We're back with another look ahead to Batman 3rd Edition as Knight Models talk about shooting in the game and what has been tweaked for that.

Find Out More About Batman 3rd Edition Here

Here is what Knight Models had to say about the way it works right now...

"When you perform a Ranged Attack, you always add a Strength die, the effectiveness of which depends on either the model’s own Strength (for throwing weapons) or the weapon’s own Strength. Added to this are a number of ‘attack dice’ which is equal to the weapons Rate of Fire (RoF). When you make the attack roll, every attack die that equals or beats the target’s Defense skill is a hit, while the Strength die has its own target number.

Before making the roll, you need to check how the environment affects the chances of hitting – notably, range and cover. Typically, anything that makes an attack more difficult will deduct dice from the attack roll. Unlike Melee Attacks, when you make a Ranged Attack the Strength die is always the first die to be discarded (unless you’re using a template weapon, but that’s for another time…). So, let’s look at those modifiers...

As it’s always night-time in Gotham City, we use The Night rule to limit what models can see. The Night no longer completely prevents you from shooting at a target, but if the target is not illuminated (by a streetlamp or flashlight, etc.), then an attacker must discard two attack dice from the attack roll. In addition, while some ranged weapons are able to fire clearly across a typical game board, some are limited by their Range – a Medium Range weapon, for example, has an Effective Range of 16”. Models firing beyond their Effective Range lose one more die from the attack roll.

In the dense confines of the city streets, characters often claim cover from intervening scenery. If any part of the target model or its base is obscured by the scenery, the model is in Cover – the attacker deducts -1 attack die from the roll.

Finally, it’s harder to take aim if you’re moving, and so if a model moves before it takes the Attack action, it loses another two attack dice.

Ranged Attacks might suffer various penalties, but with planning and good positioning they are one of the most effective ways of removing troublesome enemies – and of course, many characters have destructive weapons and uncanny marksmanship skills to add to their lethality!"

So, this seems like it is all a little more streamlined and Knight Models has said that this is one of the actions which has had the most looked at during the process of bringing this new edition to life. Here is another example from the team...

"Deadshot wants to perform a Ranged Attack with his modified assault rifle. The player decides to attack Gordon instead of the Cop who is out in the open (Gordon is behind Cover and is the more difficult shot, but Deadshot reckons he can handle it). Deadshot will have to subtract one die from his attack roll for the Cover, which has to be the Strength die. So he now rolls three attack dice, with each roll of 3+ scoring a hit (Gordon’s Defense is three).

Of course, Deadshot is the world’s greatest marksman, so he has more tricks up his sleeve – but special rules will be explored in future examples."

Are you someone who plays around with the idea of a ranged-focused crew in Batman?

If so, make sure to let us know in the comments below...