Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Plasma cannon example: When do I decide whether I'm supercharging or not? There are several options:
1) When I pick the model(s) to shoot
2) When I select a target enemy
3) Before I roll my random number of attacks
4) After rolling number of attacks, but before starting the attacks with the weapon (ie. directly before rolling to hit)

Those seem to be all the possible places. It's important to do it before rolling to hit so that you can see whether any models burn up or not.

My vote is #4, after seeing how many attacks you get and before starting the "make attacks" sequence.

Well how does over heat on a plasma gun work?

How can you be "attacking" if you haven't yet determined the number of attacks? The process of resolving attacks starts with rolling to hit.

However, this breaks with weapons where the profiles have different numbers of shots. If you choose a profile after rolling the number of attacks how do you use a missile launcher?

Despite the terminology being vague it needs to be before determining the number of attacks or some weapons break.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Backspacehacker wrote:
Well how does over heat on a plasma gun work?

You choose before rolling to hit. Doesn't help with this example in the slightest.

Basically that, you roll a gets hot before shooting it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Or I'd you follow the logic of how a plasma gun works, you choose to over charge, roll the number of shots, your to hit rolls are then your gets hot rolls

You declare what weapon is targetting what enemy unit. At that point you are attacking with that weapon. Its done. Since you resolve 1 weapon at a time this is the point when you need to decide how your going to use it because everything after this point is you actually using it.

So 2 is the correct answer.

Wouldnt it be between 1 and 2 as you select the profile then choose the target

In this case using the Missile Launcher as an example of the rules you choose which profile your going to attack with first when picking the target.

So you decide, before you roll to see how many shots you take, are you picking the Overcharge Profile or the Normal Profile. Then roll for how many shots if its a D3 weapon like a plasma cannon, then roll to hit and if you get a 1 with the overcharge profile the special rules go into effect.

Again it works just like when deciding what profile you want to use to attack with the missile launcher, Krak or Frag.

Yeah you're missing step 1.5 in your list...

"I'm going to shoot with this guy, with his plasmagatron on turbo mode, at your unit there..."

You missed the bold part of the declaration in your 'steps', OP.

I'm not sure I did miss it, actually. In the Core Rules there are 4 Steps to Shooting.

1. Choose Unit to Shoot With. This doesn't mention anything about choosing weapons--the only thing about weapons in this step is that the shooting models must HAVE shooting weapons, and that each model can fire all of the guns it has.
2. Choose Targets. "In order to target an enemy unit, a model from that unit must be within the Range of the weapon being used." So at this point you'd have to somehow know which weapon is being used, to determine whether the target enemy is even eligible as a target. HOWEVER...
3. Choose Ranged Weapon. We aren't directed to pick the weapon till Step 3. So I suppose it would come down to, in Step 2, guessing or predicting which weapon(s) I will pick for my future shooting attacks, and then actually making the decision in Step 3. Step 3 also says, "Each time a model shoots a ranged weapon, it will make a number of attacks." So the sequence, "Roll to Hit, Roll to Wound, Allocate Wound, Throw Save, Inflict Damage" is the making attacks bit. It doesn't happen beforehand.
4. Resolve Attacks. "Attacks can be made one at a time.... The following sequence is used to make attacks one at a time." Etc.

 Elric Greywolf wrote:
I'm not sure I did miss it, actually. In the Core Rules there are 4 Steps to Shooting.

1. Choose Unit to Shoot With. This doesn't mention anything about choosing weapons--the only thing about weapons in this step is that the shooting models must HAVE shooting weapons, and that each model can fire all of the guns it has.
2. Choose Targets. "In order to target an enemy unit, a model from that unit must be within the Range of the weapon being used." So at this point you'd have to somehow know which weapon is being used, to determine whether the target enemy is even eligible as a target. HOWEVER...
3. Choose Ranged Weapon. We aren't directed to pick the weapon till Step 3. So I suppose it would come down to, in Step 2, guessing or predicting which weapon(s) I will pick for my future shooting attacks, and then actually making the decision in Step 3. Step 3 also says, "Each time a model shoots a ranged weapon, it will make a number of attacks." So the sequence, "Roll to Hit, Roll to Wound, Allocate Wound, Throw Save, Inflict Damage" is the making attacks bit. It doesn't happen beforehand.
4. Resolve Attacks. "Attacks can be made one at a time.... The following sequence is used to make attacks one at a time." Etc.

In your step 3, you choose the Plasma weapon, now you must choose a profile in order to resolve how many times it shoots so either the overcharged or the normal (or just think on a Missile launcher you either use the 1 shoot profile or resolve the 1d6 shoot profile)

 Lord Perversor wrote:
In your step 3, you choose the Plasma weapon, now you must choose a profile in order to resolve how many times it shoots so either the overcharged or the normal (or just think on a Missile launcher you either use the 1 shoot profile or resolve the 1d6 shoot profile)

This is the most accurate explanation. Selecting a weapon to shoot with involves picking which profile your gun will be using. You are selecting a weapon to shoot with - either 'Plasma Cannon - Standard' or 'Plasma Cannon - Overcharged'.