Niiai wrote:I used to think save math was quite easy, until I discussed with a friend who did math PHD.
A 5+ on a dice is better then 6+ and then 6+. (Armour save of 5+ is better then 6+ and then 6+++ feel no pain save.)
However, the custodies can have 2+ save, and "1+ save". And 2+ save and 6+++ might in many situations be better then a custodian with shield.
That's only true if you're shooting at 1 wound models which in modern
40k are rarely even worth mathammering about (probably more of an issue with Custodes limited number of attacks but still). As soon as you're shooting at a model with multiple wounds (the everpresent marines or custodes themselves) the feel no pain will kick in "additional saves" against multi-wound weapons, since even a 6+++
FnP has a 35ish% chance to save a Custodes guy from a damage 3 gun, practically negating the kill and rolling over into the next save. If the next save was a bolter you're still better off with the 5+ save but just by a really small margin
It obviously becomes impossible with simulate with multiple weapon profiles being thrown all around in different (and usually optimal for the attacker) order but that feel no pain is why armies like Iron Hands can be surprisingly resilient against dedicated marine-killing guns.