Chaos Heavy Cruiser
The Heavy Cruiser is a warship type originally used by the Imperium of Man, but now is primarily seen in the service of the Great Enemy. As an early attempt to create a cheaper and easier-to-maintain class of ships that could replace the Grand Cruisers, Heavy Cruisers try to capture the firepower of a Battleship on the smaller but swifter frame of the Cruiser.
Heavy Cruisers fell out of favor with Navy commanders due to the costs involved in maintaining their advanced systems. Their roles in fleets were soon filled by Battlecruisers, which were much economical to construct and easier to maintain due to using simpler technology.
Chaos has no such bias, and over the millennia ships of this type have made their way into Traitor fleets.
Interestingly, heavy cruisers (other than the Acheron) were not inherently flawed designs who mass-defected to Chaos. The Imperium merely stopped using them, so the only ones left in active duty are those that had turned to Chaos or been built by Chaos shipyards. GW only knows what idiot decided a set of very fast ships overflowing with macrobatteries or lances or attack craft was not worth maintaining. Especially since Chaos is infamously terrible at maintaining advanced technology, which means maintaining the ships’ systems was likely not difficult or could have been replaced in ships under construction with simpler, less advanced technologies. Either that or Chaos replaces some of the systems with Daemons, which is obviously not an option for loyalist forces.
Heavy Cruiser Classes[edit]
Basic[edit]
Hecate[edit]
The Hecate-Class Heavy Cruiser is the average joe of Heavy Cruisers.
Developed in late M33 as a replacement for the Styx Class Heavy Cruiser, it was seen as more well-rounded for fleet engagements and solitary patrols. The ships were being built at Cypra Mundi when newer designs from Mars were deemed more suitable for the Imperial Navy. Most were decommissioned by the Imperium in late M35.
By M36, a number of vessels had turned renegade, leading many to fear some inherent design flaw made these ships susceptible to corruption within the Warp. As a response, the Imperial Navy was quick to decommission whatever of the Cruisers remained. Since then, the class is frequently seen in the armadas of Chaos Space Marine fleets and in particular the Black Crusades of Abaddon the Despoiler.
The Hecate finally appeared in BF:A2 when it was released with the Chaos Campaign expansion, the Hecate drops two of the launch bays carried by the Styx to provide a more front line combat carrier type of vessel, with a much better DPS/CPM profile and a nice chunk of savings on points. The Hecate seems to be an alternative carrier for when you want to bring squads but still need the raw firepower to deal with any unexpected surprises that could end up running your squads dry or proving them to be ineffective, even in large numbers (ie: Necrons and their aoe fighter killing ability).
The Hecate’s weapons and defenses would be good for tearing up a normal cruiser’s shields and breaking its defense turrets. Then some fighters and a lot of bombers could pretty easily wreck havoc on an opponent with fighters distracting and engaging remaining turrets while bombers deal damage. Or use the attack craft before/during the engagement to weaken a target’s offensive capabilities to make them easier prey for the Hecate. Against an opposing attack craft heavy fleet, mixed carriers would probably be better suited using their fighters defensively and their bombers for targets of opportunity already suffering significant damage.
The ship is armed with 1 Triple Barrel Heavy Macro Turret, 2 Heavy Macro Battery Weapons, 2 Launch Bays carrying a complement of Swiftdeath Fighters, Doomfire Bombers, Dreadclaw Assault Pods or more rarely, Kharybdis Assault Claws, 1 Double-Barrel Lance Turret and 1 Triple Barrel Super Heavy Missile Turret.
- Length: 5.3-5.4km; approx
- Mass: 29 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 62,000 crew, 10,000 pilots and support personnel; approx
- Acceleration: 5.3 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx
Carrier[edit]
Styx[edit]
A Carrier-type, the Styx-class was eventually phased out in favor of the Mars-class Battlecruiser. Which of course makes no sense as the Mars carries far fewer attack craft and is generally considered a failed design. A versatile design, many Chaos Lords appreciate its ability to provide Fighter and Bomber support on top of its long-ranged weapons.
The Styx features a pair of Launch Bays, with a long-ranged Weapons Battery and long-ranged dorsal Lance battery. The long-ranged guns means that the ship can keep relatively out of danger while still being able to contribute the firepower of its weapons.
More importantly (since the attack craft are the real power of this ship), it can blast the crap out of enemy escorts/raiders that try and make torpedo runs against it long before they get in range without having to re-direct its attack craft to protect itself while also being able to contribute a notable amount of firepower to assist friendly ships engaged with whatever.
Overall, the profile of the Styx is 1 Triple Barrel Heavy Macro Turret, 4 Launch Bays carrying a complement of Swiftdeath Fighters, Doomfire Bombers, Dreadclaw Assault Pods or more rarely, Kharybdis Assault Claws, 2 Double-Barrel Lance Turret and 1 Triple Barrel Super Heavy Missile Turret.
- Length: 5.3-5.4km; approx
- Mass: 28.3 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 55,000 crew, 15,000 pilots and support personnel; approx
- Acceleration: 5.2 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx
Ordinance-Boat[edit]
Hades[edit]
The Ordinance-boat of the Heavy Cruisers, the Hades-class is equipped to engage opponents at not-quite brawling range. While it doesn't have the shields or armor to take a sustained firefight with larger ships, it's still more than a match of any Imperial Cruiser.
The Hades is the mirror of the Acheron, weapons-wise, with mid-ranged Macro Weapons Battery broadsides (despite its lowish shields and armor or its size and so should be long-ranged all around) supplemented by a long-ranged forward-mounted Lance battery, and dorsal-mounted long-ranged Lance turrets.
