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Last Stand - Farseer

2018-03-19T06:37:53Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Armor */

The Farseer is the [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Eldar]].

==Overview==
The [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]] is, at once, a paradox - she is surprisingly durable and survivable, but she's ostensibly a support spellcaster first and foremost. The [[Farseer]], like all [[Eldar]], is deceptive, a heroine that is at once extremely powerful and surprisingly ubiquitous. The Farseer is a hero who, unlike other spellcasters (such as the [[Last Stand - Chaos Sorcerer|Chaos Sorcerer]]) focuses primarily upon disrupting enemies, assisting allies, and debuffing enemies. The Farseer is quite capable of being used as an offensive caster as well, getting access to her strongest offensive spells surprisingly early in her career, ergo making her surprisingly friendly towards newcomers to last stand, though raw offense is not the Farseer's strongest suit by any stretch. The Farseer easily makes herself useful in a wide array of different playstyles, from a dedicated defensive supporter and medic to battlefield control. Surprisingly high defense and viable offense give her quite a bit of tactical viability with damned near any loadout as well, a rarity for any character in [[Last Stand]]. Indeed, no character in Last Stand can really multi-task on one loadout quite so well as the Farseer - she's never at a loss for strategic options and this is true for much of her career, making her in many ways the exact opposite, progression-wise, of the [[Last Stand - Captain|Space Marine Captain]] and [[Last Stand - Captain|Imperial Guard Lord General]].

However, what the Farseer has in tactical viability and useful secondary options she loses in raw power. Her nuke spell, Eldritch Storm, is neither as powerful nor predictable as the other characters' biggest, and her lone damaging offensive spell is likewise nowhere near as effective as those of other casters. Even when fully kitted out, her melee and ranged firepower is weaker than that of other heroes, and she furthermore loses out in one of the most crippling aspects of Last Stand: Mobility. Other than packing on the Runes of Swiftness or Pistol of the Warseer, the only mobility booster she has is the Runes of the Warp, which is predominantly useful as an escape teleport or to save allies. This makes her extremely vulnerable to being mobbed, as, unlike the Hive Tyrant, who is similarly vulnerable, she lacks a dedicated crowd control maneuver (such as Toxic Cysts).

Another major problem she has is that per progression is ridiculously lopsided, with the overpowering majority of her useful wargear unlocked before she's halfway through her leveling. An additional problem is that, with almost every build, her clone on Bloodied Coliseum turns the fight into a complete cluster-fuck where your team has to deal with an unshakable fearless teleporting asshole who strategically makes teammates invulnerable. Probably the biggest issue with her is ''when'' players realize that she's infinitely better at control and support than offense; this is not an easy playstyle to adapt to and many Farseer players choose to focus entirely on offense with her, which whilst viable, is done better by the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer.

Make no mistake, however: The Farseer is a powerful force, especially if kitted out well. She excels at manipulating battlefield conditions, turning enemies on one another, and making enemies easier to kill. It's important to note that what are (arguably) her strongest abilities are all extremely indirect - though its effect is far simpler, Veil of Tears can potentially accomplish more for a team than Eldritch Storm, and Confuse or Entangle are often vastly more useful than simply using Eldritch Bolt. Correctly loaded out, the Farseer is capable of bringing quite a bit to the table, and from surprising angles, making her a rather unique choice. When played well, she is easily the strongest character in Last Stand, but this takes a level of care and patience that not many are willing to exhibit.

==Armor==
*'''Farseer Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 16
***Default Armor. It fails at everything and should never be used.

*'''Armor of Vaul''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 184
**Trait: Fearless (Immune to Suppression)
***This initial armor boasts absolutely gigantic defense for a caster, as well as the fearless trait - an incredibly powerful combination, to say the least. Right out the gate, the Farseer boasts very high survivability specifically because of this, and this armor remains useful for quite some time due to its heavy armor and Fearless trait.

*'''Rune Armor''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor Rating: 68
**+50 Energy
***This armor is more in-line with the Chaos Sorcerer's armors: Modest defense, but an ability specifically-designed to support a caster. In this case, one might immediately see the Rune Armor's ''vastly'' lower defense and immediately ignore it, but that does the armor a huge disservice; the Rune Armor gives a massive amount of secondary energy, and since the Farseer relies so heavily on her skills to do much of anything, this boon is absolutely gigantic and thusly not to be underestimated. It tends to lose its sparkle as the game goes on, however.

*'''Ghosthelm''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor Rating: 44
**+1 Energy Regeneration
***Like the Rune Armor, this lower-defense armor is easy to overlook - especially with access to another suit of armor on this list. On the other hand, +1 Energy Regeneration, for a character like the Farseer, is fucking huge. It dramatically improves her peformance and ability to stay in the fight by simple virtue of letting her cast far more often, and that's a particularly handy advantage to have, especially when one considers that it can be stacked with her other abilities for a veritable font of energy regeneration that lets her throw out spells in a barrage.

*'''Armor of Eldanesh''' - ''Level 18''
** Armor Rating: 132
** Ability: Psychic Shield (Raise a psychic shield which halves incoming damage and causes it to reduce Energy instead of Health.)
***Yet another overlooked armor, but this one has a few defenders owning to its heavy defense and access to Psychic Shield. Though often an avoided ability, the Armor of Eldanesh giving the Farseer a means to resist damage means that it makes a good survival option, especially if the Farseer gets overwhelmed. The drawback of course is that the Farseer is an immensely energy-reliant hero; burning off energy from her pool can leave you short of it in a bad situation.

*'''Mantle of Malan'tai''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive 75 Allies as the Eldar Farseer''
**Armor Rating: 165
**Trait: +0.5 Energy Regeneration
***This unlockable armor frequently is seen as the better version of the Ghosthelm armor, due to the fact that it has much heavier armor; On the other hand, however, the energy regen boost is only half as strong. Whilst at a glance, this means the Mantle of Malan'tai is much stronger, the energy regeneration rate boost available from the Ghosthelm is infinitely better for many builds. It is still a very effective armor, however, and one of the most commonly used. Curiously, it also has a hidden property not displayed on the item card, adding 10% to special attack chance for any melee weapon equipped, including the Laughing Stave for which it is otherwise always zero.

*'''Armor of [[Idranel]]''' - ''DLC''
**Armor Rating: 165
**+100 Health
**Trait: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Foresight (All melee damage reduced by 50%)
***An almost bizarrely powerful armor that is undeniably the most-commonly-used, by simple virtue of its massive health boost and strong armor rating. Just as strong as the Mantle of Malan'tai defensively, the huge health buff it gives is what pushes it over; 100 extra health plus that level of armor means an incredible level of survivability, but when it has Unshakable as well, that's just outstanding. The Foresight buff is just icing on the cake- halving all melee damage makes the Farseer an extremely effective melee tank, and when paired with the Debilitating Witchblade only the most dangerous melee fighters will be able to hurt her in close combat. It bears mentioning that while this armor gives the Farseer incredibly strong ''upfront'' durability, she has no options to boost health ''regeneration'', so she can be worn down over a wave if she doesn't pace how she spends her health. Not even this armor allows her to stay in a blob for an entire wave like, say, a Space Marine with 7.0 regen. Perhaps more than any other Farseer armor, this one is the hardest to justify ''not'' using, since its advantages are truly massive. However, it carries absolutely no benefits towards her casting and has no active ability, as such it can be passed over for the specific benefits of other armors if desired. Or just because players don't want to pony up for it.

==Weapons==
*'''Witchblade''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.0 DPS
***Stereotypical default weapon that stereotypically sucks.

*'''Shuriken Pistol''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
***Bizarrely, the default pistol is just as effective as the other pistols in terms of damage output. Draw your own conclusions.

*'''Pistol of the Warseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged Damage), Swift (+25% Movement Speed)
***The Pistol of the Warseer's damage output is barely higher than the Shuriken Pistol (and even then that's due to Combat Expert), but the fact that it grants 2 of the most useful traits in the game make this one hell of an early game wargear. Do note, however, that it takes up an extremely contended-for slot; if you take the Pistol of the Warseer, the only damaging ability you get to take advantage of the Combat Expert trait is Eldritch Storm (which can actually be remarkably powerful with both the pistol and runes of war). On the other hand, Swift is amazingly useful, and stacks with the other speed boosts the Farseer can get, which massively increases survivability.

*'''Pistol of the Doomseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Eldritch Bolt (15 Energy, Fires a roiling blast of psychic energy at the target)
***Pistol of the Doomseer gives you your first legitimately good offensive spell, and indeed one of only three that the Farseer can use. It's actually remarkably cost-effective and fairly useful, though it needs Runes of War to get the most out of. If you're planning to go direct combat, Pistol of the Doomseer is a must.

*'''Witchblade of the Crone''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**20.0 DPS
***The Witchblade of the Crone has high DPS and.... That's literally it. Whilst it's brutally effective against softer targets, it lacks armor piercing and isn't anywhere near as good against tougher foes unless heavily bolstered by Combat Expert/Mastery. If you're planning to engage in close-combat, consider taking this along; otherwise, shelve it for the other melee weapons.

*'''Singing Spear''' - ''Level 4''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**19.0 DPS
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
***The singing spear looks abhorrently bad on paper: 2 hands for a weapon barely as good as the Witchblade of the Crone and with a trait easily-accessible from a piece of wargear that renders it largely irrelevant. So, worst weapon for the Farseer, right? Wrong. Singing Spear does damage in bigger chunks than the Witchblade of the Crone, has better reach, and a higher special attack rating, all in all resulting in better damage overall unless the Witchblade's paired with the Pistol of the Warseer. The Singing Spear is thus much better than it initially appears, and is especially good when stacked with the Armor of Vaul.

*'''Witchblade of Isha''' - ''Level 9''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**10.2 DPS
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration, +25 Energy
***It may be weaker than the Witchblade of the Crone, but this wasn't taken for its damage (which is still acceptable). Instead, you take it for the increased energy regen and capacity, all of which are great things for any caster. The ability to fire off another Confuse or Eldritch Bolt is always beneficial, and this weapon pays for itself in short order specifically because of this.

*'''Pistol of the Skyseer''' - ''Level 14''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Levitation Field (15 Energy, lifts enemies in the air and then tosses around for knockback damage)
***This Pistol has a hilariously useful ability that enables the Farseer to quickly deal with enemies that cluster up, throwing them all over the place thereafter. The damage tends to vary wildly, from doing barely any whatsoever to doing quite a bit if enemies collide with one another during the throw. The primary benefit isn't the damage, however; it's disabling enemies and launching them away from you. This even works on doppelgangers, but it will fail against any that happen to have the Unshakable Trait.

*'''Warp Spear''' - ''Level 19''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**12.2 DPS
**Ability: Warp Pull (5 Energy, pulls enemies toward the Farseer)
**Trait: Pitiless (Farseer has a 10% chance to cause 200 bonus damage on striking)
***A utility weapon through and through, whose mediocre DPS hides its real potential. On its own, its damage is pretty bad considering it eschews the use of a pistol, but it has a 1-in-10 chance of triggering a massive damage strike that is capable of one-shotting most targets, making it comparable to (but weaker than) the Chaos Sorcerer's Staff of Fate. The Warp Spear compensates, however, by coming with Warp Pull, which is an amazing control ability. You can drag enemies into close combat, pull them away from vulnerable allies, or pull them into the firing arc of teammates. The numerous applications of the Warp Spear make it surprisingly useful, so don't underestimate it!

*'''Laughing Stave''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Earn a Score Multiplier of 275 as the Farseer''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**11.1 DPS
**Traits: Knockback (Enemies hit by this weapon will be knocked back), Laughing Runes (-25% Energy Cost), Unshakable (Immune to Knockback)
***There are three reasons to take the laughing stave, and any of them, on their own, are good reasons, but when together, they turn this weapon into an oft-unappreciated powerhouse. First, it's the only exclusively ranged weapon the Farseer gets, and it's a damned good one, offering a more-than-4-fold damage increase over the Shuriken Pistols. Second, it has knockback, which means it's actually very good for keeping the Farseer out of trouble - both in close-combat, and from afar. But it's the last advantage it has that's the most glaring: a 25% reduction in energy costs means that literally ''everything'' you cast is orders of magnitude easier to use - even the likes of Eldritch Storm will only cost 37 energy under this upgrade, allowing your average energy-focused Farseer to cast it twice with a full energy bar. It bolsters all your other abilities, too, making it a solid choice that should used for a great many builds. Like all Staves, it's also a melee weapon; this one packs a reasonable punch (roughly the same as the Witchblade of the Crone, but without special attacks and a slower swing speed but meatier damage output), but its major advantage is its ranged punch, knockdown, and cost reductions. It does, however, also give you Unshakable, which is brings this weapon from "great" to "fucking amazing."

*'''Debilitating Witchblade''' - ''DLC''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.1 DPS
**Traits: Sap (Reduces the target's melee damage by 50% for 5 seconds; note that Sap only applies to the individual model hit by the Farseer's attack), Energy Leech (Restores 10 Energy when this weapon kills an enemy)
*** The Debilitating Witchblade is a mixed blessing. Sap can allow the Farseer to stand toe-to-toe against foes with powerful melee attacks, and Energy Leech occasionally supplements the Farseer's energy regeneration. Unfortunately, Sap only affects the specific model the Farseer attacks (rather than affecting a whole squad a-la the Captain's Lightning Claws), and Energy Leech ''requires that the enemy be killed by the Debilitating Witchblade itself'' rather than any of the Farseer's abilities. That's right: this means that if you're using Runes of Wrath and the second strike kills an enemy, it won't trigger Energy Leech. The Debilitating Witchblade ''can'' be useful in a purely supporting role, but rarely can it be considered a good general-purpose weapon.

==Accessories==
*'''Runes of Warding''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Ward (25 Energy, grants ally temporary invulnerability)
***This is a lifesaver for the Farseer, as this can be the difference between saving your ally or dying and failing a run. Just beware when fighting your Wave 16 doppelganger as the enemy will use this with impunity against you. Especially if they're going for that Tau Efficiency achievement.

*'''Runes of Harlequin''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Confuse (15 Energy, confuses the target, forcing it to attack anything nearby for a while.)
***This is more situational than it looks, as if you use it at the wrong time, this will sic the squad right back at you, which may or [[Not as Planned|may not be what you intended]]. On the other hand, the doppelganger can't use it and it can interrupt their resurrection attempts, making it particularly powerful on the Bloodied Colosseum map. And, unlike Veil of Tears, with Confuse you can choose your target, making it extremely good against big bosses (do you remember Araghast??) or when you want to target a specific unit instead of going all random.
***Confuse is generally best used on fast-moving melee units (which can lock ranged units in melee) or on units with a whole lot of [[Dakka|dakka]]
***Confuse is the only way to prevent Unshakeable dopplegangers from resurrecting each other

*'''Runes of Fleetness''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Fleet of Foot (5 Energy, grants the Farseer a speed boost at the cost of her damage output)
***If you really want to work support as a Farseer, then this will be your go-to tool for making those quick saves. Take care though, as this is not a triggered ability, but a temporary one.

*'''Runes of War''' - ''Level 3''
**Traits: Combat Master (+40% Melee and Ranged Damage)
***If you play a combat Farseer, then this will be an auto-include, as it will make you much more of a threat than everyone would expect.

*'''Runes of Deception''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Conceal (20 Energy, grants invisibility to allies within the field)
***This is a bit more situational than other abilities, as this won't make much difference when you're being chased by swarms or Banshees, but it can let you make a [[Cyrus]]-style stealth save. Become almost broken in conjunction with runes of the warp.

*'''Runes of Fortune''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Fortune (10 Energy, reduces all incoming damage by 50%)
*** Fortune complements almost any team composition by providing significant damage mitigation. With the proper application of Fortune, a properly built melee Captain or Hive Tyrant will be able to weather entire waves, and ranged characters like the Lord General or Tau Commander will find their longevity under fire significantly extended, allowing them to spend more time doing what they do best. Fortune stacks multiplicatively with other damage reduction methods and even with itself (a character with two instances of Fortune cast on them will take 75% reduced damage). Fortune's low energy cost and long duration allow it to compare favorably with Ward (which is costlier, has a longer cooldown, and does not last as long). Fortune also complements health regeneration: high levels of damage mitigation mean that a little health regen goes a long way.

*'''Runes of Wrath''' - ''Level 10''
**Trait: Second Strike (Delayed psychic strikes follow each time the Farseer attacks in melee)
***Stack with the Runes of War to make your Farseer a bunch more deadly as and assault character. This rune benefits weaker melee weapons like the Witchblade of Isha or the Debilitating Witchblade that don't do a lot of damage on their own: the second strike ignores armor and adds a considerable amount of raw damage per hit.

*'''Runes of the Warp''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Group Teleport (15 Energy, teleport all nearby allies to a targeted location)
***Where a Sorcerer would teleport to get into combat, you have a teleport to get away from the ruckus. This can definitely help make shenanigans happen, especially against slower enemies or shooty prey. It can also be useful in getting near a fallen ally and rescuing them. Or you could more simply teleport the fallen body away from danger and then safely revive him, since this ability can teleport fallen team mates.
****A word of caution on Bloodied Coliseum: The enemy Farseer goes absolutely apeshit with this ability and WILL abuse it at the worst possible moments. Players on wave 16 and 20 may find themselves receiving a surprise gang-bang when the Farseer dumps Araghast and half a dozen Bloodletters your head while trying to kite enemies or revive team mates.

*'''Runes of Vigour''' - ''Level 12''
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration
***This is not a useful thing, as it takes up a slot better used for neater powers.

*'''Runes of Evasion''' - ''Level 16''
**Traits: Evasive (All attacks made at the Farseer have a 30% chance of missing)
***Whatever your role, you can never go wrong with some extra evasion to go along with it. Unless you're at Bloodied Coliseum, where your doppelganger will be just as annoying to kill.

*'''Runes of the Spider''' - ''Level 17''
**Ability: Entangle (15 Energy, ensnares an enemy, making them unable to move, but able to attack)
***This is a lifesaver when dealing with Banshees or other agile targets, as they will hound your ass at every opportunity. This can give your team the time it needs to wipe them out.

==Commander Items==
*'''Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Eldritch Storm (50 Energy, Unleash a large psychic storm, disrupting and damaging enemies in a large radius. While channeling this powerful spell, the caster will be immune to damage but not regenerate energy)
***Curiously, whilst most classes get their big ol' nuke spell at the end of their careers, the Farseer and Mekboy get theirs early. The Farseer's is one of the weaker nukes; it immobilizes her during it, has a strange hitbox, and its damage buildup can be finicky. On the other hand, it's still a nuke spell and absolutely awesome at killing mooks in a substantial radius... Or at softening up harder enemies for further assaults. Bear in mind its high energy costs and weaknesses, and it's absolutely devastating. By rapidly right clicking as you cast the storm you should be able to move and attack regain energy and keep the invulnerability while the storm kills stuff. So with some decent energy regain or reduction you could nearly get the cost back by the time it's off cooldown and spam it. Or hitting stop right after cast is more effective.

*'''Spirit Stone of Illusion''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Veil of Tears (50 Energy, Confuses half the enemies on screen and makes them attack the nearest target regardless of alliance)
***This mass confuse spell is no less finicky than the damage on Eldritch Storm, and it's just as expensive, to boot, but it's potentially even more game-changing. The pandemonium it can cause can completely turn the tide of a fight, provided the thing the enemies target isn't you - just bear in mind that the enemies WILL if you're the closest thing in range. Used properly, it can quickly deal with swarms of foes.

