Gangs of New Eden Firefight Tactics

Gangs of Hive City
Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Humans
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Gangs of Hive City

The Hive City Gangers are like the Wormhole Daemons in that they're really a bunch of smaller armies put together from the bits of smaller ones. Each of these gangs have their own particular focus, but you can easily tell that what each one works best with. You'll also notice that the gangs are flimsy and are limited in their roles.

Pros:

• Multiple armies in one
• Each army covers a specific role

Cons:

• Your army has pitiful armor
• Very limited roles
• Narrow unit choice
• No Casting

Unit Analysis

The Artisans

Why Play The Artisans

The Artisans are the master gunners bar none among the gangs. These gangsters come with some of the most powerful guns, especially when you combine with Radiation to capitalize on bad saves.

Special Rules

• Cyber Eyes: Your vision is enhanced. All Artisans add +1 to all shooting rolls.
• Overseer: Allies within 12" of this model get to add +6" to their guns' range. Quite the killer move.
• Radiation: When an enemy is hit by a weapon with this rule, any rolls of 1 to block this hit inflict an additional wound.
• Radiation Power: Allies within 12" all gain the Radiation rule on their guns.

Heroes

• Artisan Champion: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and 5+ for defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire artisan armory. They're also able to buy either Overseer or Radiation Power, both very powerful boosts for your gunlines.
  • Melee: You've got a few decent weapons despite being the shooty faction. If you don't decide to go Dual CCW (and why would you? Nothing you have really helps it), you can replace a CCW with either an Energy Shield (with a basic bash and defense bump), a Shock Baton (with Blast(3) to handle crowds) and an Energy Fist (to rip through armor).
  • Shooting: Now you're working! While your base Rifle can only take up additions (either a Plasma-Mod to pop armor or a Fusion Mod to crush heroes), you can freely switch up for a CCW+Pistol loadout or pay for a double Pistol loadout. Either case lets you replace your pistols with either Plasma Pistols for armor-popping or Flamethrower Pistols to cook through fodder.

Infantry

• Neo-Techer: Fast and Strider provides you a very nimble weapon. This helps as it's only got Pistols with a Plasma or Flamethrower Pistol for replacements (with loadout options swinging for either dual Pistols or dual CCWs) and either the Shock Baton (with Blast(3) to pop crowds) or an Energy Shield (giving +1 to defense and a token attack). Though your melee power isn't the best, you do have an assassin that can potentially put up a fight at close quarters.

• Super-Techer: An elite marksman in the gang, gifted with Relentless for extra shots. That said, your only options are either the base Rifle or the Radiation Cannon that provides a small blast with Radiation.

• Cyber-Spider: A beefier walker, offsetting its 5+ defense with Tough(3). This is the only unit without a gun, instead solely relying on its Spider Fang for Poison in melee. By this, you can use the spider as either a distraction to tie up enemies trying to harm your techers or to go around the back to overwhelm an enemy.

• Sub-Techers: A squad of three goons with 5+ in quality and defense. While they can use the same loadouts and weapons as the Neo-Techer, an incidental buff is the fact that they can take an energy shield for free to make them tougher than most of their kind.

• Techers: A shooty equivalent of Sub-Techers. While they lack any melee options, they instead get plenty of guns to work with, as even their base Rifles can take either a Plasma-Mod or Fusion-Mod. These are also your most diverse source of guns, as one member can pick up a Plasma Rifle to pop heavy armor, a Fusion Rifle to wreck tanks, the Burst Laser for mid-range AP(2), and the Shred Rifle for mid-range rapid-fire Rending. This makes the Techers the unit most likely to benefit from the champion's auras.

• Archeo-Tech: Your toughest unit with a 3+ defense and Tough(3). By default, it serves as a close-range tank with its short-range Burst Pistols and an Archeo-Rig for AP(1) Rending attacks in melee. By switching out its Archeo-Rig, you can instead buy a Radiation Beam for some long-range shooting that won't require the champion's buffs but it will suffer in melee.

The Brutes

Why Play The Brutes

The brutes are giant tides of muscle. While lacking in special rules, they have options for some of the deadliest melee weapons available.

Special Rules

• Pit Fighter: Allies within 12" of this model get +1 to hit when in melee. You'll definitely be wanting to use this a lot.
• Stubborn: Allies within 12" get Fearless. With their quality, this can make your boys difficult to break.

