Here's a thing that I've kinda been thinking..

In general, Battle Armour is pretty useless. Most players try to not get their armies shot at, by using imps, shades, warrior sprites etc. I have noticed that Battle Armour allmost never comes into play.

The only real use is to force an opponent to base you. If you have a close combat troop with battle armour (and there's a lot of them), you're probably gonna get them into contact with the enemy anyhow, without them getting shot at.

Just a little theory of mine, perhaps it's common knowledge or I'm missing something.

It used to be very useful before the rules changes, when ranged formations only added + 1 per additional figure. It was pretty difficult to hit a Storm Golem.

Now it's useful if you can add a figure with Defend behind it. An EGM with any figure with BA is scary.

I like the ability, but it's not as good as it used to be.

battle armor should gain at least a +1 for close combat.

They would hav just made the fig with +1 defense printed on his dial, bladesmithdk.

I'm a big believer that BA was destroyed in Unlimited with the new range formation rulings. I really think they need to put BA up to a +4 defense against Ranged Attacks and put it back to teh same ratio it was at before Unlimited.

But that's my two cents.

basicly by saying BA is useless u are saying range is useless. As long as your opponent has range there is a use for battle armor. Sometimes if they have high enough defense BA forces the enemy to base u if they want a decent role. It doesn't even have to be used for it to be helpful. There is a use for every skill. Yes even demoralization which allows command figs to heal u.

I think what NEil is trying to say is that BA was greatly diminished with the new Ranged Formation rules (which I think are fantastic and really needed), as such is no longer a SA you can really rely on. I tend to agree with him. BA is useful for individual figures with range, and your always going to get those. But when it comes to front line assaults against ranged formations, BA doesn't cut it anymore. As Battlemaster said, it's only real reliable use is when a Defend figure can enhance it. But there's not a lot of those around that could pump it high enough to make it workable.

I really think BA should be restored to it's fomer glory of matching Ranged Formation threats. Until then, your paying extra points for a diminished SA.

I agree with magewarrior, BA is not useless. Everybody now adays plays with ranged figs. With strikers everywhere, you need battle armor! It forces people to step back alittle bit if they are not wanting to base. Some people like to turtle, and BA will help you beat them down as you can walk closer because of your +2 help.

thank jebus it costs less than 1/4 a point per click of BA.

well in range formations... you're dealing with one target... not really multiples.. but it does easily hit a BA figure. thats the way it supposed to work.

but battle armour would be nice to add +1 though in close combat. but it might be imbalanced then though.

Don't forget how well BA interacts with Defend. Besides ranged formations force you to put your troops in a line. Clear the middle guy by shooting him or getting a harasser in base and the formation is screwed.

Maybe the missile formations should work like this:

* not cumulative with ME
3 persons - +2 attack, +1 damage*
4 persons - +4 attack, +1 damage*
5 persons - +4 attack, +2 damage*

neil didnt even mention the new, somewhat new, unlimited rule change about group range combat, he just said that battle armor in general is useless. i totally disagree, battle armor saved me many times, here where i play people acutally use range. then again maybe he/she is right about how magic is in his/her area, maybe people there just dont use range that much. what i think is totally useless is magic immunity, it hurts you more than it helps. i have never seen it once be useful, all it seems to do as far as i can see if make it harder to heal and cost more. its not nearly worth whatever i paid for it even if its just a fraction of a point, figures with magic immunity should actually cost less, kind of like having a crippling fear of magic instead of a burly resistance to it. anyway thats just my thoughts...

Yep, sorry, BA is important. It factors in all the time. Look at the difference of defense values for most figures. It's not too far from 15 to 19, yano? But try rolling a 6 as opposed to a 10, and you see the huge effect. Plus two to defense brings your safety up a lot, especially with the range-heavy venues I play at.

Bri

Sylvr,

somehow i doubt that a figure named
magus draconum has a crippling fear of magic

I'm saying more that it's useless on close combat troops. Battle Armour isn't good enough to guaruntee survival on the way in, you need to use harrassment. But if they're not getting shot on the way in, what's the point of having Battle Armour? I suppose the Solonavi Avenger is the best example - what do you need battle armour for if you have 14" flight?

Sure, it may be useful once in a blue moon, say if a Magus mag levs you in front of something, or you see alot of Steam Horses in your local metagame ;)

It's not useless. It's just not all that great. allmost every other defense SA is better. (Even MI in some cases - the Avenger would be much better with MI). It's especially frustrating on troops like the War Hatchetkrugg, which gains the infinitely more useful Toughness after a couple of BA clicks..

It's only really useful on troops like the Techun