As Primarch and I described (in different ways) it is not so much that the shot actually misses the Titan entirely, it is more that it hits a non-critical location, one that is not likely to cause any problem for the operation of the Titan during battle. This was specified more clearly in 1st edition and 2nd edition used the deviation dice to simulate both that and not necessarily hitting the exact spot you wanted.
I will admit that "missing" when the To-Hit roll says you hit seems silly, but it is a part of the game and a balancing factor for Titans that can die utterly to one lucky shot. Perhaps we don't "need" the 'Miss/Superficial Damage' result, but if we get rid of it then it should be replaced by something. Extending the Damage charts could do it, as could giving locations the equivalent of Wounds (as you kinda mentioned).
Agreed, Penetrating is (at the moment) only about doing more damage. That was not really a good idea I guess. Thus we should either create a new Ability for it and assign it to weapons & models as appropriate, or tie the accuracy into the To-Hit value. The latter would be a easiest.
Agreed, a Head location should not be easy to hit. On a 2d6 chart, I'd probably put it at either number 4 or 5 (not both). Not right in the center, but not at an outer edge either. Yes, it doesn't take up a lot of area, but it is a popular target as a lucky shot can take out the Titan. Without running the math, perhaps:
2 - 3 Carapace Weapon (determine randomly if more than one)
_ 4 _ Head
_ 5 _ Arm Weapon (determine randomly)
6 - 8 Leg
_ 9 _ Carapace Weapon (determine randomly if more than one)
10-12 Arm Weapon (determine randomly)
This layout makes hitting an Arm Weapon slightly more likely than a Carapace Weapon, which is fine as they have more hit locations. Replace Head with Reactor for the Rear arc. The chart for side would have to vary by Titan design, as there are differences between a Reaver and Warlord.
Sorry, I've never played Battletech, so I have no experience with that. Thus that argument holds no importance to me. As far as time is concerned, 2nd Edition Epic has been doing it the way NetEpic Gold does it for nearly as long. Or vice-verse.
I suppose a Scout Titan could use 2d4 (or even 2d3, which would have an advantage as a d6 can easily be used as a d3) if you are concerned about the flat probability of a 1d6. I'm not very worried about it because a Scout Titan has very few hit locations at all, usually right around 6 or so.
Even if we did go with 1dX for each class, the Mega-class would have to use a d12 at least, possibly a d20, as the Imperator just has lots and lots of possible hit locations. I'm not even sure that 3d6 does it justice. It may need a 1d100 chart.
Actually, adding a rule that gives all non-Titans a +1 to hit any model of Battle Titan size or bigger could be interesting. It could possibly be extended to all Titans, and for that matter, could be against any model with a hit location template, as it is hard to miss something that is bigger than a building. On the other hand, if we did that, then we'd just about have to extend that to actual Buildings as well. Then it's just a short jump to to-hit modifiers based on Pinning Class and while *I* would like that level of detail, I know that many people would not. [Something like: all models gain a +1 to hit against a model for each step above the shooter's Pinning Class that the target is. For example, a Marine stand would gain a +3 to hit when shooting at a Super Heavy, but Titans would gain nothing vs anyone as nothing is a higher Pinning class than them.] (Yes, I know the phrasing on that is terrible and I don't care since it is not going to happen.)
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