[gen.nehring]

ok, i now have 7 XV8's for my 2k pt army. Deciding on how to equip them.

right now i have..

1.) shas'o with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
2.) bodyguard with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
3.) bodyguard with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
4.) one fireknife.

now i have 3 more suits on the way and this is what i was thinking...
another fireknife to complete the team.
a fireknife shas'o or another shas'o outfitted the same as the other one
a lone suit with TL fusion and shield generator

Now i know many do not like bodyguards, especially with shield generators, but i find them to be devastating against MEQ's.

Note: with my tactica i use a drone squadron to protect the lone wolf shas'o

 

[onlainari]

You can twinlinked the plasma rifles on the bodyguard for another 13pts each, making them more effective against most of what they'll be shooting at.

Generally though, you need to try different configs yourself and work out what's best for you.

 

[Renosaurus]

You're using the same config as I did for some time. Right now, I've changed the bodyguards weapon systems to linked plasma with shield. They won't die that easy, and shoot accurate. also, this is the best way to config shas'uis, one linked weapon system and shield. devastating jumping suits which won't die. that rocks(H)

Allthough you could use configs like fire knife on shas'ui teams, my favorite remains plasma,fusion, tracker or linked weapon, shield.

 

[Svalene]

either get fusion plasma multi or missile,plasma multi

 

[squall14]

it all depends on what you want it for:
is it a take-all-comers list, or are you fighting a specific army? this would help.

 

[loosestrife]

It seems like you are pretty partial to fusion blasters, do you really need that many? Maybe you fight against a lot of armour? Like Squall said, it would help to know what kind of list you are trying to build. I'd consider some more ranged configurations - but as Oni said, you really will have to try out different configurations and see what works for you.

Also, consider magnetic mounting (or just use the slots) so you have the flexibility to change your configs when/if you decide you want something different.

 

[Rikimaru]

ok, i now have 7 XV8's for my 2k pt army. Deciding on how to equip them.

right now i have..

1.) shas'o with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
2.) bodyguard with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
3.) bodyguard with fusion, plasma, shield, multi
4.) one fireknife.

now i have 3 more suits on the way and this is what i was thinking...
another fireknife to complete the team.
a fireknife shas'o or another shas'o outfitted the same as the other one
a lone suit with TL fusion and shield generator

Now i know many do not like bodyguards, especially with shield generators, but i find them to be devastating against MEQ's.

Note: with my tactica i use a drone squadron to protect the lone wolf shas'o

I have recently been trying a new cinfiguration for elite slot XV8's, I used to take the fusion, Plasma, Multi and shield gen but I have tweaked it and now I take Twin linked fusion, plasma and multi, the plasma is rapid fire so gets 2 shots at 12" and the reroll ups the hit ratio for the fusion to 75%.
This is a devastaing combination against Marines (or any 3+ save army) and takes out armour a lot better than missile pods, its also a cheap set up and a team of 3 would crucify a unit of marines at 12"
i would go for a shas'o with fusion, plasma and multi with drone squad protection, you dont need the twin linking with BS5.
A shas'el equiped as above, maybe with a drone squad (if you can afford it)
2 Bodyguards with twin linked fusion,plasma, multi and HW target locks (if you must use BG).
2 Lone wolf XV8's with twin linked fusion, plasma and multi.
You will have an insanely powerful high strentgh low AP contingent of XV8's

 

[Rikimaru]

Oh by the way Loosestrife the fusion is not just for armour, it is incredibly usefull for insta killing characters and hurts monstrous creatures etc str8 and ap1 is very very usefull

 

[Mozambique]

The one thing I don't understand is why noone is talking about Deathrain?! I don't get it!
First of all, Missle Pods have the highest rate of fire of any weapon (save the burst cannon) AND the range is a whopping twelve inches more than the plasma rifle!

Now before you all go and start hollerin' about how it's only AP4, unless all you fight is Marnines and the like, your gonna penetrate someone's armor

and on top of all that it's strong enough to take down anything AV 13 and less

Not to mention the cost:
2 XV8 - 60
2 TL M-Pod - 42
1 Flamer - 6
1 T Lock - 5
TOTAL - 113

compared to 2 fireknife:
2 XV8 - 60
2 Plasma Rifles - 32
2 M Pod - 28
2 M Trackers - 10
TOTAL - 130

Now weighing out the Pros of each suit

- Deathrain -
Better Aim
Stronger
More Efficient (since they don't have to worry about getting close enough to use all thier weapons)
Cheaper

- Fireknife -
More shots (at closer range)
Higher AP
Equally as strong as Deathrain
"Jack of all trades" ("Master of none")

So there you have it, the only other thing I didn't mention is that once you find a good combo for your suits you sometimes forget about other combinations the most important thing is to remember is give things a try,

I usually run:
1 squad of Deathrain
1 squad of Helios
1 Commander w/ Fireknife-6 or Helios-8

They all work great and they all have specific functions which is how I like to play that way I don't have tons of uber-elite expensive XV8s jumpin around because it's like puttin all my eggs in one basket.

