Author Topic: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom  (Read 33494 times)

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Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Aha, I was confusing harlequins with ynnari. I thought harlequins were trying to resurrect Cegorach by sort of reversing the Slaanesh event, gathering enough souls.  :p so that's Ynnead?

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
So the Harlequins plan to get Cegorach back into the game as a twist/endgame plan, maybe faster/ more effective at taking out Slaanesh than the Craftworlders? Or am I mistaken

The Harlequins play a significant role in the recent emergence of Ynnead. Which to be precise does not exist as god yet, but his avatar is running around and the Yvraine as his high priestess does some borderline miracles on occasion (like resurrecting people without all the dark/negative energy cost of the Drukhari Haemunculi or the divine intervention that Chaos Champions enjoy on occasion).

Summary is that,

a) There has been a sealed tome in the Black Libary that has been gradually unsealing as the 41st Millenium drew to a close. The Shadowseers (Harlequin specialist psykers) from various Masques (basically Harlequin Factions) have read it and then split up. Speculation is that said book contains a master plan to defeat Chaos.

b) One Masque has been supporting Eldrad Ulthran of Craftworld Ulthwé (they are big on prophecies, even by Asuryani standards) in his efforts to bring about the birth Ynnead earlier than the prophecy actually said (tl;dr: All Aeldari would have had to die first for the new god to be born and do battle with Chaos). That attempt backfired because the Imperial Inquisition got wind of the psykic buildup from the ritual that Eldrath was preparing and send a Space Marine Killteam to stop it. Despite being a backfire, this might actually accelerated the timetable on Ynnead's emergence.

c) Other Masques got involved in the plots surrounding the Gate of Khaine in Commorragh, the Capital of the Drukhari. The Gate of Khaine basically connects Commorragh to the Warp now, and as per now the only reason the Chaos Daemons haven't overun Commoragh yet is because the Overlord Vect keeps dumping the Webway-pocket universes of his rivals in their path (they didn't elevate him to a Dark Muse for nothing). The breaking of the seal on the Gate of Khaine conicided (causation unclear) with the death of the Yvraine and her subsequent rebirth.

d) Then there is the whole Kelmon's Last Prophecy-story; Kelmon Firesight was the chief Farseer of Craftworld Iyanden (the necromancy people) and responsible for the exile of Prince Yriel, but during the Tyranid Invasion of Iyanden Kelmon was unable to cast a prophecy that would save the Craftworld. Then a Harlequin Shadowseer, by name the same that hangs around the principals of the Gathering Storm-story arc later, steps up to him, snaps one of the prophetic runes in half and suddenly he is able to fortell a path out of the crisis, which involves Yriel coming back and picking up the Spear of Twilight... Now after the Gathering Storm, when Yriel died and was resurrected by the Ynnari, and the Spear of Twilight having been revealed to be a key Ynnari artifact, there is a bit of an open question how much that was preplanned.


As for Cegorach's presence, he is been here and there. However he is described as not being confrontational when it comes to his ability to survive the Slaanesh.

For one, he is basically part of all Harlequins, expect the Solitaire(s), as he protects their souls from going to Slaanesh when the Harlequins die (Craftworlders and Corsairs use Soulstones for that, the Exodites are linked with their World Spirits to the same effect, and among the Drukhari, if you are not powerful enough to affort being physcially resurrected again, you are too small time for anyone to care anyway). There is also some speculation regarding the identiy of various trickster figures, like the being Lady Malys, a principal rival of Vect, bargained her current heart and allegeded prophetic powers from. Even more since the C'Tan (basically the Necron Gods) The Trickster is MIA since the revision of the Necron fluff, which gave them more small scale characters. Cegorach usually ranks high among the usual suspects, along with the Chaos God Tzeentch and the Daemon known as the Masque of Slaanesh.

There used to be also Harlequin Avatar in the fluff but more recent iterations of the Harlequins have very blurred the lines in terms of personal idenity with regards to individual Harlequins. They are now more the role they play in their performances (and to the Harlequins everything is a performance) instead of distinct characters - it's very "taking the Method to a ridiculous degree". As such it is unclear if Cegorach actually physically walks around somewhere, but the Troupe Leaders are supposed to represent him.

