So I'm kinda disappointed with the Tyranids

[Ehecatl]

Hello all, recently Tyranids became my favorite faction in 40k fluff and I even started buying and building their models for tabletop, immersed myself in their lore and loved reading the Codex. I used to love Eldar and never really played this game because they were missing all together and I have zero interest in playing Imperium. That said I finally jumped in and bought the Tyranid DLC and began playing games with my friends, and I'm sad to say I'm disappointed by their implementation here.

Tyranids are supposed to be a swarm of units of variety, eventually overwhelming the enemy, but this is not the case. Instead you essentially have one unit you want to build, Lictors. When starting the game you go straight for Tervigon, spam Termaguants and level up the heal, then you go for Lictors. Thats the way you play everytime and that is really boring to me, most of the units in their roster are completely irrelevant in this game.

Hormaguants- No reason to build or ever research, their synapse penalty is they literally start dying and they are weak (to be expected as they are fodder to be fair) moving across rivers quickly isn't enough of a bonus to justify trying to use these

Tyranid Warriors- I stopped even researching these at all, very slow and surprisingly bland iteration of these, requires multiple researches to get more weapons and are still mediocre even when kitted out. Termagants powered up by the Tervigon and one research will do more damage than these will provide, skip completely

Haruspex- Skip completely, sure he can heal when he damages things but he is not bulky enough to withstand even the most meager of attacks, also if not constantly within synapse he slowly die each turn, get Zoanthropes to move around with your army instead

Exocrine- skip completely a very low range 'artillery' unit that is never worth the time investment, low damage

Tyrannofex- could for overwatch and when powered up by multiple researches (starting to sound familiar yet?) they can do some decent damage. You need ocular proliferation and stinger salvo iirc and they can put a hurting with overwatch, but sadly if you are attacking a city a Lictor will still do more damage somehow....so basically Lictors instead. Also these aren't as tough as you would expect since even a night scythe from the necrons will kill you in short order and this big guy is the tier 9 research unit for Tyranids.....

Hive Crone- imho the worst offender and the most worthless unit in the entire roster, not only is it epic expensive requiring capillary tower and then 120 biomass with an upkeep of 4 initially, the damage output on these are incredibly low and laughable tbh, why would you ever build these when again you can build Lictors and even more Lictors. This unit is supposed to be good against flyers but even with it's tentaclid swarm the damage is non existent, worse yet their awesome movement which could be a boon is destroyed by their synapse debuff which damages them each turn. Unless you have a few of these (why would you ever) moving with a hive tyrant they are completely useless imho, never build these

Lictors- the end all be all of the roster on this game, they can infilitrate and avoid over watch, they destroy cities and armour (the only unit really that can in the entire roster btw) they have 4 movement and their synapse debuff isn't one that you have to worry about 2 much. They literally do more damage to cities than Tyrannofexes, and they can pretty much one shot most medium tier and below units, the only unit you should ever build once researched not counting heroes of course. I'm not sure why this is as Lictors are supposed to be single assassins with camo abilites, how are they wrecking balls against armour and cities..........am I missing something here?

All in all I wish the Tyranids were more in line with their lore in their presentation here, that you didn't have one build path each game to spam Lictors and that a few new units be added in along with buffs to the ones already in game to make playing Tyranids require some strategic effort and diversity. Also where is the Swarmlord? Why is Tyrannofex our last unit to unlock? I would also love Venomthropes, spore clouds, and spore mines. Thanks for reading.

[JDPUK]

I typically have about 8-12 top front-line fighters with 4-6 support elements, so for example my favorite faction in this game, until Eldar and Tau is probably, Tryanids, here would be my fighting force, for the game.

2xPrimes (all upgrades)
1xHive Tyrant (upgraded with area affect - scream?!?)
1xTervignon - THE MOST IMPORTANT UNIT TO KEEP ALIVE - this guy on heal 12 is a life saver!
2x Warriors
3x Raveners
2xLictors - Do amazing damage against infantry and buildings, I can average 37dmg per strike with a single Lictor unit against an enemy HQ, after just a few turns along with Primes (-50% armor to any vehicle or structure for three turns) = DEATH to any foe!
1xExocrine
2X Carnifex, (all upgrades, especially mele)
The NIDs most powerful weapon and will break any army is: reduce armor of any unit or structure at 50% for three turns, get any two Primes with this ability and you can damn take over any base, I just keep healing them at 12x and have them taking turns, within 5-6 turns, any base HQ is decimated. Use a similar approach with Chaos, same type of setup, healers are vitally important in this game, as are several small upgrades, that greatly make a difference.

