Tactical index / Editorial strategy guide
Critical Missions and cycles: control campaign tempo
Advance the story only after checking expiring opportunities, recovery, build timers, and roster readiness.
01Verified game rule
Completing a Tactical Mission advances the cycle; Critical Missions advance the story, while some Missions and Operations can expire.
Advance the story only after checking expiring opportunities, recovery, build timers, and roster readiness.
Can every operator survive the enemy response and still reach the next objective?
02Decision signals
Editorial tactical model
03Tactical procedure
Use this procedure as a decision order, not a rigid script. Re-check it whenever a hit misses, reinforcements arrive, or the objective changes.
- 01Advance the story only after checking expiring opportunities, recovery, build timers, and roster readiness.
- 02Completing a Tactical Mission advances the cycle; Critical Missions advance the story, while some Missions and Operations can expire.
- 03Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
- 04Is useful AP, Advantage, a Utility, or Call for Backup being left unused?
04Field scenario
Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
05Common failure modes
Treating a story mission like a normal reward choice can advance the cycle past unique content and complete construction or recovery at the wrong moment.
Can every operator survive the enemy response and still reach the next objective?
Confirmed rules are separated from editorial recommendations. No invented mission data or unverified drop tables are published.
06End-of-turn checklist
- 01Completing a Tactical Mission advances the cycle; Critical Missions advance the story, while some Missions and Operations can expire.
- 02Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
- 03Can every operator survive the enemy response and still reach the next objective?
- 04Is useful AP, Advantage, a Utility, or Call for Backup being left unused?
08Mission preparation worksheet
For a strategy topic, judge the decision across the whole campaign cycle. Include mission expiry, operator health, Intel, Influence, Credits, recruitment, facilities, and the next critical requirement. The highest immediate reward may be inferior if it creates an injury bottleneck or blocks a stronger opportunity. Write down the constraint that matters now, then choose the option that preserves the widest useful roster and resource choices afterward.
Start by converting the guide into a written mission intent: one required outcome, one acceptable loss limit, and one extraction condition. Then inspect the squad, equipment, injuries, Bonds, and available resources against that intent. A plan is incomplete if it names the preferred action but not the operator who performs it, the AP needed to complete it, and the square or facility state where that operator should finish.
Separate confirmed mechanics from your current assumptions. Confirmed rules can support the plan; assumptions must be tested with the smallest reversible action available. Reveal a lane before committing the whole squad, preview a shot before spending AP, and check the Holotable or The Den before paying Credits. This order protects the campaign from decisions based on an attractive reward, a favorite operator, or an unverified interaction.
Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
Treating a story mission like a normal reward choice can advance the cycle past unique content and complete construction or recovery at the wrong moment.
09Three-phase execution plan
Advance the story only after checking expiring opportunities, recovery, build timers, and roster readiness.
Opening phase: gather information without closing options. Identify the objective, enemy control lanes, safe end positions, and the action that must remain available. Move or interact with the operator who reveals the most useful information first. Avoid exhausting one operator while the rest of the squad is still waiting, because new line-of-sight, reinforcements, or objective changes can invalidate the original sequence.
Commitment phase: spend resources only after the route and target are verified. Compare the proposed action with a lower-cost alternative, then sequence support before damage and control before exposure. Use the displayed interface values rather than memory when range, hit chance, AP cost, treatment time, mission expiry, or reward thresholds matter. Preserve at least one response to a miss, a Downed operator, or a blocked route.
Closing phase: stop chasing marginal value once the objective or campaign purpose is secured. Recheck extraction, cover, remaining AP, injuries, Credits, Intel, and the next cycle before confirming the final action. A good close leaves the squad able to absorb one unfavorable result. If success depends on every uncertain roll working, return to the previous decision and reduce exposure instead of accepting a fragile finish.
10Decision gates and contingencies
Use a simple gate before every irreversible commitment: does this action advance the objective, reduce the largest immediate threat, or preserve a scarce campaign resource? If the answer is no, delay it. When two actions pass the gate, choose the one that reveals more information or keeps more follow-up options. This prevents low-value attacks, unnecessary purchases, and roster choices that feel active but do not improve the mission state.
Define the abort condition before acting. Examples include losing the safe extraction route, exposing the only Rally operator, reaching the Advantage cap without a planned spender, using the last recovery slot, or committing Credits needed for a critical treatment. When the condition occurs, change route, substitute an operator, use a cheaper action, or restart the tactical test. Continuing only because resources were already spent compounds the original error.
Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
Stop or change courseTreating a story mission like a normal reward choice can advance the cycle past unique content and complete construction or recovery at the wrong moment.
11Practice drill and review
Practice this topic on a low-pressure opportunity and change only one variable at a time. Record the initial state, the chosen action order, the displayed costs or probabilities, and the final position. On a retry, change the route, first operator, AP reserve, target priority, or purchase—but never all of them together. A controlled comparison teaches which decision created the result and produces a reusable rule for harder missions.
After the mission, review three moments: the first new information, the first irreversible commitment, and the point where extraction or recovery became certain. Note what was known at each moment and what was merely assumed. Keep the rule that consistently improved position or resource efficiency; discard a tactic that worked only because every roll succeeded. The goal is a repeatable process, not a highlight turn.
- 01Completing a Tactical Mission advances the cycle; Critical Missions advance the story, while some Missions and Operations can expire.
- 02Before launching a Critical Mission, clear expiring Operations, start every build, treat required operators, buy the needed loadout, and finish Den conversations.
- 03Treating a story mission like a normal reward choice can advance the cycle past unique content and complete construction or recovery at the wrong moment.
- 04Confirmed rules are separated from editorial recommendations. No invented mission data or unverified drop tables are published.
12Field FAQ
Should I follow the sequence exactly?
No. Treat it as a decision order, not a scripted set of clicks. Preserve the objective, safety, and resource checks, then adapt the individual actions to terrain, enemy placement, operator availability, and campaign state. If new information changes the risk, pause and rebuild the remaining sequence instead of forcing the original plan.
How do I know the plan is improving?
Compare objective progress, exposed operators, AP left after the key action, scarce resources spent, and recovery required afterward. Improvement means achieving the same or better outcome with a safer final position and fewer forced costs. Damage alone is a weak measure when the mission can be won through interaction, control, survival, or extraction.
Primary sources
Confirmed rules are separated from editorial recommendations. No invented mission data or unverified drop tables are published.