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Been digging around the rule book and can't find anything pertaining to this. Can two FMCs carry out an "assault" with each other while flying? They can vector strike during movement I suppose... but I haven't been able to find anything about actual mid-air combat.

Check out the 6th bullet point under 'Swooping' (pg. 69). Gliding has no such restrictions.

Will do Ghaz, thank you!

There are a few things like that that seem like missed opportunities. FMC in swoop should be able to assault zooming flyers and swooping FMC (with some extra hammer of wraths or maybe making use of ram rules).

Also, a swooping FMC should be able to skyfire a template over a flyer. Why a hive tyrant couldn't unleash a cloud of electroshock grubs into the flight path of an enemy flying vehicle is beyond me.

Lance845 wrote:
There are a few things like that that seem like missed opportunities. FMC in swoop should be able to assault zooming flyers and swooping FMC (with some extra hammer of wraths or maybe making use of ram rules).

Also, a swooping FMC should be able to skyfire a template over a flyer. Why a hive tyrant couldn't unleash a cloud of electroshock grubs into the flight path of an enemy flying vehicle is beyond me.

Game balance

Yeah always imagined aerial combat different then just going above someone and opportunity strike it...

 jokerkd wrote:

Lance845 wrote:
There are a few things like that that seem like missed opportunities. FMC in swoop should be able to assault zooming flyers and swooping FMC (with some extra hammer of wraths or maybe making use of ram rules).

Also, a swooping FMC should be able to skyfire a template over a flyer. Why a hive tyrant couldn't unleash a cloud of electroshock grubs into the flight path of an enemy flying vehicle is beyond me.

Game balance

How is that more balanced? FMC weapons in Swoop mode have Skyfire, as does any weapon on a flyer. Having templates and blasts with Skyfire not hit flyers seems more unbalanced.

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 jokerkd wrote:

Lance845 wrote:
There are a few things like that that seem like missed opportunities. FMC in swoop should be able to assault zooming flyers and swooping FMC (with some extra hammer of wraths or maybe making use of ram rules).

Also, a swooping FMC should be able to skyfire a template over a flyer. Why a hive tyrant couldn't unleash a cloud of electroshock grubs into the flight path of an enemy flying vehicle is beyond me.

Game balance

How is that more balanced? FMC weapons in Swoop mode have Skyfire, as does any weapon on a flyer. Having templates and blasts with Skyfire not hit flyers seems more unbalanced.

I think any sort of "balance" is kind of out the window at this point.

 jokerkd wrote:

Lance845 wrote:
There are a few things like that that seem like missed opportunities. FMC in swoop should be able to assault zooming flyers and swooping FMC (with some extra hammer of wraths or maybe making use of ram rules).

Also, a swooping FMC should be able to skyfire a template over a flyer. Why a hive tyrant couldn't unleash a cloud of electroshock grubs into the flight path of an enemy flying vehicle is beyond me.

Game balance

Pfft...GW just sucks at writing rules.

A vector strike represents close combat attacks mid air. It's good enough at killing things to not necessitate making more rules to allow more attacks.

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

That's actually a rather amusing thought...

Because this is a ground game. The fliers were tacked on as an afterthought. This game has always evolved by the players asking, how can we add this neato new model that I have made-up from scratch. Aerial bombardment started as an abstract template attack called down by a commander.

Give it a decade. They'll figure out a way to make an aerial dogfighting game out of it.

 jokerkd wrote:
A vector strike represents close combat attacks mid air. It's good enough at killing things to not necessitate making more rules to allow more attacks.

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

This is exactly how I have always viewed it. Even an FMC like a Hive Tyrant can't just stop in mid-air to engage in sword-and-shield melee combat. A vector strike represents them flying past and taking swipes are exposed areas of the craft. Makes sense to me.

 mazik765 wrote:

 jokerkd wrote:
A vector strike represents close combat attacks mid air. It's good enough at killing things to not necessitate making more rules to allow more attacks.

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

This is exactly how I have always viewed it. Even an FMC like a Hive Tyrant can't just stop in mid-air to engage in sword-and-shield melee combat. A vector strike represents them flying past and taking swipes are exposed areas of the craft. Makes sense to me.

I picture it more like a vehicle ram for the charge. Picture a flyrant and a demon slamming into each other all teeth and claw and the winner slamming the other to the ground (grounding test to see if they manage to regain their flight).

Its not allowed for the same reason you can't use template weapons at Invisible units, because the game developers want to protect the new mechanic out the ass. A blast weapon is just a normal projectile until it hits. For Overwatch I can get how it would be awkward but there's no reason a flyer shouldn't be able to hit a flyer with a missile, or anything for that matter. Further, Blast weapons still involve BS (it reduces the scatter) so why not have blast weapons as BS1, or a mechanic where it always scatters the full 2D6 or cannot score a direct hit? To protect snap shots.

Similarly, if there's an invisible enemy attacking you and bullets are doing nothing, Flamers are the perfect answer

You know, in retrospect it does make sense. One strike as the aggressor zooms by the defender. I just wasn't sure if I was missing something when I asked the original question.

 jokerkd wrote:

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

By that logic, no flier should be able to use templates period unless hovering, even against ground targets.

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 jokerkd wrote:

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

By that logic, no flier should be able to use templates period unless hovering, even against ground targets.

No, that's wrong. Against ground targets you are spraying them with burning promethium/acid/etc as you fly by, it doesn't matter the speed as gravity will carry the promethium to the target regardless of spped. Imagine spraying water out of a car window at 70. If you're aiming for the ground, its going to be no issue, but if trying to hit a car in front or beside you it will. Now imagine the same car going 500mph. You can still hit the ground easy enough, but trying to hit a neighbouring vehicle is practically impossible.

 Deadshot wrote:

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 jokerkd wrote:

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

By that logic, no flier should be able to use templates period unless hovering, even against ground targets.

No, that's wrong. Against ground targets you are spraying them with burning promethium/acid/etc as you fly by, it doesn't matter the speed as gravity will carry the promethium to the target regardless of spped. Imagine spraying water out of a car window at 70. If you're aiming for the ground, its going to be no issue, but if trying to hit a car in front or beside you it will. Now imagine the same car going 500mph. You can still hit the ground easy enough, but trying to hit a neighbouring vehicle is practically impossible.

Ok, but if we assume the Vector Strike is from the vehicle flying over its target and attacking it, why couldn't the template be doing the same thing? Hitting it from above while moving over.

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 Deadshot wrote:

 KharnsRightHand wrote:

 jokerkd wrote:

As for a template, what do think would happen if you tried to use a flamethrower at aircraft cruising speed?

By that logic, no flier should be able to use templates period unless hovering, even against ground targets.

No, that's wrong. Against ground targets you are spraying them with burning promethium/acid/etc as you fly by, it doesn't matter the speed as gravity will carry the promethium to the target regardless of spped. Imagine spraying water out of a car window at 70. If you're aiming for the ground, its going to be no issue, but if trying to hit a car in front or beside you it will. Now imagine the same car going 500mph. You can still hit the ground easy enough, but trying to hit a neighbouring vehicle is practically impossible.

Ok, but if we assume the Vector Strike is from the vehicle flying over its target and attacking it, why couldn't the template be doing the same thing? Hitting it from above while moving over.

Same scenario with the cars. If you're aiming to cover an area of the ground you simply start shooting your flamer before you reach there and it'll naturally cover the area. But trying to hit a specific area of another high speed vehicle that is on a different altitude, vector and moving at a higher velocity, you're only going to end up splashing a tiny amount of fuel on the thing before it zooms off.