Heroes

• Brute Champion: Your lone hero, though they only have a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire brute armory. They're also able to buy either Tyrant for the aggressive boosts in Pit Fighter or Forge Boss for Stubborn's morale protection.
  • Melee: You've got a LOT of options for melee. Your cheapest are either free dual-wielding CCWs (sacrificing the guns) or a Pistol+CCW, but you can also sacrifice shooting for either a Great Weapon for AP(2) or a Sawblade Axe for Rending. Taking CCWs let you replace them for either a Forge Hammer (For Blast(3) crowd control), a Chainsaw Sword (AP(1) swings), a Heavy Cleaver (AP(1) with Rending to handle most things), or Heavy Wrench (AP(2) Deadly(3), ideal for hero-killing).
  • Shooting: Despite being the brutes, you get quite a bit of guns to suit whichever range you need. By default, your Rifle can pick up either a Flamer-Mod or Fusion-Mod for the sake of short-ranged support. If you go for a loadout with Pistols, you can also pick up a Plasma-Mod to slap on a Plasma Pistol. You can also replace those pistols as well. The Flamethrower Pistol gives you short-ranged crowd control, the Shotgun gives you mid-ranged AP(1) shots, the Combat Shotgun is rapid-fire at mid-range, and the Rivet Shooter gives AP(1) and Rending.

Infantry

• Forge Native: Scout gives this guy an early move so they can get the first punch in. Their stock Rock Sawblade gives them quite a punch with AP(1) Rending, but you could instead buy Heavy Welders for mid-range Rending in case you plan to hide behind cover.

• Veteran Ganger: A more elite ganger, but he has Relentless. This guy acts as your marksman of the lot, with your best guns. Aside from the stock Rifle, you can also pick up a Fusion Rifle to pop heroes, a Grenade Launcher to handle crowds, a Heavy Flamethrower to handle crowds and cheese Relentless, and the Heavy Machinegun to get long-range firepower.

• Bruisers: These guys only have a 5+ quality you get three of them toting a decent 4+ defense. These guys get a majority of the champion's loadout, though only one model can take a melee and ranged weapon. However, Plasma-Mods on pistols are free game so you can pop through an armored foe.

• Bullies: The shooty Bullies. Each one comes with a Rifle, capable of buying either a Flamer-Mod to handle crowds or a Fusion-Mod to wreck Tough units. You could also replace your Rifle for either the Rivet Shooter to handle most armor or the Shot-Cannon for mid-range crowd-popping.

• Combat Stimmer: An elite warrior with Tough(3) to let them tank the opposition. It totes two CCWs, each of which you can trade off for either a Sawblade Axe (for Rending), a Heavy Wrench (providing AP(2) Deadly(3) to nail heavies) or a Wrist-GL to provide some manner of shooting.

• Forge Crocodile: A bit of a glass cannon with 5+ defense, but they're scary aggressive. While Strider at normal speed makes it a bit easier to protect, you're paying for a Furious set of AP(1) attacks, letting you tie up an enemy at the same cost as stock Bruisers.

• Berserker: A massive wall of ablative wounds to crush things. Tough(6) is not something often seen in Firefight, and it comes with some genuinely dangerous attacks, though Slow and an average 4+ defense will see it targeted quickly. The extreme price tag will also seriously limit what you can use as well, and make the inclusion of this a hard question.

The Cannibals

Why Play The Cannibals

The cannibals are the purely melee faction. While the Brutes could at least double as heavy gunners, the cannibals hold no such delusions. They only have Furious and nothing else.

Special Rules

• Feeding Frenzy: Allies within 12" of this model get +4" to their charging distance. Another important boost because of how crap your shooting is.
• Frenzy: Furious +1. Models with this rule gat +2 attacks on the charge to double down the aggression.
• Sharpen Blades: Allies within 12" of this model improve the AP of their melee weapons by +1. The upgrade of choice against high defenses.

