Tristanleo wrote:1: vehicles or units with dedicated skyfire usually have guns on a permanent upward axle that would be very cumbersome to fire on ground targets, likewise dedicated skyfire on fliers are usually designed forward mounted, the only way to fire on a ground target would be to angle towards the ground to fire at an extreme range.
This depends, really. A counter example would be the
IG Hydra, which has guns that are easily capable of pointing down at ground targets and even has fluff about how devastating it is against lightly-armored targets when there are no flyers around. And if you think about it having a permanent upward angle would give the
AA unit a huge blind spot against low-altitude targets, the only kind of aircraft that
AA guns are capable of hitting. The few
AA units that shouldn't be able to shoot at ground targets fluff-wise are better represented with unit-specific rules limiting their fire against ground targets.
And of course the ultimate argument against this explanation is that skyfire units can shoot at skimmers at full
BS, including skimmers that are hovering just above the ground. If you can aim the guns at a Hammerhead floating a foot off the ground you can aim at a Rhino sitting next to it.
2: I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by meaningful percentage of C but you still have to consider that to hit with such a weapon you are aiming at a distant target moving at very high speeds and you would have to lead your target with pinpoint accuracy, well beyond even the most experienced soldier before you include the chaos of a war and the conditions of the battlefield.
This. Having a laser weapon doesn't mean that your turret rotates instantly and with perfect accuracy, your gun mount is capable of elevating sufficiently to hit the target, etc.