Fire Support is a feature in Insurgency: Sandstorm. There are currently 10 types of Fire Support available that can be called in by the Commander class when close to a friendly Observer. There are 5 for the Security Forces, and 6 for the Insurgent Forces. At the start of each game, the Commander will get a radio reminder from the operator that fire support is available, if there is a Commander, and a friendly Observer in the squad. If there is no Observer and/or Commander, fire support won't be available for use, and the Commander/Observer will comment on the lack of Observer/s or Commander, respectively. To call in Fire Support, binoculars have to be equipped as a commander and will need an observer within 10m to chain commands to the operator. If all friendly observers are dead, fire support cannot be called in as a commander, and observers cannot call in fire support by themselves. There is a meter on the bottom left of the screen that will show for Observers and Commanders showing their respective distances from one another. If either is behind the line on the meter, air support can be called. If beyond the line and the Commander tries to call in fire support, a radio message will play requesting a nearby Observer. Pressing the weapon switch key while looking down the binoculars will allow you to switch the kind of fire support to order in.
After using a fire support option, there will be a waiting time for HQ to be ready to receive another request, regardless of type. During the cooldown period, the marker with the Commander's Binoculars will remain red until the next request can be transmitted. There will be a radio message from HQ, callsign "Station", informing the squad (with commander and observer/s) that fire support is ready again to be called in. Note that the cooldown is different between the different types of fire support. Also, the time in which the same support can be called in is different from the actual fire support cooldown period (For instance, you called in Autocannon Strafe, and you wish to call it in again. The reminder that fire support is ready to be called in will come first before you can actually call in Autocannon Strafe again).
Security Forces:
Helicopters
Gunship Support "Assassin"
Calls in a friendly AH-64D Longbow Apache with the callsign "Assassin" that provides heavy fire support for your team. The helicopter arrives about 10 seconds after Station receives the Observer's call. When arriving, the gunship will fire a barrage of Hydra 70 rockets at the indicated area by the Commander, and proceeds to use its nose-mounted M230 chain gun to attack targets. The chain gun has a traverse of 180 degrees, and fires High-Explosive rounds. The explosive radius is visible and moderate. Assassin calls out kills, when it's taking fire, and when it's sustaining heavy damage. It can be shot down by enemies, either with a rocket launcher or via sustained small arms fire. When this happens, the pilot will exclaim that they are going down, and the helicopter will plummet to the ground and explode. HQ will call out over the radio and in the chatbox that the support helicopter is lost. Only 1 can be called in per game.
The helicopters are relatively smart, however, being able to dodge and weave around rockets that are being shot at them. This, however, stops them from firing upon their targets, which can be a decent way to stall them as Insurgents. In order to efficiently blow up the helicopters with an RPG, the rocket must be shot in their blind spot. This means getting directly underneath them or from behind.
Minigun Support "Cleric"
Calls in a friendly UH-60 Blackhawk with the callsign "Cleric" that flies into the area about 10 seconds after Station receives the Observer's call, and attacks any hostiles with it's GAU-19 .50 cal miniguns mounted on both sides of the chopper. Each time the helicopter circles around, the side that faces towards the map will start to engage targets. Unlike the Gunship, the minigun bullets do not explode, but are relatively accurate and are shot at an extremely fast rate, and have tracers. Cleric will not fire upon any enemies out of its sight, including inside buildings, but may fire upon specific areas if they saw an enemy run inside. Like the Gunship, it'll also call out kills, when it's taking fire, and sustaining heavy damage. It can be shot down by enemies, with rockets or by sustained small arms fire. When this happens, the pilot will exclaim that they are going down, and the helicopter will plummet to the ground and explode. Afterwards, HQ will tell over the radio and in the chatbox that the helicopter is down. Only 1 can be called in per game.
Similarly to Assassin, Cleric is able to dodge RPGs aimed at it.
The Minigun Support is also called automatically at the end of the Survival gamemode, at the last objective for extraction.
Explosive Strafe
Autocannon Strafe "Warlock"
Calls in an A-10 Thunderbolt II with the callsign "Warlock" to do an autocannon strafe/ gun run with its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger autocannon perpendicular to where the commander is looking at the time that Station recieves the call-in from the Observer. This allows for fine tuning of the strafe even after it is placed, making it easier to hit hard to reach locations and targets.
