Tactitorial: Attacking Buildings

We’ve all been there…pinned down by an MG-42 set up in a building and laying down Grazing Fire (14.3.6) right along our only avenue of advance. You’re just sitting there with bullets whizzing by trying to figure out…what do I do now? Do I shoot at the building or do I shoot at the crew? Fear not, fellow ATSers, ATSFE is here to help, or, at least, provide some rules guidance. You won’t need even need to buckle up as this will be a short one, and, we have a play aid for you, too!

Tactitorials: Brrrrrrt! How Rate of Fire Works

No, ATS isn’t incorporating A-10 Warthogs (though MEVO is!), but there are few more iconic demonstrations of the power of Rate of Fire (ROF). That said, there are nuances within the rules about when you can and can’t use the ROF of a weapon. This article aims (see what I did there?) to reduce the confusion.

Stowing the White Flag – How to Rally from Surrender

So, during the End of Turn Segment, you’ve reached Step B and “Both players perform the following Rally actions.” Unfortunately for you, some of your units have “surrendered”. Or at least, they’ve been marked as “Surrendered”. So… what happens next? Lucky for you, we’re here to unpack the rally sequence around this!

Rubble, Rubble…is it Worth the Toil and Trouble?

Every now and again, especially in the ETO modules, those pesky defenders will hole up in a building somewhere, and it becomes your job to dig them out. There has been confusion over the years over just how attacking buildings works in ATS. Rest assured that you’ve come to the right place as we’re about to have a house party, raise the roof, and break down the walls on how exactly you do that. The pertinent rules are generally found in 8.3.8 and 8.3.9 (I am, of course, using the 4.x rules for this discussion).

Tactitorial: Gun Duels

Sabers at dawn? Rapiers at high noon? Pistols at twenty paces? Try again – how about seventy five millimeter cannons at a thousand yards instead?

Today we are going to take a brief look at that fine ATS institution, the Gun Duel, as well as some tactical considerations for its use. This mechanic lets you return fire with one of your guns when it’s fired upon, with the opportunity for a simultaneous or even preemptive shot. Clearly a potentially powerful procedure – let’s take a look.

Tactitorial: Covered Arc

That Tiger driver should have read this tactitorial so he wouldn’t get rammed from behind.

It’s not a Roman architectural feature, it’s not a roofed version of Noah’s vessel, it’s where your gun is pointing at! Today we’re going to dive into the rules and tactics around both Vehicle Covered Arc (VCA) and Turret Covered Arc (TCA). This topic may seem as small and benign as a non-cancerous tumor, but unlike with the tumor, there is some nuance that must be examined. Scalpels out!

Tactictorial: Banzai!

Who doesn’t love a last stand, complete with a suicidal charge in the face of daunting odds? The people on the receiving end of the charge, of course!

Today we’re going to look at the Banzai Charge, a special Japanese attack that is both suicidal for the attacker and scary as hell for the defender. The specific Banzai Charge rules are covered by 13.6 but are also heavily based on the Overrun rules, which are found in 12.14.

Tactitorial: Japanese Leaders and Morale

If you looked solely at the Japanese units’ “hard” stats, you’d be forgiven for not thinking much of their combat prowess. They have these two fairly rinky-dink squad types who have 4 Gunfire Factors/4 range and 5 Gunfire Factors/5 range respectively. Their support weapons are fairly mundane, other than a quality ATR (exactly) and a certain spectacular twin heavy machine gun. 

You may now say, “Holy cow.”

Tactitorial: Burst on Target (BOT)

It’s not a droid, it’s not an AI for a card-driven game, it’s not a Twitch chat macro, it’s a Burst on Target! 

A Burst On Target (BOT) in ATS occurs when some sort of gun hits its target, thereby finding its range to said target, and, with said range having been found, increases the ability to hit repeatedly more easily. Just leave that front sight post alone, dear Lahti gunner, you’re all set to fire at will.

Today we’ll go over the mechanics of a BOT, as well as some tactics for how to get the most out of them. They are a vital aspect of effective AFV, AT gun, and mortar combat, so understanding their use is in turn vital to your ATS play.

Tactitorial: The Bomber Mafia! (or Aircraft Attacks, cont.)

The inestimable Scottagles (whom we’ve interviewed) “challenged” me (suggested, really) to write a follow-up article to our ATSFE Aircraft Attacks video tutorial (go ahead and watch it – it’s only 15 minutes – I’ll wait…are you back? Good, let’s continue!) with some guidance focused specifically on the HPT, Strafing, and Aerial Rocket attacks because of some “squishiness” therein.

So….challenge accepted!