Do any NCA players play the Bolts? and what is the best way to play them? I'm new to NCA and I do not see a point to the Bolts, I might be wrong about them. I was thinking of just keeping the Bolts for spear parts. I guess what it is, I just can't come up with a good list for them and that is just frustrating.
Nah, you're not wrong. They're toolboxy, but not in a terribly useful (or efficient) sense. I think the general consensus among PanO players (I used to be one) is that they're nice, but too expensive for what they bring, and that you'll get more bang for your buck taking Fusies and spending those extra points elsewhere. Others, I'm sure, will disagree. There's always someone willing to come to the defense of the much-maligned Bolts. The only thing I ever used them for outside of casual play was to support a rambo-ing Squalo Lt.; Veteran means the Bolts give precious few craps if its rampage ends prematurely. Their BTS 6 also makes them more useful in a meta where you've got a ton of Tohaa running around. Pretty sure that meta doesn't actually exist in the real world though . . . EDIT: You can try this list for a shooty mission, see how it works: Neoterran Capitaline Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 10 SQUALO (Armored Cav.) Lieutenant MULTI HMG / AP Heavy Pistol. (2 | 93) CRABBOT Flash Pulse / Knife. () BULLETEER Spitfire / Electric Pulse. (1 | 23) BULLETEER Heavy Shotgun / Electric Pulse. (0 | 17) BOLT Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24) BOLT Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27) BOLT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 24) BOLT Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) MACHINIST Combi Rifle, D-Charges / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 15) PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) PALBOT Electric Pulse. (0 | 3) HEXA Hacker (Killer Hacking Device) Combi Rifle / Pistol, Electric Pulse. (0 | 27) 5 SWC | 300 Points Open in Infinity Army
I have not used it, but the Hacker with the Boarding Shotgun is an interesting profile, since most hackers have combi rifles. This makes it much easier to hit a TAG or HI with an immobilization program, and then shoot them to death. Since 8" is ZoC AND +6 for the Boarding Shotgun, it's perfect.
Wombat85, I'm sorry! it was post from frustration. yojamesbo, thanks! I will try out the list. So, I should use the Bolts just for shooty missions?
The humble bolt. Too expensive for what he does and too niche to be good. In all seriousness - I like bolts. They're not soooooo bad, although they are situational. If a tournament has hunting party in it I will take them in a list every time. They are invaluable in that mission. They can also be good in certain metas. Lots of Haqq/Ariadna sniper rifles? Bolts are great! Viral is the main weapon of the enemy? Bolts are great! They rarely make it into an "all-comers list" but for specialized situations they can be pretty powerful.
No no, you can use them for whatever you like. That list is just one that I've had some luck with in the past, and it is definitely oriented toward blowing things up. :-)
If you play aggressively, Bolts are great. All of their special abilities and equipment is perfect for getting stuck in the midfield and holding it. Burst 3 shotguns at BS 22 is hilarious. EM grenades ruin any TAG's or HI's day. Drop Bears are so fun to use, just don't try to use them as regular mines. be aggressive with them. In my meta, i face a lot of Haq and Ariadna, so i face a lot of mines, regular sniper rifles and viral weapons. Bolts have won me the day on many occasions. That being said, they are expensive and when your link gets decimated by a 5 point dude with a chain rifle you will feel like crying. outwardly and embarrassingly.
In short, they can be ok when you leverage their strengths for combat oriented operations: BOLT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 24) BOLT MULTI Sniper Rifle / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 26) BOLT Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27) BOLT Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) BOLT Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) 3.5 SWC | 115 Points A setup like this dodges the Combi/LSG tax entirely and provides a lot of firepower at all ranges. E/M Grenades, especially in those quantities, aren't something opponents are likely to expect from PanO either. Now, are you better off with a Fusilier Fireteam Core? Almost certainly. But this is a Fireteam which won't leave you feeling bad just for running it.
Or you can take something like this: BOLT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 24) BOLT Hacker (Hacking Device) Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0.5 | 27) BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) BOLT Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) 2 SWC | 120 Points Optimized for the midfield, in a way that Fusiliers can't really match. But I'm not convinced it's a good way to spend 120 pts.
My personal preference is this Neoterran Capitaline Army ────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5 BOLT Spitfire / Pistol, Knife. (1.5 | 24) BOLT Paramedic (MediKit) Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 24) BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) BOLT Combi Rifle + Light Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 25) BOLT Boarding Shotgun, E/M Grenades / Pistol, Knife. (0 | 19) 1.5 SWC | 117 Points Open in Infinity Army
There are two other situational uses for Bolts. 1: Facing Haqq Ghazi and thus Jammers are one of the most game-shaping things in all of Infinity. Pointing and laughing at them makes your Haqq opponents sad. You should do it. 2: Hunting Party It turns out that 5-man Fireteams with Glue Guns are hilarious! Plus immunity to Isolation themselves makes for another fun game to play. This might actually be an argument for the Bolt Lt ('though I prefer the Aquila myself).
I feel like the buff to CSU might have made Bolts a bit better, but I probably missed discussions about this. What's the verdict?
Bolts are good IMO BS 13, some useful immunities, not that expensive, great at CQB, loads of weapon options.