Heroes

• Cannibal Champion: Your lone hero, given 4+ quality and 5+ defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to the entire cannibal armory. They're also unusual in having three options for buffs: The Harvest Banner confers Fear if you just want to break the foe, Butcher provides Feeding Frenzy to sic your forces on the enemy sooner, and Cutter confers Sharpen Blades to take down enemies like Battle Brothers.
  • Melee: The place where the Cannibals shine. If you don't care about shooting at all (and why would you?), you can swap out your Pistol+CCW for a pair of CCWs, A Great Weapon for AP(2), or a Chainsaw Glaive for double the attack output with Rending. Replacing just the CCW gives you either the Chainsaw Cleaver for covering crowds in melee or the Boning Blade if you want AP(1) and Rending.
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting shooting is...honestly forgettable. Taking a pair of Pistols is a wasted effort when you look at your better melee weapons. If you decide on even keeping a Pistol, your lone option is the Flamethrower Pistol.

Infantry

• Scalper: Your weakest ganger, but it comes with Relentless and the closest options for guns. The Twin Pistol makes the most sense if you just want to keep it cheap, but you could instead get a Harpoon Gun to fell Tough foes or a Heavy Flamethrower to wipe out hordes.

• Berserker: A literal frothing lunatic, carrying Frenzy to send it barreling towards its foes. It comes with Dual CCWs you can then replace with either Dual Chainsaw Cleavers to rip through squads or Dual Boning Blades to rip through armor.

• Skinner: A slightly less dangerous solo model, though it's got a few options to help it out. If you just don't care about shooting, you can replace the CCW+Pistol for either paired CCWs or a Heavy Rock Cutter that can tear through most enemies with ease. If you need to swap out the CCWs, you can pick either the Chainsaw Cleaver for crowds or the Boning Blade to take care of most infantry.

• Initiates: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use most of the weapons given to the champion, you can give all of them the big weapons that sacrifice your shooting for serious damage.

• Crazed Hog: To drive home the aesthetic of a butcher shop, you have an actual boar you can throw at the opposition. Fast allows it to reach the enemy first and the Impact on its tusks as well as Furious means that it will lay on the hurt the moment it can charge.

The Cult

Why Play The Cult

The cult is rather mobile, each model possessing Strider so they can reach whatever cover they need. With the help of their leaders, short-ranged combat becomes their specialty. While they're capable of holding up in combat, they're no more spectacular than the rest of the gangs.

Special Rules

• Cult Icon: Allies in melee within 12" of this model get to either add an extra attack in melee, effectively providing Furious.
• Redemption: Allies within 12" get +1 to hit when they shoot to enemies within 12". Seeing how short-ranged your guns are, this can lead to your forces laying down some serious hurt quickly.
• Visionary: Allies within 12" of this model get +1 to AP when in melee, improving their effectiveness against armored foes.

Heroes

• Cult Champion: Your lone hero, given a 4+ quality and 5+ defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to quite a few options for weapons. They also get one of three different perks to pick from, with Priest having Redemption for a boost to short-range accuracy, Script-Keeper confers Visionary for more effective attacks and Cult Icon makes charges more dangerous.
  • Melee: While you can go for the dual CCW or CCW+Pistol route, you have plenty of options that let you keep your shooting at good range. Buying either the Great Weapon (For hero-killing with AP(2) Deadly(3)) and Chainsaw Glaive (plenty of Rending) gives you a decent number of attacks though it costs you shooting. If you stick with a CCW loadout, you can pick up either a Sharp Claw for Rending or a Flame Sword for a reliable AP(1). You also can buy a Spear-Rifle (for long-range fire) or Spear-Shotgun (Better-suited if you use Redemption) to let you shoot at a decent range while still carrying Deadly(3) to take down heroes at once.
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting will often be short-ranged. That's perfectly fine, especially with Redemption. If you're that pressed for points and don't care about melee, you can just go guns akimbo for a second pistol and only a paltry Knife to fight back. If you can spare a few, you can instead buy a Sawed-Off Shotgun (for extreme short-range but four AP(1) shots) or Flamethrower Pistol (lots of attacks at very short range). Similarly, your stock Rifle can take a Flamer-Mod to for some close-range crowd control.

Infantry

• Deacon Fanatic: Your dedicated beatstick, provided Furious and Strider to get into the fight immediately. Each CCW can be replaced with either a Sharp Claw for Rending or a Flame Sword for AP(1) in whatever combination you want. Instead, you could trade the CCWs in for either a Great Weapon's AP(2) or the Chainsaw Glaive's Rending if you don't want to pick two different weapons.

