For the next post in my series on DW 2.5 mechanics, I’m going to address something that I’ve seen some folks have confusion about: Area Bombardment. This firing option is somewhat unusual across the ORBATs, and as a result it isn’t used as often by most players. I suspect that, in turn, leads to a lack of familiarity with the rules governing this potentially very potent attack option. Heck, this is a rule that I messed up during my first game of 2.5! So, lets dig in…

Background

Area bombardment is a mechanic that entered the game as part of DW 2.0. Prior to that, the only area effects in the game were mines and magazine explosions. Remarkably, there were no substantive changes in the way that Area Bombardments work between the two editions, though the presentation and example diagrams in 2.5 have been improved somewhat.

How Does it Work?

Section C.4.6 on Page 130 of the DW 2.5 rulebook covers Area Bombardment. I won’t copy and paste the entire section here, but to summarize a weapon with the Area Bombardment MAR selects an initial aim point that is within range and LOS from the firing model, and places a 1.5” template on that spot. If the attack generates multiple templates, they are placed touching the original template edge-to-edge in a randomly determined direction (using the hexagonal random direction template, customarily).

The Area Bombardment diagram from the DW 2.5 rulebook.

Each model on the surface level that is fully or partly under a template takes an attack with an AD value equal to what is listed in the profile for the weapon at that range. Area Bombardment has some nice advantages that can make it quite powerful, but also some significant disadvantages:

Advantages:

• Area Bombardment is considered to be an Indiscriminate Attack. This means:
  • It Ignores the effects of all Defensive MARs; essentially, Area Bombardment acts as if the target model or models simply does not have the MAR. Specifically, it ignores: Ablative Armor, Retardant Armor, and Rugged Construction
  • In addition, Area Bombardment ignores the Difficult Target, Elusive Target, and Small Target MARS as these rules impact targeted attacks only.
  • It ignores the effects of Defensive Generators, specifically the Cloud, Dilation Field, Shield, Guardian, Rampart, and Storm generators.
  • Area Bombardment attacks do not permit Aggressive Counter AA from the target model.
• Area Bombardment can potentially enable an attacking model to engage more targets at once and/or generate more total AD than it could with standard firing options.

Disadvantages:

• Area Bombardment only hits on a 5, 6 (Note: this may or may not be a disadvantage depending on the situation).
• Area Bombardment can only target models on the Surface height band.
• Area Bombardments using multiple templates are somewhat unreliable due to relying on the random direction template for placement.
• Area Bombardments generally have only moderate AD numbers and cannot be linked, making them less optimal for engaging Large/Massive targets.
• A squadron can only perform one Area Bombardment attack per activation.
• Area Bombardment is a relatively rare MAR.

Who gets Area Bombardment, and on what?

As I mentioned above, one doesn’t stumble across the Area Bombardment MAR all that frequently. First, it must be remembered that in order to perform an Area Bombardment, a weapon system must specifically have the Area Bombardment MAR attached. Weapon types, such as Bombard, Mortar, and Bomb do not inherently confer the ability to perform an Area Bombardment attack. The exception to this is the Russian Coalition; per the front matter in their ORBAT, any Heavy Mortar on a Russian ship has the Area Bombardment (1) MAR. The moral of the story is, pay close attention to those ORBATS!

Per the DW 2.5 ORBATS that Spartan released before entering receivership, these are the models from the 7 Core Factions that have a weapon with the Area Bombardment MAR. I’ve listed them by nation, model type (aerial/naval/armored), and have noted which ones are new from the DW Kickstarter expansion sets. I’ve also separated out the Russian models that don’t have Area Bombardment listed in their profile, but which do get access to the firing option thanks to being equipped with Heavy Mortars:

