Lock ‘n Load Tactical Digital: Core Game – Beginners Tips and Tactics

An initial collection of tips and tactics for those new to the Lock ‘n Load Tactical Digital game.

Tips and Tactics for New Players

All credit goes to JimmyC!

Tips

Leaders are critical to the success of the mission. Leaders:

• In the attacking hex increase the chance of a damage check.
• In the defending hex decrease the chance of damage check negative results.
• Help the stack move farther.
• Call in artillery/mortar ordnance fire.
• Have better chance to spot.
• Rally other units.
• Can “activate” units in hexes around the Leader’s hex.

Using a Leader to activate surrounding units is tricky. You have to be very careful NOT to select “End Impulse” until you’ve used all your activations. Even though “End Impulse” lights up as an option, click around your other activated hexes, conduct your unit actions, repeat until there are no more activated units left, and only then press “End Impulse”.

Be very careful/deliberate about Leader unit selection. If the Leader uses his impulse on an attack he can’t call-in an available artillery strike that turn.

Study the map, especially LOS looking for open lines, blocking terrain, objectives.

Hero units have special capabilities that can help your mission, watch carefully for their creation.

To successfully assault a bunker, house or other fortified positions you will almost always have to send a single squad forward to trigger the enemy fire and expose their previously unspotted units to your fire. Use assault move for units capable of that.

At the beginning of a scenario study your force composition and placement on the map. Make sure to scroll around the entire map as sometimes you’ll have two separate groups of units on different sides of the map.

The hex/unit selection interface is a bit wonky, the escape key (ESC) is your friend, after clicking on a hex to select it, use the ESC key to deselect it. Sometimes a 2nd click on the same hex will de-select it, but I’ve found that to be inconsistent so I always use the ESC key.

At the beginning of each Rally phase click on each Leader unit to review any special rally options they might provide. (ex. the Nurse can attempt a heal a wounded unit or the WW2 Soviets often have a “For the Motherland” option to improve rally results)

Deciding which units in a hex to select for a direct fire attack is a bit tricky due to the 1/2 IFP and rounding up calculation. (ex. 3 infantry units each with IFP of 1, 1st unit fires with 100% of IFP or 1, 2nd unit fires with 1/2 of IFP or .5. If you stop here the total FP is 2 due to the rounding up of the .5. But, if you add the 3rd unit to the attack, 1/2 of IFP or .5 gets added to the total as such: 1 + .5 + .5 = 2, same FP as with just the 2 units, you get no additional firepower from the 3rd unit, better to save it for another impulse on its own.

Move Shaken infantry & Leader units into nearby woods or buildings for the +2 benefit to Rallying.

If you End Impulse a unit using Assault Move “without” firing, perhaps because no enemy units have been spotted, you can return to that unit later in the turn to have it fire on recently spotted enemy units.

Be careful with your “Passes”. When you have “Pass #1” you’ll get another chance to use impulses after you Pass. But if you have “Pass #2” and select it you opponent will be able to “Pass & End” and you won’t be able to use any remaining units with impulses left.

On defense it is often best to “Pass” early in the turn hoping the attackers will reveal themselves by moving.