Is Indirect Fire really that bad?

[Deleted]

Hi everyone.

Personelly my favourite tank is the BIG BAD BASELISK, but after reading many other tactica i have found that most people despise Indirect Fire. What's not to like? Because without it you would only get 3 hits per game and then you have the scatter dice.

If any of you would like to shed some light on this topic it would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,

Karskin.

[Turtleboy(AWOL)]

I don't recally having heard anyone say the basilisk or other indirect fire weapons were bad (ok maybe some 'the mortar is pretty inneffective, and when it kills something I jump and scream in amazement' comments but still...).

I like the basilisk. it has some real strategic value, and not alot of units have that. if you put a basilisk down, you can be sure your enemy will seek to get within 36" of the 'lisk on that front, which means he'll probably come after it to stop the other half of the table from being continually shelled, which means you know he's coming so can lay a saweeeet trap for him/her! that's almost worth the 125pts before it fires a shot! watch as I park a couple of mobile terrain demolishers with big loadouts of relatively short ranged weaponry bristling from their hulls to guard and block line of sight to my 'lisk. ding ding ding (dinnerbell), come and get it!!! hehe. I swear, my infantry has weathered games of being completely ignored on the flank where I have a 'lisk and my demolishers - it's rediculously great.

[Deleted]

indirect fire isnt bad...come on...they are awesome....it lets ure bassie fire behind terrain...keeping it dafe from enemy fire. And the scatter dice isnt that bad...agenst mobs like tyranids, orks and maybe sometimes necrons they are worth it. If u miss...well u hav other stuff to take out ure enemy. its 125 points which is a bargain...buying 2 bassies with indirect fire is worth 10 ogryns. they are cheap and effective in points such as 750 or even 500...taking one will definately shake things up with ure oponent....indirect fire is not bad

[twerd]

hey just a rules check in the codex iit says"if fired in this..." does that mean you can soot both ways

[Deleted]

Thanks guys, i think what various people and other forums (which will remain nameless) are coming at is that with a small board getting within the 36' deadzone is really easy. Also thay don't like the rule that if you have 'no line of site' you have to roll 2 die with the scatter dice.

[fatuous]

Yes you can still use direct fire.

Basilisks are great and cheap. Whether you take indirect fire or not depends on the table size IMO. On a 4 by 4 I wouldn't take it, bút on a 6 by 4 I do. Wish I had 2 demolishers now lol .

And the 2 dice thing, no it is not as good as direct fire, butthe chance to hit is pretty similar, as if I miss, I usually miss (the intended target) completely anyway, so another dice doesn't make a big difference IMO. Also, remember that if u move and fire a lisk directly you will be rolling 2 dice any way.

[lordcastellenjon]

yeah this has been a tacktic i have throught of for a long time so I think I will use it but wait what if you are fighting tau BS's then wont the bassilisk get struck out if not in heavy cover

[twerd]

thanks guys just needed that checked out

[Colonel Scipio]

Indirect fire is brilliant... a super mincing shot dropped pretty much anywhere on the board, without the enemy even having a chance to return fire... mwu ha ha ha ha!

And a tip: be a builder for six years, because you can be guaranteed to guess any distance without measuring down to within half an inch... that's not an exageration

[Deleted]

And a tip: be a builder for six years, because you can be guaranteed to guess any distance without measuring down to within half an inch... that's not an exageration

you dont guess the distance anymore. G denotes indirect fire in 4th.

The bassi's worth is dependent on your play style. personally, I would rather invest in a hellhound. on the standard sized board its very easy to move into the blind spot, forcing a bassie into the open to do its job. For about the same cost, a HH has better armor and a decent weapon that hits more reliably and ignores cover saves. Just my preference though. on larger tables or apocalypse games I will always field bassies, they just arnt my favorite. Bassies seem too big for a 40k game (please, a range of 20'? come on now....)

[Colonel Scipio]

grenadier said:

you dont guess the distance anymore. G denotes indirect fire in 4th.

Sorry, yeah should have said that's true for standard rules so doesn't make a difference for tournament games.

In our club our house rules include odds and sods out of 3rd, Necromunda, even RapidFire and all over the place and one of them is that indirect fire is still guessed... just puts a bit of skill back into a random dice-rolling, we thought.

[Deleted]

I could just be my love for big explostions but basilisks can be extremely use full for defending an objestive.

i watched a game at GW this guard player a basilisk and a full platoon of mortars, he was versing orks & a suprsing amount died the only problem was a couple of trukk mobs arived on the 5th turn & because of the minium range they got masacerd.

if your gonna use this tactic i suggest a platoon to back up the support guns.

[knight (M.I.A)]

There is no effective minimum range for the Basilisk. If the opponent enters the 36" you simply switch to direct fire mode...

[Rolling Thunder]

True. Personally again i find that the basilisk is too.... siege-esque a weapon to be included in my army and keep with the fluff.... plus the damn thing draws fire more than a demolisher.

[ssgtdude (M.I.A)]

Rolling Thunder, You're right about the fire draw, but I feel I should point out that the buy back for it is usually well worth the points spent to take it out. The standard load out with indirect makes it the second most inexpensive heavy hitter that we have. The first being the only other vehicle that draws more fire The HellHound.

If you build a list with two of each of them the chances that you buy back your points spread is usually more than enough.

[Deleted]

A basilisk is feared by many players because it packs a good punch. Indirect fire I find is a must for it. As for fluff for having one in your list. I've always looked at the basilisk as a WWII Mechanized 88. I'm not too certain but I beleive they had them in some infantry divisions. For aa and as a LoS anti infantry.