**The key idea:** **Strike** is a weapon attack roll; **Area Fire**, **Auto-Fire** and most grenades use saving throws instead. Your weapon's statistics determine which options you have.
## Read your weapon line
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| **Damage / damage type** | Dice and energy or physical damage dealt on a successful hit or applicable save. |
| **Range** | The weapon's range increment; ordinary ranged attacks beyond the first increment take **−2 per additional increment**, up to six increments. |
| **Hands** | Number of hands needed to wield it. |
| **Magazine / expend** | How much ammunition/charge the magazine holds, and how much each shot or area attack uses. |
| **Reload** | Number of **Interact** actions needed to reload the magazine; requires a free hand. |
| **Traits / tracking** | Special ways to attack or modifiers; tracking provides an item bonus to weapon attacks and to a weapon's area-attack save DC. |
*Source: Player Core, pp. 253–258; range penalties p. 394.*
## Which attack do I use?
| Action | Cost | Resolution |
|---|---:|---|
| **Strike** | 1 | Roll weapon attack vs target's **AC**. Repeated attack-trait actions count towards MAP. |
| **Area Fire** | 2 | Requires **area** weapon trait. Each creature in the specified burst, cone or line makes a **basic Reflex save** against **class DC + tracking**; use the weapon's listed expend. |
| **Auto-Fire** | 2 | Requires **automatic** weapon trait. All creatures in a cone extending **half the range increment** make a **basic Reflex save** against **class DC + tracking**. Expend **2 ammunition per creature** in the area. |
| **Throw a grenade** | 1 | A grenade uses **Area Fire as a single action**; thrown range **70 feet**, with burst size/effects from the grenade. It is consumed on use. |
**Important:** A weapon with **area** generally fires with Area Fire rather than a normal Strike; a weapon with **automatic** can also make ordinary Strikes. Not all effects are basic Reflex saves: read the specific grenade (for instance, a flash grenade uses Fortitude). A grenade **launcher** uses its own launch action cost and range, not the one-action throw. *(pp. 255, 280–281, 410.)*
## Traits you are likely to meet
- **Agile:** reduces the normal multiple attack penalty for attacks with that weapon to **−4** on the second and **−8** on the third/subsequent attack.
- **Finesse:** lets the melee attack use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack roll; don't assume it changes damage.
- **Tracking +N:** +N item bonus to attack rolls, and to the DC of that weapon's area attacks.
- **Reload N:** N Interact actions to reload its magazine; **Reload 0** needs none for that purpose.
- **Unwieldy:** cannot Strike more than once per round with that weapon or Strike with it as a reaction.
- **Volley N:** take a −2 attack penalty against targets **within** the listed distance.
Check your weapon entry for any other traits; the printed trait list, not this summary, governs its behaviour. *(pp. 255–258.)*
## Three quick situations
1. A foe is **behind a crate**: check the foe's cover (Sheet 03) before making a Strike.
2. Several enemies cluster together: an appropriate **area** weapon or **grenade** may affect all of them; their saving throws determine the outcome.
3. Your magazine has insufficient ammunition: **reload** before using an action that requires more ammunition than remains.
**Official sources:** *Starfinder Player Core*, pp. 253–258, 280–281, 394, 410. **See also:** Sheets 01 and 03.