User blog:Sclera1/Equipment in Warhammer 40,000

Within the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe, some races use weapons and equipment similar to that used by the Imperium, while others use radically different tools.

Combi-weapons
A combi-weapon is a portmanteau of the English words "combination" and "weapon". In the Warhammer 40,000 game rules, it is used to refer to a special type of weapon which is actually a fusion of two weapons, one usually the most common ranged weapon for the particular faction. For example, a Space Marine combi-plasma would be a combination of a bolter and a plasma gun while an Ork kombi weapon might be a combination of an Ork shoota and a rokkit launcha. This is similar to the way a modern day M-16 Assault Rifle could have an M203 grenade launcher attached to it.

In the second edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rules, combi-weapons had unlimited ammunition. Either weapon could be fired as many times as possible in a single game, and both weapons could even be fired simultaneously (with a slight decrease in accuracy). With the release of the Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition ruleset, combi-weapons were toned down. Instead of having an unlimited number of shots, only the main weapon could be fired any number of times. The other weapon could only be fired once per game. Also, they could no longer be fired simultaneously.

Master-crafted weapons
A master-crafted weapon is a type of weapon in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. It is used to describe any weapon that is of particularly higher-quality than others of its kind, for example an ornate sword or a specially-made gun. In game terms, it essentially gives the bearer a greater chance of hitting an opponent with the master-crafted weapon.

Chaos Forces
Chaos Space Marines are predominantly equipped with older versions of the weaponry wielded by normal (Loyalist) Space Marines, with some exceptions. Since they were separated from further technological development by the Imperium at the time of the Heresy, Chaos Space Marines do not use post-Heresy weapons such as Storm Bolters (although they have their equivalent), Assault Cannons, Whirlwind tanks, Land Raider Crusaders or Land Speeders.

Use of Plasma Cannons, Storm Bolters, and Multi-Meltas is uncommon. These were rare at the time of the Horus Heresy or captured in small amounts from loyalist Marines. Some Space Marines have defected to the Ruinous Powers since the Horus Heresy, taking their weapons with them (e.g. Red Corsairs Chapter).

To compensate for their technological gap, they utilise the help of daemons and dark magic. This has led to the development of vehicles such as the Defiler, a massive spider-like fusion of daemon and machine.

Certain Chaos Space Marines (such as the Emperor's Children) are noted for their use of sonic weaponry, which uses powerful sound waves to inflict damage.

In the Chaos forges many variations of the existing weapons are fabricated with daemonic powers. One such example is the Kai Gun, a supremely powerful bolter too large and heavy for a man to lift. The Kai Gun fires bolter shells equivalent in power to the plasma rounds used by the Tau.

Renegade Imperial Guardsmen are usually equipped with weaponry identical to their loyal counterparts, as they bring their weapons with them when they turn renegade.

It is worth noting that Chaos worship is not specific to humans, and many alien races have members who worship Chaos as well. These aliens also utilise their own weaponry. The best known of these are the Loxatl, lizard-like creatures who use exotic weapons such as torso-mounted flechette launchers.

Vehicles
The forces of Chaos have access to some of the vehicles used by the Imperium. These are those designs that they had when the Horus Heresy occurred and that they took with them into the Eye of Terror, which means they do not have access to vehicles that were, in the game background, discovered after the 31st millennium.

Some of the Space Marine vehicles that are available to Chaos Space Marine armies include the Rhino, Predator, Dreadnoughts, and the Land Raider. In addition to these iconic Space Marine vehicles, Chaos forces also have access to heavily-modified bikes. There are also a few vehicles that are only available to Chaos armies.

Defiler
The Defiler is a six-legged war machine used by Chaos armies in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. A fusion of daemonic entity, machinery and weaponry, it is armed with a battlecannon, heavy flamers and a reaper autocannon in addition to its two massive, crab-like claws.

War engines
In siege situations and in massive battles, the forces of Chaos bring out their war machines. These are a daemonic fusion of technology and magic.

