Fire support is a complicated, yet important part of the marines' arsenal. What stifles marine use of these seemingly impressive tools is their lack of knowledge on how to effectively operate, and coordinate, the use of these weapons. Hopefully this guide will help you better make use of the tools entrusted to you and not single handedly cause an entire squad to be wiped.

Your radio prefix is .s or :s.

Obviously, screaming over the general channel asking for mortar coords can either get drowned out or drown other things out, which can lead to some lost information which may or may not be crucial. Fortunately, fire support has its own radio channel! You can call for OB, CAS, mortar coords, and the like if your headset allows you to speak on that channel anyway. Most Command and Engineering staff have access to this channel, and encryption keys can be vended at the Surplus Armor Vendors or taken from the mortar supplies crate that combat engineers lug around.

(colloqually known as tac binos)

The Tactical Binoculars are going to be the primary way of calling down holy hellfire upon the xenos scum. There are other ways(to be mentioned later), but none as versatile. It has the ability to find the coordinates of a given tile, mark and fire the shipside railgun, mark an area for CAS attack, and mark and fire the Orbital Bombardment cannon. You can switch between these modes by alt-clicking it. Not to mention that it has night vision as well, so you can see what you're going to delete, even in pitch black darkness! Use it in hand to activate the zoom, and ctrl-click to mark a target. Examine it to see what mode it's currently set to.

Range Finding This is what you use to get the coordinates of a tile, which you can then communicate to whatever schmuck is operating the mortar back at base, if webmaps lag you out too much. Shift-click a tile while zoomed in to get the coordinates for that tile, while on any mode. Coordinates are also useful for drop podding marines, though it would be wise to not tell them to drop directly into the entire hive with no support.

Note: you can bind RF to a mortar, immediately giving the mortar target coords.

Railgun Targeting mode The shipside railgun is arguably the simplest of the fire support weapons, because it needs only one operator: you, with your tac binos! The Railgun can be fired by simply ctrl-clicking a tile while zoomed in, after a short wind-up period. After firing, it needs a moment to cool down before it can be used again.

CAS Marking mode

The Tactical Binoculars can be used to mark an area to be hit by CAS. Depending on what aircraft is currently doing the attacking, you can plan around:

the Alamo can only fire directly at the CAS laser, with some offset/inaccuracy.

the Condor has the ability to target and fire freely independent of the laser mark, it simply needs there to be a mark so the Condor can begin its fire mission. You can laze an area roughly around where the targets are (you can even laze the FOB if you like living on the edge), and let the PO handle the rest.

Orbital Bombardment Targeting mode

Beware, for you now hold in your hands the power to consign an entire area to oblivion. While the primary firing technique for the OB is having the CIC staff fire it, you too have the ability to fire it from groundside. For the CIC staff to fire the OB, you'll need to mark an area by ctrl-clicking like usual. The Ones Above can then fire the OB at that mark after a short wind-up period. However, say that the CIC staff are still asleep or otherwise occupied, you'll have to fire it yourself. after the wind-up period, there is an extra 15 seconds or so of wait time. after that has elapsed, a beep and a message will appear:

TARGET ACQUIRED. ORBITAL CANNON IS READY TO FIRE.

After this message appears, you will be able to fire the OB by ctrl+shift-clicking your laser mark. Do know that you are expected to be able to see the target area, so if you end up “accidentally” hitting friendly marines, The Gods might not let you off the hook too easily…

Mortar Fire The M402 mortar The humble mortar is the TGMC's indirect firing method of choice, because someone left all the Self-Propelled Guns(SPGs) back at Terra. While it might not be the most powerful piece of artillery, it is portable, effective, and very versatile. to deploy it, simply use it in-hand, and click-and-drag onto your sprite to undeploy it. The mortar operates using coordinates, which can be obtained either through one of the many webmaps available(acessible via the main page), or by using the range finders which come with the mortar kit, as well as using tactical binoculars.

ha ha mortar go brrr

Simply input the coordinates, and click the mortar with a shell to load and fire it. Once set, the coordinates can be saved in case you need to fire at that position again. The mortar can save 3 positions to target. Do note that the mortar has a slight randomized offset for every target, and can be dialed in using the offset options(negative longitude= left, negative latitude= down) for more pinpoint accuracy. Accessing the UI and firing a shell requires Engineering skill to perform quickly, otherwise you will have to fumble around first.

