So the new codex comes out and there have been very few changes to the heavy weapons in the Eldar codex. Or have there?
In the last edition, the Scatter Laser was king. With laser lock the others rarely got a look in. However times change, laser lock has been resigned to the bin of history and so everyone gets to have another chance. In this article I will compare the Scatter Laser (SL) with both the Shuriken Cannon (ShC) and the Starcannon (StC).
The reason for this article is that I read somewhere on a popular blog that there is no point in using starcannons because they are flat our inferior to scatter lasers still. I am not so sure that is the case, so lets run the numbers shall we? I will take several basic statlines and compare the damage each weapon does against them. We will use GEQ, MEQ and finally TEQs.
GEQ - Toughness 3 5+ saves
SL 4 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, saves on 5s. 1.49 kills
ShC 3 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, no saves (bladestorm irrelevant here) 1.66 kills
StC 2 shots, hit on 2s, wound on 2s, no saves. 1.11 kills.
In a surprise to me at least, the Shuiken Cannon comes out on top here. Saving one in three wounds really hurts the Scatter lasers damage output. It will likely only get worse from here on out for the previous king.
MEQ - T4 3+ saves
SL 4 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, saves on 3s. 0.73 kills
ShC 3 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, saves on 3s (bladestorm kicks in) 0.64 kills
StC 2 shots, hit on 2s, wound on 2s, no saves. 1.11 kills
So unless my maths is wrong, the Starcannon is the best performer here. Against the most common, popular models in the game. Now obviously cover saves do matter, but that will only reduce the Starcannon to 0.74, still leaving it the strongest performer here.
TEQ - T4 2+/5++
SL 4 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, saves on 2s. 0.37 kills
ShC 3 shots, hit on 3s, wound on 2s, saves on 2s (bladestorm kicks in) 0.46 kills
StC 2 shots, hit on 2s, wound on 2s, saves on 5++. 0.74 kills
As the armour improves, the Scatter laser really loses out. The only time the scatter laser may be the optimal weapon is against a target with an armour save of 6+ or worse. Outside of orks, I don't think there are a great many of those around.
Friday 22 May 2015
Wednesday 20 May 2015
7th Edition Eldar - Combining lethal formations
One particular combination I have found in the new Eldar codex is just plain lethal.
You take an Aspect host. This can be any three aspect warrior units and they all gain bonus ws or bs. This is really strong.
You can also take an Engines of Vaul formation, of three Falcons.
Combine these two together and you can create this;
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
3 Falcons
Put them together and you get a unit that deep strikes without scattering, delivering a massive amount of melta guns with pin point accuracy. Not many players would thank you for this.
You take an Aspect host. This can be any three aspect warrior units and they all gain bonus ws or bs. This is really strong.
You can also take an Engines of Vaul formation, of three Falcons.
Combine these two together and you can create this;
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
6 Fire Dragons, inc exarch
3 Falcons
Put them together and you get a unit that deep strikes without scattering, delivering a massive amount of melta guns with pin point accuracy. Not many players would thank you for this.
Thursday 30 April 2015
7th Edition Eldar - Howling Banshees
I am not going to write a full codex review, or even cover most of the units, it only seems like five minutes ago I was doing that for 6th edition.
Howling Banshees have had a significant boost.
They now move an additional 3 inches while running or charging. Now running is okay I guess, but the boost to charging is tremendous.
They also now also ignore penalties to initiative while charging into cover. The exarch also prevents any overwatch being fired.
They have gone from being the worst unit in the codex, to pretty good now. Still struggle to wound anything really tough though and will bounce off anything with a 2+ save.
Howling Banshees have had a significant boost.
They now move an additional 3 inches while running or charging. Now running is okay I guess, but the boost to charging is tremendous.
They also now also ignore penalties to initiative while charging into cover. The exarch also prevents any overwatch being fired.
They have gone from being the worst unit in the codex, to pretty good now. Still struggle to wound anything really tough though and will bounce off anything with a 2+ save.
Wednesday 29 April 2015
7th Edition Eldar - First Impressions - The internet panics
7th Edition Eldar - First impressions
Before I start, I will admit I play eldar. I have for twenty years, so I have seen quite few codexes come and go.
I have seen a lot of panic on the internet about how broken things are in this new book. But this essentially boils down to two things. Spamming list entries and tourney play. I do neither, so I personally don't like to be tarred with that brush.