EDIT:
ps. It is also noteworth that technically the Aeldari Gods Khaine and Isha are still around ... in a way.

Khaine was shatted into pieces by Slaanesh. The pieces became the Avatars of Khaine that accompany Asuryani armys as they go to war. They also have an overwhelming pyskic presence that drives all Aeldari into a murderous rage, even through the discipline of the Path. (The "broken into pieces"-part connects to some deep lore about the Aeldari Phoenix Lords and how they are immortal as gestalt beings, and that Arhra, by account of his Incubi followers "was shattered and absorbed" sometime that must be around M31 but is back in M41)

Isha is said to be a captive of the Chaos God Nurgle, who swept her up from Slaanesh because she is the Godess of Childbirth, Harvest, Healing and Motherhood. Nurgle is described as using her as part of his experiments to create the perfect plague. (That does sound like a story from Fantasy but it's been the Chaos Daemons' Codex for a while now)

Dark Eldar are the real remnant of the old Eldar empire, and they represent the vast majority of living Eldar.  They live in a giant city in the webway (a network of stable subspace tunnels, not the Warp but not realspace) called Commoragh.  They're absolutely ****ed up, but don't really give a **** about what goes on in realspace.  They leave the webway for slaves and not much else.  They don't get along with anyone else, including other Eldar.

In recent versions, the Druhkari actually cooperated more with their Craftworld kin - often mediated by the Harlequins.
They have been written to have send forces to help with Tyranid Invasion of Iyanden (because the Haemunculi were curious about Asuryani necromancy) and joined forces with Biel-Tan and Iyanden on the world known to the Imperium as Valedor, which was destroyed by planetkiller from Vect's personal arsenal (which he only surrendered to other Aledari because it required psyker to fire, and Vect doesn't have those).

But yeah, Drukhari soceity is basically assembly of Super Villians and wanna-be Super Villians constantly back-stabbing each other, when they are not out raiding realspace in order to quite literally gain one more day of existence by inflicting suffering upon others (this kind of empathic vampirism is basically all that is left of the psykic abilities).

How often has the lore around the Harlequins changed? What I recall reading about them quite some time back somewhat matched the description you gave to the Exodites, but the new explanation is, well, new to me. More precisely, I recall reading that the Harlequins were independent from the Craftworlds, and were basically somewhat of primitive Eldar settlers on various planets.

Harlequin fluff was not majorly changed, it has slightly expaned when the Harlequins got their own Codex in 7th Edition and were upgraded from "single squad as option for an Elite slot of a Craftworld Army" to "army in their own right". Although army might be stretching the definition a bit, still one of smallest books in terms of options.

The whole endgame "sealed tome with an endgame plan" is part of the 7th Edition additions.
« Last Edit: January 10, 2019, 10:12:17 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom

first'ed!  :D

Really tho, the epic scale and vibe of this. Put simply, I am not a Warhammer fan. I generally avoid it. Too messy. And yet this is my most anticipated game of 2019.  :lol:
« Last Edit: January 11, 2019, 09:12:06 am by HLD_Prophecy »

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Enjoy the beta tomorrow! :D

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
EDIT: Forget what I said; appearently on some systems, including mine, loading in the cinematics doesn't work for the Beta build; which accounts for the campaign crashing on me.

+++Inquisitorial Report+++
+++Subject: Battlefleet Gothic Armada II+++
+++Keyword: Beta 2+++

+++Classification: Hereticum extremis+++
+++The Emperor Protects+++

Reporting completion of both campaign segments marked for Beta Testing by the Acolytes of the Holy Order of Preordering.

Imperial campaign, despite mechanics to infuse it with critical momentum, does not exceed expectation. Imperial forces just not sufficently interesting, potential for diversification of strategems could not applied at this scale.

Xenos, mark Necron, campaign appears easier prospect at first, however may require more elaborate choices as scale expands.

Xenos, mark Tyranids, campaign remains unavalible.

