I recall there was a topic - back in the old forum - for having alternate loadouts for Geckos. The twin Combi Gecko is quite well-suited for close-in combat: up to 16" you get +3, there's Burst 4 and Damage 14 (thanks to ITS Ironclad rule). It is decent as long as you don't have to engage over long distances with it. I think it is a matter of perspective: most TAGs are well-suited to long-tranged combat - with HMGs, Spitfires or Mk12s. Twin Combi is the odd one there, and it needs a more dense terrain. Then again, in my last game it would pretty well on one of my flanks (since I played QK, I had to content myself with Scarface. Who was fine but not optimal - and too big for some tight spots!). Also, the point cost and SWC cost makes it way more bearable if you lose one...
Late game B4 and BS13 can get work done even at range. Particularly when you've got solid odds of shrugging any return fire that slips through. It's not going to work vs a linked ML: but if they do max 1 or maybe 2 STR per ARO then risking it is a valid play. Remember structure tanking is a thing ;). A Gecko out of cover vs an unlinked Grunt Sniper in cover at 16-32": Gecko - Combi Rifle (2) vs. USAriadna Grunts - Sniper Rifle Active Player 32.40% Gecko inflicts 1 or more wounds on USAriadna Grunts (Unconscious) 6.29% Gecko inflicts 2 or more wounds on USAriadna Grunts (Dead) Failures 43.47% Neither player succeeds Reactive Player 24.13% USAriadna Grunts inflicts 1 or more wounds on Gecko (2 STR) And there's always the option to Move-Move, Move-BS Attack to push into your good range: Gecko vs. USAriadna Grunts - Sniper Rifle Reactive Player 37.50% USAriadna Grunts inflicts 1 or more wounds on Gecko (2 STR) Gecko - Combi Rifle (2) vs. USAriadna Grunts - Sniper Rifle Active Player 52.22% Gecko inflicts 1 or more wounds on USAriadna Grunts (Unconscious) 18.12% Gecko inflicts 2 or more wounds on USAriadna Grunts (Dead) Failures 34.95% Neither player succeeds Reactive Player 12.83% USAriadna Grunts inflicts 1 or more wounds on Gecko (2 STR)
It can be frustrating when you realise you were sacrificing 1 STR away from a Gecko swapping who's in the good range :)
Geckos having dual combis is ace. Over 16" you've got the big bad panzerfaust and the nice thing about combis is that the Gecko is getting that +3 range in the 8" CQB range band, which other heavier weapons typically don't. Means you can use your Gecko as a close assault guy, with the Chain Colt and a B4 gun for up close. Damage 14 these days too! Also if it had longer range weapons it'd probably cost a lot more.
Considering getting into Ariadna, and these are the ones that jump out at me: Caledonian Mormaers need something to make them less trash. It used to be that they were a strictly worse version of a Vet. Kazak that got away with it because they had link team functionality in their sectorial to give them a role, but not only is their link presence mediocre (and completely outshone in its own sectorial by Wulvers and Greys anyway). but the Vet. Kazak gained far better fireteam support than the Mormaer is capable of. It's a shame that such a beautiful model is so worthless, I cannot think of a single way where taking one is not reducing your viability (Although if someone does know a way, please let me know. I adore the models for it and would desperately love to actually build a force around them). Spetsnazs are insanely good. To the point where I think that them losing something would probably be good for the rest of the faction. No unit should be so blatantly auto-include (let alone twice over). Devil Dogs are just another case of being a worse version of better sectorials' options. They're not in as bad a place as I think the Mormaers' are, but it feels like they're lacking a place when you look at how much more efficient the other doggies are. And then playing Yu Jing/ISS: Pheasant is the obvious case. He just pays so much for a lot of stuff that he never uses. That CC profile is almost insulting when you start to look at his physique. Its a holdover from when the monofilament CCW was a thing, and it does not carry over well. They should either drop his close combat stats and martial arts down to insignificant levels to save on the inflated cost, or give us the option for variants that actually do close combat well (which would require a not awful PH stat). Guijia needs something to make it less boring. It's not terrible, but there are other units that are more effective and more interesting in spades in this army. He just feels like a worse version of a PanO TAG. Zhanshi need a point cut.