Games Workshop has said MANY times that their game is not designed with competitive play in mind. It is beer and pretzels type gaming. You may disagree with this all you like, but that is the fact.
There are, as far as I can tell only a small number of issues which people have with the eldar book.
Number 1. Scatter bikers. Every single jetbike can now take either a shuricannon or a scatter laser. I have to admit, this seems a no brainer. There is a lot of fear about people spamming these, but it is fairly expensive to do, with the specialised FOC chart in the new book. In casual play, taking a squad or two and limiting heavy weapons is more than fine. You probably want some ablative wounds anyway, as if ap3 ignore cover weapons come your way, then the squads going to lose a lot of models. New good rules for new models, has been a thing for quite a while now.
Number 2. Wraithknight. Hes now a jump gargantuan creature armed with two D guns. He is also pretty cheap in terms of points.
Number 3. Ranged D guns on pretty much all wraith units. I don't personally see the big deal here, most of these were s10 before, and never seemed all that great with them being a single shot, short ranged and no blast. The D-flamers got a buff, but they can't instant death and suffer a penalty on the D chart.
Apart from that, there have been debuffs. Serpents shields been nerfed quite heavily, although I think we all expected that. Exarchs lost a lot of customisation options, as did the Avatar.
I dont think the Autarch is any better. Certainly I wont be taking one.
Guardians are a bit naff still. And unless you spam scatter bikers, you are taking some.
Free flak missiles as well as two wounds on the exarchs are welcome.
Before I start, I will admit I play eldar. I have for twenty years, so I have seen quite few codexes come and go.
I have seen a lot of panic on the internet about how broken things are in this new book. But this essentially boils down to two things. Spamming list entries and tourney play. I do neither, so I personally don't like to be tarred with that brush.
Games Workshop has said MANY times that their game is not designed with competitive play in mind. It is beer and pretzels type gaming. You may disagree with this all you like, but that is the fact.
There are, as far as I can tell only a small number of issues which people have with the eldar book.
Number 1. Scatter bikers. Every single jetbike can now take either a shuricannon or a scatter laser. I have to admit, this seems a no brainer. There is a lot of fear about people spamming these, but it is fairly expensive to do, with the specialised FOC chart in the new book. In casual play, taking a squad or two and limiting heavy weapons is more than fine. You probably want some ablative wounds anyway, as if ap3 ignore cover weapons come your way, then the squads going to lose a lot of models. New good rules for new models, has been a thing for quite a while now.
Number 2. Wraithknight. Hes now a jump gargantuan creature armed with two D guns. He is also pretty cheap in terms of points.
Number 3. Ranged D guns on pretty much all wraith units. I don't personally see the big deal here, most of these were s10 before, and never seemed all that great with them being a single shot, short ranged and no blast. The D-flamers got a buff, but they can't instant death and suffer a penalty on the D chart.
Apart from that, there have been debuffs. Serpents shields been nerfed quite heavily, although I think we all expected that. Exarchs lost a lot of customisation options, as did the Avatar.
I dont think the Autarch is any better. Certainly I wont be taking one.
Guardians are a bit naff still. And unless you spam scatter bikers, you are taking some.
Free flak missiles as well as two wounds on the exarchs are welcome.
Wednesday 1 April 2015
Destiny - Warlock
So this is my first class specific review on Destiny. My main character for the majority of the game, the warlock is the balanced class in my experience.
The warlock currently comes in two flavours. Voidwalker and Sunsinger.
When you start the game, until you get a character to level 15, you can only use a Voidwalker.
Voidwalker
Pros: This is a strong solo class with some decent grenades in Axion bolts and vortex grenades, and its super is absolutely lethal with a lot more customisation to it than other classes supers. I personally prefer having huge blasts with vortex so it remains in play for a lot longer, but others prefer lance which fires it straight forwards or shatter which gives you three smaller blasts. A strong choice in pvp where the big blasts can wipe out entire teams of enemies. As a warlock, your grenades don't harm you, so you can throw them around without too much worry.
Cons: In terms of defence, and overall game play, this class just seems lacking compared to the Sunsinger. With no ability to get an overshield, you can get healing via energy drain, but it doesn't seem very practical in the higher end missions. Like all of the initial classes, this class doesn't really contribute a great deal to team play in the nightfall or raids so you rarely see them at the top level.
