Question About Tau Drones

[Grenadier]

Hey guys. I've been playing Tau for the first time and im really enjoying it. I love the idea of how all the units can synergize with one another in order to become an even more powerful army. However, (mind you i am only playing against AI on an easier difficulty) as cool as the other drones types are, i am struggling to bring myself to use anything other then combat drones during my engagement. I like the idea of having Marker Drones but somehow i just find that it is better for me to just push out a fleet of Combat Drones, trigger the AI's overwatch, and then proceed with moving in and attacking with the rest of my army. Shield Drones are cute, but somehow i feel like they would just handicap me when facing the enemy (like the Necron rape train). My thought process is (at least upon first contact) to maximize the amount of damage id do, there by reducing the total pain coming my way. And although i feel like that's what Marker Drones are there for, i just end up using Combats as a more active/aggressive approach.
Idk, somehow i feel like im missing something when im doing this, or maybe i just stumbled upon some accepted meta by accident which wasnt my intent.
I am curious to hear how you guys use your drones. Is there a way i could utilize the Shield and Marker drones more effectively? Any words of advise would be appreciated.
Thanks

[T77]

I'm no Tau expert, but I prefer marker drones. I like to stack that with other Tau abilities to do a lot of damage.

[Noodlesocks]

Gun drones become obsolete pretty quickly but marker drones is a consistent buff throughout the whole game. Pathfinder drones are a lot better than the basic firewarrior drones though like yourself I eventually mostly use them to trigger overwatch or cover a retreat by blocking enemy movement.

[Stormfox]

I kinda agree that the other generic drone options are not particularly enticing. 90% of any drone's use is blocking movement, triggering overwatches, taunting attacks, enhancing lines of sight and taking outposts - all of which can be done by any drone, and the gun drones happen to sometimes snipe a light unit, too.

Marker drones and shield drones are both a tad more useful in theory, but fiddly to use in practice without being actually that much better. Shield drones in particular can only shield one unit for a relatively low amount and will rarely prevent actual damage in a bigger confrontation. Either the unit does not get attacked or dies anyways or would have survived anyways.

The markers are a tad more useful since basically deal more damage than the gun drones by increasing the output of another unit by more than the gun drones, but only if you get another unit in place to fire on that exact unit.

All in all, the two others are a slight improvement, but there is not really a point in researching more than one of the three. The gun drones come earliest and are really helpful at the time they come at (clearing neutrals), and by the time you might research the others, there are always more pressing techs to get than a slight upgrade to your suicide drones.

[Grenadier]

Originally posted by Stormfox:

I kinda agree that the other generic drone options are not particularly enticing. 90% of any drone's use is blocking movement, triggering overwatches, taunting attacks, enhancing lines of sight and taking outposts - all of which can be done by any drone, and the gun drones happen to sometimes snipe a light unit, too.

Marker drones and shield drones are both a tad more useful in theory, but fiddly to use in practice without being actually that much better. Shield drones in particular can only shield one unit for a relatively low amount and will rarely prevent actual damage in a bigger confrontation. Either the unit does not get attacked or dies anyways or would have survived anyways.

The markers are a tad more useful since basically deal more damage than the gun drones by increasing the output of another unit by more than the gun drones, but only if you get another unit in place to fire on that exact unit.

All in all, the two others are a slight improvement, but there is not really a point in researching more than one of the three. The gun drones come earliest and are really helpful at the time they come at (clearing neutrals), and by the time you might research the others, there are always more pressing techs to get than a slight upgrade to your suicide drones.

I feel like also what makes the support drones a bit of a pain in the ass, is that once deployed they take up precious frontline space. While the combat drone's only purpose in life is to: deploy, hug the enemy, die/draw fire and shoot back for token damage. This may work where the battefield is wide open to field a wider army, but when you are dealing with anything less you have to choose between putting in a less active unit (shield drone at worst, Marker/Pulse at best) and something that can actually increase your overall firepower in depth. MAYBE if the marker drones could spot from just a tile further this would be slightly alleviated in this circumstance. Hell it would make Pathfinders an even better second rank unit (although, on paper anyway).
So yeah, i cant help but feel like im better off putting a Hammerhead, Hero, or literally anything else that could be shot from a longer distance.
I dont know, i just feel like im missing out on some kind of potential with at least the markers. But its hard to justify in most cases.

