Hey everyone! I'm looking to understand whether you can use the Forward Observer ability as part of a Coordinated Order that involves BS Attacks by the other models involved? I've found some threads about the subject on the forum, but I was unable to find a definitive answer... Some people suggest that because "Forward Observer" is a separate skill from the common skill "BS Attack" (despite having the label "BS Attack" and the BS Attack itself referencing to "using a BS Weapon, or a Skill or piece of Equipment capable of making a BS Attack"), it's use in this case is not allowed. Then again, as skills such as "Surprise Attack" and "Triangulated Fire" also spesify the use of the "BS Attack Common Skill", this would mean that FO is also incompatible with them too then? Then again, on this thread @Mahtamori seems to indicate that Forward Observing with Triangulated Fire is ok... The BS Attack trait itself says "The use of this Special Skill or piece of Equipment is a form of BS Attack. (See FAQs & Errata. BS Attack Damage MODs etc. will apply.)" (All the bolds added by yours truly!) How are people playing this interaction (or rather, these interactions)? Using Forward Observing as part of a Coordinated Order to Target enemies for Guided strikes does seem like a valid tactic to counter tough ARO pieces if it's allowed, but if it isn't, then shouldn't that mean that FO is unusable in many other situation too? I'm not looking to pick a fight here, I'm just trying to figure if rounding out my competitive list with a couple of FO Bots is worthwhile or not! Thank you everybody in advance! :)
When using Triangulated Fire, the skill itself asks for a BS Attack which is why the interpretation that any skill with the label BS Attack (which means that the skill itself is "a form of BS Attack") is eligible. This doesn't mean it is the skill BS Attack, but a type of BS Attack. In other words, you're kind of replacing the skill BS Attack with a different skill that is also BS Attack. Coordinated Order restrictions work differently. They're not concerned with skill types, but rather that everyone does the same thing. Primarily what concerns us is the rule for Coordinated Orders say that "All participating Troopers must declare and execute the exact same sequence of Skills." this is further clarified in the rules a bit further down the page with the rules stating "However, in a BS Attack part of a Coordinated Order, none of the participants could declare Speculative Attack or Intuitive Attack, since these Skills are different than a BS Attack." so we know here that just because a skill is a BS Attack it doesn't mean that it is the actual skill BS Attack, it's not enough to be a kind of skill, it has to be the exact skill. So in other words, you can declare Coordinated Order with Forward Observer as one of the skills, but then all troopers will be declaring Forward Observer and any trooper without that skill will be performing an Idle since Forward Observer is not a weapon by a skill in and of itself. You can also opt to declare for example Triangulated Fire using Forward Observer, but all troopers will be declaring the same sequence, none of them can replace Forward Observer with BS Attack because that's a different sequence of skills. https://infinitythewiki.com/Coordinated_Orders#Coordinating_Skills
Thank you for the swift reply, this seems fair enough! I guess I was thrown off by the fact that on the wiki clicking on the BS Attack text on the Triangulated Fire page redirects you specifically to the skill BS Attack rather than to the trait BS Attack! Have a great evening!
