Editing This Is Not A Test/Tactics

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The ''This is Not a Test'' initiative and shooting systems lead to some unusual tactical choices. The "generic tactics" section is for all warbands, followed by per-warband breakdowns of each profile and some recommendations for tactics, Relics, and other wargear.

==Mettle and Activation Tests==
So, Mettle is very much a [[God Stat]]. Not only does a Mettle roll dictate how many Actions a model gets per turn, it also changes how many you turns can take in a row, and most of the special Wasteland Deck cards use some kind of Mettle checks as well. You can only upgrade it by Promoting a model in the post-game. Leaders have 7 MET base. Elites start with Mettle 6 but can't get more. Specialists universally start with 5 MET and have one Promotion available. Rank-and-File models also start with 5 but have 2 possible Promotions - so a fully-promoted grunt model with Quickness or Survival skill trees can easily wind up activating on a 2+. 

Anything that gives bonus Actions is a powerful tool.



==Level-up Strategies==
Stat increases have a theoretical maximum, but are also capped by the model's Level. Once a model maxes out all of the stats for its level, it can either choose to automatically gain a Skill/Upgrade/Mutation, or to force a Promotion if one's available. That said, this requires at least six advances, so you've probably already rejected a Promotion at least once. 

Leaders typically have either a unique skill, one barred skill tree, and a beefy initial stat upgrade, or access to all skill trees and more open skill slots. Elites start with Ranged and/or Melee increased by a few points and a unique skill, plus their choice of more skills. In either case you can't Promote them.. but rolling "Promotion" on the level-up chart lets you choose any other result on the list. Remember that Income and buying wargear happen ''after'' you spend EXP. If you've been saving up for better armor on an eligible model, it may be in your interest to wait a game to roll any potential Elite/LDR advances in case you get a surprise Wounds bonus. 

Specialists have one or two unique skills and (usually) a small stat bonus. 


==Faction Tactics and unit breakdown==
Generally-useful skills - Motivator, Scavenger, Resourceful, Activation bonuses, etc. 

Good warbands for new players - Peacekeepers with a Marshall (simple rules, no real dud options, proxy NCR and Enforcers well). Raiders (fun, evocative, still have a relatively simple rules and playstyle, good for hooking in Fallout/Mad Max/Borderlands players). 

Difficult - Preservers/Robots/Renegade Reclaimers (hard to balance size and effectiveness. Expensive trap options. Hard countered by Zingers and EMP grenades, struggle in 2-player formats). Muties (tracking mutation costs, Hidden Mutations, etc.) Remnants (tracking special rules, initial build, start with a literal handicap)

''Note -'' '''Freelancers''' ''are broken off into their own separate page [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/This_Is_Not_A_Test/Tactics/Freelancers here]]

===Caravanners===
'''Leader''': Master Trader. Unlike most other factions, this only has one leader option (the Master Trader). They start with the Scavenger skill, which gives them bonus ammo for Limited Ammo weapons and ignores the model for Upkeep purposes in the postgame

'''Elites''': Lieutenant. Starts with "Motivator", an aura skill that makes it easier for other models to activate.

Bonus Specialist: the "Big Lug", a Large model with two Wounds and a pure melee skillset.

===Raiders===
You've got no real reason to pick the Bandit King unless you want access to Smarts skills - and you're usually better-off playing corrupt Peacekeepers if you want a ranged-combat force. A "Warlord" leader loses the Smarts skills and a point of Ranged ability (compared to the Bandit King) to gain a point each of Move and Melee. It also unlocks additional "Brute" Elites, who likewise have boosted close-combat abilities. Bandits get dogs as a Rank-and-file choice, which have a chance of turning on the closest model if you botch their activation roll. Their bonus trooper is the Firebug, a cheap suicide bomber that gets replaced for free after each game. 

===Mutants===
Mutant rank-and-file troops start with a Mutation, effectively giving most of them a free skill right from the start. They also have excellent access to psychic powers. Notably, a Mutant Gunner is the only way to get a Large, unarmored model with the skill that lets you use heavy weapons. When Mutants hire [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/This_Is_Not_A_Test/Tactics/Freelancers#Human_Freelancers Human Freelancers]], they have the option to switch their type to Mutant, and buy them a Hidden Mutation for 10 BS.