*'''Spirit Stone of Vigour''' - ''Level 20''
**Traits: Invigorating Leadership (+0.3 Energy Regeneration for all nearby allies)
***Bizarrely, this is one of the weakest commander items, giving a tiny energy regeneration boost. It's of barely any use to the Farseer on her own, precludes the use of both Eldritch Storm and Veil of Tears, and boasting the same energy regen boost as another piece of wargear that's often best not taken. Unlike that one though, there are some benefits to the Stone of Vigour that make it worth using. For one, it removes the ability of the Wave 16/20 doppelganger to use your abilities against you. For another, it gives the energy boost to nearby teammates as well, which means this can actually be fairly useful to back up the likes of the Lord General or Chaos Sorcerer.

==Progression==

==Tactics and Strategy==
*'''On Achievements:'''
**''Grab Me the Paddles'' (Which unlocks the Mantle of Malan'Tai) is accomplished by reviving allies. If you use the Pistol of the Warseer and/or Runes of Swiftness or Runes of the Warp, this is a rather easy task as you'll be able to extricate yourself from the situation if it gets too hectic.
**''Advanced Multiplication'' (Which unlocks the Laughing Stave) requires both control over the Power Nodes and the ability to manage your allies. Since you need a multiplier of 275, you'll need to kill enemies quickly, protect your allies, and control the nodes just long enough to get that high.

== Builds ==
'''BUILD 1 - DECEIVER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' The most Eldar build ever, the idea of this build is to keep yourself out of the fight while you make the enemy do all the dirty work (sounds familiar to you? Yeah, you get the idea), keep casting Confuse on your enemies so they kill each other and Fleet of Foot whenever you see they are closing on to you (you are unshakable by the way, and the witchblade of Isha gives you a lot of energy), prioritize larger targets whenever you can as they can one-hit other units, watch how wraithlords, carnifexes, Juggernauts, dreads and dreffs decimate their own armies. Oh, and remember wave 16 at Bloodied Colosseum? If you see a clone trying to resurrect another clone cast confuse, this will disrupt him, and don't worry about your clone SHE CANT CAST CONFUSE.

'''BUILD 2 - RESURRECTER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Warding, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' A variant of the DECEIVER-RUNNER, the RESURRECTER is built to keep your allies alive, you just stay out of the fight as much as possible as you need yourself alive, then, everytime you see an allied die run to him with Fleet of Foot, cast yourself Ward and resurrect him, tell your allies to fight, no matter if they are going to die again, as long as you stay alive you can resurrect them, while a bit tedious this strategy is great whenever you end in a team of newcomers or low hp nukers, as in the long run they will decimate the wave.

'''BUILD 3 - ...AND LET THE MON-KEIGH TAKE CARE OF LARGE GROUPS'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Fortune, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Explanation:''' At first glance, this build seems little different than the others, but it provides a number of advantages. Fortune reduces all damage taken by the target by 50%; when you cast Fortune on yourself, your damage reduction approaches 90% (88.5%, to be exact). Fortune is also much cheaper and easier to spam than Ward, and you can maintain it on multiple targets at once, allowing you to keep your team in the fight rather than simply resurrecting them when they fall. Runes of Wrath gives you excellent single-target damage (against large groups of weak models, try attacking one model, moving away, and letting the second strike do its work before moving in again), and the combination of the Witchblade of Isha and the Spirit Stone of Vigor means that you generally have enough energy to cast Confuse when necessary and Fortune at all times. This build has two weaknesses: it cannot deal with large groups of mobs on its own; and it has no real way to recover lost health without support.

'''BUILD 4 - SHADOWSEER'''

'''Min Level:''' 15

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Deception, Runes of the Warp, Spirit Stone of Illusion.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build really shines on Bloodied Colosseum, since the enemies will need more time to reach you after you teleport away, giving you and your allies a lot of times to get some breath, and especially against your clone, that can't use Veil of Tears nor Confuse against you or your allies, but can also be devastating on anvil of khorne with the right teammates. The build itself is all about supporting your allies and heavily debuffing your enemies: if using it correctly, you should never die AND you should be the one reviving your fallen comrades every time without problems, turning your enemies against each other and keeping yourself and your allies safe through invisibility and teleportation. the Laughing Stave also let you knock back enemies coming at you, while letting you spam a lot more spells than you could without it, while the mantle of Malan'tai keep you reasonably safe while significantly boosting your energy regen. You prefer this to the Ghosthelm for a simple reason: you can already buy enough time with the Teleport/Invisibility combo to regen more than enough energy, and in the later waves the Ghosthelm means almost certain death from a single mistake. You can't die, ever, because you are the one keeping your team alive! On the offense, you should obviously use Veil of Tears against bigger waves and confusion against powerful, single opponents. This, combined with teleport, effectively let your team pick his fight, instead of trying to confront an entire wave on their own, and can result extremely powerful with strong ranged heroes, like the tau commander or the Lord General (especially with rocket run!). This build will not gives you lot of kills, but it will let you influence the battle more than any other hero could ever hope to, effectively turning you into the key-man to achieve the win, especially in bloodied colosseum.
*Fun fact: never forget that your teleportation can also teleport fallen comrades, making it extremely powerfull as an escaping tool: teleport near the fallen ally, immediately teleport away, then cast invisibility and revive your mate. This will not only gives yourself some time to regenerate the energy consumed, but also him the time to regenerate health and be ready when the fight will resume.

'''BUILD 5 - AUTARCH'''

'''Min Level:''' 20 (19 with Stone of Eldritch Might)

'''Gear you need:''' Warp Spear, Armor of Idranel, Runes of War, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fortune, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build is pretty straight-forward, making you what essentialy you shouldn't be: a melee monster! Ok, not really a monster, but significantly better than you could normally hope for. Warp Spear has some good damage (not optimal), good special attack rating, an area of effect special attack and the 1 in a 10 chance to really put the hurt on your enemies. But you don't take it for this, not only, at least: you take it for warp pull. This ability let you control your enemies with ease, making you able to better choose your fights while keeping yourself safe. Runes of Evasion, coupled with the Armour of Idranel, makes you almost invulnerable in close combat, and fortune boosts your survivability further, making you, paradoxically, one of the better tanks in the game, expecially in melee! Spirit Stone of Vigor and Runes of War are almost necessary to conclude the build: the first will give you the ability to spam fortune (you should never have it down) and warp pull, significantly increasing your ability to stay in the fight, while the second makes your weak melee attacks a lot more powerfull.
*You could also substitute the Stone of Vigor with the Stone of Eldritch Might, but while this would gives you some really powerfull AoE damage, it would also significantly decrease your capability to stay alive between Eldritch Storm.

'''BUILD 6 - Make Love not War-Hammer'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Armor of Idranel, Runes of Fortune, Runes of the Warp, Runes of Vigor, Spirit Stone of Illusion

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This is a 100 percent support build where you complete focus is on your teammates and keeping them protected so they can do the most damage possible and as such it is recommended against using this with low level teammates because, typically their damage just isn't quite high enough to get the job done. Since you are rocking Idranels' robes you can actually take a bit of a beating without having to worry about being squished which allows you to spend even more time focusing on your bros. In fact if you are teammates with a couple squishies you can do a fair amount of tanking for them. So the basis of this build is you spam fortune on EVERYTHING. Because of it's long duration and short cool down Fortune can be applied on up to 4 things at a time or double stacked for additional protection and you just continue the cycle as it wears off your allies. That a Tau shield drone hanging out over there? FORTUNE. Captain brought his Dreadnaught? FORTUNE. Oh no that Lord General is getting swarmed by melee! DOUBLE FORTUNE. With the cost reduction from the Laughing Stave and Runes of Vigor you should always have enough to cast it at least a couple times even after using the Spirit Stone of Illusion. Of course everyone knows Runes of the warp are great for defense and reviving downed teammates but since you are rocking some decent armor you can actually use it offensively as well. How does that work you ask? Its great for moving the less mobile damage dealers to where they need to be, your enemies faces. It does take a bit of teamwork but its especially good with those slow ass Hive Tyrants rocking poison cysts. With the Laughing Stave you are much more free when using Spirit stone of Illusion and it is super great at taking pressure off your team if you are getting overwhelmed and for taking one of your clones out of the situation on rounds 16 and 20 of BC but remember your main focus is Fortune. A note on doing damage. You're not. Really. Aside from intercepting an occasional melee unit for a ranged buddy any stuff you kill is incidental and that's ok because you dont get anything for getting a high kill count except for a big e-peen and a Tau complex. With that said the first thing you should do at the beginning of the match is switch to a melee stance. That's right your silly Laughing Stave IS BETTER IN MELEE! Just check for yourself. 26 damage per melee hit vs 20 for the ranged so you swing faster, have a 100 percent hit ration and a small chance to do a special attack in melee that you don't get in from ranged attacks. So aside from using the ranged knock back ability to prevent a clone from reviving you're going to want to be up close and personal and just be happy you can do some ranged damage if that one last guy is half way across the map.

'''BUILD 7 - offense'''

'''Min Level:''' 10

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of Warding, Runes of the War, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:'''

Aoe and high single target damage. Wait til ranged blob sits still and then storm. Can one shot zoanthrope if time right. Ward and melee when necessary. Can tank or support. Usually take a second of damage in between shields so better to support late if can get behind teammate and not aggro. Ward great for tanking clones and landraider. Run up and melee ranged clones or predators 16/20 is legit strategy. Easy if teammates can deal followup damage.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Eldar]]

Last Stand - Farseer

2018-03-19T06:25:05Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Armor */

The Farseer is the [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Eldar]].

==Overview==
The [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]] is, at once, a paradox - she is surprisingly durable and survivable, but she's ostensibly a support spellcaster first and foremost. The [[Farseer]], like all [[Eldar]], is deceptive, a heroine that is at once extremely powerful and surprisingly ubiquitous. The Farseer is a hero who, unlike other spellcasters (such as the [[Last Stand - Chaos Sorcerer|Chaos Sorcerer]]) focuses primarily upon disrupting enemies, assisting allies, and debuffing enemies. The Farseer is quite capable of being used as an offensive caster as well, getting access to her strongest offensive spells surprisingly early in her career, ergo making her surprisingly friendly towards newcomers to last stand, though raw offense is not the Farseer's strongest suit by any stretch. The Farseer easily makes herself useful in a wide array of different playstyles, from a dedicated defensive supporter and medic to battlefield control. Surprisingly high defense and viable offense give her quite a bit of tactical viability with damned near any loadout as well, a rarity for any character in [[Last Stand]]. Indeed, no character in Last Stand can really multi-task on one loadout quite so well as the Farseer - she's never at a loss for strategic options and this is true for much of her career, making her in many ways the exact opposite, progression-wise, of the [[Last Stand - Captain|Space Marine Captain]] and [[Last Stand - Captain|Imperial Guard Lord General]].

However, what the Farseer has in tactical viability and useful secondary options she loses in raw power. Her nuke spell, Eldritch Storm, is neither as powerful nor predictable as the other characters' biggest, and her lone damaging offensive spell is likewise nowhere near as effective as those of other casters. Even when fully kitted out, her melee and ranged firepower is weaker than that of other heroes, and she furthermore loses out in one of the most crippling aspects of Last Stand: Mobility. Other than packing on the Runes of Swiftness or Pistol of the Warseer, the only mobility booster she has is the Runes of the Warp, which is predominantly useful as an escape teleport or to save allies. This makes her extremely vulnerable to being mobbed, as, unlike the Hive Tyrant, who is similarly vulnerable, she lacks a dedicated crowd control maneuver (such as Toxic Cysts).

Another major problem she has is that per progression is ridiculously lopsided, with the overpowering majority of her useful wargear unlocked before she's halfway through her leveling. An additional problem is that, with almost every build, her clone on Bloodied Coliseum turns the fight into a complete cluster-fuck where your team has to deal with an unshakable fearless teleporting asshole who strategically makes teammates invulnerable. Probably the biggest issue with her is ''when'' players realize that she's infinitely better at control and support than offense; this is not an easy playstyle to adapt to and many Farseer players choose to focus entirely on offense with her, which whilst viable, is done better by the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer.

Make no mistake, however: The Farseer is a powerful force, especially if kitted out well. She excels at manipulating battlefield conditions, turning enemies on one another, and making enemies easier to kill. It's important to note that what are (arguably) her strongest abilities are all extremely indirect - though its effect is far simpler, Veil of Tears can potentially accomplish more for a team than Eldritch Storm, and Confuse or Entangle are often vastly more useful than simply using Eldritch Bolt. Correctly loaded out, the Farseer is capable of bringing quite a bit to the table, and from surprising angles, making her a rather unique choice. When played well, she is easily the strongest character in Last Stand, but this takes a level of care and patience that not many are willing to exhibit.

==Armor==
*'''Farseer Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 16
***Default Armor. It fails at everything and should never be used.

*'''Armor of Vaul''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 184
**Trait: Fearless (Immune to Suppression)
***This initial armor boasts absolutely gigantic defense for a caster, as well as the fearless trait - an incredibly powerful combination, to say the least. Right out the gate, the Farseer boasts very high survivability specifically because of this, and this armor remains useful for quite some time due to its heavy armor and Fearless trait.

*'''Rune Armor''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor Rating: 68
**+50 Energy
***This armor is more in-line with the Chaos Sorcerer's armors: Modest defense, but an ability specifically-designed to support a caster. In this case, one might immediately see the Rune Armor's ''vastly'' lower defense and immediately ignore it, but that does the armor a huge disservice; the Rune Armor gives a massive amount of secondary energy, and since the Farseer relies so heavily on her skills to do much of anything, this boon is absolutely gigantic and thusly not to be underestimated. It tends to lose its sparkle as the game goes on, however.

*'''Ghosthelm''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor Rating: 44
**+1 Energy Regeneration
***Like the Rune Armor, this lower-defense armor is easy to overlook - especially with access to another suit of armor on this list. On the other hand, +1 Energy Regeneration, for a character like the Farseer, is fucking huge. It dramatically improves her peformance and ability to stay in the fight by simple virtue of letting her cast far more often, and that's a particularly handy advantage to have, especially when one considers that it can be stacked with her other abilities for a veritable font of energy regeneration that lets her throw out spells in a barrage.

*'''Armor of Eldanesh''' - ''Level 18''
** Armor Rating: 132
** Ability: Psychic Shield (Raise a psychic shield which halves incoming damage and causes it to reduce Energy instead of Health.)
***Yet another overlooked armor, but this one has a few defenders owning to its heavy defense and access to Psychic Shield. Though often an avoided ability, the Armor of Eldanesh giving the Farseer a means to resist damage means that it makes a good survival option, especially if the Farseer gets overwhelmed. The drawback of course is that the Farseer is an immensely energy-reliant hero; burning off energy from her pool can leave you short of it in a bad situation.

*'''Mantle of Malan'tai''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive 75 Allies as the Eldar Farseer''
**Armor Rating: 165
**Trait: +0.5 Energy Regeneration
***This unlockable armor frequently is seen as the better version of the Ghosthelm armor, due to the fact that it has much heavier armor; On the other hand, however, the energy regen boost is only half as strong. Whilst at a glance, this means the Mantle of Malan'tai is much stronger, the energy regeneration rate boost available from the Ghosthelm is infinitely better for many builds. It is still a very effective armor, however, and one of the most commonly used. Curiously, it also has a hidden property not displayed on the item card, adding 10% to special attack chance for any melee weapon equipped, including the Laughing Stave for which it is otherwise always zero.

*'''Armor of [[Idranel]]''' - ''DLC''
**Armor Rating: 165
**+100 Health
**Trait: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Foresight (All melee damage reduced by 50%)
***An almost bizarrely powerful armor that is undeniably the most-commonly-used, by simple virtue of its massive health boost and strong armor rating. Just as strong as the Mantle of Malan'tai defensively, the huge health buff it gives is what pushes it over; 100 extra health plus that level of armor means an incredible level of survivability, but when it has Unshakable as well, that's just outstanding. The Foresight buff is just icing on the cake- halving all melee damage makes the Farseer an extremely effective melee tank, and when paired with the Debilitating Witchblade only the most dangerous melee fighters will be able to hurt her in close combat. It bears mentioning that while this armor gives the Farseer incredibly strong ''upfront'' durability, she has no options to boost health ''regeneration'', so she can be worn down over a wave if she doesn't pace how she spends her health. Not even this armor allows her to stay in a blob for an entire wave like, say, a Space Marine with 7.0 regen. Perhaps more than any other Farseer armor, this one is the hardest to justify ''not'' using, since its massive upsides eclipse almost anything the other armors can do; although it carries absolutely no benefits towards her casting and has no active ability, as such it can be passed over for the specific benefits of other armors if desired. Or just because players don't want to pony up for it.

==Weapons==
*'''Witchblade''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.0 DPS
***Stereotypical default weapon that stereotypically sucks.

*'''Shuriken Pistol''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
***Bizarrely, the default pistol is just as effective as the other pistols in terms of damage output. Draw your own conclusions.

*'''Pistol of the Warseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged Damage), Swift (+25% Movement Speed)
***The Pistol of the Warseer's damage output is barely higher than the Shuriken Pistol (and even then that's due to Combat Expert), but the fact that it grants 2 of the most useful traits in the game make this one hell of an early game wargear. Do note, however, that it takes up an extremely contended-for slot; if you take the Pistol of the Warseer, the only damaging ability you get to take advantage of the Combat Expert trait is Eldritch Storm (which can actually be remarkably powerful with both the pistol and runes of war). On the other hand, Swift is amazingly useful, and stacks with the other speed boosts the Farseer can get, which massively increases survivability.

*'''Pistol of the Doomseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Eldritch Bolt (15 Energy, Fires a roiling blast of psychic energy at the target)
***Pistol of the Doomseer gives you your first legitimately good offensive spell, and indeed one of only three that the Farseer can use. It's actually remarkably cost-effective and fairly useful, though it needs Runes of War to get the most out of. If you're planning to go direct combat, Pistol of the Doomseer is a must.

*'''Witchblade of the Crone''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**20.0 DPS
***The Witchblade of the Crone has high DPS and.... That's literally it. Whilst it's brutally effective against softer targets, it lacks armor piercing and isn't anywhere near as good against tougher foes unless heavily bolstered by Combat Expert/Mastery. If you're planning to engage in close-combat, consider taking this along; otherwise, shelve it for the other melee weapons.

*'''Singing Spear''' - ''Level 4''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**19.0 DPS
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
***The singing spear looks abhorrently bad on paper: 2 hands for a weapon barely as good as the Witchblade of the Crone and with a trait easily-accessible from a piece of wargear that renders it largely irrelevant. So, worst weapon for the Farseer, right? Wrong. Singing Spear does damage in bigger chunks than the Witchblade of the Crone, has better reach, and a higher special attack rating, all in all resulting in better damage overall unless the Witchblade's paired with the Pistol of the Warseer. The Singing Spear is thus much better than it initially appears, and is especially good when stacked with the Armor of Vaul.

*'''Witchblade of Isha''' - ''Level 9''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**10.2 DPS
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration, +25 Energy
***It may be weaker than the Witchblade of the Crone, but this wasn't taken for its damage (which is still acceptable). Instead, you take it for the increased energy regen and capacity, all of which are great things for any caster. The ability to fire off another Confuse or Eldritch Bolt is always beneficial, and this weapon pays for itself in short order specifically because of this.

*'''Pistol of the Skyseer''' - ''Level 14''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Levitation Field (15 Energy, lifts enemies in the air and then tosses around for knockback damage)
***This Pistol has a hilariously useful ability that enables the Farseer to quickly deal with enemies that cluster up, throwing them all over the place thereafter. The damage tends to vary wildly, from doing barely any whatsoever to doing quite a bit if enemies collide with one another during the throw. The primary benefit isn't the damage, however; it's disabling enemies and launching them away from you. This even works on doppelgangers, but it will fail against any that happen to have the Unshakable Trait.

