Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide are sending players back into the vicious world of Warhammer 40,000.
This latest trip to the popular tabletop RPG franchise adopts even deeper strategic elements. The bulky Space Marine Terminators have been pitted against swarms of alien Genestealers – you can choose which faction you want to align yourself with. Space Hulk: Tactics is a thinking man’s game, so you’ll definitely want to know the best approaches to battling, unit management, and smart maneuvering. Thanks to the development team behind the game, we now have a guide full of advice for the most ardent Warhammer 40,000 fans.
Here are the top 10 tips, tricks, and cheats you need to know for Space Hulk: Tactics.
1. A Conversion a Day Keeps the Enemy at Bay
• Covert a Card Every Turn – As the Terminators, Squad Action Points (SAP) earned via card conversion are an invaluable resource. Their flexibility will allow you to reach objectives faster, unjam your weapons, compensate for bad rolls, etc.
• As the Genestealers, your strength depends on numbers and your swarm comes from the Blips you get by converting cards. Converting a card in each conversion phase will allow you to flood the map, compensate for losses, and pile up for risky but necessary suicidal attacks.
2. A Card in Your Hand is a Dead Card
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• Use as Many Cards as Possible – Cards are only good when used. As you redraw up to three cards at the beginning of each turn, you are encouraged to play your hand, even sub-optimally. Only save Command Points (CP)/Menace Points (MP) and the most important cards for critical, high-power moves, and use or convert the rest.
3. Believe in the Heart of the Cards
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• Know Your Cards and Play Them Well – Both Terminators and Genestealers get access to powerful cards that can, if used correctly, be real game changers. Guaranteeing a successful melee, replenishing Psy Points, preventing jams or malfunctions, giving all your units more Action Points, placing rubble in key locations – all are very powerful effects in their own regard. Be sure to know which cards you bring to the fight, and when to use them for maximum impact.
4. Within Claw’s Reach
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• Stay Outside of the Enemy’s Range – As the Terminators, avoid (at all costs!) ending your turn within the reach of Genestealers. Genestealers have six AP. A blip with two or more Genestealers can deploy the second one ahead, meaning it can reach an extra square. A suddenly spawned Reaperfex biomorph has eight AP and can cross any occupied square.
• If you have to get in range, use overwatch and any other tools at your disposal to prevent Genestealers from getting into close quarters, or use guard and cards to minimize the risk of losing the melee. As the Genestealers, avoid long corridors where Terminators can mow you down. Don’t keep your Genestealers packed and be mindful of corners if the Terminators have area of effect weapons (Plasma Cannons, Heavy Flamers, and Psychic Storms).
5. Time is of the Essence
• Time Usually Plays in the Genestealers’ Favor – On most maps, the Terminator player will lose if you reach the turn limit. As such, and combined with the fact that the Genestealer player gets reinforcements every turn, time usually plays in the Genestealers favor.
• As the Terminators, play aggressively, and keep on advancing to your objective. Try to kill Genestealers whenever you can to prevent them from becoming too numerous. As the Genestealers, play safe, try to find gaps in the Terminator’s defense. Simply threatening them will slow them down and force them to take risky actions.
6. Human (and Xenos) Resources
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• Make Sacrifices to Achieve Your Objective – Your only goal is to achieve your map objective in time, the survival of your units is only a means to achieve this. If sacrificing a group of Genestealers in overwatch fire, or leaving a Terminator behind to guard a corridor gets you closer to victory, just do it! Killing the enemy, as satisfying as it is, also comes second.
7. Don’t Put All Your Bolts in the Same Bolter
• Prepare for Bad Rolls, Take Advantage of Good Ones – In order to mitigate the effects of bad RNG, be sure to have backup plans. As Terminator, use long overwatch corridors, overlapping fields of fire, guard stance, and, most importantly, cards to improve your odds of survival. As Genestealers, attack Terminators from the back, have lots of Genestealers in reserve, and push the Terminator’s luck: often all you need is one bad roll.
8. The Machine Spirit is Angry
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• Maximize Your Turn. Play All Your Units. Spend (Almost) All Your APStorm Bolters Can Jam, Plus Uncleared Jams Can Mean the Death of a Terminator Squad – Terminator Storm Bolters have a 1/6 chance to jam every time they fire in overwatch.
• If the Terminator had remaining Action Points (AP) or Squad Action Points (SAP), he will automatically consume 1 to unjam and stay in overwatch. Otherwise, he’ll be unable to fire for the rest of the turn. As the Terminators, always keep one or two AP/SAP to unjam. As the Genestealers, try to make the Terminators jam with a large force.
9. No (End) Turning Back
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• Maximize Your Turn. Play All Your Units. Spend (Almost) All Your AP – Each turn is critical to the game, each unit is critical to the turn. Do not press end turn until you’ve used all your other options, maximized all your actions.
• As the Terminators, be sure to use your free shot after each movement, only keep Action Points (AP) to clear jams, put your Terminators in overwatch or guard, destroy an extra door for your next turn, etc. As Genestealers, advance as much as you can, spread throughout the map, and use your higher speed to flank and surround the enemy.
10. Out of Sight, Out of Harm
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• Genestealer Biomorph Deployment Can be Canceled by Forcing a Reveal – If a Genestealer Biomorph is incubating and a Terminator manages to get a line of sight on it during his turn, the Blip will be destroyed.
• The Genestealer player will have lost the Genestealers from the Blip, the Biomorph, and the card to summon it! As the Genestealer player, be sure to incubate your Biomorphs away from the fight. As a Terminator, use cards and Squad Action Points (SAP) to reach them and deal a serious blow to the Genestealer strategy.
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10 Space Hulk: Tactics Tips & Tricks You Need to Know