which, if I don't remember wrong, it's what it's meant to be. Guija is basically a "generation" older than actual pano TAGs . Geckos are leftovers from gen 1 (with many upgrades) reptile class are gen 2. (The ones you see on nomads are upgraded, but the order should be lizard, anaconda, szalamander) guija,o yoroi are gen 3. (No amount of upgrade yet) Pano, Aleph,O-12 TAGs are gen 4.
Gecko could use more profiles but only for the sake of fun. Honestly almost no weapon can compare to the Combis profile. Even the MK12 only competes because they spend a lot of time in suppressive fire. Even Heavy Shotgun would be pointless without some other equipment to give it a role.
Which is fine from a fluff standpoint, but gives them no real place in the actual army. If fluff is the case, they should just retire the old profile and use Invincible Army's release as an excuse to drop a new Guijia with reworked profile. Keep the same model, but call it Guijia Mk2 or something.
Aleph: - Posthuman point cost increase. Probably add some SWC to certain profiles (FO, MK2). - Amdronmeda needs so much in the way of skill or point reduction to make her worth it. - Ditch the deva+bot profile and give the bot to either the HD or MULTI profile. Make one of those the new Lt option.
Combined Seed Soldiers, get rid of Seed Embryo rule or change it to allow the damn things to be used! Also, make cheaper ones that start normal. Almost all Shasvastii area few pts. Too expensive. Tohaa Kaeltar more expensive or fix Symbiomates to only be able to soak up one ARO. Not all of them. Yu Jing/ISS Zhanying, let them have a Core link team themselves. There’s not good reason they don’t. Bao, too expensive as they are. Make them cheaper or give them another skill. Sun Tze marksman is just stupid. I use the rules for Le Muet for him. Mercs Bounty Hunters GIVE THEM AN ADHL! Shouldn’t they take guys alive?
When you can just cube extract why go through the effort? Like in Eclipse Phase (stacks and cubes being cousins of one another) bounty hunters don't go after the body. The target is the stack as that's the person to them (the body is just a vehicle).
Try doing that to runaway Wu Ming, Ariadnan in general, Ateks or Japanese peasant revolt leaders, though. Same goes for a few more exotic targets like Fidays or Teutons, but fluff wouldn't have those be even remotely possible targets for a brute underling like Bounty Hunters to defeat so that's a moot point.
Being cube-less among the human sphere seems to be a rarity not a commonality. I don't think it's been directly expressed that Ateks lack them. Also, seeing how YJ deals/dealt with the Japanese it's a more dead then alive policy. Ariadna brings with a new problem for bounty hunters. They have to go back to the old school ways cause said cube extract method doesn't apply to them. That or just get an Ariadnian bounty hunter. A runaway Wu Ming... that's a straight up bring his head back and we'll pay you type of job from YJ I would guess. Fidays don't get caught... they die as that's part of the job. Teutons would be an interesting target. Even though I'm sure the Black Friars would handle that matter over some bounty hunter.
I'm sure the Kuge would like to make an example on peasants not conforming, though a runaway Wu Ming when I think about it has a suspended death sentence so a missile launcher is preferable over an adhesive launcher on them :)
There's also the risk of destroying the Cube with a stray shot. There's a lot of weapons that can destroy it.
It's not stray shots (cubes would be worthless if one stray bullet did it in). It's weapons that disable the cubes that are more of the worry. Bounty Hunters would be wise to not use those weapons just in case your target gets put down anyways. True Death in Infinity wasn't something of great worry during military engagements until the CA landed on Paradiso. Applying our world logic to Infinity kind of falls short especially when you involve cubes. Why capture bounty targets when the cube is easier. Same goes for intelligence operatives or terrorists. Easier to drop them, grab the cube, and do what you want with it. Meat bodies be damned.
