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Ok, ive had the sudden realisation i've been playing the psychic attacks wrong for ages.
I'll list the 2 different ways and hopefully you guys can advise on whats correct. Option A is how ive been playing it with guard, nids etc. Option B is from what ive heard lately and really want it clarified. Checked a red shirt, but I want another confirmation.

Option A:
Announce power/target
Roll leadership test
check range
roll to hit
roll to wound
casualty resolution

Option B:
Announce power/target
Roll leadership test
check range
roll to wound
casualty resolution.

If option B is really the case, things ive cast aside as non-reliable suddenly become awesome.

-HHL

I don't think it's that clear cut.

Some Psychic powers automatically hit, like the weirdboyz zzzap, but others you have to roll for like any other shooting attack.

well the two examples i'll use are the IGs lightning arc, and the thropes lance attack.

You have to roll to hit with both of those powers.

Essentially if it has a "weapon" stat line, with strength, AP, number of shots etc then you are assumed to need to roll to hit.

@holidayhalflife You already know my opinion on this of course but to state it again in public why else do you think the zoanthrope has a ballistic skill. Unless of course they play darts on the hive ships to while away the time between digesting planets.

Well, a broodlord has a BS skill too.

And the HT has a BS skill, but not all of his psy shooting attacks require a to hit roll.

OTOH, in this case, the Zoan does need to roll to hit.

@coredump; I don't think broodlords have a ballistic skill, least the one in my codex doesn't, but then both of their psychic powers are used in the assault phase and are not listed as psychic shooting powers. Good point about the hive tyrant though, interesting that it's powers specifically state that they are psychic shooting attacks that automatically hit. If psychic shooting attacks are supposed to hit automatically then why state it in the descriptions for these powers. Ladies and gentleman of the jury the prosecution rests it's case.

I have always rolled to hit for my Primaris Lightning Arc. If you didn't have to roll to hit I would take two and just light up every unit

You must roll to hit unless there is something in the powers description that say otherwise.

On the plus side, as i said, Ive been playing it as option A for ages. Id heard the option b method, phoned GW:Aberdeen who confirmed you did it like B. But it was leromides who suggested i get a final opinion from dakka. Shame that peanut eating saturday staff at GW can't get their own rules right though.

@coredump; I don't think broodlords have a ballistic skill, least the one in my codex doesn't

Sorry, I was thinking of the BLord from the previous Dex. Current one has BS0.

Good catch.

Why does he Hive Tyrant have a BS? Simple, it as the option to field guns!
You don't use BS only for physic shots, people!

It's a shooting attack, so you follow the normal rules for shooting attacks unless stated otherwise.

You need to check line of sight, pick a target, pass leadership, check range, roll to hit etc

@ Leromides, Plenty of creatures have a ballistic skill but can't shoot. Take hormagaunts for an example.

Psychic Shooting attacks work exactly the same as firing a weapon (other than, obviously, the requirement for taking a psychic test first), unless specifically stated otherwise in the rules for the power.

@ Soup and a roll. True about hormagaunts but I have always assumed that the hormagaunt bs was a hangover from their origins as a variant of the gaunts. Does raise a question though about the calculation of point values. Do you end up paying for a stat you can't use with a hormagaunt? Should they be cheaper? Unfortunately don't have my codex to hand just now to compare. Probably a discussion for a different thread anyway. Can't say I can think of any other creatures that have a bs but can't shoot but will take your word for it. I just thought it suprising that the Zoanthrope would have a relatively decent bs if it wasn't supposed to use it (indeed I think it has improved from the last edition) when the same army list has the broodlord and genestealers on zero. Not a very good thought but it was mine and so I wll love and cherish it since I don't have many of them.

Does the SW psychic power JotWW require you to roll to hit?

G

Green Blow Fly wrote:Does the SW psychic power JotWW require you to roll to hit?

G

Nope. It is treated as a Psychic shooting attack, but it doesn't have a profile, so it doesn't need to roll to hit. You just draw a line.

No, but it is indiscriminate about what it affects, since it affects everything along the 24" line except for the listed units.

Psyker ability only needs rolling to hit if it specifically says it's used as a weapon.

JotWW is not a weapon?

G

Green Blow Fly wrote:JotWW is not a weapon?

Maybe, maybe Not. Get the codex and read it.

Psychic tests are on a power-by-power basis; read your codices for your specific powers. Orks, for example: Frazzle and Zzap both "hit" automatically because they say so in the text (which is a good thing, since Zogwort is BS0). So, to the OP's question, it can be A OR B, depending on the power at hand.

They are called Shooting attacks so models can get cover saves from them. so even though they auto-hit they must still be called shooting attacks