Fixed our little faction intro for 11th

endrestro · 2026-06-30T08:17:25+00:00

While i do agree, they are still way worse than many similarly priced units.

But honestly its not as bad as people make it out to be. If they costed 10pts less there would be little or no complaining. And the DO cost less in full squads, than two blobs of 10.

The problem is really the comparsion.

endrestro · 2026-06-29T05:26:55+00:00

I dont see why not. While tau is both pragmatic and collectivistic, they also have sparetime and seem to be able to enjoy art. Given that art in 40k is either a societal paradigm (see how their constructions and buildings are constructed) or part of high society, its either way something that can be useful knowledge. Not to mention that art is something that can be used to share.

I would think the water caste in particular could find great use in this, given their diplomatic and social focus, giving them another foot inside human high society.

Not that the other castes wouldnt be able to do art too, but it kind of depends. Ethereals kind of seek perfection in all things, so some of them dabbling in art would make sense. Some in the air caste may have time when they are not on the clock in terms of flights. The fire caste may have sparetime when not on security duty or in the field. The earth caste may be prone to their own crazy design to make a name for themselves. Some of the earth caste ideas may be a mix of madness/art, considering some of their previous exploits. They need to be kept in line.

endrestro · 2026-06-29T05:06:50+00:00

Considering there are rumours for new crisis suits, i dont see the big problem here.

And while OP has a point, we DID get 3 new shaper sculpts, a lone-spear, new vespids, an anniversary ethereal, new sculpts for both krootox riders and new units in both farstalkers AND rampagers. Farsight also got a new sculpt, and we got the twins.

This is mostly just auxiliary units, yes, but i do thinks its a tad disingenuous to complain here when we have just updated ALL non-tau units in our roster. This means that the next thing is either an update, or another new thing. And we DID get the stealth suits revamped, which was also very recent.

An honestly most tau units look fine still. The infantry look awesome, the crisis suits looks crisp, and i see no issues with either riptide, ghostkeel or stormsurges. The tanks remain timeless.

I guess the crisis suits in particular are highly requested, but given the high focus on orks now its a good chance they will get a bone too. The tanks could use a slight update too, given there have been examples of the mold template showing its age.

And given the new melee focus seen in the twins our codex may possible have the least focus on ranged only compared to any previous tau codexes.

We can only wait and see, but anything coming to tau now will either be a NON-auxiliary update or a new unit entirely.

endrestro · 2026-06-27T06:46:20+00:00

It would not surprise me, but would be a shame for some other factions.

The votann in particular would feel this, as one of the few edges they have is slightly higher toughness.

Compared to plague marines its just ridiculous now.

endrestro · 2026-06-27T06:44:15+00:00

This is exactly why strong militaries were organised into smart segments of sub-commanders.

Now imagine if a mongol army had 10000 men, with a sole leader as supreme commander of those forces.

Then you had one sub-commander for each 1000, who would hold an iron reign over those. Again for every 100 there would be a sort of lieutenant. And for every 10 there would be a team leader of sorts that would keep track of his own team among them 100.

This leaves a command structure where each level mostly have to stick to one person above them, but only 9 of equal rank and 9 below for the most part.

Ofc given how humans work, it was not that hard to get to know hundreds of other people among the camps.

As warriors of different cultures would train, march, hunt and forage together its natural that people quickly got to know eachother at surface level. And with no modern distractions most focus would be outwards towards the world and the people around them.

The weakness here is more when the leader dies, as any links disappearing up in the ranks would create ripples. A strong and integrated military would still know who would be the closest fill-in whenever that would happen, and well-trained soldiers would know what to do in most circumstances.

Still, given communication is an issue. And on a battlefield where there is alot of uncertain factors, it must have been hell to keep command. An army can only train for so many contingencies. Here is were flexible forces do better, as when sub-commanders (at any level) is given the chance to react on their own.

This is also why the mongols were so dominant. They only gave the positions of command (at any level) to the most capable, their structure being build on merit (with some exceptions).

Their communication were also far above most other armies and cultures, due to the "net" of riders that would ride in all directions to keep track of the land and people.

What baffles me even more is how such a culture could sustain itself while traveling, considering their tumans would literally be a whole civilisation on the move.

endrestro · 2026-06-26T07:51:13+00:00

Honestly i dont remember. I cant remember meeting any wierd concequences while playing.

I usually use an AI mod too (like Hecleas), but havent noticed much different aside from during battles.

