The new season of Kill Team takes us to the dying planet of Bheta-Decima, where special operatives are battling across the gantries and walkways of Mechanicus rig-stations above the warp-tainted waters of the Tumult Ocean. After filming this week’s episode of Battle Report, Gaming Presenter Nick sat down with Kill Team Games Developer Elliot to chat about what it’s really like to fight in the new killzone.
The Ups and Downs of Moving
Nick: Killzone: Bheta-Decima brings more vertical movement into your games than ever before. The corridors of the Gallowdark are all on one level, so Close Quarters games are almost a 2D experience. But on Bheta-Decima, we were climbing ladders and gantries throughout the game, checking line of sight, and finding ourselves caught out by the enemy moving above or below us in ways we hadn’t anticipated. It brings a whole new perspective to the game, and will give players new things to think about. Getting to that key objective marker, or making that big charge, will mean really thinking about how you move… and taking a few risks!
Elliot: You’re right. What I found was that playing in Killzone: Bheta-Decima gives you a new perspective on certain operatives. Those that can easily climb, like Reivers in Phobos Strike Teams – or even fly, such as the Corsair Voidscarred Shade-runner – become more powerful, able to traverse platforms with ease and leave other operatives lagging behind. It also encourages you to make more use of equipment you might otherwise not normally take. Not many players were selecting Climbing Equipment in the corridors of the Gallowdark, but on Bheta-Decima it will be invaluable.
Jump to It!
Nick: Jumping has been in the Kill Team rules since we first deployed on Octarius, but I must admit to having very rarely used those rules. It always seemed like a bit of a risk, when an operative could just find a way to walk around a gap instead – but I found that jumping becomes essential in Bheta-Decima if you want to get anywhere. In fact, in many of the missions in the new book, there are terrain layouts to create gaps that specifically can be jumped, almost tempting the players to do just that!
Elliot: Jumping between platforms is essential, for sure. But it comes with a huge risk. If you fail, you’ll end up standing on the platform you were trying to jump away from, out of position and ripe to be taken down. If you were charging, that means you were on an Engage order, and now find yourself fully revealed on a platform!*
Nick: I’m pretty sure that exact moment happened in our Battle Report episode, in fact. It got messy!
Firepower
Nick: Looking at the board, you might think that shooting would dominate Killzone: Bheta-Decima. It’s relatively open, after all, and there’s not too much cover… but you’d be wrong.
Elliot: We needed a way to keep shooting-heavy kill teams from just winning games in the first or second Turning Point. We came up with the idea of the polluted, steaming seas kicking up such industrial mist and froth that it’s impossible to shoot through more than a few inches** if both shooter and target are on the bottom level. Operatives have to venture up onto the gantries if they want to really unleash their firepower… but of course, that makes them more vulnerable too.
Nick: It’s such a clever mechanic, and really opened up the game. Seeing as most objectives are on the gantries, you often have to take huge risks moving to control them if you want those precious victory points.
Elliot: You really have to think about firing lines to keep your operatives safe. Here’s a sneaky trick – look for any operatives or equipment that’ll let you shoot at Obscured targets, like the Hearthkyn Gunner’s HYLas rotary cannon. Snipers and scanners with that capability become extremely valuable, allowing you to ignore the mist and waves and shoot right across the battlefield, no matter what level you’re on. If you’re on the receiving end, you’ll have to go back to conventional forms of Cover and lurk behind gantry pillars to avoid getting shot.
Claiming Victory in Bheta-Decima
Nick: If you want to succeed in Bheta-Decima, you may have to alter how you play. All-out combat-focused teams, such as the Fellgor Ravagers or the new Striking Scorpions of the Blades of Khaine, are going to need a plan for making it into melee. You’ll want sneaky tricks, extra movement abilities – anything that helps you sneak forward under a Conceal order and strike. It’s also best to make sure you’re in Cover when you finally hit combat – getting stranded out in the open after killing an enemy operative would be most unadvisable.
If your kill team focuses more on ranged firepower you’ll need to keep mobility in mind, so you can get into position to unleash your best attacks and biggest guns. You’ll need to traverse the gantries to do so, so think hard about that Climbing Equipment!
If you’ve refocused your team around mobility and flexibility, then consider selecting Tac Ops which lean into those qualities, from archetypes like Recon – they may serve you better than Seek and Destroy!
Thanks, guys! You’ll be able to download the rules for Killzone: Bheta-Decima from Warhammer Community when it arrives in stores, along with updated Approved Ops for games set in Hazardous Areas. If you can’t wait to make your way to Bheta-Decima, make sure you catch this week’s episode of Battle Report on Warhammer+, where the Space Marine Scouts take on the Striking Scorpions of the Blades of Khaine in the new killzone.
That’s not all on Warhammer+ this week, as Citadel Colour Masterclass takes a macabre look at painting flayed skin, and Loremasters goes in depth on the history of Rogue Traders in Warhammer 40,000.
* Teams like the Farstalker Kinband can use unique ploys to automatically pass jump tests. Everyone else… good luck.
** That’s two white circles, in Kill Team-speak.