Auxiliary

Auxiliary Class

The Auxiliary is a collective term for several support classes in Holdfast: Nations at War, providing critical buffs, healing, and utility to the main fighting line. Auxiliary classes are essential for maintaining morale and endurance on the battlefield, especially in line battles where every soldier counts.

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1. Classes & Abilities (Napoleonic Era)

In the Napoleonic Era, the Auxiliary umbrella includes Musicians and Surgeons, each filling a vital support role.

Musicians (Fifer, Drummer, Bagpiper, Violinist)

Musicians primarily serve to boost the combat effectiveness of nearby friendly troops.

Class	Faction Availability	Special Notes	Role/Buff
Fifer	All Nations (Land)	Can crouch while playing.	Musician: Provides an Accuracy/Reload Speed boost to nearby allies.
Drummer	All Nations (Land)	Works with Fifers to increase the total boost.	Musician: Provides an Accuracy/Reload Speed boost to nearby allies.
Bagpiper	British only (Land)	Boost does not stack above the maximum 12% bonus.	Musician: Provides an Accuracy/Reload Speed boost to nearby allies.
Violinist	British & French (Naval)	Naval-only class. Has the 'Light Swimmer' trait, increasing swim speed by 35%.	Musician: Provides an Accuracy/Reload Speed boost to nearby allies.

Key Mechanics:

• Musician Buff: While playing, a musician grants an increased reload speed and accuracy boost to allies within range. The visual indicator for a buffed player is a purple outline around their team/regimental circle. The maximum boost is around 12% when multiple musicians are playing the same tune in unison.
• Equipment: All Musicians are equipped with a Pistol, a Sword, and their respective Instrument.

Surgeon

The Surgeon is the dedicated medical class, responsible for preserving "tickets" (reinforcements) by healing injured soldiers.

Class	Faction Availability	Abilities	Equipment
Surgeon	All Nations (Land)	Medicine (Heal Friendly), Bandage (Self-Heal)	Pistol and Sword.

Key Mechanics:

• Healing Friendlies (Medicine): Surgeons can view the health bars of nearby friendly troops. To heal an injured ally, you must face them and perform the 'Medicine' action. This is the primary way to save "injured" (non-one-shot killed) allies and prevent a loss of a reinforcement ticket.
• Self-Healing (Bandage): A Surgeon can heal themselves, with a typical cooldown of around one minute.
• Tactics: Since musket fire often results in one-hit kills, a Surgeon is most effective during long-range engagements where injuries are more common, or after a large close-quarters engagement to quickly stabilize the remaining troops.

Sapper/Engineer

While often categorized separately, the Sapper or Engineer class provides essential Auxiliary support by constructing and demolishing battlefield fortifications.

• Role: Build and repair fortifications (gabions, earthworks, palisades) to create defensive positions or block enemy movement. They can also destroy enemy fortifications using their sledgehammer.

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2. Console Controls (PS5 & Xbox)

The console version of Holdfast: Nations at War utilizes a controller mapping that includes Radial Menus to access class-specific abilities and other common actions. While the exact button mapping may be customized, the primary input for Auxiliary actions is as follows:

Action	PS5 Controller	Xbox Controller	PC (for reference)
Movement	Left Stick	Left Stick	WASD
Look/Aim	Right Stick	Right Stick	Mouse
Fire	R2 (Right Trigger)	RT (Right Trigger)	Left Click
Melee (Attack)	R2 (Right Trigger)	RT (Right Trigger)	Left Click
Block/Aim Down Sights	L2 (Left Trigger)	LT (Left Trigger)	Right Click
Reload	Square / X	X / Square	R
Melee Mode Toggle	Circle / B	B / Circle	X
Jump	X / A	A / X	Space
Use/Interact	Hold E (Mapped to a button)	Hold E (Mapped to a button)	E
Primary Ability Menu	D-Pad Up (or other assigned radial menu access)	D-Pad Up (or other assigned radial menu access)	Q
Musician - Play Song	Access via Radial Menu, then select song.	Access via Radial Menu, then select song.	Q (Opens menu, then Left Click)
Surgeon - Heal Friendly (Medicine)	Hold assigned button while facing ally.	Hold assigned button while facing ally.	Hold E
Surgeon - Self-Heal (Bandage)	Hold assigned button (often the same as the 'Primary Ability Menu' button).	Hold assigned button	Hold Q

Note on Console Abilities: Class abilities like playing music or self-healing are typically accessed by holding or tapping a button to bring up a Radial Menu, where you can select the specific ability. The button assigned to the 'Use/Interact' function (PC's 'E') is generally used for the Surgeon's friendly healing.

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3. Era Modes & Auxiliary Roles

The role of the Auxiliary classes shifts dramatically between the two major eras in Holdfast.

Napoleonic Era (Nations at War)

• Setting: Early 19th Century warfare, focusing on line battles, formations, and disciplined fire.
• Auxiliary Role: Focused on Buffs and Endurance.
  • Musicians are arguably the most crucial auxiliary class here, as the accuracy and reload speed buffs are vital for winning prolonged musket engagements and minimizing the impact of the long reload times inherent to black powder rifles.
  • Surgeons are critical for preserving the limited reinforcement count (tickets) during the slow, deliberate pace of line battles.

Frontlines Era (World War I)

• Setting: Early 20th Century warfare, featuring trench warfare, bolt-action rifles, machine guns, and artillery.
• Auxiliary Role: Focused on Combat Utility and Direct Support.
  • The Napoleonic Musician and Surgeon are replaced by the more modern Combat Medic and Engineer classes, which are specifically designed to address the needs of WWI battlefields.
  • Combat Medics carry rifles and smoke grenades to provide cover while attempting to revive or heal soldiers under fire.
  • Engineers focus on building and using heavy weapons like machine guns and mortars, alongside constructing fortifications and trenches.