Note: you can bind Range Finder to a mortar, immediately giving the mortar target coords.

Shell Types Read Marine Mechanics for info on explosions.

Color Shell Description TGMC mortar he.png 80mm High Explosive mortar shell

80mm shell loaded with a high explosive charge, for big explosions. A direct hit can even gib some xenos! good luck doing that, though. Radius of explosion - 1, 4, 7 for Devastating, Heavy and Light explosions.

TGMC mortar inc.png 80mm Incendiary mortar shell

80mm shell loaded with napalm, to set stuff on fire, preferably not your fellow marines. Radius of explosion - 0, 2, 5 for Devastating, Heavy and Light explosions.

Radius of fire - 3

TGMC mortar plasma.png 80mm Tangle mortar shell

80mm shell loaded with tanglefoot gas, which drains xenomorph plasma. Mostly safe to shoot at marines, though the impact does have a small explosion. TGMC mortar smoke.png 80mm Smoke mortar shell

80mm shell loaded with smoke dispersing chemicals. Mostly safe to shoot at marines, though the impact does have a small explosion. TGMC mortar illum.png 80mm Flare mortar shell

80mm shell loaded with an illuminating flare, so marines can actually see shit. AT-36 An ancient weapon, the AT-36 is a light dual purpose anti tank and anti personnel weapon used by the TGMC. Used for light vehicle or bunker busting on a short notice. Best used by two people. It can move around with wheels, and has a ammo rack integrated into the weapon. CANNOT BE UNDEPLOYED ONCE DEPLOYED! Still can be pushed/pulled. Has Aim and Long-range sight mode, both takes approx. 4 seconds to be activated. TGMC tat36.png AT-36 is availiable roundstart from Weapons vendor, Specials tab (includes ammo). From requisitions its 60 points and shells are 3 for 2. 3 Type of shells are available:

Shell Description Speed Damage Pen Sunder AP-HE TGMC tat36 ammo.png

“A 37mm shell for light anti tank guns. Will penetrate walls and fortifications, before hitting a target and exploding, has less payload and punch than usual rounds.” Will penetrate mobs and walls. Explodes.

3 90 30 10 APCR TGMC tat36 ammo apcr.png

“A 37mm tungsten shell for light anti tank guns made to penetrate through just about everything, but it won't leave a big hole.” Will penetrate mobs and walls. Does not explode.

4 150 100 55 HE TGMC tat36 ammo he.png

“A 37mm shell for light anti tank guns made to destroy fortifications, the high amount of payload gives it a slow speed. But it leaves quite a hole.” Big Boom. Beware, Direct hit upon full health/heavy armored marine means will kill him instantly.

2 50 50 25 TA-100Y Howitzer A manual, crew-operated and towable howitzer, will rain down 150mm laser-guided and accurate shells on any of your foes. Right click to anchor to the ground. TGMC howitzer.png The TA-100Y Howitzer is available roundstart from Weapons vendor, Specials tab (includes ammo). From requisitions its 60 points and shells are 2 for 1 point. 5 types of shells are available:

Shell Description Explosion Radius Effect Radius HE shell TGMC howitzer ammo.png

An 150mm artillery shell, loaded with a high explosive charge, whatever is hit by this will have, A really, REALLY bad day. Devastation: 1 Heavy: 6 Light: 7 N/A Incendiary shell TGMC howitzer ammo incendiary.png

An 150mm artillery shell, loaded with explosives to punch through light structures then burn out whatever is on the other side. Will ruin their day and skin. Devastation: 0 Heavy: 3 Light: 0 Flame: 5 White Phosphorus shell TGMC howitzer ammo phosphorus.png

An 150mm artillery shell, loaded with a 'spotting' gas that sets anything it hits aflame, whatever is hit by this will have their day, skin and future ruined, with a demand for a warcrime tribunal. Devastation: 0 Heavy: 0 Light: 1 Smoke: 7 Flame: 4 Tanglefoot shell TGMC howitzer ammo tanglefoot.png