Multiplayer elements reveal themselves to be improved. Various adjustments to the mechanics and balance seem to have evened the playing field.
There remain problems with maintaining communications. Request immideate investigation of a possible relation to ''rage quitting''-phenomenon.

May Imperial Justice Account In All Balance.

Hidden Text: plain english • Show
Okay, I am done with the single player offering of the Beta - or I think I am; The campaign opens up to a second sector but moving ships there tends to crash the game on my end.
So far, aside from a scriped mission in the beginning the campaign consistest of skrimishes at 1 CL plus escorts scale - which dragged everything out a bit (AI is fond of Silent Running) but wasn't too challanging. Despite the same-ness of the mission type it is marko-managing that infuses it with great variety, as you cannot deploy the same fleets over and over.

The campaign uses an escalation mechanic, called Urgency, to keep you moving - besides the gradual build-up of enemy forces. Each enemy faction also has a threat level per sector, which indicates how likely they are to be aggressive in that sector. Enemy attacks are telegraphed a turn in advance, so you don't run the risk of being caught totally unaware.

The Imperium actually has a better start with 3 Fleets (1 IN, 1 AdMech, 1 SM) and more mobile ships (3 jumps per turn) but also faces much toughter opposition as the inital fleets are roughtly equal in power at normal difficulty. The Necrons get 2 fleets with 2 jumps per turn, but in turn individual fleets seem have a slightl leg-up in terms of points. On the campaign scale avalible in the Beta, I don't think the ultimate way how these campaigns will differ is represented; I didn't unlock anything beyond the CA tonnage for example.

Fleets can be reinforced or created from Shipyards, which have their own output restrictions per turn. Each fleet gets a flagship and an Admiral which defines the abilites and upgrades similar to what you pick in Multiplayer. If a Fleet's flagship is destroyed, that Admiral is killed and you have to get a new one - unless it is your Faction Leader whose elimination is campaign failstate.

Besides fleet management you are also expected to keep an eye on your income (for new ships, repairs and upkeep) from the systems you hold. Income can of course be expanded by investing ressources, however updrages only unlock once a system has been help long enough. In absence of Fleets you can deploy defense from Mines to Stations (one each) per system; They don't suffice to stop an attack but are just the leg-up you might need to minimze the ammount of Fleets held up by a defensive posture.

In addition to the basic ressource management, you also gain Reknown which levels your forces globally: Each level of Reknown unlocks a point to be spend on global upgrades, such as armour piercing munitions or improved turn rates. Reknown also unlocks additional fleets and larger ships to build (if you have shipyard that can build them.)


Multiplayer seems to be greatly improved balance-wise. The reign of the Twin Falling Moons has come to end, for example. There is still some stuff in there that seems a bit OP, but maybe that is just subjective.
Technically there are still some issues, but less than before. I am pretty sure the most common reason why it keeps crashing on me is because of rage quitting - the moments that happens generally coincide with battle being very one sided or repeat encounters with the same players due to the shallow player pool.
[/s]
« Last Edit: January 16, 2019, 03:41:16 pm by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Looking for help with Tau Merchant Fleet: Somewhat stymied by widely varying speeds/performances among vessels, lol. Very new to the whole thing, so there's that. Found amusingly enough that Demiurgs are actually quite useful to boost Warspheres into battle: 'spheres get pushed faster than they fly and are rather resilient, ergo I was able to keep my sphere moving along with a helpful ram from a Bastion, at only slight damage cost to the Kroot vessel.  :lol:

Would like beginner-friendly advice on welding a disparate armed convoy into a capable fighting force when all I have is lore and a sad lack of meta knowledge.  :D  Dhows were the easiest to use by far, did the most with them. Any advice on making the most of Dhows?

 

Offline crizza

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Back in BFG 1, convoy mission were either too kill a certain number of enemy convoys or get a certain number of your own through.
Escorting my own, I had them move along the edge of the map, while my own forces screened them.
Issue here: The AI goes straight for them, so having them move in concert with the rest of my ships proved useless.
In the end I upgraded them, to burn longer and faster, so it was just a speed race: Would the enemy be able to kill enough ships, before they reached the other side of the map?
Also I think grouped ships moved at the same speed?
And the thing with Tau is: Kroot Warspheres are slow in 40k backround.

