A simple Adeptus Mechanicus unit guide

[TemplarGR]

I just completed my first introductory game with Adeptus after i finally found some time to play. I began writing this as a post in the previous "adeptus unit overview" thread, but since it became too big i decided to make it its own thread. I don't see why some people complained that much. Especially for the Knight Crusader which is a super strong unit with immense firepower vs every kind of target, and great survivability. If it had mobility too, it would have been broken (or much more expensive).

Adeptus do not lack early anti-armor either. Cybernetica Datasmith is quite tanky for its tier and has powerful anti armor damage, especially vs vehicles and fortifications. Spam some of those and they could deal with early armor just fine. Which is something that you SHOULD do anyway since capturing some neutral Kastelan Robots are very important in the early/mid game as well (and can net you whole legions of them for free if you have quests enabled): You get some strong mid tier vehicles without wasting resources or production time and you don't have to fight against them to clear them too. Plus they double as healers. The Datasmith is probably the most important unit in the Adeptus lineup. You definitely need to get Sub-cloister researched and built as soon as possible.

Their other early-mid tier infantry units are squishy but strong offensively vs other infantry. The Skitarii Vanguards are very squishy and ideally you should upgrade to Serberys Sulphurhounds as soon as possible. The Sulphurhounds are much tankier and do similar damage to other infantry. They do less damage to monstrous units vs the Vanguards overall but it shouldn't be a concern at that stage of the game. Vanguards do get the (T2 research) ability to ignore up to 50% of ranged damage reduction, making them effectively ignore terrain protection, but i find that typically you have much larger priorities in the early game research-wise and by the time you get the luxury to get such an upgrade, you should ideally already have better units available. So again, Sulphurhounds are preferable.

At tier 3, you can gain access to Fulgurite Technopriests. Those are essentially your early anti-cover unit. They are melee and they can do good dmg to infantry, and while they lack armor they do have great resistances and if they get a kill they boost those even more for 10 turns, plus they are morale loss resistant as well. Overall useful tier 3 unit if you need to attack infantry in cover, they cost as much as the Sulphurhounds and are a nice addition to them plus they get built in a different building so you can build them concurrently.

At tier 4, you get Sicarian Infiltrators. Those are 50% more expensive than the Sulphurhounds and the Technopriests and equal the cost of the Datasmiths. Once you get to them the Sulphurhounds and the Technopriests become obsolete. The Infiltrators can be tankier, have +1 movement, can ignore overwatch, and are better offensively too. Plus they get a nice tech at tier 5 to give them a range 1 passive to enhance morale loss of enemy units. This seems like a nice little trick even at the very latest game stages. Even the most massive super heavies can be dealt with if they drop their morale. My advice is to always keep a couple of them around with the morale debuff aura even in the late game.

At tier 6, you get Pteraxii Sterilizors. This is one of the few Adeptus units i didn't like. It is not particularly useful especially at T6. Compared to the infiltrators, they get around the same tankiness overall, they have a jump (+ hammer of vengeance) ability, plus they do somewhat more damage to infantry especially in cover. They cost the same as the infiltrators. But the difference is not that great in my opinion. And they do lose the morale debuff and the overwatch avoidance. Unless you really really need a jumping unit that can kill infantry in cover, there is no reason to build this. At mid game onwards you do have better options to kill infantry. Kastelan Robots for example. All in all, i think something needs to change for them to become more interesting. They are not useless but they are extremely niche and mostly not worth the trouble.

At tier 8 you get Kataprhon Destroyers, and those are awesome late game infantry. In my opinion one of the best infantry units in the game. They are great vs both vehicles and infantry (even in cover), it is mobile enough, and somewhat tankier than earlier infantry units. It is not expensive as well. Once you gain access to it, every other infantry unit becomes obsolete, except perhaps a few infiltrators for the morale debuff if you wish.

As for ground vehicles, at tier 1 you get Ironstrider Ballistarius. This is a cheap, relatively mobile unit, with decent survivability for the price, plus it gets 3 range. But its weapon hits like a watergun, especially against armored infantry. Ideally you should use those as scouts only. They could prove useful in the early game for their ability to hit at 3 range and potentially kill off escaping enemies, but other than that, once you reach mid game they just aren't worth it in my opinion.

