Special Animal Soldiers Showcase

This will showcase each special animal soldier that you can get from the different ends of the map while explaining the strengths, weaknesses and suggestions to make them better. These troops cost big money and it is best to know how that value adds up to combat performance.

Introduction

This is a unit showcase of the Animal Special Troops you can find in different regions on the island. I will tell you what the troop is suppose to do, suggestions how you can improve them, and the evaluation of combat effectiveness to investment. These troops are only used by your faction if you can collect the cities that sell them.

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Sea Lion Special Soldier

The Sea Lion is a marine themed assault rifleman. His accessories make him useful in daytime combat even though his camouflage is only a nighttime bonus.

Gear Suggestions
Replace the M16A5 rifle for something better if you got it.
He can already wear the 45 armor heavy tactical vest so you can give him that if you have it.
Accessories I would replace the Hand Grenade for a NVG.

Evaluation
The unit will grow into a better CQB grenadier and it is a better cost investment to make him a nighttime rifleman. To aid this, both Helmet and Chest Armor upgrades should also be Nighttime camouflage.

Vulture Special Forces

The Vulture is a high skilled and Hit Point shotgunner. With a mix of Desert camouflage and Nighttime camo she is useful on hilly maps and camp assaults that offer surprises.

Gear Suggestions
Already has high shotgun skill to give her a better shotgun.
She does not have Launcher skill even though she has an RPG. It is best to replace that as it offers no accuracy or damage bonus compared to thrown Grenades. Shotgunner squads are good at night combat, so I would replace the RPG with NVG. In daytime if part of a mixed unit squad I would use smoke grenades instead.
Over time her Armor skill will improve for better armor, and it is best not to switch out her armor until it is greater than 65.


Evaluation
With a mix of high Hit Point growth this unit is made to ether draw fire or be the vanguard. It is cheaper to replace clothing than armor for camouflage of this unit, especially clothing with better armor.

Snow Fox Special Sniper

A low gear cost elite sniper that is great at nighttime combat. The only benefit in knowing is this is the best civilian militia themed combatant that you can unironically dress up to be better.

Gear Suggestions
Replace her rifle with better rifles. A Sniper rifle type rifle or an SVD from the city factory building.
Her chest rig can already be replaced with a police vest or similar armor rating.
Her clothes offer no camouflage and little armor protection besides her chest rig chest armor, so replace them.
This is not a Grenadier troop so I would replace the RPG with a Medic Kit for better survival.

Evaluation
The cheapest geared Special Soldier you can buy and ready to fight on a budget. If properly invested, commanded, and cared these elite rifleman troops can handle any environment you dress them to deal with.

Cheetah Assault

To imply a high speed Assault Rifleman this troop is ideal for maneuvering in battle or flanking an enemy squad.

Gear Suggestions
That AUG rifle is already a great rifle, and I would wait for Assault Rifle proficiency to improve to 85 before getting something much better.
High forest camouflage makes the troop ideal for most daytime on anything that is green. But if you want to keep this theme the best armor in the game is also Forest.
Accessories are fine for any daytime situation.

Evaluation
Even though this troop is highly specialized it is also not that flexible. It is only dominate in Forest Biome maps. To mix it up you can give it desert camouflage armor or clothing with the equivalent armor color but it will reduce the maximum camouflage advantage.

Owl Special Sniper

This is the most expensive unit in the game. A high cost sniper that excels in nighttime combat. If you are ever outmanned and without a plan, just sit on a hill and make a stand. Even if you are unable to see without NVG's these guys will still shoot to kill for you. Ether way the name Owl suggests this is an elite nighttime combat unit.

Gear Suggestions
Even though a nighttime combat unit this is not a Stealth combat unit. The SVD is an exillent rifle with their skill level. The SV-98 can solve that problem for you or you can equip them with the VSS to be more of a close combat stealth unit.
They have the growth to get the best black armor in the game, but their use as snipers with already good armor don't have the actual need for that unless you want to make them much more durable.
I would replace the RPG with a medic kit instead. They kill much more faster with their rifle anyway.

