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Hey everyone, been lurking here a while and finally saw something in the rules that’s confused me enough to make an account and ask for some clarification, not sure if this is the right section or not but here we go..

Hit modifiers..
I thought that I understood that -1 to hit Etc is applied to the dice roll, so if a model hits on a +4 then the number needed to hit effectively becomes a 3+, therefore being beneficial as you have a higher chance to hit but.. while browsing the kill team focus pages I saw the adeptus mechanicus tactic that gives a model +1 or +2 to hit (if it’s near a model that allows it to go to +2) that costs 2CP, well it actually says ‘add 1/2 to the hit rolls’ but I’ve taken that to mean +, else it would say minus 1/2?

My question is, am I actually reading the hit modifiers correctly ? Because surely that is a negative thing to use that? If the model hits on a 4+ say, doesn’t that now become a 6+ which actually makes it harder to hit? Why would I spend 2CP to do that? Really confused on this as I was sure I was just beginning to understand it by trying to keep it simple in my head as - = good/beneficial and + being negative to use, then I saw that tactic and it’s completely thrown me off!

Apologies if this is in the wrong area, I’m still learning to navigate this forum effectively
Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated, given myself a headache trying to work this out mentally..

Many thanks

You add the number to what you roll on the dice, then compare it to the BS/WS. So a roll of a 4 would be a hit for a BS4+ model, however a -1 To Hit makes it a 3, therefore a miss.

A positive modifier works the other way. So a BS4+ model rolls a 3, which is a miss. A +2 modifier would make that a 5, so it’s a hit.

A -1 is not beneficial, it's a penalty, it's bad.

You roll the die, add or subtract any modifiers and then compare to the number required.

So, my Plague Marines hit on a 3+. They have a -1 penalty to hit. I roll a die, it gets a 3, the -1 turns it into a 2, it's a miss. I need to roll a 4 or more in order to hit.

If I had a +1 to hit then I would only need to roll a 2, which would become a 3, in order to get 3+. So the +1 is a good thing and worth the points.

Ahhh yeah your answers have made me see what I’m doing wrong here, although I know it’s done to the dice roll I’m seeing -1 and applying it straight to their BS >.<
Then put simply a -1 makes the BS number go up and a + lowers it.. think I have it now..
So if a Skitarii ranger has a BS3+ and I used that tactic to it’s full +2 extent, would it then make it unnecessary to roll as it becomes a auto hit, as I can’t miss with a 1?

Just got back into Warhammer, played fantasy over 15 yrs ago and decided this time to jump into 40k, read the rules a few times but I think I need to actually get out there and play with people to iron things like this out in my mind

KoTR92 wrote:
Ahhh yeah your answers have made me see what I’m doing wrong here, although I know it’s done to the dice roll I’m seeing -1 and applying it straight to their BS >.<
Then put simply a -1 makes the BS number go up and a + lowers it.. think I have it now..
So if a Skitarii ranger has a BS3+ and I used that tactic to it’s full +2 extent, would it then make it unnecessary to roll as it becomes a auto hit, as I can’t miss with a 1?

Just got back into Warhammer, played fantasy over 15 yrs ago and decided this time to jump into 40k, read the rules a few times but I think I need to actually get out there and play with people to iron things like this out in my mind

It doesn't change the BS it adds to the roll. This is important sometimes. A natural roll of a 1 always misses regardless of modifiers.

On a related note; Rerolling happens before modifiers and only cares about the BS, but so let's say a model is BS 3+ and has a - 1 to hit and à reroll all misses ability. If it rolls a 1 or 2 it can reroll as these would be misses before the modifier. If it rolls a 3 it can't reroll even though 3-1 = 2, which will miss in the end.

There are also times when getting a specific roll or higher has an additional effect, so bonuses and penalties to hit and the "effective roll" are important.

For example, Necron Telsa weapons get 3 Hits instead of one on a Hit Roll of 6+. A +1 to Hit means a die roll of 5 is a 6 and generates 3 Hits. Similarly, a -1 to Hit means a die roll of 6 becomes a Hit Roll of 5 and only generates 1 Hit.

The best thing to do is to remember that modifiers alter the roll, not the statistic. A BS3+ model will always need a 3 or more to hit, but a -1 penalty means they are rolling on a D6-1 instead of a D6.