• Redemptionist: While Relentless would make you think the Redemptionist is just a marksman, you can pick up quite a few different weapons that could make them as effective in melee as anyone else in the Cult.
  • Shooting: Just the base Rifle alone comes with a Flamer-Mod to cheese out Redemption's short-range perks. For alternative weapons, you have the Sawn-Off Shotgun (For rapid-fire AP(1) at close-quarters), A Flamethrower (rapid-fire in mid-range), A Heavy Flamethrower (in case you need AP(1) on the Flamethrower), A GL-Crossbow (Small blasts at long-range to cover crowds), a Heavy Machinegun (For long-range AP(1), and the Sniper Rifle (in case you need to pick off a certain pesky model)
  • Melee: Your Rifle also has notable melee options. The Great Weapon provides AP(2) and the Chainsaw Glaive provides plenty of Rending, but both sacrifice your ranged potential. Fortunately, you have the Spear-Rifle and Spear-Shotgun, both allowing you to shoot while having a weapon that can potentially kill heroes.

• Brothers: These guys only have a 5+ quality and defense, making them effectively fodder. These are your shooters, given Rifles you can replace with either Heavy Flamethrowers for rapid-fire, GL-Crossbows to cover crowds, and a Heavy Machinegun to give long-range AP(1) weapon.

• Great Vulture: A dangerous beast made to get stuck in, with wings to keep it away from difficult terrain and Rending claws to take down enemies. If you plan on handling heroes, you can also purchase a Piercing Beak for AP(2) Deadly(3).

• Zealots: The flimsy melee gangers. Fortunately, they have all of the weapon options available to the champion, meaning that they get to also carry some dangerous guns as well like the Heavy Flamethrower and the Spear-Rifle.

• Mutant Shambler: A lumbering wall of muscle compared to your gangers, gifted with Fearless, Strider and Tough(3) but hampered with Slow and a hefty pricetag. It's got a decent melee weapon with AP(3) and a Heavy Lance with Impact(3) for extra pain on the charge. In the event that AP(2) might go to waste, you can instead get more attacks with AP(1). If you're planning on shooting with this beast, you can replace the Heavy Lance with either a Heavy Flamethrower or Heavy Machinegun based on where you plan on parking it.

The Enforcers

Why Play the Enforcers

The Enforcers are the most elite of the gangs, with even your weakest rookies getting a 4+ defense and Fearless. In exchange however, your troops are some of the costliest yet - with even those same rookies only coming in lone models rather than the three-man squads that other gangs come with. This can lead to you being outnumbered when facing other units, with the exception of forces like the Battle Brothers.

Special Rules

• Boot Stomp: Allies in melee within 12" of this model get to add +1 AP to their attacks. a decent enough boost.
• Maintain Order: Upon activation, select one friendly unit within 12". This unit can immediately move 6" in any direction to help mitigate the numerical odds.
• Shield Wall: Enemies take -1 to hit units with this order.

Heroes

• Enforcer Champion: Your more melee-capable hero, given a 4+ to quality and defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to a sizeable armory and loadout selection. They can also pick between either Boot Stomp or Maintain Order for support.
  • Melee: When it comes to melee, your options are quite slim, though you remain as flexible in loaout. The Shock Baton gives you Blast(3) for mobs while the Energy Fist gives an AP(4) attack. You can also buy a Combat Shield for Shield Wall, but it reduces your melee attacks to a token swing - ideal only for someone focused on shooting.
  • Shooting: Where most heroes tend to get add-ons to their Rifles, the Enforcer Champion gets an AP(1) Heavy Rifle as their base option. Even switching for Heavy Pistols keeps that AP(1) to cut past armored foes. The Shotgun gives you half the range for double the shots while the Sonic Rifle gives a small blast with Rending at mid-range for crowds.

• Subjugator Champion: Unusually, the Enforcers have a second hero, this one being stuck to a CCW+Heavy Pistol loadout and coming with Shield Wall built in while still capable of taking the same support buffs. If you're interested in a simple solution, you can buy an Assault Ram for AP(4) while also coming with an Assault-GL to handle crowds at range. While the Heavy Pistol can only be replaced with a Grenade Launcher, your CCW can be swapped for either a Shock Baton for crowds or an Energy Fist for AP(4) without replacing your pistol.