Brass Scorpion
The Khorne Brass Scorpions are dangerous monsters of metal, daemonically infused, allowing the metal to become living, moving with ease as if organic. They are armed with enormous assault cannons.

Doomblaster
Mounting four daemonic cannons, the Doom Blasters are squat, wheeled daemonic artillery pieces that rumble to battle and await the command to fire their quad of gigantic mortars.

Blood Reaper
A dark creation of vile ingenuity, the Blood Reaper is a wheeled monster that towers over its targets, and bristling with turrets that spit death to those foolish enough to come close. Its design somewhat resembles a morbidly decorated siege tower.

Lord Of Battle
The Lord of Battles is a huge construct dedicated to Khorne, much larger than other daemon-engines. It resembles a great beast or gargoyle of solid steel and brass alloys, mounted on a wheeled chassis, and actually contains such a greater daemon bound within it, as a power and driving force. It howls with savage joy as it crashes into the enemy with immense guns blazing. Its tank-sized Chainfist or Hellblade is easily capable of chopping down most opponents, though the Lord of Battles thirst for war is never truly quenched, even by a veritable mountain of dead foes. It also fields a hellstorm cannon, an assault cannon variant, or a doomburner, which sprays gallons of molten brass.

Cannon of Khorne
The Cannons of Khorne are deadly wheeled monsters of metal, far larger than typical artillery, each bound to the power of pure warp energy, and each of which fires a gout of molten brass towards the enemy.

Cauldron of Blood
Rumbling into combat, the Cauldrons of Blood are a testament to the Blood God's murderous ideals. The Khorne Cauldrons of Blood are not completely daemonic but instead rely on a crew of Cultists loyal only to Khorne. They mount a huge open-topped vat of the boiling blood of daemons (so being composed of raw immaterium) which they fire in jets via a grotesque skull-faced pump.

Contagion of Nurgle
The main weapon of the Contagion is the plague catapult, a huge armament which bombards the enemy with chunks of Chaos-saturated stone, clusters of decaying corpses and other disease-infested filth. When these vile bombs impact they spray ichor and infected debris across a wide area. The pestilential aura that surrounds the site of these bombardments fills the air with corruption and the malaise of Nurgle's Rot spreads across the battlefield. Those who survive the initial attack soon contract a variety of virulent diseases. Their wounds turn gangrenous and they die swiftly, wracked with pain.

Plague Tower
The massive mortars of the Nurgle Plague Tower blast the foe apart as its ramshackle frame trundles across the battlefield, crushing everything in its path. Inside its protective walls, the determined followers of Nurgle howl their praises to the Lord of Plagues before launching their purulent charge.

Plaguereaper
The Plaguereaper is a mutated Baneblade Super Heavy Tank dedicated to Nurgle. Its main weapon is the Pus Cannon, which is able to completely melt enemy infantry with a noxious stream of foul nurgle infected liquid (but has little effect on armored vehicles).

Fire Lord
Many of the servants of Tzeentch possess the gift of flight to some extent. The strange Daemonic flyers of Tzeentch are no exception. The Firelord is a large Bomber, nobody knows for sure if the machine is piloted by a traditional pilot or demonic entity. It is armed with bombs and warpfire thrower.

Silver Towers of Tzeentch
The Silver Towers of Tzeentch are an unnerving sight on the battlefield. The silent elegant towers float through the air while raining a silent death of Warpfire upon the enemy.

Doomwing
The Doomwing is a smaller interceptor. As deadly and maneuverable as an Eldar fighter these machines are a dreaded throughout the sectors near the Eye of Terror.

Disc of Tzeentch
This circular item is host to a daemon of tzeentch that allows a rider when mounted on it to hover a few feet off the ground. This allows the user to cast spells over friendly units and if needed escape from the enemy. However in game terms the disc cannot hold a model in terminator armor.

Hell Knight
The Hell Knight was a heavy walker with one purpose to its creation. Styled in Slaanesh designs it appears to be a mockery of the Eldar knights which were small one man titans. It was armed primarily with the castigator cannon, a gatling gun style cannon designed to mow down infantry.

