Drug Wars v2.0: The Battle System and Units

It's not entirely clear how the math behind the Drug Wars battle system breaks down, but after some experimentation, I've come to a few conclusions. Note Drug Wars is in a constant state of flux, so what's written today may not be useful when they roll out the next patch. Numbers are not set in stone and are subject to change, as we saw in the update from v1.5 to v2.0. Now that the battle system has been re-activated, it's more important than ever to get a handle on these units, their costs, and weigh the pros and cons of each. So let's take a look at Boot Camp, where you recruit the men (and women) who do your dirty deeds for not-too-cheap.

Attack, Defense, and Speed

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Each unit has three different values: Attack, represented by the red target, Defense, represented by the blue shield, and Speed, represented by the little green stick figure running to the right.

Attack value is obvious: how much damage this character deals in combat. Excess damage delivered to one unit is carried over to the next unit in line, and this continues until all targets are dead, or the excess damage spills over into a target it can't kill.

Defense is more like hit points, or ability to absorb damage. The calculation for this isn't clear, but the point value doesn't appear to be exact (in other words, just because a unit has 12 Defense doesn't mean it takes 12 damage to kill--there are clearly some other calculations taken into consideration). Once a unit takes enough damage to kill it, it's time to pour out the 40oz, because he won't be coming back home.

Speed only matters when you're on the offensive, and it controls how long it takes your units to march from your corner of the block to your opponent's corner to start the throw-down. The higher the value, the more minutes it takes for your fighters to reach their target. In a battle involving mixed units, the entire group moves at the speed value of their slowest fighters so that they all arrive at the same time. Defending units, since they're assumed to be defending your turf, don't care about speed and all react to counter an attack simultaneously.

Melee vs. Range

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The guys you can hire with your excess weapons and alcohol come in two varieties: melee and ranged. Melee attackers are ones who do their damage up close and personal. Ranged attackers dish out their pain and suffering from far away.

Ranged attackers get some form of bonus in their ability to carve up melee attackers, but it's not at a 1/1 ratio as I've seen an all-ranged team sent against an all-melee defender and still lose ranged units. In the example posted by @timcliff in his own Ultimate Beginner's Guide, he fielded a team of five Gunmen, five Snipers, two Hitmen, and one Mercenary against a defender with only 3 Super Bouncers. While all three bouncers found themselves ushered across the River Styx, four of the five Gunmen also died in the attack. This would seem to indicate melee fighters can damage ranged attackers despite being out-gunned. Hopefully we'll learn more about this system as the game progresses.

With that in mind, let's take a look at each unit and run down the pros and cons.

Rowdy - 600 Weapons

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This is a new unit which made its debut in this update.

Rowdies are your generic street hooligans, decked out in hoodies and armed with baseball bats, lead pipes, and chains. In a straight-up one-on-one, they're utter weenies with only 2 Attack and 2 Defense. Massed together into a giant mob, however, and their usefulness increases dramatically.

The problem is that ranged units pick them off like ducks. If you're relying on Rowdies to do your heavy lifting, you're doing it wrong. These units are straight-up cannon fodder, easily bought without alcohol. Whether on defense or offense, these guys will each soak up two points' worth of damage before bleeding out, but that's two points of damage not being delivered to one of your other units. There's a reason they're so cheap, and while they alone won't stop a dedicated banger from raiding your stash, they'll drop before everybody else. Send a whole horde of them into combat with your main forces and you'll protect your investment in the stronger units.

Super Bouncer - 1,400 Weapons, 1,300 Alcohol

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Prior to v2.0, these guys were the cannon fodder. In fact, their special ability read, "Takes damage before all other units." This text is now missing from their description, and I'm pretty sure this ability has actually been transferred to the Rowdies. The bump to v2.0 has seen their cost to recruit increase, but their stats also got a bit of a bump as well, so if you were fortunate enough to amass a horde of these guys prior to the update, you got yourself a great deal out of it.

Otherwise, these guys are damage-soaking meat shields, meant to protect your more valuable assets with their very lives. While they are much more expensive than the Rowdies, costing over twice as many Weapons and also Alcohol, you get a better return on your investment. A group of these guys hits hard, and can kill lower-tier ranged attackers before getting blown away themselves. Mixing them with Rowdies means more of them will survive, which means more hurt laid upon your opponent.

