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It says that 'Zooming' fliers can move 18" Combat speed and 36" Cruising speed. But then it says a total of 4 weapons can be fired at full BS. Does that include ground targets or is this to other fliers? It also says that they can move 24" flat out, or simply hover and become a fast skimmer? Now why on earth would anyone want that if they can zoom 36" and fire everything and get a cover save!? Totally confused despite reading it a few times....

Can someone help me out?

You must decide if you are using skyfire rule or not. Therefore you have the choice of targeting flyers or targeting ground targets at full BS.

edit rule location:
Pg 81 second column first paragraph.

You need to link a few rules together to get the full effect.
1: Flyers can elect to use the Skyfire special rule (pg 81)
2: Skyfire allows units to shoot at Flyers, Flying Monstrous creatures and Skimmers with their own BS. Unless it has Interceptor it can only fire "snap shots" at other targets. (Pg 42)
3:Blast, ordnance and template weapons may not fire as "Snap Shots" (pg 33, pg 52)

So if you wanted to shoot at a flyer with one weapon system (or more up to 4) and use your BS and then Power of the Machine Spirit a different unit, the weapon firing the different unit would not be able to have the "Ordnance, Blast/Large Blast, or template special rules/weapons type as you would be "Snap shoting" at Non Flyer, Monstrous Flyers, Skimmer targets.

So if you want to blast another Flying unit or a skimmer and DONT want to need 6's to hit switch to "Skyfire" and blast away (minus all the snap fire restrictions)

As far as dropping down to a Skimmer: As long as they are Zooming A flyer only receives a cover save if it "EVADES" . Evade grants it the "Jink" Special rule (pg 81) thus giving it a 5+ cover save as long as it moves (pg. 38). which it MUST because it is a Flyer. As a penalty for Evading the Flyer must now fire all weapons as "Snap Shots" (pg 81) (remmeber the restrictions for snap shooting!).

However, if the Flyer drops down into "Hover Mode" it is now a "FAST SKIMMER" (pg 81)


A fast Skimmer may only fire 2 weapons if it has moved at Cruising speed (pg 83) and snap shot the rest. A skimmer may also "Jink" with no penalty of reducing all shots to Snap fire and may get a 4+ save if it moves Flat out. Also if you are a transport, the unit inside may not disembark from a zooming flyer so you MAY (if you are a transport) have to slow down to let folks out.

I THINK that covers just about everything you brought up? I hope its not too confusing for ya

Unless you are an IG vendetta or valk :-D Then your guys can jump out the back end, which is where the flat out comes in handy.

Or a necron player using a nightscythe, which is faq-ed to be able to deploy troops even if it went flat out (to a maximum of 36 inches); though they (the transported unit) can only snap-fire if the scythe moved more than 24 inches that turn.

I'm fairly sure that the stormraven in it's various flavours can deploy troops after having gone flat out as well using a similar rule.

Dooley wrote:You need to link a few rules together to get the full effect.
1: Flyers can elect to use the Skyfire special rule (pg 81)
2: Skyfire allows units to shoot at Flyers, Flying Monstrous creatures and Skimmers with their own BS. Unless it has Interceptor it can only fire "snap shots" at other targets. (Pg 42)
3:Blast, ordnance and template weapons may not fire as "Snap Shots" (pg 33, pg 52)

So if you wanted to shoot at a flyer with one weapon system (or more up to 4) and use your BS and then Power of the Machine Spirit a different unit, the weapon firing the different unit would not be able to have the "Ordnance, Blast/Large Blast, or template special rules/weapons type as you would be "Snap shoting" at Non Flyer, Monstrous Flyers, Skimmer targets.

So if you want to blast another Flying unit or a skimmer and DONT want to need 6's to hit switch to "Skyfire" and blast away (minus all the snap fire restrictions)

As far as dropping down to a Skimmer: As long as they are Zooming A flyer only receives a cover save if it "EVADES" . Evade grants it the "Jink" Special rule (pg 81) thus giving it a 5+ cover save as long as it moves (pg. 38). which it MUST because it is a Flyer. As a penalty for Evading the Flyer must now fire all weapons as "Snap Shots" (pg 81) (remmeber the restrictions for snap shooting!).

However, if the Flyer drops down into "Hover Mode" it is now a "FAST SKIMMER" (pg 81)


A fast Skimmer may only fire 2 weapons if it has moved at Cruising speed (pg 83) and snap shot the rest. A skimmer may also "Jink" with no penalty of reducing all shots to Snap fire and may get a 4+ save if it moves Flat out. Also if you are a transport, the unit inside may not disembark from a zooming flyer so you MAY (if you are a transport) have to slow down to let folks out.

I THINK that covers just about everything you brought up? I hope its not too confusing for ya

But since potms gives you an extra attack at full BS (in addition to what you'd normally be able to do), doesn't that mean a skyfiring stormraven would also be able to potms a plasma cannon shot to some unsuspecting troops down below?

Not a plasma cannon no. That is still a blast. Snap Fire makes you BS 1, PotMS makes you use your own BS instead. It doesn't remove the restricions on Ordnance, Large/Small blast. You can of course fire something like an assault cannon.

but POTMS isn't limited liek that is it? I know that template/blast/ordnance can't be fire via Snapshot.....but POTMS is somethgin entirely isn't it?

i will admit i've not read any marine FAQS since i dont play them and figured i have enough reading to do already.

Just going to ask a new question... (deleted post)