WIP TBC
A guide to playing a utility PFC that trades in some killing power for healing and engineering utility.
You fight on the frontlines as needed while helping the Engineers and Medics do their jobs by ripping up vents/pipes, welding doors, repairing sentries and robolimbs, dismantling windows and grilles, moving vendors, breaking stuff down into metal and keeping marines (and yourself) up right.
#1: Thou Shalt Get Thy Attachments:
As a utility PFC who is packing a satchel, you have one weapon, so you need to make it count; it must be versatile and capable of handling nearly any opponent in any situation.
To this end you'll be taking a M41A rifle with one of the following loadouts:
M41A Rifle:
Burst Fire Assembly:
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Muzzle Slot: Silencer/Extended/Bayonet (Improves accuracy lost due to Burst Fire Assembly; Suppressor also reduces the burst fire spread; Suppressor recommended, but Extended is a decent alternative; just mind the spread outside of close range. Bayonet is fine, but it ensures that you cannot use your weapon effectively outside of close range). Lowest priority if you are limited to two attachments.
- Extended Barrel: ++++Accuracy, -Damage
- Suppressor: +Accuracy, -Spread, -Damage
- Bayonet: +++Melee Damage, -Accuracy
Rail Slot: Magnetic Harnesst (Magnetic ensures you (almost) never lose your one (1) weapon and its attachments; indispensible insurance policy. Since you're not about DPS except at close range, the Mag is the best option.)
- Magnetic Harness: Dropped weapon automatically goes to suit slot., -Accuracy
Underbarrel Slot: Burst Fire Assembly (Dramatically increases the fire power of your weapon, especially at close/medium range).
- Burst Fire Assembly: Burst fire shoots 2 more bullets totaling 5., ++Burst-Fire Spread, --Accuracy
Summary: The Burst Fire build is extremely deadly at close to medium range, proving less effective at long ranges (6+ tiles). If you lack accuracy enhancing attachments its long range performance is significantly reduced (and using a bayonet ensures it is largely only effective at close range; 4 tiles or closer). Further, the risk and consequences of friendly fire are increased due to the length of burst fire and burst spread. Bad at ammo conservation: you empty a standard clip in about
6 8 bursts; make them count. Good for its simplicity and ease of use as you don't have to worry about switching between modes like the Miniflamer. Remember to melee between bursts as the opportunity presents itself. When beside a xeno, remember to shoot the tile beyond the xeno while on burst mode in order to hit him with your five shot burst instead of one point blank shot.
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Muzzle Slot: Bayonet would be my favoured choice since you tend to engage enemies at close range, and you need to peel them off your defenses; melee attack between bursts. You may consider taking an Extended Barrel, especially in maps with long firing/sightlines(it's the lowest priority attachment).
- Extended Barrel: ++++Accuracy, -Damage
- Bayonet: +++Melee Damage, -Accuracy
Rail Slot: Magnetic Harness/Red Dot Sight (Magnetic ensures you (almost) never lose your one (1) weapon and its attachments; indispensible insurance policy. Since you're not about DPS except at close range, the Mag is the best option.)
- Magnetic Harness: Dropped weapon automatically goes to suit slot., -Accuracy
Underbarrel Slot: Gyroscopic Stabilizer.
- Gyroscopic Stabilizer: Allows you to use your weapon one-handed,+Spread, +Recoil, --Accuracy
Summary: Useful for medium and close quarters fighting even if the raw damage output isn't as high as other configurations; still decent at longer ranges when on semi-auto (if you took the Extended Barrel). The gyro eliminates the need to wield which optimizes your reaction times and movement speed, letting you flee or finish off xenos and close to effective/melee range with relative ease while also permitting you to use/drag items in the off-hand without compromising your combat readiness. A strong contender for the best rifle loadout. Flexible compared to the gyroed shotgun, but with much less spike damage and stopping power at close range.
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Muzzle Slot: Bayonet
- Bayonet: +++Melee Damage, -Accuracy
Rail Slot: Magnetic Harness (Magnetic ensures you (almost) never lose your one (1) weapon and its attachments; indispensible insurance policy. Since you don't need accuracy the accuracy penalty is inconsequential)
- Magnetic Harness: Dropped weapon automatically goes to suit slot., -Accuracy
Underbarrel Slot: Gyroscopic Stabilizer.
- Gyroscopic Stabilizer: Allows you to use your weapon one-handed,+Burst-Fire Spread, +Recoil, --Accuracy
Summary: The ultimate CQC personal defense weapon and easily the best loadout for the shotgun (barring possibly use of a barrel charger which you're not getting); use your bayonet in melee between buckshot blasts. Compared to its rifle counterpart, the M37 trades flexibility for raw close range power. The gyro eliminates the need to wield which optimizes your reaction times and movement speed, letting you flee or finish off xenos and close to effective/melee range with relative ease while also permitting you to use/drag items in the off-hand without compromising your combat readiness. The lethality of the shotgun also tends to scare xenos off, and at close range (2 tiles or closer), the shotgun is an effective and deadly deterrent to virtually every xeno, being able to bypass exoskeleton deflection unlike the rifle (if it doesn't have AP). Try to keep your gyroed weapon in hand at all times so you can quickly swap to it and shoot as needed. When beside a xeno, remember to shoot the tile beyond the xeno in order to hit him with additional buckshot instead of one point blank shot.