*'''Warp Spear''' - ''Level 19''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**12.2 DPS
**Ability: Warp Pull (5 Energy, pulls enemies toward the Farseer)
**Trait: Pitiless (Farseer has a 10% chance to cause 200 bonus damage on striking)
***A utility weapon through and through, whose mediocre DPS hides its real potential. On its own, its damage is pretty bad considering it eschews the use of a pistol, but it has a 1-in-10 chance of triggering a massive damage strike that is capable of one-shotting most targets, making it comparable to (but weaker than) the Chaos Sorcerer's Staff of Fate. The Warp Spear compensates, however, by coming with Warp Pull, which is an amazing control ability. You can drag enemies into close combat, pull them away from vulnerable allies, or pull them into the firing arc of teammates. The numerous applications of the Warp Spear make it surprisingly useful, so don't underestimate it!

*'''Laughing Stave''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Earn a Score Multiplier of 275 as the Farseer''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**11.1 DPS
**Traits: Knockback (Enemies hit by this weapon will be knocked back), Laughing Runes (-25% Energy Cost), Unshakable (Immune to Knockback)
***There are three reasons to take the laughing stave, and any of them, on their own, are good reasons, but when together, they turn this weapon into an oft-unappreciated powerhouse. First, it's the only exclusively ranged weapon the Farseer gets, and it's a damned good one, offering a more-than-4-fold damage increase over the Shuriken Pistols. Second, it has knockback, which means it's actually very good for keeping the Farseer out of trouble - both in close-combat, and from afar. But it's the last advantage it has that's the most glaring: a 25% reduction in energy costs means that literally ''everything'' you cast is orders of magnitude easier to use - even the likes of Eldritch Storm will only cost 37 energy under this upgrade, allowing your average energy-focused Farseer to cast it twice with a full energy bar. It bolsters all your other abilities, too, making it a solid choice that should used for a great many builds. Like all Staves, it's also a melee weapon; this one packs a reasonable punch (roughly the same as the Witchblade of the Crone, but without special attacks and a slower swing speed but meatier damage output), but its major advantage is its ranged punch, knockdown, and cost reductions. It does, however, also give you Unshakable, which is brings this weapon from "great" to "fucking amazing."

*'''Debilitating Witchblade''' - ''DLC''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.1 DPS
**Traits: Sap (Reduces the target's melee damage by 50% for 5 seconds; note that Sap only applies to the individual model hit by the Farseer's attack), Energy Leech (Restores 10 Energy when this weapon kills an enemy)
*** The Debilitating Witchblade is a mixed blessing. Sap can allow the Farseer to stand toe-to-toe against foes with powerful melee attacks, and Energy Leech occasionally supplements the Farseer's energy regeneration. Unfortunately, Sap only affects the specific model the Farseer attacks (rather than affecting a whole squad a-la the Captain's Lightning Claws), and Energy Leech ''requires that the enemy be killed by the Debilitating Witchblade itself'' rather than any of the Farseer's abilities. That's right: this means that if you're using Runes of Wrath and the second strike kills an enemy, it won't trigger Energy Leech. The Debilitating Witchblade ''can'' be useful in a purely supporting role, but rarely can it be considered a good general-purpose weapon.

==Accessories==
*'''Runes of Warding''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Ward (25 Energy, grants ally temporary invulnerability)
***This is a lifesaver for the Farseer, as this can be the difference between saving your ally or dying and failing a run. Just beware when fighting your Wave 16 doppelganger as the enemy will use this with impunity against you. Especially if they're going for that Tau Efficiency achievement.

*'''Runes of Harlequin''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Confuse (15 Energy, confuses the target, forcing it to attack anything nearby for a while.)
***This is more situational than it looks, as if you use it at the wrong time, this will sic the squad right back at you, which may or [[Not as Planned|may not be what you intended]]. On the other hand, the doppelganger can't use it and it can interrupt their resurrection attempts, making it particularly powerful on the Bloodied Colosseum map. And, unlike Veil of Tears, with Confuse you can choose your target, making it extremely good against big bosses (do you remember Araghast??) or when you want to target a specific unit instead of going all random.
***Confuse is generally best used on fast-moving melee units (which can lock ranged units in melee) or on units with a whole lot of [[Dakka|dakka]]
***Confuse is the only way to prevent Unshakeable dopplegangers from resurrecting each other

*'''Runes of Fleetness''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Fleet of Foot (5 Energy, grants the Farseer a speed boost at the cost of her damage output)
***If you really want to work support as a Farseer, then this will be your go-to tool for making those quick saves. Take care though, as this is not a triggered ability, but a temporary one.

*'''Runes of War''' - ''Level 3''
**Traits: Combat Master (+40% Melee and Ranged Damage)
***If you play a combat Farseer, then this will be an auto-include, as it will make you much more of a threat than everyone would expect.

*'''Runes of Deception''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Conceal (20 Energy, grants invisibility to allies within the field)
***This is a bit more situational than other abilities, as this won't make much difference when you're being chased by swarms or Banshees, but it can let you make a [[Cyrus]]-style stealth save. Become almost broken in conjunction with runes of the warp.

*'''Runes of Fortune''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Fortune (10 Energy, reduces all incoming damage by 50%)
*** Fortune complements almost any team composition by providing significant damage mitigation. With the proper application of Fortune, a properly built melee Captain or Hive Tyrant will be able to weather entire waves, and ranged characters like the Lord General or Tau Commander will find their longevity under fire significantly extended, allowing them to spend more time doing what they do best. Fortune stacks multiplicatively with other damage reduction methods and even with itself (a character with two instances of Fortune cast on them will take 75% reduced damage). Fortune's low energy cost and long duration allow it to compare favorably with Ward (which is costlier, has a longer cooldown, and does not last as long). Fortune also complements health regeneration: high levels of damage mitigation mean that a little health regen goes a long way.

*'''Runes of Wrath''' - ''Level 10''
**Trait: Second Strike (Delayed psychic strikes follow each time the Farseer attacks in melee)
***Stack with the Runes of War to make your Farseer a bunch more deadly as and assault character. This rune benefits weaker melee weapons like the Witchblade of Isha or the Debilitating Witchblade that don't do a lot of damage on their own: the second strike ignores armor and adds a considerable amount of raw damage per hit.

*'''Runes of the Warp''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Group Teleport (15 Energy, teleport all nearby allies to a targeted location)
***Where a Sorcerer would teleport to get into combat, you have a teleport to get away from the ruckus. This can definitely help make shenanigans happen, especially against slower enemies or shooty prey. It can also be useful in getting near a fallen ally and rescuing them. Or you could more simply teleport the fallen body away from danger and then safely revive him, since this ability can teleport fallen team mates.
****A word of caution on Bloodied Coliseum: The enemy Farseer goes absolutely apeshit with this ability and WILL abuse it at the worst possible moments. Players on wave 16 and 20 may find themselves receiving a surprise gang-bang when the Farseer dumps Araghast and half a dozen Bloodletters your head while trying to kite enemies or revive team mates.

*'''Runes of Vigour''' - ''Level 12''
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration
***This is not a useful thing, as it takes up a slot better used for neater powers.

*'''Runes of Evasion''' - ''Level 16''
**Traits: Evasive (All attacks made at the Farseer have a 30% chance of missing)
***Whatever your role, you can never go wrong with some extra evasion to go along with it. Unless you're at Bloodied Coliseum, where your doppelganger will be just as annoying to kill.

*'''Runes of the Spider''' - ''Level 17''
**Ability: Entangle (15 Energy, ensnares an enemy, making them unable to move, but able to attack)
***This is a lifesaver when dealing with Banshees or other agile targets, as they will hound your ass at every opportunity. This can give your team the time it needs to wipe them out.

==Commander Items==
*'''Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Eldritch Storm (50 Energy, Unleash a large psychic storm, disrupting and damaging enemies in a large radius. While channeling this powerful spell, the caster will be immune to damage but not regenerate energy)
***Curiously, whilst most classes get their big ol' nuke spell at the end of their careers, the Farseer and Mekboy get theirs early. The Farseer's is one of the weaker nukes; it immobilizes her during it, has a strange hitbox, and its damage buildup can be finicky. On the other hand, it's still a nuke spell and absolutely awesome at killing mooks in a substantial radius... Or at softening up harder enemies for further assaults. Bear in mind its high energy costs and weaknesses, and it's absolutely devastating. By rapidly right clicking as you cast the storm you should be able to move and attack regain energy and keep the invulnerability while the storm kills stuff. So with some decent energy regain or reduction you could nearly get the cost back by the time it's off cooldown and spam it. Or hitting stop right after cast is more effective.

*'''Spirit Stone of Illusion''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Veil of Tears (50 Energy, Confuses half the enemies on screen and makes them attack the nearest target regardless of alliance)
***This mass confuse spell is no less finicky than the damage on Eldritch Storm, and it's just as expensive, to boot, but it's potentially even more game-changing. The pandemonium it can cause can completely turn the tide of a fight, provided the thing the enemies target isn't you - just bear in mind that the enemies WILL if you're the closest thing in range. Used properly, it can quickly deal with swarms of foes.

*'''Spirit Stone of Vigour''' - ''Level 20''
**Traits: Invigorating Leadership (+0.3 Energy Regeneration for all nearby allies)
***Bizarrely, this is one of the weakest commander items, giving a tiny energy regeneration boost. It's of barely any use to the Farseer on her own, precludes the use of both Eldritch Storm and Veil of Tears, and boasting the same energy regen boost as another piece of wargear that's often best not taken. Unlike that one though, there are some benefits to the Stone of Vigour that make it worth using. For one, it removes the ability of the Wave 16/20 doppelganger to use your abilities against you. For another, it gives the energy boost to nearby teammates as well, which means this can actually be fairly useful to back up the likes of the Lord General or Chaos Sorcerer.

==Progression==

==Tactics and Strategy==
*'''On Achievements:'''
**''Grab Me the Paddles'' (Which unlocks the Mantle of Malan'Tai) is accomplished by reviving allies. If you use the Pistol of the Warseer and/or Runes of Swiftness or Runes of the Warp, this is a rather easy task as you'll be able to extricate yourself from the situation if it gets too hectic.
**''Advanced Multiplication'' (Which unlocks the Laughing Stave) requires both control over the Power Nodes and the ability to manage your allies. Since you need a multiplier of 275, you'll need to kill enemies quickly, protect your allies, and control the nodes just long enough to get that high.

== Builds ==
'''BUILD 1 - DECEIVER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' The most Eldar build ever, the idea of this build is to keep yourself out of the fight while you make the enemy do all the dirty work (sounds familiar to you? Yeah, you get the idea), keep casting Confuse on your enemies so they kill each other and Fleet of Foot whenever you see they are closing on to you (you are unshakable by the way, and the witchblade of Isha gives you a lot of energy), prioritize larger targets whenever you can as they can one-hit other units, watch how wraithlords, carnifexes, Juggernauts, dreads and dreffs decimate their own armies. Oh, and remember wave 16 at Bloodied Colosseum? If you see a clone trying to resurrect another clone cast confuse, this will disrupt him, and don't worry about your clone SHE CANT CAST CONFUSE.

'''BUILD 2 - RESURRECTER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Warding, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' A variant of the DECEIVER-RUNNER, the RESURRECTER is built to keep your allies alive, you just stay out of the fight as much as possible as you need yourself alive, then, everytime you see an allied die run to him with Fleet of Foot, cast yourself Ward and resurrect him, tell your allies to fight, no matter if they are going to die again, as long as you stay alive you can resurrect them, while a bit tedious this strategy is great whenever you end in a team of newcomers or low hp nukers, as in the long run they will decimate the wave.

'''BUILD 3 - ...AND LET THE MON-KEIGH TAKE CARE OF LARGE GROUPS'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Fortune, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Explanation:''' At first glance, this build seems little different than the others, but it provides a number of advantages. Fortune reduces all damage taken by the target by 50%; when you cast Fortune on yourself, your damage reduction approaches 90% (88.5%, to be exact). Fortune is also much cheaper and easier to spam than Ward, and you can maintain it on multiple targets at once, allowing you to keep your team in the fight rather than simply resurrecting them when they fall. Runes of Wrath gives you excellent single-target damage (against large groups of weak models, try attacking one model, moving away, and letting the second strike do its work before moving in again), and the combination of the Witchblade of Isha and the Spirit Stone of Vigor means that you generally have enough energy to cast Confuse when necessary and Fortune at all times. This build has two weaknesses: it cannot deal with large groups of mobs on its own; and it has no real way to recover lost health without support.

'''BUILD 4 - SHADOWSEER'''

'''Min Level:''' 15

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Deception, Runes of the Warp, Spirit Stone of Illusion.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build really shines on Bloodied Colosseum, since the enemies will need more time to reach you after you teleport away, giving you and your allies a lot of times to get some breath, and especially against your clone, that can't use Veil of Tears nor Confuse against you or your allies, but can also be devastating on anvil of khorne with the right teammates. The build itself is all about supporting your allies and heavily debuffing your enemies: if using it correctly, you should never die AND you should be the one reviving your fallen comrades every time without problems, turning your enemies against each other and keeping yourself and your allies safe through invisibility and teleportation. the Laughing Stave also let you knock back enemies coming at you, while letting you spam a lot more spells than you could without it, while the mantle of Malan'tai keep you reasonably safe while significantly boosting your energy regen. You prefer this to the Ghosthelm for a simple reason: you can already buy enough time with the Teleport/Invisibility combo to regen more than enough energy, and in the later waves the Ghosthelm means almost certain death from a single mistake. You can't die, ever, because you are the one keeping your team alive! On the offense, you should obviously use Veil of Tears against bigger waves and confusion against powerful, single opponents. This, combined with teleport, effectively let your team pick his fight, instead of trying to confront an entire wave on their own, and can result extremely powerful with strong ranged heroes, like the tau commander or the Lord General (especially with rocket run!). This build will not gives you lot of kills, but it will let you influence the battle more than any other hero could ever hope to, effectively turning you into the key-man to achieve the win, especially in bloodied colosseum.
*Fun fact: never forget that your teleportation can also teleport fallen comrades, making it extremely powerfull as an escaping tool: teleport near the fallen ally, immediately teleport away, then cast invisibility and revive your mate. This will not only gives yourself some time to regenerate the energy consumed, but also him the time to regenerate health and be ready when the fight will resume.

'''BUILD 5 - AUTARCH'''

'''Min Level:''' 20 (19 with Stone of Eldritch Might)

'''Gear you need:''' Warp Spear, Armor of Idranel, Runes of War, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fortune, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build is pretty straight-forward, making you what essentialy you shouldn't be: a melee monster! Ok, not really a monster, but significantly better than you could normally hope for. Warp Spear has some good damage (not optimal), good special attack rating, an area of effect special attack and the 1 in a 10 chance to really put the hurt on your enemies. But you don't take it for this, not only, at least: you take it for warp pull. This ability let you control your enemies with ease, making you able to better choose your fights while keeping yourself safe. Runes of Evasion, coupled with the Armour of Idranel, makes you almost invulnerable in close combat, and fortune boosts your survivability further, making you, paradoxically, one of the better tanks in the game, expecially in melee! Spirit Stone of Vigor and Runes of War are almost necessary to conclude the build: the first will give you the ability to spam fortune (you should never have it down) and warp pull, significantly increasing your ability to stay in the fight, while the second makes your weak melee attacks a lot more powerfull.
*You could also substitute the Stone of Vigor with the Stone of Eldritch Might, but while this would gives you some really powerfull AoE damage, it would also significantly decrease your capability to stay alive between Eldritch Storm.

'''BUILD 6 - Make Love not War-Hammer'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Armor of Idranel, Runes of Fortune, Runes of the Warp, Runes of Vigor, Spirit Stone of Illusion

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This is a 100 percent support build where you complete focus is on your teammates and keeping them protected so they can do the most damage possible and as such it is recommended against using this with low level teammates because, typically their damage just isn't quite high enough to get the job done. Since you are rocking Idranels' robes you can actually take a bit of a beating without having to worry about being squished which allows you to spend even more time focusing on your bros. In fact if you are teammates with a couple squishies you can do a fair amount of tanking for them. So the basis of this build is you spam fortune on EVERYTHING. Because of it's long duration and short cool down Fortune can be applied on up to 4 things at a time or double stacked for additional protection and you just continue the cycle as it wears off your allies. That a Tau shield drone hanging out over there? FORTUNE. Captain brought his Dreadnaught? FORTUNE. Oh no that Lord General is getting swarmed by melee! DOUBLE FORTUNE. With the cost reduction from the Laughing Stave and Runes of Vigor you should always have enough to cast it at least a couple times even after using the Spirit Stone of Illusion. Of course everyone knows Runes of the warp are great for defense and reviving downed teammates but since you are rocking some decent armor you can actually use it offensively as well. How does that work you ask? Its great for moving the less mobile damage dealers to where they need to be, your enemies faces. It does take a bit of teamwork but its especially good with those slow ass Hive Tyrants rocking poison cysts. With the Laughing Stave you are much more free when using Spirit stone of Illusion and it is super great at taking pressure off your team if you are getting overwhelmed and for taking one of your clones out of the situation on rounds 16 and 20 of BC but remember your main focus is Fortune. A note on doing damage. You're not. Really. Aside from intercepting an occasional melee unit for a ranged buddy any stuff you kill is incidental and that's ok because you dont get anything for getting a high kill count except for a big e-peen and a Tau complex. With that said the first thing you should do at the beginning of the match is switch to a melee stance. That's right your silly Laughing Stave IS BETTER IN MELEE! Just check for yourself. 26 damage per melee hit vs 20 for the ranged so you swing faster, have a 100 percent hit ration and a small chance to do a special attack in melee that you don't get in from ranged attacks. So aside from using the ranged knock back ability to prevent a clone from reviving you're going to want to be up close and personal and just be happy you can do some ranged damage if that one last guy is half way across the map.

'''BUILD 7 - offense'''

'''Min Level:''' 10

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of Warding, Runes of the War, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:'''

Aoe and high single target damage. Wait til ranged blob sits still and then storm. Can one shot zoanthrope if time right. Ward and melee when necessary. Can tank or support. Usually take a second of damage in between shields so better to support late if can get behind teammate and not aggro. Ward great for tanking clones and landraider. Run up and melee ranged clones or predators 16/20 is legit strategy. Easy if teammates can deal followup damage.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Eldar]]

Last Stand - Farseer

2018-03-19T06:24:31Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Armor */

The Farseer is the [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Eldar]].

==Overview==
The [[Eldar]] [[Farseer]] is, at once, a paradox - she is surprisingly durable and survivable, but she's ostensibly a support spellcaster first and foremost. The [[Farseer]], like all [[Eldar]], is deceptive, a heroine that is at once extremely powerful and surprisingly ubiquitous. The Farseer is a hero who, unlike other spellcasters (such as the [[Last Stand - Chaos Sorcerer|Chaos Sorcerer]]) focuses primarily upon disrupting enemies, assisting allies, and debuffing enemies. The Farseer is quite capable of being used as an offensive caster as well, getting access to her strongest offensive spells surprisingly early in her career, ergo making her surprisingly friendly towards newcomers to last stand, though raw offense is not the Farseer's strongest suit by any stretch. The Farseer easily makes herself useful in a wide array of different playstyles, from a dedicated defensive supporter and medic to battlefield control. Surprisingly high defense and viable offense give her quite a bit of tactical viability with damned near any loadout as well, a rarity for any character in [[Last Stand]]. Indeed, no character in Last Stand can really multi-task on one loadout quite so well as the Farseer - she's never at a loss for strategic options and this is true for much of her career, making her in many ways the exact opposite, progression-wise, of the [[Last Stand - Captain|Space Marine Captain]] and [[Last Stand - Captain|Imperial Guard Lord General]].