In battlefleets, the Hades shines even brighter when leading a group of other long-ranged ships like the Murder- and Carnage-class cruisers, letting them combine their long-range guns into a solid wall of death awaiting any captain dumb enough to try to close the gap.
The Hades is armed with 1 Double-Barrel Heavy Lance Artillery, 4 Macro Battery Weapons and 2 Double-Barrel Lance Turret.
- Length: 5.3-5.4km; approx
- Mass: 32 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 68,100 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 5.4 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx
Lance-Boat[edit]
Acheron[edit]
The Acheron-Class Heavy Cruiser is a Chaos starship that was built on the Cardinal-class heavy cruiser hull which, interestingly, is the only keel-built Imperial ship still operating that fans know of.
A testbed for experimental and possibly xenos-based technologies, only one was thought to have been built. Said ship suddenly defected to the side of Abaddon's forces during the Gothic War. Multiple ships of the same type were spotted since that time, which means that there's a Dark Mechanicus Forge World somewhere churning them out.
A dedicated Lance-boat, the Acheron-class features long-ranged Lance broadsides, a mid-ranged dorsal Lance battery, and a mid-ranged forward-mounted Weapons battery. It may have been intended to take out or weaken shields while approaching an enemy and then pivot and unleash a storm of lances.
The ship is armed with 1 Triple Barrel Macro Turret, 4 Double-Barrel Heavy Lance Battery Weapons, 2 Double-Barrel Lance Turret and 1 Triple Barrel Missile Turret.
- Length: 5.3-5.4km; approx
- Mass: 29.3 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 61,000 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 5.3 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx
Hellfire[edit]
The Hellfire-Class Heavy Cruiser is a class of Heavy Cruiser that was originally an early attempt by the Adeptus Mechanicus to mount large Weapons Batteries onto a Cruiser-class hull. Initially only fitted with relatively weak Lances, after several years of tinkering with the ship's power generators the Mechanicum was able to add further-ranged and more powerful lance batteries. Thus the ships became formidable and were used in planetary sieges and system blockades.
That being said the ships still suffered from multiple issues. Their huge arsenal greatly reduced their speed, something which proved a constant hindrance for smaller and more manoeuvrable ships it fought alongside. Their lack of Void Shield generators (due to most of the ship's power going to its weaponry) also made them easy targets for enemy fire. Additionally, due to the large space required to fit its ammunition and power generators, crew quarters were cramped and under-supplied. All of these weaknesses made the Hellfire ill-suited for long-range patrols unless supported by a flotilla of transports and escorts.
Due to the undesirable conditions on board, crew morale tended to suffer during long periods at dock or patrol. In such cramped and crowded conditions, the murmurings of discontent started to spread and many of these vessels and their crews eventually mutinied, leading them down the road to Chaos. Today, most Hellfires remain in the fleets of Chaos.
A shame the AdMech was too pants-on-head retarded to just make the weapons batteries smaller but the guns inside the same as those on a larger class of ship. Imperial weapons batteries have fifty weapons each. Make it like, twenty guns from a battleship. There, problem solved. Put battleship engines in your cruiser while you’re at it and use the increased power to power increased void shield strength and layers as well as much thicker armor. Say, battleship level of both. You’re welcome.
- Length: 5.3-5.4km; approx
- Mass: 31 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 48,000 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 3.8 gravities max sustainable acceleration; approx
In Battlefleet Gothic[edit]
Heavy Cruisers are a good source of firepower if Battleships or Grand Cruisers are unavailable for some reason (like lack of models). Barring the Styx, they're somewhat cheap points-wise, but always keep in mind that they're not any tougher than a regular Cruiser.
A Heavy Cruiser may be taken for every two Cruisers in a list. Like any other ship on the Chaos list, any one commanded by a Chaos Lord may select a Mark of Chaos, and gets the option of adding Chaos Space Marine crew for additional cost.
In Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 1 & 2[edit]
A slight upgrade over regular Cruisers, Heavy Cruisers feature better weaponry in exchange for a more limited selection of vessels. They're a smidgen more costly than a regular Cruiser as well, so they can't round off points as efficiently.
The roles of the three Heavy Cruisers available are clearly delineated, so it really falls under a player's preference how the ships fill their fleet list.
| Vessels of the Traitor Legions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spaceships | ||
| Space Station | Blackstone Fortress | |
| Super Battleships | Abyss | |
| Battleships | Battleship (Gloriana - Planet Killer) - Ark of Omen | |
| Cruisers | Light Cruiser - Cruiser Heavy Cruiser - Grand Cruiser | |
| Escorts | Escort | |
| Others | Silver Tower of Tzeentch | |
| Combat Spacecraft | Doomfire Bomber - Swiftdeath Fighter | |
| Landships | ||
| Siege Carriers | Siege Carrier | |
| War Machines | Chaos Harvester - Nurgle Plague Tower - Woe Machine | |
| Titans | Questor Scout Titan - Slaanesh Subjugator Feral Scout Titan - Ravager Battle Titan Chaos Warlord Titan - Chaos Emperor Titan Skull Reaper | |
| Troop Transports | Mastodon | |
| Superheavy Tanks | Baneblade - Fellblade - Plaguereaper Tower of Skulls | |
| Airships | ||
| Flying Fortress | Harbinger | |
| Aerospace Vessels | Stormbird | |
| Seaships | ||
| Oceanic Battleships | Oceanic Battleship | |