Firefight: Second Edition – YOUR questions answered!

Last week we asked you for any questions you had about Firefight: Second Edition… and you certainly responded! Although we’ll be answering many of your questions in the upcoming rules blogs and videos, below you’ll find some that we can answer straight away, plus a few that we’ll sort of answer :p

What's a standard game size, in terms of points and table size?

We recommend when starting to learn the game to aim for 1,000pts and that should comfortably fit on a 4ft by 4ft table. In terms of model count, that depends up the army you’re playing but it’s around 30-50 miniatures. However, it’s very easy to scale up your games and once you get over 1,500pts it’s best to move to a 6ft by 4ft table. If you’re playing a 1,000pt game, then it takes around 90 minutes to play.

Is the game ‘you go, I go’ or alternating activations?

The game features alternating activations – like Deadzone. Although, just like Deadzone, during your turn you can spend a Command Point to activate a second unit. This ensures gameplay is very dynamic, as you can respond to the actions of your opponent.

Are you planning on doing some rules overview videos?

Yes! Gameplay videos and battle reports will be coming out from April 1^st. We’ll be breaking down each of the main mechanics, such as movement, shooting, etc.

Is there a structure planned for campaign books, balance updates and expansions?

Yes! Just like Deadzone we’ve split the rules across two books – the rules and the force lists book. The reason for this is that in the future we’re likely to add new units (or even entirely new armies), which means we’ll need to update the Force Lists. When this happens we’ll release a new Force List book. This ensures you won’t be carrying a wheelbarrow full of books to your local club or a tournament when we update the game.

Any new terrain kits on the way? The item pick up crates for 1st DZ making a return would be cool, or sculpted pieces linked to objectives in the scenarios.

Not at launch… he answered cryptically.

Will there be an EasyArmy force builder released alongside Firefight or will it be something that comes after everything is out?

We are planning to have EasyArmy ready for launch and it’s currently in testing with our top secret group of testers.

Will we be able to field units in 5s to move up from Deadzone, or will minimum sizes be 10s?

Unit size is actually pretty adaptable! Most units have the option to additional miniatures for a set amount of points. For example, on the unit entry below, although a Stalker squad is five miniatures by default, you can pay to add up to five additional Stalkers. This is a great way, not only to expand your attacking power, but also to round-up your points when creating an army list.

Will the game have the potential to devolve into “buildings” shooting at each other, or is there something to be done about making sure the minis remain the showcase?

Buildings are an important part of play – and you can use them as defensible fortifications. However, there are some missions in which you are unable to enter the buildings and, instead, they become scenario pieces, which may be searchable to intel for scoring VPs, and so your minis are always present on the tabletop! Plus, when units can enter larger buildings, they are split up into zones, so there is the option to move between levels or onto the roof of a building, in which case you’ll place all your miniatures on top of the terrain. In cases were you do have a unit inside a structure, we recommended placing your leader next to it, so you’re able to see what’s inside (as you would with a unit in a transport vehicle)Units in builds certainly get some defensive bonuses, but they can still be attacked and ousted!

Just looking at the command dice is there anything stopping me from using my Vanguard dice?

If you have Vanguard dice, you can use those. The Firefight ones are a different colour, but just remember the following:

• Red (Vanguard) = Black (Firefight)
• White (Vanguard) = Orange (Firefight)
• Blue (Vanguard) = Green (Firefight)

How will allying armies work in the new edition?

You can’t ally armies in Firefight. Unlike Kings of War, where factions are united by their alliance, i.e. good, evil or neutral, the motives of the disparate factions in Firefight are much harder to align.

Ok, now we come to the slightly more difficult questions to answer! Strap in folks, for lots of ‘maybes’ and ‘hmm… we’ll have to see’.

Any chance of a Nameless/Rebs/Z'zor army in the future?

We got asked this question – in its various forms – quite a lot. Of course, we absolutely have plans to support Firefight beyond 2022 and new armies/new miniatures are certainly a part of that. The reason for not having Nameless and Rebs in the current Force List book is that we don’t have the hard plastic troops required to really flesh out the army list… yet! But we’re certainly keen to see those ranges expand in the future.

Any plans for a plastic Lancer tank?

Never before has a piece of artwork inspired so many people. Again, the answer for this is a little like the new armies. We’d absolutely love to have a hard plastic Lancer tank and, if Firefight does well at retail, then there’s more chance of that happening!

Is there going to be an 'Uncharted Empires' for this game to use other popular futuristic armies?

Nope! Firefight actually already has one of our most fleshed out ranges of hard plastic miniatures, plus resin and PVC minis too, so we don’t really think there’s any need for additional armies. Particularly as we’d like to add to the Warpath Universe with our own factions that all have their own lore and appearance. Also, suddenly dumping a bunch of extra armies into a book could lead to new players becoming overwhelmed with options… and we’d have to playtest them all too! It’s much better to go at our own pace and add new Mantic armies when we feel the time is right.

Thanks very much for sending in your questions and we may actually do a live Q&A session with studio manager Matt Gilbert in the future (don’t tell him!)… so stay tuned for more details on that. In the meantime, don’t forget that Firefight: Second Edition is now available to pre-order direct from Mantic or your FLGS.