However, what the Farseer has in tactical viability and useful secondary options she loses in raw power. Her nuke spell, Eldritch Storm, is neither as powerful nor predictable as the other characters' biggest, and her lone damaging offensive spell is likewise nowhere near as effective as those of other casters. Even when fully kitted out, her melee and ranged firepower is weaker than that of other heroes, and she furthermore loses out in one of the most crippling aspects of Last Stand: Mobility. Other than packing on the Runes of Swiftness or Pistol of the Warseer, the only mobility booster she has is the Runes of the Warp, which is predominantly useful as an escape teleport or to save allies. This makes her extremely vulnerable to being mobbed, as, unlike the Hive Tyrant, who is similarly vulnerable, she lacks a dedicated crowd control maneuver (such as Toxic Cysts).

Another major problem she has is that per progression is ridiculously lopsided, with the overpowering majority of her useful wargear unlocked before she's halfway through her leveling. An additional problem is that, with almost every build, her clone on Bloodied Coliseum turns the fight into a complete cluster-fuck where your team has to deal with an unshakable fearless teleporting asshole who strategically makes teammates invulnerable. Probably the biggest issue with her is ''when'' players realize that she's infinitely better at control and support than offense; this is not an easy playstyle to adapt to and many Farseer players choose to focus entirely on offense with her, which whilst viable, is done better by the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer.

Make no mistake, however: The Farseer is a powerful force, especially if kitted out well. She excels at manipulating battlefield conditions, turning enemies on one another, and making enemies easier to kill. It's important to note that what are (arguably) her strongest abilities are all extremely indirect - though its effect is far simpler, Veil of Tears can potentially accomplish more for a team than Eldritch Storm, and Confuse or Entangle are often vastly more useful than simply using Eldritch Bolt. Correctly loaded out, the Farseer is capable of bringing quite a bit to the table, and from surprising angles, making her a rather unique choice. When played well, she is easily the strongest character in Last Stand, but this takes a level of care and patience that not many are willing to exhibit.

==Armor==
*'''Farseer Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 16
***Default Armor. It fails at everything and should never be used.

*'''Armor of Vaul''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 184
**Trait: Fearless (Immune to Suppression)
***This initial armor boasts absolutely gigantic defense for a caster, as well as the fearless trait - an incredibly powerful combination, to say the least. Right out the gate, the Farseer boasts very high survivability specifically because of this, and this armor remains useful for quite some time due to its heavy armor and Fearless trait.

*'''Rune Armor''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor Rating: 68
**+50 Energy
***This armor is more in-line with the Chaos Sorcerer's armors: Modest defense, but an ability specifically-designed to support a caster. In this case, one might immediately see the Rune Armor's ''vastly'' lower defense and immediately ignore it, but that does the armor a huge disservice; the Rune Armor gives a massive amount of secondary energy, and since the Farseer relies so heavily on her skills to do much of anything, this boon is absolutely gigantic and thusly not to be underestimated. It tends to lose its sparkle as the game goes on, however.

*'''Ghosthelm''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor Rating: 44
**+1 Energy Regeneration
***Like the Rune Armor, this lower-defense armor is easy to overlook - especially with access to another suit of armor on this list. On the other hand, +1 Energy Regeneration, for a character like the Farseer, is fucking huge. It dramatically improves her peformance and ability to stay in the fight by simple virtue of letting her cast far more often, and that's a particularly handy advantage to have, especially when one considers that it can be stacked with her other abilities for a veritable font of energy regeneration that lets her throw out spells in a barrage.

*'''Armor of Eldanesh''' - ''Level 18''
** Armor Rating: 132
** Ability: Psychic Shield (Raise a psychic shield which halves incoming damage and causes it to reduce Energy instead of Health.)
***Yet another overlooked armor, but this one has a few defenders owning to its heavy defense and access to Psychic Shield. Though often an avoided ability, the Armor of Eldanesh giving the Farseer a means to resist damage means that it makes a good survival option, especially if the Farseer gets overwhelmed. The drawback of course is that the Farseer is an immensely energy-reliant hero; burning off energy from her pool can leave you short of it in a bad situation.

*'''Mantle of Malan'tai''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive 75 Allies as the Eldar Farseer''
**Armor Rating: 165
**Trait: +0.5 Energy Regeneration
***This unlockable armor frequently is seen as the better version of the Ghosthelm armor, due to the fact that it has much heavier armor; On the other hand, however, the energy regen boost is only half as strong. Whilst at a glance, this means the Mantle of Malan'tai is much stronger, the energy regeneration rate boost available from the Ghosthelm is infinitely better for many builds. It is still a very effective armor, however, and one of the most commonly used. Curiously, it also has a hidden property not displayed on the item card, adding 10% to special attack chance for any melee weapon equipped, including the Laughing Stave for which it is otherwise always zero.

*'''Armor of [[Idranel]]''' - ''DLC''
**Armor Rating: 165
**+100 Health
**Trait: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Foresight (All melee damage reduced by 50%)
***An almost bizarrely powerful armor that is undeniably the most-commonly-used, by simple virtue of its massive health boost and strong armor rating. Just as strong as the Mantle of Malan'tai defensively, the huge health buff it gives is what pushes it over; 100 extra health plus that level of armor means an incredible level of survivability, but when it has Unshakable as well, that's just outstanding. The Foresight buff is just icing on the cake- halving all melee damage makes the Farseer an extremely effective melee tank, and when paired with the Debilitating Witchblade only the most dangerous melee fighters will be able to hurt her in close combat. It bears mentioning that while this armor gives the Farseer incredibly strong ''upfront'' durability, she has no options to boost health ''regeneration'', so she can be worn down over a wave if she doesn't pace how she spends her health. Not even this armor allows her to stay in a blob for an entire wave like, say, a Space Marine with 7.0 regen. Perhaps more than any other Farseer armor, this one is the hardest to justify ''not'' using, since its massive upsides eclipse almost anything the other armors can do, although it carries absolutely no benefits towards her casting and has no active ability, as such it can be passed over for the specific benefits of other armors. Or just because players don't want to pony up for it.

==Weapons==
*'''Witchblade''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.0 DPS
***Stereotypical default weapon that stereotypically sucks.

*'''Shuriken Pistol''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
***Bizarrely, the default pistol is just as effective as the other pistols in terms of damage output. Draw your own conclusions.

*'''Pistol of the Warseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged Damage), Swift (+25% Movement Speed)
***The Pistol of the Warseer's damage output is barely higher than the Shuriken Pistol (and even then that's due to Combat Expert), but the fact that it grants 2 of the most useful traits in the game make this one hell of an early game wargear. Do note, however, that it takes up an extremely contended-for slot; if you take the Pistol of the Warseer, the only damaging ability you get to take advantage of the Combat Expert trait is Eldritch Storm (which can actually be remarkably powerful with both the pistol and runes of war). On the other hand, Swift is amazingly useful, and stacks with the other speed boosts the Farseer can get, which massively increases survivability.

*'''Pistol of the Doomseer''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Eldritch Bolt (15 Energy, Fires a roiling blast of psychic energy at the target)
***Pistol of the Doomseer gives you your first legitimately good offensive spell, and indeed one of only three that the Farseer can use. It's actually remarkably cost-effective and fairly useful, though it needs Runes of War to get the most out of. If you're planning to go direct combat, Pistol of the Doomseer is a must.

*'''Witchblade of the Crone''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**20.0 DPS
***The Witchblade of the Crone has high DPS and.... That's literally it. Whilst it's brutally effective against softer targets, it lacks armor piercing and isn't anywhere near as good against tougher foes unless heavily bolstered by Combat Expert/Mastery. If you're planning to engage in close-combat, consider taking this along; otherwise, shelve it for the other melee weapons.

*'''Singing Spear''' - ''Level 4''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**19.0 DPS
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
***The singing spear looks abhorrently bad on paper: 2 hands for a weapon barely as good as the Witchblade of the Crone and with a trait easily-accessible from a piece of wargear that renders it largely irrelevant. So, worst weapon for the Farseer, right? Wrong. Singing Spear does damage in bigger chunks than the Witchblade of the Crone, has better reach, and a higher special attack rating, all in all resulting in better damage overall unless the Witchblade's paired with the Pistol of the Warseer. The Singing Spear is thus much better than it initially appears, and is especially good when stacked with the Armor of Vaul.

*'''Witchblade of Isha''' - ''Level 9''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**10.2 DPS
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration, +25 Energy
***It may be weaker than the Witchblade of the Crone, but this wasn't taken for its damage (which is still acceptable). Instead, you take it for the increased energy regen and capacity, all of which are great things for any caster. The ability to fire off another Confuse or Eldritch Bolt is always beneficial, and this weapon pays for itself in short order specifically because of this.

*'''Pistol of the Skyseer''' - ''Level 14''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**2.6 DPS
**Ability: Levitation Field (15 Energy, lifts enemies in the air and then tosses around for knockback damage)
***This Pistol has a hilariously useful ability that enables the Farseer to quickly deal with enemies that cluster up, throwing them all over the place thereafter. The damage tends to vary wildly, from doing barely any whatsoever to doing quite a bit if enemies collide with one another during the throw. The primary benefit isn't the damage, however; it's disabling enemies and launching them away from you. This even works on doppelgangers, but it will fail against any that happen to have the Unshakable Trait.

*'''Warp Spear''' - ''Level 19''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**12.2 DPS
**Ability: Warp Pull (5 Energy, pulls enemies toward the Farseer)
**Trait: Pitiless (Farseer has a 10% chance to cause 200 bonus damage on striking)
***A utility weapon through and through, whose mediocre DPS hides its real potential. On its own, its damage is pretty bad considering it eschews the use of a pistol, but it has a 1-in-10 chance of triggering a massive damage strike that is capable of one-shotting most targets, making it comparable to (but weaker than) the Chaos Sorcerer's Staff of Fate. The Warp Spear compensates, however, by coming with Warp Pull, which is an amazing control ability. You can drag enemies into close combat, pull them away from vulnerable allies, or pull them into the firing arc of teammates. The numerous applications of the Warp Spear make it surprisingly useful, so don't underestimate it!

*'''Laughing Stave''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Earn a Score Multiplier of 275 as the Farseer''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**11.1 DPS
**Traits: Knockback (Enemies hit by this weapon will be knocked back), Laughing Runes (-25% Energy Cost), Unshakable (Immune to Knockback)
***There are three reasons to take the laughing stave, and any of them, on their own, are good reasons, but when together, they turn this weapon into an oft-unappreciated powerhouse. First, it's the only exclusively ranged weapon the Farseer gets, and it's a damned good one, offering a more-than-4-fold damage increase over the Shuriken Pistols. Second, it has knockback, which means it's actually very good for keeping the Farseer out of trouble - both in close-combat, and from afar. But it's the last advantage it has that's the most glaring: a 25% reduction in energy costs means that literally ''everything'' you cast is orders of magnitude easier to use - even the likes of Eldritch Storm will only cost 37 energy under this upgrade, allowing your average energy-focused Farseer to cast it twice with a full energy bar. It bolsters all your other abilities, too, making it a solid choice that should used for a great many builds. Like all Staves, it's also a melee weapon; this one packs a reasonable punch (roughly the same as the Witchblade of the Crone, but without special attacks and a slower swing speed but meatier damage output), but its major advantage is its ranged punch, knockdown, and cost reductions. It does, however, also give you Unshakable, which is brings this weapon from "great" to "fucking amazing."

*'''Debilitating Witchblade''' - ''DLC''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**7.1 DPS
**Traits: Sap (Reduces the target's melee damage by 50% for 5 seconds; note that Sap only applies to the individual model hit by the Farseer's attack), Energy Leech (Restores 10 Energy when this weapon kills an enemy)
*** The Debilitating Witchblade is a mixed blessing. Sap can allow the Farseer to stand toe-to-toe against foes with powerful melee attacks, and Energy Leech occasionally supplements the Farseer's energy regeneration. Unfortunately, Sap only affects the specific model the Farseer attacks (rather than affecting a whole squad a-la the Captain's Lightning Claws), and Energy Leech ''requires that the enemy be killed by the Debilitating Witchblade itself'' rather than any of the Farseer's abilities. That's right: this means that if you're using Runes of Wrath and the second strike kills an enemy, it won't trigger Energy Leech. The Debilitating Witchblade ''can'' be useful in a purely supporting role, but rarely can it be considered a good general-purpose weapon.

==Accessories==
*'''Runes of Warding''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Ward (25 Energy, grants ally temporary invulnerability)
***This is a lifesaver for the Farseer, as this can be the difference between saving your ally or dying and failing a run. Just beware when fighting your Wave 16 doppelganger as the enemy will use this with impunity against you. Especially if they're going for that Tau Efficiency achievement.

*'''Runes of Harlequin''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Confuse (15 Energy, confuses the target, forcing it to attack anything nearby for a while.)
***This is more situational than it looks, as if you use it at the wrong time, this will sic the squad right back at you, which may or [[Not as Planned|may not be what you intended]]. On the other hand, the doppelganger can't use it and it can interrupt their resurrection attempts, making it particularly powerful on the Bloodied Colosseum map. And, unlike Veil of Tears, with Confuse you can choose your target, making it extremely good against big bosses (do you remember Araghast??) or when you want to target a specific unit instead of going all random.
***Confuse is generally best used on fast-moving melee units (which can lock ranged units in melee) or on units with a whole lot of [[Dakka|dakka]]
***Confuse is the only way to prevent Unshakeable dopplegangers from resurrecting each other

*'''Runes of Fleetness''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Fleet of Foot (5 Energy, grants the Farseer a speed boost at the cost of her damage output)
***If you really want to work support as a Farseer, then this will be your go-to tool for making those quick saves. Take care though, as this is not a triggered ability, but a temporary one.

*'''Runes of War''' - ''Level 3''
**Traits: Combat Master (+40% Melee and Ranged Damage)
***If you play a combat Farseer, then this will be an auto-include, as it will make you much more of a threat than everyone would expect.

*'''Runes of Deception''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Conceal (20 Energy, grants invisibility to allies within the field)
***This is a bit more situational than other abilities, as this won't make much difference when you're being chased by swarms or Banshees, but it can let you make a [[Cyrus]]-style stealth save. Become almost broken in conjunction with runes of the warp.

*'''Runes of Fortune''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Fortune (10 Energy, reduces all incoming damage by 50%)
*** Fortune complements almost any team composition by providing significant damage mitigation. With the proper application of Fortune, a properly built melee Captain or Hive Tyrant will be able to weather entire waves, and ranged characters like the Lord General or Tau Commander will find their longevity under fire significantly extended, allowing them to spend more time doing what they do best. Fortune stacks multiplicatively with other damage reduction methods and even with itself (a character with two instances of Fortune cast on them will take 75% reduced damage). Fortune's low energy cost and long duration allow it to compare favorably with Ward (which is costlier, has a longer cooldown, and does not last as long). Fortune also complements health regeneration: high levels of damage mitigation mean that a little health regen goes a long way.

*'''Runes of Wrath''' - ''Level 10''
**Trait: Second Strike (Delayed psychic strikes follow each time the Farseer attacks in melee)
***Stack with the Runes of War to make your Farseer a bunch more deadly as and assault character. This rune benefits weaker melee weapons like the Witchblade of Isha or the Debilitating Witchblade that don't do a lot of damage on their own: the second strike ignores armor and adds a considerable amount of raw damage per hit.

*'''Runes of the Warp''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Group Teleport (15 Energy, teleport all nearby allies to a targeted location)
***Where a Sorcerer would teleport to get into combat, you have a teleport to get away from the ruckus. This can definitely help make shenanigans happen, especially against slower enemies or shooty prey. It can also be useful in getting near a fallen ally and rescuing them. Or you could more simply teleport the fallen body away from danger and then safely revive him, since this ability can teleport fallen team mates.
****A word of caution on Bloodied Coliseum: The enemy Farseer goes absolutely apeshit with this ability and WILL abuse it at the worst possible moments. Players on wave 16 and 20 may find themselves receiving a surprise gang-bang when the Farseer dumps Araghast and half a dozen Bloodletters your head while trying to kite enemies or revive team mates.

*'''Runes of Vigour''' - ''Level 12''
**+0.3 Energy Regeneration
***This is not a useful thing, as it takes up a slot better used for neater powers.

*'''Runes of Evasion''' - ''Level 16''
**Traits: Evasive (All attacks made at the Farseer have a 30% chance of missing)
***Whatever your role, you can never go wrong with some extra evasion to go along with it. Unless you're at Bloodied Coliseum, where your doppelganger will be just as annoying to kill.

*'''Runes of the Spider''' - ''Level 17''
**Ability: Entangle (15 Energy, ensnares an enemy, making them unable to move, but able to attack)
***This is a lifesaver when dealing with Banshees or other agile targets, as they will hound your ass at every opportunity. This can give your team the time it needs to wipe them out.

==Commander Items==
*'''Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Eldritch Storm (50 Energy, Unleash a large psychic storm, disrupting and damaging enemies in a large radius. While channeling this powerful spell, the caster will be immune to damage but not regenerate energy)
***Curiously, whilst most classes get their big ol' nuke spell at the end of their careers, the Farseer and Mekboy get theirs early. The Farseer's is one of the weaker nukes; it immobilizes her during it, has a strange hitbox, and its damage buildup can be finicky. On the other hand, it's still a nuke spell and absolutely awesome at killing mooks in a substantial radius... Or at softening up harder enemies for further assaults. Bear in mind its high energy costs and weaknesses, and it's absolutely devastating. By rapidly right clicking as you cast the storm you should be able to move and attack regain energy and keep the invulnerability while the storm kills stuff. So with some decent energy regain or reduction you could nearly get the cost back by the time it's off cooldown and spam it. Or hitting stop right after cast is more effective.

*'''Spirit Stone of Illusion''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Veil of Tears (50 Energy, Confuses half the enemies on screen and makes them attack the nearest target regardless of alliance)
***This mass confuse spell is no less finicky than the damage on Eldritch Storm, and it's just as expensive, to boot, but it's potentially even more game-changing. The pandemonium it can cause can completely turn the tide of a fight, provided the thing the enemies target isn't you - just bear in mind that the enemies WILL if you're the closest thing in range. Used properly, it can quickly deal with swarms of foes.

*'''Spirit Stone of Vigour''' - ''Level 20''
**Traits: Invigorating Leadership (+0.3 Energy Regeneration for all nearby allies)
***Bizarrely, this is one of the weakest commander items, giving a tiny energy regeneration boost. It's of barely any use to the Farseer on her own, precludes the use of both Eldritch Storm and Veil of Tears, and boasting the same energy regen boost as another piece of wargear that's often best not taken. Unlike that one though, there are some benefits to the Stone of Vigour that make it worth using. For one, it removes the ability of the Wave 16/20 doppelganger to use your abilities against you. For another, it gives the energy boost to nearby teammates as well, which means this can actually be fairly useful to back up the likes of the Lord General or Chaos Sorcerer.

