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Post by dijit80 on Aug 17, 2010 6:24:39 GMT -5
I've played a few times with green units (mainly with pirates), but I don't seem to get them working well. Yes they can sprint, which means they can get pace with the rest of the crew, but when it comes to a firefight they typically end up wiping the floor with the foreheads, as they moved into position on one turn and then maybe managed to shoot first the next, before ultimately getting wasted shortly afterwards. Any handy hints to using green troops?
Thanks,
Duncan
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Post by abbysdad on Aug 17, 2010 21:11:58 GMT -5
Duncan, This is a great topic. I'm looking forward to seeing what people do with their greens too. So, here's how I take the pirate greens: The random weapon selection is something you just have to roll with. So have a game plan using race bonuses and the scenario for your crewmen. For example, if you're in a salvage scenario, you want the greens for speed, to run into rooms and spend their AP to find loot. So sure footed and movement bonuses help a lot. If they're good in combat or shooting, that's a plus, but not necessary. If the scenario goals change, or you know you're in a ship campaign, you'll make different selections (Pollux are great crewmen on ships too, night vision and better shooting). Ganging up with greens in close combat is a must. What I like to do with my heavy hitters in a pirate crew is have the vet or elite troops activate in tandem with a unit of greens using the coordinated attack dirty trick so that the greens help the close combat guy outnumber their target in close combat. Dirty tricks are your friend with greens. They help a lot. Keep moving, charge, etc. are great. Ditto with grenades. Hard to guarantee you'll get a grenade unless you take a quartermaster though. So think about that when picking guy for your crew. A good race to select for the pirate crewman are humans. Making them Apathetic (crewmen only have drive 3!) or Hunters (anything to help!) can really be a benefit. Also, taking a natural leader special hero really helps too. Or, attach a buff individual to a unit of greens for some help and use them as ablative shielding for the individual. Bottom line, you greens aren't going to be the stars normally, but they can help the rest of the crew shine  I hope some of that rambling helped. What else do you guys do? What do you use greens for in your crews? Let us know. Cheers, Chris |
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Post by macnam on Aug 17, 2010 21:34:27 GMT -5
You don't have to deal with random gear at all, and their fragility can be positively advantageous. See this crew for an OTT example: darksondesigns.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pirates&action=display&thread=2580For less suicidal types, you could use them to help your heavy weapon guy(s) reload. The rules are a little foggy, but if an individual with a heavy weapon joins a squad, that squad can (probably) spend APs from anyone in base contact with him to help reload his missile launcher or HRF gun. The Greens' low mobility is minimized in this role since your heavy usually wants to spend all his time shooting anyway, and the numerical edge of such tightly-packed troops may discourage melee types a bit. OTOH, you're a sweet target for AOE weapons - giving the gunner a heavy armored suit may be a good idea. OTGH, with a Rapid Reloader, a Cannoneer with a Missile Launcher and a full team of Green Crewmen can crank out three shots per turn. You may not need armor after a turn of that. |
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Post by abbysdad on Aug 17, 2010 21:49:15 GMT -5
True! But some people don't want to use slots for two quartermasters. That's a nice list. Thanks for sharing. |
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Post by macnam on Aug 17, 2010 22:17:13 GMT -5
Another thing to consider with any Green (not just pirates) is how to eke the most out of their limited actions.
Getting into melee ASAP is probably their best combat use. Once you've engaged an enemy they have to spend their actions to either:
1) disengage (which is actions spent not doing something more useful, might fail completely, and may leave them in charge range anyway) or
2) fight you (which might lead to you winning the exchange and getting what amounts to a free hit during their activation).
To maximize this, you'll want to trick your Greens out with melee weapons (eg pike or sword) and gear that accelerates their movement (eg gravity belts, cyberlegs, personal teleporters) or enhances melee further (eg adrenal boosters, monowire weapons). You'll also want to try to achieve superiority in any given scrum, whether in numbers (pirates), melee gear (mercs fighting shooter types), or quality (bounty hunters versus enemy squaddies). Some races are also obviously better at this sort of thing than others, so choose wisely. Don't be shy about using maxed-out Focus Attacks, either.
Another thing they do reasonably well is carry stuff. A Green totes a loot counter almost as well as anyone short of an Elite, and the crew as a whole loses a lot less combat power when the Greens are doing the heavy lifting. The same mobility gear that helps you reach melee can help here.
