Gangsters | Tactics Omerta: CoG Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
All gangsters have different characteristics which affect their effectiveness in combat:
- Muscle - increases mobility (more Movement Points) and accuracy in melee combat
- Finesse - increases accuracy in ranged combat
- Toughness - determines the amount of Health
- Smarts - determines the frequency of using attacks
- Guts - allows a quicker reaction at the beginning of a fight and lowers susceptibility to panic
- Cunning - increases the amount of Action Points and Critical Chance
The above statistics make it easier to divide characters into those who will be fighting hand-to-hand, become snipers or attack from the second line with pistols or shotguns. Additionally, all characters may choose 10 extra Perks which increase their particular strengths or give bonuses. Selecting Blood Thirst or Battle Rage will allow you to eliminate several enemy units in one turn, while Resistance, Thick Skin or Luck will decrease the amount of received damage. After completing several initial missions, you will be able to reset the Perks for $500 and experiment with your characters' bonuses at will.
The last characteristic of each gangster are their Talents. Talents are optional abilities which can be activated during combat (same as attacks) to give you an edge over your opponent. Bandage or Second Wind will allow them to stay on their feet, while Grenade and Incendiary Bomb will let you defeat large groups of enemies. There are also supporting abilities, such as Rage or Defensive Stance, which affect the combat abilities of your crew. The most important Talent is, however, Act Now - if you use it, your gangster can perform a second action. There's nothing better than to fire two shots from Thompson just to do it again a second later. This Talent will come in handy especially towards the end of the game, when battles become exceptionally challenging.
Weapons available in the game include three types of cold steel: a bat, a knife and knuckles, and four types of firearms: pistols, revolvers, shotguns and submachine guns. Each weapon has its own special attacks and one extra ability, and with a balanced team they should give you great diversity. Below are short characteristics of each weapon type:
- Knives: deal medium damage and use up a moderate amount of AP. They can hurt several units at a time, and thrown they ignore obstacles and cause Bleeding. They can inflict Defenseless status, making the enemy unit easier to hit. If an enemy unit approaches a knife-wielder, they will automatically get one hit.
- Bats: deal huge damage, but are less precise. Each attack causes Concussion - decreasing the enemy unit's AP and weakening its ability to counter-attack. With a bat you can perform the most powerful attach in the game: Trepanation.
- Knuckles: cost a small amount of AP and deal low damage, but allow to move after performing an attack. Additionally, they can cause Weakness and Disability, eliminating the target from the fight.
- Pistols: cost small amount of AP and deal low damage. Their biggest advantage is the ability to ignore barriers while shooting and cause Bleeding. A character equipped with a unique pistol and having a large amount of AP is a very dangerous opponent.
- Revolvers: cost a lot of AP, but have numerous special attacks. A basic shot can Weaken an enemy unit as long as its hit with both bullets. Revolvers can also hurt groups of enemies, and, more importantly, instantly lower their Courage. A panicked opponent loses 5 AP and 5 MP.
- Shotguns: your first ranged weapon. They use up a medium amount of AP and deal a lot of damage, but have low accuracy. They can push enemy units away and cause Bleeding. They are perfect for destroying terrain barriers.
- Submachine Guns: the popular Tommy gun, Thompson. Has a high AP cost and deals a lot of damage. Attacks form a shape of a cone, which means they can hit several opponents at once. They can inflict Defenseless status, making the second shot almost always successful. This is the gangsters' favourite weapon, and I recommend using it to solve all of your problems
You can switch weapons with the Equip option; there's nothing stopping you from giving your Boss knuckles and your sniper a submachine gun. What's more, during missions you will be able to obtain better or Unique Equipment; it's usually available from police officers or Dons residing in a particular district. Before you leave the location, check out their apartments and buy out all available gear.
How to form a team? I suggest that the main character (The Boss) used a ranged weapon. Make sure to give him good mobility and a lot of Action Points, because there will be two times where you're going to have to fend off several enemies at once all on your own; it would be better if you could shoot the Thompson (13 AP) or the shotgun twice. The rest of the squad depends on the situation. Personally, I prefer two submachine guns, a shotgun and a pistol (to eliminate individual units), but more than once I strongly felt the need for a bat-wielder. Despite how interesting hand-to-hand combat can be, I don't recommend having four characters with only cold steel weapons: some battles will have you seriously outnumbered and the only way to survive would be to eliminate several units at once. A balanced team should have two ranged weapons (i.e. shotgun plus a Thompson), a bat (to wound the toughest opponents) and a quick character equipped either with knuckles or a pistol to finish off individual wounded units.
The selection of particular characters will be dictated by the situation. Gangsters that may use Bandage or Second Wind can stay on the battlefield despite being seriously wounded, and you should hire them first. Equip them with weapons that match their statistics and add adequate Perks. Characters that fight hand-to-hand should have increased Health and defensive Perks (i.e. Thick Skin or Luck). Gangsters fighting at a distance should be focused on dealing as much damage as possible: Ranged Specialist, More Criticals and Savvy will allow you to perform more successful attacks. It's also an interesting idea to combine Blood Thirst with Battle Rage - this way the longer the fight lasts the more often the character will attack.