Questor
The Questor gallops towards its foe with its long, powerful legs, the daemonic spirits inside chattering and screaming with the sensations that battle brings. As the Castigator cannons are brought to bear, these shrieks turn to howls of elation as the foe are pummelled into dust by an unceasing torrent of shells.

Subjugator
The Subjugator embodies the essence of Slaanesh: lithe, swift and deadly. Its Hellslicers rip apart foes many times its own size while the psychically-charged cannon leave a trail of charred wrecks and ashen corpses wherever they are fired.

Hellscourge
Like the Hell knight, the Hell Scourge was a heavy walker with one purpose. Styled in Slaanesh designs it appears to be a mockery of the Eldar knights, small one man titans. It was armed with a thermal lance, to destroy enemy tanks and armour.

Hell Strider
Similar in design to the Eldar war walker, allows its one crew member to stride above the battlefield on robotic legs. Armed with anti vehicle weaponry in each shoulder mount

Dark Eldar

 * See the Dark Eldar main page for more information.

Imperium
The Imperium of Man is represented by several armies in Warhammer 40,000. Most weapons and equipment are common across the different armies of the Imperium.

Vehicles
While weapons and equipment are generally uniform and widespread throughout the forces of the Imperium, each army and/or faction usually has access to specific vehicles that are usually fielded by that particular army.

This includes vehicles used by the forces of the Imperium, such as the Inquisition's Witch Hunters and Daemonhunters, the Adeptus Arbites and the Adeptus Mechanicus. In addition, this list covers the aircraft used by the Imperial Navy.

The Vehicles of the Imperium article is a comprehensive list of the vehicles used by the Imperial Guard.

The Vehicles of the Space Marines article is a comprehensive list of the vehicles used by the various chapters of Imperial Space Marines.

Orks
The Orks are one the most widespread races in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is a mystery to the Imperium, and to most other intelligent civilizations, how these primitive, savage and bloodthirsty aliens have managed to spread to almost every corner of the known Galaxy. Orks are thought to have been genetically engineered for warfare by an extremely old and extinct race (possibly the Old Ones), owing to their tendencies for combat.

Their weaponry is crude in build, but very effective, with very little to no standardization. A weapon or vehicle's name is determined by its use, rather than any specific configuration. The Ork Slugga, for example, is any gun an Ork can fire with one hand, typically a stolen Imperial bolt pistol or a large-bore pistol firing a solid slug. Something large enough to be carried in two hands is called a Shoota, and if bigger than that (roughly equivalent to a light machinegun), a Big Shoota. The Orkish philosophy leads to quantity beating quality. For close combat they favour massive cleavers ("choppas") which work because of their weight and the incredible strength of an average Ork.

In addition, due to the scavenging nature of Orks, they have access to many looted vehicles (notably the Leman Russ) salvaged from battle, given a new coat of paint, and given a "fix-up".

Although apparently crude, their technology produces vehicles and equipment that can be the equal of other more advanced races (eg Mega-Armour suits, Killa Kan walkers or Dreadnoughts) with ease.

Vehicles
Ork vehicles amount to anything with a motor, wheels and a stick to make it move left and right, and sometimes not even that. With many scavenged or looted wrecks at their disposal orks often utilize a wide variety of vehicles

Warbike
A large and bulky motorcycle with guns mounted on it, these bikes are the common choice for ork speed freeks as they are mobile and well armed, allowing easy movement and closer engagement with the enemy. These bikes are well known and feared throughout the galaxy.

Wartrak/buggy
A light vehicle built for high-speed fire support. These range from anything like a dune buggy, to motorcycles with a huge engine, caterpillar treads, and a gun attached onto the back. Typically armed with a pair of Big Shootas, but may also carry Rokkits (missiles) or a Skorcha (flamethrower). Some have launching platforms for a "Grot Bomb", a large missile steered to its target by a Gretchin.