Sunsinger
Pros: This class is all about two things. Being able to self ressurect and control choke points with grenades. The super allows you to chuck a bucket load of grenades in a short period of time which can be really handy. Coming back to life helps no end with the raids, and nightfalls where dying is often fatal. This class is an insurance policy to ensure you complete the harder missions.
Cons: The super lacks punch. In pvp you need to use tactics to make the most of this class, but it is considerably easier to switch out to Void walker. In lower end missions where you are a couple of levels or higher than the mission, or on general patrols, then this class just feels lacking compared to the Voidwalker. There are a lot less combinations available to max out a particular build style compared to Voidwalkers too. Essentially you pick one of the three (all pretty good) grenades, and ensure you can resurect. The rest doesn't really do much to determine your play style compared to the quite drastic changes that the Voidwalker can do with his.
Conclusion
For me, it is all about the Sunsinger. Actually completing missions is more important to me than being the main man in damage dealing. The Sunsinger trades the ability to do a huge explosion for being better balanced overall. The voidwalker however is a very fun class to play and would suit someone who is more aggressively minded in their play style and assuming the other players in their party can cover the lack of a Sunsinger then it is good to go. In overall terms, both of the Warlock classes seem to be fairly similar. Certainly closer together than the two Titans and Hunters appear to be.
The warlock currently comes in two flavours. Voidwalker and Sunsinger.
When you start the game, until you get a character to level 15, you can only use a Voidwalker.
Voidwalker
Pros: This is a strong solo class with some decent grenades in Axion bolts and vortex grenades, and its super is absolutely lethal with a lot more customisation to it than other classes supers. I personally prefer having huge blasts with vortex so it remains in play for a lot longer, but others prefer lance which fires it straight forwards or shatter which gives you three smaller blasts. A strong choice in pvp where the big blasts can wipe out entire teams of enemies. As a warlock, your grenades don't harm you, so you can throw them around without too much worry.
Cons: In terms of defence, and overall game play, this class just seems lacking compared to the Sunsinger. With no ability to get an overshield, you can get healing via energy drain, but it doesn't seem very practical in the higher end missions. Like all of the initial classes, this class doesn't really contribute a great deal to team play in the nightfall or raids so you rarely see them at the top level.
Sunsinger
Pros: This class is all about two things. Being able to self ressurect and control choke points with grenades. The super allows you to chuck a bucket load of grenades in a short period of time which can be really handy. Coming back to life helps no end with the raids, and nightfalls where dying is often fatal. This class is an insurance policy to ensure you complete the harder missions.
Cons: The super lacks punch. In pvp you need to use tactics to make the most of this class, but it is considerably easier to switch out to Void walker. In lower end missions where you are a couple of levels or higher than the mission, or on general patrols, then this class just feels lacking compared to the Voidwalker. There are a lot less combinations available to max out a particular build style compared to Voidwalkers too. Essentially you pick one of the three (all pretty good) grenades, and ensure you can resurect. The rest doesn't really do much to determine your play style compared to the quite drastic changes that the Voidwalker can do with his.
Conclusion
For me, it is all about the Sunsinger. Actually completing missions is more important to me than being the main man in damage dealing. The Sunsinger trades the ability to do a huge explosion for being better balanced overall. The voidwalker however is a very fun class to play and would suit someone who is more aggressively minded in their play style and assuming the other players in their party can cover the lack of a Sunsinger then it is good to go. In overall terms, both of the Warlock classes seem to be fairly similar. Certainly closer together than the two Titans and Hunters appear to be.
Saturday 28 March 2015
Destiny - Why is it so addictive
So I have been mostly playing Destiny, for the last two or so months. While I am not as experienced as some players, I do have two level 32s and a 31 who just needs some shards to reach level 32, ive completed Crota hard raid and every week I do three nightfalls, three raids and three weeklies.
So it is safe to say I have reached the end game. Well until House of Wolves comes out later this year and ruins all my hard work so far!
By all rights, I should hate this game. I dislike first person shooters, I despise first person shooters with death matches and I especially loathe people camping and shooting you with a sniper rifles from the other side of the map.
However I don't. The key to this is the co-op mode. Being able to play through the entire game with my friends is why I keep going back.
Actually playing the game has, in my eyes, several key stages.
