In this our last series on heroes, we look at the unappreciated but incredibly fun group of characters who form the tank class of Imperial Assault. While tanks are often critiqued for being limited in their damage output, you won't find that to be the case for these gentlemen, and this is particularly true of today's hero, the mighty Biv Bodhrick.
Biv Bodhrick: It's Not Personal, It's Business
Let's sort out two things before we begin: first, on some level and at some point, you will need to spend XP to buy an upgrade that relies on Close and Personal. At the cost of 2 Strain, getting a free melee attack with a Red-Yellow combo and NO surge abilities has debatable utility. While you can spend up to 9 XP on upgrades that don't rely on Close and Personal, you'll eventually need it. So, the big question is: how much do you emphasize Biv's signature skill?
The second thing you'll need to know about Biv is that no matter what weapon you use, Biv SHOULD (dare I say MUST) use his first Surge result to recover Strain. As great as Close and Personal is, Biv gets far more utility out of being able to Strain to reroll an attack die with Deadly Precision. With one of the best starter weapons available to any hero, getting to reroll the Red when it gives you Damage 1 or reroll the Blue when it doesn't give you enough Accuracy (or when it only does Damage 1) is critical to getting the most out of your actions.
With the need to recover Strain for rerolls AND the need to spend 2 Strain to perform Close and Personal, recovering Strain is key to using Biv effectively. Our builds today will keep this in mind and we'll be looking for ways to recover Strain in each of them (though recall we talked about equipment you can buy to manage strain in our post on Verena Talos).
The second thing you'll need to know about Biv is that no matter what weapon you use, Biv SHOULD (dare I say MUST) use his first Surge result to recover Strain. As great as Close and Personal is, Biv gets far more utility out of being able to Strain to reroll an attack die with Deadly Precision. With one of the best starter weapons available to any hero, getting to reroll the Red when it gives you Damage 1 or reroll the Blue when it doesn't give you enough Accuracy (or when it only does Damage 1) is critical to getting the most out of your actions.
With the need to recover Strain for rerolls AND the need to spend 2 Strain to perform Close and Personal, recovering Strain is key to using Biv effectively. Our builds today will keep this in mind and we'll be looking for ways to recover Strain in each of them (though recall we talked about equipment you can buy to manage strain in our post on Verena Talos).
We've talked about this weapon in many of our posts for good reason: you reliably get Surge results (and you can turn them into good offensive bonuses). For Biv, generating Surge is a must and could be the difference between being able to perform Close and Personal in a given round.
With the Vibrobayonet, you aren't tempted to use your Surge to do Damage during the melee part of Close and Personal, and you're all but guaranteed to do Damage to the target AND apply a Bleed condition. In your follow up attack, you're rolling a Red-Blue and are again not tempted to surge for anything other than recovering Strain.
If you kill the target, not only do you have a good chance of recovering the Strain you used, but you also get to move a bit with Advance. The benefit of the Vibro-Knucklers is that until you get the Vibrobayonet, you don't need to use Close and Personal and you'll still be able to cut through nearby figures. While Close and Personal is good against high-health figures, it's not good against low-health figures. This is where the Vibro-Knucklers shine.
Most of our XP will be dedicated to defense boosts - we are a tank after all. Biv's Trophy Armor is one of the best upgrades in the game, granting +4 Health and a reroll of your defense die. Add in a static Block from Into The Fray and you're one tough nut to crack. But just when you think there's no way you could get stronger, you add in Shake It Off to give you a shot at recovering Strain or removing a harmful condition at the start of your turn.
Perhaps the best thing about this build is that besides the Vibro-Knucklers (though you can use the Armored Gauntlets at Tier 1), you haven't spent any cash. Since you won't be buying armor with your credits, consider picking up the Cybernetic Arm, the Survival Gear, and the Emergency Injector.
With the Vibrobayonet, you aren't tempted to use your Surge to do Damage during the melee part of Close and Personal, and you're all but guaranteed to do Damage to the target AND apply a Bleed condition. In your follow up attack, you're rolling a Red-Blue and are again not tempted to surge for anything other than recovering Strain.
If you kill the target, not only do you have a good chance of recovering the Strain you used, but you also get to move a bit with Advance. The benefit of the Vibro-Knucklers is that until you get the Vibrobayonet, you don't need to use Close and Personal and you'll still be able to cut through nearby figures. While Close and Personal is good against high-health figures, it's not good against low-health figures. This is where the Vibro-Knucklers shine.
Most of our XP will be dedicated to defense boosts - we are a tank after all. Biv's Trophy Armor is one of the best upgrades in the game, granting +4 Health and a reroll of your defense die. Add in a static Block from Into The Fray and you're one tough nut to crack. But just when you think there's no way you could get stronger, you add in Shake It Off to give you a shot at recovering Strain or removing a harmful condition at the start of your turn.
Perhaps the best thing about this build is that besides the Vibro-Knucklers (though you can use the Armored Gauntlets at Tier 1), you haven't spent any cash. Since you won't be buying armor with your credits, consider picking up the Cybernetic Arm, the Survival Gear, and the Emergency Injector.
