, but he’s stood at the front of the unit, so the other members of the squad are more than 18-inches away… WHAT HAPPENS THEN? NOT SO CLEVER NOW!”

Oh, it’s our old friend Anonymous Blog Reader. Well Anonymous Blog Reader, for the sake of keeping things fast and furious – remember we didn’t want you faffing about with tape measures too much – you’re still allowed to fire with those Enforcers that are slightly outside of the 18-inch range. After all, what’s a couple of inches between friends, right?

KEEP ON ROLLING

Once you’ve checked you’ve got the range (even if it’s only for your Leader) you then work out how many dice you need to roll. For example, going back to the Enforcer Operatives, a unit of five Operatives shooting with the Genling 45 would produce 2 D8s each, so in total you’ll be rolling 10 dice.

Then it’s simply a case of rolling all the dice and comparing them to your unit’s SH stat. Each dice that matches or beats the target number is considered a hit. Next, you grab those hits and roll to damage your opponent –  a concept that will be familiar to anyone that’s played Kings of War. In order to damage the enemy, you need to match or beat their AR value. If any of your weapons have AP (armour piercing) then the AR value of the enemy is reduced by that amount, e.g. if your opponent has AR 6+ but you have AP1, then you’ll require 5+ to wound. Simples!

Sometimes you may have a unit that has different weapon profiles in, i.e. some with armour piercing and some without. In these situations we recommend using different coloured dice so you can keep track of which ones have any special effects.

BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!

Damage is now allocated to models in the enemy unit. When a model has been allocated as many points of damage as it has Health Points (HP) on its profile, the model is removed from play (dead). Damage must be allocated to remove whole models before allocating to another model. Any excess points of damage that cannot remove a whole model are marked next to the unit and are added to future damage suffered. Damage counters are provided to help track this.

Models that are allocated damage and removed from a unit are determined by the player using that unit in their Strike Force. Models removed from the unit should be first taken from models within Clear or Partially Blocked LOS. If all models within Clear or Partially Blocked LOS, except the leader, are removed then further models may be removed outside of LOS until all damage has been applied.

The Leader model is always the last model to be removed.

So, there you go! As you can see, we’ve kept Shooting as fast as possible thanks to using the Leader as the only measuring point, rather than having to measure from every single model. And we’ve even given you a bit of wiggle room with weapons that are slightly out of range. How generous.

How to Play Firefight: Second Edition – Cover and Line of Sight

Following our blog detailing how shooting works in Firefight: Second Edition, we’ve had a number of queries about what happens when enemy units are in cover. So, without further ado, today’s blog deals with Line of Sight and cover.

First up, it’s worth noting that Firefight uses a height system similar to Kings of War, rather than true line of sight in Deadzone. If you look at the profiles of each unit, you’ll see they have a Height value. This is to indicate how big that unit is and whether it blocks line of sight, or is visible over an obstacle, for example.

As well as units having their own height values, we also suggest height values for things like ponds (height 0), hills (height 3), woods (height 5), etc.

I CAN SEE YOU!

Line of Sight (LOS) is determined by using a bird’s eye view, looking down on the models. Models have a 360 degree arc of sight – so they can see all around them.

To determine if a unit has LOS to a target, you draw a straight, imaginary line from any part of the Leader model’s base to the base of any model in the target unit. A little like the way movement works, there’s no need to measure from every model in the unit, instead you just have to worry about whether or not the Leader can see the enemy.

Models (and gaps between them) from the Leader’s own unit, and any model with the Fly Keyword, do not block LOS. Any models, or gaps between models, in other units will block LOS up to that unit’s height.

For models without a base such as Vehicles, you simply measure from the edge of the main body or hull. Due to model positioning, it may appear that some other models in the unit cannot see a target, but we allow them to Shoot as, in effect, the models would be moving around within their area to take shots and then get back into cover.

When you’re working out the Line of Sight, you need to remember the following:

• If the imaginary line passes over no other unit or terrain feature to the bases of more than 50% of the models in the target unit, then LOS is Clear.
• If either the unit drawing LOS, or the target unit, has a Height at three levels or greater than any other unit or terrain the line crosses, LOS is Clear.
• LOS is Blocked if there is more than 3” of Difficult Terrain of equal or greater height of both units, between the units (even if they are both within the terrain itself).
• If any other units or terrain types in the way are the same Height or greater than both the unit drawing LOS and the target unit, then LOS is Blocked.

COVER ME, I’M GOING IN!

Ok, so now you know how to work out if Line of Sight is Clear or Blocked, but what happens when those pesky Steel Warriors are messing about in some woods, instead of standing in the open and take it like real, tough dwarfs! That’s a shot may be Partially Blocked.

