Cover from battlefield debris?

[Quantum]

In the rulebook one of the common types of terrain is battlefield debris. However its rules confuse me.

 

Battlefield debris falls within the category of 'obstacles', so infanty, beast and swarms behind it 'receive the benefit of cover'. I find it infuriating that while in the 9th edition a lot of effort is spent to properly define terms and statements, but does not elaborate on what exactly is meant in receiving the 'benefits of cover'. Still, from the context I assume it means a terrain feature that gives a unit the benefit of cover imparts 'light cover', 'heavy cover', and/or 'dense cover'.

 

Battlefield debris however, its list of terrain features does not state it has any of these three cover types, only that it has 'exposed position', meaning a unit on top of it does not receive the benefits of cover. But what is the point of that if a unit behind battlefield debris doesn't get a modifier due to cover anyway?

 

At first I thought it was a mistake, but it is not fixed in errata so it is probably a purposeful decision not to give soldiers hunkering down behind a big pile of rubble an armor modifier.

 

Then again, the rare rules seem to imply that if a unit gets the 'benefit of cover' but does not explicitly state which of the three cover types (like a unit that has a rule it gets the 'benefits of cover' even when not behind/in terrain), it should be treated as having light cover.

 

But if that is the case why not simply give battlefield debris the 'light cover' feature?

 

So my question is how does cover work with battlefield debris? 

[Cheex]

The idea is that Terrain Categories (amongst other things) will tell you when a model receives the benefit of cover. You then look up the Terrain Traits to see which of those traits are triggered by a model receiving the benefit of cover (e.g. Light and Heavy Cover).

 

There might be other rules (abilities, stratagems, etc.) that might grant the model the benefit of cover. However, being in an Exposed Position terrain piece stops the model from benefiting from cover, regardless of where the benefit comes from.

[BluejayJunior]

It's also important to point out that the traits listed for terrain pieces in the book are all suggestions. You and your opponent can assign any traits to any terrain pieces if that makes sense to both of you. So you can give battefield debris light cover, which would then benefit those units who are receiving the benefit of cover from that debris. 

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Here’s what I do at the start of every game - discuss what each piece terrain does or does not do. It prevents lots of potential arguments.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Black Blow Fly

[Quantum]

Thank you for your replies so far.

 

So the general consensus is that (at least for the example in the rulebook) battlefield debris, even when it gives a unit the 'benefit of cover', it does not actually impart 'light' 'heavy' or 'dense cover'. Moreover, if a unit receives the 'benefit of cover' from another rule (which usually means having 'light cover'), when it is on top op battlefield debris it loses that cover due to the 'exposed position' rule, correct?

[Leonaides]

Also, some rules key off a unit having the benefit of cover, usually this is in the way of an increase to armour saves but can also be an offensive bonus (do IF's still get a bonus if their target is in cover?). It doesnt need to define exactly which benefit the target unit gets with this wording.