There are a lot of questions on this board about the aim manuver, but i can't find exactly what i'm looking for, so i hope this is the right place to ask.

Can you use the aim manuver out of combat? Can i sit on a roof with my sniper rifle and spend time to aim, and then when combat starts already have one or both of my aim manuvers ready to go on the first round, without the cost of strain? it makes tons of sence to me, but do the rules support it?

RAW says what the manuver does in combat, but i can't find any information on weather manuvers are even usabel outside of combat, and if so, how they work.
i know a GM can rule whatever he or she wants, but i'm trying to find somethign in the book(s) to help out with this. thanks

As far as I can tell, there's no official word on this. It hasn't come up in one of the developers' answers, and the rule books don't mention this situation at all.

However, I'd dare say this requires no official ruling: If your party's the initiating side (so: if they roll Cool for initiative) and you have proper line of sight to your target from the get-go, then take your time to aim twice, let everybody do their party-buffing talents (if existent) and whatever other shenanigans they can prepare, and then start combat.

You can Aim in sequential turns, so you don't have to spend Strain to take a second maneuver in a turn. Or you can downgrade your action to a maneuver and get 2 Aims that way, shooting on the next turn.

As for pre-Aiming, ambushes in general seem to cause some confusion, and it's important not to overthink it. Single rolls can encompass a lot of activity, and you want a solution that works for all situations, not this one-off you're describing.

The simplest solution is to roll Cool as usual, and then let the PC use their advantages or Triumph to get a free maneuver. If you're generous, you might allow 2A per Aim or 1T for 2 Aims. The party can then decide which PC goes in which slot, and the shooter can go first if that's what everyone wants. This does mean the opposition can use Vigilance results in the same way though...

An additional factor might be if the party takes a lot of time to set up a good ambush, using Stealth, Leadership, Streetwise, or whatever fits the situation. If they beat their opponents in that skill roll, then perhaps the ambushees roll their Vigilance against a difficulty die--or even two if the results are really skewed--rather than no difficulty as normal. The addition of the purple dice can really affect initiative, and the net effect could end up being the same as "Aim twice", or whatever other "free action" they want.

The important point here is to leverage the existing mechanics to create an overall narrative effect, without having to create special rules for every situation.

At my table, Yes if the target is visible before the encounter begins and the act of Aiming your weapon won’t trigger the start of the encounter.

If there’s a chance the target would see them then I may ask for a Stealth Check, with Failure adding Boost to the enemies Vigilance Initiative Check.

If you walked out onto the street and immediately spotted a gun pointed your way your gonna run!

Now I should add that at my table it’s possible to set up an ambush where the target of the ambush will have a difficulty die or two added to their Vigilance Check. The people setting the ambush will be rolling Cool

16 hours ago, FireDrakeK said:

There are a lot of questions on this board about the aim manuver, but i can't find exactly what i'm looking for, so i hope this is the right place to ask.

Can you use the aim manuver out of combat? Can i sit on a roof with my sniper rifle and spend time to aim, and then when combat starts already have one or both of my aim manuvers ready to go on the first round, without the cost of strain? it makes tons of sence to me, but do the rules support it?

RAW says what the manuver does in combat, but i can't find any information on weather manuvers are even usabel outside of combat, and if so, how they work.
i know a GM can rule whatever he or she wants, but i'm trying to find somethign in the book(s) to help out with this. thanks

Outside of combat, you don't do maneuvers or actions per se.

However, a boost die is something the GM should grant for 'favourable circumstances' (such as I've spent time sighting up the shot), which essentially duplicates the effect of you having spent time aiming.

So, rules as written, a 'dug in' sniper should get one or more boost dice on their first shot, but probably shouldn't benefit from anything which keys off aim itself (like True Gunner).

At the same time, there is an argument for whether you're not just 'winding' the start of combat back a round to the point you start aiming; presumably the target's made (and failed) something like a vigilance check to let you get sighted up on them, so could it not just be a case of calling that their initiative roll; if they're genuinely unaware of you, you'll get one round to aim whilst they sit there having a crafty cigarette, and then next round you fire.

Also note that unless this is the opening shot of a 'big fight' it needn't necessarily be a combat scene. Nothing stops the GM calling for a standalone ranged combat check just like a piloting check or a coercion check - pass/fail at appropriate difficulty, target gets shot from the other side of the square, no need to figure out damage, everyone E&E's back to the ship for tea and medals.