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
I don't know what you are on about with Convoy Mission, crizza - The T'au Merchant Fleet is one of the two T'au Factions for Multiplayer (the other being the Protector Fleet). The division exists to distinguish between the original line of T'au ships/models and the Forgeworld ones (which were in BFG:A1 as DLC). Both have access to non-T'au Auxiliaries in form of the Nicassar Dhow (Escort), the Demiurge Bastion (CA), Bastion Stronghold (BB) and Kroot Warsphere (BB).



The Warsphere is filling in to cover the overwise poor perfomance the T'au have when it comes to being boarded and boarding themselves (T'au Merchant ships have the "Poor Troop Efficency" and "No Lighting Strike" attributes; while the Warsphere has both "Good Troop Efficency" and "Brutal [Lighting] Strike" as well as the ability to perform the regular boarding action at 360° instead of 90° of each side). Boarders are generally pretty effective if you can deliver them to anything but Space Marine, Ork and Tyranid ships - esspecially against Aeldari Corsairs and AdMech whose Troop Efficency is likewise "Poor": The crew damage suffered cannot be reversed and with each step enemy cooldowns get longer.

The Demiurge Ships are a bit difficult to evaluate because they have more overlap with normal Merchant Fleet ships, but they seem to be geared towards counter attacking - looking at that they irgnore asteroid damage and the set-up time for the Cutting beam, as well as their armor stats. They are also covering your lack of Lighting Strike and perform better when boarding.

T'au generally, and Merchants esspecially, seem to be geared towards a "letting them come"-approach that leverages the early detection from their Escorts to be proactive when it comes to choosing the circumstances of an engagement.
« Last Edit: January 17, 2019, 11:34:14 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

  

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
So, leverage force multipliers. Use early detection. Make them come to you, dictate the terms of engagement.  :nod: Seems like my woes were in part due to charging them head-on.  :lol: Anything else I should know? How can I use the Dhow as a more effective Escort? It's more expensive than the Orca/Messenger, what is it getting in return?

 

Offline crizza

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
I don't know what you are on about with Convoy Mission, crizza - The T'au Merchant Fleet is one of the two T'au Factions for Multiplayer (the other being the Protector Fleet). The division exists to distinguish between the original line of T'au ships/models and the Forgeworld ones (which were in BFG:A1 as DLC). Both have access to non-T'au Auxiliaries in form of the Nicassar Drow (Escort), the Demiurge Bastion (CA), Bastion Stronghold (BB) and Kroot Warsphere (BB).

Oh, well, dunno what I was thinking there^^
And yet, despite this strange episode, I'm pretty firm lorewise^^

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Just a mix up, no harm done!  :) But yeah, when I said "convoy" I was thinking in terms of how the T'au Merchant Fleet is basically an armed convoy, both strategy and lore-wise, but as in how to use that as a battle fleet in multiplayer as opposed to convoy escort missions proper. Thanks guys!

That's what I like about the Tau Merchant faction, and why along with the Necrons they were my most anticipated faction: I root for the "underdog" I like making do with a fleet that shouldn't really be out there at all, a fleet designed for modest convoy/exploration duties, not front line battles.  :cool:

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
It's more expensive than the Orca/Messenger, what is it getting in return?

The Dhow has twice the Shields of other MT Escorts and its broadside Railguns are much more powerful than the rest of MT escorts, but with a range trade-off. It also gets a cooldown reduction on Repairs/Call to Arms/Scanner. And, for some reason, it has access to the Mon'Ka tactic, meaning it can get a crit boost from using the Marked-condition applied by Scanner.

It's only got 4 troops and 3 defense turrets, so I wouldn't recommend it as a foward observer - too vurnable to boarding or fighters. But if the Necron campaign is teaching me anything, its not to discount the damage Escorts can do over time.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
So they're more firepower supplements, rather than light vision scouts? Should I use different Tau escorts to get that vision I need?

