Gunslinger and Bounty Hunter

Factory creatures
Level 1
Halfling
Halfling Grenadier
Level 2
Mechanic
Engineer
Level 3
Armadillo
Bellwether Armadillo
Level 4
Automaton
Sentinel Automaton
Level 5
Sandworm
Olgoi-Khorkhoi
Level 6
Gunslinger
Bounty Hunter
Level 7a
Couatl
Crimson Couatl
Level 7b
Dreadnought
Juggernaut
Towns

Statistics
Gunslinger
Cost per troop  800
	Attack 17 Defense 12 Damage 14–24 Health 45 Speed 7 Movement Ground Size 1 Shots 16 Growth 2 AI Value 1351
Special abilities:
• Ranged attack • Preemptive shot once per round
Bounty Hunter
Cost per troop  1100
	Attack 18 Defense 14 Damage 14–24 Health 45 Speed 8 Movement Ground Size 1 Shots 24 Growth 2 AI Value 1454
Special abilities:
• Ranged attack • Preemptive shot infinitely
Portraits

Gunslingers and Bounty Hunters are level 6 creatures of Factory. They are recruited from the Watchtower.

Heroes with a specialty

• Tancred the Mercenary has Gunslingers as a specialty, which increases the attack and defense skills of any Gunslingers or Bounty Hunters for each level attained after 6th level, and gives them a speed bonus of 1.

Special Ability: Preemptive Shot

Preemptive Shot triggers when the Gunslinger/Bounty Hunter is targeted by a ranged attack in combat, shooting their attacker with a ranged shot before the enemy has a chance to fire. There is a possibility that the whole attacking stack is killed by Preemptive Shot, therefore dealing no damage. Gunslingers can only do this once per round, while Bounty Hunters can do this an unlimited number of times.

Preemptive Shot works against all ranged shots, except ranged AoE attacks: Liches' Death Clouds and Magogs' Fireball Attacks, even if target Gunslingers or Bounty Hunters as a central hex.

Preemptive Shot does not trigger if the Gunslinger or Bounty Hunter is prevented from performing a ranged attack, such as if it is under the effect of the Forgetfulness spell or there is an enemy unit adjacent to it and the hero does not have the Bow of the Sharpshooter equipped.

So as to avoid Preemptive Shot, ranged wandering monsters often walk by land or cast spells (Storm and Ice Elementals) if you have Gunslingers or Bounty Hunters, instead of shooting.

Creatures whose ranged attacks are immune to Preemptive Shots

•   Liches and Power Liches
•  Magogs

See also:

• List of creatures

• Comparison of Level 6 Creatures