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Wondering if you need to declare this when you choose targets or when you actually have to fire. Can I fire my bolters first and if it weakens a target enough, I can decide whether I still want to overcharge with the plasmas in the squad?

Per the RAW: "when attacking with this weapon, choose one of the profiles below."

So between steps 3 and 4 of the shooting phase, after you have chosen the plasma to fire but before resolving any attacks.

All weapons in the unit are treated as firing simultaneously. So after you declare your target(s) and before you roll dice.

So if I fire my bolters first, that’s means I can declare the kind of shot after my I resolve my bolters and try to shoot plasmas?

I looked through the rules and the FAQ's, but I can't find a specific spot. However, to me the only time that makes sense is when you select targets, because some weapon modes have different ranges than others. I remember seeing an FAQ on this topic, but I can't find it any longer.

Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

Dadavester wrote:
Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

Agreed.

Dadavester wrote:Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

p5freak wrote:

Dadavester wrote:
Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

Agreed.

You know what? I agree too. For weapons with alternate modes, you could choose a mode that you couldn't shoot when you choose the weapon, even if the other mode COULD shoot. But again, I'm sure there was an FAQ on this that helped clarify this kind of issue, but I can't find it.

 Yarium wrote:

Dadavester wrote:Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

p5freak wrote:

Dadavester wrote:
Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

Agreed.

You know what? I agree too. For weapons with alternate modes, you could choose a mode that you couldn't shoot when you choose the weapon, even if the other mode COULD shoot. But again, I'm sure there was an FAQ on this that helped clarify this kind of issue, but I can't find it.

I too agree. And I don't blame you, the amount of FAQs scattered all over the place in nonsensical documents is beyond a joke. Did you know that a rather critical FAQ regarding units that don't take up detachment slots is not in the BRB FAQ, but in the CA18 FAQ?

I think the FAQ support the declare overcharge before any dice are rolled...

Page 179 – Choose Unit to Shoot With
Change the fourth sentence to read:
‘Unless otherwise noted, each model in the unit attacks with all of the ranged weapons it is armed with – if a
model in the firing unit has any weapons that can only be used once per battle, you can choose whether or not the model will fire that weapon.’

Page 179 – Choose Ranged Weapons
Change the last sentence of the first paragraph to read: ‘In either case, at the same time that you choose targets for the shooting unit’s attacks, you must declare how you will split the shooting unit’s shots; then resolve all the shots against one target before moving on to the next.’

Dadavester wrote:
Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

except you need to pick all targets for each gun before rolling any dice

Can you pick the target earlier but decide to overcharge or not just before rolling?

 Brother Castor wrote:
Can you pick the target earlier but decide to overcharge or not just before rolling?

That is the question. It depends how you parse it.

In my experience, most people choose just before rolling the weapon.

terry wrote:

Dadavester wrote:
Step 3 of the shooting phase is choose weapon. You cannot overcharge until you choose your weapon.

If you have 4 bolter marines and 1 Plasma you can shoot the 4 bolters and then pick the plasma and decide to overcharge or not.

except you need to pick all targets for each gun before rolling any dice

Yeah you do, but you cannot overcharge until you shoot, so therefore you decide to overcharge when you shoot that weapon.

You pick the unit to shoot with.
You select targets for your fire.
Shoot your bolters first.
Shoot the plasma and decide if you over charge.

Each weapon with multiple profiles stipulates that when attacking with the weapon, choose one of the profiles. As you must determine if the target is in range and how you will divide your attacks in Step 3, you must choose the profile then to be able to answer the questions.

 alextroy wrote:
Each weapon with multiple profiles stipulates that when attacking with the weapon, choose one of the profiles. As you must determine if the target is in range and how you will divide your attacks in Step 3, you must choose the profile then to be able to answer the questions.

You not attacking with that weapon then. You attacking with the weapon at the Choose Weapon step.

Measuring range is not attacking, it is determining if you CAN attack, being able to attack and actually attacking are different things.

So this is pedantic, but from the apparent consensus that is forming (which I agree with) you could actually decided to overwatch PER MODEL even if a unit has all Plasma.

You declare to shoot with 5 Hellblasters
You declare their target
You resolve their shots, and since "fast rolling" is only an option, you could do so 1 at a time, declaring Over charge or not after resolving the prior model

So if the target has several multi-wound models, and one of those models only has 1 wound left, you could select your first Hellblaster to NOT overcharge to try to knock that wound off without risking your model or dealing more Damage than needed, then resolve the rest of the Hellblasters as Overcharge.

Or, you could resolve them one by one Overcharging until you weaken or kill the model enough to not need to Overcharge the rest of your unit

-

When you put it like that it doesn't sound such a good idea as RAI tries to get you to make all your decisions about who to shoot with what before you start rolling to wound - as if the unit all fired at once and didn't wait to see the result of each shot.