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
This is where I run out knowledge on T'Au, as I have yet to actually play them... Switched to Drukhari this weekend after getting the MWJ unlocks for Asuryani and Corsairs, and considering how different they play from the standard line engagement of the game (its all hit and run; but with different flavours).

EDIT: "Finish your setences, 0rph3u5!"

... considering how different what I play is from standard line engangement, I am not sure I can offer any more on subject at this time.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2019, 02:37:09 pm by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Seems like several of the merchant ships are having me choose between ion cannons or railguns, more or less. Typically two patterns of the same ship model, one will have better railguns vs. the other which will have better ion. What's the difference?

 

Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Looking at the stats in the fleet builder suggests that Railguns vs. Ions is propably going to come down to the upgrades you unlock and set before the match. As a general rule Railguns use normal accuarcy scale for the T'Au (which is 80/60/40/20/0), while Ions always hit*. *Exceptions apply against ships with Holofields or upgrades that apply accuary debuffs.

For example, one of base unlocks gives your Flagship an increase in Ion cannon range (Attuned Lense Coating), while another, Targeting Coordinator, bumbs your Escorts' Railguns to a better accurary scale (85/70/55/40/25) if they are in "Lock On"-stance (which also ups for max range and applies another accuary boost, no idea if that stacks).
If you take these two, your Flagship should have Ions but your escorts should be armed with Railguns - then you can have your Flagship use the "Lock On" for enemies that can debuff accuracy even for 100%-percent weapons (Corsairs, Asuryani) or ships you need to keep at range with Engine crits** (e.g. Orkz), but for targets that engage you at equal range (e.g. Imperial Navy) you can go with "Reload" or "Brace for Impact". For your Escorts you have them cylce from "Silent Running" in the early game (hiding your numbers/scouting) back to "Lock On" once the Line Ships have engaged for long range fire support (instead of keeping them at "Silent Running" for scout and capture duties).

** Always remember your subsystem targeting.

Of course this should change if you have futher unlocks ... the inital unlocks for both T'Au fleet don't seem to be giving much to regular Line Ships...
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Is there someone with the lore knowledge to explain Tau fleet lore/customs/idioms/language/naming to me? I know that could be a very exhaustive rundown, but I'm trying to get a feel for what my Merchant Fleet is telling me.  :p  I'm finding the Merchants a lot of fun when played right, but I'd like to get a better feel for what I'm doing/how to name what I'm doing.

I'm pretty sure that the Air Caste is responsible for the Fleet - is that what the prefix "kor" in front of many phrases/names means? Is everyone in the Fleet Air Caste? Why do they mention "fire" when boarding? Who are these people mentioned "teachings of" as in "honor the teachings of ???" and "??? teachings guide our fire"? What is "kor'el" and "kor'o"? How are Tau ships named, why do they have three/four parts to their name? Why are the ship class names like "Gal'leath" sometimes in the name and sometimes not?  :confused: Where do the names for different ship patterns come from, and why does "Vash'ya" appear as a pattern for more than one class? What is a "sept"? What is korvattra and where does the term kororvesh come into it? Is korvattra the merchant fleet and kororvesh the Protector Fleet?

Sorry for the probable complete mangling of Tau terms/concepts. Noob here stumbling my way around lore of a faction I've never investigated so I'm basically asking everything at once, sorry!  :D

 

Offline crizza

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
So... since you play Tau merchant fleet, the Air caste (Kor) operates the ships, while the Water Caste(Por) do the actual trading stuff.
Considering boarding, this is most likely conducted by the Warrior/Fire Caste (Shas).
The language is rather... complicated.
Kor'O would means he is an Admiral  of the Air Caste, while Kor'el is Captain, while a Sept is a planetary system.
As an example:
Shas'O Vior'la Shovah Kais Mont'yr:
Shas - The individual is a member of the Fire Caste...
O - ...who is a high-ranking Commander and hero...
 Vior'la - ...who comes from the Sept of Vior'la...
and has a personal name translated as being far-sighted (Shovah), skilled (Kais), and having seen many battles (Mont'yr, meaning "blooded"). Copy pasted this^^
Korvattra is the whole Tau fleet, military and merchant fleet combined.
I don't know the term korrovesh, but Kor'ves is a tau drone :D
Gal'leath is the name of a Tau battleship class, while Vash'ya is a sept and also means to focus on more than one thing.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BFG: Armada II - Nom Nom Space Cathedral Nom Nom Nom
Is there someone with the lore knowledge to explain Tau fleet lore/customs/idioms/language/naming to me? I know that could be a very exhaustive rundown, but I'm trying to get a feel for what my Merchant Fleet is telling me.  :p  I'm finding the Merchants a lot of fun when played right, but I'd like to get a better feel for what I'm doing/how to name what I'm doing.

