Pulse Rifles

[Inst]

I was just looking at Brian's avatar, and hey, I thought:

Do Pulse Rifles actually have rapid-fire as default? I thought they would be more like British infantry; when they open up they fire single-shot bursts as opposed to three-shot bursts.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

*AHEM*

http://www.tk560.com/studioprops/studioprops-Images/30.jpg

Yes, they are.

[Mr.Bookworm]

*AHEM*

[Aliens picture]

Yes, they are.

Psst, Hawk, this is Warhammer bidness.

Anyway, I dunno, actually. I'm not the most familiar with the Tau. Seeing as how advanced their tech is, though, I have no reason to assume their pulse rifles wouldn't be automatic.

[Bells]

*AHEM*

http://www.tk560.com/studioprops/studioprops-Images/30.jpg

Yes, they are.

This really looks like a plain Shotgun with an added Digital Ammo Display trapped in a big, pointless, Contraption . Seriously, it looks like it was design by Nintendo as a Wii peripheral or something like that...

http://www.eastern-empire.com/images/library/the_pulse_rifle.jpg

Theeeere we go.

[Mirai Gen]

I have a hard time taking that seriously when it starts using advanced scientific term yet can't spell "Theoretical."

Regardless it's all make believe anyway so I guess it works.

[Nikose Tyris]

I have a hard time taking that seriously when it starts using advanced scientific term yet can't spell "Theoretical."

in a game where orks THINKING that red makes things go faster translates to red things ACTUALLY GOING FASTER.

[Mirai Gen]

I did say it was all make-believe and therefore works.

Ork guns are better though, DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA = hey the gun's shooting!

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Psst, Hawk, this is Warhammer bidness.

And you fail at getting the joke.

This really looks like a plain Shotgun with an added Digital Ammo Display trapped in a big, pointless, Contraption . Seriously, it looks like it was design by Nintendo as a Wii peripheral or something like that...

Well... yeah! All the guns were basically designed like that. The Smart Gun too was just a german MG-42 with steady-cam harnasses and motorcycle handles stuck to them. What's the problem here??

[Heresy488]

Gawd Aliens was a badass movie. Seriously, was James Cameron ahead of his time on that Colonial Marine tech or what? Those Marines are still the most badass troops I've ever seen. So awesome! Anyway, that gun is based off the French Assault Weapon FAMAS, which happened to be the gun of choice for the Next-Gen Special Forces in the game Metal Gear Solid. Now you know :)



Anyway, I always thought the Tau Pulse Rifle was like the CoD4 M16. You can shoot it at the hip, but you don't really get the full mileage out of the weapon unless you're aiming down the sights. When you consider that the Pulse Rifle is STR 5 AP 5 range 30" - stronger than a Space Marine's Boltgun - this thing is freaking buff.

Versus say the Pulse Carbine which is obviously a sprayer. I love the pinning on it - too bad you gotta be within Ork-Furious Assault range to use it.

in a game where orks THINKING that red makes things go faster translates to red things ACTUALLY GOING FASTER.

My buddy plays Orks (we're going to have a 750 point match tomorrow ^^) and that's his favorite rule.

I have a hard time taking that seriously when it starts using advanced scientific term yet can't spell "Theoretical."

Regardless it's all make believe anyway so I guess it works.

Did you also notice it's from a Tau planet named Sephiroth, and acquired from another planet named "Fuck you"? Yea, you can see the artist put a tremendous amount of effort into making that picture, but those details like that, where they obviously ran out of steam and decided to give the reader the finger (and laugh to themselves that no one would notice) kills the mood. That artist had a real good thing going there and ruined it with those two crap jokes. Bah, stupid people.

Update: My army was able to pin the Orks in several compromising situations, and though my Battlesuits took a beating, my Cadre was able to devastate the Orks without a single Tau life lost.

The damage to equipment was fairly extreme. One vehicle left offensively impaired and no less than a dozen Gun Drones destroyed, and of course the damage to the Crises Teams that responded to the attack.

Nevertheless, destroying 4 Nobz and 17 Boyz in a single turn was the highlight of the match. The Orks will think twice before invading the realm of the Tau again... or they won't and rematches will occur endlessly :)


Also, my other friend who began collecting Space Marines chose the Dark Angels for his army. He'll begin painting immediately.

[Kepor]

Update: My army was able to pin the Orks in several compromising situations

Innuendo!

The Orks will think twice before invading the realm of the Tau again... or they won't and rematches will occur endlessly

I'm sure that will never happen.

[Bob The Mercenary]

I hated the Orks when I played. Fucking foot of Gork or Mork or whateverthefuck always taking out my archer line.

[krogothwolf]

Tau pulse rifles fire at 1/3rd the Rate of a Bolter so they aren't really rapid fire.

I played Blood Angels in my time and let me tell you, my chaplin led Death Company was god mighty. I even took down abaddon and his guard with them It was a joyous occasion. I never really had a problem with Tau due to the speed Blood Angels can get into Hand to Hand at. Almost every single one of my games I played there were very few units left on the map by the time it was over, it was pure mayhem and slaughter fest.

