Dev Diary #15 - Form an Ordered Battleline!
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+++ Subject Matter - On the Prosecution of Battle, A Primer +++
Welcome again warriors. In our last entry we gave you an overview of the Astra Militarum forces that will be at your disposal very soon. In this diary entry we’ll give you a brief introduction into the ways and means by which this force aims to utterly destroy the enemies of the Imperium.
Firstly, the core Doctrine. These are all Born Soldiers. The massed ranks of the Astra Militarum are the mainstay of the Imperium's unending war machine. Individually insignificant men and women are gathered into an unrelenting mass of lasguns and bayonets, armoured artillery and honest Human grit.
But this is no rabble or swarm, this is an organised system of death, elevated by eternal respect for the Chain of Command, Order and Battlelines. All of the Astra Militarum forces will gain bonus momentum if they start their turn in an Ordered Battleline. Additionally, each momentum gained gives each unit a greater chance of dealing critical hits and of having graze hits upgraded to normal hits.
Astra Militarum units create a Battleline when they form a continuous line that includes a HQ unit at the start of their turn. Units in a Battleline earn additional Momentum, and gain additional bonuses from HQ units. These Officer bonuses persist throughout the player turn, even if the Battleline breaks apart to carry out their orders, reforming anew at the start of the next turn.
As seasoned commanders, you will instantly understand the added value that HQ units bring to this faction. They need to be near the front line to lend the most benefit, but in doing so they are surely exposed to enemy fire? Fortunately the massed ranks of infantry bring an extra benefit. Infantry leaders such as the Cadian Castellan gain the Embedded trait when adjacent to friendly infantry, greatly increasing their evasion, almost goading the enemy into wasting shots trying to taking them out.
Supporting the Infantry you will see, somewhere in the backline, the Earthshaker Cannons mounted on the Basilisk Mobile Artillery. These fearsome deliverers of death also bring something new to the battlefield with a new Artillery trait and Astra Militarum unique High Explosives.
Artillery (which will expand to include the Exorcist and Biovore) will gain the feature that their shots never truly Miss, they just hit something else. Each Miss of a shot from these units will scatter to a nearby tile, damaging anyone on that location instead, be it friend or foe! And with the High Explosives in the Earthshaker Cannons, there is an additional chance that damage can splash even further, hitting even more nearby targets!
Lastly, but certainly not least, what extra support options do HQ Commanders have when leading forces of the Astra Militarum. As you may have guessed from previous info, they can call down devastating strafing runs from Valkyrie Carrier-Gunships. They can also call upon these versatile beasts to transport infantry away from and onto the battlefield, creating real headaches for their opposition!
And then, to what could be counted as the 17th unit of the Astra Militarum roster. From well defended off-map support companies, the Commander of an army of the Astra Militarum can call upon, in extremis, Battlesector’s biggest weapon yet, a Deathstrike Missile. Melting away anything at ground zero, this enormous ordinance can potentially affect 25 units, damaging a 5x5 square zone of enemies, allies and everything in between.
Truly this will be an explosive release.
The Battlesector Team