==Progression==

==Tactics and Strategy==
*'''On Achievements:'''
**''Grab Me the Paddles'' (Which unlocks the Mantle of Malan'Tai) is accomplished by reviving allies. If you use the Pistol of the Warseer and/or Runes of Swiftness or Runes of the Warp, this is a rather easy task as you'll be able to extricate yourself from the situation if it gets too hectic.
**''Advanced Multiplication'' (Which unlocks the Laughing Stave) requires both control over the Power Nodes and the ability to manage your allies. Since you need a multiplier of 275, you'll need to kill enemies quickly, protect your allies, and control the nodes just long enough to get that high.

== Builds ==
'''BUILD 1 - DECEIVER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' The most Eldar build ever, the idea of this build is to keep yourself out of the fight while you make the enemy do all the dirty work (sounds familiar to you? Yeah, you get the idea), keep casting Confuse on your enemies so they kill each other and Fleet of Foot whenever you see they are closing on to you (you are unshakable by the way, and the witchblade of Isha gives you a lot of energy), prioritize larger targets whenever you can as they can one-hit other units, watch how wraithlords, carnifexes, Juggernauts, dreads and dreffs decimate their own armies. Oh, and remember wave 16 at Bloodied Colosseum? If you see a clone trying to resurrect another clone cast confuse, this will disrupt him, and don't worry about your clone SHE CANT CAST CONFUSE.

'''BUILD 2 - RESURRECTER-RUNNER'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Warding, Runes of Fleetness, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' A variant of the DECEIVER-RUNNER, the RESURRECTER is built to keep your allies alive, you just stay out of the fight as much as possible as you need yourself alive, then, everytime you see an allied die run to him with Fleet of Foot, cast yourself Ward and resurrect him, tell your allies to fight, no matter if they are going to die again, as long as you stay alive you can resurrect them, while a bit tedious this strategy is great whenever you end in a team of newcomers or low hp nukers, as in the long run they will decimate the wave.

'''BUILD 3 - ...AND LET THE MON-KEIGH TAKE CARE OF LARGE GROUPS'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Pistol of the Warseer, Witchblade of Isha, Armor of Idranel, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Fortune, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Explanation:''' At first glance, this build seems little different than the others, but it provides a number of advantages. Fortune reduces all damage taken by the target by 50%; when you cast Fortune on yourself, your damage reduction approaches 90% (88.5%, to be exact). Fortune is also much cheaper and easier to spam than Ward, and you can maintain it on multiple targets at once, allowing you to keep your team in the fight rather than simply resurrecting them when they fall. Runes of Wrath gives you excellent single-target damage (against large groups of weak models, try attacking one model, moving away, and letting the second strike do its work before moving in again), and the combination of the Witchblade of Isha and the Spirit Stone of Vigor means that you generally have enough energy to cast Confuse when necessary and Fortune at all times. This build has two weaknesses: it cannot deal with large groups of mobs on its own; and it has no real way to recover lost health without support.

'''BUILD 4 - SHADOWSEER'''

'''Min Level:''' 15

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of the Harlequin, Runes of Deception, Runes of the Warp, Spirit Stone of Illusion.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build really shines on Bloodied Colosseum, since the enemies will need more time to reach you after you teleport away, giving you and your allies a lot of times to get some breath, and especially against your clone, that can't use Veil of Tears nor Confuse against you or your allies, but can also be devastating on anvil of khorne with the right teammates. The build itself is all about supporting your allies and heavily debuffing your enemies: if using it correctly, you should never die AND you should be the one reviving your fallen comrades every time without problems, turning your enemies against each other and keeping yourself and your allies safe through invisibility and teleportation. the Laughing Stave also let you knock back enemies coming at you, while letting you spam a lot more spells than you could without it, while the mantle of Malan'tai keep you reasonably safe while significantly boosting your energy regen. You prefer this to the Ghosthelm for a simple reason: you can already buy enough time with the Teleport/Invisibility combo to regen more than enough energy, and in the later waves the Ghosthelm means almost certain death from a single mistake. You can't die, ever, because you are the one keeping your team alive! On the offense, you should obviously use Veil of Tears against bigger waves and confusion against powerful, single opponents. This, combined with teleport, effectively let your team pick his fight, instead of trying to confront an entire wave on their own, and can result extremely powerful with strong ranged heroes, like the tau commander or the Lord General (especially with rocket run!). This build will not gives you lot of kills, but it will let you influence the battle more than any other hero could ever hope to, effectively turning you into the key-man to achieve the win, especially in bloodied colosseum.
*Fun fact: never forget that your teleportation can also teleport fallen comrades, making it extremely powerfull as an escaping tool: teleport near the fallen ally, immediately teleport away, then cast invisibility and revive your mate. This will not only gives yourself some time to regenerate the energy consumed, but also him the time to regenerate health and be ready when the fight will resume.

'''BUILD 5 - AUTARCH'''

'''Min Level:''' 20 (19 with Stone of Eldritch Might)

'''Gear you need:''' Warp Spear, Armor of Idranel, Runes of War, Runes of Evasion, Runes of Fortune, Spirit Stone of Vigor

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build is pretty straight-forward, making you what essentialy you shouldn't be: a melee monster! Ok, not really a monster, but significantly better than you could normally hope for. Warp Spear has some good damage (not optimal), good special attack rating, an area of effect special attack and the 1 in a 10 chance to really put the hurt on your enemies. But you don't take it for this, not only, at least: you take it for warp pull. This ability let you control your enemies with ease, making you able to better choose your fights while keeping yourself safe. Runes of Evasion, coupled with the Armour of Idranel, makes you almost invulnerable in close combat, and fortune boosts your survivability further, making you, paradoxically, one of the better tanks in the game, expecially in melee! Spirit Stone of Vigor and Runes of War are almost necessary to conclude the build: the first will give you the ability to spam fortune (you should never have it down) and warp pull, significantly increasing your ability to stay in the fight, while the second makes your weak melee attacks a lot more powerfull.
*You could also substitute the Stone of Vigor with the Stone of Eldritch Might, but while this would gives you some really powerfull AoE damage, it would also significantly decrease your capability to stay alive between Eldritch Storm.

'''BUILD 6 - Make Love not War-Hammer'''

'''Min Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Armor of Idranel, Runes of Fortune, Runes of the Warp, Runes of Vigor, Spirit Stone of Illusion

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This is a 100 percent support build where you complete focus is on your teammates and keeping them protected so they can do the most damage possible and as such it is recommended against using this with low level teammates because, typically their damage just isn't quite high enough to get the job done. Since you are rocking Idranels' robes you can actually take a bit of a beating without having to worry about being squished which allows you to spend even more time focusing on your bros. In fact if you are teammates with a couple squishies you can do a fair amount of tanking for them. So the basis of this build is you spam fortune on EVERYTHING. Because of it's long duration and short cool down Fortune can be applied on up to 4 things at a time or double stacked for additional protection and you just continue the cycle as it wears off your allies. That a Tau shield drone hanging out over there? FORTUNE. Captain brought his Dreadnaught? FORTUNE. Oh no that Lord General is getting swarmed by melee! DOUBLE FORTUNE. With the cost reduction from the Laughing Stave and Runes of Vigor you should always have enough to cast it at least a couple times even after using the Spirit Stone of Illusion. Of course everyone knows Runes of the warp are great for defense and reviving downed teammates but since you are rocking some decent armor you can actually use it offensively as well. How does that work you ask? Its great for moving the less mobile damage dealers to where they need to be, your enemies faces. It does take a bit of teamwork but its especially good with those slow ass Hive Tyrants rocking poison cysts. With the Laughing Stave you are much more free when using Spirit stone of Illusion and it is super great at taking pressure off your team if you are getting overwhelmed and for taking one of your clones out of the situation on rounds 16 and 20 of BC but remember your main focus is Fortune. A note on doing damage. You're not. Really. Aside from intercepting an occasional melee unit for a ranged buddy any stuff you kill is incidental and that's ok because you dont get anything for getting a high kill count except for a big e-peen and a Tau complex. With that said the first thing you should do at the beginning of the match is switch to a melee stance. That's right your silly Laughing Stave IS BETTER IN MELEE! Just check for yourself. 26 damage per melee hit vs 20 for the ranged so you swing faster, have a 100 percent hit ration and a small chance to do a special attack in melee that you don't get in from ranged attacks. So aside from using the ranged knock back ability to prevent a clone from reviving you're going to want to be up close and personal and just be happy you can do some ranged damage if that one last guy is half way across the map.

'''BUILD 7 - offense'''

'''Min Level:''' 10

'''Gear you need:''' Laughing Stave, Mantle of Malan'tai, Runes of Warding, Runes of the War, Runes of Wrath, Spirit Stone of Eldritch Might

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:'''

Aoe and high single target damage. Wait til ranged blob sits still and then storm. Can one shot zoanthrope if time right. Ward and melee when necessary. Can tank or support. Usually take a second of damage in between shields so better to support late if can get behind teammate and not aggro. Ward great for tanking clones and landraider. Run up and melee ranged clones or predators 16/20 is legit strategy. Easy if teammates can deal followup damage.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Eldar]]

Last Stand - Mekboy

2018-03-19T06:14:25Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Weapons */

The [[Mekboy]] is the [[Ork]] hero for [[Last Stand]].

==Overview==
Green, mean, and completely insane, the Mekboy is an unusual beast (well by the standards of a non-[[ork]]). Notable for his amazingly high damage output - from up close or afar - this Ork hero is a favorite of many, owing to his accessible weapon options, hilariously over-the-top abilities, and surprisingly high survivability compared to other ability-focused heroes like the Farseer or Chaos Sorcerer. However, whereas the other heroes may focus on raw power or efficiency, the Mekboy is unpredictable and wild.

His weapon options, fittingly enough, are almost all exceptionally powerful - among the best in the game - but are all flawed in some fashion or another. The Big Shoota, for example, has ''insane'' DPS, but relies on [[Dakka|Ork Shooting Accuracy]] and volume of fire, making it a poor choice against heavy armor. The Rokkit Launcha has splash, fairly fast firing, and armor penetration, but sprays like crazy so it's like a rocket shotgun. The Big Choppa does big damage but is a melee weapon only, excluding the use of most standard weapons, and barring the DLC the Mekboy does not get a sidearm.

Similarly, his abilities are strong, but all flawed in some fashion. Booby Traps are good for slowing enemies, but are placed all over the place and tend to scatter. Mega Rumblah stuns everyone near the Mek, but also stuns the Mek himself. The Juiced-Up Tellyporta, Roks, and 'Uge Bombz are all ludicrously powerful, but quite capable of friendly fire. More than really any other hero, the Mek's abilities are often a game of high-stakes roulette; when the Mek works well, he often is quite effective, and when he doesn't, he tends to come apart in a quite literal sense. As a side-note, the Mekboy tends to get strong abilities earlier than other classes, but at the cost of them being somewhat weaker in the long run.

The cruelest cut of the Mekboy, however, is the complete lack of Combat Expert - a vital trait that literally every other hero except the Shas'O can get (and the Shas'O can essentially ape it with the Command chassis). This makes the Mekboy reliant on teammates for attack power buffs, and means that the Mekboy, for all his sturm and drang often only barely keeps pace with other offensive heroes. To make up for this, the Mekboy is much more team-oriented than other heroes, with a lot of options that work very well when he's in a fireteam.

Using the Mek is a balancing act. His survivability comes from either heavy armor and high health or quick and easy access to teleportation or other tricks, with no middle ground. His weapon options, whilst offering plenty of [[dakka]], are all loaded with their own drawbacks so careful choices are the watchword. About the only item available to him that isn't a gamble is his commander item, giving you the choice of an enemy-weakening aura (Trophy Rack), your own nuke spell (Roks), or major buffs to your teammates (Bosspole). More than any other hero, the Mek is a bizarre hodge-podge of high damage and strong abilities, which will either rush you headlong to victory or fail miserably. One thing's for sure - playing the Mek, you'll be laughing all the way.

==Armor==
*'''Orky Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor: 22
***Naff Armor. Don't bother.

*'''Teleporta Pack''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 22
**Ability: Teleporta (7 Energy, teleports the Mekboy to a targeted location)
**This is your bread and butter. This is how you compensate for your heavy guns and your weapon when using the Juiced-Up Tellyporta. Mobility is the golden egg of [[Last Stand]], and the ability to get around the battlefield is worth any price, even the ridiculously weak defense this armor happens to have.

*''''Eavy Armor''' - ''Level 3''
**Armor: 180
**+75 Health
**This armor has you give up teleporting, but it instead gives you some serious armor and health. The problem is that you'll often be running up against swarms who'll run you down the same, but that is mostly made up for by the fact that you'll tank attacks you never could have withstood with the other armors. Suffice to say, this is one of the best Mekboy armors and only gets better as the Mekboy levels up.

*'''Mad Teleporta Pack''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor: 86
**Traits: Reactive Escape (When Mekboy is hit in melee, there's a 15% chance for him to teleport to a random location. After teleporting, he will be temporarily phased out, reducing his likelihood of getting hit.), Reactive Teleport (When Mekboy is a hit in melee, there's a 50% chance for the enemy to be teleported to a random location)
***Significantly tougher than the starting Teleporta armor, the Mad Teleporta is a chaotic piece that has hilarious synergy with Sturdy Bitz, the Zzap Knife, and a Juiced Up Teleporta to make you something of a crazy quantum 'splosionmancer. Just stay away from your teammates, and maybe invest in Cybork Bitz too, for extra armor, though that's all your accessories right there. Can be handy also in defensive builds since it can forcibly teleport enemies away, though its mediocre armor and the lack of control do make it hard to fit into some builds. Worth considering.

*'''Electric Armor''' - ''Level 14''
**Armor: 32
**Traits: Damage Aura (Enemies near the Mekboy will take gradual damage)
***This armor looks like absolute garbage at first - it has very little defense and its ability doesn't seem all that good - at first. Electric Armor makes it so that any enemy near you takes gradual damage that ignores defense. This isn't really enough to kill on its own, but when paired with Bouncy Shield or an aggressive melee build can make attacking you a losing proposition for melee foes. Is particularly valuable for Dakka Deffgun users, since the effect damages any enemy that gets near you.

*'''Kustom Force Field''' - ''Level 19''
**Armor: 44
**Ability: Kustom Force Field (15 Energy, makes the Mekboy temporarily invulnerable)
***An outstanding piece of armor that's easy to ignore, this armor is a significant survivability upgrade for the Mekboy. Ideally used with Speshul Tools and Roks to allow you to go play in your own apocalypse, Kustom Force Field can save your butt when a lot of other armors would rely on sheer tankiness or mobility. Extremely good for aggressive fighters and has hilarious uses with 'Uge Bombz, but it also makes your clone capable of using it - which sucks.

*'''Leaky Armor''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill 2,500 enemies as the Mekboy''
**Armor: 145
**Trait: Leaky Armor (When hit, there's a 25% chance to drop two mines)
***Not a bad armor. If it had a health boost of any kind or triggered on ranged attacks as well, this would arguably be preferable to 'Eavy Armor in many builds. As it currently stands, Leaky Armor is pretty tough armor and allows you to, when hit, drop two proximity mines (See that wargear entry). This potentially is a godsend when running from packs, as melee opponents that aren't knockdown immune and are anywhere near the mine will often be thrown into the air and damage by the blast, enabling your escape. Works very well with defensive builds, especially ones using the Flamer, since that weapon often requires you to fire on the move and get close.

==Weapons==
*'''Slugga''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**1.1 DPS
***Similar to the Sorcerer (with the exception of DLC), the Mekboy has no way to replace his default gun, and he suffers like no other for it. Unlike the Sorcerer, however, he isn't stuck with it for a lot of his playstyles.

*'''Choppa''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**8.2 DPS
***Naff Choppa. Don't bother.

*'''Big Shoota'''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**44.0 DPS
***Don't be fooled by its ludicrously high DPS; the Big Shoota achieves that mostly through volume of fire, and neither has terribly great accuracy nor particularly high individual-shot damage, which means its potential drops off extremely quickly against armored targets. On the other hand, it's one of the Mekboy's longest-ranged weapons, is extremely reliable when fired from cover or a building, and can be fired on the move, all of which are good things for any Mek.

*'''Burna''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Ignore Cover (Enemies cannot take cover to avoid damage from this weapon), Area of Effect (Damages enemies in an area around where this weapon fires)
**Notes: This weapon has an undocumented Armor Piercing trait (Attacks with the Flamer ignore up to 20 Armor)
***The best weapon for early Mekboys, as the cover-ignoring damage coupled with the Teleporta gives you a major advantage over the Lord General's flamer before he gets Guardsmen to use it with him. Like many Flamers, it has a built-in hidden armor piercing trait, but only a minor one.

*'''Big Choppa''' - ''Level 6''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**+2.0 Health Regeneration
**Traits: Invigorating (When an enemy is killed in melee, Mekboy gains 5 Energy)
***More than just a good close-combat weapon; it's a great weapon for any Mekboy using high-energy toys like Roks or Mines, since every kill scored with it (and it's good at splattering lighter mooks) will give you a little bit of energy. In addition, it also makes you a bit more survivable via you having better Health regen, which is invariably a great thing.

*'''Rokkit Launcha''' - ''Level 12''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
**4.6 DPS
**Traits: Knockdown (Knocks down enemies), Armor Piercing (Attacks with Rokkit Launcha ignore up to 140 Armor), Salvo (Mekboy fires 3 rokkits at once)
**Notes: This weapon has an undocumented Area-of-Effect trait (attacks from this weapon cause damage in a small area)
***Don't go by its general appearance - this weapon is more of a shotgun than a dedicated anti-armor weapon, though it technically handles both roles quite well. It has a long delay between shots and its accuracy is relatively poor, but each rocket explodes in a pretty big way and it can deal serious harm at close range. It's ideally used to discourage close-combat attackers who would otherwise target friendlies; its powerful impact lets it knock entire squads on their ass. Its individual-rocket firepower is mediocre, but if all three hit, it adds up to solid damage, making it more useful against large targets. It's especially good when backing up a Shas'O Commander with a Command Chassis or a Sorcerer with Icon of Pain, where its damage quickly increases substantially. A risky weapon, but a lot of fun and quite effective. Its main drawback other than the aforementioned are that the Mekboy fires it low; it's generally incapable of firing over terrain obstacles, so fight with this in mind.

*'''Dakka Deffgun''' - ''Level 16''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**26.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppressive (Can suppress enemies attacked by this weapon), Heavy (Requires time for setup and teardown before firing)
***This weapon is a little unusual - in most respects it comes across as an inferior version of the Big Shoota with longer range, but a setup time before firing and lower damage. Unlike other weapons with a setup time (The Plasma Cannon on the Captain), the Dakka Deffgun is easy to use and the Mek readies it quite quickly, making it a good tactical option. In practice, it does more damage than the somewhat-comparable Burst Cannon from the Shas'O, hurling a ludicrous number of shots downrange and easily suppressing foes. Suffice to say it's great when backed by any armor that encourages the Mek to dig in and cut loose; the Electric Armor, Kustom Force Field, and Leaky Armor are all good choices, as is the 'Eavy Armor. When bolstered with the Bouncy Shield, the Mek can provide fire support to an entire squad, and even better, can do so from inside a building. Alternately it can be used with Teleportation to get around and into good shooting positions. Woe betide any enemy who gets in range of a Mekboy using this if he can get an attack power boost from Take Aim! or a passive ability from an ally.

*'''Zzap Knife''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Achieve 350 Kills as the Mekboy''
**One-handed Melee Weapon
**45.0 DPS
**+2.0 Health Regen
**Traits: Proactive Teleport (When attacked in melee, the Mekboy can teleport the enemy to a random location), Proactive Escape (When in melee, the Mekboy can teleport to a random location)
***Vicious. Odds are good that it'll have more of an effect bouncing you and the enemy around than it will doing damage (though its damage is quite high), but when paired with the Juiced-Up Tellyporta, it can create tons of explosions and result in relentless hilarity (make sure you have sturdy bitz if you're gonna use this). It has the same delicious health buff as the Big Choppa, too, so all in all, a good (and fun) weapon.