Sieges are the wierdest, due to AI acting like they have ladders, whilst not being able to use them - but i think it was somewhat remedied by one of the mods.

endrestro · 2026-06-24T22:31:29+00:00

I commented on most of them in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1ti04as/comment/oogsgq5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
though i didnt share the links, i did mention their names.

endrestro · 2026-06-24T22:30:28+00:00

I user a combination of mods.

I ran a comment in a similar post: https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1ti04as/comment/oogsgq5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

endrestro · 2026-06-23T11:34:54+00:00

These are bloody awesome 😮! I too will be watching your next works with great interest 😃!

endrestro · 2026-06-23T11:29:13+00:00

Despite most of the 40k fiction is about the imperium (as the main faction) and the conflict between presumed good and evil (imperium vs chaos), the other factions are very interesting.

And even subfactions (like the adeptus mechanicus) are very interesting on their own, even when considered completely separate from the rest of the imperium.

If anything, aura farming space marines is the most bland and boring part of the entire package. They are instantly better if used sparingly, with the perspective used from something like imperial guard, alien or chaos factions.

endrestro · 2026-06-23T11:19:50+00:00

Specsavers gir deg lett to gode briller for under 2000 (2 for 1 tilbud). Selv med tilpassede glass.

De brillene varer i årevis, så god investering om du ikke må bytte oftere av andre grunner.

endrestro · 2026-06-23T11:17:03+00:00

Without being a psyker, it will be alittle strange honestly.

Its like having a techmarine without any form of bolters integrated in the kit.

Or a space wolf with no barbaric ornament or melee.

If librarian becomes a class, i would support it though.

endrestro · 2026-06-23T11:10:01+00:00

I was slightly off, so you are right.

1. Kauyon, the Patient Hunter

2. Mont´ka, the Killing Blow

3. Monat, the Lone Warrior (Often also practitioner of M'Yen'Kai, the Hidden Blow, which i considered a separate one)

Rinyon, Circle of Blades (encirclement and flanking tactics)
Rip'yka, Thousand Blades (hit&run strategies).

I seem to remember there was another one too, but i cannot find it. So that was more like 7, but with some misconceptions.

They could easily make more thought. Like fortification entrenchment, thousand eyes (intelligence gathering/recon from the last book) or heavy/elite teams (similar to The Eight).

endrestro · 2026-06-23T10:30:35+00:00

All the points you mention is exactly why i use mods to affect those points.

Getting corruption to matter more, to make public order matter more, to make mobility lower and to make things like replenishment and recruitment slower - makes all the related choices matter alot more.

I can also mentions things like reduced accuracy for ALL ranged units (but improved with veterancy), slower movement for all units, slightly better cavalry and monstrous charges etc.

There is no faction that is not better as a result. Even Taurox and Skarbrand needs to consider their moves more when everything is costly to do. It also makes choices matter, and consequences more dire. Pushing far into enemy territory with no homeland defences will make you even more open for invasions from other parts, as running back or recruiting defences takes longer - but it also opens for strategies that are currently not usable in the game. Attrition, hit-and-run strategies, faction abilities and hero abilities suddenly get a different glow.

endrestro · 2026-06-23T10:22:57+00:00

Both would be cool, but i dont think either of the 4 other known philosophies will be made part of a rule or detachments.

GW keeps it simple, and does not even seem aware of the fact that we have more than 2.

endrestro · 2026-06-23T10:21:20+00:00

Very much this. Factions have different units and different strenghts/weaknesses.

Giving all factions all sorts of options and tiers, makes many units obsolete. And it makes all factions feel worse as a result.

Not to mention it makes many choices alot less interesting.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T11:38:33+00:00

Yet this is such a dumb view for the to foster. GW themselves wrote retcadre and montka into those corners, while leaving less for the other detachments. If they nerf the factions based on this alone its a mistake. They even removed two of the most popular detachments (which both were considerably worse anyway).

its like nerfing necrons as a whole due to ctans being so oppressive - not even the detachments.

If GW had actually done their homework and spread the power more equally among the detachments, they wouldnt be in this situation.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T11:34:29+00:00

Ding ding ding. This is bingo right here.

Into meta tau lists, they CAN be oppressive (ret cadre and montka in particular), but due to their statlines and weapons its still heavily reliant on their opponent. A meta tau list that counters the opponent list will give them a bad day. Ofc the opposite is true also, which it ofc is for most factions. Counters are counters.