Infantry

• Patrolman: One of the only models with a 5+ quality, but they have quite a few guns to pick from. Each one still comes with a Heavy Rifle, but you can replace that with either a Sonic Carbine for a small blast with rending or a Sniper Rifle to pick out key models.

• Rooky: The more versatile Patrolmen, capable of going with either a double-Heavy Pistol or double-CCW loadout. Curiously, they get a loadout similar to that of the Enforcer Champion with the inclusion of the Subjugator Champion's Assault Ram+Assault-GL for a single weapon.

• Robo-Dog: A mobile harasser with Fast. As its only weapon is its jaw with AP(1), your best bet is to have it flank an enemy or pick off an exposed foe.

• Veteran: The marksman, gifted with Relentless. Aside from the Heavy Rifle, one could also buy a Grenade Launcher for mob control or a Sonic Rammer for long-range Rending.

• Subjugator: An elite trooper given Shield Wall. Its loadout is essentially the same as the champion, and can easily be relied upon to be a walking tank, protecting your other troops from opening waves of fire.

The Femmes

Why Play The Femmes

The femmes are a gang of speedy amazons. Each of them has Fast, with a focus on close-quarters combat and a preference for Poison over AP. This alongside their rather balanced range of guns and choppy bits makes them capable at short to mid-range, but their durability is poor with a universal 5+ to defense.

Special Rules

• Provider: Allies within 12" get +1 to AP when shooting, giving a good bump for your gunlines.
• Psychotic: Allies within 12" get Furious. Pretty decent if you can get the setup right.

Heroes

• Femme Champion: Your lone hero, though they only have a 4+ to quality and 5+ to defense. Their specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to a sizeable list of weapons. They're also able to buy either Matriarch for Rageaholic or Gang Queen for Provider, depending on where you plan to park her.
  • Melee: If you don't care as much about shooting, you can either go for CCW+Pistol or dual CCWs if you intend to sacrifice shooting. You can pick up an Energy Sword for AP(1) Rending, a Shock Whip for crowd-wiping Blast(3) Poison and a Chainsaw Sword for simply AP(1).
  • Shooting: The weapons available for the champion are best suited for short to mid-range combat, especially if you take one or two Pistols. Your Stock Rifle is your longest-range weapon, letting you buy a Needler-Mod for a single Poison shot. Your Pistol can change out for point-blank Flamethrower Pistol, a Needle Pistol with Poison, an armor-popping Plasma Pistol or an AP(1) Shotgun.

Infantry

• Lynx Beast: As nimble as the sisters and then some with Scout and Strider on top of Fast, dedicated to melee. It's as fragile as a plain sister with only a 5+ quality and defense. This makes the beast better suited for harassment and covering objectives, or even distracting enemies while the sisters take up shooting.

• Big Sister: Relentless makes the Big Sister your dedicated marksman with a good range of guns to pick from. The Needle Rifle provides Poison, the Plasma Rifle gives AP(2), the Fusion Rifle pops heroes in close-range, the Flamethrower cooks mobs and the Heavy Machinegun gives you long-range AP(1).

• Wild Runner: A big sister with some interesting loadout options, using Scout and Strider to get up close as soon as possible. Like the murder champion, you have the ability to swap between paired CCWs or paired Pistols. While the Pistols can only be swapped out for Throwing Knives for short-ranged Sniper, your CCWs can be swapped for either a Shock Whip for crowd control with Poison or the Chainsaw Sword for Rending.

• Wild Shooter: The shootier Wild Runner, given a long-range Bow so they can pick off foes from afar, using Strider and Scout to reach the ideal position. This lets her pick up different versions of the bow, from the Deadly(3) hero-killing from the Corrosive Bow, the crowd-popping Blast(3) from the Explosive Bow or the rapid-fire Poison in the Toxin Bow.

• Murder Maiden: Your most elite beatstick with a rare 3+ quality, decently protected with Stealth and gifted with Ambush to prevent her from getting blown off the board immediately. While she lacks any manner of AP, Poison does give you a chance to overwhelm just by the weight of attacks.

• Little Sisters: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. While they can use all the melee weapons (thus allowing them to be chaff), you also get a few of the guns available and nothing with good range beyond the assault rifle.

