An open question to all of those spending your money on Warfare: How many of you would cheerfully buy gun teams, two or three men and a tripod for mounting a couple of included weapons? My suggestion for weapons would be heavy machineguns (dual MGs for the Germans, M2HB for the Allies, and a KPV for the SSU), and recoilless rifles (75mm for Germans and Allies, 76.2mm for the SSU)?

My reasoning is that I'd like heavy MGs that had a 24" range for actual MG use as a support weapon rather than an integral squad weapon, and I'd certainly like to have recoilless rifles for both anti-infantry fire and certainly anti-tank, something that outranges the wussy anti-tank rocket launchers and is useful against all targets (except fliers). There would have to be a rule concerning their lack of mobility - like they couldn't fire on the same turn they moved; moving would give them a reaction counter - but aside from that, the game designers should realize that the armaments initially conceived for the Dust background revolved around a very close, very mobile Staligrad-style conflict, and Warfare takes place on tables that aren't so crowded, generally…

I would love to see gun teams as additional expansions for the platoons. It would be a great tool to suppress your enemy while your maneuver squads advanced. Very cool idea.

I been hoping for gun teams, I would add mortar teams to that line up as well.

Agreed. Some of my favorite GW models are the Cadian, Steel Legion, and Death Korps gun teams.

Yeah that would be fun. I loved locking down areas with an mg in company of heroes. It would stink if mg's slowed the game down, but platoon requirements could keep their numbers down.

I like the idea of a reaction applied if they move. Keep em vulnerable!

This is something I've been thinking/hoping they would do with Tactics for a while.

Re: SgtManuel and his mention of mortars: How could I have forgotten about them? Thank you, sergeant! It would be nice to have something to artillery-spot for on the Allied side besides a single rocket shot (why doesn't the 75mm howitzer do indirect? Oh, yeah, too restricted a firing arc). Would sort of make the Allied spotter team worth having.

Pssst! FFG employees reading this! There does seem to be a desire (and a tactical need) for gun teams! Pass it on!

Axis would have some seriously awesome mounted laser weapons if they did that.

I'd love to see man-packed gun teams and 10-man rank-and-file troopers covered as Infantry 1 additions to the "elite" forces we're already working with. Could wait a few expansions, but it would certainly open up higher-point games and scenario play in interesting ways.

I'd imagine that a man portable gun team would be pretty slow, as they'd have to "manhandle" the whole contraption. But maybe the gun shield would make them count as in one higher level of cover?

It be cool to get towed arty/AAA units as well but I know that be a unlikely thing. I don't think the gun teams would need a gun shield etc, just let them use the same rule snipers and observers have to improve the cover.

I think the heavy powered armor guys are your gun teams. Why would they have 2 guys lug a bigger gun into battle when teams of 3 guys in armor can each carry one?

Azrell said:

tripods don't change the range of a gun. it still seems silly to when you can redeploy heavy handheld weapons with power armor and anything bigger with longer range would be mounted on a walker, or vehicle.

A gun mount (tripod) does change the range, and often the combat nature, of a weapon. It steadies the weapon, allowing for more accurate fire. It balances a longer, larger weapon - something that could be mounted on a light walker, say - so that said larger, longer weapon could be used at said longer range. And a crew-served weapon loads faster, and can fire larger ammo. Try building an auto-loader for a 25cm long shell, and mount it on a powered armor. Ironically, there are powered armors which do this. They're part of the SSU army, and are a darn sight larger than any armor 3 infantry. Think about the advantage of having the 75mm gun from the Mickey as an infantry-served weapon, which could conceal itself much more easily than a full-sized walker. It would be more vulnerable than a walker, but it'd be less expensive, and would be man-packed.

In addition, consider a mortar unit - range 36", minimum range 12", can fire indirectly using the same rules as 'A' weapons but without the range of the entire battlefield. Talk about making spotter teams worth it.

My point, and I think the point of others, is that the originator of the Dust millieu was going for the anime cool factor when he made his models: Essentially 3D 'pin-ups,' not an actual war-game. Also, gun teams would allow FFG to add another dimension of models to the line; if they're stuck with just the stuff the original line had, it's going to be a short-lived game.

Please can we have mortar teams like this.

That would be cool; some cheap A range weapons.