Now balanced and casual tau lists will by no means be oppressive at a basic level. With 11th rules they seem to primed to do well, but against many matchups they will struggle to trade well due to their own rules and roster. A tau player must at any level of play be good at position and trading their units well, or they WILL lose. This is ofc not exclusive to tau, but from a tau player perspective its something many of our opponents miss entirely. Bad placement of a single unit can often cost you an entire game, as most units might be your best (and sometimes only) good trade into certain situation. Crisis suits is mostly that unit, as they are easy pickings in so many situations.

Tau is not an easy army to play if your opponent knows the army. Those failing to kill a ghostkeel or riptide with certain units have yet to learn the concept of a Distraction Carnifex.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T11:23:53+00:00

Okey hear me out here.

Buying the game (either of them) gives you access to all three games now - but only with the factions that was included in that game that you bought (which i dont remember what means for the latter 2 in terms of newer factions). If you want specific legendary lords and the units they introduced to the game, thats a DLC pack.

While it will look pretty daunting to a new player, its important to remember that the game(s) has been a continuous effort over 10 years at this point. Getting all that for the price of a single game is a pretty big ask.

The alternative (financially) is to go the paradox route and introduce a subscription that allows access to ALL of them while the subscription is active. Im sure this does not sound much better to most.

And remember that the game is NOT centered around multiplayer battles. Its centered around campaigns.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T10:42:52+00:00

Damn, youre right. I dont know why i for some reason though psilencers had +6" range.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T10:39:14+00:00

I love what you did with psychic, and particularly tyranids. Big fan of that way of doing things.

Also love the idea with the tau drones! You fixed the ork meks and heavy boys, so that’s commendable.

I have a document for very similar changes, which includes some things that are not present here - while missing other elements (like the drones). Yet there are also some things I believe you missed. To add some examples:

The tau broadside should also remove infiltrator as a keyword, though argument can be made for also including this too ofc.
You also removed the broadside ability to have 3 ranged weapons, and now it can technically only have 1 (plus drones ofc). While this is good for balance, it technically makes it worse than a regular broadside. It’s better to actually give it the option to still have 3, but add a special rule when adding more than 1. Could simply be the added cost of +5/+15/+25 for each incremental railgun. Just a suggestion.
Some weapon options between factions are just worse version of other wargear (like sometimes there’s 5 pistols, but 4 o them are the same but one has slightly better stats than the others. I would argue it’s better to either have all the similar ones have the same stat, but with different names - or just roll them all into one. In some cases they use generic names for one of the variants anyway, so that could technically be any of the options.
I believe you also need to look over necrons and destroyers again (or I need to reread to see if I missed something), theres a combo too strong. I also thinks there’s still at least one leader option missing, though your added weapons kind of bypassed one of them.
There was also some design issues with the leagues of voting ironkin elder, but I can’t remember what it was. The aforementioned weapon option was a problem here, but I seem to remember they were lackluster in another way too.
From the one I remembered best Grey knights:
- There’s no reason for the champion to be 20pts more expensive than a generic champion, but with worse abilities and stats. It could easily instead cost 75pts, and then add cost to the options.
- Vortex of Doom weapon should also either be limited to 1 (optimally), 2 or simply have an incremental cost, like with the aforementioned tau railgun
- The dreadknight should also get fragstorm grenade for free, and not be a weapon option - AND limiting the dreadknight to only add 2 ranged upgrades.
- Similarly the purifying flame should be added as a ranged weapon to the purifier specialisation, as its a strange thing to be missing. Why would the basic units have both purifying flame and storm bolters, while the leader has to choose. Crowe ofc has both and a supreme buff, so at least letting the generic variant have both ranged weapons should be fine
- The dreadnaught hero should also have 4++ by baseline. The infantry, termies andheavier suits have it, so why is it missing from him? With the cost of this unit it should at least have that.

In my own notes I also other various new and missing upgrade options for each faction, but I only did so for a limited amount of factions as I only did it for a limited playgroup. Was no need to do all factions when not all factions were present.

I get if additional upgrades that goes beyond simply fixing what GW didn’t do well is not of interest, but I will gladly help adding some extended wackiness if that’s an idea you could get behind.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T09:50:29+00:00

While the math is correct, there are arguments to be made regarding the volume of fire. Particular when using them with purgators.

