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Medic + Gunslinger Combat Stim Build

Put the Medic's damage buff on the Operator that attacks most often — the clearest confirmed synergy before launch.

Confirmed
Confidence
Confirmed
Verified
4 August 2026
Version
pre-release (no retail build)

Build summary

Players who want the safest confirmed damage synergy to build a first squad around.

Campaign phase
early
Difficulty
Standard, permadeath enabled
Game version
pre-release (no retail build)
Strong against
grouped enemies, wounded targets

Loadout

The four bays

Weapon choices are role-based. No weapon statistics have been published, so treat them as starting points rather than optimised picks.

  1. Bay 1

    Hawks

    Medicpistol

    Hawks is required in story missions anyway. Making him the Medic means the Combat Stim carrier is always present, and his AP support Talent can hand the Gunslinger an extra point on the turn the buff lands.

  2. Bay 2

    Custom Operator

    Gunslingerpistol

    The buff target. The Gunslinger's many separate attacks are what convert a damage increase into the largest total gain.

  3. Bay 3

    Kabb Uppercut

    Heavyrepeater

    Holds the frontline so the buffed Gunslinger is not the Operator absorbing return fire, and his Uppercut strips cover from targets the Gunslinger is about to spray.

  4. Bay 4

    Custom Operator

    Scoundrelrifle

    Identify Weakness stacks a second confirmed multiplier onto the buffed turn: a critical hit on top of increased damage.

Reasoning

Why it works

Mechanic by mechanic. Anything stated as confirmed traces to a source listed at the bottom of this page.

  • Combat Stim temporarily increases a teammate's damage and health. That is officially stated by the developer, not inferred.
  • The Gunslinger is officially described as a fast multi-target specialist that spreads offense across several targets. More separate attacks means more instances of the buff being applied.
  • The two facts combine directly: a per-attack damage increase is worth the most on the Operator making the most attacks. The blueprint identifies this as the strongest confirmed pairing available before release.
  • Hawks' AP support can restore an Action Point to the Gunslinger, extending the buffed turn by one more action.
  • Because Combat Stim also raises health, the buff partly pays for the risk of pushing a close-to-medium range Operator forward.

Execution

Example opening turn

An AP and Advantage plan. Costs are unpublished, so the order matters more than the exact budget.

  1. Step 1

    Turn 1 — Medic: move into range and apply Combat Stim to the Gunslinger. AP cost is unpublished, so assume the Medic does little else this turn.

  2. Step 2

    Turn 1 — Scoundrel: use Identify Weakness on the highest-value target the Gunslinger can reach.

  3. Step 3

    Turn 1 — Gunslinger: attack repeatedly, spending the flagged critical first while the damage buff is active.

  4. Step 4

    Turn 1 — Hawks (if built as Medic, this is the same Operator): if Advantage allows, restore one AP to the Gunslinger for a final attack.

  5. Step 5

    Turn 1 — Heavy: hold the forward position so return fire lands on the Operator built to take it.

Strengths

  • Built on a confirmed interaction rather than a guess.
  • Front-loads damage into a single turn, which suits removing dangerous enemies before they act.
  • The buff's health component gives some protection to a squad that has to close distance.
  • Works from the earliest campaign phase — no unlocks required.

Weaknesses

  • Combat Stim's duration, magnitude and AP cost are all unknown, so the size of the payoff is unverified.
  • Whether the buff applies per attack or per turn is not stated — if it is per turn, the Gunslinger pairing loses most of its edge.
  • Close-to-medium range means the damage core is exposed to return fire.
  • Weak into a single very high-health target, where many small attacks are less efficient than one large one.

Alternatives

Safer and more aggressive versions

Including what to do when an authored Operator in this squad is permanently lost.

Safer
Swap the Scoundrel for a second frontline Operator, trading the critical setup for a squad that takes fewer Injuries while the Gunslinger is exposed.
More aggressive
Swap the Heavy for a Soldier. The rocket adds cover destruction, but it also competes with Hawks' AP support for the same Advantage pool — a real cost, not a free upgrade.
If the Gunslinger underperforms
Move the Combat Stim onto a Soldier instead. Fewer, larger attacks benefit less in theory, but if the buff turns out to be per-turn rather than per-attack, this is the better target.

How this will be verified

Re-test in the retail build, recording version, platform and difficulty, then update the status label from theorycraft to tested. Specifically: measure whether the Combat Stim damage increase applies to each attack or once per turn, and record its duration and AP cost.

Mechanics this build depends on

Other builds

Sources