I've got a few quibbles with the list as it stands at this moment.

So:


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1 - Orca

Problem: It's perhaps overly-fragile.
Proposed solution : Change 4+ armour to 5+ RA.



2 - Pathfinders

Problem: They're not unique enough for my taste.
Proposed solultion : Change Rail Rifle from AP4+ Disrupt to AP5+ Sniper. Because Rail Rifles are supposed to be Sniper Rifles anyway. That'll make the formation more unique-feeling. Likely points increase required.



3 - Ion Cannon Hammerhead

Problem : The Ion Cannon Hammerhead isn't as good as the other two Hammerhead variants, and likely won't see any gameplay.
Proposed solution : Either give it +1 to hit on the AP stat, or return the AA6+ shot it used to have back in the day. Either one will require renaming the weapon to "Hammerhead Ion Cannon" or similar to avoid other stat changes in the list.






That's it, for the moment.

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Sounds reasonable. 3+ would also be an option, yes? I'm not sure where the fragility lies.



Seems completely reasonable.



How about giving it an additional weapon alongside it's Ion Cannon (well, another additional weapon)? Something light, but useful.

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3+ would be better than 5+ RA. I don't think a big boost is needed.


That'd be making up stuff that doesn't exist.

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Orca: wasn't it meant to be somewhat fragile? What is the reason that it's fragility is now an issue?

Ion Cannon: Its meant to have a higher rate of fire than the rail cannon or fusion gun. Could it be made into a 2 shot weapon? 2x AP5/AT6?

Only in the same sense that the Heavy bolter has a higher rate of fire than the lascannon; the high rate of fire is basically why it's an AP weapon at all.

Yeah, but if you're going to fudge weapons anyway (Fusion Cannons), is it that big a deal?

Morgan Vening

If you modify the number of shots on the Ion Cannons, you're going to affect Ion Cannons across the entire list (Which are already balanced, more or less).

It would be preferable to just fix the Ion Cannon Hammerhead in isolation, IMO.


Another option would be to reduce the FF rating of the Railgun and Fusion Cannon Hammerheads to 6+, and leave the Ion Cannon Hammerhead at 5+.

Perhaps that's a preferable option to changing the Ion Cannon stat, actually, as it doesn't require the annoying fudge of creating a new weapon name.

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It's just a touch too fragile, IMO.

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You have already indicated that any changes will require renaming the weapon. I don't quite see how changing the number of shots is inherently problematic compared to adding AA shots?



Would that not create more problems? The HH formation is considered *almost* balanced now right? So a sudden drop (halving) of its FF power might throw that out again.

Orca: E&C can you explain *why* you think its fragility is now an issue?

Perhaps the Ion Cannon could be given the Disrupt ability. This would be in keeping with other Tau units and may help convey it's higher rate of fire over other Hammerhead mounted weapons. If AP 4+ was thought to garnish too many hits whilst carrying the Disrupt ability, the weapon could be raised to AP 5+.

So what? Makes just as much sense as the Hammerhead Ion Cannon working differently than every other Ion Cannon in the list.

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Rogue Trader Expedition 0.4
The Horus Heresy 0.5
Night Lords 0.1
My Trade Thread

Oh I've thought it's been too fragile for a long while. I've been arguing either for a drop in points or a boost in stats for ages.


Changing the to-hit stat on the Ion Cannon is very different to just adding a second gun on top and saying "Oh, all Ion Cannon Hammerheads also have a Fusion Cannon on top". One follows the background, and one is just making stuff up.


It's problematic whatever's done, no doubt about it.

But the Ion Cannon Hammerhead *is* inferior to the other two Hammerhead types.

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Just as it is in 40k. Honestly, they should just be cheaper.

Eh, maybe.

Standard formation could be 4 Rail or Fusion Hammerheads, or 5 Ion Hammerheads, perhaps?

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Or make the basic formation all Ion Cannon HHs. With a 25/50/whatever point cost to "upgrade any number of ion cannons to fusion/rail guns".

Edit: I still don't understand the reasoning behind your concerns about the fragility of the Orca E&C. Are they being shot down too often? By too little amount of flak? Too easy to kill with interceptors? Too fragile once they land?

They were always described as being not suited for "dangerous" insertions thus they had a lesser armour save than air transports that were designed for "dangerous" landings (THawk, Landa etc).

In a game versus Mephiston a while back he used 3 Orcas. I had 5 or 6 Hydras and Tbolts. I still only shot down 1 of them I think.