I'm pretty sure that the Air Caste is responsible for the Fleet - is that what the prefix "kor" in front of many phrases/names means? Is everyone in the Fleet Air Caste? Why do they mention "fire" when boarding? Who are these people mentioned "teachings of" as in "honor the teachings of ???" and "??? teachings guide our fire"? What is "kor'el" and "kor'o"? How are Tau ships named, why do they have three/four parts to their name? Why are the ship class names like "Gal'leath" sometimes in the name and sometimes not?  :confused: Where do the names for different ship patterns come from, and why does "Vash'ya" appear as a pattern for more than one class? What is a "sept"? What is korvattra and where does the term kororvesh come into it? Is korvattra the merchant fleet and kororvesh the Protector Fleet?

Sorry for the probable complete mangling of Tau terms/concepts. Noob here stumbling my way around lore of a faction I've never investigated so I'm basically asking everything at once, sorry!  :D

T'au society is split into four castes.  The two that will end up in fleet combat most frequently will be the Air (navy) and Fire (marines/infantry).  The T'au name for the Air caste is "Kor".  The T'au name for the Fire caste is "Shas".  When you do anything with boarding or marines, it's the Fire caste engaging, hence the mentions to fire.

T'au names are based partially on their rank, which is a combination of their caste and their position within the caste.  The lowest rank is "la", the next is "ui", then you get officer equivalent at "vre", field officer at "el", and finally command officer at "o".  Then the planet/sept they were born to, and then finally a given name.  So, a gunner's mate on a T'au ship might be "Kor'la Dal'yth Ry'lai" or somesuch.  Liberal use of apostrophes encouraged.

There are two major (nigh revered) tactical doctrines to the T'au, those being "Mont'ka" and "Kauyon".  Mont'ka is the way of the decisive strike, traditionally delivered with great flexibility and favoring maneuverability to hit the enemy's weakest point with the most firepower.  Kauyon is the way of the patient hunter, and is more along the lines of prepared positions and engineered deception to take an enemy by surprised.

That is to say, Mont'ka is getting in close and hitting a cruiser or battleship with crippling firepower and then disengaging to do it again when the enemy moves to counter; while Kauyon is sitting in a gas cloud under silent running until the enemy flotilla closes to point blank and then crippling an enemy in the first volley.  So if you hear "honor the teachings of Mont'ka" when you make a move with some frigates, that's why.

A Sept is basically a T'au sub-state, typically centered around a planet on which it is based.  There are half a dozen major Septs and a few dozen minor ones.  The major septs are: T'au (homeworld), T'au'n (first colony), Vior'la, Dal'yth, Sa'cea, Bork'an, Fal'shia, and D'yanoi.  A T'au's sept is so much a part of their identity that it is a part of their name.

Gal'leath is a battleship, but more specifically a ship that was not initially designed for combat.  Imperials call them "Explorer" class vessels because of that.

Kor'vattra is literally just the entire T'au air caste (and by extension the T'au fleet).  Kor'or'vesh is roughly "battlegroup" or "armada" and is a smaller group of vessels.

 

Offline HLD_Prophecy

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So "Honor the teachings of Vior'la" is a reference to the mentality/teachings of their sept? Cool!

So, are vessels given individual names in the vein of persons, hence the multiple parts to a name when I click on my ships? Or does it differ?

Thanks guys, sounds like a complex society where names mean a lot, lots of respect/honor for position/heritage/teaching. This is pretty darn neat.  :nod: