ok bit of a cheesy title i know, but hear me out...

for a Dark Reaper Exarch is it better to take a Tempest Launcher, missile launcher or keep the reaper launcher?

while i can see the benefits of the tempest launcher (blast being the main one) surely the reaper is better (higher strength and range) and even the missile launcher is a better buy (increased range, no guessing and pinning to boot!)

so i'm wondering if its worth bothering with the tempest launcher at all.....not that my guessing is rubbish but surely its a bit of too much of a gamble compared to the other two??

any comments appreciated!

The gamble sure is annoying, I usually use just a reaper launcher, as my reapers are there to kill marines/necrons/any other PA, not to go tank hunting or take down big beasties. I have other units for that.

On paper the obvious chocie (for me) would be the Reaper launcher. That being said, the Tempest launcher certainly would make a nasty impact on any 3+ troops.

Guessing ranges comes down to knowing the gaming board. If you know the length+width of both the table and the most used pieces of scenery, you can pretty much pinpoint where you want things to land.

Making and using craters helps immensely with this, as for each shot you fire, you can place a crater to help you for your next volley :)

A full size table is 6x4 feet. 4 feet across is 48 inches across, so if you deploy width wise, and you deploy you dark reapers their full twelve inches in, you now know that everything thing directly craoss the table is going to be in range.

What weapons have pinning anyway? Does it have to say it in the Codex for it to be pinning? Or is it all heavy weapons?

I take an Eldar Missile Launcher with mine. Give him Fast shot and he can fire two high strength armour piercing rounds, or set down two blast markers without the need for guessing the range. Kicks the crapper out Space Marines, Chaos and Necrons (warriors, Wraiths and Flayed Ones will not get WBB if there is no orb about)

Cal

It has to say it has pinning. Or it has to be a sniper rifle.

!!! Have anyoen here read the rulebook, or are we all living in the 3rd Edition?!?

Guess weapons no longer guess, they are barrage, and you just place the marker down within its required range and scatter (1D6 if line of sight is drawn, 2D6 and pick the highest if no line of sight). With Fast Shot, this is a multiple barrage, which can potentially cover a lot of troops.

For mine, like Cal, I use a missile launcher. Because my squad is only three man, this means if I fire at vehicles (that is two strength 8 shots that hit of a 2+), I'm not wasting as much firepower.

ok so is the scatter worth the risk? i know it probably wont scatter that much but just using a plasma missile would give better range and pinning (but not as good AP) without scattering

The thing about Guess weapons is that you need to place the marker over an enemy model before you rule distance. So even if you are in range of the target squad, if you are just out of range of the centre of the hole of the blast marker than the shot is an automatic miss.

I find scatters to be worth it. Because you are only scattering a maximum of six inches, unless you roll really high you are likely to still hit someone in the squad if it's a large one, unless your target is right on the edge of the unit.

Cal

LOL, I had no idea that guess weapons where basically cut from the rulebook, don tuse them in crons or Nurgle, so no biggie. Thanks for the info byte though! :)

Yes, as a rule the scatter is worth it.

By the way, shooting out of range is only an issue with things like a d-cannon that only have a range of 24 inches, and things like Basilisks that have a minimum range of 36 inches (well when firing indirectly anyway).

I play Guard, so I know all about scatter. I however am usually pretty unlucky with my scatter distance..... <_<

ok thanks for the help guys!

Reviving this old thread, I can say that after today the Tempest Launcher is deffinately worth it! I decided to experiment with it today, fielding it against a Necron force. (My brother using my own Necron force)

The Tempest launcher was great against Warriors, Immortals, and eve scarabs! It is especially helpful if Crack shot is taken with it,. and a Tempest Launcher with crack shot is the same cost as a missile Launcher with fast shot! The ability to re-roll 'to wound' rolls makes up for its relatively low Strength, and the fact that it ignores cover saves made it deadly for the scarabs!

The Scatter really isn't that bad, as long as you place the first template right in the midst of your oponents squads. If you can draw line of site it will only scatter 3 inches on average. Plus, give a Farseer Guide and you can re-roll the scatter dice. This is risky as it can turn out worse for you, butworth it when you roll 6" on the D6 and the re-roll turns up a Hit. :D

The only problem with the Tempest launcher is that it stops the Exarch from being a possible tank hunter, so you should think upon who your oponent is before choosing between the two weapons. I'd deffinately go Tempest launcher for tourney play however, unless I had very little other tank hunters.

Cal