LOS from a Leader model to the enemy unit is considered Partially Blocked if:

• More than 50% (but not all) of the enemy unit’s models’ bases are in a position that would be considered Blocked. At least some models can be seen.
• More than 50% of the enemy unit’s models’ bases are in a position behind terrain, such as an Obstacle, or another unit, but the models have a greater height than the intervening feature.
• The enemy unit’s Leader and at least 50% of its models are within an area of Difficult Terrain that is of a lower Height than it is (regardless of how deep into the terrain they are). This is likely to happen if your unit is standing in some building ruins, for example.
• The enemy unit’s Leader and at least 50% of its models are 3” or less within the boundary of Difficult Terrain of equal or greater height. In this case Difficult Terrain is likely to be some sort of forest, for example.

An enemy unit can be seen so long as LOS is either Clear or Partially Blocked. When LOS is Partially Blocked, the enemy unit is often said to be ‘In Cover’. When shooting at an enemy ‘in cover’ the shooting unit suffers a -1 modifier, i.e. rather than need a 5+ to hit, your unit will need a 6+.

Of course, in the rulebook we’ve got lots of handy diagrams to explain all this, like the one below.

There you go! We hope that clears up your questions about line of sight and cover. Of course, just let us know if you want to hear about something specific for Firefight and we’ll do our best to answer.

How to play Firefight: Second Edition – Close Combat!

Some units are keen to tear their enemies limb from limb in bloody hand-to-hand combat, rather than mess about with all those fancy lasers and stuff.

When Assaulting an enemy unit, move the unit Leader the shortest distance possible into base-to-base contact with an enemy model in the target unit. Just like moving or shooting, when measuring to see whether you’re in range for an Assault, you only need to measure from the Leader model. A Leader can then trigger an Assault by Advancing or Sprinting into base-to-base with an enemy model, which automatically starts some fisticuffs.

If a unit initiated an Assault using a Sprint action it is called a Charge. A Charging unit will benefit from a +1 to hit modifier in the subsequent Assault. This means if you would normally hit on a 4+, you now only need a 3+. What’s more, your unit will fight before the enemy unit, which we’ll come to in a moment. Conversely if your unit is Hindered by moving across an obstacle, not having Line of Sight when declaring the Sprint, etc. they will not get the +1 modifier to hit.

FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT

When it comes to rolling for the Assault, it works (mostly) in the same way as Shooting. If the unit Charged into combat, then you count up the number of dice the unit will roll to hit. Each one that equals or exceeds the unit’s AS stat will be rolled again against the target’s AR value. Successes then cause damage on the enemy and models are removed as normal.

However, unlike Shooting, the unit that’s being attacked (the Defender) will potentially fight back against the Attacker. If the Attacker Sprinted into combat they will roll to Assault first, and this follows the rules described above. The Defender, assuming there are any models left, then rolls to Assault with the models remaining. Of course, if they’ve taken any damage, it’s likely they’ll be rolling a lot less dice, so there’s a definite advantage to Charging combat to make sure you fight first.

On the other hand, if you’ve Advanced into combat, rather than Sprinted, then opposing units fight at the same time. Players roll all their dice available, compare the amount of successes for damage and then remove any casualties from both units.

However, no matter whether you’ve Charged or Advanced into combat, the results are potentially devastating for the unit that received the most damage. The Loser not only has to suffer the humiliation of defeat, but the unit is marked as Activated and Pinned. As a result, you can severely restrict the actions of your opponent by timing your Assaults just right.

ASSAULT REACTIONS

Now, you may be thinking – hang on a moment, if I saw a load of Marauders charging toward me, I doubt I would just stand there and wait to be attacked. Well, the good news is that some units can react to the incoming Assault. If a unit has one of then following keywords it can use an Assault Reaction:

• Suppressive Fire – the unit can attempt to Blaze Away and give the enemy unit a Pin Marker. A Pin Marker forces a -1 modifier on the subsequent Assault.
• Evade – the unit moves directly away from the enemy unit and (hopefully) moves far enough away so it can no longer be reached.
• Controlled Fire – the unit can Shoot at the enemy and any casualties are immediately removed, which will make the subsequent Assault action potentially less effective.
• Counter Charge – both units will fight at the same time, if the enemy Charged into combat. If the enemy Advanced into combat, then the reacting unit will fight first.

However, you’ve got to be careful when using an Assault Reaction because it marks the unit as activated, which means you’ve got to make it count!

Once again, we’re sure you can see that as part of our mission to make Firefight: Second Edition as dynamic as possible, we’ve given you lots of options for how you get up close and personal with your opponent.

Quelle: Mantic Games