Human Defense Force Firefight Tactics

Human Defense Force

Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future, Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Human
Version:	v2.50

Why Play Human Defense Force

The Human Defense Force (HDF) provide a huge variety of playstyle. They play mainly with a lot of activations, allowing you to seize the initiative in the first turns and to play around your losses in the late turns.

Pros:

Lots of Activations and Infantry Models. Your units are very cheap, especially the infantry ones, which makes it easy for you to develop a wide board or to consider taking big units instead of little ones without sacrificing activations.
Very Versatile. Not only you have a lot of vehicles and infantries, but they can provide different bonuses depending of what peculiar role you want them to fill. You can think of any strategy anjd you'll surely find between your units the one that fits the most for those roles without trouble.
Good Buffs. Not only your heroes are pretty cheap, but they can choose between a very wide range of buffs to give to their attached units, as well as nearby ones. Wheter you need shooting, psychic, immunity to morale or repositioning, you can easily spare a few points and make the best out of a unit.
Lots of Shooting. Between your buffs and spells, every single one of your weapons and veteran teams and most of your vehicles, you'll find out that the HDF really loves to solve most of its problems with a cacophony of multiple guns terminating any unfortunate shmuck in sight. You're one of the factions that can easily fit your units with whatever ranged heavy weapon you'll need.

Cons:

Pitiful Stats. You do not have more than 4+ in Quality, most of your infantry has 5+ in Defense (4+ at best) and your heroes are no less. The reason you have lots of activations is because your units will hardly hit their targets to begin with and will get utterly decimated by most attacks. Do not trust this laser cannon squad.
Weak to Dedicated Anti-Infantry. Your infantry reaches as best veteran efficiency. The reason this is troubling is that an opponent that can field specialized units can exploit your army weak points. Flamethrowers and similar near any of your infantry will burn them to a crisp in no time.
Weak Heroes. Heroes are pretty much there only to provide buffs. Stats wise they're pitiful, while weapons wise they are somehow worse than the Guard. Do not expect them to be anything more than a nice keyword added to your units.
Weak Psychic. Your only Psychic choice is in the hands of your heroes, which however also means you're forfeiting their other buffs for this. Moreover, you have no access to any counter-Psychic ability, making your units very vulnerable against spells.
Weak Melee. Being reduced to merely the Infantry and Conscripts, you're SOL if you think you'll be able to put up a fight. You'll be relying on numbers more than anything else to win fights.

Army Special Rules

Battle Drills: Friendly units within 12", which makes it best for a unit you're planning to throw into melee, be it either a sacrificial mob of Conscripts or lumbering OGREs.
Company Standard: Once per activation, this unit provides two units within 12" a +1 to their next morale checks, which might make it more convenient for most squads. This can free up your hero to go on the offensive.
Field Radio: A unit with this can increase the range of Take Aim to 24". Warning: the upgrade must be bought for both the commanding and the commanded unit. Since the Heroes aren't squads and can't join squads, they need to be within 6" of a radio in order to boost their range.
Set Example: This makes you the butcher of your own troops. This allows to sacrifice a model in order to pass a failed morale check. This is good when the model is cheap, like a Conscript or an Infantryman. For Veterans or Storm Troopers, however, it will be more advantageous for your opponent than for yourself.
Take Aim: Once per activation, one unit within 12" of this model gets +1 to hit rolls when shooting for the next activation, helpful for your mediocre infantry