Instead of choosing a leader, Mutants choose the "Down-Winder" or "Outcast" warband types, which give them unique Elites. The former has access to Emissaries, your only Medic option, while Outcasts gain Abominations - feral close-combat specialists who start with ''four'' Skills or mutations, but need to pick two Detriments as well. Their bonus specialist is the "Dominant", which effectively means paying 3 points to choose a Hidden Mutation instead of rolling on the Mutation tables when you hire the model. 

===Mutant Cannibals===
Overall the Cannibals are extremely powerful. They have access to a mix of effective Mutants, Animals, and near-universal [[Pun-Pun|Min-maxing]] through random Detriments and Physical Mutations.
See [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/This_Is_Not_A_Test/Tactics/Mutant_Cannibals the Tactics page]] for more

===Peacekeepers===
Law in the Wastes. Road Marshalls give you a mixed force of up-armored cyber-dogs and handlers, while Hangin' Judges let you swamp the enemy with eplosive-collar slaves. In practice, common sense will keep you down to one Dog Handler anyway, so the 'Borg-dogs are the only real unit benefit.

Bloodhound - effectively, a Specialist Bounty Hunter that gives your warband extra cash if you kill or Capture an enemy model and it can pass a Mettle test after the game. 

===Preservers===
A Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave expy, the Preservers get mass access to Relics and Power Armor. Depending on the Leader and Elite selections, you can either go for a small, elite power-armored force or a more-flexible selection of utility artifacts and robots. The additional relics, robots, and Powered Armor customization rules in the supplements dramatically expand their options. Unfortunately, all those expensive Relics mean you're usually short on models, and a few botched Activation rolls or a well-placed EMP grenade can cripple your warband at a critical moment.
Bonus troopers: Semi-Autonomus Drone (basically a Fallout Eyebot)

===Rogue Reclaimers===
''Added in the Wasteland Companion''

Rogue Reclaimers are a breakaway from the Preservers that believe only they have the authority to use pre-Fall tech. As a whole, they are a pretty one-dimensional warband, and feel more like a sub-faction than their own unique force. Instead of the Reclaimer's usual diverse tech, they can equip nearly the entire warband in Power Armor.. even if certain rookies get the salvaged models held together by duct tape. That Salvaged Power Armor can save your ass, though, since it's not subject to the usual breakdown rules and immune to EMP attacks

===Settlers===
''Added in the Wasteland Companion''
A mix of cheap, trashy troops and reasonably competent.. everyone else. 

===Tribals===
CC specialists, with some interesting leadership mechanics and excellent psi-support in exchange for poor tech. 

===Totem Tribals===
Even more focused on CC, especially since Primitive weapons suck and you have to take quite a few of them to keep your benefits. Gain some nasty abilities on their psykers and Berzerkers. 

===Remnants===
Let you take models from several different warbands in exchange for starting with injured models. Remnants choose from a loose [[Alignment|Law/Chaos]] split of the base warbands. They cannot hire Freelancers on creation, and the exact models they can choose is affected by their leader. Notably, running Remnants technically allows you to take special models from the same base warband that the leader couldn't ordinarily use, though you should talk to your GM first. 

===Robots===
Added with ''Absolutely Dangerous''. Robots use a special "Upgrade" table instead of the Mutations tables, with the same mix of standard Physical ones that have to be modeled, and Hidden Upgrades that don't need to be WYSIWYG but are randomly-rolled. As with Mutations, they can replace one or more starting skills. Robots also have free access (regardless of slots) to various movement types. 

Robots can hire any model, on '''any''' warband's list, with the "Robot" type as a [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/This_Is_Not_A_Test/Tactics/Freelancers#Robot_Freelancers Freelancer]]. This includes the Preserver/Reclaimer Heal-o-Matic and Hijacked Robot (although ''why'' you want a Medic in this warband is another matter), Wreck-it Bots, Semi-Autonomous Drones, and the Raider Scrapbot. If your Gamemaster is particularly [[awesome]], you can also go for a Retr0, Vend-0-b0t,They cannot use any Human, Animal, or Mutant Freelancer models but the Mad Roboticist.





[[Category:This is Not a Test Tactics]]