Levels 1-20 - The training stage. You play through the story, either alone or in a party. In the grand scheme of things you are quite limited to what you can do, because you have only one sub class up to level 15 and gear is somewhat random. You can (and should) actively do bounties at this stage as they give up a lot of exp compared to doing missions. If you can stay ahead of the curve (1-2 levels above the recommended) then soloing is easy enough. If you are in a party you can do most missions under levelled.
Levels 20-28 - The quest for legendary gear. You are looking for your entry level legendary gear and some exotics. At this stage grab whatever armour exotics you can from Xur when he turns up if it is your class specific as that will help considerably with your level. I was stuck at 26 for several weeks because I didn't understand how to progress. The best way to get out of the slump here is to save up vanguard marks and just buy your armour. Drops are very random and the key to getting better gear is to be able to compete in the higher level events.
Levels 29-32 - The end game. At this stage you can compete in the top end events. Raids, Nightfalls, 9 coin weeklies all should be competed in. This give you the best rewards in the game, but you may find yourself casting off gear you only bought a few days/weeks ago to get you to this stage.
Throughout the game you can play pvp in various flavours as well. The key is that there is always something to occupy your time with and a change to a different type of gaming.
At the moment I am trying to get better spec raid gear for my hunter so I can level it up to 32. My Warlock is more or less complete and my Titan is done as much as I care to do on it.
So it is safe to say I have reached the end game. Well until House of Wolves comes out later this year and ruins all my hard work so far!
By all rights, I should hate this game. I dislike first person shooters, I despise first person shooters with death matches and I especially loathe people camping and shooting you with a sniper rifles from the other side of the map.
However I don't. The key to this is the co-op mode. Being able to play through the entire game with my friends is why I keep going back.
Actually playing the game has, in my eyes, several key stages.
Levels 1-20 - The training stage. You play through the story, either alone or in a party. In the grand scheme of things you are quite limited to what you can do, because you have only one sub class up to level 15 and gear is somewhat random. You can (and should) actively do bounties at this stage as they give up a lot of exp compared to doing missions. If you can stay ahead of the curve (1-2 levels above the recommended) then soloing is easy enough. If you are in a party you can do most missions under levelled.
Levels 20-28 - The quest for legendary gear. You are looking for your entry level legendary gear and some exotics. At this stage grab whatever armour exotics you can from Xur when he turns up if it is your class specific as that will help considerably with your level. I was stuck at 26 for several weeks because I didn't understand how to progress. The best way to get out of the slump here is to save up vanguard marks and just buy your armour. Drops are very random and the key to getting better gear is to be able to compete in the higher level events.
Levels 29-32 - The end game. At this stage you can compete in the top end events. Raids, Nightfalls, 9 coin weeklies all should be competed in. This give you the best rewards in the game, but you may find yourself casting off gear you only bought a few days/weeks ago to get you to this stage.
Throughout the game you can play pvp in various flavours as well. The key is that there is always something to occupy your time with and a change to a different type of gaming.
At the moment I am trying to get better spec raid gear for my hunter so I can level it up to 32. My Warlock is more or less complete and my Titan is done as much as I care to do on it.
Friday 27 March 2015
Adeptus Mechanicus
The forthcoming release of Adeptus Mechanicus is something I have been waiting on for a long time.
They are the biggest faction in 40k to never really have a model range. All the Forge World releases have been really exciting with the Horus Heresy range so it is good to see that they are finally doing a 40k version of this army.
From the sneak peeks it looks like they occupy a space around the eldar in terms of weapons and indeed in terms of statistics and points. This could make them a very unusual imperial army.
The models themselves look solid. Not forge world amazing but good. I was hoping for some Johnny 5 type robots, or at least some tracked heavy weapons servitors, but nothing of that ilk seems to have been seen yet.
I plan on having a combined Ad mech and Knight army, but it is dependant on the codex options.
They are the biggest faction in 40k to never really have a model range. All the Forge World releases have been really exciting with the Horus Heresy range so it is good to see that they are finally doing a 40k version of this army.
From the sneak peeks it looks like they occupy a space around the eldar in terms of weapons and indeed in terms of statistics and points. This could make them a very unusual imperial army.
The models themselves look solid. Not forge world amazing but good. I was hoping for some Johnny 5 type robots, or at least some tracked heavy weapons servitors, but nothing of that ilk seems to have been seen yet.
I plan on having a combined Ad mech and Knight army, but it is dependant on the codex options.
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