Eldar Cruiser
Eldar Cruisers like their smaller cousins are fast glass cannons that rely on their Holofields for their enemies to miss their shots, like all Eldar vessels. Eldar Cruisers are usually operated by the Eldar Corsairs due to, in part, a lack of resources to maintain the esoteric Wraithbone structures of their Craftworld cousins. As such, these Cruisers are constructed from materials other than Wraithbone.
Class[edit]
Basic[edit]
Shadow[edit]
The Shadow Class Cruiser is the most bog-standard class of Eldar cruisers. It is armed with four Torpedo tubes and 8 Heavy Starcannon Artilleries.
It is your typical type of Eldar capital ship due to the use of large solar sails, providing it with immense speed and manoeuvrability. Often they are seen outrunning the escort vessels of other race, they are equipped with a prow Weapons Battery and keel Torpedo tubes.
There have been many successful raids and battles with the Shadow-class and there are also many famous ones. The most famous during the Gothic War was the Black Star commanded by Prince Conanmaol of the Executioners. He destroyed many Imperial capital ships as well as a huge amount of merchant shipping tonnage. It evaded destruction and still launches raids from the Graildark Nebula. Another vessel, the Fhianna Rethol, was the first to be captured relatively intact and was being studied at Argante Station when a flotilla of Eldar vessels attacked and fired a salvo of torpedoes at it, destroying it utterly.
It is armed with 4 Torpedo Launchers and 8 Starcannon Artillery.
- Length: 4.7km; approx
- Mass: 16 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 14,200 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 8 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Carrier[edit]
Eclipse[edit]
The Eclipse-class Cruiser is a class of Eldar Cruiser that is one of the most effective Attack Craft carriers in the entire Gothic Sector thanks in large part to the quickness and agility that is common to all Eldar craft.
Unlike other races' carriers which must stay well away from the front lines - thereby increasing travel time before their Attack Craft reach their target - the Eclipse can dart in, launch a wave of Darkstar Fighters and Eagle Bombers, and then race to safety before the enemy can retaliate. When this speed is combined with the incredible effectiveness of Eldar Attack Craft and the power of the Eclipse's forward Pulsar Lance, it is small wonder that the Eclipse was the bane of Imperial commanders throughout the Gothic Sector.
It is equipped with one heavy launch bay carrying Darkstar Fighters and Eagle Bombers , six Starcannon Artillery and three Pulsar Lance Beams.
- Length: 4.7km; approx
- Mass: 18 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 13,000 crew, including 5,000 pilots and support staff; approx
- Acceleration: 8 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Kurnous[edit]
A more 'brawler'-esque Carrier compared to the Eclipse. It is armed with eight Heavy Starcannon Artilleries and a heavy launch bay.
The Kurnous, is basically the same ship as the Shadow with its torpedoes swapped for launch bays at the cost of an extra 22 points, down from the old 60 point difference. While previously a much more expensive ship, the reduction in points cost brings the Kurnous more in line with the other ships in terms of value/usefulness.
Like the Shadow, Runic Targeting gives this ship the ability to use broadside attack profiles in auto engage mode to keep the assisting AI circling your cruiser around the target, keeping the ship moving and the holofields up, while you micro your other vessels that need to make strafing run attacks. The Kurnous is a bit more independent than the Shadow since you don't need to worry about setting up torpedo runs either.
It is armed with 1 Heavy Launch Bay carrying Darkstar Fighters and Eagle Bombers and 8 Starcannon Artillery.
- Length: 4.7km; approx
- Mass: 18 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 11,500 crew, including 5,800 pilots and support staff; approx
- Acceleration: 8 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Lance-boat[edit]
Vaul[edit]
The Vaul is a lance-boat variant of the Eclipse and is armed with four Torpedo tubes, six Heavy Starcannon Artilleries and three Pulsar Lance Beams.
The Vaul gives you a cheaper means of dealing with astronomical amounts of damage and crits. The standard weaponry is some of the most potent on a ship of its weight class in the game, thanks to the Eldar glass cannon methodology of fleet design. It does by far, the highest amount of damage out of any of the ships of its class by the sheer basis of having more Dakka.
There isn't a whole lot extra to say, given the limited variation for the Corsairs ship in the Cruiser size, but if you want big damage dealing and a devastating torpedo spread to burn through your enemies, the Vaul is your ship.
It is armed with 4 Torpedo Launchers, 6 Starcannon Artillery and 3 Pulsar Lance Beams.
- Length: 4.7km; approx
- Mass: 16 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 16,500 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 8 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Other[edit]
Naiad[edit]
The Naiad-class Cruiser is a special Eldar Cruiser class. Unlike the rest of the Cruiser classes listed here, the Naiad is actually owned by one Craftworld. Specifically, the ship is known to be operated by Craftworld Biel-Tan.
These ships resembled giant yachts in SPEHSS and have incorporated four solar sails to quickly glide their way through the void. They often accompany and defend the Craftworld from invaders and the like. However, with Biel-Tan pulling a critical existence failure following the events of Gathering Storm, the remains of the Craftworld has been repurposed into smaller fleet vessels. So Biel-Tain is gonna have a further increase of these Naiads.
It is unknown what armament the Naiad possess. Although given at how much they dropped the ball in protecting their Craftworld due to Chaos hijinks involving a Daemonic invasion through a Webway inside Biel-Tan, whatever arms they had were rendered effectively useless, lest they fired upon the very Craftworld they were meant to protect. The very best they could do was to launch assault boats to further shore up Biel-Tan's defences, but we know how that ended up.
- Length: 4-5km; approx
- Mass: 19.4 megatonnes; approx
- Crew: 20,100 crew; approx
- Acceleration: 7.9 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
In Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 1 & 2[edit]
The Corsairs cruisers, slowing down some from the Light Cruisers, are still faster and more manoeuvrable than even the fastest Imperial Escort sized ships. The Corsair's Cruisers still have 2/3rds the hull points of standard ships of its class to offset their powerful damage dodging abilities and high damage output.
| Vessels of the Craftworld Eldar and Corsairs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spaceships | ||
| Craftworld | Craftworld | |
| Space Station | Haven Spire | |
| Battleships | Void Stalker | |
| Cruisers | Light Cruiser (Light Cruiser - Wraithship) Cruiser (Cruiser - Dragonship) - Phoenix Ship | |
| Escorts | Escort | |
| Logistics | Eldar Transport Ship | |
| Combat Spacecraft | Eagle Bomber | |
| Landships | ||
| Titans | Revenant Scout Titan - Phantom Battle Titan Warlock Titan | |
| Troop Transports | Storm Serpent | |
| Superheavy Tanks | Cobra - Deathstalker - Scorpion Tempest - Void Spinner | |
| Airships | ||
| Flying Fortress | Vampire Hunter | |
| Aerospace Vessels | Vampire Raider | |