[Avloren]

Originally posted by Prof.Penguin:

I feel like also what makes the support drones a bit of a pain in the ass, is that once deployed they take up precious frontline space. While the combat drone's only purpose in life is to: deploy, hug the enemy, die/draw fire and shoot back for token damage. This may work where the battefield is wide open to field a wider army, but when you are dealing with anything less you have to choose between putting in a less active unit (shield drone at worst, Marker/Pulse at best) and something that can actually increase your overall firepower in depth. MAYBE if the marker drones could spot from just a tile further this would be slightly alleviated in this circumstance. Hell it would make Pathfinders an even better second rank unit (although, on paper anyway).
So yeah, i cant help but feel like im better off putting a Hammerhead, Hero, or literally anything else that could be shot from a longer distance.
I dont know, i just feel like im missing out on some kind of potential with at least the markers. But its hard to justify in most cases.

The drawbacks you're listing for support drones are the same drawbacks gun drones have. Markers have exactly the same purpose as gun drones: you put them on the front lines, they take some hits and waste enemy overwatch, and they contribute to your damage slightly. They're exactly like gun drones except (1) they contribute more damage, under the right circumstances (once your other units are sufficiently strong, and/or enemy has enough cover), (2) they can't independently pick off a weak enemy unit. Later in the game, 1 outweighs 2 and they become better than guns.

Shields are a little more difficult to compare, it's apples/oranges - do you want more damage or more defense? Late in the game you can get to a point where your units are oneshotting most things without need for drone help, so arguably shield drones are better there, but it's a marginal benefit. Either way, they can accomplish most of the same things as guns and markers: they can fly out to the front lines and take some hits in addition to using their ability.

They all share the same drawback that you may have difficulty sparing a spot for them on the front line, this can make them not worth summoning when you have plenty of real units and you're dealing with a choke point. All drone types share this limitation, if anything markers/shields are hurt less by it since they can use their ability without being in range 1.

Ultimately I find that research cost is the main thing pushing me to use guns over markers or shields. The latter are better in mid/late game, but not by a lot, and the techs they compete with are usually higher priority. For all drone types, the attack and/or ability is secondary to blocking enemy movement and baiting overwatch, and guns do that equally well for less research.

[Grenadier]

Originally posted by Avloren:

Originally posted by Prof.Penguin:

I feel like also what makes the support drones a bit of a pain in the ass, is that once deployed they take up precious frontline space. While the combat drone's only purpose in life is to: deploy, hug the enemy, die/draw fire and shoot back for token damage. This may work where the battefield is wide open to field a wider army, but when you are dealing with anything less you have to choose between putting in a less active unit (shield drone at worst, Marker/Pulse at best) and something that can actually increase your overall firepower in depth. MAYBE if the marker drones could spot from just a tile further this would be slightly alleviated in this circumstance. Hell it would make Pathfinders an even better second rank unit (although, on paper anyway).
So yeah, i cant help but feel like im better off putting a Hammerhead, Hero, or literally anything else that could be shot from a longer distance.
I dont know, i just feel like im missing out on some kind of potential with at least the markers. But its hard to justify in most cases.

The drawbacks you're listing for support drones are the same drawbacks gun drones have. Markers have exactly the same purpose as gun drones: you put them on the front lines, they take some hits and waste enemy overwatch, and they contribute to your damage slightly. They're exactly like gun drones except (1) they contribute more damage, under the right circumstances (once your other units are sufficiently strong, and/or enemy has enough cover), (2) they can't independently pick off a weak enemy unit. Later in the game, 1 outweighs 2 and they become better than guns.

Shields are a little more difficult to compare, it's apples/oranges - do you want more damage or more defense? Late in the game you can get to a point where your units are oneshotting most things without need for drone help, so arguably shield drones are better there, but it's a marginal benefit. Either way, they can accomplish most of the same things as guns and markers: they can fly out to the front lines and take some hits in addition to using their ability.

They all share the same drawback that you may have difficulty sparing a spot for them on the front line, this can make them not worth summoning when you have plenty of real units and you're dealing with a choke point. All drone types share this limitation, if anything markers/shields are hurt less by it since they can use their ability without being in range 1.

