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Tau Portal

Battlesuits are used by the Tau and are one of their most advanced pieces of technology. They incorporate many weapons systems and armour comparable to a Space Marine's and can easily lay down a withering hail of fire to destroy both infantry and vehicles. These Battlesuits have specific roles and abilities within the Tau army.^1,2

Overview

Battlesuits are a type of advanced power armour, with the larger models likened by Imperial observers to fast-moving Dreadnoughts.^[6a] They vary in size, from no bigger than a Fire Warrior in standard armour, to being twice as tall as a Space Marine^{[Needs Citation]}, and vary in role, from battlefield infiltration to fire support. Battlesuits are worn by a single Fire Warrior, packed with advanced sensors, control systems and technology, such as jetpacks and recoil absorbers.⁷ They also incorporate anti-tampering systems to prevent their use by enemy forces; during the mission to assassinate Commander Brightsword, an Imperial saboteur attempted to pilot a Crisis battlesuit, only to be fried to a charred corpse.⁸

Standard nomenclature has each model battlesuit 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.²

Crisis Battlesuit

Main article: Crisis Battlesuit
The XV8 Crisis Battlesuit provides several advantages to a Fire Warrior wearing it. It increases the strength, endurance, toughness, and armor of the wearer.¹ It also has 3 hard points to attach weapons and support systems.¹ It also incorporates a Jetpack into the design, which allows for greater maneuverability and flexibility on the battlefield. It also supports many upgrades to further increase its versatility on the field of battle.

Stealth Battlesuit

Main article: Stealth Battlesuit
Stealth Battlesuits, also called Stealthsuits, employ a holographic disruption field to make them hard to spot and target.¹ Like the larger XV8 Battlesuit, the Steath Battlesuits incorporate a Jetpack in their design.

Broadside Battlesuit

Main article: Broadside Battlesuit
The XV88 Broadside Battlesuit is based on the same chassis as the Crisis Battlesuit. However it exchanges the Jetpack for heavier weapons.¹

Hazard Close Support Armour

Main article: Hazard Close Support Armour
The XV9 'Hazard' Close Support Armour is a new design with the aim of providing a powerful counter-attack to Tau forces as well as a stable weapon platform for the battlefield.

Related articles

• Armour
• Tau Weapons

Sources

• ¹: Codex: Tau (3rd Edition)
• ²: Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition)
• ³: White Dwarf 263(us) Crisis! Tau Battlesuit Teams. A look at the strategies of the Tau battlesuits. by Pete Haines and Phil Kelly
• ⁴: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade computer game.
• ⁵: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1060278
• ⁶: For the Emperor (Novel) by Sandy Mitchell
  • 6a: Chapter Six
• ⁷: Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign
• ⁸: Last Chancers (Novel Series) by Gavin Thorpe