• Sisters: The shooty goons, each coming with a Rifle. The Needler-Mod is an option for all of your Sisters, but you can also pick an Acid Thrower for a Poison equivalent to the Flamethrower and the Shred Rifle for rapid-fire Rending.

• Chimeric Beast: A beefier monster with 4+ to quality and defense as well as Tough(3) and Regeneration to ensure that it will last. While its melee attacks lack Poison, it does have a Poison Breath to handle things at mid-range

The Hidden

Why Play The Hidden

The Hidden are the sneaky lot. While their defense is usually at a 5+, you get Stealth to deter the opposition from shooting your forces.

Special Rules

• Silent Assassin: Allies within 12" of this model get +1 attack when they charge an enemy that was out of their line of sight when they were activated.
• Takedown: When this model fights in melee, they can deal an additional AP(1) Deadly(3) hit on a 2+.

Psychic Spells

• Flame Breath (4+): One enemy unit within 12" takes two AP(2) hits.
• 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 regeneration when they next get hit.
• 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.

Heroes

• Hidden Champion: Your most elite hero and model, though they only have a 4+ to quality and 5+ to defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to a lot of weapons. You have a choice of three special rules, with Shadowmaster providing a rather situational Silent Assassin, Telepath planting Psychic, and Phantom gives Takedown.
  • Melee: Whether you stick with a Rifle, Pistol, or just dual-wield CCWs, you have a few options for weapons. The Heavy Claw provides a lone AP(4) hit, the Web Shooter gives you Rending, the Shock Staff gives AP(1), and the Syringe Gauntlet gives Poison.
  • Shooting: You've got plenty of shooting that won't sacrifice your CCW. If you don't care, however, you can just go dual-wield Pistols for free. Your base Rifle has a Needler-Mod for some mid-range Poison. The pistols can be swapped in for Throwing Knives for short-ranged sniping, the Flamethrower for short-ranged crowd management, a Needle Pistol for Poison, a Plasma Pistol for AP(4), a Web Pistol for rapid-fire Rending, and a Shotgun for AP(1).

Infantry

• Cyber-Tentacle: Absolutely requires flanking, as its 6+ to quality and defense means it'll get shot off the map immediately. Fortunately, you have Ambush so you can surprise an enemy currently embroiled in a fight with someone else.

• Psy-Ghost: A beatstick among the lot, gifted with double CCWs to swap out with anything the champion can and Strider to ignore cover. For this reason, Shadow Assassin is a powerful buff for them.

• Ghosts: Three shooters with 5+ quality. Though they lack any add-ons to their Rifles, they have a wide selection of weapons to pick. Flamethrowers provide a means to burn through other mobs, Fusion Rifles let you pop heroes and other brutes, Plasma Rifles pierce through armor, the Web Rifle has rapid-fire Rending (with two likely erroneous statlines), and Sniper Rifle picks off models from afar.

• Shadows: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. They get to pick out all of the weapons available to the champion, which works out pretty well with the wide list of weapons you do have replacing pistols.

• Psy-Squid: The Psy-Squid provides you with a floating artillery platform. With it's tanky 3+ defense, enemies will have a hard time shifting it without special weapons and its 3+ quality means that both its ranged blast and its melee attacks both are able to make their mark upon the opposition.

The Mercenaries

Why Play The Mercenaries

The Mercenaries act as a freelance gang, more suited for joining as allies for another army rather than being an army of their own. Because of this compatibility, they won't have any unifying roles or powers, but they can fit in whatever holes you need in other teams.

Special Rules

• Ammo Box: Models within 12" gain +1 to AP when they shoot.
• Mark Enemies: Models within 12" add +6" to the range of their guns, allowing even pistols to hit from a decent distance.
• Slop Rations: Models within 12" gain +1 to AP in melee.