Ultimately I find that research cost is the main thing pushing me to use guns over markers or shields. The latter are better in mid/late game, but not by a lot, and the techs they compete with are usually higher priority. For all drone types, the attack and/or ability is secondary to blocking enemy movement and baiting overwatch, and guns do that equally well for less research.

I see. Somehow i was operating under the assumption that i would want to keep my utility drones in the backlines in order to provide their support for the longest amount of time possible. With combat drones its a no brainer, just push them out since i have no real reason to keep them in the back there by freeing up space. However, i never thought about pushing out the others as well under certain conditions. Ill have to play around with it more as i keep going.

[Avloren]

Originally posted by Prof.Penguin:

I see. Somehow i was operating under the assumption that i would want to keep my utility drones in the backlines in order to provide their support for the longest amount of time possible. With combat drones its a no brainer, just push them out since i have no real reason to keep them in the back there by freeing up space. However, i never thought about pushing out the others as well under certain conditions. Ill have to play around with it more as i keep going.

Yeah, definitely put them on the front lines. There's no need to keep them protected, treat all drones as expendable chaff. If anything, markers and shields are better at absorbing damage than guns: they can get down to 1 hp and still use their ability at 100% effectiveness, while guns lose firepower as they lose figures.

[Grenadier]

Originally posted by Avloren:

Originally posted by Prof.Penguin:

I see. Somehow i was operating under the assumption that i would want to keep my utility drones in the backlines in order to provide their support for the longest amount of time possible. With combat drones its a no brainer, just push them out since i have no real reason to keep them in the back there by freeing up space. However, i never thought about pushing out the others as well under certain conditions. Ill have to play around with it more as i keep going.

Yeah, definitely put them on the front lines. There's no need to keep them protected, treat all drones as expendable chaff. If anything, markers and shields are better at absorbing damage than guns: they can get down to 1 hp and still use their ability at 100% effectiveness, while guns lose firepower as they lose figures.

Dope. Actually, i have one more question. Does this mean that the Tau should be relying even more on infantry through out the game, in order to get more drones? In some ways this race feels like am IG+ even though they are a bit more squishier. And although i should push for vehicles later game, it feels like i should be relying more heavily on the Fire Warriors and Pathfinder combo early game.

And on the side note, is it just me or does the Piranha feel incredibly underwhelming?

[Jey]

The Piranha is a drone spammer. It's deceptively powerful.

[Noodlesocks]

Originally posted by Iffu:

The Piranha is a drone spammer. It's deceptively powerful.

Can they spawn more than one drone at a time or something? I've yet to really find a use for Piranhas.

[Jey]

Their cooldown is 5 turns instead of the usual 10.

[Avloren]

Originally posted by Prof.Penguin:

Dope. Actually, i have one more question. Does this mean that the Tau should be relying even more on infantry through out the game, in order to get more drones? In some ways this race feels like am IG+ even though they are a bit more squishier. And although i should push for vehicles later game, it feels like i should be relying more heavily on the Fire Warriors and Pathfinder combo early game.

And on the side note, is it just me or does the Piranha feel incredibly underwhelming?

Well, you don't have a choice early game - infantry and gun drones are the only units that can do much damage. The first couple vehicles are a scout and a transport, which are fine at filling their roles, but both have little to no firepower. The first two heroes are (1) awful (I only build them later on for the loyalty buff) and (2) a dedicated infantry support unit. So if you want to actually kill things in the early game, infantry are really the only option.

T'au don't really take off until commanders and crisis battlesuits. My favorite path is: several infantry training buildings + 1 hero building -> fire warriors supported by an Ethereal to get by early game -> crisis battlesuits + a commander ASAP. A little later in the game I find broadside battlesuits and hammerhead gunships doing most of the killing.

I haven't really given all their mid/late game units a fair try, but most of the others feel weak or like they're limited to a certain niche (e.g. countering a specific unit type like air or infantry). I might be missing something good, there are some strategies I've never tried like rushing air - the AI seems to love that one. The Tier 10 Stormsurges are amazing against everything, but the game is probably over before you get them.

Originally posted by Iffu:

Their cooldown is 5 turns instead of the usual 10.

Completely missed that. It might change my mind about them.

[tewall716]

their transport also is only a 5 turn cooldown on drones