Upgrades to purchase – 10 XP: Advance (1), Shake It Off (1), Into The Fray (2), Vibrobayonet (3), Trophy Armor (3)
Alright, let's be honest: Biv should be running around with the world's biggest gun making everything blow up. If we're going to do that, let's find a gun that allows us to take 2 upgrade slots so we can have the Vibrobayonet and something else. Enter the A280.
This list uses Close and Personal to the limit, so Surge is everything. Prior to hitting Tier 2, you can keep your Repeating Blaster (it's good). Thanks to your Vibrobayonet and Plasma Cell, you'll always get a static Pierce 1, no matter which part of Close and Personal you're doing. We've chosen Crushing Blow to supplement the Vibrobayonet, but realize that by giving ourselves something to Surge for in the melee part of Close and Personal, we're not going to be recovering Strain as often. Therefore, this strategy doesn't even try. We've decided with this build that we're going to rest once per turn instead of attacking with our second action.
In this build, we wrap up with one of Biv's 4 XP upgrades (Stay Down) which allows him to perform part of Close and Personal again at the cost of 2 more Strain. Since this doesn't take an action, you can still do 3 attacks in an activation AND REST. With only 9 XP spent, you should have some extra XP to buy odds and ends to flesh out your character (Advance is good, as is the Trophy Armor if you have 12 XP total). In general I don't think Biv's 4 XP upgrades are all that great, but this Stay Down works alright with Crushing Blow (exhaust it during any one of the melee attacks) and the Vibrobayonet (applies to both melee attacks).
This list uses Close and Personal to the limit, so Surge is everything. Prior to hitting Tier 2, you can keep your Repeating Blaster (it's good). Thanks to your Vibrobayonet and Plasma Cell, you'll always get a static Pierce 1, no matter which part of Close and Personal you're doing. We've chosen Crushing Blow to supplement the Vibrobayonet, but realize that by giving ourselves something to Surge for in the melee part of Close and Personal, we're not going to be recovering Strain as often. Therefore, this strategy doesn't even try. We've decided with this build that we're going to rest once per turn instead of attacking with our second action.
In this build, we wrap up with one of Biv's 4 XP upgrades (Stay Down) which allows him to perform part of Close and Personal again at the cost of 2 more Strain. Since this doesn't take an action, you can still do 3 attacks in an activation AND REST. With only 9 XP spent, you should have some extra XP to buy odds and ends to flesh out your character (Advance is good, as is the Trophy Armor if you have 12 XP total). In general I don't think Biv's 4 XP upgrades are all that great, but this Stay Down works alright with Crushing Blow (exhaust it during any one of the melee attacks) and the Vibrobayonet (applies to both melee attacks).
Upgrades to purchase – 9 XP: Crushing Blow (2), Vibrobayonet (3), Stay Down (4)
End-Game Weapon #3 – The Pistol Approach: 434 Deathhammer with Vibrobayonet
While having a bayonet on the end of a pistol is unconventional to say the least, you can't argue with this one: a static Damage 1 in both parts of Close and Personal, guaranteed 2 Accuracy, and a solid Red-Blue is great. With Crushing Blow, we're relying on doing lots of Damage to the target, while Advance gives us some movement for free. We'll need to rest from time to time, but since you are spending so little on your weapon, pick up some of the equipment we mentioned previously (I'll add the Bacta Pump for this build, maybe even the Reinforced Helmet or Personal Shields for defense pips).
Speaking of defense, we've chosen again the dual pairing of Into The Fray with the Trophy Armor - there's no reason not to take both. Biv Bodhrick should be able to endure the worst punishment with this build and if you're facing low-health figures, you'll be able to chomp right through them with the 434 Deathhammer. Very straight forward and not much else to say.
Speaking of defense, we've chosen again the dual pairing of Into The Fray with the Trophy Armor - there's no reason not to take both. Biv Bodhrick should be able to endure the worst punishment with this build and if you're facing low-health figures, you'll be able to chomp right through them with the 434 Deathhammer. Very straight forward and not much else to say.
Upgrades to purchase – 11 XP: Advance (1), Into The Fray (2), Crushing Blow (2), Vibrobayonet (3), Trophy Armor (3)
Biv in the Skirmish Game
If you're looking for a power character, Biv Bodhrick is your man: as one of the most expensive Rebel Heroes you can bring to a skirmish match, his health and defense are fine but not stellar. Where Biv comes into a realm all his own is on offense: with a Red-Yellow-Blue attack pool and the Close and Personal ability, he can perform multiple attacks in a single action (turning up to 2 Surge into Damage) AND he can still move or trigger a Command card special ability (I like Merciless).
One of the best things about Biv is that he's a Hunter-Brawler, which makes him an excellent ally to a Mercenary list with Temporary Alliance OR he can synergize with most Jedi or Wookiees. If you use Saska Teft, you can pick a good Mercenary figure to join you - Shyla Varad is a good choice, though Bossk, Vinto Hreeda, and Jabba the Hutt are excellent alternates.
In our next post, we’ll be delving into the hero with the highest possible health: Onar Koma. What Onar gains in ridiculous health, he pays for with absolutely no defense die. Is he worth it? Find out next time!
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