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In order to balance out overwatch there should be some sort of penalty associated with it. For instance, if you choose to fire in overwatch then your WS drops to 0 or maybe you just take penalties to your WS and have to attack at initiative 1. Also to make the choice a bit more tempting change the roll to hit to a 5+ for it. This will make assault units a bit more likely to actually reach their intended target and offers the defending unit a choice between getting in more shots or preparing to receive the charge. What are people's thoughts?

Curiosity strikes. How would this make the charge more likely to reach their intended target? The problem with this, is the unit that is going to overwatch probably sucks in assault and they will all be wiped out in CC anyways. For example, let us use my Tau. Why would I not want to overwatch? Who cares if my WS drops to 0 or I go down to I1? There's no real point in me trying to counter the assault. Guardsman will get more shots off on overwatch, etc. Heck, even orks would possibly rather overwatch if it drops your I to 1 (most of the times you are slower than the enemy anyways).

Finally, for the most part, you want your unit swept on your enemy's turn because if not they are sitting ducks to being shot at so this would further benefit a shooty oriented army.

Normally people say that tau firewarriors suck in assault. But if you try to charge them with, say, assault marines that are supposed to be pretty neat - first you loose like 5+ assault marines on overwatch and even weak firewarriors are pretty capable of killing 1-2 in mellee. So basically, they kill more in overwatch+mellee than assaulters.

But imagine support fire markers! Suddenly that 5+ to hit becomes much more likely than before. Then, from there, the Tau would be firing at perfect or better shots. Then, if the enemy still makes it into cc, who cares if they are at I1? They hit last usually anyways!

Ok, how about throwing out making any close combat attacks by the unit getting assaulted if they fire on overwatch? That way they only get 1 set of attacks.

 koooaei wrote:
Normally people say that tau firewarriors suck in assault. But if you try to charge them with, say, assault marines that are supposed to be pretty neat - first you loose like 5+ assault marines on overwatch and even weak firewarriors are pretty capable of killing 1-2 in mellee. So basically, they kill more in overwatch+mellee than assaulters.

Common misconception. Guardsmen have the same chance of hitting and wounding a blood thirster as a fire warrior.

Also tau are capable in assault, they just don't go first or have good WS, or an AP value in close combat. None of this makes them bad in assault.