Battlesuit discussion I have in the list above my suggestions for the suits stats. I will restate them below. They are my first suggestions but are not necessarily final and I'd like feedback and discussion on them. My primary goal with the similar size DC2 heavy suits is to give them different roles. I have given them all 4 shooting attacks each which I think is reasonable for a 100 point unit in a tau list. I have tried to differentiate the attacks to steer them into these different roles. Basically the stormsurge is the long range heavy hitter/armour destroyer. R'varna for semi-long range/fire support role, the riptide I think should be the medium range heavy hitter frontline unit like the fluff suggests. The Y'vahra is the close up and personal unit.
Basic statsI think we should keep the basic armour that Matt came up with as thats well established now. 3+ and deflector shield. DC2. Walker, Tau Jetpacks (not the R'varna). But is thick rear armour really warranted? Never really understood why they got that. Is there fluff justification or fragility reasons for giving rear armour? I can't really find that.
R'varna40k wiki wrote:
The R’varna has far heavier armour than its more mobile, Jetpack-equipped Riptide counterpart, allowing the pilot to stand firm in the face of any foe whilst the more mobile elements of this Hunter Cadre envelop and destroy them.
I think a 4+ reinforced is better than the 3+. It will save a few more regular hits than 3+ on average, but is of course a lot better against MW attacks. To much with the shield in mind? is 5+ better?
40k wiki wrote:
The XV107 R’varna Battlesuit’s greatest strength, much like the smaller XV88 Broadside Battlesuit, lies in superior ranged firepower. With a role focused primarily on long-ranged heavy fire support, the XV107 is easily able to bring its fearsome firepower to bear on infantry and vehicles, eliminating all but the most heavily armoured forms of each.
The R'varna is suppost to be a support long ranged unit. Anywhere between 45-60cm is warranted (long range in 40k but I guess in epic rather semi-long ranged). I think 45 cm is a good range for the submunition cannon. If we go 60cm it really replaces the broadsides so I don't want that. And for longer ranges there's also the storm surge and supremacy.
My suggestion is
2x Puls Submunition Cannons, 45cm 2xAP5+/AT5+ (epic uk has them with the same except for AT4+ instead).
I've tried to compare them to broadsides as they have the same price, total DC and role. The problem with AT4+ is that they outshine broadsides by a large margin, especially if ML are taken into consideration on top of being a lot more resilent. They would then on an advance be dishing out 12x AT3+ with ML. I don't think that's really warranted for a 300 pts formation. Do you disagree and should they have AT4+? thoughts or other suggestions?
Y'VahraForgeworld wrote:
...the XV109 Y'vahra is a Class 10 Battlesuit designed for devastating frontline shock assaults...
...The XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuit's greatest strength, much like the smaller XV9 Hazard Battlesuit, lies in superior short-ranged firepower...
...to facilitate this role, the Y'vahra is equipped with a triple barrelled phased-plasma flamer capable of vaporising even hardened ceramite, and a massive EMP discharge cannon designed to incapacitate enemy war engines...
So it's a specialized unit with really powerful but close range attacks.
Ionic Discharge Cannon, 15cm, MW3+
Trippel barrled phased plasma flamer, 15cm, 3xAP3+/AT4+, IC
AND small arms, EA(+1), IC
I based my suggestions loosely on the 40k stats which suggest the Discharge cannon to be really powerful (fusion weapon level) and the flamer with a medium-ish strength. Powerful enough? Maybe TK(1) on the discharge cannon is needed? I think that would be ok with such short range, but I'd rather start low.
It's a strong FF unit so it's stands out in the Tau army, but I think it's fair in the Vior'la list with it's theme and FF4+ FWs. I thought about no extra FF attack and 3+FF IC instead, but 3+ felt to strong for tau.
RiptideThis unit needs redesigning as with the stats from Vior'la 1.9 they fullfil the same role as the R'Varna. with it's jetpacks actually even longer ranged. It's weapons also need renaming as they are currently 3 main weapons of which the actual miniature of course can only have one. I want them to be a medium range unit to get us, the players, to use them more like the fluff suggests. For the longer ranges there should be the R'varna and the storm surge.
40k wiki wrote:
...The XV104 Riptide Battlesuit’s greatest strengths, much like the smaller XV8 Crisis Battlesuit, lies in mobility and ranged firepower -- it is designed to fulfil the same roles and deal with the same types of missions as its smaller cousin...
...XV104 Riptide Battlesuits will often be found in combat where the fighting is thickest and will take the brunt of any enemy attack so that the rest of a Tau Hunter Cadre can advance or retreat...
...Their Jetpacks also allow them to quickly plug gaps in Tau lines and provide covering fire for their colleagues whilst shielding their allies with their armoured bulk...
Missile drones, 45cm, AP5+/AT5+
Nova Charged Hvy Burst Cannon, 30cm, 2x AP4+/AT5+, Lance
Twin Fusion Blasters, 15cm, MW4+
An attack at 45cm, and still capable at 30cm with lance giving some hard hitting power with lance. To little? Maybe AT4+ on the lance attack? I think this makes for a medium range unit, that rewards the player for risking moving up close to enemy. I think this will promote a play style were they are the front line unit soaking up enemy fire.
There's a bit of MW-spam going on in this list that I'm vary of. So I have tried limit them to the shorter ranges for most of the suits, but also with the theme in mind to push the player to get close with the opposing forces. Basically I want long range MW/TK to be in the support and fliers section.
StormsurgeI added the cluster rocket system to the 1.9 stats, as that's a standard weapon on the miniature and I found them to be somewhat lacking. this makes them slightly more versatile.
Cluster Rocket System, 45cm, 2xAP5+SupremacySame reasons here for adding the tri axis cannons. They're a standard weapon on the miniature and the unit felt like it was lacking a bit in firepower for a small class titan.
The bigger change though is an idea I again borrowed form the UK list. It's to have main weapon being optional. I presented these stats in the 1.9 thread before and restate them here for discussion.
2x Tri-Axis Ion Cannon, 60cm, AT4+
Heavy Rail Cannon 90cm, MW3+, TK(D3)
OR Nexus Missile Array 120cm, 3xMW6+, guided (6+ sounds bad, but remember that's MW4+ on a sustain that can hit the opponents zone turn 1, but if found lacking then maybe 5+?)
OR Pulse Ordinance Multi Driver, 45cm, 5xAP4+/AT5+, indirect fireThe heavy rail cannon has stats in epic so it's not changing, but I'd like to hear feedback on the other two options. I'll quote my self from the other thread.
Borka wrote:
I don't think the pulse ordnance should be able to hit the opponents deployment zone without the risk of putting a ML unit up close, hence I suggest 45cm om the latter. It also has considerably lower maximum range than the other two weapons in 40k so that has some precedence (72" vs 120").
I'm in favor of removing the BP. What options do we see for the Multi-driver if no BP? Would 5x AP4+/AT5+ (the equivalent of 3 BP hit stats) be reasonable? Perhaps 4x instead? These attacks are better in a some ways than now, because they would benefit from ML.