Menace Armory: Stop Bringing Knives to a Nuke Fight
You can have the best strategy in the world, but if your marines are shooting Nerf darts at a heavy mech, you are going to lose.
The Black Market in Menace is a confusing mess of numbers, acronyms, and shady dealers trying to sell you garbage. You have limited funds and even more limited Supply points. Every time you buy a fancy sniper rifle, that is one less medkit or grenade you can afford.
I have spent way too many hours staring at damage charts and watching rounds bounce off enemy armor. I’ve figured out what works, what is trash, and what looks like trash but is actually a budget lifesaver. This is the hardware that keeps your crew alive.
Infantry Weapons: The Basics
Your starting gun, the C1A2-SPC Carbine, is garbage. It is a polite suggestion to the enemy, not a weapon. It has low damage, low rate of fire, and terrible penetration. Your first priority in any campaign should be to replace these things immediately.
Here is the breakdown of the guns you will actually use:
The K-PAC (Assault Rifle) This is the gold standard. It has better armor penetration and rate of fire than the Carbine. It is the "Ford F-150" of guns. It does the job. If you don't know what to give a squad, give them this.
The ARC (Assault Rifle) This is the K-PAC’s angry little brother. It hits harder against health and armor but has shorter range. Give this to aggressive squads who plan to move up the field.
The Crowbar (Battle Rifle) This thing is a beast. It has high damage, high penetration, and high suppression. The downside is a low rate of fire. It is basically a squad-level sniper rifle. I love giving this to high-accuracy leaders like Darby or Wett. It picks people off before they even know you are there.
SMGs & Shotguns These are for your "Breachers" (Lim, Yaz).
SMGs shred unarmored targets (like bugs) with high volume of fire.
Shotguns delete armor at close range. If you get within 4 tiles with a shotgun squad, whatever you are shooting at stops existing.
Pirate Gear: Trash or Treasure?
You are going to loot a lot of pirate junk. Most people sell it immediately. That is a mistake if you are playing on higher difficulties.
The Pipegun Yes, it sucks. But it is dirt cheap. If you are tight on Supply points, equipping a squad with Pipeguns allows you to field more bodies. Sometimes 8 guys with terrible guns are better than 4 guys with good guns.
The Pirate AR Believe it or not, the Pirate Assault Rifle is better than your starting Carbine. It has a higher rate of fire. If you can't afford K-PACs yet, keep these.
Special Weapons: The Big Guns
Every squad has a "Special" slot. This is where the magic happens.
Sniper Rifles / Anti-Materiel Rifles (AMR) These are specialized tools. An AMR will punch a hole through a light vehicle or a heavy infantryman. They are mandatory for fighting the Rogue Army’s walkers. Give these to squads that have high accuracy or perks like "Tankbuster."
RPGs & Launchers Do not leave the ship without at least one RPG. If a tank shows up and you don't have rockets, you just have to sit there and cry. They have limited ammo, so use them only on hard targets.
Machine Guns (LMG/HMG) These are for suppression. They don't always kill, but they keep the enemy's heads down. Great for defensive missions.
Vehicle Loadouts: Heavy Metal
Vehicles are modular. You buy the chassis (Jeep, Tank, Walker), then you bolt guns onto it.
The Chassis
Pirate Jeep/ATV: Fast, cheap, explodes if you look at it wrong. Good for transport or cheap suppression.
Tanks: Slow, armored, expensive. The anchor of your line.
Walkers: Versatile. Can step over cover.
Weapon Mounts
Heavy Slot: Put your biggest gun here. Cannons for anti-armor, Rocket Organs for long-range suppression.
Light Slot: This is often overlooked. A "coaxial" machine gun or flamer here adds a lot of utility for low cost.
Pro Tip: Don't put long-range artillery on a fast scout vehicle. It’s a waste. Match the gun to the role.
The "Must-Have" Shopping List
To make this simple, I’ve compiled a shopping list. If you see these in the Black Market, buy them. If you don't use them, you're playing on Hard Mode.
Final Advice on Gear
Do not over-equip your squads. You have a Supply Cap for every mission. If you give every single marine a fancy scope and heavy armor, you might only be able to field three squads instead of four.
Quantity has a quality all its own. Sometimes it is better to have a generic squad with basic rifles available to flank, rather than one "Super Squad" that costs so much you can't afford to lose them.
Balance the budget. Upgrade the guns first. Buy smoke grenades second. Worry about the cool armor last.
