Gang War

Gang War, or just "Gang", is a unique game mode built specifically for tgstation-code. It has no relation to Goonstation's gang mode.

Tunnel Snakes Rule!

A violent turf war between two rival factions has erupted on the station! Similar to Revolution, there are Gang Bosses who recruit other crew members to join their gang.

In order for a gang to claim victory, they must successfully execute a hostile takeover of the station's systems with a Dominator machine. If the shuttle is allowed to evacuate the station before either gang can achieve this, both gangs will lose.

Gang Leaders

Your Assets

Influence

Influence is what you will slowly accumulate from over time. Every 3 minutes, your influence will grow according to how much control you have over the station. The more territories your gang has tagged, the more influence you get.

Just remember that Influence is shared between the whole gang, so if you want to promote some lieutenants make sure they're trustworthy and competent, as they're going to be buying from the same funds as you do.

Equipment

Spend influence from gangtools to purchase items for your gang. See the equipment section below for details on purchasable equipment.

Lieutenants

Lieutenants can do everything the boss can, but some items are a little bit more expensive for them. Lieutenants can recruit, use gangtools, and are immune to deconversion. You are limited to two lieutenants max, and it is recommended that you promote as many people as necessary to reduce the risk of having all leaders arrested/killed. You should certainly promote everyone before you get caught, though, as only the gang founder can promote lieutenants.

Picking good lieutenants is important. Don't just promote the first few people you see. Promote those who appear competent and know what they are doing. Promote gangsters to lieutenants with a gangtool.

Newly promoted lieutenants are able to get one free recruitment pen from their gangtool. This is a good reason to promote your lieutenants early, to expand your membership faster.

Gang Management

As a part of the gang's inner circle it is your responsibility to keep you gang going. Spray cans are cheap, and distributing them to your gangsters will allow your influence to grow faster. Even when you have a Dominator active, having more territories will make the timer count down faster.

Communication is extremely important. You should be the central focus for your gang that directs the larger mass. Your gangtool has the ability to send a message to everyone in your gang at no cost. Use these to coordinate your gang and rally them whenever appropriate. If you have a lot of surplus influence, gather your gang in a meeting area and distribute weapons, armor, and spray cans to them to keep your gang strong.

Avoid travelling alone. Your best avenue for protection are your own gang members. If you are always surrounded by your allies nobody can take you by surprise. It may be a good idea to make sure you always have at least one bodyguard by your side. If your gang is well armed and you are communicating well with them, you could virtually be untouchable.

Rise to Power

In the early round, resist going around spraying territories with your spray can. Spraying tags leave fingerprints and raises security's suspicion against you. You are far better off passing your spray cans to recruited gangsters, and you can focus on recruitment, equipment, and not getting caught.

Another way to grow your influence is to distribute gang outfits. Each gangster who is wearing your outfit grows your influence twice as fast as any territory would.

Your anonymity is your most valuable asset early in the game. If your rivals spot you converting crew or using a gangtool, they're sure to alert their friends. If they manage to do that, consider yourself marked for death.

Do not allow the station to evacuate. If the shuttle is allowed to dock with the station, you only have a few minutes before you lose. If you use your gangtool to recall the shuttle, keep in mind that station security (or even your rivals!) may use your recall signal to pinpoint your location. Never stay in the same spot you recalled the shuttle from unless you are willing to fight them. Active dominators will also prevent the emergency shuttle from leaving the station. If you've missed the window to recall the shuttle, spawning a dominator may be your only recourse from defeat

Remember that rival gangsters can be reverted to a neutral crew member by beating them in the head! Recruit them yourself afterwards to steal members from the enemy.

Securing Dominance

After most of the crew has been recruited by one gang or the other and security is knee deep in panic, you can start making efforts to win the game. I recommend that you establish a stronghold to act as a home base for your gang. A place where your gangsters can return to, feel safe, and can restock on weapons and supplies. Don't stop handing out equipment with your gangtool. By this point most members in your gang should be armed and dangerous.

