[RuleLawyer]

SR5 Notes about Cover, paraphrased from page 190 CRB.

Good Cover (more than 50%, +4 dice for Defense Test) and Partial Cover (25 to 50%, +2 dice for Defense Test) both benefit a Defender against Ranged Attacks. This modifier applies to your Defense Test against regular Ranged Attacks and also against incoming Indirect Combat Spells that allow a Defense Test.

However, the attacker now hits on a tie (Cover, p. 190).

Therefore statistically, Partial Cover is bad for you. I assume someone pointed this out way back in 2013 and I just missed it.

[PiXeL01]

Where does it say attackers win ties in SR5?

[RuleLawyer]

(Cover, p. 190)

If you attack someone in cover and you tie in the Opposed Test, you hit your target through the cover she’s using.

[Michael Chandra]

I recall it does add some bonus then from the cover on the soak?

[Xenon]

Statistically, getting +4 dice to defend is slightly better than attacker win on tie.

Also, on a tie your attack will hit the cover first. If attacker is not using a penetration weapon or if dv is to low when compared to armor then defender might not get hit at all anyway.

I think what you should be mostly concerned with is if defender is in 100% cover (or otherwise cannot see the ranged attacker), because in this case defender don't get to take a defense test at all and just roll 4 dice in a pool of its own while the attacker take a negative dice pool of 6 dice (good tradeoff for an attacker with 20+ dice).

[Shinobi Killfist]

I always thought that was a crap rule. You aren’t actually dodging bullets you are moving erratically to make yourself a harder target. Which you will do whether in full cover or no cover. It’s stupid to penalize people for taking full cover.

[Michael Chandra]

Fortunately in SR6 I don't recall any 'no defense test' scenarios.

[Shinobi Killfist]

Fortunately in SR6 I don't recall any 'no defense test' scenarios.

That’s good to hear. Outside surprise or your paralyzed I never thought it worked. And even surprised Id like to give people something like maybe just intuition.

[Michael Chandra]

Those who fail this test also roll
Initiative, but they cannot act or spend Edge in
the first combat round. They still roll to defend
against attacks and to soak damage, but they cannot
take any actions on their own. Once that first
combat round is over, they can act normally.

So no Full Defense or Block or so on, but still a normal defense test.

[Shinobi Killfist]

I like that. Less instant death because of a ambush or sniper etc. especially in this system with almost non existent soak for many builds.

[Xenon]

This topic is about SR5 I think.... ;-)