Hacking Changes in Human Sphere N3

By ARCangel

Well hello there, beautiful people. It’s Infinity week over on Beasts of War and you know what that means, previews and teasers galore. This isn’t going to be a bullet points type of summary, nor am I intending to cover everything; the video is a half an hour long. I’m going to tell you what I found interesting or important and then urge you to watch it for yourself to make sure nothing that matters to you gets missed. The most recent video, as of Wednesday, covers the changes to Hacking in HSN3 and how that’s going to affect hackers and their usage. Carlos was there to walk us all through the new additions, and he did an eloquent job of breaking it up into the three new devices that are covered in the book.

First we have the new version of the EVO hacker device. Rather than being the old version which was more of a passive support device using the EVO Repeater, they have made Remotes that carry this device into Hackers in their own right. The most important concept of this being that EVO Remotes can actually bring other remotes to the field as though they were regular hackers. The EVO has a decent smattering of programs but focus mainly on buffing and protecting your units with only one Sword program for attacking, however a new type of program has been added to the list in the Gadget-EVO supportware programs, a special set of programs for EVO hackers only. It adds programs like Kaleidoscope, a -3 modifier to enemy hackers trying to hack your own hackers, described as a sort of hacker mimetism, Overclock which gives any remote with a Repeater, burst 2 on reaction shots, and Team Pro which allows a link team who loses its Link Leader to automatically select a new one. In my opinion, though, one of the most important parts of these new programs is that if you are the player with Turn 2, you can begin the game with them activated by spending a command token. Some ideas mentioned were using Overclock to build a sort of sentry turret list and cover the table with higher burst AROs, or to use Kaleidoscope if your opponent were to drop Interventors.

“But where are my support systems from before?” I hear you asking.

They’re still there just a bit different. EVO hacking devices allow you to use Tactical Support systems, all of which are automatic and simultaneous. You can make coordinated hacking attempts, get a reroll on a single failed attempt, and of course still get that important +3 PH on your Airborne Deployment rolls, so don’t worry. The aforementioned pre-deployment of EVO-Gadget programs is all covered under these programs.

Second we have the Killer Hacker Device. “What is a killer hacker device?” Carlos asked the camera. It’s a device to kill, other hackers specifically. Its program list is much shorter than the EVO Hacking Device, but carries some very potent and devastating SWORD-2 programs such as Redrum a Damage 16, burst 2 attack, with DA ammo, or Skullbuster with its Breaker ammo and +3 attack mod. The device also comes with a pair of upgrade programs, Cybermask, an important tool for getting close to your target without getting shot, and Maestro which is only for Combine Army, the lucky buggers, which if successful puts your hacker into the unconscious state regardless of the amount of wounds it has; watch out, Hac Tao!

Finally we have the White Hacker Device, a purely defensive device with only Shield and Gadget Programs, but unlike the Defensive Hacking Device, the White Hacking Device has a few special abilities. Firstly if you try to Surprise Shot a model with White Hacking Device while within his Hacking Area he can ignore the negative mod imposed by the skill. Secondly, in the reactive turn, he can delay his ARO declaration until the declaration of the targets second short skill, so long as they’re in his Hacking Area. As Carlos puts it, gesticulating wildly, “My Kung-Fu is stronger than you.”

Carlos finished up by showing some updates to current Hacker models. Some examples are the various remotes like the Mulebot, Pangolin, and Probot getting EVO Hacking Devices. It would also seem that many models like the Hac Tao, Naga, and Interventor will gain access to the Killer Hacking Device.

It seems that Hacking itself hasn’t been adjusted too much since the new rules for N3 but these new devices provide an extra depth to what Hackers can do on the table, from better defensive suites to purpose built hunter-killer profiles. I myself can’t wait to throw down an EVO Hacking Device and some Bulleteers with Overclock. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you, on the table.