Heroes

• Bounty Hunter: A grizzled son of a gun with a literal smorgasbord of weaponry to fit whatever role you see fit. Wanna grab two different swords for no such reason? Go ahead! How about pair of swords or shotguns? Well, Relentless lets you get some extra profit from the guns! Quite frankly, the sky's the limit here. The only real limitations here is that they offer no support to your troops.
  • Melee: As your elite hero, you have a vast array of melee weapons to work with, whether you pick one CCW or two. If you flat-out want to overpower the foe without caring about shooting, you can grab a Great Weapon for AP(2). Aside from that, you have Shock Batons to handle mobs, Energy Swords to handle most armored foes, a Shock Whip to handle crowds with Poison, a Chainsaw Sword for more attacks at AP(1), and Energy Fists for armor-crushing AP(4).
  • Ranged: While you have the Rifle as stock, you can also pick up one or two Pistols based on how much you plan to shoot and Relentless helps you with that. If you aren't interested in getting close in the slightest, you can always take a Sniper Rifle and avoid taking a CCW at all. Your base Rifle can also take a Fusion-Mod or Flamer-Mod for some short-ranged firepower that won't sacrifice your range. Your Pistols have a whole other list to trade off for. Throwing Knives provides short-ranged sniping, Sawn-Off Shotguns give you rapid-fire AP(1), Needle Pistol provides Poison, Plasma Pistols pop armor, Web Pistols provide Rending, Shotguns provides AP(1) at mid-range, Flamethrower Pistols are short-range cookers and Combat Shotguns give you rapid-fire at close-quarters.

• Hanger-On: The support HQ to the Bounty Hunter's beatstick. Notably, this seriously restricts their loadout options, with their CCW only getting the Chainsaw Sword for an option and the Pistol becoming either a Sawn-Off Shotgun or a Flamethrower Pistol. But combat isn't their top role, it's their buffs. Between Munitioner giving Ammo Box for shooting help, the Gang Cook giving Slop Rations for melee help, and Look-Out providing Mark Enemies for free range-extensions.

Infantry

• Hired Gun: A lesser Bounty Hunter, though they remain just as dangerous. Even with their inventory halved, you can still pick up a sizeable number of different combinations to suit whatever situation arises.

• Hive Runner: The fastest of the mercs, gifted with Fast and Strider to cover ground as fast as possible. Considering the poor 5+ defense, you'll need to rely on Scout to get in position for a charge as fast as possible. Your weapon options are very limited, with your pistol being replaced by either Throwing Knives, a Sawn-Off Shotgun or a Needle Pistol and your CCW replaced by either a Shock Baton or Chain Sword.

The Miners

Why Play The Miners

The miners have Scout as a universal rule, meaning they can move to the right positions before the game starts. This is doubly important as a lot of their weapons tend to be short-ranged, so they need to close that gap in order to survive.

Special Rules

• Fighting Spirit: Allies within 12" of this model can shoot after rushing. This is pretty neat since this helps them with getting in range to blast the enemy.
• Stand Ground: Allies within 12" add an additional attack in melee when charged, giving you a decent defense against Furious spam.

Heroes

• Miner Champion: Your lone hero, given a 4+ quality and 5+ defense. Their big specialty is in their versatility, as they have access to a multitude of different loadouts. They are capable of picking up either Captain for Stand Ground's counter-offensive abilities or Weapon Master for Fighting Spirit's mobility boost.
  • Melee: If you want more than a mere CCW, you'll likely need to sacrifice your shooting. The cheapest options you have is wither dual-wielding CCWs or getting a great weapon for AP(2) and both deny shooting. If you want to keep your gun, you'll need to pony up for either a Chainsaw Sword or an Energy Fist depending on how bad armor is.
  • Shooting: With few exceptions, your shooting will often be short-ranged. That's perfectly fine, especially with Fighting Spirit. If you're that pressed for points and don't care about melee, you can just go guns akimbo for a second Pistol and only one Knife attack. If you plan on keeping the range of the stock Rifle, you can purchase a Fusion-Mod for some close-quarters brute-popping that doesn't cost you your Rifle's range. Switching to the Pistols gives you more selections for close-quarters. The Sawn-Off Shotgun gives you a bundle of hits at close-quarters, The Flamethrower Pistol gives more shots but costs you AP, the Plasma Pistol lets you pop through armor at mid-range, the Shotgun gives you more shots at AP(1), and the Combat Shotgun is rapid-fire with no AP.

Infantry

• Guard Mastiff: Your swift harasser. Fast and Scout allow it to reach the thick of it the soonest, and with a bite with AP(1), you'll be wanting to sic it on whatever you can.