At tier 2 you get Skorpius Dunerider, your land transport. It is an interesting transport, being a skimmer with move 4 means it is useful for moving your infantry efficiently in the early to mid game. They do get decent offensive power with lots of attacks but pathetic armor penetration so they could help offensively once they unload, but their survivability is pathetic and once the opponent gets serious firepower you should never let those inside enemy fire radius. Late game you should just disband them and replace them with your air transports (Archaeopter Transvector) instead.

At tier 3 you get Kastelan Robot, a formely neutral unit we are familiar with, and the first really dependable combat vehicle you get. Normally just capturing those in the wild with Datasmiths is enough, ideally you shouldn't be in need to build any, especially if you capture those from your questline too. Kastelans are interesting in the sense that they are the only land unit to use electricity for upkeep (3). Since only Archaeopter Stratoraptors and Kastelans use electricity for upkeep and Kastelans don't use much of it anyway, you could support a decent number of them easily. Kastelans are very, very tanky for a T3 unit thanks to their resistances (which means repairs are more efficient on them too). They do have fearless. They also return 17% of the ranged damage back to the attackers. Offensive wise they are effective vs infantry and light vehicles. All in all, this unit is key for your mid game. You should make it a top priority to capture as many as you can as soon as possible. Don't be shy to build a few too if the need arises. They should remain useful until much later in the game and unless you are starving for electricity you shouldn't have the need to disband them.

At tier 5, you get Onager Dunecrawlers. Those are good units as well for most of the game but i think most people overhype them. I saw many enthusiastic comments about them earlier, so let's compare them to Kastelan Robots. Price wise, Onagers and Kastelans cost the same, the difference being that Kastelans split the cost into half ore and half electricity while Onagers want it all in ore, and Onagers need 3 ore for upkeep instead of 3 electricity for the Kastelans. Onagers have the same movement but are slightly faster in ruins and forests. Defensive wise, Onagers get +50% more HP than the Kastelans and have equal armor (8), but the Kastelans have much higher resistances overall. Onagers get min 17% invulneruble resistance, while Kastelans have +33% feel no pain, and +17% ranged dmg reduction. Kastelans do also have fearless which can make them far more resilient in case of morale hits (though Onagers can benefit from a less version of this with an upgrade, plus it is an aura). Onagers less resistances but higher base HP mean they get more time to repair as well. Plus Kastelans can return 17% of the ranged damage they receive.... All in all, i would say Kastelans are more resilient than the Onagers. Offensively Onagers do get more weaponry, 3 weapons by default plus an additional one they can research. Problem is, the 3 default weapons all have Skyfire. This means that they lose a lot of damage vs ground targets that aren't skimmers (-33% accuracy), but do get a bonus damage vs skimmers and flyers (+33% accuracy). Also 2/3 have 2 armor penetration, and only 1 has 6(but low damage anyway). All 3 fire at range 3, so this is a plus. Plus one of the weapons has ignore cover trait. You can add a decent little gun with the upgrade, that does not have skyfire, but it does low damage with 0 armor penetration. All in all, those are NOT tanks and i don't understand all the comments people made in the forums about them. They are really poor vs most ground targets and lack armor penetration. So i think you need to use both Kastelan Robots and Onager Dunecrawlers in the mid game. Do not attempt to rely on Onagers for your ground needs and you do not need too many Onagers.

At tier 7, you get the first real tank, Skorpius Disintegrators. In terms of tankiness they do not differ too much from Kastelans and Onagers, they do have more hp (48) and same 8 armor but lack any other resistances so it evens out. They are similarly tanky but far harder to repair. They are also more expensive at 80 ore and 4 ore upkeep. But they are massively better vs ground units, both vehicles and infantry. Their main weapon that is more useful vs vehicles can hit from range 3, the other more infantry oriented weapons can hit from range 2. They are also the better of the 3 mobility wise, negating penalties for forests and ruins and having 4 movement. All in all, this is your bread and butter ground vehicle until you get the Knight Crusader. Since it uses ore for building and upkeep, you don't need to stop using Kastelans after you get it, and you should keep some Onagers around for anti-air duty. BUT, since at T7 you also get access to the air building (unlocking the air transport) and T8 can unlock the Stratoraptor(the combat air unit), you might want to use your energy for the air units instead, so as you bring Disintegrators and air units into your forces you should begin disabling Kastelans and Onagers from duty. All in all, an important unit, don't skip on it.

