Taking a look at poison, snipers, and gargantuan MCs.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Why do people still seem to think area terrain is a thing?

Indeed, I'm not finding it in my rulebook lately, yet people keep assuring me a Wraithknight with its knees in a Ruin gets a 4+ Save.

Maybe my local's playing it wrong, but we treat MCs like vehicles in that regard.

[Charon]

Indeed, I'm not finding it in my rulebook lately,

For Example Battlescape:

Models on the base of a battlescape model receive a 5+ cover save, regardless of whether or not they are 25% obscured.

or Ruins:

Ruins: Ruins are difficult terrain. Models in ruins receive a 4+ cover save, regardless of whether or not they are 25% obscured.

So in short people think area terrain is still there because some terrain still is area terrain.

[CoffeeGrunt]

Ah. Glad we house-ruled it to be otherwise, then. Not a well thought-out rule on GW's part, but that's a pretty common statement, isn't it?

[Houghten]

I thought Hellfire Rounds were more like an extremely reactive acid? In that case, they might not be able to melt away enough of, say, a Heirophant, to matter over the course of a game.

Mutagenic acid. I think the "acid" part is to explain why it works on Necrons, wraith constructs and battle robots. For everything else, there's mutagen.

Why do people still seem to think area terrain is a thing?

Well, chiefly because it is.

"Models in ruins receive a 4+ cover save, regardless of whether or not they are 25% obscured." - The Rules, page 108

vulerance

wat

Maybe my local's playing it wrong, but we treat MCs like vehicles in that regard.

Wrong, but entirely sensible.

[Archon Charybdis]

Wrong, but entirely sensible.

I'll say it again, that and probably dropping FNP as a default GC rule would balance them just about perfectly. It'll also make me feel not so bad for the Scabiethrax, the Nurgle GC who pays for FNP that everyone else now gets free.

[YorkNecromancer]

What if there were two types of Sniper? Like Skyfire makes you good against flyers but bollocks against everything else - a Sniper type that puts paid to GMC, but is so unwieldy that it's inefficient against literally everything else.

Say we call one Sniper, and the second Antimateriel.

Sniper is the basic type we have now. Antimateriel has Poisoned (2+), and a special rule saying it wounds GMC on a 4+ but with the cost of giving the unit Slow and Purposeful (or maybe Ordnance, even though it's an Infantry weapon?), because of the delicacy of the equipment or some other fluff justification? Or maybe some other rule that says it cannot be fired without having done nothing in the previous turn (to represent the colossal size of the weapon/setup time needed).

[Fueldrop]

Really, after all the sniper nerfs since 5th (No rending means goodbye to hail Marys against light vehicles, No pinning means no use as psychological weaponry [which was one of the only uses of snipers against an army like guard]) in exchange for a very low chance of getting to pick your target, which is then vanished by a look out sir roll, I think that throwing them a bone would be nice. The only thing they're really good at by now is taking shots at monstrous creatures.

[Gridlock]

Really, after all the sniper nerfs since 5th (No rending means goodbye to hail Marys against light vehicles, No pinning means no use as psychological weaponry [which was one of the only uses of snipers against an army like guard]) in exchange for a very low chance of getting to pick your target, which is then vanished by a look out sir roll, I think that throwing them a bone would be nice. The only thing they're really good at by now is taking shots at monstrous creatures.

Yes i remember reading a Dark Eldar guide back when the Dark Eldar got their first upgrade back in 5th.
They had this really nice sniper weapon the Haemonculus could equip.
Now it´s gone and i think it´s really a shame, because shooting is about the only thing the DE can still do.
In close combat we get slaughtered by overwatch.

[Archon Charybdis]

In close combat we get slaughtered by overwatch.

Wyches do, but Wyches have been bad pretty much since 6th edition hit. Just about everything else holds up reasonably to perfectly well. Grotesques and Talos aren't overly concerned with overwatch.

[Gridlock]

Maybe not, but then again you KNOW there is a problem with your Codex when you have one trick ponies and they don´t do that trick very well or at all.
Wyches and Bloodbrides are our main close combat units and as you said ever since 6th edition they have been a joke.
As for Talos and Grotesques i would say what are they even doing fighting normal troops? before hand these where the guys you threw against the elite the Terminators, Dreadnoughts etc etc.