[Ehecatl]

Originally posted by JDPUK:

I typically have about 8-12 top front-line fighters with 4-6 support elements, so for example my favorite faction in this game, until Eldar and Tau is probably, Tryanids, here would be my fighting force, for the game.

2xPrimes (all upgrades)
1xHive Tyrant (upgraded with area affect - scream?!?)
1xTervignon - THE MOST IMPORTANT UNIT TO KEEP ALIVE - this guy on heal 12 is a life saver!
2x Warriors
3x Raveners
2xLictors - Do amazing damage against infantry and buildings, I can average 37dmg per strike with a single Lictor unit against an enemy HQ, after just a few turns along with Primes (-50% armor to any vehicle or structure for three turns) = DEATH to any foe!
1xExocrine
2X Carnifex, (all upgrades, especially mele)
The NIDs most powerful weapon and will break any army is: reduce armor of any unit or structure at 50% for three turns, get any two Primes with this ability and you can damn take over any base, I just keep healing them at 12x and have them taking turns, within 5-6 turns, any base HQ is decimated. Use a similar approach with Chaos, same type of setup, healers are vitally important in this game, as are several small upgrades, that greatly make a difference.

Sure you could go with 2x Primes, the armour reduction is good, but it isn't until level 6. You could go for that or just get more Lictors for the resource cost and time cost it would take

Hive Tyrant is super expensive and squishy, I like having one for the loyalty boost, but I dont' even always build one

Tervigon is the most essential unit and first hero you should get, the heal makes him awesome and he can spawn an army all on his own

the 2x warriors are a waste of resources honestly

3x raveners I don't get why you want want them, get more Lictors

Having more than 2 Lictors would completely negate the bonus of having the prime at level 6 with the armour debuff, by the time you get that investment you could have even more Lictors who do 20 damage to a city with no help

exocrine is useless, use resources on Lictors

Carnifex is meh, he also requres multiple research tiers to become really decent at bulldozing, bone mace etc, why do all that when you guessed it, you can simply research Lictors and do more damage right out of the gate

The most powerful weapon Tyranids have is Lictors

[JDPUK]

[exocrine is useless, use resources on Lictors -

Carnifex is meh, he also requres multiple research tiers to become really decent at bulldozing, bone mace etc, why do all that when you guessed it, you can simply research Lictors and do more damage right out of the gate

The most powerful weapon Tyranids have is Lictors [/quote]
-----BREAK-----

Exocrine is useless, though he's somewhat of a poor mans artillery, from range, very weak.
Haruspex is useless as tits on a boar hog.
Carnifex, I want to like, I do, though he definitely needs to be buffed a lot!
Lictors are such difference makers, I was stunned to see them after I used the Prime's 50% armor reduction, exacting 55 damage per strike on stuff, it was hilarious, one hit kill on nearly everything in the game.


I'm not sure why this is as Lictors are supposed to be single assassins with camo abilites, how are they wrecking balls against armour and cities..........am I missing something here?

HAHAHA, I've thought the same so many times, many of the epic units should be like this, and Lictor is a specialist assassin type, though in his current form, he's the bringer of death to everything in the game. I can't complain too much, without Lictors, in their current configuration, Tyranids would be unusable!

[Ehecatl]

Originally posted by JDPUK:

[exocrine is useless, use resources on Lictors -

Carnifex is meh, he also requres multiple research tiers to become really decent at bulldozing, bone mace etc, why do all that when you guessed it, you can simply research Lictors and do more damage right out of the gate

The most powerful weapon Tyranids have is Lictors

-----BREAK-----

Exocrine is useless, though he's somewhat of a poor mans artillery, from range, very weak.
Haruspex is useless as tits on a boar hog.
Carnifex, I want to like, I do, though he definitely needs to be buffed a lot!
Lictors are such difference makers, I was stunned to see them after I used the Prime's 50% armor reduction, exacting 55 damage per strike on stuff, it was hilarious, one hit kill on nearly everything in the game.


