On-field reinforcement

On-field reinforcement is a force-preservation system that lets players commit resources to extend a unit’s longevity away from production structures. The multiplayer AMA describes it as a way to keep forces in fighting condition, influence an engagement or buy time while reinforcing a position. Units using automatic reinforcement become harder to finish, but maintaining the setting across many units drains the economy rapidly. The source does not publish per-model costs, reinforcement time, eligible unit lists, range rules, cancellation behaviour or the exact difference of the Necron variant.

The system is discussed as one of several tools for preserving experienced units in multiplayer, alongside cover and retreat. Its design purpose is to bring economy directly into combat: a player can spend resources to sustain a force, but broad automatic reinforcement may win the immediate engagement while damaging the wider war effort. The AMA also notes that its effect in combat is generally limited, with a Necron exception left undescribed. This is current design explanation, not revision history. No earlier rule, changed cost, balance pass, patch sequence or version comparison is provided.

The supported decision is a trade between battlefield staying power and economic health. Reinforcement can extend unit life, help tip a contested fight or buy time at a position, while automatic reinforcement makes units harder to kill. The same source warns that applying it widely consumes resources very quickly, so activation is not free sustain. No numerical breakpoint, ideal unit, duration, faction ranking or exact engagement threshold is published. High-level use should frame the commitment as a deliberate economy-to-combat choice rather than prescribe a universal toggle pattern.