Tau - R'Varna Battlesuit bad?

[Tsorig]

So I'm asking is R'Varna Battlesuit bad or is there something I don't get?

I have tried it to use in every possible scenarios against every unit class, with all upgrades and nova reactor buff. It seems to me very lackluster unit with almost non-existential dmg for a tier 9 unit. It's quite tanky, but that's all. Even some lower tier battle suit makes double the dmg than this piece of crap does.

Why even bother to research it, because you can get Storm surges at same cost(upkeep) on next research level and Surges are way more better than R'Varna.

[TemplarGR]

They serve different roles.

1) It is tankier than the Stormsurge out of the gate. It has 10 armor instead of 8, same hp. It has 17% minimum invulnerable damage resistance, and another 33% minimum ranged invlunerable resistance (seems to be a unique type to the typical inv and ranged resistances, it is counted seperately in the tooltip). On the other hand, the Stormsurge has a +33% feel no pain resistance. Basically against all targets Stormsurge's resistance is better, but against ranged damage which is the most prevalent, R'Varna's resistances are better. Combine the +2 armor and you have a unit that is tankier without counting other buffs. Of course, the Stormsurge is the only unit capable of installing 3 support systems, so if you installed the 3rd as the one that gives +17% invulnerable damage, then you close the gap somewhat. It still costs more influence though....

2) It arrives earlier, T9 to T10 tier is actually a large difference in terms of research points. Since T'au suffer from stacking multiple similar buildings due to Utopia, it is not easy to build such units fast, not without penalties, so unlocking them sooner counts for more.

3) In terms of damage, it doesn't need to be still to gain the full potential. So it is more mobile

4) Can benefit from Blacksun filter for +1 view range

5) Has flechetes so it returns 17% of ranged damage to the attacker (very useful for such a tanky frontline unit that is supposed to soak overwatch and the majority of the punishment.

6) It has the Nova abilities that allow it a lot of tactical flexibility, gaining more movement, a huge inv shield, or more damage (and even a haywire ability when you have to kill a swarm of vehicles).

Basically, R'Varna's role is to be a frontline. Stormsurge's role is to be a walking artillery, best at range and without moving. One deals more damage, the other can take severe punishment without much fass. Especially for soaking very powerful overwatch, using the Nova Shield ability and walking in front of the enemy's firing squad will pay for far more than the -10% hp it costs to enable, all the while returning -17% of the damage back to sender....

[AlphariusOmegon87]

Ummm, ♥♥♥♥ no the R'Varna isn't bad, you can upgrade It's range to 4 using the pulse accelerator drone!

[Howell-Barrex Soldier Ja'kala]

Originally posted by AlphariusOmegon87:

Ummm, ♥♥♥♥ no the R'Varna isn't bad, you can upgrade It's range to 4 using the pulse accelerator drone!

The Pulse Drive Cannon on the 128 does just as much damage (more for enemies with 5 or more armour and will deal twice as much if the 128 doesn't move) as the 107 and can also be raised to range 4 with the pulse accelerator in addition to the 3 other weapons it has for if enemies are closer.

[AlphariusOmegon87]

Originally posted by Howell-Barrex Soldier Ja'kala:

Originally posted by AlphariusOmegon87:

Ummm, ♥♥♥♥ no the R'Varna isn't bad, you can upgrade It's range to 4 using the pulse accelerator drone!

The Pulse Drive Cannon on the 128 does just as much damage (more for enemies with 5 or more armour and will deal twice as much if the 128 doesn't move) as the 107 and can also be raised to range 4 with the pulse accelerator in addition to the 3 other weapons it has for if enemies are closer.

Exactly! It's all about context with the Tau, and the R'Varna is absolutely incredible in the right circumstance!