Raiders Tactics & Overview v4.0

RAIDERS TACTICS AND OVERVIEW

v4.0

First we're starting with what Raiders are NOT SPECIAL at: for the most part, Raiders are worse Survivors. Without access to the wide variety of Uniques and Common units, with the same defensive stats and only slightly better close combat, it's a hard life to be a Raider. They also have a more limited equipment list, and are missing plenty of the high-end weapons - including all energy weapons aside from the Shishkebab and (probably stolen) Laser Muskets.

What they do have, though, is better living through chemistry. The last turn of Chems lasts two turns for all Raiders, which is significant in a 6 turn game, and can turn their average stats into temporarily monstrous ones. Thankfully, Chems are much cheaper now, making them the main way of keeping your Raiders viable.

They can also charge out of LoS if a friendly model is engaged with their target, and several of them also have Green charge range over the standard Red. Last, despite being stoned out of their gourds, all of them have the Search skill, some at very high levels.

Which Chems are best for each model is going to be discussed under that model's entry.

COMMON

DOG

Don't get Dogs. Psychos are MUCH better, only losing 2" charge range, and can buy Chems and weapons - a Psycho with a Shishkebab and Fury is the same cost as a Dog, and can be built cheaper than that. Survivors can make an argument for Dogs, but Raiders? No.

PSYCHO

Psychos are one of your staple models. With Red movement, Green Charge, and a GREAT AGI 7 behind their Melee and Throwing skills, they should be a major part of every force you create. They also automatically succeed on their first climbing test, which is no joke with their increased Movement.

 

On arming them, you can go expensive, middling, or dirt-cheap. Expensive is the Shishkebab; with the only Energy damage that Raiders get 'easy' access to, along with Black/Yellow and 33% of inflicting Fire, it's good but expensive - especially on HP 4 models. Middling is the Lead Pipe or Board; with a 50% of inflicting a status effect the Lead Pipe can shape the battlefield, but the Board's extra Black can do more damage. Cheap is the Pipe Wrench; with more armor hitting the table the Yellow is a better bet now, but still not wonderful. Stick a Bolt-Action Pipe Pistol in their holster just in case they can't get close enough to charge, and you're done. 

Alternately, you could go for the "Mad Bomber What Bombs At Midnight" build, with a Baseball Cap (to increase their throwing range at the cost of their movement) and 2-3 Molotovs/Baseball Grenades, with a Pipe Wrench or Assaultron Blade for when they're out of grenades. Having AGI 9 for Throwing is a solid 80% of landing their tosses, and 10" of range is quite scary.

For drugs, there are only two real choices: Fury for the extra Black die and more Armor on the turns where they're closing with the enemies (plus it's cheaper at 10 Caps), or Overdrive to give them Criticals for some real glass cannon scariness. Psycho might SEEM an obvious choice, but its damage die expires turn two, only giving Strong Armor for its final turns - I say leave this in the Chem box and take Fury instead.

PSYCHO OUTLAW

...Why? For 1 Cap less than a Psycho, they lose 10% of their main combat stats, 1 point of Physical Armor, and gain... 2 INT for a total of INT 4 on Lockpick tests and Expertise as a Quick Action. These guys aren't worth it.

RAIDER

I don't think I like generic Raiders. Over the Psychos they add +1 Energy ARM, but lose two AGI for Close Combat (going from 65% to 45%!) and 2" of Movement, though they keep the same Charge range. They also have a measly 4 PER for guns, making them TERRIBLE shots and not worth massing for shooting. Yes, they're 6 Caps cheaper, but the Psycho is very worth the cost - or the Scavver and Veteran Raider.

RAIDER OUTLAW

Take everything I said about the Raider, and lose another AGI point! Sure, they have INT 5 for Lockpick tests, but the Scavver Outlaw is a much better choice for objective running as he has Computers off that INT as well.

SCAVVER

At last, a regular/Outlaw pairing that has merits in both choices. The basic Scavver is your gun expert, with solid PER 7 to use with guns and his Search, the highest that Raiders have available. He's also a bit tougher than Psychos and Raiders, with +1 Health over both choices and 2/2/0 ARM. With Lockpick and Computers on his card he can also objective run in a pinch, though INT 3 is... unreliable. His 60 Caps is pricy, but worth it.

For weaponry, the Combat Rifle is your best bet for solid dice at all ranges, but the Hunting rifle DOES have 2 Greens at Long range and +2" Range... for 4 more Caps, which is pretty good. Do note that they can now take Laser Muskets, which is one of the few Energy weapons that Raiders have and are pretty good by themselves - but shorter-ranged than the other options. There's also other Rifles - Grenade Launcher, Sniper Rifle, and Trail Carbine - that have prices but no stats, so watch this space...

He does have access to Power Armor, which makes his Heavy Weapons skill actually usable, but for a few Caps more the Vet Raider is a much better choice to give this valuable gear to.

What Chems? Orange Mentats give him amazing PER, an extra AP for the first turn, and let him take Shooting actions as Quick - all great, and probably the best choice overall. Bufftats and Spark are okay too, but Orange Mentats are great.

SCAVVER OUTLAW

This guy is your main objective runner. Yes, INT 5 is bad, but thankfully he has options. He does have only PER 6 compared to the Scavver's 7, so he's not as good at shooting, but that isn't really his main job anyway.

His best gun is probably a Double-Barreled Shotgun. Most of the time he'll want to do other things that shoot twice, there will probably be enemy models near the objectives he's running towards, and the DBS lets him dish out some SERIOUS damage to close targets. A safer generalist choice is the Combat Rifle, and he's at a point SPECIAL-wise where he'd want a melee weapon like a Chinese Officer Sword or Assaultron Blade for close combat over using his gun instead.