*'''Pokkit Rokkit Launcha''' - ''DLC''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**5.2 DPS
**Traits: Knockdown, Armor Piercing (This weapon can ignore up to 140 Armor)
**Notes: This weapon has an undocumented Area of Effect trait (this weapon does damage in a small area)
***This isn't a great weapon on its own, being somewhat-comparable to the Plasma Pistol of the Space Marine Captain, but it's an unbelievably useful boon to any Mekboy who's using a Choppa, since it's the only alternative he has to a basic Slugga. The knockback capability can help keep threats away, whilst the armor-piercing trait gives you a bit of punch against the errant tougher foe.

==Accessories==
*'''Booby Traps''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Booby Traps (25 Energy, lays down mines that can reduce the accuracy and speed of enemies who run into them)
***It's like the Tau Commander's snare mines only with smaller radiuses, shorter duration, and the ability to lay down 3-4 at once. In general, it's superior due to the fact that you can lay down like an entire field of the things for the same energy it would take a Tau Commander to fire off like 3. Quite useful for slowing enemies down, but it doesn't do anything other than that, so be ready to take advantage of the slowdown, either to get away or finish enemies off!

*'''Battery Pack''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: 'Ave a Taste! (30 Energy, heals a nearby ally)
***It's a useful thing for assist-focused Mekboy, as it will give a good bit of health, but it won't heal you. An absolute bitch to take since your Clones will abuse it with impunity.

*'''Mega Rumblah''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Mega Rumblah (35 Energy, knocks down enemy infantry in a large radius around the Mekboy)
***Early on, Mega Rumblah can save your life. It has a long setup time, and it roots you to one spot whilst it goes off, but it stuns absolutely every ground-based enemy remotely near the Mekboy's position - so unless the enemy is knockdown-immune or a vehicle, Mega Rumblah can take a lot of foes out of the fight for a short time, rendering them easy for your teammates to finish off. Beware foes with immunity or long ranged weapons, because they will cheerfully beat on you whilst you're not able to move. It tends to lose its luster within a few levels since you get better offensive options, but it's a damned fine panic button.

*'''Speshul Tools''' - ''Level 4''
**+25 energy
***Gives you one more use of Booby Traps or Proximity Mines, or another chance for the Battery Pack. Can also let you Teleport, drop Roks, and Teleport back out. Suffice to say, quite useful on casting-heavy builds - definitely has it's uses.

*'''Cybork Parts''' - ''Level 7''
**+66 Armor
***Teleporta-centric builds and Electric Armor users will definitely benefit from this, as the armor is naturally pretty flimsy. It's ironically also quite good on 'Eavy Armor builds since it significantly bolsters your already-meaty damage reduction further. A just plain useful and straightforward option that isn't flashy, but can help make any build that much better.

*'''Sturdy Bitz''' - ''Level 8''
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
***This is a mandatory choice if you ''ever'' plan on using the Juiced-up Tellyporta, as it gives you the ability to actually walk while exploding. It's also a godsend on builds using the Dakka Deffgun since you no longer need to worry about being forced out of firing mode. Other builds just benefit from the Unshakable trait as well. As is the case for many Mekboy options, this is simple, straightforward, and useful as hell.

*'''Boom Time!''' - ''Level 11''
**Traits: Boom Time (Powerful explosives detonate when the Mekboy is incapacitated)
***The core of any Suicide Mekboy build and even better, hinders your clone in Bloody Colosseum since he'll explode if he dies, killing his buddies! This ability is a giant, flaming, explosive middle finger directed at any horde wave that decides to give you trouble. Do bear in mind, however, that the suicide bomb is extremely indiscriminate and will cheerfully blow up your own teammates as well. This is important because if you do go down, being revived re-arms the explosives, so you can potentially quickly kill your allies if you go down again because of your reduced health!

*'''Dok's Tools''' - ''Level 13''
**Traits: Reactive Zeal (When hit, there's a chance that the Mekboy can heal all nearby allies for 10 Health)
***Absolutely great for squad support, especially with a Dakka Deffgun or Big Shoota. Bunker down with teammates and any time you take a hit, there's a chance your nearby buddies will heal up a bit. With Kustom Force Field, this can actually be extremely helpful, since you can activate it and charge into a crowd - potentially saving nearby allies swamped in close-combat in the process. Deceptively useful.

*'''Bouncy Shield''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Bouncy Shield (20 Energy, builds a force field that bounces back any nearby infantry)
***This amazing little wargear option is one of the best ones the Mekboy gets - and surprisingly so! This barrier will hurl back anyone who gets too close to the bearer for its duration. As such, this is an absolute godsend for any shooty Mek and has hilarious implications for your team-mates and your minions, who you can also buff in this capacity. Cast it on a Shas'O to remind those pesky Banshees that the Tau doesn't like to be touched, or bolster your Lord General's Guardsmen to keep them safe from angry predators. It also provides a bit of zero-risk trolling when cast on melee-focused Sorcerers and Captains; these units can still do damage, but they'll have to run around chasing their knocked-down prey.

*'''Proximity Mines''' - ''Level 17''
**Ability: Proximity Mines (25 Energy, throws mines in an area. Enemies that step on them get knocked back in a large radius)
***Significantly better than Booby Traps tactically, and somehow stolen from [[Cyrus]]. Proxy mines are similar to booby traps, except they knock back instead of slow down - and unlike Booby Traps, they actually ''cause damage''. This alone makes them worth taking, since you can use this to whittle down enemies that otherwise would chase you across no-man's land. An impressive piece of wargear with a lot of utility.

*''''Uge Bombz''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: 'Uge Kaboom! (35 Energy, places a huge bomb at the targeted location. Click to explode.)
***Absolutely amazing. One of the best abilities the Mekboy gets. Plant a big fricking bomb that you can then detonate when you feel the mood. You can place as many as you want, and though they aren't very strong (each one is about as powerful as a Frag Grenade), you can set them up any way you want (including chaining them if you place a few really close together). The uses for this are legion; set up nasty surprises for pursuing enemies, help Shas'O players get ''that'' fucking achievement, and demolishing entire hordes as only an Ork would. Easily one of the best options for raw destruction you get, despite the relatively modest firepower.

*'''Juiced-Up Tellyporta''' - ''DLC''
**Traits: Ported!! (When an enemy or the Mekboy get teleported, they will explode, dealing area of effect damage and knockback)
***This may sound nice when you start out, but beware this beginner's trap; the knockback applies to you as well, and whilst it can be useful at the outset, it also means that you'll be vulnerable for a short time each time you teleport unless you equip Sturdy Bitz. Additionally, the blasts, whether caused by you (Your own teleports) or the enemy (via Zzap Knife and/or Mad Teleporta Pack) will cause friendly fire damage. Early on, this is one of the best abilities for helping the Mek score kills - as time goes on, this item loses some of its appeal since enemy health going higher makes it less and less likely to kill on its own, though the knockdown remains as valuable as ever. An wargear option that entire strategies can be built around, this one is not to be ignored.

==Commander Items==
*'''Trophy Rack''' - ''Level 5''
**Traits: Fearsome Aura (Nearby enemies deal 35% less damage, stacking Fearsome Auras add only 15% more to this)
***Surprisingly powerful. Increases the survivability of absolutely everyone on your team and has ridiculous synergy with allied Hive Tyrants (due to Psychic Scream). Multiple Mekboys with Trophy Racks can overlap the effect, to a maximum of 65% damage reduction if all three players are Mekboys carrying this item, and that's ''before'' armor protection is factored in. Just one Mekboy with it is often enough, however.

*'''Roks''' - ''Level 10''
**Ability: Roks (50 Energy, Orders a massive Rok strike on targeted area)
***Whereas most Heroes get their nuke relatively early, the Mekboy gets his almost hilariously early. Unfortunately what you gain in expedience you lose in raw power; Roks is one of the weakest Nukes and is quite random, dropping big rocks (that do lots of damage) and little rocks (which do a bit). In general, this ability hits like an artillery strike, somewhat randomly raining down destruction in a big area. Though it's nowhere near as strong as some of the other big, mean AOE abilities (like Orbital Bombardment, Eldritch Storm, or Rocket Run), this ability's great all the same at blasting the crap out of everything remotely near ground zero, and the fact that it's a commander slot item makes it especially useful. An excellent ability overall.

*'''Boss Pole''' - ''Level 20''
**Traits: Resilient Leadership (+100 Health to nearby allies), Fearless Leadership (All nearby allies are immune to suppression)
***Bosspoles are a big deal on the tabletop, and they'll be a big deal here too. The extra health saves more flimsy heroes like the Chaos Sorcerer and Lord General, and to the delight of the General and Hive Tyrant, it also significantly buffs their minions with that ridiculous health boost! Moreover, that Fearless can make or break a team in the field, and can be just the thing a Captain needs to get in and blow up a heavy weapon. Unfortunately, this item is a terribly double-edged sword; Your clones will likewise get this thing's benefits, and the addition of Fearless to the enemy can absolutely cripple your team if it's been relying on Deffguns, Bolter Turrets, or Burst Cannons. Use this thing with care, and it's awesome. Use it badly, however, and it's a disaster waiting to happen.

==Tactics & Strategy==
* '''On Achievements:'''
** ''Can't Touch Dis'' (Which unlocks the Leaky Armor) is another easy achievement. Kill 2,500 enemies with the Mekboy.
** ''The Sharpest Wrench'' (Which unlocks the Zzap Knife) is one that really focuses upon the player's preferences. Since you have to kill 350 enemies in a single match, it becomes a priority that you take a weapon that's best suited for weeding out weak mobs while also able to stay alive long enough to actually accomplish this. Teleport spam with the Juiced-Up Tellyporta and the Sturdy Bitz is a very helpful tool to grab when possible, as it can also help knock enemies off their feet long enough to wipe them out.

== Builds ==

'''BUILD 1 - Quantum 'Splosionmancer'''

'''Gear you need:''' Pokkit Rockit, Zap Knife, Mad Teleporta pack, Sturdy Bitz, Juiced Up Teleporta, Recommended Cybork Bitz, Roks.

'''Explanation:''' With this build, lulz ensue as enemies that hit you, enemies you hit, and yourself while in melee combat are randomly teleported around and explode, often killing them instantly. This can effectively deal with the "spamshee" wave (wave 9 on BC), as the sheer amount of victims causes humongous groups of explosions (friendly fire is dealt by these explosions, so stay away from allies if you can). And using all of your accessories on support items also means you have one essentially one ability, Roks, which will recharge thankfully fast allowing you to deal with enemies from the non melee waves. And, the candy on top, your melee blows will boost your health regen. It is heavily recommended that you have a captain who can instantly revive you.

'''Reviews From Users:'''

'''BUILD 2 - [[Terminator]] Mekboy'''

'''Gear you need:''' [[Terminator|'Eavy Armor]], Cybork Parts, Bouncy Shield, and Trophy Rack. A ranged weapon of your choice. Personally, I took the Big Shoota for the on the move tank. Sturdy Bitz recommended, but unnecessary if you feel like taking something else. Dok's Tools might come in handy as you'll probably heal more than you lose, creating infinite health.

'''Explanation:''' With this build, sit in a corner with [[terminator|super armor]], a damage debuff, and heavy cover, [[necrons|never die]]. It's been a bit since I've ran this build, but I vaguely recall something like [[terminator|80%-86% damage reduction]], can't be sure. [[Choppy|Melee enemies]]? Bouncy Shield. That's really all there is to it. You're a heavy weapons [[Ork]] that makes melee units cry. Doesn't work on [[Dreadnought|melee walkers]], avoid the [[Avatar of Khaine|walkers]]. You're the party tank, you're good at it yet nothing else. Don't expect to get anywhere quick. But, you can basically ignore enemies as you walk around as a tank medic, so that might be useful. And if you're interested in a bit of [[that guy|dickery]]; use Bouncy Shield on a [[choppy|melee oriented]] ally. [[Last Stand - Captain|Captain]]? [[Last Stand - Hive Tyrant|Hive Tyrant]]? --> Charge! Push. Charge! Push. Lulz ensue.

'''Reviews From Users:''' Amazing. You don't even take damage in the first waves, and even in the later stages there must be a bloody army to kill you. Also great for reviving squishy teammates, because nobody can object you reviving them in the middle of an open ground when you are A BLOODY TANK (I used it with Sturdy Bits, it is good enough).

'''BUILD 3 - DA BOMBA'''

'''Gear you need:''' Pokkit Rockit, Zzap Knife, Teleporta, Juiced-up Tellyporta, Sturdy Bitz, Cybork Parts, Boss Pole.

'''Explanation:''' Very much like the first build, with more personal control with a slice of support on the side. Trades of some armor and the automatic nature of the Mad Teleporta Pack for the ability to aim your teleports manually. Just arm your teleporta, aim and boom. Wherever you hop to, you'll be leaving loads of dead bodies behind yourself. With Boss Pole you buff your allies health by a good 100 points if you're close enough to them, which in some cases is a godsend and also grant them immunity to suppression. Just be careful on wave 16, since your clone will be making your clones tougher as well. Cybork Parts adds some survivability, but can be exchanged by your own preferences. Same goes for the Pokkit Rockit and Zzap Knife. Go, try it, experiment and make shit explode. Just be careful with the friendly fire.

'''Reviews From Users:'''
I find that this build also works fairly well if you take the Dakka Deffgun. The main advantage lies in the fact that you don't have to undeploy when you teleport, allowing you to jump around and instakill all the large blobs and then quickly take on the role of suppressing large enemies for your teammates to deal with.

'''BUILD 4 - DAKKA DAKKA TELEPORT''' (added by: Warptrooper)

'''Gear you need:''' Big Shoota, Teleporta, Sturdy Bitz, Cybork Parts, Dok's Tools, Trophy Rack.

'''Explanation:''' Teleporta armor gives you AMAZING mobility. You can teleport around from cover to cover while you go DAKKA DAKKA BUT you are VERY squishy. This is why we use Sturdy Bitz for Unshakeable, Cybork Parts for extra armour and Dok's Tools for extra survivability. Now the Dok's Tools does NOT trigger as much as I would like but when it does trigger, it heals 10 hp to you AND any ally nearby. It also triggers more when more things are shooting you. This means wave 19 swarms of imperial guards will cause it to trigger a decent amount. We use Trophy instead of Boss Pole because -35% passive enemy damage reduction is MUCH better than the little 100hp and suppression resist given by Boss Pole. Later waves chew through 100HP like paper but reducing the majority of the wave's damage by 35% just by being there is much more worthwhile especially when you use cover and Dok's Tools helps heal you. This build REALLY shines if you have a Hive Tyrant with SCREAM (scream + trophy = -85% AOE enemy damage) and a Sorcerer with Blood Orb. When you go DAKKA DAKKA sitting inside the red orb in cover, combined with Dok's Tools and Trophy, it heals you up through NEARLY ANY sort of ranged damage.

'''Reviews From Users:'''

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Orks]]

Last Stand - Lord General

2018-03-19T05:55:09Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Weapons */

The Lord General is the [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Imperial Guard]].

==Overview==
Perhaps the hardest-to-use Hero in the entire game, the Lord General, in proud tradition of [[Dawn of War|every game Relic has ever worked on that has the Imperial Guard in it]] seems to be one-dimensional and inefficient - and, insofar as his being a character one can just pick up and use, this is most-assuredly true. The Lord General, at a glance, sucks. His basic traits are abhorrent - no mobility boosting until level 20, poor support abilities until way late-game, limited build options, mediocre damage output in general, and no way to boost his HP, making him the most fragile hero in all of [[Last Stand]].

One has to wonder if Relic pulled out all the stops in making the Lord General suck, in fact.

Sadly for Relic, if they did intend for him to just suck utterly, they failed, because there's many ways to make him viable, and this guide will show you just how powerful he can be. Using the Lord General involves using your brain and learning to delegate battlefield control - either to your minions, or to your teammates - and adapt on the fly. You cannot deal with enemies in the conventional fashion, and you need to fight smart to get anywhere with the guy. When properly leveled, the General's builds open up much more, and he becomes incrementally more fun to play with each and every level obtained.

There's a few things that the Lord General particularly excels at. One is fighting defensively; his ability to call in backup, set up turrets, and establishing killing fields means that when your team needs to hold ground, there's nobody better. Properly backed up, the Lord General can actually become a dominating force on the battlefield. The other is killing priority targets. From the get-go, the Lord General excels at murdering high-level threats like enemy heroes, Zoanthropes, and Wraithguards.

==Armor==
*'''Carapace Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 18
***Default Armor. Sucks, yadda yadda yadda.

*'''Cadia-Pattern Carapace Armor''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 125
**+0.2/sec Energy Regeneration
***This initial armor is remarkably useful, though it doesn't really come into its own until later. It provides excellent protection - indeed, the best of any armor for the General besides the Black Plate - and the energy regen boost is nice, though it's generally negligible in the long run.

*'''Master-Crafted Carapace Armor''' - ''Level 4''
**Armor Rating: 79
**Trait: Fearless (Immune to Suppression)
**Ability: Tarantula Heavy Bolter Turret (25 energy; Deploys a turret with heavy bolters that suppresses targets and does modestly good anti-infantry damage)
***The first of the Turret Armors and arguably one of the most useful. The Heavy Bolter Turret is always helpful for suppressing enemies, this armor has decent protection, and it makes you Fearless as part of the bargain. It works well if your squad does AOE damage (Catachans, Flamer or Grenade Launcher Guardsmen).

*'''Artificer Carapace Armor''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 72
**Trait: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown)
**Ability: Tarantula Missile Turret (25 energy; deploys a turret with twin-linked missile launchers that does decent anti-armor damage and has strong knockback)
***The other of the commonly-used Turret Armors, this is a great alternative to the Heavy Bolter turret of the Master-Crafted Carapace Armor. Decent overall defense and the always-useful Unshakable trait combine with a turret that has better performance at killing vehicles and can disrupt infantry effectively. Whilst it tends to be not as useful as the Master-Crafted Armor, the added armor-punching of the Artificer can be a tremendous asset, depending on your loadout.

*'''Mordian-Pattern Carapace Armor''' - ''Level 12''
** Armor Rating: 37
** Ability: Executioner Heavy Turret (40 energy; deploys an anti-infantry heavy turret that rapidly fires plasma blasts. These blasts deal area-of-effect damage at a long range)
***At a glance, a heavy turret with a Plasma Cannon seems like a wonderful idea. Sadly, it's nowhere near as awesome as it sounds; the turret is bugged and does barely any damage due to lacking any armor penetration, to the point where the Heavy Bolter turret out-damages it to single targets, which means that in general it's not very good at killing things. Thankfully, the turret does splash damage, which means its damage ratio can kick up significantly if it can draw a bead on closely-clustered enemies. Whilst it generally is outperformed on this by the Tarantula Missile Turret and Vanquisher Turret, the Mordian turret does have its rare uses, especially when backed with Stormtroopers, where its massive energy costs become much less of a problem. Sadly, it offers poor protection and no trait bonuses, which limits how useful it can be.