• Kingdom of Britannia
  • Magnate Mk II Battleship (Naval)
  • Illustrious Sky Fortress (Aerial)
  • Eagle War Rotor (Aerial)
  • Halifax Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
  • Windsor Dreadnought Fortification (Armored)
• Federated States of America
  • Providence Monitor (Naval) – KS Model
  • Savannah Sky Fortress (Aerial)
  • Valley Air Ship (Aerial)
  • B-72 Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
• Empire of the Blazing Sun
  • Tenkei Sky Fortress (Aerial)
  • Tsukuyomi War Gyro (Aerial)
  • Suzaku Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
• Republique Of France
  • Tourbillon Sky Fortress (Aerial)
  • Rousseau Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
  • Pascal Medium Bomber (Aerial)
• Covenant of Antarctica
  • None
• Prussian Empire
  • Gustav Monitor (Naval) – KS Model
  • Imperium Sky Fortress (Aerial)
  • Adler Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
  • Gewitterwolke (Aerial)
• Russian Coalition
  • Murmansk Dreadnought Support Rig (Naval) – KS Model
  • Pakhtusov Mk II Battleship (Naval)
  • Krichev Heavy Bomber (Aerial)
  • Svarog Dreadnought Robot (Armored)
  • Models with Heavy Mortars:
    • Khatanga Heavy Battleship (Naval)
    • Dudinka Assault Carrier (Naval)
    • Magadan Submarine (Naval) – KS Model
    • Tiksi Support Cruiser (Naval)
    • Nevski Land Dreadnought (Armored)
    • Kursk Land Dreadnought (Armored)
    • Volochok Bombard (Armored)
    • Bunker Complex (Fortification)
    • Tower Defences (Fortification)

There are also a smattering of non-Core factions that have models with Area Bombardment, including:

• The Royal/Free Australian Harrier Sky Fortress (Aerial) – No model exists The model for this is the Illustrious with Australian turrets fitted.
• League of Italian States Balistae Sky Fortress (Aerial)
• Kingdom of Denmark via Lend-Lease Gewitterwolke airship and Adler heavy bomber
• Indian Raj via Lend-Lease Illustrious sky fortress, Eagle war rotor, and Halifax heavy bomber
• Honourable Eclipse Company Elysium sky fortress (Aerial)
• Chinese Federation Chi Long assault flyer (Aerial) and Luxin Air Bombard (Aerial)

Analysis

Area bombardment is mostly found on Aerial models in the form of Bomb Bays. Specifically, it is found commonly on Heavy Bombers, large Airships, and Sky Fortresses. Area Bombardment offers a good synergy for aerial models, since it can be employed without triggering an AA attack from the target. On the other hand, the attacking model has to be within 2” of the target, and some of the models equipped with Area Bombardment bomb bays are rather slow (looking at you, Imperium!). Only a handful of factions have surface naval/armored models with Area Bombardment, and only the Russian Coalition has more than one. However, surface models with Area Bombardment have that MAR attached to weapons like Heavy Mortars, Bombards, etc. that not only give them appreciable stand-off range, but also provide good Indirect Fire capability as well. As such, surface models with Area Bombardment capability are a bit more tactically useful in my opinion.

It’s safe to say that the Russians are the reigning champs of Area Bombardment! The Covenant, on the other hand, have no Area Bombardment weapons, though the re-worked 2.5 Particle Accelerator makes up for that quite a bit in my opinion. One somewhat concerning note is that the Core Nation expansion boxes featured several surface/diving Naval units with Area Bombardment for the FSA, PE, and RC. Of those, it appears that only the FSA and PE models (as well as the Russian Murmansk repair rig from the 2-player starter set) reached production, and even then only in limited numbers. This could potentially lead to a have/have not situation, and the limited number of these models that were made will probably lead to high prices on the second hand market (as of this writing, the bidding for a PE expansion box, which contains the Gustav, was at $200 on eBay!).

Tactics

Area Bombardment, limited as it is to models on the surface level, is most often best employed against small and medium squadrons that are too closely packed. Most Area Bombardment weapons have sufficient AD to reliably damage those types of targets, and quite a few have enough to reliably crit them as well! Softer large/massive surface models, such as the Assault Carriers, might also be a good target, as their DRs are low enough that many weapons with Area Bombardment should have a good chance of getting through. Only a few Area Bombardment weapons are powerful enough to reliably threaten higher DR/CR models like Battleships and Dreadnoughts, though if that is your only valid target you might as well try. After all, the attack will ignore defensive MARs and Generators, and the 6’s still explode.

When facing an opponent with Area Bombardment capability, it definitely pays to be wary of which models have it and to keep track of them over the course of the game. If you are at risk of being targeted by one of these weapons, try to keep your ships at least 1.5” apart to minimize your chances of taking multiple attacks from a single template!

Conclusion

Area Bombardment, while not widely available, limited in the scope of its targets, and somewhat random, can nevertheless be a potent offensive option. It is particularly dangerous to small and medium models, given the tendency for these types of models to “clump” together if their placement and movement is not carefully managed. And finally, if you are playing with or against the Russians, make sure you stay vigilant! The Russians have the greatest access to Area Bombardment compared to all the other factions in the game, by far. Proper employment by the Russian player, or proper countermeasures by their opponent, could have a significant impact to the game’s outcome.

Until next time!