Ideal positioning will be somewhat dictated by your opponent's unit formation (is their unit wide or deep?) and proximity to other units (are there a bunch of units close together?). However, best case scenario typically involves firing from the flank (outside of charge arcs) into units with large numbers of models (or low leadership units outside of the general's bubble). I believe that the optimal range to fire from is about 8".
Agreed. Out of sight and about the length of the template away. This way you should end up hitting the unit no matter what the distance rolled is. The best would be to fire in an angle and to maximize the length of the target unit whether it's from the flank or from the front. I occasionally just place down the template in the movement phase to measure the "optimal" distance and move my salamander at the narrow end. BR Agrem
I agree with both of the above, but optimal distance also depends on the unit. I agree big units 8" away is perfect but with smaller units and units with low leadership outside general's bubble I tend to go for just under 10" so on a 2 of the artillery dice still clips the unit and less chance of overshooting. I know its not a massive deal but just the way I do it
You need to way two factors when deciding how to line up the shot. 1) Will this Salamander position give me a nice straight line over several vulnerable models? 2) Will this position open my Salamander up to a retaliatory charge that will destroy my Salamander(s) easily? If 1) is ideal you can sometimes risk a losing your Salamander to a charge next turn. If 2) is ideal you can cope with a subpar shot. If enemy retaliation is not an issue, I like to position the Salamander a flame template away from the target unit. That gives me an acceptable risk of over or undershooting. Overshooting is rare, undershooting is almost impossible. Now if the target unit you are pointing at has another enemy unit adjacent to it, you can get your Salamander a bit closer. If you overshoot the first target you get to hit the second one. For more Salamander fun. Check out the Salamander Tactica.