*'''Armageddon-Pattern Carapace Armor''' - ''Level 16''
**Armor Rating: 30
**Ability: Vanquisher Heavy Turret (40 energy; calls down a turret with a powerful anti-tank cannon that fires at long range and has a large area-of-effect, and penetrates armor)
***Like the Mordian Armor, the Armageddon one focuses everything on its massive turret. Unlike the Mordian, however, the Vanquisher turret from the Armageddon-Pattern Armor is reasonably good at punching holes in single targets, whilst still boasting area-of-effect. Though neither very accurate or powerful, the Vanquisher cannon has armor penetration, which places it well above the Mordian Armor's Executioner Turret at both defeating priority targets and enemy heavies. Though not as useful or cost-effective as the lighter turrets, it's quite effective if placed correctly and can be extremely handy if used right. Note, however: The Armageddon-Pattern Armor has even less damage protection, however, and no traits, which further restrain how useful it can be.

*'''The Black Plate''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Clear up to Wave 10 while holding both strategic points.''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Trait: Black Armor (50% Damage from all melee attacks).
***Once this is obtained, it's the most protective armor in the entire game for the Lord General, though it provides none of the myriad benefits of other armors. Still, due to its raw defense, it's one of the more reliably useful ones, and gives him excellent survivability where he otherwise wouldn't have it.

==Weapons==
*'''Sniper Rifle''' - ''Default''
**Ranged Weapon
**8.0 DPS
*** A Default Weapon, but this one is actually fairly powerful. It still sucks compared to what's available even at the start however.

*'''Laspistol''' - ''Default''
**Ranged Weapon
**0.50 DPS
*** This default weapon is only used by the Lord General if you use the Inspired Power Sword or Protective Power Sword. It does reasonable damage and has half-decent range, but fires only once every 10 seconds and has middling accuracy.

*'''Deadly Sniper Rifle''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**12.0 DPS
**+1 Energy regen
**Ability: High-Powered Shot (20 Energy, Shoot a long-range, high damage, armor piercing shot)
*** This weapon is terrifying both for its meaty regen rate, massive damage per shot, phenomenal range, and ability that lets it fire off a very powerful round for high damage against a single target. It's very useful early on, can be fired very effectively from inside buildings, and has excellent precision - all factors that conspire to make it one of the best weapons the Lord General gets. Unfortunately, the Sniper Rifle has a horrid fire rate, so it leaves the Lord General incredibly vulnerable to being overrun.

*'''Bolter''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**9.0 DPS
**Traits: Zealous (Any attacks the Lord General makes recovers health up to 25% of the damage caused), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
*** The Bolter is a mediocre ranged weapon that can give some survivability via the weapon's Zealous trait, since each shot you land heals the Lord General slightly. It also gives Bolters to any attached Guardsman Squad, and though the actual damage this gives the squad is only a slight upgrade, it's still better than their base lasguns. Overall, a good early-game choice that tends to slide into irrelevance as better becomes available.

*'''Flamer''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Ignore Cover (Attacks with flamer cannot take cover from damage), Area of Effect (Flamer attacks in large radius), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
*** You're not taking this weapon for its use on the Lord General, though his position often means it's a fun option. The main reason you're taking this is to back it up with Guardsman squads, who will also get these weapons, and thus will allow you to triple-stack flamers in order to quickly melt through packs of oncoming mooks. Flamers are an excellent early option and one that retains its effectiveness throughout the Lord General's career, and are one of the more reliable special weapons as well, making them definitely worth using.

*'''Inspiring Power Sword''' - ''Level 1''
**Melee Weapon
**19.0 DPS
**Traits: Inspiring (Attacks with power sword increase damage and speed of nearby allies), Armor Piercing (Attacks with the power sword can ignore armor values up to 100), Melee Charge (Any charges towards an enemy knocks the enemy down)
*** Melee Lord General builds are rare, but this weapon and the other Power Sword exist to make good use of them. Backed with the Medallion Crimson and Duelist Honors, the Inspiring Power Sword can actually inflict an ungodly amount of damage - almost as much as a kitted-out Space Marine Captain, in fact. Pair yourself with strong melee allies that will get stuck in alongside you (such as a Hive Tyrant's minions or your own Ogryns), and this weapon will quickly show you how powerful it can be if used right.

*'''Protective Power Sword''' - ''Level 6''
**Melee Weapon
**10.0 DPS
**+50 Armor
**Ability: Clear Out (25 Energy, strike ground to cause radial damage and knockdown.
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks with the power sword can ignore armor values up to 100), Melee Charge (Any charges towards an enemy knocks the enemy down)
***Whereas the Inspiring Sword is the powerful melee weapon, the Protective is a versatile one. It's still quite strong, and has armor-piercing, but has no special attack chance. Instead, the Protective Sword can use a tiny AOE melee ability that throws enemies around, and gives a meaty defense bonus. Paired with the Black Plate, this can give the Lord General remarkable survivability against enemies that would otherwise be threatening, such as Banshees and Hormagaunts.

*'''Grenade Launcher''' - ''Level 13''
**Ranged Weapon
**5.5 DPS
**Ability: Blind Grenade Volley (20 Energy, fires a volley of Blind Grenades, stunning nearby enemies)
**Traits: Knockdown (Attacks with Grenade Launcher knock down enemies), Area of Effect (Grenade Launcher attacks in large radius), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
*** Easily the best Guardsman Wargear Package weapon, the Grenade Launcher boasts a host of useful advantages: Indirect fire, knockdown power, and blast effects just to name a few. Even better, it gives the use of a special attack in Blind Grenade Volley, which can be a godsend when it comes to helping allies in the field, and gives the General a weapon with Wargear Package that's actually worth taking on its own merits. When you need a weapon that can knock down, cause AOE damage, and fire over obstacles, you've got something of a winner, and its long range atop this is just gravy. Absolutely worth using, especially alongside the Heavy Bolter Turret Armor.

*'''Plasma Gun''' - ''Level 18''
**Ranged Weapon
**7.3 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Plasma Gun attacks ignore armor ratings up to 100), Wargear Package (Any weapon specialist retinue will equip this weapon alongside the Lord General)
***At a glance, the prospect of a Plasma Gun for the General seems awesome. Unfortunately, the one for Last Stand isn't all that great. It has no special abilities attached, isn't that good a standalone weapon, and is generally an extremely poor weapon outside of its element (attacking heavy infantry and vehicles). Against almost anything else, every weapon the General has that isn't his basic Laspistol will do more damage - a fact true for the Guardsman variant as well. Whilst this weapon absolutely rocks for later waves in Bloodied Coliseum and late-game Anvil of Khorne in general, the bulk of the levels it's more of a hindrance than an advantage, though it can be ''extremely'' effective should you stack damage boosting abilities (Medallion Crimson, Take Aim!, Commissar).

*'''Ornate Vostroyan Shotgun''' - ''DLC''
**Ranged Weapon
**10.5 DPS
**Ability: Solid Slug (25 Energy, fires a monstrously powerful solid slug at the target, causing huge damage to the target and knockback). Has a small area-of-effect which inflicts knockback.
**Traits: Area of Effect (Shotgun attacks in large radius)
***Fantastic weapon, and one of the best alternatives, at the endgame phase, to the Deadly Sniper Rifle. Though this weapon is weaker per-shot, does not improve energy regen and has a much shorter range, it has a stronger special attack, fires more frequently and has AOE damage. The Solid Slug, when combined with "Take Aim" can almost one shot the force commander in Bloodied Colosseum, further combined with the "Medallion Crimson" it can take out a Wraithlord. All of these conspire to make it one of the nicer weapons for use with non-guardsmen.

==Accessories==
*'''Honorifica Imperialis''' - ''Level 1''
**+25 Armor, +2 Health Regen
***This is a very good item for solo Lord Generals, as it makes them considerably more survivable. Humorously, you can use this item to achieve 200 Armor with the Imperial General if you stack this with the Black Plate/Cadian Armor and the Protective Power Sword, making you one of the most unreasonably durable melee fighters in the game.

*'''Refractor Field''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Refractor Field (25 Energy, Projects a field around the Lord General, allowing nearby allies to reduce the damage they take from ranged weapons.
*** Incredibly useful when it becomes available due to the General's frailty, giving him roughly twice the survivability against ranged weapons - and it both covers minions/allies and stacks with the likes of the Tau Commander's Shield Drone and cover benefits. Whilst not quite as potent as the [[Last Stand - Chaos Sorcerer|Sorcerer]]'s scrolls, Refractor Field will actually travel with the General, making it quite useful.

*'''Medallion Crimson''' - ''Level 3''
**Traits: Combat Expert (Lord General gets +30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***The only way to boost your offense other than Duelist's Honors. Affects all weapons, as well as abilities like Rocket Run, High-Powered Shot, and Clear Out. One of the best overall wargear options for its level, since everyone needs offense.

*'''Repair''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Repair (20 Energy, repairs targeted vehicle or structure)
*** Worthless. Whilst repairing one of the towers or such on Coliseum or Anvil may be a cool idea, the bigger reason to use it - to repair turrets - is moot when you can deploy another Missile or Heavy Bolter turret for a scant 5 energy more than Repair costs. Ultimately a waste of an accessory slot on a class which already needs all of them.

*'''Sergeant''' - ''Level 9''
**All Minion squads get a sergeant or sergeant-analogue equipped. Guardsmen get a standard sergeant, Catachans get a Catachan Sergeant, Ogryns get a Bone'ead, and Storm Troopers get a Storm Trooper Veteran Sergeant.
**Traits: Minion Battle Hardened (Minion Squads gain +100 Armor and +2 Health Regen)
*** Incredible survivability upgrade, that adds not only a bonus to your squad, but gives them a specific leader unit that provides extra firepower and an added squad member, which means the survivability it gives the squad is actually much higher than it originally appears. In the case of the Ogryn squad, the added squad leader gives a flat 33% increase in DPS due to its low number of squad members, and in the case of the Storm Trooper squad, it gives a 25% increase for the same reason.
***Note: The health regen only applies out of combat (so basically never).

*'''Reinforce''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Reinforce (10 Energy, signal Valkyrie to deploy a reinforcement to troops within the area.
*** Reinforce is just bad, for the same reason Repair is: It's far easier to just call in a new squad and not have to devote an accessory slot to this ability. Unlike Repair, this one is actually energy-efficient, since reinforcing costs less than replacing the squad, but it's still not worth devoting one of a very-contested item slot for.
**** Alternative opinion: Though this is not obvious from the description, Reinforce restores ALL squads in the area -- so if three Lord General players are in the arena, Reinforce replenishes members for all three players. In addition, it allows the Lord General to get around some of the energy problems associated with repeatedly summoning turrets and infantry.

*'''Commissar''' - ''Level 14''
**All Minion squads get a [[Commissar]] equipped.
**Traits: Minion Combat Expert (Minions get +30% melee and ranged damage)
***Gives a nice bonus to your minions' offense and adds a Commissar with a Bolt Pistol and Power Sword to the squad. As is the case for the Sergeant, this exponentially boosts the survivability and damage output of the squad as well, since the added Commissar counts as an added squad member. Works especially well with Guardsmen and Ogryns, but has a tendency to cause an AI Bug for the Catachans in which they will throw grenades far less often.

*'''Take Aim!''' - ''Level 17''
**Ability: Take Aim! (20 Energy, Grant an ally a temporary, but significant, damage boost)
***Excellent ability. Cast it on your allies or minions to crank their damage output, or on yourself to improve your own. It even bolsters special attacks like High-Powered Shot. For maximum lulz, cast it on a Chaos Sorcerer or Mekboy and watch the resulting insanity unfold.

*'''Rocket Run''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Rocket Run (50 Energy, Valkyrie swoops in for rocket pod runs, causing a line of explosions that cause catastrophic damage and knockback to everything in the blast range.)
***This is the ability worth taking Lord General through its paces for: An airstrike that utterly wrecks any target caught in the open, and can one-shot the wave 16 and wave 20 foes of Bloodied Coliseum. Be forewarned, however: It's the one of the most expensive such ability in the game and will leave the Lord General with minimal energy, even under the best of circumstances. However, like the Mekboy's Roks, it's so powerful that there's just almost no reason to ''not'' take it along.

*'''Duelist Honors''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill 2500 enemies''
**Trait: Duelist (Increases melee damage by +40%
***Melee Lord Generals behold: This is your upgrade. It stacks with Medallion Crimson to make the Lord General - ironically - one of the hardest-hitting melee combatants in the game when using the Inspiring Power Sword. The weaker Protective Power Sword isn't quite as good with this upgrade, but it can still make excellent use of it, since the benefits also effect Clear Out - as does the Medallion Crimson. Ranged Generals, however, benefit virtually nil from this.

*'''Ursidae Trophy''' - ''DLC''
**Traits: Minion Inspired Will (All Minions gain +15 health), Superior Provisions (All turrets gain +150 Health).
***This interesting little upgrade gives a basic health boost to your minions, and gives a sizable health buff to your turrets. Early on, this is incredibly handy for further bolstering both your turret and your minions, but as time goes on, it slowly loses its appeal as the Commissar becomes available and the added survivability and damage the squad gets from the Commissar generally outclasses the durability boost the turret gets. There are exceptions, of course - if you use the Vanquisher Turret, the Ursidae Trophy can pay for itself by simple virtue of keeping the powerful anti-tank turret in the field that much longer.

==Commander Items==
*'''Guardsmen''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Deploy Guardsmen (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of Guardsmen to be Minions)
**Traits: Minion Weapon Specialist (Can equip weapons that the Lord General has)
***Guardsmen are basic - they have poor health and survivability without upgrades, and they have poor damage overall. However, they have the highest squad size and can use some of the Lord General's goodies when he uses certain weapons. Bolter gives them much better early-game damage, whereas the Flamer gives them both AOE and an answer to melee foes. Grenade Launcher gives them blast effects, range, and knockdown, whilst Plasma lets them fight armor. They get much better when led by a Sergeant and/or Commissar, so use them well.

*'''Catachans''' - ''Level 10''
**Ability: Deploy Catachans (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] to be Minions)
**Traits: Minion Knockdown (Can knock enemies down), Minion Explosives Expert (Catachans occasionally throw grenades)
***Catachans don't get weapon upgrades and have a slightly smaller squad size, but they do much more damage, are good in close-combat, have weapons that possess knockback, and periodically chuck demolition charges. With a Commissar, the damage of their Shotguns and melee attacks can really surprise you, and their grenades will reliably wipe squads of lesser foes, whilst a Sergeant will make them remarkably tough. Unfortunately, they tend to suffer an AI glitch where Catachans that have a Commissar will throw grenades less often. Interestingly, Catachan Minions retain their detector capability from Multiplayer, and are able to "see" infiltrating enemies, such as the Scouts or Lictor from Bloodied Coliseum.

*'''Ogryns''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Deploy Ogryns (35 Energy; deploys a squad of [[Ogryn]]s to be minions)
**Traits: Minion Healthy (Ogryns have increased health)
***Ogryns are the toughest minion you get and one of the more interesting. Though they have a painfully limited squad size, they do heavy damage and are massive damage sponges. They are especially unique in that the Sergeant for them is a 33% offensive improvement, as well as a defensive buff; throwing on both the Sergeant and Commissar can result in their damage output and survivability improving dramatically. More so than the other minions, Ogryns tend to wander off to do their own thing; Generals needing a minion more willing to bunker down are encouraged to look elsewhere, but those planning to capitalize on close-combat will love the damned oafs. Call your BONE'EAD [[Gav and Bob|Gav]] for some extra feels.

*'''Storm Troopers''' - ''Level 20''
**Ability: Deploy Stormtroopers (35 Energy, Deploys a squad of storm troopers to be Minions), Tactical Withdrawal (6 Energy, lets the Lord General flee from the area)
**Traits: Special Ops (-25% Energy Costs)
***Ironically, despite being pretty good individually, Storm Troopers are one of the weakest minions, even with a built-in Hot-Shot Lasgun upgrade. This is because of their tiny squad size. However, the reason one uses Storm Troopers isn't their contributions to a fight - it's their passives. Storm Troopers give the only mobility upgrade the Lord General gets, as well as an ability that decreases all energy costs for absolutely everything the Lord General uses. This allows them to reign in how much dropping turrets or High-Powered Shots cost, and can make Rocket Run much more viable. As is the case for the Hive Tyrant's Synapse, this advantage cannot be overlooked, and completely changes the scope of how one can use the Lord General. Do note, however, that the Retreat ability the General gets tends to bug out a bit; you can still be hit by melee attacks during it.

==Progression==
Only one thing can be said to surmise the Lord General's progression: ''"Stick with it; it gets better."''

Starting out, the Lord General is almost embarrassingly bad, and your ability to do much of anything in a fight is severely limited. Generally, your choices at the start of your career are limited to the Vostroyan Shotgun (if you have it), the Deadly Sniper Rifle, or the Inspiring Power Sword. Use any of these three at the start, and build yourself up as you go; this class doesn't even begin to get good until level 5, and with a staggered progression, you're likely to die frequently under the best of circumstances. Soldier on through the time of suck, however, and your patience will be quickly rewarded: Honorifica Imperialis and Refractor Field will help you survive substantially longer, the Medallion Crimson will boost your damage, and the first Turret Armor in the Master-Crafted Carapace Armor means you'll finally have something for the enemies to target that isn't you. Finally, when you hit level 5, you unlock Guardsmen, and for the first time, your build options open up.

At Level 5, you can finally start using your minions and wargear package items to their fullest. The DLC Ursidae Trophy really comes into its own here, since Sergeants won't be available for a while yet. Flamers are particularly nice at this phase of the game, though Bolters are good too, increasing your survivability and are a bit more reliable at whittling down medium-tier threats like Tyranid Warriors and Warp Spiders. For early-game setups, the Bolter Turret, plus Flamers or Bolters and Guardsmen, means a lot of dead mooks and can seriously help tip the tide in your team's favor, especially if they have decent gear themselves. You will, however, lack a suitable means to handle heavier threats for a bit yet, so be smart.

Level 6 through 8 brings in the Protective Sword - which isn't all that good yet - and the Artificer Carapace Armor, which means access to a Missile Turret. This turret doesn't suppress, but does much better damage, can damage vehicles and heavy armor, and has knockback, which makes it very handy when paired with your Guardsmen, especially if they're using Bolters. Soon after you'll get the Sergeant at level 9, which massively buffs your guardsman squad and should be used IMMEDIATELY, regardless of what your Guardsmen are packing. At level 7, you get Repair, but, as has been discussed earlier in this guide, it is not worth using and should be avoided.

Importantly, at level 10, you unlock Catachan Jungle Fighters. These are much stronger than Guardsmen at a glance, boasting better damage output, heightened damage in close-combat, and the ability to periodically chuck demo charges. Though Guardsmen are still highly useful at this phase, this represents another broadening of the Lord General's abilities, as Catachans offer you a way to take a weapon that doesn't have Wargear Package and for your minions to not suffer for the loss. This means you can finally once more take the Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, or one of the two Power Swords without hesitation, since the Catachans won't be hindered by the change in pace. The Heavy Bolter Turret works better at this stage in the game, due to the Catachans' tendency to throw explosives and the fact that literally all the non-wargear package weapons you can use are good against armor on some level or another (either having the Armor Piercing trait, high single-shot damage and the High-Powered Shot ability, or the Solid Slug ability).

With level 11 comes reinforce, and with it, another ability to ignore. Mordian armor comes next, at 12, and though its Plasma Turret seems like a simply grand idea, in practice it's not very good and should generally be avoided unless using it for very specific build loadouts. Level 13 brings you an awesome weapon, however, in the Grenade Launcher, and brings the Guardsmen once more up to the fore. Boasting long range, knockdown, and area-of-effect damage - plus a handy special ability - this upgrade makes Guardsmen much better than anything you've seen thus far - but Catachans remain incredibly handy, so you have legit choices at this stage in the game. The Commissar then comes in at 14, giving you the option of increasing the punch of the Catachans or Guardsmen even further, and giving new life to the flamer and bolter Guardsmen if you were a fan of those in the early game. The Tarantula Missile Turret comes into the fore once more, since now if you use those you can use the added anti-vehicle punch.