One game against an Eldar player by the end of my 2nd turn 80% of my forces had already invaded and engaged in hand to hand on his end of the bored. Guns don't work to well when a Chainsword is rippin your guts out.

[Heresy488]

After Action Report (AAR):


- Great Threat from Hive Fleet Arachnid -

Start: Investigating anomalous energy readings on a nearby planet of a Sept World, the Tau Cadre of Shas'o Khan discovered Genestealers projecting a telepathic beacon to summon more of their kind to ravage the planet.

No less than fifty of the beasts were found with support from Zoanthropes. Their horror was met by the noble and virtuous troops of the Cadre. However, insufficient time to ready the reinforced squads of Green and Silver squads as well as the new vehicles and Battlesuits meant that many personnel and equipment was deployed lacking the Cadre colors and standards. What more, whatever weapon systems that were installed on the Battlesuits at the time of delivery were what they were deployed with. Specializing the Cadre to the task was not an option.

The Cadre began their hunt, believing the Greater Good of their mission would see them through the day. If they could not stop the Genestealers then a whole Hive Fleet may appear next door to a billion defenseless Tau.

*** *** *** ***

The Devilfish's deployed carrying Red and Gold squads, with Silver squad flanking their right with Green Squad, Team 2 and Combat Drones in support of them. Flanking the APC's left were the Crisis Battlesuit Team with Green Squad Team 1 and the Commander in his recently re-armed Battlesuit. Confidence was high and the troops were eager to encounter the enemy.

The Zoanthropes were able to shoot first, but the difficulty of the terrain shielded the vehicles from the worst of it and the Cadre pressed on. The Stealth Team that deployed ahead communicated via burst transmission that they were in position to flank the first Zoanthrope and awaited orders. The Commander did not hesitate to train no less than a half dozen burst cannons on the abomination, and it was destroyed with extreme prejudice.


But this early kill only served to slacken the Tau's guard. Bursting from the earth, a Lictor pounced on the rear Devilfish and very nearly penetrated it's rear armor. The vehicle scurried out of the way to clear Line of Sight for Silver squad to shoot from cover, decimating the monster in a single volley of Pulse Rifle fire.

That Lictor was but a taste of things to come. On the third turn, the entirety of the Tyranid force appeared via Deep Strike, five squads of Genestealers, ten creatures each, and a horrid Genestealer "hero" of some kind, if that word can be misused in such a context. They flanked Green Squad Team 1 and the Battlesuits, and destroyed them all to a man. The Stealth team that had emerged from hiding earlier shared a similarly gruesome fate in a single round of close combat.

Red and Gold squads deployed from their transports and took covering positions adjacent to Silver squad. From three directions, the monsters spewed from the holes and crevices of the broken planet, and the Tau found themselves surrounded. Silver squad, the real heroes of the battle, scored no less than ten hits out of twelve shots and caused wounds on all the creatures, however the armor of the beasts was too much for the advanced weapons to find homes.

By turn six, even the stalwart Tau Commander lay slain. The Gun Drones were similarly unable to find success against the beasts - either they knew the futility of hiding or were too stupid to know the threat against them, but every Tyranid repeatedly passed their morale test against pinning from the Pulse Carbine fusillades.

Every Tau who was caught by the beasts and forced to fight hand-to-hand was killed, mercilessly. Many Genestealers were slain, of that have no doubt. But if it had not been for the quick-recall of the Cadre via teleportation, surely the battle would have ended in a route. The Genestealers still own the planet and though the casualties they sustained weakened their psychic beacon, all this attack bought was time at the expense of lives. That is not the Tau way of war, and lessons must be learned from this encounter so that the same mistakes are not repeated.

- The Tyranids were able to make excellent use of cover to obscure Line of Sight and gain cover saves against weapons that normally would have pulverized their carapace to goo. Flanking tactics and advantageous positioning must be emphasized.
- Stealth Teams are not to be deployed unless the Cadre is in position to support them. Certainly, had the Team not revealed itself from so far away, at least one of the Fire Warrior squads would have been able to cover their movement.
- Vehicles are a tool to be used and not precious commodities to be hoarded. Mistakes were made while acting to preserve the Cadre's vehicles. If they had been used more offensively, as many as double as many Tyranid could have been destroyed. Their lack of heavy weapons made the vehicles perfect tools for setting up artificial barriers for flanking and restricting their movement.


Finally, the loss of two Commanders in three battles in unacceptable. The nature of war notwithstanding, the facts remain that the Ork Warboss that had been harassing the nearby colony in the system still lives, and the Tyranid "commander" as well still lives. Firing discipline and restraint must be emphasized to our officer corps, lest we lose too many Commanders and find ourselves with no one to lead the Cadre into battle. Promotions through the usual channels of the chain of command proceeded smoothly, and for that we are all thankful.


