Tuesday 11 February 2014

Necromunda Weapons Review: Special Weapons

Thought seeing as my camera isn't ready yet I would start off my posting again with another weapons review.

Diving right in

Flamer
The cheapest costing special weapon in the game, one of the most widely used as well. Very short range of the template means you will have to get in close to use it. Best used on Heavies with low BS and WS upgrades, to make themselves more useful in the gang. Also a great option on a ganger or juve that rolls up specialist but has not got a great BS. S4 is decent all the way through a campaign and setting fire on a 4+ is a great bonus. Having to roll an ammo check after each shot means you shouldn't rely on it lasting too long without Armourer or Weaponsmith skills. 
One problem that was been noticed in our group is people getting 40k syndrome when shooting it and forgetting that it is still subject to the targeting rules and unless the shooter has the Marksman skill they must target the closest model. So you can't aim where you choose to catch more models. A way around this is to be careful of your placement when moving.

Autoslugger

A new weapon added in community edition, costing 45 credits it is essentually an autogun that shoots D3 times and has a 5+ ammo roll. Range, strength and damage are all the same as its basic weapon counter part.
I have not used this weapon myself but I can see it as a very nice (but slightly expensive) back up weapon for a heavy. Or perhaps on a ganger or a juve that gains specialist.

Grenade launcher


This weapon nearly deserves its own post!
Changed from LRB it being a move or fire weapon with a very long range and costing about 120 credits, to a 28" and a costing 60. It can fire all but meltabombs, which gives it a versatility that is unmatched.  Often started with just frags it gives you a great pinning weapon able to hit everyone in a large blast stops most gangs from getting them up from pinning. Krak grenades add some needed punch to the weapon, being its highest strength ammo type. Plasma grenades do slightly less damage than Krak but have the potential to stick around for a long time and cause more damage. The gas grenades add a lot of utility to the weapon but limit your exp gains so are best used sparingly, as if any of the shots you make cause you to run out of ammo the gun cannot be fired even with the other ammo types you carry.


Meltagun
The highest strength special weapon, with a really short range of only 12" you will need to be a good shot with this gun, if you miss most gangs will not let you take a second shot! Best used on high BS gang members like leaders. Although it is pricey it gets the job done. Don't forget its high impact so -1 LD for nerve tests when you down guys with this gun!

Plasma gun

A great special weapon with two firing modes like other plasma weapons. Nice range and a high strength, although the strength of the high power shot was reduced by 1 in CE. You have the choice to fire on low power for a S5 shot, or high power for D3 S6 shots but with a roll on the gets hot chart and a lower ammo roll. Often its better to shoot low power saving a high power volley of shots for a nice group of targets. With the gets hot having the possibility of doing a strength D3 hit on the owner, it is nice if the owner has a toughness or wound increase to help mitigate this. 

Needle rifle

The only "rare" special weapon, it costs a hell of a lot for what it offers. It is silenced so if fired while hidden roll a D6 and on a 4+ you remain hidden, also great for rescues and raid. If you hit with this gun and they fail any armour save they might have then then take a wound without you having to roll for it. There is also an improved injury chart 5-6 being OOA instead of a 6. Also gangers downed by this weapon cannot crawl 2" a turn. But once gangs get a bit of exp under the belt they are likely to have multi wound gangers that make this weapon not worth its 180+4D6 credit price tag. 

I hope this was useful to you guys if you want me to do more in this series please let me know, and if you have any comments or questions on these weapons or better advise post these in the comments below! All are welcome if I got anything wrong I will get it fixed!

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