Set up a dominator whenever you are ready. You don't have to wait and grab as many territories as possible before you start, but it's an option. If your gang has already dominated the station for some time, even with a long timer you may go uncontested. You might even force the enemy gang and security to try to foolishly assault your entrenched stronghold on your terms and defeat them once and for all. If your dominator is active but with a long timer, it is still worth sending out gangsters to tag territories. The more territories you own, the faster the timer counts down.

On the other hand, having lots of territories could be useful especially if the enemy gang starts a takeover with a long timer. If both gangs start their takeovers at the same time, even having a few more territories over the enemy gives you a time advantage of several minutes, forcing them to come attack you on your own terms.

Gangsters

The Job

As a gang member, your goal is to help your gang take over the station. The best way to do this is to tag territories with special spray cans your leaders can give you. The more you tag, the more influential your gang is, and the better equipment your gang can afford.

Alternatively, gang bosses can also distribute gang outfits that, while worn, also increases gang influence, as well as provide you with some minor protection.

When roaming the station, it is recommended that you stick in groups with other gangsters. You are the most vulnerable alone, no matter how well-armed you are. If everyone in your gang has weapons from the boss, you are a force to be reckoned with. Just remember that communicating well with your gang is just as important as being robust.

If your gang has an active Dominator hacking the station, stay close to it and do your best to defend it. Chances are at least one of your gang leaders will be nearby, so you can get him to buy some weapons and armor to help defend.

The Boss

Regardless of your current duty whatever it may be, your boss should be the most important figure in your criminal life. Your boss and his lieutenants (each marked by a red G icon) are the only ones who can buy gang items and recruit others into the gang. If one of your gang leaders is under attack, either by an enemy gang or security, do whatever it takes to save them. If your boss doesn't have a bodyguard shadowing him already, it may be worth it to offer your services.

The Enemy

Security may be the obvious threat at first, but more dangerous is the rival gang.

Be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior from those not in your gang. You may be able to pinpoint who the rival gang members are, or even their boss! If you do find any good intel, be sure to share it with the rest of your gang

Don't be afraid to eliminate rival gang members. But if you can, try capturing them, deconverting them with a good few smacks to the head, and bringing them to your boss for recruitment.

AND REMEMBER: If you are deconverted from a gang, your character cannot remember any of the identities of their former gang members. Snitches Get Stitches.

Station Staff

Caught in the Crossfire

As a loyal employee of Nanotrasen, it is in your interest to protect the station and your fellow crew mates for the impending bloodbath.

Dealing with both gangs and coming out on top isn't as difficult as it may seem. The gangs will for the most part be preoccupied with killing each other so long as you don't get in their way. Still, gangs should be considered armed and dangerous and are just as likely to kill you than to recruit you.

The best way to shut them down is to deny them their station. And to do that is simple: simply evacuate. Unfortunately, Gang leaders can recall the emergency shuttle from anywhere on the station. Fortunately for you, every time they do this they leave a trace that the communications console can pick up on.

One tactic is to repeatedly call the shuttle and when it gets recalled dispatch security to the location it was recalled from. You can quickly locate and capture a gang leader this way. Or at least bust their stronghold before they become too entrenched.

Rehabilitation

Although loyalty implants do prevent crewmen from being recruited into a gang, they cannot deconvert someone who has already joined one. Keep an eye out for suspicious behaviour. Suspect security officers without loyalty implants as they are vulnerable to corruption. If you spot someone spraying gang tags, report them to security. Chances are if you manage to capture some gangsters they may spill the identities of their opposing gang in hopes that you'll be able to deal with them.

The only way to deconvert a gangster is to give them some good smacks to the head. The more damage they do, and the more hurt they are, the more likely they'll revert back to normal.

Gang Leaders can never be deconverted.

Reclaiming the Station

The gangs will be fighting over turf. They'll be marking their territories with spray painted tags. Generally, the more territory a gang controls, the stronger they will be. One effective way of curbing the growing power of gangs is to keep the station clean and tidy. Gang tags can be removed with the janitor's mop, soap, or simply taking down the wall/floor tile.