At tier 9, you get the Knight Crusader, your super heavy unit. Obviously once you have the research and the resources you should introduce it ASAP. It is 3 times more expensive in building and upkeep than the Skorpion Disintegrators. It has only 2 movement. It has +50% more hp plus 17% minimum invulneruble dmg reduction, so it is very tanky compared to a Disintegrator. It has an aura of fear and an extremely effective free action stomp to melt infantry. And its main guns are extremely effective vs all kinds of targets, especially at range 1. It has some of the best firepower in the game, if not the best (haven't compared them yet). Once you get the T10 upgrade for the Icarus Autocanon, you also get a skyfire weapon installed as well, so you can remove any Onagers from your army to make room in your ore upkeep for more Knight Crusaders. Due to their poor mobility though, you shouldn't disband your Skorpion Disintegrators since they get 2x the movement and can manuever and hunt fleeing enemies better. Skorpions should be disbanded to make more Knight Crusaders only in the very late game when you can have many Archaeopter Stratoraptors that can replace them in the more mobile duties.

As for air units, they get 2.

At T7, with the air building, they get Archaeopter Transvector, your air transport. It holds only 2 units vs the Skorpius Dunerider that holds 4, but is much faster (6 movement instead of 4) and safer (+50% HP plus it is a flier so ground weapons without skyfire do much less damage to it). This air transport is peculiar in that it has ore upkeep instead of energy upkeep. So it essentially takes the place of your ground transport in the ore upkeep budget (at +50% markup though). Half the cargo capacity is a problem but Adeptus aren't really an infantry faction and in the late game you shouldn't have a need to transport too many units apart from heroes and Kataphron Destroyers. Combat wise you shouldn't use them much. Their damage is pathetic and has 0 armor penetration. Only use them to kill off near dead units or aid in anti-air.

At T8 you also get the air combat unit, the Archaeopter Stratoraptor. Those are very important in the late game. Since they are essentially one of the two units that use energy upkeep (6), and the only late game unit to do so, you should spam them with impunity in the late game. By that point Kastelans should have been disbanded anyway, so you are going to have plenty of energy to spare. They are not the tankiest air units around (actually equal to the Transvectors) but offensively they are not bad, with a decent selection of guns that are optimal at range 2 vs both air and ground units. Those should take the place of your Skorpius Disintegrators once you get enough Knight Crusaders, in order to be your flanking mobile force, supporting the slow Knights.

[TemplarGR]

As for heroes, the first at tier 1, the Skitarii Marshal, is a great buffer hero. You should make at least a couple of them if not more as the game progresses. All their abilities can buff your units. Combat wise they are pathetic, their damage is poor and they are not the tankiest of heroes.... But their ability to considerably enhance your armies is important and they are relatively cheap.

At tier 2, the Techpriest Manipulus, is a great healer and support unit. 50% more expensive than the Marshal, is also much tankier with great armor, hp, and resistances, plus he gets better offensive power as well. Still, his main usage should be healing and buffing, not fighting. You should definitely consider making a few of these ASAP to keep repairing your vehicles. One nice trick is to combine them with Cybernetica Datasmiths in a team, use the Datasmith low heal (6hp) to heal the Manipulus who has only 9 hp but tremendous resistances, so you can always keep him healthy with just a datasmith, while using the Manipulus much stronger heal (up to 24hp per turn) to heal your vehicles. This can actually work wonders for your army efficiency. Keep in mind the Manipulus gets the basic 6hp heal ability too by default, he needs to spend point in his hero ability to get the better heal. Since he can only use 1 of them per turn, you can choose between getting the better heal or rely on the basic heal and invest in other abilities first.

