Reasoned from confirmed mechanics
Hawks' AP support on a Gunslinger
Buying an Action Point with Advantage and spending it where a point buys the most.
- Confidence
- Theorycraft
- Verified
- 23 August 2026
What it needs
- In the squad
- Hawks — the Advantage-priced AP grant · Gunslinger
- The builder checks
- Hawks and a Gunslinger in the same squad.
Mechanism
Why it works
Three Advantage grants an ally one extra Action Point for the turn. That is an exchange rate, and its value depends entirely on who receives the point.
On a Gunslinger the point converts into another attack, and if that attack is a Quick Draw that kills, the point is refunded — so the exchange can pay for itself.
Hawks is required on every story mission, which means this is available in more fights than any other pairing here.
Cost
What it gives up
Three Advantage, from a pool of ten that also has to fund an Ultimate. It is the cheapest spend in the squad and it still competes with everything else.
In practice
Squads built on this
Curated builds whose four Operators trigger this finding in the Squad Builder. Derived from the same engine, so the two lists cannot disagree.
- Medic + Gunslinger Combat StimConfirmedPut the Medic's damage buff on the Operator that attacks most often — the clearest confirmed synergy in the game, and the one EA and the developers describe most directly.
- Hawks Pico-5 SupportTheorycraftBuild the mandatory Operator into an action-economy engine that hands an extra Action Point to whoever needs it most — and banks Bond progress every time it fires.
- Anti-Droid Ion SquadTheorycraftDevelopers specifically recommend Ion weapons against Separatist droids — build the squad around that counter.
- Heavy + Medic FrontlineTheorycraftFunnel damage into the Operator built to take it, then heal that Operator — the lowest-risk answer to permadeath.
- Starting squad hypothesisTheorycraftAn untested first-campaign squad, built only from confirmed mechanics — the reasoning is ours, and it has not yet been played in the retail build.
- Scout Advantage BatteryTheorycraftOne Scout exists to fill the Advantage pool, and one Operator exists to empty it. The rest of the squad stays off the pool entirely.
- Gunslinger BurnTheorycraftA Gunslinger built around a Weapon Mod that ignites the target on every attack, so the class that shoots most often applies a stacking status fastest.
- Dual Specialization squadTheorycraftFour authored Operators paired with the second Specialization that compounds their fixed Talent rather than repeating it — the arrangement a launch-week creator arrived at, argued here against the mechanics.
- Hawks critical hit buildTheorycraftSharpshooter first, Gunslinger second, and every rank bought points at one number: the chance a shot criticals. The dual specialization is what makes it work.
Open questions
Points the shipped game has not yet answered for us, or that need a controlled comparison to state as fact — recorded rather than guessed at.
- Whether the AP grant is Hawks' unique Talent or a class ability. EA describe the ability without attributing it to him.
- Whether it can be used more than once per turn.
- Whether the granted point can pay for an ability or only an attack.
Read next
Sources
- Lead Zero Company To Victory on August 27
Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Operator introductions; 3 Action Points per turn; Advantage caps at 10; the eight Specializations; Bonds in the Personnel Facility; Hawks' species options