I'm not sure why this is as Lictors are supposed to be single assassins with camo abilites, how are they wrecking balls against armour and cities..........am I missing something here?

HAHAHA, I've thought the same so many times, many of the epic units should be like this, and Lictor is a specialist assassin type, though in his current form, he's the bringer of death to everything in the game. I can't complain too much, without Lictors, in their current configuration, Tyranids would be unusable! [/quote]

Yeah without Lictors everything falls apart, I would like them to redo that, because as is the Tyranids are not diverse they are a single unit builder faction, I LOVE Tyranids and I want to use all the units, they look awesome but sadly they have been implemented in a very poor fashion. The carnifex is something you should be using to annihilate things like Kastellans, but nope Lictors do more damage than any unit including Tyrannofex against cities......I just don't get it

[Zedonova Nova]

I agree nids are weak atm. My problem is there are earlier damage options for other factions earlier on. Why invest in the carnifex instead just rush lictors? The nids have a rough time matching necrons destroyers damage output...just rediculous if you ask me. They need a major buff.

[Stardustfire]

the Tyraids are bad implemented in this game , thats for sure (playing them long time in TT myself) but im also puzzled why everone hypes the Lictors in this game and total ignores tthe fact that they are onehit wonders that get sniffed out from enemy units with the weakest dmg in one attack? there i prefer carnifex that i use like terminator units.
and with each research that benefits the alphas (what are miraclously heads down the best fighter hero of all factions, what is funny when in the TT it is one of the weaker Tyranid HQ units) the carnifex profit as well, because monstrous and alpha get most upgrades in the same researches.

[Zedonova Nova]

Originally posted by Stardustfire:

the Tyraids are bad implemented in this game , thats for sure (playing them long time in TT myself) but im also puzzled why everone hypes the Lictors in this game and total ignores tthe fact that they are onehit wonders that get sniffed out from enemy units with the weakest dmg in one attack? there i prefer carnifex that i use like terminator units.
and with each research that benefits the alphas (what are miraclously heads down the best fighter hero of all factions, what is funny when in the TT it is one of the weaker Tyranid HQ units) the carnifex profit as well, because monstrous and alpha get most upgrades in the same researches.

I agree it takes literally every upgrade for Carnifexs to be good. Literally having to rush cities and hive tyrants and alphas just to keep up with the damage of other factions. You have to crush the earlier game so you can get to real late game hopefully you can handle all AI destroying most of your units in one shot by then.

[Torrens]

I have a suggestion that will give you a very different experience with Tyranids. Try this and see how you feel about them afterwards.

1. Don't overlook reclamation. This will let you build cities incredibly fast. You can use it from the beginning and you will always grow faster than any other race. You have a tier 1 research to make it cheaper. This is where Termagaunts/Hormagaunts come in. They are the fastest and cheapest units to reclaim. Remember that constant Termagaunt/Hormagaunt spam = constant reclaim and faster city expansion. When you want to try new units that you think are weak, you can just reclaim them and try something else.

2. You need more Malanthropes. Consume tiles with Malanthropes every turn. You will have endless biomass and monster upkeep will never be an issue. Surround Malanthropes with Hormagaunts and have an incredibly mobile swarm ready to react to any threats. Termagaunts can't accomplish this with Malanthropes. They are slower than Hormagaunts. Your side of the map should be empty from all life in late game.

3. Invest heavily on influence. Influence = endless biomass, endless reclamation. You need more influence buildings than biomass buildings.

4.Research upkeep reduction techs - infantry, monster, resource buildings and production buildings. This will net you a lot more influence for your endless Malanthrope consumption and reclamation.

5. When you have Malanthropes all over the place consuming tiles and keeping your economy strong, you can abuse their research boost when units die around them. This will let you tech rush through-out the game and get any research you want fast. You won't need many research buildings in your cities. It will also let you react to new threats and research the appropriate answer when you need it instead of just rushing Lictors ect.