Wartrukk
The Ork equivalent to a Technical, Wartrukks are made to get Boyz to the fight faster. They make up for their light armour with speed. They are the main transport for all orks carrying about 12 orks, they are also commonly used to take ork warbosses and their bodyguards into battle. The wartrukk also mounts a big shoota, which will occasionally be replaced by a different weapon.

Guntrukk
A vehicle similar to a Wartrukk except in use as a mobile gun platform. Its main uses are for getting the ork artillery out and into the battlefield quickly while supplying armour to protect the gun and crew, it also will commonly haul orks into battle in the empty space available.

Gunwagon
A combination of a Wartrukk and a Guntrukk, a Gunwagon is much larger, able to mount heavy weaponry and still be able to transport infantry into combat.

Battlewagon
The only real difference between a Gunwagon and a Battle Wagon is sheer size. Battle Wagons are much larger, and are often used as personal transports by Warbosses. Some Battlewagons are so extensively armed and armoured that they are classified as Battlefortresses

Hop Splat gun
A catapult used to launch Gretchins covered in explosives at enemy formations, sometimes used to "eject" unwanted soldiers from the vehicle.

Mekboy Pulsa Rokkit
The Pulsa Rokkit carries a special "Pulsa generator" The pulsa generator isn't very destructive in itself however the force field it generates can be very disruptive to the enemy lines, however as with most ork weaponry it is unreliable.

Gut Rippa
The Gutrippa is a close combat specialized tank with a pair of fearsome mechanical claws mounted on the front.

Spleen Rippa
A more specialized version of the gut ripper. A rotating pillar covered in all manner of ripper objects used to eviscerate close-combat troops

Lungbursta
A battletank with a flame kannon, often crewed by orks who obsess over "da fia".

Bowel Burna
A larger version of the Lungbursta that almost matches a battlewagon in size.

Gobsmasha
A high speed battering ram, often sent to hit bottle neck points.

Speedsta
A mobile Rocket launcher.

Bone Breaka
A mobile gun platform. The gun mounted on these is sometimes noted as being too large for the vehicle to effectively carry it.

Brain Crusha
The Braincrusha is a special type of Ork Gunwagon best classified somewhere in between heavy artillery or a tremendous assault gun. The Braincrusha carries an absolutely enormous cannon with tremendous range which can blast through the tough fortifications.

Skull Hamma
A looted tank with a pneumatic hammer on the front.

Giblet Grinda
A giant Grot-manned war wagon. Used to carry vast amounts of gretchins into combat to serve as "cannon fodder."

Gargants
A Gargant is the Ork equivalent of a Titan to the Imperium, fashioned out of scrap metal. They are often unreliable. While mostly invulnerable, due to the poor quality of materials they often suffer from weak points which can be taken advantage of by a cunning opponent.

Aircraft and airborne weapons
In a similar fashion to Ork ground vehicles, Ork aircraft tend to be unreliable and built from inferior products, yet they are still formidable aircraft nonetheless.

Grot Bomb
A guided missile piloted by suicidal (or gullible) Gretchin. They are usually seen mounted on Orkish aircraft, and on launchers based on Ork Wartrakks. Warhammer 40000- and Epic-scale Grot Bomms have both been released by Forge World. It is not uncommon for modelers to make pop-culture references such as gretchins in cowboy hats sitting on stock bombs to compliment the theme of the weapon.

Fighta-Bomma
The typical Orkish vehicle to suit the needs of those orkoids who are obsessed with speed. These aircraft, like most Orkish technology, feature slapped-together bits and pieces, and can usually travel at a speed close to that achieved by their Imperial counterparts. They are usually fitted with a big shoota in each of their wings, a twin-linked big shoota in their nose, and a maximum of two rockets/bombs (player's choice). Although simple and slightly prone to accidents in the hands of those "Flyboyz" who pilot them, these aircraft proved to be the workhorse of the Orks' air dominance over some worlds. Warhammer 40,000- and Epic-scaled Fighta-Bommmas have both been released by Forge World. Physically speaking, the model vaguely resembles a Mig-15. A famous Flyboy, known as the "Black Baron", is mentioned a few times in some of the Imperial Armour books for his skill over piloting his distinctively colored fighta-bomma.

