This seems like it would have been asked before, but my cursory search did not turn up a definitive answer so assistance would be appreciated. The issue in question is whether or not an AROing unit must choose which Holoecho to target in a face to face roll. The reason it's a question is because there seems to be conflicting information in the rules regarding when the Holoechos are removed from the table. In the Cancellation section of the Holoecho state, the following text is used: "Whenever the Holoecho state of the Holoprojector L2 bearer is canceled, remove all the holographic decoys at the end of the Order that happened. If the bearer was hidden as a Holoecho Marker or as a different model, replace it with the bearer's model, facing the same direction, at the end of the Order that happened." This is later emphasized by being repeated: "Anytime a holographic decoy cancels its Holoecho state the player must remove its Holoecho from the table at the end of the Order that happened." The Italics emphasizing that sentence are actually in the book (and wiki), I did not add them. These sentences say that the Holoechos are not removed until the conclusion of the order, which would necessitate the AROing unit choose which one to shoot at, this is simple enough to parse, but unfortunately one of the examples in Holoprojector contradicts this: "In their Reactive Turn, the Fusiliers Angus and Silva see how three Lù Duān come at them. In fact, there is just one Lù Duān with its Holoprojector L2 activated. Trusting in its equipment, the Lù Duān declares Move to get closer to its enemies. Angus and Silva decide to delay their ARO until the Remote declares the second Short Skill of its Order. The Lù Duān declares Surprise Shot L1, revealing itself automatically. The player removes the holographic decoys and places the model in the position he has already noted. Now Angus and Silva declare their AROs, BS Attack, but they have to apply the -3 MOD to BS provided by Surprise Shot L1." This example directly contradicts the twice written and emphasized "remove the holoechos from the table at the end of the order" sentence in the actual rules text, by saying that the holoechos are removed mid-order (allowing the AROing unit to know which is real) rather than at the end. Which is correct?
The decoys are removed at the end, but for the purposes of the example it doesn't matter - the 'real' trooper gets revealed as soon as Surprise Shot is declared, letting the reactive troopers know which of the three Holoechos to shoot at.
Thanks for the quick response. Why does it emphasize that the echos aren't removed until the end of the order if their existence is irrelevant?
Because if you have an Impact Template Weapon sometimes it's better to shoot at one of the decoy Holoechos and catch the real trooper in the blast, or even some other unrelated target.
For example if you're using a Shotgun, one of the decoys might be within 8" for a +6 MOD while the real trooper is behind them and more than 8" away. Plus you'll be avoiding the Surprise Shot MOD as the main target isn't the real trooper.
That makes perfect sense. I just don't see where it actually says the 'real' trooper is revealed. It's good to have an official answer though.
It's the first Cancellation bullet: The Holoecho state of the real Holoprojector L2 bearer is canceled, removing all the holographic decoys and placing the model in its real position, whenever: The Holoprojector L2 bearer declares a Skill other than Cautious Movement or a Short Movement Skill that does not require a Roll (except Alert).
But that section states that placing the model and removing the holographic decoys happen simultaneously, which is at the end of the order..meaning you don't place the real model until the end of the order, which would indicate you have to choose which one to shoot at mid-order when declaring ARO's. Hence the confusion and the question.
OK, that makes sense. Followup question: If a holoecho (represented by a model) is reacting in ARO, but the real model doesn't GET an ARO (because of different lines of fire for example), does the player have to reveal that the model is a Holoecho when it declares the ARO? Or can he wait until the conclusion of the order after the active unit declares it's second short skill?
The Holoecho section says: "The bearer of Holoprojector L2 and his holographic decoys act the same time, performing exactly the same Order declared." And later: "The Holoechoes are considered real troopers in regards to providing AROs, checking LoF, and activating enemy weapons or pieces of Equipment (Mines, E/Maulers, etc.), but since they act simultaneously, all three provide only one ARO to each enemy in LoF or ZoC." Which seems to indicate you need to check LoF to each one as if it were a real trooper, and that they all perform the same order declaration, indicating they can declare orders. It also says "In the Active or Reactive Turn, when activating the Holoechoes with an Order or ARO, the player must perform an Initial Coherency Check." which indicates you can activate them with an ARO.
As colbrook said, the decoys themselve only provoke ARO but they are not allowed to declare one. That said when the opponent move in LoF he will ask you what ARO you want to do with the model he clearly sees being in his LoF. You must answer with "I will not ARO" if it is a decoy because decoy cannot ARO. If it is the real model you can either announce that you are not taking an ARO or you can take your ARO as normal.
no, the bearer on which you spend the Order is the one announcing an Order (such as Move) which is then performed by everyone.
They are not considered a real trooper when it come to declaring AROs, only when providing AROs. Non-real models (such as decoy and deployed mine) cannot declare any ARO.
"I do nothing" is a valid enough answer, then it's the opponent's choice to declare if he wants to shoot or move or... And of course, if it's a camo you can declare delay, then do nothing. Doing otherwise means revealing that it's not a real trooper in all senses but the real one.
A holoecho cannot delay ARO against a marker, as that is an active declaration. Same for mines, ambush camo markers, etc. The only thing they can say in ARO is “no reaction”.
Note that while you must be a "troop" to delay ARO, The delay itself is not an activation, it wont trigger mines ect
Do you identify which model is the actual trooper when delaying or do you state the holoecho state trooper will delay?
