Gunners

The Gunners are a hostile mercenary faction operating in the Commonwealth in 2287.

Background
Essentially the largest mercenary group in the Commonwealth, the Gunners are a military-themed, well-organized and equipped group of for-hire killers with their own customs and signage who control numerous large strongholds in and around the Boston area. They were responsible for the dissolution of the Commonwealth Minutemen under Ezra Hollis at the Quincy Massacre. In 2287, Quincy remains one of their key bases of operations.

Similar to the Capital Wasteland's Talon Company, Gunners resort to attacking strangers on sight, similar to raiders. They differ from raiders in their lack of drug dependency, use of superior equipment (they commonly come equipped with combat armor and rifles), extensive use of laser weaponry or other heavy duty military gear, such as assaultrons, sentry bots, Mister Gutsies, and their commanders are even known to make use of power armor. Their patterns of speech and terminal entries also imply that they are relatively disciplined and well-trained. They place great importance on loyalty and discourage insubordination. Raiders who join the Gunners may have difficulty adjusting to the strictness and formality of being a Gunner, as is the case with Tessa.

They also possess functional Vertibirds, which they use to transport attack teams, usually composed of two to four Gunners, along with one or two attack dogs. However, they are a rare sighting and seem to only appear south of the Boston ruins and rarely to the north (e.g., settlement raids). Near the edges of the Glowing Sea, a Vertibird showing up will either mean the BOS or a Gunners attack-team dropping in.

Many Gunners also get their blood types tattooed onto their foreheads by their medics. This is both a practical measure and a rite of passage. This can be seen on some, but not all Gunners.

Gunner
The lowest of the gunners, the generic gunner is generally pretty weak when compared with their counterparts. Armed with low-mid level weapons like 10mm pistols and laser rifles, these enemies should not be automatically dismissed.

Gunner conscript
Those who were conscripted into fighting for the Gunners. They are slightly better equipped and stronger than their basic counterparts.

Gunner private
A slight step up from the Gunner conscripts, some can even be found armed with plasma guns.

Gunner corporal
Gunner corporals are a high ranked variant of the low-ranking Gunners. They are usually seen in groups of other Gunners, mainly with other lowing ranking Gunners. While armed with automatic 10mm pistols and laser rifles, these Gunners shouldn't be messed with at a low rank.

Gunner sergeant
Generally, Gunner sergeants can be found in the company of privates and conscripts in the at moderate levels. Plasma, rifles, lasers, and grenades are the tools of these enemies.

Gunner commander
Armored head to toe these enemies usually act as the final engagement for areas under Gunner control. Not only strong, these opponents rarely go anywhere without at least several strong gunner sub-types besides them. Found inside the HalluciGen, Inc. building.

Gunner lieutenant
While not in the upper echelons of the Gunners, these mercenaries act as aids for those in command.

Gunner colonel
Utilizes Stealth Boys

Gunner brigadier
Strongest of the Gunners. Encountered at a high level(96+). Turns invisible when combat is initiated by using stealth boys.

Bases

 * Gunners plaza - Regional HQ
 * Greenetech Genetics
 * HalluciGen, Inc.
 * Mass Bay Medical Center
 * Mass Fusion building (before Mass Fusion or Spoils of War)
 * Mass Pike Interchange
 * Postal Square
 * Quincy
 * Vault 75
 * Vault 95
 * Hub City Auto Wreckers
 * Several unmarked bases on top of highway system, easily spotted by the windmill.
 * Just northeast of Skylanes Flight 1981
 * Just east of Parsons Creamery

Appearances
The Gunners appear only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * In combat, they will occasionally shout, "get some!" This is a nod to the helicopter gunner scene from the 1987 war drama, Full Metal Jacket.
 * Having tattoos of their respective blood type seems to be a nod to the Schutzstaffel from Nazi-Germany, who also had such tattoos on the underside of the left arm.

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