Total warfare fourth printing, quoting errata v5.0 pdf:
"When firing semi-guided missiles at any target in range successfully designated by a friendly TAG (below), the attacker ignores the target movement modifier (if firing indirectly, also ignore indirect fire, terrain and spotter movement modifiers)."
So you have a better chance to hit a tagged target when firing at them indirectly? Firing indirectly allows the attacker to ignore pretty much all the usual spotter modifiers (terrain, indirect fire, movement) as well as the targets movement modifier, but if you are firing directly the attacker only ignores the targets movement modifier, but not the terrain modifier? Suffice to say that makes zero sense, both situations have a tagged target ready to be shot with semi-guided missiles. How is firing at a tagged target with the attacker in the open and able to see the target through some terrain more difficult than firing at the same target with the attacker still firing through the same terrain but behind a hill? Please can someone verify that I'm understanding this correctly, because it doesn't make sense to me and its driving me nuts.
If that above paragraph is giving you a headache here is a list of modifiers I think apply for each attack:
Direct attack with semi-guided missiles at tagged target modifiers:
Attacker:
- Movement
- Heat
- Weapon Range
- Intervening Terrain between attacker and target
- Secondary Target
- Sensor destroyed
- Shoulder destroyed
- Arm Actuator destroyed
Tagged Target:
As per the rule as written Movement modifier ignored.
- Skidding
- Prone
- Immobile
Spotter with TAG:
Adds no modifiers to the attack, because its direct.
Indirect attack with semi-guided missiles at tagged target modifiers:
Attacker:
- Movement
- Heat
- Weapon Range
- Secondary Target
- Sensor destroyed
- Shoulder destroyed
- Arm Actuator destroyed
Tagged Target:
As per the rule as written Movement modifier ignored.
- Skidding
- Prone
- Immobile
Spotter with TAG:
As per the rule as written spotter modifiers ignored.
Sorry if this seems super obvious to all you battletech veterans here, but this game is the most impenetrable game I've ever tried to get into and no matter how many times I've read the TAG and semi-guided missiles rules they just don't seem right to me (I think I'm just trying to add too much logic to the mix), hence why its driving me nuts.