An 150mm artillery shell, loaded with a toxic intoxicating gas, whatever is hit by this will have their abilities sapped slowly. Accompanied by a small explosion. Devastation: 0 Heavy: 0 Light: 5 Smoke: 10 Flare shell TGMC mortar illum.png

An 80mm mortar shell, loaded with an illumination flare, far slimmer than your typical 80mm shell. Can be fired out of larger cannons. N/A Light: 12 The Railgun The Gun of Ra'il When fighting against an existential threat such as the xenomorph horde, you're going to need to use everything you have at your disposal to eliminate the enemy, up to and including a weapon made for the express purpose of ship-to-ship combat. A weapon such as the shipside railgun. While not particularly as effective against planetary targets as it is against spaceships, it has its uses. When fired, the projectile burns up in the planet's atmosphere, melting and splitting apart into a hail of molten metal. It is much better at being used for area denial rather than dealing actual damage due to its spread. There are 2 primary ways to target the railgun: using tactical binoculars, or using an OB beacon.

with tactical binoculars, alt-click until you switch to railgun targeting mode, then use the binoculars and ctrl-click the area you wish to hit, as described above. Keeping the laze on the target will cause the railgun to keep firing until the laze is removed, usually by a braindead marine moving you by bumping into you. The railgun can be fired from an overwatch console(not the main one, the other ones). simply set the overwatch to whichever squad deployed the beacon, and check the area by clicking the target beacon's button on the display(image coming soon maybe probably hopefully). if this pops up when you try to fire:

You're busy doing something else, and press the wrong button!

Try clicking the End Camera View action button, then clicking on the target beacon button again. This should allow you to fire the railgun. Though most times this method is never used, it never hurts to know.

Close Air Support

See the Guide to Vehicles.

Orbital Bombardment Big boy cannon The Orbital Bombardment cannon, the biggest and baddest piece of rock throwing equipment the TGMC has. Capable of launching a large payload from orbit at hypersonic speeds. The large payload size also allows a variety of warhead types to be used.

Loading The Orbital Cannon must be manually loaded and chambered by a skilled technician(though an unskilled person could do it, but with a lot of fumbling about). Here is how to do it:

get in a powerloader Ripley MK-I.png, and grab a warhead put it in the loading tray check the fuel requirement for that specific warhead using the loading console(this is randomized each round, and an improper amount of propellant will cause the warhead to veer off course, possibly hitting friendlies) load the correct amount of solid fuel blocks into the tray press the load tray button press the chamber tray payload button Using the powerloader and the loading console is much faster if you have Engineering skill(you can check your skills through the IC tab). At the moment, the Close button on the loading console does nothing, and shouldn't be pressed if you don't have Engineering skill, as it will only slow you down.

Firing Targeting the OB can be done 2 ways:

using an orbital beacon set by marines groundside using a laser mark from tactical binoculars The cannon can then be fired from the main overwatch console once the lase has been set, or by a tac bino operator groundside after a 15 second wait. It's worth noting that the OB can be fired at any lase, be it the dedicated OB lase, or a railgun or CAS lase, so it's important to check the damn target area before hitting the OB button!

Lest this happens: this sucks Warhead Types Currently, the TGMC fields 4 warhead types which can be loaded as needed depending on the situation at hand.

Colour Warhead Description TGMC ob he.png HE Warhead

An extremely high yield warhead capable of devastating targets and structures within a moderately sized area. TGMC ob cluster.png Cluster Warhead

A warhead filled with multiple small yield mini-warheads that detonates some distance from the surface, spreading the mini-warheads across a large area. Despite being lower yield projectiles, they are many, and still pack quite the punch. TGMC ob incen.png Incendiary Warhead

Filled to the brim with X-type incendiary fuel, this warhead splashes and ignites the fuel over a large area, turning the target zone into a sea of scorching hot blue flame. TGMC ob plasma.png Plasma Drain Warhead

Loaded with codename:TANGLEFOOT, an experimental substance that drains the plasma of any xenomorph it comes in contact with when in aerosol form. The warhead disperses this substance upon impact, covering a large target area with plasma draining purple mist. Preliminary tests show tanglefoot to be mildly toxic to humans though, but surely it'll be fine, right?