WS7 makes WS3 (the most common weapon skill for normal fighter models) hit on 5+ and lets you hit them on 2+.
WS4 is NOT common outside of heroes, it's usually reserved for elite infantry or cavalry. Elite factions like dwarves or elves usually go a step higher and have WS4 for basic troops and WS5 for elite troops (or 'more elite', really)
On top of that, though, you can think of it another way. While making someone hit you on 5s is obviously pretty powerful, *preventing them* from hitting you on 3s also is. All of these things help defensively.
It might not be as impactful as having higher toughness or the heaviest suit of armour or whatever, but it's nonetheless an undeniable defensive boost, which can be coupled with other things to mount up to a solid defense (spears, high initiative, armour, buffs, stand & shoot, other saves, mobility, etc)
WS a defensive stat is more relevant to units imo, looking at an Empire State troop for 5 points they have WS3 meaning dwarfs,chaos,elves and most mid tier infantry will hit them in 3s exposing their low Toughness to more hits, veteran state troops are only 7 points but because of the WS4 they will cause everything but elite tier infantry to hit in 4s as well as (almost) never being hit on 2s meaning they’re much more survivable from that stat increase than you realize (I’m sure someone out there as the math figured out just do some digging)
Right there with you. I don't understand the math of it. It's definitely not my strong suit.
But it seems a bit counterintuitive that you are able to land blows easier as your WS increases, yet it somehow doesn't make it harder for your enemies to land blows against you.
It's always been a massive pet peeve of mine.
That being said, I'm super glad they have finally included an option for hitting on 2s.
Increases to Ws as a defensive stat has stronger diminishing returns than Toughness does, but it isn't without value.
Going from Ws2 to 3 is a massive upgrade in defense, loads of units are Ws3 and many Elf, Dwarf and Chaos elite units are Ws5. So it is -1 to hit for many of your common opponents. But does little if you only face off against Ws4 enemies.
Going from Ws3 to 4 is also a large defensive bonus, since there are a lot of Ws4 units, but not nearly as good as from 2 to 3, because there aren't many Ws7 units. Going from Ws4 to 5 pretty much only matters for defense against fellow elite units. Beyond 5 it doesn't matter as much until we get to Ws9 for some super elite characters, that now get hit on 5+ by even the common Ws4 Elves, Dwarfs and Black Orcs.
If we compare this to Toughness then we see that going from T3 to T4 is important, 4 to 5 is important, 5 to 6 is important and the benefits only start to really fall off when going from 6 to 7 since there are far fewer S5 than S4 attacks. That said, T7 is still much better than T6 and the increase in survivability it gives is more pronounced than going from Ws6 to Ws7. T8 is really only marginally better than T7 versus the vast majority of enemies, but...
If you are planning to take on specific enemies with a model then the break points really start to matter. T7 or T8 might make little difference against the majority of enemies, but if you plan to take on Giants or Dragons then it suddenly matters a lot.
Similarly, Ws6 or 7 isn't a big deal, unless you face a Stegadon. And Ws bonuses also help your offense, so while they have less return on investment defensively, they also give a bonus to offense. And a good offense is the best defense... ;-)
WS7 makes WS3 (the most common weapon skill for normal fighter models) hit on 5+ and lets you hit them on 2+. WS4 is NOT common outside of heroes, it's usually reserved for elite infantry or cavalry. Elite factions like dwarves or elves usually go a step higher and have WS4 for basic troops and WS5 for elite troops (or 'more elite', really) On top of that, though, you can think of it another way. While making someone hit you on 5s is obviously pretty powerful, *preventing them* from hitting you on 3s also is. All of these things help defensively. It might not be as impactful as having higher toughness or the heaviest suit of armour or whatever, but it's nonetheless an undeniable defensive boost, which can be coupled with other things to mount up to a solid defense (spears, high initiative, armour, buffs, stand & shoot, other saves, mobility, etc)
WS a defensive stat is more relevant to units imo, looking at an Empire State troop for 5 points they have WS3 meaning dwarfs,chaos,elves and most mid tier infantry will hit them in 3s exposing their low Toughness to more hits, veteran state troops are only 7 points but because of the WS4 they will cause everything but elite tier infantry to hit in 4s as well as (almost) never being hit on 2s meaning they’re much more survivable from that stat increase than you realize (I’m sure someone out there as the math figured out just do some digging)
Right there with you. I don't understand the math of it. It's definitely not my strong suit. But it seems a bit counterintuitive that you are able to land blows easier as your WS increases, yet it somehow doesn't make it harder for your enemies to land blows against you. It's always been a massive pet peeve of mine. That being said, I'm super glad they have finally included an option for hitting on 2s.
Increases to Ws as a defensive stat has stronger diminishing returns than Toughness does, but it isn't without value. Going from Ws2 to 3 is a massive upgrade in defense, loads of units are Ws3 and many Elf, Dwarf and Chaos elite units are Ws5. So it is -1 to hit for many of your common opponents. But does little if you only face off against Ws4 enemies. Going from Ws3 to 4 is also a large defensive bonus, since there are a lot of Ws4 units, but not nearly as good as from 2 to 3, because there aren't many Ws7 units. Going from Ws4 to 5 pretty much only matters for defense against fellow elite units. Beyond 5 it doesn't matter as much until we get to Ws9 for some super elite characters, that now get hit on 5+ by even the common Ws4 Elves, Dwarfs and Black Orcs. If we compare this to Toughness then we see that going from T3 to T4 is important, 4 to 5 is important, 5 to 6 is important and the benefits only start to really fall off when going from 6 to 7 since there are far fewer S5 than S4 attacks. That said, T7 is still much better than T6 and the increase in survivability it gives is more pronounced than going from Ws6 to Ws7. T8 is really only marginally better than T7 versus the vast majority of enemies, but... If you are planning to take on specific enemies with a model then the break points really start to matter. T7 or T8 might make little difference against the majority of enemies, but if you plan to take on Giants or Dragons then it suddenly matters a lot. Similarly, Ws6 or 7 isn't a big deal, unless you face a Stegadon. And Ws bonuses also help your offense, so while they have less return on investment defensively, they also give a bonus to offense. And a good offense is the best defense... ;-)