Marine Tactic - Grunt
Marine Tactic - GruntDucking behind cover, then out again to shoot at a defined enemy with direct or opportunity fire. Used to cover area while minimizing exposure to enemy targeting and counterfire. Countered by Grazing_Fire or indirect area explosive attacks which deny the enemy the area they need by removing the cover, or just blanketing the corner with Suppressive fire.
My rule of thumb for Corner Dancing was to step out, OpFire, step in, OpFire, and step out again. OpFiring while behind cover gave time for any enemies to lose their lock and for any in-flight shots to pass by. It also gave my Grunt some protection against being flanked because he was checking his sides while behind cover. I would vary the timing a bit by sometimes stepping out diagonally or stepping back and then diagonally to step out - those 1/3 to 1/2 second variations in exposure would do a lot to avoid timed shots.
A lot of times my Grunt would only step out and back without OpFiring. I used that a lot when he was just spotting and I didn't want him at risk. It was also a great way to ruin the enemies' OpFires and trigger their HaltOnSighting units. With enough distractions, he gets off very few effective shots.
A trick for quick Spotting is to have your Grunt start behind cover, step BACK, then step diagonally out into the open and step straight sideways into cover again (a little triangle pattern). Having him step diagonally into the open gives him a good view from when he first exposes himself and he returns to cover in under 3/4s of a second. He's almost impossible to hit that way. The same technique works from behind windows - instead of walking past the window and stopping, approach it diagonally and then step past it, you'll be exposed for a lot less time and will still get an almost full view out the window.
Thanks to Crank
Very rarely would the same Grunt corner dance during the whole turn, and even rarer would he do it two turns in a row. I'd spread the Spotters around from turn to turn. Remember that you're never spotting for the current turn, but for the next plotting phase. So if I found some targets to launch against, I don't need the Spotters that found them when I launch next turn. I would usually move them away that turn since their positions were known and I would cover the approaches to their positions with some other Elements.
As far as having a Grunt stepping out and drawing fire while a Sniper steps out immediately behind him and shoots, that was my preferred way to remove Snipers. I'd use a Sniper or a Commander as the shooter. In an ideal world I'd have the enemy Sniper spotted during the plotting phase so that I could Red-Line him. The Grunt would step out first and run laterally across the Sniper's fire lane. 1/4 second later My Sniper would step out and fire. I would try to get the Grunt back behind cover by 2.5 seconds, but I couldn't, I'd run him laterally until he reached cover. The combination of his Lateral speed and the enemy Sniper's small firing cone would usually keep him safe.
The timing works out the same as an Launching Exposed (or an Escorted Launch), except that you're protecting a slow shooter instead of a Grenadier.
You can ensure that the Grunt gets locked on by the enemy instead of your shooter by having him move straight at the enemy position while your shooter steps out behind him. Have him start moving laterally after about 2 seconds of exposure to draw any aimed shots away from your shooter. That way your shooter will only be exposed for just over a second - long enough to finish firing and stepping back behind cover. Commanders make the best shooters against Snipers. It's very satisfying to watch the enemy laser pass harmlessly between your two guys as the enemy takes one in the face.
-------------------------------------------------- contributed by Crank