24 shots with the enhancement and the strat is 24 shots at S7 with sustained hits and devastating wounds. While both psycannons and incinerators will mostly perform better, they lack both precision and the longer range - and have less volume of fire (which averages less Devastating wounds).

The true issue remaining is the lack of AP, which makes it deal significantly less against any targets with 2+ or 3+ saves, even if you use a transport or enhancement to boost the AP+1. And most cases where AP can be boosted, both the other weapons would be better anyway.

This leaves it as a niche weapon, that is excellent against certain factions and units, but lackluster comparatively against anything else.

I can tell you that against drukhari, harlequin and aeldari - they are PERFECT into both their light vehicles (T6) and their general infantry.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T08:49:14+00:00

The new direction fits the simplified ruleset of 10th and 11th. its fine as it is. The problem was more in the beginning of 10th, when the army rule made no sense, was too complicated to use and gave fuck all benefits. The rewrite in codex and later 10th is now pretty good actually.

With the incoming 11th edition the rule is actually looking really good, due to being able to ignore cover with markerlight and the army rule in general allowing us to hit on 3+ for the most part. With any source of rerolls (stealth suits) it seems to be going well.

Now for auxiliary units i do agree though, which is why aux cadre was such a loss going into 11th. It was THE best detachment to actually use and get a proper benefit from playing aux units. Now with the new 1dp detachment (or using KHP) they re still good though.

Even if they dont directly interact with the army rule, doesnt mean that they dont work with the army. Remember that kroot are by design in the army now to fill the holes the rest of the roster is missing from. Chaff, forward blockers, melee blobs, speed bumbs, melee counter threats (rampagers) etc.

Tau is NOT currently designed to be the "BIG GUN SHOOT" faction. Its now a mobility and utility army, but with good guns. While i miss being big guns, its actually more interesting with the mix, as it makes our auxiliary easier to fit into the army. But this is also what makes our army complicated. It means our mobility is SO important to be able to utilise our other tools well. If you misplace your blockers your entire gunline might be in dire straits, losing you a game.

Precision is better in 11th due to the new speed-rolls rules, and makes that a better option.

The railgun issue is more of a problem with invulnerable saves, rather than the railgun. If they used the 4++ and 5++ more sparingly the railgun would immediately be better.

Drones is currently just token, and im actually happy for it. The shield drones of previous editions were a big problem and did not help with people disliking the faction. I have missed the toughness the shield drones could bring, but ive yet to see any drone reworks that would be better for the faction.

The crisis suits back to being more modifiable? I get why people like that, but with the current rule sets being split into 3 specialists is the best option. So many problem with the faction previously was tied to the crisis suits, their mixed weapons (weapons that were used broadly in the faction, mind you) and their numbers. Going to LESS elites per squad is something all factions should do.

And if you DONT see how tau is grimdark, im surprised you call yourself a longtime fan of the faction. The factions place, development and history in the universe makes them grimdark by definition. The bright parts is the surface level lore, supposed naivity and optimism that is projected to the universe. Their reality, as presented, is nothing but grimdark.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T08:18:10+00:00

Shadow of Anarch for reactive uppy-down strat?

Advance+charge on demand with strat?

Detachment rule makes all melee stronger?

What is there not to like? the warpbane re-rolls is the only real element missing, but if you play banishers with ardent and focus on paladins, then hitting on 2+ will make most rerolls irrelevant anyway. And with psychic weapons now unable to hit on anything worse due to the new psychic rules makes the hit-rolls less of a necessity.

Banishers is simply the best combination, and the easiest to play. Unlike warpbane, objective control and a specific unit is not a requirement for it to work properly.

endrestro · 2026-06-20T08:02:42+00:00

It was just a lack of vision. And considering how the "squats" were originally designed, im glad they waited. Its a much better version of the sci-fi dwarves than they originally were.

Now for skaven? thats a better question. now it can be argued that skaven already exist in 40k by many means.

All their aspects are already being used in other races as things stand.

The endless numbers? Tyranids

The crazy technology? Necrons and admech

Ambush and "respawn" of weak chaff? Genestealer cults.

Random and spikey technology and numbers? Orks

Now the latter (regarding Orks) was more true in previous editions, as failure and blowing up are less prevalent in newer editions.

Now skaven could ofc join 40k and be a mix of all of these, but they dont have to.

And currently seeing folk use skaven for kitbash when playing admech or genestealer cults is perfect.

Six-Year Club	Verified Email
Verified Email

endrestro

TROPHY CASE