Artillery
Smoke Artillery
Requests smoke artillery shells to be fired at the indicated position. The shells will impact the target position around 10-15 seconds after the Artillery fires. They are useful for concealment, however, the smoke can cause both friendly and enemy units in the area without gas masks on to cough. Beyond this, smoke artillery can not and will not cause damage or kill anyone, however, the shells will kill anyone who are unlucky enough to be struck directly by them.
Explosive Artillery
Requests explosive artillery shells to be fired at the indicated position and it's surrounding area. Similar to the Smoke Artillery, and are useful for area denial, defensive, and offensive purposes.
Security Tips:
- The Gunship and Minigun Support are your most powerful options, and probably the most useful. They are AI controlled, so you don't need to bother with operating the placement (except the rockets of the Gunship). Both helicopters will pretty much engage targets all on their own. Make sure you use them wisely, and call them where enemies are. The best time to do this would be during counter-attacks, when enemies are in an open area, or during tough situations where they would provide the necessary cover for a push by the team. Both supports will only engage when there are targets in their line of sight.
- The Autocannon Strafe arrives the fastest, and technically the most accurate. It's effective against grouped static targets, and can even kill targets in windows. The sound of the gun firing and the explosive shells may tip the enemy off of your intentions, but they don't really know where you call it in unless they see it themselves. As it is easy to cause friendly fire incidents, commanders or observers should let their teammates know if a strafe is inbound so that they may proceed with caution.
- Smoke Artillery is mainly used for concealment during a push, or blinding the enemy in defense. Anybody in the smoke without gas masks will cough, giving away their location. But don't always count on it, especially when playing against enemy players. Smoke Artillery works well when called in on an open area. The rounds take a while to strike the target area, so take note of that.
- Explosive Artillery is best used to "scare" human enemies, or used as an effort to suppress an enemy push for defense. Collateral damage is possible, so be careful of where you call this in, and warn your teammates about your intentions. Also take into account the slightly lengthy time of arrival of the shells, which can compromise the safety of you and your team. It is ENTIRELY possible to teamkill and commit suicide with this, so think before you call it in.
Insurgent Forces:
Drones
IED Drone
Calls in a repurposed commercial drone to blow up an enemy in the target area. Necessarily an AI-controlled suicide bomber UAV. They create a loud whirring noise that can be heard in a vicinity around the target area.
Bomber Drones
Calls in a fleet of drones that drop grenades on a specified target. This is similar to the Autocannon Strafe, but with a much smaller, focused explosive radius.
Rockets
Rocket Barrage
Fires a large volume of explosive rockets at the designated area, inflicting a high explosive damage over a large area. The rockets fire in bursts of 4-5, arriving about 10 seconds after they are fired. This makes the rocket barrage a very effective tool for holding back a Security push for a long time. If close enough, the rockets will also cause enough noise to effectively deafen any nearby units. Although extremely niche, they can be a way to hide a sneaky flank around an objective without any opposition hearing anything except tinnitus.
Mortars
Chemical Mortars
Requests chemical mortar shells to be fired at the indicated area. The gas can provide concealment, and damage troops in the radius, both friendly and enemy. The effect can be negated with the use of Gas Masks.
Smoke Mortars
Orders smoke mortar rounds to be fired at the indicated position. Identical in effect to the Smoke Artillery of the Security Forces. This CANNOT and WILL NOT cause damage and kill anything, however, direct hits from smoke mortars will kill.
Explosive Mortars
Orders explosive mortar rounds to be fired at the indicated position. Similar to the Explosive Artillery of the Security Forces.
Insurgents Tips
- Chemical mortars can be used to effectively deny entry into an area for Security forces, as a player on the Security team is not guaranteed not have a gas mask equipped. When calling in chemical mortars, let your team know where it is landing and advise them to put on gas masks. Since insurgents have gas masks by default, most of your teammates should have them unless they purposely unequipped it.
- Although the IED drone will never directly target insurgent forces, friendly fire is still possible if the drone targets a security player and an insurgent is nearby who is caught in the blast.
Trivia
- The callsigns for the Security Forces fire support, "Warlock", "Assassin" and "Cleric" take their namesake from various classes in Dungeons & Dragons.
- The Autocannon Strafe's callsign, Warlock, may also be a reference to "Warthog", which is a common nickname for the A-10 Thunderbolt.
- Friendly-fire kills caused by the Autocannon Strafe are announced over chat as confirmed kills, but they obviously not contribute to the commander's scoreboard.
- The gun modelled on the AH-64D is actually the DShK used on Insurgent Technicals, instead of the proper M230 Chain Gun.