The Greater Good Comes to the 41st Millennium in Battlefleet Gothic!
Written by Jonathan Lee, October 13, 12:20 p.m. Tweet to: @Writerscube
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada has been out now for a good bit, bringing the strategic tabletop game based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe to our computer screens. Lumbering capital ships trade fire from enormous cannons, escort ships zoom through the crossfire. Debris and fire leak from the sides of ships like bleeding behemoths. Every shell, every lance blast–beautiful plumes of flame and plasma backwash. It’s what you expect of Warhammer 40,000: it’s grisly, it’s violent, and it’s happening everywhere all the time! And then comes the upstart Tau Empire. The Steam beta for the Tau Empire is over. The Tau are officially here!!
A New Challenger Has Arrived!
Out of the distant Eastern Fringe, the young Tau Empire have arrived to conquer the stars. And they come to wreck face, and spread the Greater Good. The Eldar being the exception, most of the races favor weapons such as the lance battery and the humongous-shell-throwing macrocannon. The Tau are one of the most technologically-forward races in the 41st Millennium, bringing sleek ship designs, powerful rail guns, and the mecha-aesthetic Crisis Battlesuits to board enemy ships.
One key characteristic of the Tau Empire is also that they have allies. A lot of the races in Warhammer 40,000 prefer their own team. But the Tau Empire always offer new races they encounter the choice of peace and assimilation… or the barrel of a rail gun. Because of the Tau’s relatively open-arms diplomacy, they have acquired auxiliary forces to further augment their own.
The Might of the Tau Empire
Like the other races in Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, the Tau fleet have their own mix of escorts (including a Dhow ship piloted by the psychic Nicassar), light cruisers, and cruisers. But instead of the mighty battleships that the other races field, the Tau leave the super-heavy vessels to their Kroot and Demiurg allies. Once you get high enough in level, you will have access to the huge Kroot Warsphere and Demiurg ships.
The Tau fleet is made more unique by how the ships have various potential roles. Repair drones (Tau love their drones) tend to ship repairs in the midst of battle.
Some cruisers use gravity tows to bring along a couple free escort vessels to protect your precious admiral vessel. And in place of torpedoes, a fair number of ships have the powerful Seeker Missile.
Another fun trait the Tau have is the ability to choose an art of war prior to combat. There is the Kauyon (The Patient Hunter) and the Mont’ka (Killing Blow), each providing unique bonuses and great for different play styles. I’ve tried both and while they’re nothing drastic, it’s nice to see that Tindalos Interactive thought to put that in.
Without a doubt, the Tau Fleet is terrifically lore-friendly, showing off the Tau’s sleek aesthetic and a glimpse into the varied races that help the Tau Empire in their conquest of the stars.
Final Thoughts
From the wonderfully accurate ship designs to the showing off of the Tau Empire’s allies and their ships too, this is probably my favorite addition to Battlefleet Gothic at this point. My hopes are that there will one day be campaigns for the different races, including the Tau, but whether that will ever happen is anyone’s guess.
The Tau Empire DLC is amazing, and it makes me wish that the previously-released Space Marine DLC got as much attention (like maybe different Chapter Tactics or something). But this is a good step in the right direction. And I really hope to see more from Tindalos Interactive!