If a gang is attempting to hack the station, your job and likely your life is on the line! Work with security to destroy the gang's Dominator device before the time runs out. It can be damaged with pretty much anything a cyborg can be hurt with.

Gang Equipment

Items gang leaders can purchase from their gangtools.

Combat

Switchblades Found in: 10 influence Used for: Stabbing your enemies Description These make decent melee weapons at 20 damage and are relatively cheap to acquire. They're fairly intimidating and they can retract to fit in your pocket.

10mm Pistol Found in: 25 influence for pistol, 10 influence for additional ammo Used for: Shooting your enemies Description They are small but they pack a hefty punch when they need to. Able to take down an unarmored target with 4 shots. Well worth the investment. Magazines carry 8 rounds.

Uzi Found in: 50 influence, 20 influence for additional ammo Used for: Perforating your enemies Description More expensive, but lets you unload bullets a lot faster than the pistol. You can easily take someone out in just three burst-fire shots, and with a magazine capacity of 32 it's a lot more suited for protracted shootouts.

Support

Territory Spray Can Found in: 10 influence, Gang Boss starting gear Used for: Increasing gang influence, claiming territories for your gang Description These spraycans are specially modified to mark a territory for your gang. They can be used on floors and walls. Regular gang members can use these, so it's important distribute them to spread your influence faster. You should by buying lots of these. It's recommended that you refrain from spraying tags yourself as it may expose yourself to unnecessary risk. The spraycan you start off with should be given to one of your early recruits to tag for you. They cannot be used to tag areas that already has a gang tag in it, unless you spray directly on top of the old one. They only have 20 uses each though, so don't go wasting it. They look like regular spray cans, but examining one should show that it's been modified.

Armored Gang Outfits Found in: Free from gangtools Used for: Protection, Increasing gang influence Description These outfits are completely free to purchase. You'll have the choice between a number of different styles to outfit your gang with. These outfits are not just a fun cosmetic option. They also provide their wearer moderate protection against melee attacks and ballistic weapons, and can quickly grow your gang's influence when worn by gangsters, as you get a bonus to influence for every gangster wearing the outfit.

C-4 Found in: 10 Influence Used for: Breaching walls and doors, Blowing stuff up Description A useful tool to breach into areas you couldn't otherwise enter. Especially when the rival gang has barricaded themselves into a room with their dominator counting down.

Recruitment Pen Found in: 50 influence, Gang Boss starting gear, Lieutenants get one free Used for: Recruiting more gangsters Description These look just like regular pens, but can be used to recruit people to your gang by stabbing them with it. They have a long cooldown between uses during which they will flash blue, and vibrate when they're ready for use again. Forgot which pen was the special one? Jab yourself with it! You cannot recruit anyone who is loyalty implanted, or already belongs to a gang. Heads of staff, however, can be recruited.

Gangtool Found in: Gang Boss starting gear. Costs 10 influence for the gang boss. Lieutenants can buy these for 30. Used for: Managing your gang, purchasing gang equipment, recalling the shuttle Description Gangtools are your management tools. They will update you on your gang's status, let you spend influence to purchase items, send messages to your gang members, and can recall the shuttle from anywhere on the station. More may be purchased to promote lieutenants.

Station Dominator Found in: 30 influence Used for: Taking over the station, winning the game Description To win, a gang will need to activate and defend one of these for the duration of a takeover attempt. The duration will vary depending on how many territories your gang controls: The more territories, the faster the takeover will be. This can range anywhere from 30 to 5 minutes. They have 200 HP and can take damage from just about anything a cyborg would get hurt by. Where you spawn it will be important, as you will not be able to relocate it once you have purchased one. Pick your location wisely. Somewhere defensibly if you think your gang is strong enough, or hide it in maint if you think it can buy you more time. Either way, be sure you are ready and gather your gang members before you begin the takeover attempt.