Bomma
This Orkish bomber is just a bigger and more heavily armed version of the Fighta-Bomma, mounting an additional pair of shootas on its dorsal turret and four more rockets/bombs than its smaller variant (which is used primarily in dogfights). Sometimes its payload can include a "Grot Bomb". Warhammer 40,000- and Epic-scaled bommas have both been released by Forge World.

Deffkopta
This vehicle was once removed from the Orks Codex but has been brought back since then. They function similarly to jetbikes. They are a rudimentary version of a helicopter, each consisting of a seat, a simple control unit, a motor, two over sized rotor blades, and a weapon (usually a twin-linked big shoota). Other weapons such as saw blades and bombs can also be added. Like any other Orkish aerial weapon, they are also prone to accidents. 3 DeffKoptas are included with the Assualt on Black Reach starter set, and the old models are no longer carried.

Necrons
The Necrons are an extremely ancient, technologically advanced race that primarily relies on gauss technology in their weaponry. The Necrons' gauss weapons utilize some unknown principle by which the weapons flay the target, one layer of molecules at a time. As a result, Necron weaponry is very powerful, with even the most basic Necron warriors able to attack and destroy light, medium AND (if lucky) heavily armoured vehicles with relative ease.

Tau
The Tau are a fictional race of humanoids in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Tau military doctrine largely involves shooting and avoidance of hand-to-hand combat. Their inclination toward ranged combat has led the Tau to develop powerful weapons technology.

Infantry
Most of the infantry in a Tau army is the Fire Warriors. The models are packaged with pulse rifles, and enough pulse carbines to equip about a quarter of them. However, the rules of the table-top game allow for an entire squad to be equipped with carbines. Kroot rifles are equipped to Kroot mercenaries allied with the Tau. A Shaper (the leader of a Kroot team) may be assembled with a pulse weapon by a player. Infantry are never equipped with heavy weapons, and only a soldier wearing a battlesuit is likely to be able to destroy a vehicle. A line-trooper must use a markerlight to call in a missile strike.

Standard Weapons
Standard equipment for line-troopers is intended to allow for a single team of Fire Warriors to lay down a powerful salvo at long range, and to blanket the enemy with fire at closer ranges. When Fire Warriors are deployed in large numbers, they are able to fire on almost any infantry unit with good effect.

Tau equip their Shas’la, the general infantry of the Fire Caste, almost exclusively with either a pulse rifle or pulse carbine. The weapon propels a particle with an induction field, and the particle breaks down into a plasma pulse by the time it has left the barrel. Both rifles and carbines are notable for their exceptional strength as standard weapons, and rifles also have a longer range than most basic weapons. Pulse carbines trade range for greater mobility and a photon grenade launcher.

Special equipment
The Tau employ two kinds of grenades. One style, EMP grenades, is used in an anti-vehicle role similar to that of other armies, and is usually the only anti-armor weapon available to troops. The other kind of grenade is used in a manner opposite that of other armies’ anti-personnel grenades. Photon grenades are meant to slow a charging enemy, rather than force enemies down when charging. Photon grenades may be thrown by hand or fired from the launcher on a pulse carbine.

Tau infantry do not carry as much equipment as other infantry in Warhammer 40,000. Normally, only a team leader will carry extra equipment, including a bonding knife or drones. The leader of a Fire Warrior team may be a Shas’ui, one rank higher than the others, and will have access to more options. These include hard-wired systems normally available only to warriors in battlesuits, such as a drone controller to allow the leader to command robotic allies, as well as items that allow more versatility in shooting.

A well-known piece of special equipment is a bonding knife. A bonding knife is not meant for combat, and is purely ceremonial. It is used when a team performs a ritual after serving with each other for some time. The ritual, called the Ta’lissera, is akin to marriage in that it is a sacred union of Fire Warriors who have been brought together by battle.

