Drone Questions

[Mortusbard]

How exactly is the shield drone used.

1. Confers the save to the model if save failed model takes damage.

2. Confers save to model if model fails drone takes damage.

Whichever ways is correct can we get a written reference page number.

[Warmaster Romulas]

the drone has the shield so it can only save against hit put toward it
distributing hits like normal
say you have 3 crisis suits with one SD each
the squad take 6 hits
then you distribute them like normal
each suit taking 1 hit and each drone taking 1 hit
the shrild drone taking a 4+ inv save
the only way a model has a save is if it has a shield generator
then you can take all the hit on that model with 4+ inv
hope this helps
Ray

[Mortusbard]

Then why use the shield drones at all ?

If it just a way of trying to negate some of the hits caused on a unit? Why not use gun drones and at least be able to use them for some fire support ?

[Warmaster Romulas]

gun drones dont have 4+ inv saves
most people shoot at suits with heavy weapons (s7 or higher)
they ususally have a lower rate of fire
and if the drone fails it dies not the suit
if the suit fails it dies and its drone too
they have their uses believe me
see what im taking about
my friend

Ray

[Celestial Guardian]

Basically what Romulas is trying to say is that the drones are a good way to allocate hits to places other than taking them directly on the suits. By doing this the drone will die, but you still have a valid unit on the board.

If the suit dies, then the drone also goes becaus it is used as part of that suits equipment, so no other suit may use it.

The hits can be allocated to the drones until they fail a save, then you would allocate the remaining hits to the suit. Example: Suit a has two shield drones. The unit is being shot at and recieve 6 hit which require saves. The profile for any drone matches the strength an toughness for the suit it is paired with (ie made of the same materials). The tau player may take shot and allocate them to the two sheild drones until they are both destroyed. In the rolls 3 hits are saved and three fail. Therefore both shield drones are now destroyed, but the suit still has a wound it can take.

Most people I know go crazy on the shielding. I have seen sheild drones with a suit that has a sheild generator. It's legal becaus the equipment my serve the same purpose, but the model has not taken the same equipment twice.

Even when using gunnery drones, the numbers to allocate hit to helps the suit survive, in gameplay this is their primary function.

Codex Tau Empire page 31. The boxed section explains the uses of every drone available in the codex.

[Davidus]

I Actually point out that shield drones don't take the strength of the model its assigned to, it takes the toughness and amour save of the target, i use them with my commander with iridium amour, shield drones with T4 and 2+ save ftw

[Celestial Guardian]

thanks, I don't know why I wrote strength, but you're right on this!

[Mortusbard]

Thanks I appreciate the insight.

I am just coming over from second and a very little bit of third edition and have yet to wrap my head around the rules.

I think I really like the shield drone.