Knifer - 3,000 Weapons, 800 Alcohol

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The next tier of melee fighter, and another carry-over from the previous version of the game. His stats also got a bit of a boost, especially on the Attack front where he's now worth 12 points instead of 10. With only 5 Defense though, he can't take the sort of pounding the Bouncers can.

Mixing these guys in with a crowd of Rowdies and Super Bouncers, especially if you're low-level and looking to attack a low-level mate, is a good idea, because they're too expensive to be used as cannon fodder on their own. They're a fine choice to recruit if you find yourself top-heavy on weapons but not so flush with alcohol.

Gunman - 3,600 Weapons, 3,200 Alcohol

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For a low-end player, this guy's expensive but well worth it, since he's the cheapest unit available that deals out ranged damage. In a group composed of nothing but ranged attackers, he appears to be the cannon fodder unit, as he'll die before other, similar units of his type. He's also among the fastest units in the game--a squad of Gunmen will return from a battle in under ten minutes; only the Hitman and Ninja are faster. He also hits harder and defends better than any of the other low-powered units. You'd need 13 Rowdies, 2 Knifers, or 5 Super Bouncers to equal his stopping power.

If you're unsure what to recruit, and you have roughly similar stockpiles of booze and bullets, the Gunman appears to be a great value for the investment. Just remember to also recruit enough weenies to keep him safe, as he's too expensive to throw away on a Charge of the Light Brigade-style assault.

Sniper - 3,000 Weapons, 5,600 Alcohol

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If you aren't planning on doing raids of your own, and have more beer than you know what to do with, the Sniper might just be your ticket. His slow speed makes him a poor choice to join an attack mission, and his health is 3/4ths of what a Gunman has, but his stopping power is 60% higher for less spent in weapons. A few Snipers in your ranks will cut down cannon fodder, both incoming and outgoing, with ease.

Hitman - 10,000 Weapons

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Forty-seven? Is that you...?

The Hitman is an interesting unit...his price is high, but he's the most powerful unit you can purchase without dipping into your alcohol reserves. He's also just a wee bit faster than a Gunman, deals more damage, and has slightly more defense.

The thing is, unless you're really hurting for alcohol, or simply have more guns than you know what to do with, the Hitman is a terrible unit choice for defense. For 800 more Weapons and 9,600 alcohol, you can pick up 3 Gunmen, for a total of 75 Attack and 36 Defense, both of which eclipse the Hitman while still being ranged attackers and less expensive to replace if one or even two of them get picked off. Heck, if your primary concern is that you have too many weapons, you can recruit sixteen Rowdies for the cost of one Hitman, and garner a total of 50 Attack and 50 Defense.

The Hitman's only major asset is his speed and his ranged ability, making him very much an offensive-only unit. If you really need to get a battle over and done with quickly, combine him with some Ninja and get the drop on your opponent before they see they're under attack. Lower-tier players should avoid them, while higher-tiered players may find themselves recruiting Hitmen just to run their weapon stores down into a safe range while bolstering their offensive capabilities.

If you aren't looking to attack anybody at the moment, spend your weapons on something else. You don't want a Hitman guarding your base, you want him out raising hell at somebody else's.

Ninja - 7,000 Weapons, 7,000 Alcohol

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Net for net, the Ninja's an incredible value, 50 Attack and 20 Defense, not to mention the fastest Speed value among all the units. Her only down side? She's a melee-only striker. Dumping fourteen thousand resource points into somebody who only fights hand-to-hand might seem like a terrible idea, but the Ninja isn't mean to be a stand-alone unit, she's meant to work in tandem with the Hitman, who can engage ranged targets and cut down enemy melee strikers while she moves in to finish the job. Combining the Ninja with literally any other unit is a colossal waste of her talents, since her whole purpose is moving in to secure resources fast enough that by the time your target gets the battle notification, she's already done her dirty work and gone. Until you're ready to deploy her on offense, recruit Gunmen or Snipers instead.

