What Guns Do in Batman

For whatever reason, when it comes down to the final showdown between the bad guys and the good guy, it's melee.  I understand that it is more dramatic due to the tension of not knowing if the guy you're rooting for will come out on top. It takes a lot of special build-up for someone's demise to be cathartic if there isn't a drawn out fight.

I Don't Care How You Die, As Long As You're No Longer Alive

The Batman Miniature Game follows the same cinematic logic when it comes to weaponry.  Unless you are Deadshot level of amazing with a weapon, this is going to get settled via fisticuffs. The Arkham games have stealth segments of taking out gun equipped thugs, but then switch to an outright brawler portion. Yet the two don't mix, it's as if Batman knows that there is a time to fight and a time to pick an opponent's force apart.  The Nolan movies also follow this, even though Bane kitted out every criminal with a firearm, the final showdown occurs between Bane and Batman mano-a-mano.

Guns's purpose is to create risk. Guns lack the reliability of melee, as Sharp and Handy-type rerolls are rare. Guns are still frightening due to the potential of taking almost any other model off the board after an activation. This fear creates Lamp Post bubbles and corridors of risk. If your opponent is risk averse, then these become No Man's Land.  If your opponent plays more loose, then they're making a conscious decision that this model can perish.  Does this mean guns are useless? No, it merely means do not expect guns to kill the most threatening miniatures. After all, the only visible targets are expendable.

For players who appreciate Riddler and Scarecrow, they understand the power of controlling your opponent - even if it is minimally. Guns hold corridors down. The limit for Medium Range and above weapons is the nighttime fog of war.  It might be easy to avoid Lamp Posts, but an ally with Laser or Flashlight is not; however, there are exceptions. Bane's Dallas equipped with Night Vision Goggles on his Assault Rifle exerts control unimpeded.

On the opposite side of macro board control are Rate of Fire one guns, such as Comedian's Shotgun, Conqueror Penguin's Grenade or Joker's One Shot Gun. These weapons are typically Short Range but Expansive Spray Templates also fit into this role of 'run and gun'. These breaching models do not create risk, they attempt to limit damage. Without Light, these models cannot shoot within 5 cm, but the point is to do damage to strip dice to limit a counterattack.

Shotguns exist in a fascinating design space. Most players do not want to "lose out" on Rate of Fire barring the most dire circumstances. Higher Rate of Fire weapons drop to a single die upon any move without consideration if the move was voluntary. Players may make mistakes attempting to "get the most" out of their weapon when they really need to fire a shot off.  Mixed fighters exist but are rare, such as Black Mask or Watchmen's Comedian.  They have weapons to breach with RoF 1 but another higher RoF gun to control corridors.  

Don't Mess with Officer Rex

Finally, we have our opportunists with a Short Range weapon.  These models create risk by leaving them alone. The weapon carried does not require a response, such as an Assault Rifle.  These switch hitters, such as Agent Ron, Clown Asker or Mafioso Boris, have Short Range guns and melee weapons.  They're competent fighters whose ranged weapon damage potential might fly under the radar. If models are in melee range, there might be bigger fish to fry.  If left alone, they get a full barrage off.  

An exception to this would be Turk. With his Gunman and twin Pistols, he's the sort of model that opts to wait for an opportunity to unload lots of damage at out of position models. Despite the Short Range of his weapons, he is more akin to the Assault Rifle toting models, but has the cojones to get close. The final exception are those models that have Rapid Fire and Master Marksman.

Rapid Fire miniatures qualify as mix fighters due to their ability to fight in conjunction with a willingness to breach. Huntress and Deadshot can do impressive damage on the way to the objective. While they might not enjoy their full Rate of Fire, the two attempts make up for a lot of chances at pot shots. Master Marksman fit more with the lock-down types due to rerolling missed shots, making even single fire attempts realistic.