Warhammer 40k Tau Battlesuits: The Lone Wolves of the T'au Army

Only the greatest heroes of the Fire Caste stride to war in these mighty armoured machines, and they are the pride of the caste as well as one of the most important symbols of the T'au Empire. Battlesuits can easily lay down a withering hail of fire to destroy both infantry and armoured vehicles, and possess the resilience and speed to shrug off heavy fire. Though the armies of the T'au rely on their skimmer-tanks and the airborne gunships of the Air Caste for long range support, the battlesuits of the Fire Caste are considered to be the most efficient of all their many killing machines.

A battlesuit usually requires only one pilot, and often has much the same firepower as a tank or aircraft. When a cadre comprised of heavy battlesuits is deployed, it can change the course of a war. T'au Battlesuits are worn only by veteran T'au Fire Warriors, and vary in size, shape and tactical role. There are a variety of different models of T'au Battlesuits, each geared towards a different battlefield role.

Warhammer 40k Tau Battlesuits

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Known battlesuits range from the XV88 Broadside Battlesuit intended for heavy fire support and armed with weapons more similar to those found on the main battle tanks of other intelligent species, to the lightweight XV25 Stealthsuit which is designed for infiltration and sabotage operations. The mainstay of all T'au Battlesuits, however, is the versatile XV8 Crisis Battlesuit and its multiple derivatives, which are capable of carrying a wide variety of weapons and support equipment to optimise them for fighting in any tactical situation or role.

In the cases of heavier battlesuits, additional nano-layers are added to upgrade the armour's thickness and grant even better protection. All T'au Battlesuits are piloted as much as they are worn, and no matter its model, each battlesuit is a high-technology marvel that maintains a balance between offensive capability, armoured protection, speed, agility and utility. It is little wonder then that only the most experienced of Fire Warriors are promoted to the rank of shas'ui, the first honoured grade within the Fire Caste deemed worthy to pilot a battlesuit.

Though early marks of the V-series inundated their pilots with deadly radiation, later models were able to account for this problem, at which point battlesuits began to be a mainstay of the military forces of the T'au Empire. It was not until the end of that first period of rapid growth that Battlesuit technology began to regularly appear within the Hunter Cadres. Not surprisingly, it was at these final stages that the T'au won their largest battles, as elite formations of newly-trained Battlesuit pilots began to refine their tactics to take advantage of what their armoured suits could do.

The greatest development, however, was the nanocrystalline alloy fio'tak that was dense, durable and incredibly light. Comparable in protection to Space Marine power armour, it enabled the Earth Caste to build more resilient battlesuits without hampering manoeuvrability, an important consideration when taking into account the Fire Caste's desire for fast, mobile warfare.

Yet the Earth Caste did not stop there. As the T'au Empire expanded across the stars, the Hunter Cadres encountered new and more deadly alien races, prompting the Earth Caste to develop new battlesuits to fulfill particular battlefield tactical roles or face certain foes.

There is broad range of T'au Battlesuits, and each has their own specialised tactical role. All nomenclature of battlesuits mentioned here are their Imperial designations rather than the actual names for the different battlesuit variants used in the T'au Lexicon. Imperial interrogations with T'au prisoners have yielded the term Her'ex'vre as the name in the T'au Lexicon for their single-pilot battlesuits. This roughly translates into Low Gothic as "Mantle of the Hero."

The first number indicates the battlesuit's mass class, with "1" being the lightest and smallest battlesuit in the T'au arsenal, to "9" indicating a large, heavily-armoured and potently armed battlesuit. Those battlesuits which have a specific and confirmed specialised function are then given a second numerical designator, while those considered general combat utility battlesuits retain only the first numeral due to being considered the standard battlesuit of that mass class without any real specialisation.

It is of note that some battlesuits may have a secondary operational role, and so a rare third numeral may be included in its designation. Please note that the recently introduced XV104 Riptide, XV107 R'varna, and XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuits are uniquely named, for their three numbers are meant to be read as 10-4, 10-7, and 10-9 respectively; with 10 being the mass class and 4, 7, and 9 being the designator of their tactical role.

T'au Battlesuits are only piloted by those Fire Warriors who have proven themselves in battle and completed their first Trial by Fire to earn the Fire Caste rank of shas'ui. Often, the first battlesuits that Fire Warriors learn to pilot are the XV15 and/or the XV25 Stealthsuit, to complete their training in the arts of infiltration and ambush that they began as Pathfinders. Once their time utilising a Stealthsuit is complete, they are then given the honour of piloting an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit and becoming a member of the Fire Caste's elite.

Only the greatest commanders and warriors are assigned experimental weaponry or even entirely unique battlesuits. Such prototypes have turned the tide of many battles where the T'au Empire might have suffered grievous defeats without their pilots' intervention. In the hands of their esteemed wielders, their equipment can become the stuff of legends within the T'au Empire, for the tools and weapons heroes use to accomplish their greatest deeds are tied to their stores.

Standard nomenclature has these battlesuits categorized by two numbers - the first number denoting which mass class it belongs to, the second its role. For example, in the XV22 Stealth Battlesuit, the first '2' denotes it as a lighter-weight suit, while the second '2' means it is still undergoing field-testing.[2b]

Stealth Battlesuits, also called Stealthsuits, employ a holographic disruption field to make them hard to spot and target.Like the larger XV8 Battlesuit, the Steath Battlesuits incorporate a Jetpack in their design. Unlike other battlesuits, whose pattern derive from the mass-class, Stealthsuits are identified by the secondary number of "5" which denotes a stealth variantion of the mass-class standard pattern (such as the Ghostkeel).

The XV-46 Vanguard Void Battlesuit are fairly bulky battlesuits but not as large as the Crisis and Broadside Battlesuits. Their primary function is the exploration of derelict starships. There is a more advanced and heavily protected variant of this battlesuit used by Shas'el ranked Tau or higher called XV-46-4 Vanguard Commander Variant Void Battlesuit.[9]

With the codex confirmed for early 2022, GW has been showing more and more new Tau rules and what to expect with their upcoming 9th Edition codex book. This time they are showing how battlesuits will function in the new Tau codex and especially at close range.

Standard nomenclature has these battlesuits categorized by two numbers - the first number denoting which mass class it belongs to, the second its role. For example, in the XV22 Stealth Battlesuit, the first '2' denotes it as a lighter-weight suit, while the second '2' means it is still undergoing field-testing.

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