Tau questions

[Oroku Saki]

I'm new to the game, I haven't even actually played yet, but I have begun to build a Tau army and was wondering on what to and how to equip my XV8 crisis suits. I figured I wanted to make the squad specific to one task and therfore believe I will equip them with missile pods and plasma rifles to be a good mid range unit. My question is, if I want them to fire twice, which I believe they are capable of, do they need to be "twin linked?". I don't understand what that means and was wondering if there has to be anything physically on the model to represent that?

[Katharon]

I would suggest equipping squads to have direct combat roles, such as one squad having all plasma rifles, or all missile pods, etc. If you decide to have a mixed-bag, that will make your army even-handed across the board...which can either give you a small amount of response to something.

I prefer to run my XV8 squads in dedicated combat roles. Their maneuverability means that there should never be a problem of them being out of place.

[Path Walker]

I'm new to the game, I haven't even actually played yet, but I have begun to build a Tau army and was wondering on what to and how to equip my XV8 crisis suits. I figured I wanted to make the squad specific to one task and therfore believe I will equip them with missile pods and plasma rifles to be a good mid range unit. My question is, if I want them to fire twice, which I believe they are capable of, do they need to be "twin linked?". I don't understand what that means and was wondering if there has to be anything physically on the model to represent that?

Twin Linked is a rule where you can reroll you shots if you miss, you model it by having two of the same weapon, so because you have 3 hardpoints, you would have 2 Plasma Rifles and a missle pod, for example, and the Plasma Rifles would be twin linked

[Gamgee]

Run one squad with one gun on everyone. This way you have dedicated teams. Missiles and Fusion are the kings of suits right now. Fusion is our only reliable anti-tank other than the Y'vahrah from FW which is probably out of your price range and obviously FW. Not all places accept it quite yet from what I hear but the acceptance is growing.

I keep them cheap as possible unless I got points to spare to add extra's onto them.

Skyray's are your current best source of ML support but it takes some skill to use them since you don't get as much ML's as with Pathfinders. I say Skyray's because they don't die from a single attack and leave you with nothing and are a lot harder to kill.

[Oroku Saki]

Thanks for the input. So if they get two shots regardless of twin linked or not, if I went with just plasma rifles do I need to put two of them physically on the model?

[Gamgee]

Yes. Well... in casual games most people are cool with you just saying they have two even if the model only has one. Always ask in advance. There are some super strict people out there who play it "as modeled" and might not accept that. Also tournaments are another matter I'm unsure of.

[SnakeChisler]

I put them on the shoulder for a friend the trick is to get some small rectangular magnets the size that goes in the slot gap where you'd put the missiles

In the weapons themselves you can attach the magnet by drilling a small hole putting a piece of metal wire in, this is just to keep the magnet attached to the flat surface while the super glue dries

With superglue a perfectly flat surface is needed a tiny pinch of green stuff can help get rid of blemishes

Its a bit of work but you can chop / change weapons on the suits rather than having to model them and keep as is and will help when building different point value lists

[Mr Mystery]

The arming of Titans must, by necessity, always be a compromise. To gain long range you must sacrifice firepower, and vice versa. You must approach this decision at two levels.
Firstly the level of the individual Titan. Consider carefully what it must achieve and how its armament will affect its ability to fulfil its objective.

Secondly, the level of the force itself: this may be the Legion as a whole or a battle group on a particular mission. Never forget that a Titan force is a team - a single body, and may have specialised members designed for specific tasks.

Meditate on the subject if you feel the need, or consult the Imperial Tarot. The decision is important, so do not take it lightly.
- De Bellis Titanicus, attributed

One from the vaults. Whilst your Crisis Suits are degrees smaller than even a Scout Titan, the quote still rings true

[Kirsten]

Thanks for the input. So if they get two shots regardless of twin linked or not, if I went with just plasma rifles do I need to put two of them physically on the model?

you can take two weapons the same and fire them both, or take two the same and twin link them for fewer points. it is up to you. I prefer to pay a little bit more and be able to fire twice, rather than fire once and re-roll misses.

[Mr Mystery]

Yup.

With the judicious application of Marker Lights, you can reduce your dependency on twin-linking quite nicely, and I for one am always in favour of just rolling more dice in the first place (as long as you're not rolling more dice than you're actually allowed)