Defiler vs other vehicles?

[jerryfanfan]

Is the defiler really good or what? It's got a battle cannon, a twin autocannon, a flamer and can melee. It's like a Leman Russ tank but only costs 3 vehicle slots, or am I using it wrong?

[Renfrew]

Defiler's adaptibility is both a weakness and a strength. For example it will lose against a close combat dreadnought, because of how average its stats are, it will lose against other artillery, and it will lose against a dedicated ranged vehicle (obviously not something with low HP and low vehicle armor like a landspeeder), but it can be used in whatever situation it is needed in, disrupting infantry, tying them up in melee, or meleeing a ranged vehicle that got too close.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by ꧁Renfrew꧂:

Defiler's adaptibility is both a weakness and a strength. For example it will lose against a close combat dreadnought, because of how average its stats are, it will lose against other artillery, and it will lose against a dedicated ranged vehicle (obviously not something with low HP and low vehicle armor like a landspeeder), but it can be used in whatever situation it is needed in, disrupting infantry, tying them up in melee, or meleeing a ranged vehicle that got too close.

I only use them as artillery pieces to cover my assaults, enemy can't get to them if they have to go through predators and a bunch of chaos marines,khorne bezerkers,possessed and obliterators now can they.

[Renfrew]

That's how you use ANY artillery, not just defilers, lmfao. If you only use Defilers as artillery, then good for you, it doesn't change the fact that defiler is AVERAGE at best in all its aspects, and the proper way to use it is to adapt it to how you need it.

Furthermore, defilers are fantastic early game, but provide very limited support at tier 3 or 4. If you have possessed and obliterators, then you would be at least Tier 3, so you wouldn't even need to rely on defilers, the only thing you would get a defiler for is to make use of unused Vehicle cap. For example if you were playing against an IG player (not AI, because who tf even takes PvE seriously in DoW), IG artillery is the best in the game and late game, those earthshakers will be a huge pain, especially with all the excess eco players will have, so even if you rely on Defiler artillery, that late in the game, you will suffer against superior artillery, especially since the main weakness that Chaos has is against vehicles.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by ꧁Renfrew꧂:

That's how you use ANY artillery, not just defilers, lmfao. If you only use Defilers as artillery, then good for you, it doesn't change the fact that defiler is AVERAGE at best in all its aspects, and the proper way to use it is to adapt it to how you need it.

Furthermore, defilers are fantastic early game, but provide very limited support at tier 3 or 4. If you have possessed and obliterators, then you would be at least Tier 3, so you wouldn't even need to rely on defilers, the only thing you would get a defiler for is to make use of unused Vehicle cap. For example if you were playing against an IG player (not AI, because who tf even takes PvE seriously in DoW), IG artillery is the best in the game and late game, those earthshakers will be a huge pain, especially with all the excess eco players will have, so even if you rely on Defiler artillery, that late in the game, you will suffer against superior artillery, especially since the main weakness that Chaos has is against vehicles.

Sure the IG artillery is good but the defilers do have a range advantage when it comes to theirs, if I remember correctly they can shoot farther away compared to them, however even in tier 3 its best to have the extra support from them even with possessed and obliterators because your enemies artillery would be focusing on them.
Edit: also just as a note with the IG their artillery isn't what can stop an assault dead in its tracks its the commissar's execute ability combined with a large mass of them.

[Renfrew]

Actually defilers range is 20-80, and the Basilisk has a range of 10-120. The Basilisk also has a wider sight radius of 60 vs the defiler's 30.

Earthshaker rounds can decimate entire armies, the ability does at least 1000 damage (max 1400) to most armour types, so in the lategame it is almost overpowered especially when both players will have a lot of resources and will be trying to focus on outplaying the other rather than on economy. But in general artillery is support, the only way your opponent would lose to artillery is if you fast tier 2, and they don't have good enough anti-vehicle.

You seem to be missing the point here, this thread is titled "Defiler vs other vehicles?", so it's not a discussion about what wins the game or the best way to use a defiler, but rather how it compares to other vehicles, and that's why I brought up the Basilisk as an example. There is no vehicle (excluding transports and weaker vehicles), that the defiler can beat in the same method of combat, dedicated melee specialists beat it, dedicated ranged specialists beat it, and dedcated artillery specialists beat it, but since the defiler is average in all areas, it can adapt to whatever comes its way.