SUPPRESSION
The survivors of the Interregnum are not Hollywood juggernauts, striding undaunted into rivers of gunfire that part before their machismo. They’re normal people faced with the reality of combat, not the glamor: each bullet promises death. The only thing better than avoiding one is ensuring the enemy doesn’t get a chance to fire; in other words, Suppression.
Attacking a unit on the battlefield will suppress it, whether the attack lands or not. Even if they’re not reeling from pain, combatants flinch from whistling bullets or swinging bats. Cover helps protect against Suppression, but doesn’t eliminate it entirely.
Suppression depletes AP (Action Points), which are required for all combat actions. Therefore, if you keep an enemy fully suppressed, they’ll be unable to take action, letting you neutralize a particularly threatening unit, or overwhelm and corner an overextended one.
However, the same applies to allied units. If you make reckless tactical decisions, one of your best fighters might end up suppressed under a hail of gunfire. This is only compounded by numbers advantage– more units equals more guns equals more Suppression.
But while you’ll often be outnumbered, you have something your enemies don’t: Tactical Advantage!
As you suppress foes, bonus AP will be stored in the Tactical Advantage gauge, and can be used by any allied unit once their allotted AP for the turn is depleted. Tactical Advantage is a representation of your ability to exploit openings in combat: you can use it to continually fire on enemies, reload in an emergency, radically reposition, or even allow a fully suppressed ally to dash to a more secure location.
Many things in the world of Interregnum interact with Suppression– different weapons will have different Suppression values, and units with high Willpower aren’t easily suppressed. It’s up to you to look out for new ways to attain fire superiority in battle.
Who’s allowed to act and who isn’t is what decides who survives and who dies, so keep Suppression in mind as you go into combat!