Big Mama - 9,000 Weapons, 12,000 Alcohol.

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A quick look at Big Mama's stats is all you need to know: she's utter garbage when it comes to attack power, and she's the slowest unit in the game, which leaves her with just one role: patrolling the neighborhood and soaking up damage. The Big Mama is a purely defensive unit--sending her off on a mission to steal supplies is a waste of time, but she'll bullet sponge for you all day long. One Big Mama is plenty strong enough to stop a low-level rush attack of Bouncers and Rowdies, meaning if you can recruit a few at low level, you'll be relatively safe from most would-be attackers.

In fact, if you don't plan on attacking anyone but instead want to just sit back, turtle up, make your product, and not stir up trouble, recruiting a healthy number of Big Mamas will leave you with resources enough to focus on building your empire. Sure, higher-level foes may field a large enough army to clear out your storehouses despite the threat of that rolling pin, but if you're trying to keep your head down and avoid pissing off other players, get comfortable behind Big Mama's apron strings and she'll see you well protected. Just do yourself a favor and invest in some Snipers as well, because as a melee-only unit, she's vulnerable to ranged attack.

Bazooka Guy - 15,000 Weapons, 13,000 Alcohol

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By the time you can recruit the Bazooka Guy, you'll probably want to add one to your roster just for the impressive upgrade to your offensive weaponry. With an attack rating of 145, he's the single most powerful ranged combat unit in the whole game, and his 25 defense makes him the third-sturdiest unit available. That low defense is definitely a weak point for him, as is his low speed--the only thing slower than him is Big Mama, but c'mon, he's lugging around an anti-tank weapon.

The Bazooka Guy is clearly meant to be paired with the Big Mama to bolster your own defenses. Sending him out on an attack may make the bad guys shit their pants, but they'll also have plenty of time to see him lumbering across town. Keep him indoors and use him as a deterrent to people who want to help themselves to your hard-earned stockpiles.

Mercenary - 19,000 Weapons, 14,000 Alcohol

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The Merc is the single most expensive unit to recruit, costing a whopping 33,000 total resource points, but what you get is a happy-worlds medium between the Big Mama and the Bazooka Guy. With 120 offensive strength and 75 defense, this guy can both dish it out and take it. His speed factor is among the lowest in the game, but that's the only way to balance out his absurd stats.

For roughly the same cost in Alcohol, and a huge savings in Weapons, you could buy 3 Snipers and get the same 120 points of offense, but you'll be buying a measly 24 points of defense at the same time. That makes the Mercenary a killer investment who will greatly increase the odds of victory whether you keep him stationed on your block, or send him out with a bunch of marauders to lay siege to an opponent. While a Big Mama and a Bazooka Guy together outclass him in both offense and defense, it also costs more to recruit one of each than it does to buy one Mercenary, making him an incredible value. Make sure he's always got mooks around to soak up some extra damage, and he'll kill enemy foot soldiers for days.

Then again, he's about equivalent in cost to 5 Gunmen, which combine for an offense of 125 and a defense of 60, not to mention a faster speed for offense. For sheer intimidation value, he's great to have on the payroll, but Gunmen might actually be a better buy if you're looking to send out a strike force. Defensively, though, he's the best unit one can recruit.

The choice is yours. It's your money, after all. :)

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Edit: Of course, after I finished typing all of this up, there was another update and a new stat was added to every unit: a little box with a number beside it.

Took me a little while to dig up info on what this was, but according to the Discord server, this is 'carrying capacity'. Each unit now has a different amount of stuff it can take, based on carrying capacity. In other words, if you send a Rowdy over to hit an undefended target, he has a carrying capacity of 100, so he'll return with 100 Drugs, 100 Weapons, and 100 Alcohol (assuming there's that much to be grabbed in the first place). Two Rowdies would return 200 of each item, and so on.

The most interesting numbers here are the ones for the Bazooka Guy and the Big Mama: 800 and 600 respectively...so you pay a price in overall speed, but you will haul back more loot if you utilize these guys in an attack. Very interesting...

Anyway, sorry for the confusion. You've got to expect stuff like this with a game in beta!