Hi everybody, I read that MA level 2 gives to the airborne rangers also the "surprise attack" skill. I read in Infinity wiki that, among the other things,: The user of this Special Skill must be in Marker state (Camouflage, TO, Impersonation-1...) or in Hidden Deployment state when he is assigned an Order and activates. The user of this CC Special Skill must enter base to base contact with the target in the course of the same Order its use is declared. EFFECTS If all requirements are satisfied, the user of this CC Special Skill can apply the Surprise Attack MOD when in Close Combat, as shown in the Surprise Attack Chart. The user of this CC Special Skill cannot use Surprise Attack again until it regains the Marker state. Now, there`s something I do not get about it... The paratroopers are in hidden deployment at the start. At a certain moment, they enter the battlefield but without marker state. When is surprise attack then valid ? When they appear on the battlefield ? But it will almost never happen that they enter and automatically engage in CC. Is surprise attack valid until they are spotted by an enemy ? Or always valid until their first CC ? Is it valid also for shooting at the very first order ? Please help me to clarify this topic.
Surprise Attack only works if you're in a marker state, Airborne don't have any way to enter a marker state so they can never use it. This is basically a legacy from early N3 when states like Impersonation didn't automatically grant surprise shot/attack, so a trooper like an Umbra Legate or Interventor with Cybermask could only use surprise attack if they also had martial arts or similar. This was changed in an early errata/FAQ.
Though Airborne rangers have MA and therefore have Surprise Attack – they cannot use it. As the skill states, you need to be attacking out of a marker state, which Airborne Rangers do not have. Surprise attack, among other skills, generally comes bundled with a number of abilities and isn't always useful.
