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So I get why a mastercrafted plasma pistol is less likely to explode, it's well made. But why would having 2 plasma weapons (what TL usually is) make them both unlikely to explode. Seriously you 2 plasma weapons, and instead of having 1/6 chance of exploding, it drops to 1/36 (check my math hammer). Why would two plasma weapons be less likely to explode????

What unit can take a twin-linked plasma? Other than Obliterators and Razorbacks?

If something is twin linked, you get to reroll the to-hit roll. Which means you'd get to reroll the to-hit roll if you rolled a 1 and potentially avoid the Gets Hot result.

A master crafted plasma pistol has 1 shot at 12", and can reroll the to-hit.

A twin-linked plasma gun is rapid fire, so it can take 1 shot at 24" or 2 shots at 12". So it has twice as many chances to roll a 1, despite getting to reroll misses.

If you're asking about a "fluff" reason for it, I could say that twin-linked means more than 2 guns strapped together. I think of it as more of a targeting array that the guns use...

The twin-linked order that IG give can make all three plasma guns twin linked against vehicles, magically reducing the liklihood of them "getting hot".
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user? Fluff-wise it's even worse. They wouldn't even have a chance to train using it and the life expectancy would be measured in seconds.

Joey wrote:The twin-linked order that IG give can make all three plasma guns twin linked against vehicles, magically reducing the liklihood of them "getting hot".
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user? Fluff-wise it's even worse. They wouldn't even have a chance to train using it and the life expectancy would be measured in seconds.

Carrying a plasma gun is an honor... a very short lived honor.

Joey wrote: Fluff-wise it's even worse. They wouldn't even have a chance to train using it and the life expectancy would be measured in seconds.

Ok, they're not that bad fluffwise, lets be real here, they'd be undeployable otherwise. 1/6 is just the lowest possible chance the game can represent with a 6 sided random number generator, just like Terminators likely don't drop from one in every six Lasgun blasts. Overheats also don't mean dead, it may mean just injured enough to have to run off the field, or the weapon is no longer functional or any number of other things.


Yes, twin-linking Gets Hot! weapons makes little sense as to why firing two barrels means less chance of overheat, but it's simply the game mechanics quirk as it currently is written. Just as Force Weapons were originally specialized anti-daemon weapons and now are no better than basic CCW's against them.


Gets Hot! On plasma weapons however no longer serves any functional gameplay purpose other than to be punitive for its own sake. With the greater importance of melta-weapons and decreased utility and increased cost of plasma guns, there's no longer any good balance justification for Gets Hot! on them, it's just retained out of inertia because it's always been there (at least since 3E)

Joey wrote:
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user?

I use plasma weapons all the time, especially the pistols. Yeah it's risky, but they tend to be cheaper than other high power weapons, since I know what I'm getting into going in, I can usually mitigate the problems.

Armless Failure wrote:

Joey wrote:
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user?

I use plasma weapons all the time, especially the pistols. Yeah it's risky, but they tend to be cheaper than other high power weapons, since I know what I'm getting into going in, I can usually mitigate the problems.

Every time your squad of veterans fire their plasma guns, there's a 50% chance one of them will have to make an armour save. Don't pretend that your skill somehow mitigates this (lots of people on here try to make it sound as if their skill somehow influences dice rolls).
Rapid firing them will usually mean 1, sometimes 2 of them will have to take a wound. Compared to melta guns, 5 points less with AP1 and bonus vs vehicles, and no chance of having the bastard thing blow itself up there's no reason to take plasmas at all.

For IG veterans, Melta is they way to go.

But Plasma has it's uses.

1 shot at 24" range, S7AP2, two shots as 12". Get's Hot is only 1 chance in 6. Then you get the armor save. Sure, I lose more guys than I should according to odds, but it's a very useful weapon. Kills terminators, doubles out (Instant Death) almost every multi-wound character in the Eldar, DE, and Guard codex, and adds some chaos to the game, which is fun!

Joey wrote:

Armless Failure wrote:

Joey wrote:
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user?

I use plasma weapons all the time, especially the pistols. Yeah it's risky, but they tend to be cheaper than other high power weapons, since I know what I'm getting into going in, I can usually mitigate the problems.

Every time your squad of veterans fire their plasma guns, there's a 50% chance one of them will have to make an armour save. Don't pretend that your skill somehow mitigates this (lots of people on here try to make it sound as if their skill somehow influences dice rolls).
Rapid firing them will usually mean 1, sometimes 2 of them will have to take a wound. Compared to melta guns, 5 points less with AP1 and bonus vs vehicles, and no chance of having the bastard thing blow itself up there's no reason to take plasmas at all.

By mitigate problems I meant accept that people are likely to blow up, and plan around that probability/eventuality. I am not claiming that I have a magic link to the random number gods, only that I realize their fickleness, plan accordingly, and accept that the risks I take may not pan out. Also other than some BA, Cannonesses, and Seraphim, Melta pistols are unavailable, and when they are, the range is incredibly short. Plasma pistols reach a full 12", Plasma Rifles a full 24", which is twice what their melta equivalents reach is. Not to say that meltas are terrible, it would be idiotic for me to claim otherwise, but that plasma weapons have their place. Besides I am not going to cut all my sergeants, officers, sisters superior, and such apart, when they are already painted. My mass of plasma is due to most of my army being purchased, assembled, and painted during 4th ed, when meltas were not the default special weapon choice, were more costly, and plasma was cheaper and effective enough for most purposes. I have neither the time nor the inclination to redo thousands of points, when there is still some justification for maintaining their current composition.

Joey wrote:The twin-linked order that IG give can make all three plasma guns twin linked against vehicles, magically reducing the liklihood of them "getting hot".
It's a really stupid rule anyway, who's going to take a weapon that has a 1/6 chance of killing the user? Fluff-wise it's even worse. They wouldn't even have a chance to train using it and the life expectancy would be measured in seconds.

Because it doesn't have a 1/6 chance of killing the user. On the tabletop, Get's Hot represents using the weapon under combat conditions, where the choice is fire the gun more quickly than the cooling system might be able to handle, or let those chaos terminators punch you in face. Under less intense conditions, chance of over heat or overload would presumably be much less, but 40k games do not include firing range practice.

If it's an order, then yeah, it makes no sense. But if it's a twin-linked gun to begin with, then you can say that the cooling system is double strength and hooked up to both guns. So when you fire them one after another, twice the normal amount of coolant flies into one in the first shot, then cycles into the second one as soon as the first barrel is cool enough to not explode.

If your commissar gives you an order to twin link your plasma guns, you'r damn right it will reduce your chance of over-heating.

Your fracking gun knows better than to fail the commissar!