At tier 3, you get the more expensive hero (2x cost compared to Marshal and +33% compared to Manipulus), Techpriest Dominus. This hero is still a support hero, though he does get some combat capability too. He gets the same basic 6hp heal Manipulus and Datasmiths get by default, so this is a plus. He gets a passive aura to buff the accuracy of units, plus at lvl 6 he gets a great buff to influence and science production. He also gets the ability to reveal an area of the map. Only 1 of his abilities is combat oriented, giving him a strong buff to damage. He gets the same resistances as the Manipulus but 66% of his HP (6), so he is more squishy, but he gets much better offensive power, especially if boosted by his ability. Still, you should spam those mainly for the extra science+influence, the reveal, and the accuracy buff which is significant in combination with the other hero buffs. Don't rely on them for combat.

As for items, since none of those heroes is a combat hero, you shouldn't get damage items in my opinion. I recommmend to get Armaplas Bracers, Adamantium Weave Vest, and Zoat Hide Jerkin. This is a combination i use in all my heroes because i love the tankiness they provide in combination: +3 armor, +3 hit points, +100% healing rate. Those 3 heroes in particular are support heroes that work with auras and heals so you definitely need to have them in harm's way. The other 3 items i recommend are Tantalising Icon for +8 influence, Scrolls of Magnus for +6 research, and Endurance Implant for +1 movement. That way you also aid with influence costs so you can get more heroes and items faster, you aid in research since Adeptus have a penalty to research, and you get 1 more movement which can be very useful for support heroes. You could replace the Endurance Implant with something else if you want though, depending on your needs.

All in all, i find that Adeptus Mechanicus have a decent lineup of units. The main issue with them is that they are pretty much clear cut in how to use them. There are not many options for creativity here and paths to take. Depending on your tier your selection of units is set in stone. There is no variety. Not much liberty for playstyle. You use them in the way i described in this post, as you advance in tiers. Still, they are fun faction to play, plus they get some creativity in the economic department for the layout of your cities, to cover up for the boring army composition part. I hope you found this helpful.

[jmsand1]

Very helpful, thank you! I've been struggling with this faction. Please explain, if you can, their economy. In particular the 'monolithic' trait, and the research buffs in the tech tree. I apparently do not have an effective grasp of their city mechanics.

[Bakeneko]

Good guide! The only thing i disagree with is the gear. While the TP Dominus is indeed a hybrid hero, the Volkite Blaster is no joke, it alone does more ranged damage than a Tau commander. So i usually equip them with Omni-Scope, Entropic Locum, and Concealed Weapon System, + the usual survival buff gear. (Zoat Hide, Adamantium Vest, Endurance implant)

[Jey]

Originally posted by Bakeneko:

So i usually equip them with Omni-Scope, Entropic Locum, and Concealed Weapon System, + the usual survival buff gear. (Zoat Hide, Adamantium Vest, Endurance implant)

I'd really invest in the Armaplast Bracers. Maybe instead of the entropic locum? Or maybe replacing the Endurance implant, and having instead a transport for the Dominus?

Since you already have 12 armor, might as well go for 13. That's a tiny bit more protection against las cannons, melta and other high AP stuff. And it also helps ignoring medium AP stuff (like the power swords and stuff).

[Jey]

Originally posted by TemplarGR:

Cybernetica Datasmith is quite tanky for its tier and has powerful anti armor damage

6.2 damage against 8 armor.
6.4 against 7 armor.

Skitarii deals respectively 4.2 and 5 damage against each. They also cost half as much as the Datasmith.

Note that this is against vehicles/fortifications.
Against Monstrous creatures, Skitarii deal 6.2, while Datasmith deals 3.6
Ooch.

Also against 7 armor open-topped, Serberys deal 7.7 damage.

Using Datasmiths as anti-tank is stupid and should only be done in the most extreme circumstances. Otherwise they'll get killed and your morale will get nuked.

since capturing some neutral Kastelan Robots are very important

With a single game, i'm not too sure yet, but I think capturing Kastelans is a false good idea. Their energy upkeep can cripple your economy, while they aren't THAT good.