Shas'o Khan, out.

End.

[krogothwolf]

Ouch, Tau getting into close combat against Tyranids is a nasty way to go. What do you use as a hand-to-hand combatant as a buffer for the shooters? Or do you just hope you don't enter Hand-to-hand?

[Kerensky287]

So, what, is this a Warhammer thread now? Because it's about time we had one.

Of course, I haven't had time to play in ages so I can't really contribute other than that it's too fucking expensive.

[krogothwolf]

I was going to make one earlier but then everyone started going on this one, would it be better to actually start a Warhammer thread instead of going Offtopic on this one?

[Heresy488]

The Tau are not an exclusive army - they have rules for accommodating any race into their Cadres, even humans. So I could buy a Platoon of Imperial Guard and have them operate as auxiliaries :) The purpose of the Tau is to unite the galaxy in a multi-racial conglomerate.

For close-combat, there are Tau-unique mercenaries called the Kroot. They are these reptilian guys with cool bayonets at the end of their rifles. The Kroot hide in cover then burst out shooting and cutting. Think Orks mixed with Velociraptors. The Kroot even take a turn after melee to eat the dead - really cool.

I have Kroot, just not assembled or painted yet. Their models are hyper-detailed, and it's a little intimidating. But yea, the Tau's tactics are to stay at range at all costs. If that's not an option, send in the Kroot.

[Inst]

Don't forget Fish of Fury, where Fire Warriors in a Devilfish deploy in rapid-fire range against wounded targets.

By the way, regarding British soldiers, their weapons ARE automatic. They're just trained to do accurate single-shots, which may be akin to the condition of the Tau Fire Warriors.

[Heresy488]

HEY MODERATORS! (if any of them are paying attention)

How about a Warhammer 40k sub-forum, for posting entertaining battle reports, short stories about our armies, and generally discussing the game? I have several more fights I can type out, and I am seeking advice on the best way to counter Ork Deffcopters (they have the twin-licked Rokkit launchers and are killing my Battlesuits).

I'm just saying, there's an audience of at least 1 for a new sub-forum.

[Kim]

Doesn't this thread suffice?

I mean, we don't have a D&D subforum, or a Final Fantasy subforum, or a [insert whatever franchise thingy here] subforum. I don't really see us needing or getting an entire subforum for Warhammer.

[The Wizard Who Did It]

I was going to make one earlier but then everyone started going on this one, would it be better to actually start a Warhammer thread instead of going Offtopic on this one?
There's only so much space for different threads. It's much more efficient to derail and defile current threads into your desired nature than to worry about such things as "logic" and "topic organization".
I mean, we don't have a D&D subforum, or a Final Fantasy subforum, or a [insert whatever franchise thingy here] subforum. I don't really see us needing or getting an entire subforum for Warhammer.
This does call into question how annoying it is to deal with another subforum. It's not necessary, but are there any negative effects to giving people some space to nerd over their expensive hobby?

[Kim]

Yes, because once we have a subforum dedicated to one specific game, it all goes downhill from there. Pretty soon we'll have entire subforums dedicated to my Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Yaoi FanFics, or a subforum where the creepy FifthFiend stalkers can talk about Fifth's book he's maybe possibly writing if he does in fact write books. My recommendation is if you want to talk about Warhammer or D&D or what-the-fuck-ever a huge lotta bunches and you need an entire subforum for it, go join or create a forum that exists for that specific thing. If you go the creating a forum route, go ahead and throw a link in your siggy.

[Heresy488]

Yes, because once we have a subforum dedicated to one specific game, it all goes downhill from there. Pretty soon we'll have entire subforums dedicated to my Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Yaoi FanFics, or a subforum where the creepy FifthFiend stalkers can talk about Fifth's book he's maybe possibly writing if he does in fact write books. My recommendation is if you want to talk about Warhammer or D&D or what-the-fuck-ever a huge lotta bunches and you need an entire subforum for it, go join or create a forum that exists for that specific thing. If you go the creating a forum route, go ahead and throw a link in your siggy.

But we like it here :)

What you do is exercise some restraint. You just say, "We're going to make a Warhammer sub-forum, and that's it. If it turns out to be a huge success, people are cordial and participate in it and it's a lot of fun, we'll consider adding more for other niched games. But no - the creation of one sub-forum is not a precedent that more are forthcoming."

[Kim]

"Why do you Warhammer players get your own subforum dedicated entirely to Warhammer, but we D&D players don't get one dedicated to D&D? And what about Final Fantasy? Not only did you guys get your own Warhammer subforum, but 8-Bit uses Final Fantasy sprites. Why can't we have an entire subforum dedicated to Final Fantasy? That isn't very fair."

You see the problem yet?

[krogothwolf]

Nope don't see a Problem there at all

[Nikose Tyris]

We have a subforum for that.

http://forum.nuklearpower.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

It's called "Playing Games." It includes Tabletop games.