Any Tau with a drone-controller may use robotic drones. They are not particularly powerful, but they can block weapons fire. When grouped together, they may operate independently for long periods. Drones are available in many forms, the most common being Gun Drones and Shield Drones, though Sniper Drones and Marker Drones are not a rare sight.

Other Infantry Weapons
A few infantry in the Tau forces may be equipped with special weapons, usually to fit a particular battlefield role, or simply because the character is entitled to a weapon based on rank.

A pulse pistol is a pulse weapon issued to personnel for desperate situations. It is just as powerful as the pulse rifle or carbine, but it has less than half the range.

Ethereals, the Tau leaders, may carry an honour blade. Honour blades consist of a lightweight metal shaft with a broad blade fixed to each end. While they are normally used in bloodless, stylized duels, the honour blade is used in sweeping movements that make the edge nearly invisible, making it a deadly weapon. An Ethereal using an honour blade can fight as though he had much greater strength.

Rail rifles are a new asset in the Third Phase Expansion. They utilize the same technology as the railguns on Broadside battlesuits and Hammerhead tanks. Rail rifles are used only by Pathfinders and Sniper Drones, and Pathfinders may not use markerlights if they have rail rifles.

Markerlights
Markerlights are simple lasers used to guide other weapons. They are most often carried by pathfinders or marker drones. A squad cannot take advantage of a markerlight fired from their own squad, unless it is a networked markerlight, which is larger, found on marker drones, Skyray missile boats, and with sniper team spotters. Markerlights may be used to make another unit more accurate, fire at a target that is not visible during the night, reduce the effect of cover, or suppress a unit more effectively. A markerlight may also be used to direct a seeker missile, a capable anti-armor weapon. This is the only anti-armor option for most infantry, as they are not allowed to carry heavy weapons.

Allied Weapons
Kroot Carnivores carry Kroot rifles, simple slug throwers modified by the Tau. They have blades fitted to the muzzle and stock, so that the Kroot can use them as two weapons in close combat, which is their primary role.

A larger caliber than the Kroot rifle, a Kroot gun must be mounted on a Krootox, a beast of burden. The Kroot gun is effective against some vehicles.

Vespid Stingwings carry a hybrid of Tau and Vespid technology, the neutron blaster. They are a Tau neutron projector mounted with a crystal from planet Vespid. Only a Vespid can use the weapon, as the ultrasonic tone from their wings helps to stabilize the crystal.

Battlesuits
Battlesuits are power suits built to mount a wide array of weapons and support gear. Battlesuits are considered infantry rather than walkers, a type of vehicle, despite their size and appearance. The reason for the distinction is that a soldier wears a battlesuit, rather than piloting it. Battlesuits can be found in several varieties.

Crisis Suits
The XV8 Crisis suit is a versatile and very powerful weapons platform. The suits are worn by teams of Shas’ui troopers who have moved up from the Shas’la rank, sometimes led by a Shas’vre, one rank above Shas’ui, or a Shas’ui who is designated as the team leader. An XV8 is equipped with a jet pack, which allows Crisis suits to use a tactic unique to the Tau: Crisis suits will use their jet packs to dash out of cover, fire their weapons, and then move back before they can be fired upon.

Model
A Crisis suit is sold as a plastic model, usually in boxes of a single suit. The model is sold with weapons and support systems, which must be glued onto the shoulders or arms. It is roughly twice the size of a Tau Fire Warrior, the standard infantryman.

Crisis Suit Weapons
Battlesuits are always equipped with three weapons or support systems. They may be taken in almost any combination, allowing battlesuits to take on nearly any role in the battle field, and when equipped properly, more than one.