• Heavy Gunner: The most elite marksmen, gifted with Relentless to maximize upon lucky shots. Alongside the basic Rifle, you can get a rapid-fire Combat Shotgun, a powerful Fusion Gun, a Heavy Flamethrower to take down most crowds and the Heavy Machinegun to take down foes from afar.

• Jet-Wrecker: While not Fast, Scout and Flyer give the Jet-Wrecker a level of mobility that's especially welcome for the mid-range focused Miners. Their guns are all very short-ranged, with the best range going to the Plasma Pistol. Their melee weapons are similarly limited to only the Chainsaw Sword and Energy Fist, though buying Demo Charges can boost either option's AP considerably. Fortunately, you can pick your preference between ranged and melee based on where you intend to keep them.

• Greenhorns: The weakest of your army, but you get three of them. As the Miners are fairly short-ranged, you'll notice that these guys get most of the options given to the champion for close-quarters or melee power, including even the Mining Hammer to nail heroes.

• Gunners: The shootier Greenhorns, with Rifles that can buy Fusion-Mods for some brute-popping effectiveness. Aside from that, you can buy a Flamethrower for rapid-fire, a Harpoon Gun if you intend to kill Tough targets from afar, a Plasma Rifle to pop armor, and a Grenade Launcher to pop crowds.

• Cargo Cyborg: A heavy weapons platform, thankfully protected by a 4+ defense and Tough(3). While it lacks Scout, Strider allows it to move through cover without a hassle. By default it comes with a Harpoon Gun to take down a key target, but you can instead purchase either a Heavy Flamethrower for rapid-fire or a Heavy Machinegun so it can shoot down enemies from full range.

The Ogres

Why Play The Ogres

The Ogres are similar to the Mercenaries in that they're a very small faction. However, the Ogres are just as capable of supporting themselves as they are complementing other teams, especially considering that they're all Tough(3) to the last with a 4+ defense to tank like the best. Fearless also means that they're hard to pin.

Special Rules

• Pit Fighter: Models within 12" get +1 attack when they charge, stacking with Furious perfectly.
• Sharpen Blades: Models within 12" get +1 to AP when fighting in melee.
• Taser: Poison +1, an unmodified 6 to hit scores four extra hits instead of three.

Heroes

• Ogre Champion: An elite hero gifted with a 4+ in quality and defense and Fearless to keep it holding. This guy clearly has a preference for combat with Furious and Tough(6), a rarity in Firefight. Needless to say that even its buffs support melee, with Underboss providing Sharpen Blades to cut through armor and Overboss giving Pit Fighter for a charge bonus.
  • Melee: Simply put, your the most numerous choices are in here, and unlike most armies you lose no attacks with any of them. If you really want to go full in, you can sacrifice your pistols for either paired CCWs, a Forge Hammer to flatten crowds, a Great Weapon for AP(2) and a Heavy Wrench to take down heroes and brutes in short order. Your CCWs can then be replaced with either Arc Fists for Taser, Heavy Cleavers to handle most targets or Energy Fists to rip past armor.
  • Shooting: You've only got one gun: a rapid-fire Burst Pistol that you can take either one or two of for free. If you want something better, you can only buy a Heavy Welder for Rending.

Infantry

• Ogre Lobo-Slave: An ogre slave with a 5+ quality. If you're looking an ogre but a little more pressed for points? Not so bothered by a lack of melee prowess and won't mind if they're more an obstacle than a threat? You can pick this and rest assured that you're getting something still dangerous.

• Ogre Slave: The difference between this and the champion? Really, just the lack of Hero, Tough(3) and special rules for buffing. If you need a brute in another army, then this can handily fill in that gap, especially for the Artisans and Femmes who are less likely to take a hit.

• Gunner: When you need a wall of meat with a gun, the Gunner delivers with Relentless to capitalize on a lucky shot. Unfortunately, your weapon choices are limited to either the stock Mini-GL for crowd control or the Heavy SMGs for AP(1), accompanied by a CCW as effective as any other.

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Gangs of Hive City
• Gangs of Hive City Firefight Quickplay Armies
• Grimdark Future: Firefight

Gangs of Hive City
Overview - Firefight Tactics - Miniatures - Firefight Quickplay Armies

Grimdark Future: Firefight tactics

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