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Hi roleplayers !
So, in DH, a bolter do 1d10 + 5 damages (and has a special ability that let you throw 1 more die, and discard the lower).
A heavy bolter do just 2d10 (and has a special ability that let you throw 1 more die, and discard the lower).

On average, with a bolter, one of your two dice will be 6+ and the other 5 or less (1 to 10 on a 10 faced die). When you add +5, the results are the following: 11 to 15.
With a heavy bolter, one of your three dice will be 3 or less, the other 4 to 6 and the last 7 to 10 (I had to put the 10th number arbitrary somewhere). Then you don't add +5, and the results are the following: 11 to 16.
The HB has 1more AP (5 vs 4).
So, a HB has just some little advantages (slightly longer range, the possibility to fire full-auto, an 1 AP) ?

Is there an errata, or am I doing something wrong ?
Thanks !

What I did with the heavy bolter was to change the damage to 1d10+8, give it some guaranteed damage and better averages. Pretty sure this is what they did in the later editions too.

In more recent rules versions, it did indeed get errata-ed.

So, a HB has just some little advantages (slightly longer range, the possibility to fire full-auto, an 1 AP) ?

There is a hidden advantage - by rolling dice rather than getting a flat damage boost, you get another chance at Righteous Fury.

And yes, it is a massively more effective weapon in a 'normal' fight.

between 50 and 75 metres - not an unlikely distance to be exchanging fire at ("the other side of the plaza" or similar), the difference between firing a bolter and a heavy bolter is devastating.

A bolter will get +10 BS from semi-auto, so you're probably on a 50% ish chance to hit, which averages you 0.9 hits.

A heavy bolter gets +20 from full auto, and another +10 from short range, and adds extra hits MUCH faster. It nets you 2.7 hits...three times as many.

Essentially, the heavy bolter doesn't hit much harder than a normal bolter - it's the weight of fire from full auto, and the option of suppressive fire, that you're buying.

In 2nd edition Dark Heresy, Only War, etc, yes, it gets made a lot nastier (1D10+8 tearing, as noted).

More dice + more shots = More Righteous Fury.

It works out in the end. HB's are scary.

I forgot Righteous Fury^^
I think I'm biased because most of the fight happens really close during my games (less than 30 meters).
Thanks for the explanations !

Fair enough; the counter-argument, therefore, is "if you're fighting at close quarters, why the hell would you want to use what's normally a bipod-mounted heavy weapon?"

Especially since this isn't Only War. You can't exactly walk through a mid-hive area cradling a heavy bolter. Not without either revealling that you're the Inquisition, or fighting a running gun-battle with the local Magistratum, anyway. Carrying basic weapons in public areas gets frowned upon; but when you're talking about a hundred-cal automatic grenade launcher?

At >45-50 metres, then yes, you're at short range for most basic weapons, too, so part of the advantage disappears. Especially if you have to brace it. The first time you do a Ronin-style ambush and someone up in a shrine spire has a heavy bolter covering the fight area, though, all will be forgiven.

Still, the extra flexibility of full auto is one of the reasons I'd strongly consider autoguns over equivalent las weaponry; don't underestimate suppressing fire.

It also makes the autopistol a good choice for a non-combat character - get into cover then spray and pray. You're at -20 BS, but you're probably untrained with the weapon anyway. It doesn't matter - you don't have to actually hit anyone to cause a pinning check at -20 Wp, just fire. And whilst the sage hides behind a wall and pretends he's inspector tequila, the actually competent fighters (the arbites, assassin and guardsman) can move up whilst opponents are at -20 BS and unable to aim, and calmly shoot them in the face.

I don't think anyone in our group even considered taking a heavy weapon. Power weapons, grenades and snazzy pistols by the slack handful, yes, but other than that time we hotwired a Leman Russ, no heavy weapons. It makes it hard to infiltrate a genestealer cult's hideout with a stupidly large gun clanging off the pipes.

For a sniper character, the lascannon is the best weapon to specialize in. When you need to reach out and touch someone, even if that someone is inside a battle-tank, the lascannon has the range, the damage, and the Penetration to ensure that someone is very, very dead.