A Tact point is a section of the battlefield that is of tactical significance to both forces. The side that controls a Tact point is able to generate SP and thereby reinforce their side whilst denying the opponent the chance to do so.
Tact Point States[ | ]
A Tact Point can be in one of three states: Held by the enemy; unclaimed; held by the player.
Enemy Tact point[ | ]
When held by the enemy it will generally have 10 HP, with less tactically significant ones having 5 HP. Tact Points that are recaptured by the enemy will have 1-2HP on the turn they are recaptured. Each turn that a TP is held, an enemy will attempt to spawn in base contact with the TP. In all cases the Engineer is the only templar class that can deal the damage required to free it from enemy influence. It is possible for an enemy to reclaim a TP it lost whilst an engineer is stood next to it, should the engineer have insufficient AP to capture the TP it just cleared. The appearance is always the same no matter which enemy holds a TP.
Unclaimed Tact Point[ | ]
A tact point must be in an unclaimed state in order for it captured by either side. Generally enemy units will only attempt to claim a tact point if they originally held it at the start of the mission, otherwise they will aim to render Templar held TP to this state. This is the state all claimed TP revert to when their HP is reduced to zero.
Templar Controlled Tact Point[ | ]
Each tact point you possess will raise your squad cap by +3, up to the mission maximum of either 6, 9 or 12. If you possess no TP you will have the default squad cap. Your first TP will raise the squad cap to 6, if it is not already at 6; If it is already at 6 it will remain at 6, as it acts as a foundation for further expansion. Your second TP will raise the squad cap to 9 (mission permitting). Your third TP will raise the squad cap to 12 (mission permitting). Your fourth or higher TP will NOT raise the squad cap, but will still contribute SP each turn.
If you lose possession of a tact point, you will not be forced to remove any templars in the event of being over the current squad cap. However, you will not be permitted to summon reinforcements until either the squad cap is raised once more or sufficient templar fall in battle.
Defensive Perimeter[ | ]
A Templar controlled TP has 5HP when the mission starts or when the TP is captured, but it will suffer 1 HP damage from each enemy that comes within 2 squares of it (referred to as the TP's defensive perimeter). One way to recover TP health is through the use of an Engineer's Repair Talent. Another is to let the enemy capture the TP, and then recapture it.
SP Generation[ | ]
A Templar controlled TP generates SP, typically 51SP per turn per Tact Point under your control. You can increase the number of SP generated through one of three upgrades: small +25SP/turn for 200SP; medium +75SP/turn for 600SP; large +125SP/turn for 1000SP. In all cases the upgrade only applies to a single Tact Point, not to all Tact Points under your control. An important point to consider when upgrading a Tact Point's SP generation, is that it will take 8 turns for you to recoup the cost; only prolonged deployments i.e. those with a turn limit of 20+ turns are liable to reap significant benefits.
Spending SP[ | ]
When selected, Templar-held tact points will show the player how many SP that specific TP generates each turn, its current and maximum possible HP, and how many upgrades it can accommodate. The first upgrade slot is always in use and it provides the TP with 5HP. Typically, a Tact Point can take 2 additional upgrades, though there are some with higher limits.
Selecting a TP provides access to the summon Veteran; deploy new Recruit; purchase Ordnance and Upgrade TP menus.
Deploying Veterans[ | ]
When selecting from the Veterans screen you will be reminded of the unit's class, level, amount of XP earned, weapon(s) equipped and SP cost required to deploy. In the event of possessing 2+ TP, you can select which TP the unit deploys from. They will always aim to deploy from the left hand side of the TP first, and will only deploy on the right hand side when a third reserve is summoned AND the first two reserves have not been moved. You can not swap a templar that you deploy via a TP if you accidentally pick the wrong templar, even on turn one of the mission. You can not change the load out of a templar using a TP, as that is only possible prior to the mission start.
Battlefield Recruits[ | ]
When selecting the Recruit menu, first you must have run out of veterans for that given class. Any attempt to summon a recruit in preference to a veteran will result in the most experienced veteran not already on the battlefield being deployed.
No matter what the minimum experience level for your new templar recruits is (be it level 5 or 25), they will always cost the level 1 SP price to deploy (e.g. 400SP for a Soldier). The trade-off is that you can not select any of their Attributes, Skills, Talents or Equipment, but instead must work with the default build. The default build generally has the primary attack talent invested in first, then the secondary attack talent (ignoring grapple). The templar will have the best 1 handed Weapon available, a basic Gauntlet, Cutter Fist or Shield, entry-level Armor and no Gear. If you wish more control over a new recruit, it is better to add them to your roster pre-deployment and pay the higher SP price to deploy them. Underused veterans will always be equal to a new recruit in quality.
Getting Ordnance[ | ]
The Ordnance menu is where you purchase medikits, buffs that are not tied to a specific class (e.g. Reactor Jolt) and talent resupplies. All ordnance purchases require a templar spend 1 AP to use them. Talent resupplies require the templar to be within a 6 tile radius of the TP in order to receive them. Buffs and Medikit do not have a range limitation; this allows you to assist a templar in need no matter where they are. The only caveat to Medikits is that a suitably skilled Paladin is more cost effective when your squad is deployed in a compact manner.
TP Upgrades[ | ]
Upgrades are improvements to the Tact Point that can take one of three forms: additional HP for the TP itself; increased SP generation (takes 8 turns to recoup cost); turret defences (range 2, automated counter-attacks). You can stack HP or RP generation upgrades if you so wish. HP stacking allows a TP to act as spawn bait for Terrox, should you need to mobilise all of your squad to capture a heavily defended TP on the other side of the map.