 

[Mozambique]

This website is great for Tau info, and this XV8 performance indicator is the Balls when deciding which combo to use:

http://d12277.u23.greymatterhosting.com/xv8design.php

 

[Rikimaru]

The one thing I don't understand is why noone is talking about Deathrain?! I don't get it!
First of all, Missle Pods have the highest rate of fire of any weapon (save the burst cannon) AND the range is a whopping twelve inches more than the plasma rifle!

Now before you all go and start hollerin' about how it's only AP4, unless all you fight is Marnines and the like, your gonna penetrate someone's armor

and on top of all that it's strong enough to take down anything AV 13 and less

Not to mention the cost:
2 XV8 - 60
2 TL M-Pod - 42
1 Flamer - 6
1 T Lock - 5
TOTAL - 113

compared to 2 fireknife:
2 XV8 - 60
2 Plasma Rifles - 32
2 M Pod - 28
2 M Trackers - 10
TOTAL - 130

Now weighing out the Pros of each suit

- Deathrain -
Better Aim
Stronger
More Efficient (since they don't have to worry about getting close enough to use all thier weapons)
Cheaper

- Fireknife -
More shots (at closer range)
Higher AP
Equally as strong as Deathrain
"Jack of all trades" ("Master of none")

So there you have it, the only other thing I didn't mention is that once you find a good combo for your suits you sometimes forget about other combinations the most important thing is to remember is give things a try,

Missile pods are overated, yes they are strentgh 7 and you get 2 shots but they are AP4 and while you may say this is irrelevent, it isn't, I know if I get to 12" with a Helios I am going to kill what I hit, this is very important for an army or model thats useless in CC you need to know your going to kill what you hit if its close enough to be worrying you, and the simple fact is this, unless your playing a static army the opponent is going to be close to you at some point throughout the game, the 36" range of the MP is usefull but not usefull enough to negate the advantage of the AP and STR of the fusion and plasma.

The only thing stopping a plasma or fusion is inv saves and 90% of them are 4+ and only available to select models.

I have taken to using TL fusion and Plasma with multi on normal XV8's, I use the TL fusion because I have a 75% chance of hitting with the BS3 fusion and usually hit with one Plasma shot, that usually guarantees 2 dead models, and thats important against things like Termies or obliterators or those assault marines and all the 3+ save models out there.

The other thing that favours fusion over MP is the fact that Fusion will insta kill any tgh4 character (unless the character has some wargear that protects against insta kill) this is incredibly important against units that include such things as chaplains etc.

The fusion will also auto penetrate vehicles (yes I know about the skimmer rule) if it equals its armour value, and the Fusion is also a point of strength higher than the MP so its perfectly capable of killing any armour upto and including AV14 at 12", the range issue is really not that important seeing as most games end up with the armys close to each other (24" or closer) and the JSJ move is usually enough to ensure relative safety for the XV8' and I know if I get to 6" that armour is going to be hurt.

I find two Shas's with drone squads and 3 Monat XV8's pumping out 5 Fusion shots and 10 Plasma shots within 12" will seriously hurt any opponent regardless of its armour save and that is worth more than the ability to shoot at 36" with an AP4 weapon, and the 16 pulse carbine shots from the drones dont come amiss either.

As to your point about finding a good combination, well if I or anyone else has indeed found a good combination the old saying 'if it aint broke dont fix it' seems to apply, I have an ultra efficient XV8 set up in my list that has served me well in many many games so why change it.

As for cost well a twin linked fusion and plasma with multi are 69pts hardly expensive for what they can do.

 

[Phase Out]

I recently built 8 more crisis and have been using 12 total in fun games to get the hang of them. Heres how I equip them:

Shas'O w/ 2 BG-Shas'O has PR, FB, Shield, HW MT. BG have Twin FB, PR, HW MT

Shas'El w/ 2 BG-All have PR, FB, MP, HW MT

3 Shas'Ui-All have PR, MP, MT

3 Shas'Ui-All have PR, MP, MT

The Shas'O squad will deep strike to destroy vehicles (especialy indirect defilers) if needed. Also kills terminators, obliterators, wraithlords, pretty much anything.
I would lose the Shield but my 'O is a converted Ry'myr model. It has saved his bacon a few times though.

The fireknifes will move up the feild sticking to cover while laying down fire. They hurt pretty much any infantry w/o having to get too close. If I want to pop light transports I use an IonHead first.

The Shas'el squad: this squad is expensive, true, but it can perform the job of either Helios or Fireknifes and I find I really love thier adaptability. These are true Crisis suits (IMO). When you don't know what to expect I would take this squad. As to any comments as to 1 gun being wasted each turn; I don't believe in wasted points. Everything has a purpose, its just takes applying these things at the right time. BE WARNED THOUGH: this knowledge comes through experience on the table so NOOBS should be wary and try units like this only when you've learned how to use the standard XV8 configurations effectively. Note that only HQ squads can be equipped like this.

I take full squads because my last Elite slot is 3-6 stealths. Infiltrate is invaluable.

As for deathrains: They are decent suits agianst light tanks, but so are our pulse rifles, ion cannons, EMP's, Fusions, Railguns, etc. So many other things in our list can take out tanks just as easy or easier (I've heard Rikimaru preach this many times and he's right) that I just don't feel these suits are necessary. I like to use my XV8's against infantry foremost and deathrains just don't do as well as the other configurations in this role.

Phase Out....