The Datasmith is probably the most important unit in the Adeptus lineup. You definitely need to get Sub-cloister researched and built as soon as possible.

Mostly because you need a second city.

I'm doubtful about the military use of Datasmith. Sure, I made good use of them to heal my troops, but I also faced non-agressive players who played suboptimal builds. Against optimized armies, I don't think you can make use of their heal that much, and when you can, having one Manipulus is usually more efficient (More heal per upkeep).

At tier 3, you can gain access to Fulgurite Technopriests. Those are essentially your early anti-cover unit.

Why would you bother with them to deal with cover when you have Sulphurhound (flamers) or Skitarii (ignore 50% ranged reduction)?
Especially since making them goes directly against making your Datasmiths or Manipulus?

Their goal is to be tanky and cripple fighter heroes as well as monstrous creatures or elite infantry.
But being tanky means you need something behind to hit the enemy (except early on you have mostly range 1 units...), and you don't need to cripple monstrous creatures/infantry/heroes if you can slaugther them with Skitarii.

They could be really interesting with an ally able to provide support fire, but I think they're hard to use alone.

As for ground vehicles, at tier 1 you get Ironstrider Ballistarius.. But its weapon hits like a watergun, especially against armored infantry

Who cares, it's range 3.
It's a Doctrina Imperative unit and it has 4 moves.
This is a great unit.

You definitely want it unless you have a god-like food start and can just spam Skitarii and not care if you lose some.

Being able to taunt enemies and force them to come to your OW, being able to provide fire support...
It's definitely awesome for a T1 unit. Even more if your know your enemy use mid to high HP units.

At tier 2 you get Skorpius Dunerider, your land transport. Late game you should just disband them and replace them with your air transports

It's an assault transport. You don't disband them.

At tier 5, you get Onager Dunecrawlers. They are really poor vs most ground targets and lack armor penetration.

Which unit takes more damage from Kastelan than from Onagers?
Which unit gets utterly slaughtered by Onagers when Kastelans don't deal much damage?

Have you missed the fact that Onagers can get +2 accuracy? +2 armor?

Onagers are better than Kastelans. (Also the fact that you can focus on ore instead of needing energy. Big plus).

[Wiresky]

Originally posted by Jey:

Originally posted by TemplarGR:

Cybernetica Datasmith is quite tanky for its tier and has powerful anti armor damage

6.2 damage against 8 armor.
6.4 against 7 armor.

Skitarii deals respectively 4.2 and 5 damage against each. They also cost half as much as the Datasmith.

Note that this is against vehicles/fortifications.
Against Monstrous creatures, Skitarii deal 6.2, while Datasmith deals 3.6
Ooch.

Also against 7 armor open-topped, Serberys deal 7.7 damage.

Using Datasmiths as anti-tank is stupid and should only be done in the most extreme circumstances. Otherwise they'll get killed and your morale will get nuked.

since capturing some neutral Kastelan Robots are very important

With a single game, i'm not too sure yet, but I think capturing Kastelans is a false good idea. Their energy upkeep can cripple your economy, while they aren't THAT good.

The Datasmith is probably the most important unit in the Adeptus lineup. You definitely need to get Sub-cloister researched and built as soon as possible.

Mostly because you need a second city.

I'm doubtful about the military use of Datasmith. Sure, I made good use of them to heal my troops, but I also faced non-agressive players who played suboptimal builds. Against optimized armies, I don't think you can make use of their heal that much, and when you can, having one Manipulus is usually more efficient (More heal per upkeep).

At tier 3, you can gain access to Fulgurite Technopriests. Those are essentially your early anti-cover unit.

Why would you bother with them to deal with cover when you have Sulphurhound (flamers) or Skitarii (ignore 50% ranged reduction)?
Especially since making them goes directly against making your Datasmiths or Manipulus?

Their goal is to be tanky and cripple fighter heroes as well as monstrous creatures or elite infantry.
But being tanky means you need something behind to hit the enemy (except early on you have mostly range 1 units...), and you don't need to cripple monstrous creatures/infantry/heroes if you can slaugther them with Skitarii.