Angled Grip:
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Muzzle Slot: Bayonet
- Bayonet: +++Melee Damage, -Accuracy
Rail Slot: Magnetic Harness (Magnetic ensures you (almost) never lose your one (1) weapon and its attachments; indispensible insurance policy. Since you don't need accuracy the accuracy penalty is inconsequential)
- Magnetic Harness: Dropped weapon automatically goes to suit slot., -Accuracy
Underbarrel Slot: Angled Grip
- Angled Grip: All: +Accuracy, -Spread Wielded: -Recoil ---Wield Delay +Increased weapon size.
Summary: Since the gyroscopic stabilizer was basically nerfed into near uselessness, this is the next best thing. Despite the loss of one-handing, it does work well enough, particularly if you have a key bound to wielding which you should, and doubly if you have a macro set up to drop your held item, swap to your weapon and wield it. This configuration does work pretty well with slugs which have become the new meta due to them soft countering omnipresent Warriors and Defenders, and buckshot no longer being as viable with the loss of said one-handing compromising mobility. You should generally load this with slugs, though it can take and use any shotgun munition fairly well.
Back, Satchel:
- A gas mask.
- 1 box of buckshot (if using the Masterkey; otherwise take another box/medikit filled with painkillers, and a spare flask).
- 1-2 medikit (ask Medbay or your Squad Medic, Req or salvage one from the oxy lockers) filled with medical supplies; at least 2 stacks of bandages, 2 stacks of ointment, 1 stack of splints, and an HF2 Health Scanner (optional) the rest can be painkiller injectors. Second medikit if taken should be full of painkiller injectors, one first aid injector, a spare flask, perhaps a medHUD (if you're not wearing one).
- 1 bodybag box with the following in order of priority: a cryobag, a wrench, a crowbar, wirecutters, welding goggles, a welder, (these are your utility tools, along with a screwdriver on your helmet), a station bounced radio, a bayonet (emergency weapon of last resort/good for clearing weed structures while in close quarters if you want to keep your weapon ready), mini-extinguisher.
- A roller bed is optional but very, albeit situationally, useful.
Your boot should have a Night Raider survival knife.
Your helmet should include a flask and a screwdriver. Fill spare slots with stale protein bars.
Your armour should contain 2 HE grenades, or rifle magazines otherwise (or one slot with buckshot shells if you are running the Masterkey and have no webbing or general pouch that has buckshot shells; for easy retrieval when reloading).
You should have a first aid pouch loaded with painkiller injectors. Replacing one first aid pouch with a medium or large general pouch is acceptable; load this with magazines and one handful of shotgun shells (if you're taking Masterkey). Take a (large) pistol ammo loaded with buckshot if you're taking the M37 (get a large pistol pouch from Req, standard from your regular vendors).
You should have an ammo rig loaded with rifle magazines (or shotgun shell load rig if you're using the M37).
If possible, get a medHUD so you can better serve as a ghetto field medic (ask Medbay or your Squad Medic).
If possible, get a webbing and load it with ammo.
Note that you won't always be able to gather all of this stuff; do the best you can and fill in the gaps where able.
A couple of demonstrative screenshots (I was unable to get everything on the list before deployment unfortunately):
#3: Thou Shalt Utilize Thy Potential:
So you're a PFC with a bunch of tools and utility items; what do?
During downtime when you're out of combat or are on the backline, mostly the following:
Engineering:
- Use your wirecutters to remove/reposition barbed wire; especially good for getting past otherwise impassable barbed wire blockaides.
- Use your crowbar and wrench to pry up floor tiles and remove pipe segments, vents and scrubbers to deny xenos valuable avenues of ambush/movement. Note that xenos can come out of pipes, if the connecting segment is disconnected, but they cannot get back in; this is useful if they'd disembark in front of a barricade firing line/sentry, and problematic if they can get out behind your defensive lines; avoid the latter at all costs.
- Use your welder to weld/unweld doors, vents and scrubbers, and to repair sentries, walls and robolimbs. Remember to equip and flip down your welding goggles/mask.
- Use all of your mighty tools to dismantle standard walls.
- Use your screwdriver and crowbar to neatly and quickly remove windows.
- Use your trusty screwdriver to gouge out the eyes of unsuspecting Predators.
- Use your wrench to unsecure and secure vendors and girders; great for retrieving that First Aid Station or MedVend or making an impromptu barricade.
- Use your wrench (and welder as necessary) to break down tables, chairs and racks into metal for your engineer friends.
- Use your wirecutters to bypass barbed barricades in a pinch.
- Use your crowbar to open depowered doors; no need to wait for the squad engineer!
Medical:
- Dose the badly injured and those to be revived with one of your many Tricordrazine injectors. Do not succumb to the temptation to use one more than one as this heightens the risk of accidental overdoses (doubly so if the patient is already bandaged, which implies that he may have received one tricord dose already).
- Use your MedHUD (hopefully) and copious medical supplies to identify, heal up and splint said badly injured marines.
- Remember to recharge and restock your supplies at MedVends and First Aid Stations, such as spent Tricordrazine injectors (including ones you find on the gorund).
- Don't use bandages and ointment on someone if a Medic is likely to treat them in the immediate future or if a Medic is in the process of treating as his application of trauma/burn kits restore more health.
- Use your HF2 Analyzer (if you took it) to identify your patient's needs if examining and listening to him is insufficient.
- Use your roller bed and cryobag to whisk the injured off the frontline and to safety.
Misc:
- Hide in your bodybag to ambush unsuspecting Xenos... or just hide. Most effective with a burst damage weapon like a BFA or Masterkey rifle.
- Keep in touch with everyone and relay important information with your station bounced radio.
Remember, unlike devout/specialized combat PFCs, you're always useful and you should always be busy and using your expanded capabilities whenever possible.
Told you guize
