N18 Advice on using smoke

Alan Munro

Juve
Jun 27, 2019
48
48
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After years playing enforcers I have switched to Goliaths for our latest campaign (using models from my Ork army). To provide cover I have included a grenade launcher with smoke rounds and one of my Bullies has smoke grenades, but I am still learning how to use them effectively.

Does anyone have advice on the best use of smoke in necomunda? Is it better to fire them at my opponents best shooting models to force them to move, or onto my own models to cover them?
 
Usually it's better to cover your own advance, as enemies most often have more models capable of decent shooting and pinning, then goliaths' have smokes to obscure them individually.

Of course there are situations where smoking the opponent's heavy hitter is a better option, like the gun he is using needs a double action to shoot, or gear and skills gives him a hefty hitting bonus if he's allowed to make an aim before shooting, or your gang is just too spread out do of some scenario rules to be effectively covered by the smokes. But even then I would think twice before obscuring the enemies, instead of covering my own models. Just remember, that the smoke cover can be gone by the start of the next turn, so it's not foolproof.

Also, charging into the enemy lines is often necessary for goliaths, but also leaves them in the open for the return fire. So, have a smoke handy to give them cover.
 
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Smoke in the new editions will often not last beyond the end of the round in which it was placed (2/3 chance it goes away), so smoke seems best used early in the round, from an early activation, to get the most use of it. Fired or thrown IN FRONT OF your own models, so that they can move into or behind it, rather than fired on top of them so that they move out of it, seems to be its best case use. And remember that it blocks line of sight vertically as well as horizonally. A dome rather than a pancake, so it can be more effective at shielding against second-story-shooters than you might expect.
 
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Smoke Grenades from the launcher are best used early in the round to obscure firing lanes. This can be close to you or your opponents or a middle ground.
Each choice has pros and cons.
(Assume no photo goggles or infrasights)
If you fire close to your guys and girls you control the incoming fire. Your opponent can't just walk through it and they have to move to hit you. You can readily hide behind the cloud. On the down side you can't shoot at them and to use the cloud as cover it slows your advance so it takes longer to get in skull cracking range.
If you fire it at your opponents it forces your opponents to move through or around it to get a shot. Controlling where your opponents move to is military tactic 101. However a 5" template is not massive. Your opponent can move through it or around and still get shots in. It also provided sight blocking cover for your opponents to hide behind.
A middle ground shot provides a balance between short and long range smokes.
Essentially you can treat it as mobile deployable cover but remember your opponents gets it too. You could stop that lad cannon hugging Van Saar from bifurcating you but your missile launcher forge boss can't target them either.

The short range of hand thrown grenades limits thier use to closer ranged and can't benefit from aiming. They are better for throwing close to your guys to block incoming fire as you advance. If you miss and it scatters it is more likely that it will land somewhere useful than at max thrown range. (Throw it 1" and if it scatters the cloud is at least close by so you can dive into the smoke).
 
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And remember that it blocks line of sight vertically as well as horizonally. A dome rather than a pancake.
This is true.

So, you might want to keep in mind, that in high elevation terrain, enemy gangers on an upper platform might be able to shoot over the smoke dome and hit your gangers taking cover behind it. Just one more factor to take into account when placing smokes.
 
Smoke in the new editions will often not last beyond the end of the round in which it was placed (2/3 chance it goes away), so smoke seems best used early in the round, from an early activation, to get the most use of it. Fired or thrown IN FRONT OF your own models, so that they can move into or behind it, rather than fired on top of them so that they move out of it, seems to be its best case use. And remember that it blocks line of sight vertically as well as horizonally. A dome rather than a pancake, so it can be more effective at shielding against second-story-shooters than you might expect.
I second all of the above. Another reason it's wiser to throw the smoke near your own fighters is that if you miss and the blast template is moved somewhere else, then you can still take advantage of the smoke by repositioning your fighters. That's harder to do if you're targeting the enemy.

Seen as smoke has been mentioned, you might also want to check what your arbitrator's take is on how they interact with charges. I've heard a few different interpretations.