6. Hive Tyrant can increase synapse link radius by 5 or 6 tiles. This will also increase your city synapse link radius. They can also increase loyalty giving you a massive economy boost and let you expand faster.

7. Always keep building influence.

8. You need more influence

[adozu]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/458670057##

[Xenocore]

Originally posted by Torrens:

I have a suggestion that will give you a very different experience with Tyranids. Try this and see how you feel about them afterwards.

1. Don't overlook reclamation. This will let you build cities incredibly fast. You can use it from the beginning and you will always grow faster than any other race. You have a tier 1 research to make it cheaper. This is where Termagaunts/Hormagaunts come in. They are the fastest and cheapest units to reclaim. Remember that constant Termagaunt/Hormagaunt spam = constant reclaim and faster city expansion. When you want to try new units that you think are weak, you can just reclaim them and try something else.

2. You need more Malanthropes. Consume tiles with Malanthropes every turn. You will have endless biomass and monster upkeep will never be an issue. Surround Malanthropes with Hormagaunts and have an incredibly mobile swarm ready to react to any threats. Termagaunts can't accomplish this with Malanthropes. They are slower than Hormagaunts. Your side of the map should be empty from all life in late game.

I just tried out your advice, and holy S***!

that game was the most fun I've had with any faction, let alone tyranids

just had mass of exocrines, termagaunts and malanthropes wiping armies, plus Trygons setting a tunnel network across the lifeless map

[JDPUK]

Originally posted by Xenocore:

Originally posted by Torrens:

I have a suggestion that will give you a very different experience with Tyranids. Try this and see how you feel about them afterwards.

1. Don't overlook reclamation. This will let you build cities incredibly fast. You can use it from the beginning and you will always grow faster than any other race. You have a tier 1 research to make it cheaper. This is where Termagaunts/Hormagaunts come in. They are the fastest and cheapest units to reclaim. Remember that constant Termagaunt/Hormagaunt spam = constant reclaim and faster city expansion. When you want to try new units that you think are weak, you can just reclaim them and try something else.

2. You need more Malanthropes. Consume tiles with Malanthropes every turn. You will have endless biomass and monster upkeep will never be an issue. Surround Malanthropes with Hormagaunts and have an incredibly mobile swarm ready to react to any threats. Termagaunts can't accomplish this with Malanthropes. They are slower than Hormagaunts. Your side of the map should be empty from all life in late game.

I just tried out your advice, and holy S***!

that game was the most fun I've had with any faction, let alone tyranids

just had mass of exocrines, termagaunts and malanthropes wiping armies, plus Trygons setting a tunnel network across the lifeless map

Yeah, going to test this tactic and technique as well, thanks for the great inputs!

[Torrens]

Originally posted by Xenocore:

Originally posted by Torrens:

I have a suggestion that will give you a very different experience with Tyranids. Try this and see how you feel about them afterwards.

1. Don't overlook reclamation. This will let you build cities incredibly fast. You can use it from the beginning and you will always grow faster than any other race. You have a tier 1 research to make it cheaper. This is where Termagaunts/Hormagaunts come in. They are the fastest and cheapest units to reclaim. Remember that constant Termagaunt/Hormagaunt spam = constant reclaim and faster city expansion. When you want to try new units that you think are weak, you can just reclaim them and try something else.

2. You need more Malanthropes. Consume tiles with Malanthropes every turn. You will have endless biomass and monster upkeep will never be an issue. Surround Malanthropes with Hormagaunts and have an incredibly mobile swarm ready to react to any threats. Termagaunts can't accomplish this with Malanthropes. They are slower than Hormagaunts. Your side of the map should be empty from all life in late game.

I just tried out your advice, and holy S***!

that game was the most fun I've had with any faction, let alone tyranids

just had mass of exocrines, termagaunts and malanthropes wiping armies, plus Trygons setting a tunnel network across the lifeless map

Glad it worked for you! Tyranids are FUN! You must consume every inch of biomass available. Influence is the key for Tyranid gameplay.

Now get out there and please the hivemind!

[Zedonova Nova]

haha i just added a new trait to my nids Bio-Evolution gives more attacks per tern...only 15% and increased health for carnifex and trygon and an improved melee and 1 armor for hormagraunts. Actually gives them some use.