Evaluation
If you have the money to burn and a battle to win then get these troops. There is no real plan for them then being defensive but if you want them to fallow you as a bodyguard then you can do that.

Solitary Wolf Scout

A close combat SMG troop with proper growth to be an elite Assault Rifleman. Because it is more of a close combat unit it gets a slightly higher HP boost per level compared to other Assault Rifleman troops. But the reason it is nicknamed "Solitary" is because of high sight and the fastest movement speed in the game makes it an ideal scout in operating separately from the unit.

Gear Suggestions
You can already replace the UMP SMG for something better like a Thompson, but ultimately the reason to keep this unit is to make it an Assault Rifleman.
Armor and gear is more so Nighttime combat but not that hard to switch over to daytime.
Accessories makes him a proper daytime fighter but the real shame is he has a high Launcher skill without an RPG. So for that I would remove both the grenades for ether RPGs or 1 NVG for nighttime battles.

Evaluation
This is an ideal Bodyguard troop with high movement speed to keep up with you and the adaptability to survive close encounters or support long ranged ones. It is to say dogs came from wolves, and in this case properly cared of can be the most reliable troop in your unit.

Rattlesnake Special Soldier

This Elite Machinegunner is not as good as the FCA Assaultman but is the only neutral party machinegunner that you can get. Machinegunners in this game are known to be force multipliers to a squad, offering accurate automatic fire at much greater bursts at a longer distance. This gear suggests the use of the Desert environment, known to have swelling hills and valleys when combat range really matters but also in situations such as cresting over the hill needs that close range automatic fire.

Gear Suggestions
The HMG machinegun this troop has is already the best considering in the game. Finding the actual Mini24 is unlikely worth the effort or cost for only a minor increase in firepower.
Armor can be improved but because of low Armor Proficiency it can only be improved much later.
Because machinegunners need to focus on using their weapons and staying on the field I would recommend ether clearing out the current accessories for full First Aid Kits or one NVG. A machinegunner not firing his weapon is not a machinegunner.

Evaluation
Being a Machinegunner in this game is not easy. Nobody seems to want to hire you, you already have great drawbacks for the role you are suppose to do. Not only that but Machineguns themselves are vary expensive for what they bring, overall they don't offer the best damage per shot for both the ammo cost and bullet pool. This unit might only seem to cost 10k less than other premium troops, but look at the HP and Gear; it's low. For both the combat need and investment there are better troops out there. Hopefully one of your city mayors hired this machinegunner for the garrison.

Scorpion Assault

This Soldier is a desert combat assault rifleman. Like the Cheetah Assault, this troop is specialized in one environment. However unlike the Cheetah Assault it is not a premium cost troop when you see the stats, gear, and wage.

Gear Suggestions
The current Assault Rifle he has can be swapped with something like AK12 or AK74 loot drops. Basic gear can be swapped out for Forest variants or the chest armor upgrade can be Forest for mixed environment camo. Accessories don’t need to be changed because he already had proficient grenade and launcher skill, and the first aid kit is a no brainer.

Evaluation
This is an effective recon unit with both movement speed and sight, and by doing so can get the drop on most bandit fodder units. Good as ether a bodyguard or pursuer. The wage cost is not high for the weapon skill, making this troop viable to players without towns, fallowers or access to mercenary camps.

[Skantler]

Great guide, very helpful

[Kellhus]

vfa fighter (merc camp) is imo the best unit in game. high speed, great sight range and good at armor, Rifle and assault rifle and cheap upkeep and good starting equipment

[platypus]

So is the HMG the best machine gun then? I'm in the process of swapping out my machinegunners' HMGs for the M249 ripoffs that I can't remember the name of.

Also, great guide.

[Faced Man]

Great guide!

[Δ Spike]

Hey, thanks a lot for your efforts. This guide helped me a lot! Cheers.