Psychic Spells

Flame Breath (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes two AP(2) hits. A good choice to soften up or finishing off most units.
Foresight (4+): Friendly unit within 12" takes +1 to hit with shooting. With how limited your shooting can get, you'll be needing every shot to count.
Expel (5+): One enemy model within 12" takes a single AP(4) Deadly(3) hit. Pretty much all you can ask for when sniping a hero or heavy weapon.
Protective Dome (5+): A friendly unit within 12" gains Stealth when they next get shot at. Useful against shooting, consider using it when taking up objectives to give needed increased survivability.
Psychic Speed (6+): One friendly unit within 12" can immediately move 6". This gives you a desperate escape button or possibly an easier charge.
Tempest (6+): Enemy unit within 6" take a hit per model, making this hell for mobs of grunts.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Company Leader: Your main hero isn't any tougher than the average grunt and is only slightly more accurate. Hell, they don't even have a good selection of weaponry, since you're stuck between either the assault rifle or a pistol (plain or plasma) and your choice of either an Energy Sword or Fist in place of the CCW. No, you want them for their many rules, all of which can seriously improve and influence the options of their troops.
- Upgrades: Your heroes can purchase one of several influential rules. Drill Sergeant issues Battle Drills, which itself issues Furious so it works best for a unit you intend to throw on the charge. Battle Mystic offers you Psychic(1). Executioner straps you with Set Example, a potentially dangerous way to prevent pinning and overruns. Forward Observer gives Take Aim, which can be useful on gunlines, and the only one that can be broadcast using a Field Radio.

Storm Leader: A slightly more expensive leader, but considerably more effective in combat with a 4+ in quality and defense. Their loadout is only slightly better, as they get the Heavy Rifle for AP(1) and the option for either a Heavy Pistol or Plasma Pistol, while their CCW remains as effective as the Company Leader's. They also have the ability to use Ambush, letting them surprise attack an enemy force when properly supported by a pack of Storm Troopers. Though they can take the same upgrades as the Company Leader, their bump in price might see you reconsider options if you're already using a Company Leader.

Infantry

Veteran: 4+ quality makes your vet a little bit more valuable than a mere grunt. They get access to a special weapons list that was expanded to include the short-range Shotgun and Heavy Flamethrower. You can also purchase one of four unique upgrades (AP(4) in melee, +1 to defense, Scout or Stealth) that can shift around just how they work. Since they can also grab a Company Standard or Field Radio on top of all that, you can make a pretty good HQ bodyguard.

Conscripts: Send the untrained and the unfit to battle! Their 6+ quality and their lack of upgrades means their firepower is non existent. Instead focus on their durability: moving them into cover will decrease their likelihood of dying, and attaching them a hero with Executioner will decrease their likelihood of being pinned or routed. As a cheap and numerous unit which can't be pinned while still having an Executioner, they're very difficult to remove from objectives and can force your opponent to waste a number of activations and attacks to remove them instead of targeting more valuable units.

Infantry Squad: The humble frontliner. Cheap as chips, flimsy as paper, but they have numbers. Alongside the melee weapons given to the heroes, you also have access to a special weapon, giving you a measure of flexibility, as well as your choice of either a Company Standard or a Field Radio.
- Shooting: Alongside the options one model has like the Company Leader, you can also provide a special weapon, all of which have their place depending on what you intend to use them for. The Drum Rifle provides a cheap means for extra shots. The Plasma Rifle offers you a cheap means to pop armor while the Fusion Rifle offers inexpensive tank-busting power at short range. The Flamethrower provides you with a good number of hits at short range while the Shred Rifle offers rapid-fire with the chance of Rending for high AP. The Grenade Launcher gives a small blast made to handle crowds. The Sniper Rifle in particular provides you extreme range that exceeds even the base rifle with AP(1) and Sniper to pick off key models.

Weapon Team: Surprisingly only available as a single model, unlike how it is in GF. Essentially Tough(3) soldiers toting a single heavy weapon. Each of these are made for long-range combat, so it's better to keep them as far away as possible.
- The mortar the Weapons Team provides gives you long-ranged crowd control but is limited by Indirect's movement penalty. You can replace this with the Heavy Machinegun for long-ranged firepower with AP(1), the Missile Launcher that can pop tanks ignore cover with Lock-On, the AP(3) Laser Cannon that can directly threaten tanks or the anti-infantry AP(2) Autocannon.

Human Defense Force Firefight Tactics

Contents

Why Play Human Defense Force

Army Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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Human Defense Force Firefight Tactics

Why Play Human Defense Force

Army Special Rules

Psychic Spells

Unit Analysis

Heroes

Infantry

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Tactics

See Also

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