 

Because he's an objective runner and not super-tough, it might be worthwhile to invest in some armor - a Red Flight Helmet, Heavy Raider Armor, or Vault 111 Jumpsuit - but that's up to you.

Chems? Spark. Gaining INT 9, an extra AP, AND the ability to spend AP on Expertise are all just great for an objective runner. Mentats could work well for a more shooting-minded Scavver Outlaw, but Spark's focus at turning your only objective runner into a GREAT objective runner is one of the best things that Raiders have available.

VETERAN RAIDER

This guy is your top-end dude, and quite good at it. He has great Melee and Throwing off AGI 7, high Health at 7, solid defenses at 3/3/1, and decent Heavy Weapons off STR 6. He has 4s for Search, Lockpick, and Computers, so he's not helpless but not great at objective running. He's also not that much more expensive than a Scavver, at only 85 Caps. Last, if he's unengaged he can also shove a nearby unengaged friendly in the way of an attack once per battle!

They can also serve as the main core of your force, with only a few other models here and there like Scavver Outlaws for objective running. Quality can be its own quantity, sometimes.

There are basically three way to equip him. First, with a Missile Launcher and Buffout, to add a model with possibly the best Heavy Weapon in the game to your force, and probably a Tire Iron or Board in case he needs to fight in close - if you want a Minigun Raider, get Ack-Ack. Second, with Raider Power Armor, Fury, and a melee weapon - probably a Huge Club - to lead your charging Psychos. Last, with all the fruit - Raider Power Armor, a Missile Launcher or Minigun, a Huge Club, and Jet (for more AP and Reactions), Overdrive (for Crits), or Med-X (for tanking). Which is best? Probably the ML/Buffout one, as MLs are strong and add things that other Raider models don't have.

UNIQUES

ACK-ACK

Ack-Ack is designed for her minigun. She has decent STR 7 for shooting it and counts any Black die blank faces as -1 to hit, which is solid and will come up a fair bit with her number of attacks. Her defenses are solid, too, with 7 Health and 3/3/0 ARM. She also has decent 5's for Search, Computer, and Lockpick tests. Just don't let her get into melee - she's really, REALLY bad at it, unlike her Veteran Raider inspiration.

Her other Abilities are situational at best. She lets one other model in her Green Presence remove a Stun when she Activates. Also, non-uniques who Activate after her in the same turn turn gain +2 Rifles and Pistols skill in her Presence, which makes Scavvers really nasty, and other models... just about average. So don't buy Raiders and expect her to buff them.

What Chems? Buffout makes her tougher and shoot better, so that's a solid bet. But my Caps would be spent on Overdrive - it still improves her STR and gives her access to Crits; with the number of bullets she's pumping out that's a VERY reliable bet to make.

Is she worth it? I think so. Her ability will help the Walked Fire ability to reduce armor proc more often, and after a dose of Overdrive she'll have access to Crits in case she needs to fire a big shot at a tough target.

AVERY

Where Ack-Ack is basically an improved Veteran Raider, Avery is an improved Scavver for +25 Caps. She has high PER 8 for Rifles, and treats blank Black die faces as 1 AP with Rifles - this is very good. Her durability is better, with 6 HP and 3/3/0 ARM. She doesn't have Computers, but INT 6 for Search and Lockpick ain't bad. She's also Resistant to Stun, which is circumstantial but nice when it comes up.

Giving her a gun is simple: either a Combat Shotgun to milk her Weak Point ability, or a Combat Rifle for more generalist work as she runs for objectives.

For Chems? The Scavver reliables of Orange Mentats, Bufftats, or Spark are all good choices.

SINJIN

Sinjin is burly, with 7 Health and 3/3/x ARM standing betwixt him and death. He also has a high PER of 8 with Search and Pistols behind it, and INT 7 to make Computer tests - so he's a solid pair with Avery. He also possesses Lucky and LUC 5, the only Raider model to have Lucky so far (without Daytripper). But Pistols are his only decent weapons.

His main draw is Improvised, which is a discount version of Hammer and Danse. He's able to Ready a non-unique model, but all its actions are Quick - a pretty steep penalty, but still helpful under the right circumstances. He also gives an Accuracy die to any Danger card tests within his Blue Presence, which is uncommon but solid.

For Pistols, the 10mm or .44 Revolver are his best options, with some of the Legendary ones being possibilities - the Kneecapper .44 or Explosive 10mm stand out. For Chems, I'd stick with Bufftats (to help his Search, Pistol, and Computer skill) or Overdrive (to give him access to Criticals), which synergizes with his Lucky. He also has the native armor ratings to use some of the Armor/Clothing that gives other abilities, and improving his LUC (while adding Beloved) is not the worst idea to give him more utility.

Unlike Hammer or Danse, I DON'T think Sinjin is an auto-include in most Raider lists. -2 to all Skill tests, and dropping a segment of movement range, is a hefty hit. He has a place in some lists, but not all.

CHANGELOG

v1.1 - got a little stricter with the Chems choices. Revamped the list for more clarity and to bring it in line with my other formatting choices.

 

v4.0 made some heavy changes to Sinjin, Psycho, Veteran Raider, Scavver, and Scavver Outlaw - aka the better models in the Raider arsenal. Also elaborated more on why Dogs are still bad for Raiders. Here's hoping Wave 5 gets some good upgrades for them...