They could be really interesting with an ally able to provide support fire, but I think they're hard to use alone.

While I agree with Datasmiths not being frontline, I will produce them 2-3 early instead of letting my cloister(s) sit idle, if you scout Kastelans before you can deal with them build an extra energy (should be building some anyways) to deal with the loss. It is worth the cost but should not be your strategy.

About the Fulgurites, they make good use of your cloister after your heroes are built, are quite tanky and take food. If your running with barracks then I agree it is a tough sell, but without they pack quite a punch, canticle gives them +67% damage and you have access to litany. And without having to build barracks you can back them up with an armory.
Agree on the other stuff you said tho

[KDubya]

I've had good success with going tech heavy at start, building several of the Ironstrider and getting quickly to Onagers. Then push for Skorpius Disintegraters. Those things are fracking great, you can kill everything in the game with these guys. Add in the Kataphran Destroyers and you are set. For further ass kicking grab the Knight Crusader.

With mass healing it is easy to not lose hardly any units.

I don't see the point of researching multiple infantry killing units that slightly improve on the previous. I push tech to get to one that I want/need and skip the intermediate steps. ironstriders + Vanguard can handle stuff till you get to onagers. Grab infiltrators or the jump guys if you have infantry issues. Keep pushing tech for the Skorpius Disintegrators as these guys are some of the best tanks in the game. Get a handful of these and the game is yours. Add in the Knights backed by 24hp heals and you win.

[Antpile]

Ironstriders are solid units. They aren't great against groups of infantry. They do better against low model count targets. Also, they seem to benefit greatly from accuracy buffs. There is a doctrina to do this, and you can sit your dominus next to them. Add in the armor piercing buff from the manipulus and they can actually lay on some pain, but this last buff is often better spent elsewhere.

As for the dominus, he is a combat powerhouse in my experience. He has tons of resistances and hits like a truck. I had him hitting much harder than my knights. I was hitting cities and large units for like 47 when buffed by the manipulus piercing buff and his personal damage buff. That was without using canticles that could have cranked up his accuracy. Even if you just shoot his gun, he still hits pretty respectably against even heavily armored stuff.

I finished the quest line mostly with a dominus or two with a manipulus following them around. He tore through all those huge blobs that spawn near the end. Then he had no problem dealing with all the super units at the end either.

[Lampros]

A very useful thread - thanks!

[ZombieBoss]

Hi, I'm new to gladius, how do you get the tantilising icon to work? I currently have it equipped to a primaris psyker but they're highlighted red in the items bar and I'm not sure they stack

[Jey]

You can only have one tantalizing icon per hero. Having more doesn't stack.
When an item is red, it means it's active.

[icelegion09]

What are you guys thoughts on the rangers?? I have really enjoyed using them for long range infantry destroyers. I have had the vanguard be front line troopers with the datasmiths behind them and rangers as follow ups and that team up is completely mean. When I need to I pull the datasmiths back and move the rangers forward. Then I push for the duncrawlers with the hero dominus it just makes a group of these dunecrawlers a force to be reckoned with.

[TemplarGR]

Originally posted by icelegion09:

What are you guys thoughts on the rangers?? I have really enjoyed using them for long range infantry destroyers. I have had the vanguard be front line troopers with the datasmiths behind them and rangers as follow ups and that team up is completely mean. When I need to I pull the datasmiths back and move the rangers forward. Then I push for the duncrawlers with the hero dominus it just makes a group of these dunecrawlers a force to be reckoned with.

Rangers are a great unit if you go for Doctrina Imperatives focus (the alternative is a Canticles of the Omnissiah focus). They are not just anti-infantry, they are anti-everything, rangers are great vs everything in the early game BUT they are very squishy. I don't use the vanguard as front troopers though because the Vanguards are equally squishy anyway. Whatever my early strategy is, i only ever use the starting Vanguards and i never make more of those. Yes that means that i won't have a frontline for some time but the Rangers are range 3 and relentless and good vs everything, so it is not that bad.