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Post by macnam on Aug 17, 2010 22:46:04 GMT -5
Here's another effective Green slot, which works best with Pirates and a single Quartermaster (or some luck):
Take a squad of Phact, equip them with an LRF gun (I'd go for electrolasers for range, myself), and trade their other equipment choice for a second LRF. Their racial rules allow them to lay down -6 suppression volleys with every AP and to share AP around to move one squaddie as needed to achive line of sight. This single Green unit can reasonably expect to suppress three enemies per turn if it can see them, and can spread out enough that melee monsters can't engage them all at once.
Mercs can do the same general build, but with only two men in the squad they can only pin two enemies per activation, not three, and they're less mobile.
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Post by dijit80 on Aug 18, 2010 6:29:51 GMT -5
Dirty tricks are your friend with greens. They help a lot. Keep moving, charge, etc. are great. Ditto with grenades. Hard to guarantee you'll get a grenade unless you take a quartermaster though. So think about that when picking guy for your crew. Problem with grenades though is that they require 2AP to use, and when greens only get 1AP they're going to spend most of the game getting that grenade ready to throw only to have been killed before they can use it. I'd thought of doing something similar with satchel charges, but realised it probably wasn't going to work (unless maybe you had the one's with hive mind - I've forgotten the name now). Close combat seems to be the best way to use them at the moment, unless you've got quite open terrain and can just shoot away. Another good piece of kit is the automatic tracking weapon, it hits on 5+, so do crewmen, so nothing is lost, plus it's fired on on the move allowing them to move and still fire, plus it's also a piece of gear, meaning if you roll two pieces of gear, all is not lost with them. Duncan |
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Post by dijit80 on Aug 22, 2010 9:08:10 GMT -5
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Post by gnomesofzurich on Aug 22, 2010 11:50:28 GMT -5
<snip> OTOH, you're a sweet target for AOE weapons - giving the gunner a heavy armored suit may be a good idea. OTGH, with a Rapid Reloader, a Cannoneer with a Missile Launcher and a full team of Green Crewmen can crank out three shots per turn. You may not need armor after a turn of that. Nice Niven reference! |
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Post by macnam on Aug 22, 2010 15:13:00 GMT -5
The only appropriate response is "Who's Niven?" Spoils it when you have to explain the joke, you know. |
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Post by abbysdad on Aug 22, 2010 22:48:46 GMT -5
The only appropriate response is "Who's Niven?" Spoils it when you have to explain the joke, you know. Nice. And good points on the greens. This is a turning into a great thread. Thanks for the quality posts. Cheers, Chris |
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Post by mobo on Jan 31, 2011 16:30:50 GMT -5
I like the Automated Tracking Weapons, even while you sprint you can use it. So if you got Personal Teleporters and ATW. You can teleport and shoot. Still only 5+, but that is what the crew have anyway. Take the Particle Rifle for Dam 5+d6. Also the ATW can be used in close combat! so if you are fighting something that is good in close combat try to get out every turn instead. I guess Chort is a good unit to take for that. You even get the nice -1 to hit while the enemy shoots at you. Human is nice too, take Hunter (X) and teleport to those you are hunting. Huge bonuses for taking em out +1 s, +1 cc +2 A. Happy hunting! |
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Post by lorka on Feb 25, 2011 6:06:40 GMT -5
Here's another effective Green slot, which works best with Pirates and a single Quartermaster (or some luck): Take a squad of Phact, equip them with an LRF gun (I'd go for electrolasers for range, myself), and trade their other equipment choice for a second LRF. I thought you needed 2 Quartermasters to pull this off ... so you can choose two LRF? |
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Post by gnomesofzurich on Feb 25, 2011 6:50:48 GMT -5
Here's another effective Green slot, which works best with Pirates and a single Quartermaster (or some luck): Take a squad of Phact, equip them with an LRF gun (I'd go for electrolasers for range, myself), and trade their other equipment choice for a second LRF. I thought you needed 2 Quartermasters to pull this off ... so you can choose two LRF? The Phact have a special rule to take advantage of their extra arms: they can trade one equipment choice for a duplicate weapon to one they already have. |
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I hope some of that rambling helped.