Tau employ a multitude of anti-infantry weapons, some of which can also threaten light vehicles. An airbursting fragmentation projector weapon fires bomblets over a wide area, which fragment upon detonation. Because of the fragmentation, the weapon negates the benefits of cover. This weapon is currently available through special issue, as it is going through field testing. A burst cannon uses the same technology as a pulse weapon. It is a four-barreled weapon mounted on battlesuits and vehicles, with a much higher rate of fire but only the range of the carbine. Similar in nature to the ion cannon mounted on Hammerhead tanks, a cyclic ion blaster is meant to eliminate large counts of weak infantry. It generates a stream of ion radiator, which is released through the four barrels. The unstable nature of the ion radiation means that some shots will be far more powerful than others, capable of penetrating vehicle armor. Using the same unstable plasma technology as other races, a plasma rifle is a slightly less powerful form that has the benefit of user safety. Still, the plasma rifle remains a potent weapon for combating heavy infantry, including the thickly armoured Space Marines. It is usable against some vehicles, but only the lightest of skimmers, unless a Crisis suit can maneuver to the rear of a vehicle to hit the thinner armour. Akin to a conventional flamethrower, a flamer is very useful in close-quarters combat. It is capable of hitting large numbers of troops, but it is effective only against light infantry, being much weaker than other Tau weapons.

The Tau keep two dedicated anti-armor weapons. One of the most powerful weapons available to the Tau, a fusion blaster is limited only by its short range. Primarily designed as an anti-tank weapon, a Crisis suit that gets close enough is almost guaranteed to penetrate even the thickest hull. A missile pod is capable of taking down light vehicles, and occasionally medium tanks. It is also effective against medium-armored or very tough infantry.

Support Systems
Battlesuits gain a large part of their ability from the support systems they carry. They can enhance many aspects of a battlesuit. Some systems are available in a hard-wired form, as cybernetic implants or jewelry, but only to higher ranking soldiers or team leaders.

Essentially a set of gyroscopes and sensors, a battlesuit with an advanced stabilization system can remain somewhat mobile even while firing heavy weapons. This system is useful only to Broadside battlesuits in most cases, as Crisis suits do not carry heavy weapons and can compensate for light recoil. A blacksun filter is simply a set of night vision equipment, and is available in hard-wired form. An advanced communication suite, a command and control node helps a leader direct nearby troops. A drone controller allows the user to direct Gun, Marker, or Shield drones. It is available as a hard-wired system. A multi-tracker is a firing controller that lets a battlesuit fire two weapons at once. It can be hard-wired. A positional relay helps to move reserve units into combat more reliably, but more slowly. A shield generator projects a protective field around the battlesuit. A target lock allows a warrior to fire at a target different from the rest of the squad. A targeting array is an advanced suite of equipment that aids the user’s aim. A set of additional maneuvering thrusters, vectored retro-thrusters allow a battlesuit to escape close combat.

Battlesuit Wargear
Battlesuits that are worn by team leaders will often have access to wargear, which includes hard-wired support systems and upgrades to the battlesuit.

XV88 Broadside Battlesuit
A Broadside is a Crisis chassis fitted with much heavier weapons and armor, in exchange for the jet pack. They are equipped with a twin-linked railgun, which is capable of penetrating any armor, and a smart missile system. Both weapons are normally found only on a Tau main battle tank, usually a Hammerhead. The smart missile system may be replaced with a twin-linked plasma rifle.

Model
A Broadside looks just like a Crisis suit, except that the arms are replaced with missile racks, it has very large, rectangular railguns on its shoulders, and the thrusters of the jet pack are covered with heat sinks for the railguns.

Stealth Suits
A stealth suit is designed to move rapidly toward the enemy undetected. The original XV15 suit was used in an anti-infantry role, armed with a burst cannon. The newer XV25 suit is significantly larger, and looks more like a vehicle than the XV15, which was a close-fitting suit of armor, but is still much smaller than a Crisis suit. The XV25 is capable of mounting a fusion blaster to take on an anti-vehicle role.

Model
An XV15 is roughly the size of a standard infantryman, with a little extra height and bulk added by the armor. One of the arms is replaced by the burst cannon. An XV25 is noticeably larger and bulkier, with a somewhat less form-fitting appearance, and the burst cannon or fusion blaster is slung under the arm, rather than in its place.