Level 15 brings Ogryns, and with them, another tactical choice. Now you can set yourself up with dedicated close-combat builds, and the fun of the Power Swords comes front-and-center. Stick with your Ogryns and use the Inspiring Sword to make for a powerhouse offense, or use the Protective Sword and help keep swarms off them. Alternately, you can take the Shotgun or Sniper Rifle and provide a different kind of help to your Ogryns entirely, since like the Catachans, they won't suffer for the change of pace, and if you don't like the Ogryns, nothing's stopping you from continuing to use Catachans or Guardsmen still, since they've been thoroughly buffed by every piece of gear you've gotten up until now.

Level 16 brings Armageddon-Pattern Armor and its Vanquisher Turret; if you weren't a fan with how chintzy the Missile Turret can be, you now have an option literally guaranteed to butt-fuck enemy heavy armor, though it weakens your own defenses as part of the bargain, so it comes with drawbacks. Level 17 brings Take Aim!, which lets you buff any of your squads - the benefits of buffing a Grenade Launcher, Ogryn, or Catachan squad is obvious, but the benefits of buffing an allied player or yourself can be even more dramatic. By now, you have choices galore, and this class is starting to become immensely fun to use, as you can see.

Level 18 brings you the final Guardsman weapon in the Plasma Gun. It's not all that great in a vaccuum; its damage is mediocre and it's out-performed by other weapons against lighter armor - but it is easily buffed to hilarious levels by the Commissar, Medallion Crimson, and Take Aim! ability, making it a great choice for this stage in the game and one of the only dedicated anti-armor builds you can field. Here, the Bolter Turret once more shines, since it's the best anti-infantry turret and it holds lower-priority threats in place for you to cut down piecemeal.

Level 19 brings you Rocket Run - your own personal nuke strike. It costs all your energy and takes a very contended-for accessory slot, but the prospect of one-shotting the Wave 16 Bloodied Coliseum heroes makes it worth the price of admission. It's also great for making giant packs of enemies not exist, which is also nice, but - again - its monstrous energy costs hinder how useful this could be.

With level 20, you have Stormtroopers, and with this, your choices have fully expanded, since their presence means lowered costs for what you use. You can now run a build focusing on High-cost nukes like Rocket Run, any of the Guardsman builds, Catachan builds, or Ogryn builds, and have your choice of turret or defensive options. At this point, finally, you have the ability to dick around with this class to its truest potential, and see what this class can really do.

==Tactics and Strategy==

* '''On the Power Swords and Melee Builds (and Ogryns, too):'''
**Planning to run a close-combat General? Congratulations - you're about to try something that takes some serious balls. But then, you're Imperial Guard - this isn't new to you. Start by using Ogryns as minions; they're tough as balls and will keep the heat off of you and on them, where it rightly belongs. From here, the choice is between your Inspired Sword and your Protective Sword - and both are amazing in their own right. The Inspired Sword will bolster the damage of both you and your Ogryns, whereas the Protective Sword, due to a meaty defense boost, will keep you in the fight. In general, the Inspiring Sword is a better choice for strictly melee builds; the damage is close to double and though Clear Out is quite useful, the Inspiring Sword's special attacks functionally make up for the loss. On the other hand, the survivability boost is nothing to sneeze at, and can result in you surviving that much longer. What wargear you take is up to you, but consider Duelist Honors; the massive +40% attack boost is significantly higher than the +30% of the Medallion Crimson, though if you're feeling bold you can use both at the same time for a relentlessly dickish amount of damage that can eclipse a melee-focused Space Marine Captain. Sadly, though, your Ogryns will suffer for it.

* '''On Guardsmen - [[THIN YOUR PAINTS|ADJUST YOUR LOADOUTS]]:'''
**If you're going to use Guardsmen (and there's plenty of valid reasons to do so), it goes without saying that you should ''always'' use a weapon with Wargear Package (the Bolter, Flamer, Grenade Launcher, or Plasma Gun). If you do not, you are dramatically undercutting these units' primary purpose on the battlefield. Each has a very narrow, but very unique role: The Bolter improves damage against most targets and makes your Lord General more survivable. The Flamer gives you area-of-effect damage and ignores cover, making it the bane of light infantry, especially when all three flamer cones overlap. The Grenade Launcher has blast damage, indirect fire, long range, and knockdown, making it one of the best choices overall, but poor in close-combat, whilst the Plasma Gun gives you the only really dedicated anti-armor minion. Guardsmen benefit immensely from the Sergeant, the Ursidae Trophy, and the Commissar - It is generally good form to use two of these together in order to maximize their potential (with the Commissar and Sergeant getting top billing, though the Trophy has its supporters), though many forces are serviced just fine by using only one - after all, one can make up for the loss of the Sergeant/Ursidae Trophy with the likes of Refractor Field. Take Aim! should be used if you are using Plasma, due to the manifold effects of damage stacking, and a Turret of your choice should be used to round out the lot.

* '''On Catachans - No Need for Wargear Package:'''
**Catachans eliminate the need to use Wargear Package weapons, and strip away much of their appeal - they have a host of built-in advantages (detector capability, grenades, knockdown), do plenty of damage, and you're only hindering yourself if you take a bolter or flamer when using them. Instead, go with your other weapons: The Deadly Sniper Rifle, Vostroyan Shotgun, and the Power Swords. The lone important exception to this is the Grenade Launcher - it continues to provide knockdown, blast damage, and Blind Grenade Barrage - so it's still a valid choice, if somewhat underpowered compared to the others. All of them offer very unique advantages to the Catachan squad itself - because the Catachans provide both knockdown and periodic area-of-effect damage, the Sniper Rifle shines nicely for dealing with targets they aren't quite so equipped to handle, such as Zoanthropes and Wraithguards. The Shotgun offers similar damage-spiking through Solid Slug, but does area-of-effect damage rather than massive single-target damage slowly - meaning that it helps them wear down smaller targets quicker and provides excellent damage against bigger ones when the situation merits, though solid slug can be pricey to spam repeatedly. Because Catachans are solid in close-combat, the Inspiring Sword and Protective Sword both have very important uses - the Inspiring Sword lets you buff your Catachans to hilarious levels, and give truly unpleasant surprises to heavy melee units like Wraithguards and Dreadnoughts, who were convinced your guard unit was easy prey - and because of the fact that Catachans can knock foes down, makes the General much more likely to chase down enemies. The Protective Sword works the other way, protecting your men from threats that try to overwhelm, like Hormagaunts and Banshees. Clear Out quickly gets rid of these threats, whilst your survivability raises as part of the bargain.

* '''On Storm Troopers - Ability Use Is Key:'''
**When you use Storm Troopers, throw out any thoughts of using them as a primary damage force. They come pre-armed with Hot-Shot Lasguns, and actually do pretty good damage individually - sadly, you only get 4 of them per squad, not counting the Sergeant/Commissar - meaning that getting the most damage and performance out of them in combat actually requires attaching both. Whilst this can be effective, and indeed, there are builds based around making this happen, it is a woeful use of the Storm Troopers' true power: Rather, their true potential comes from the mobility boost via retreat, and the massive ability cost reduction they provide. In one stroke, this makes every important ability that costs energy - Refractor Field, Take Aim!, High-Powered Shot, Blind Grenade Barrage, Solid Slug, and most importantly, Rocket Run and the Heavy Turret Armors - infinitely more viable by simple virtue of making them cheaper to cast. Paired with the Sniper Rifle (for energy regeneration), Vostroyan Shotgun (for versatility), and a decent turret, this can provide a solid formation for an ability-heavy Lord General, and is the favored config for many high-tier players.

* '''On Achievements:'''
**''A Trail of Blood Behind Him'' (Which unlocks the Duelist Honors) is easy enough. Kill 2500 enemies as the Lord General.
**''Unshakable'' (Which unlocks the Black Plate) is a challenge that largely boils down to managing your resources, as the Lord General is not powerful enough to take down enemies up-front in most cases. If you need a turret, deploy it when you need it. If you need troops, make sure that you equip the ones best suited for the build and be sure to bring a Sergeant and a Commissar when possible, as keeping them alive will be your top priority.

==Builds==
 
{{Build LastStand
|num=1
|title=KABOOM
|minlevel=20
|minlevelnote=
|maps=Any
|weapons=Deadly Sniper Rifle
|armor=Cadia Pattern Carapace Armour
|accessories=Honorifica Imperialis, Medallion Crimson, Rocket Run
|commanderitem=Storm Troopers
|details=This build gives you everything you've craved for in the last 19 levels! A pity you can use it only in the end, but this is so powerful (making it really difficult to NOT achieve at least 400 kills per game, and usually going over 500 with ease, while easily keeping you alive) and so fun to use that it really make it worth to suffer to achieve level 20 with the Lord General. This build gives you great survivability, thanks to the Honorifica Imperialis and Tactical Withdraw, while your ranged attacks can wreck any target in the game. Did we mention the Deadly Sniper Rifle has ABSURD range and 100% precision rate? Well, it does. But the ice on the cake is the Rocket Run. Oh, the Rocket Run...First thing first, the damage it does is insane and the area it covers is huge and, with the energy regeneration and the special ops traits, you can essentially spam it, using it every time it is ready and making you clear hordes faster than almost any other hero in the game, with the only exception of, maybe, the Chaos Sorcerer. Maybe. Meanwhile, you can pick the bigger targets with your sniper rifle, making you a veritable one-man army! Finally, the Storm Troopers can be a good distraction, although you should only use them as meat shields, since they aren't worth much more and will not saves you in a pinch. That's what the Tactical Withdraw is there for. If you are ever uncertain within Rocket Run and Storm Troopers, don't think too hard and go with Rocket Run. Just be careful of the few things big and tough enough to survive both your sniping and airstrikes....like Necron Overlord clones.
}}
{{Build LastStand
|num=2
|title=Stunlock away
|minlevel=17
|minlevelnote=
|maps=Any
|weapons=Grenade Launcher
|armor=Armageddon Pattern Carapace Armor
|accessories=Honorifica Imperialis, Take Aim, Sergeant
|commanderitem=Guardsmen
|details=This build is a poor man's KABOOM! (see build 1), but it still gets the job done. This little number combines the best of both worlds, with the tank-popping goodness from the Vanquisher Turret combined with the "fuck yo infantry" from the triple nades means that you are versatile when it comes to dishing damage, especially if you use Take Aim on your Guardsmen. Arguably, on higher waves when the enemies just bury you under weight of numbers, you're just holding the line for your more dps-inclined buddies, but you're [[Imperial Guard]]. [[Fluff|You're doing that already.]]
}}
{{Build LastStand
|num=3
|title=Frontline Tank
|minlevel=15
|minlevelnote=(requires ''Unshakable'' and ''A Trail of Blood Behind Him'' achievements)
|maps=Any
|weapons=Inspiring Power Sword
|armor=Black Plate
|accessories=Duelist Honors, Commissar, Refractor Field
|commanderitem=Ogryns
|details=Let's do the exact opposite of common sense and make a tough build. Inspiring Sword and Duelist Honors are incredible together; throw them on a build with Black Plate (for survivability), Refractor Field (ditto), and Ogryns with a Commissar means you are capable of leading the charge right into the enemy's face and then wrecking them. With no fancy special attacks or turrets to waste energy on, pretty much everything can be pumped into Refractor field once your Ogryns hit the field, which usually means enemies will have trouble dealing more than chip damage to the general. It's rare that a melee build can outgun a Space Marine Captain's, but this one manages. Better still, it's available comparatively early. If you wish to move damage between ogryns and yourself, switch between the Commissar and the Medallion Crimson.
}}
{{Build LastStand
|num=4
|title=Support Sniper
|minlevel=17
|minlevelnote=(requires ''Unshakable'' achievement)
|maps=Any
|weapons=Deadly Sniper Rifle
|armor=Black Plate
|accessories=Sergeant, Take Aim, Honorifica Imperialis
|commanderitem=Ogryns
|details=You have good range, burst dps, and knock back from your primary weapon; while retaining immense tanking/kiting/tying up of enemies. This is a good middle ground between a tanking build and dying because you walked in front of a guardsman mob wearing the Armageddon Pattern Carapace Armor. Take aim does work on your Ogryns but it is best used on your allies or their summoned ranged mobs, such as AOE Hive Tyrants, Gun Turret Tau, or Chaos Sorcerer minions. You will not win kill awards with this build but you will certainly win a lot of games.
}}
{{Build LastStand
|num=5
|title=The Catachan Method
|minlevel=19
|minlevelnote=
|maps=Any
|weapons=Deadly Sniper Rifle
|armor=Master-Crafted Carapace Armour
|accessories=Sergeant, Medallion Crimson, Rocket Run
|commanderitem=Catachan Devils
|details=This build goes about keeping the improved damage output of late-game builds but focusing more on the sheer utility of the Catachan Devils squad, which is arguably the game's best. Attaching a Commissar to this squad tends to screw with its AI, causing it to focus more on shooting and punching things instead of what it should be, but attaching a Sergeant instead means it will continue to chuck bombs for you in addition to firing off their shotguns! By attaching the Sarge, you also boost their survivability, giving them better overall toughness, so for now, [[Catachan|leave the lash at home]] and go with the sure thing. Call in your buddies, blow up and snipe everything that looks at you funny, and airstrike anything that pisses you off, because you [[Meme|love the smell of napalm in the morning]].
}}
{{Build LastStand
|num=6
|title=Cadian Finery
|minlevel=18
|minlevelnote=
|maps=Any
|weapons=Plasma Gun
|armor=Mordian-Pattern Carapace Armour
|accessories=Commissar, Medallion Crimson, Take Aim
|commanderitem=Guardsmen
|details=Available only late-game, but quite useful for going for the final push, this build focuses on damage stacking Plasma Guns. Commissar is there by necessity, to give your grunts the punch they need, while Take Aim can crank their damage a bit higher and give them better ability to crush enemy armor (or your own if the situation warrants it). Medallion Crimson is on you because the Plasma Gun is ordinarily an awful weapon, but can at least do decent damage in the General's hands if he uses Take Aim. Mordian turret gives you extra boom against squads.
}}

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Imperial Guard]]

Last Stand - Hive Tyrant

2018-03-19T02:10:47Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Builds */

The [[Hive Tyrant]] is the [[Last Stand]] hero for the Tyranids.

==Overview==
The Hive Tyrant is a unique, multi-role hero in [[Last Stand]]. Capable of summoning minions - and able to fight competently at short or long range, it can accomplish many different roles at once depending on its loadout and equipment, from close-combat bruiser to minion-heavy commander to offensive and defensive support. More so than other heroes of the same ilk, the Hive Tyrant eschews flash and fancy equipment and techniques in favor of being able to get a job done reliably. You won't rain destruction across the battlefield with Eldritch Storms or unleash missile barrages with the Tyrant - you will instead be a centerpoint of offense or defense in and of yourself, capable of devastating enemy squads or vehicles, ripping open threats in close-combat, and wearing opponents down with minions.

The Hive Tyrant excels at two roles in Last Stand, above all others: Battlefield control, and area denial. Control is established through a large number of disrupting, suppressing, stun, knockback, and fear effects the Tyrant gets - whether via the likes of armor abilities like The Horror, or accessory abilities like Seismic Roar, Psychic Scream, and the use of its minions, which are fewer in number than that of the [[Last Stand - Lord General|Lord General]], but much higher in quality. This makes the Tyrant a virtual master of support, as it can keep a team in the fight by dramatically hindering the ability of enemies to wear down its teammates. Area Denial is a huge advantage of the Tyrant as well - though it lacks an ability like the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]]'s mines or [[Last Stand - Tau Commander|Shas'O]]'s snare traps, Toxic Miasma allows it to make a sizable patch of ground dangerous or even lethal for enemies to cross for quite some time - by stacking it with itself, even huge hordes of enemies can be dissolved in short order, protecting vulnerable teammates and dealing with clusters of problematic opponents.

Unlike other Heroes with support or minion elements, like the [[Last Stand - Farseer|Farseer]], the Hive Tyrant is also a superior direct combatant. Even its weakest melee options are perfectly capable of tearing weaker opponents to shreds, and its ranged options contain some of the best AOE, anti-infantry, and anti-armor weapons that Last Stand has to offer. It also boasts a powerful offensive ability in the form of Bio-Plasma. Its strongest melee weapon is capable of turning the Hive Tyrant into the single strongest close-combat fighter in the entire game, bar none, and with one of the largest health and armor pools in the entire game - behind only the Tau Commander kitted-out for durability - the Tyrant is a force to be reckoned with. Even the Necron Overlord isn't as tough as this bastard. As an even bigger upside, the Tyrant is permanently Fearless ''and'' Unshakable.

However, being as big, tough, and flexible as the Tyrant comes with drawbacks. It's a very big creature, and indeed, the biggest hero in [[Last Stand]]. This makes him a very large target and surprisingly vulnerable to area-of-effect weapons. It also means that the Tyrant can't take cover except to reduce the number of shots coming at him from a specific angle. He's also terribly slow and with only two ways to improve mobility (Articulated Carapace and Thornback), he can easily be targetted by enemy firepower for all his durability and utility. Careful balance is required to get the most out of this easy-to-get-into, but hard-to-master Tyranid hero.

==Armor==
*'''Carapace''' - ''Default''
**Armor: 105
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Standard armor. Like all placeholders, it sucks, but is pretty good as far as default armor goes.

*'''Poison Cysts''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 150
**-14% Speed, +50 health
**Ability: : Toxic Miasma (25 Energy: Emit a toxic cloud that poisons a large area. Nearby enemies take damage over time equal to half of the Hive Tyrant’s maximum health over 20 seconds.)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Offering one of the largest armor bonuses and one of the most genuinely useful abilities the Hive Tyrant gets for crowd control, Poison Cysts also offers a massive health bonus as well - it is, without exception, one of the best armors in the game for the Tyrant. Toxic Miasma sprays a cloud that does damage over time; multiple applications of Toxic Miasma stack, so if all else fails, dropping a pair of these can be what ends a horde of charging Banshees or the like. The toxin ignores armor for the most part, as well, giving it limited anti-armor potential.

*'''Extended Carapace''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 144
**-14% Speed, +25 Health
**Ability: Bio-Plasma (10 Energy, shoots a ball of bio-plasma at a target, does splash damage)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***At a glance, Extended Carapace looks awful - it offers lighter armor, less health, and an ability much weaker than Toxic Miasma. Bio-Plasma, however, is much cheaper than Toxic Miasma, recharges faster, and has absolutely brutal synergy with the Tyrant's other wargear. Bio-Plasma benefits from both Implant Attack ''and'' Toxin sacs, enabling it to annihilate infantry targets, and the roiling bio-plasma blast, when upgraded, can easily wreck armored targets. The plasma ball's travel time and AOE take getting used to, and are much less exploitable than the likes of Toxic Miasma, but on the right build, this armor is deceptively powerful.

*'''Bonded Exoskeleton''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor: 134
**-14% Speed, +75 Health, +50 Health to minions, +2 Minion Health regen
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Bonded Exoskeleton has reasonably heavy armor - enough that the loss from the other two armor types is essentially negligible - and offers the largest health boost, which means it's the best at keeping the Tyrant alive, albeit at the expense of missing out on an ability. The bigger advantage is the absolutely enormous buff to Minion survivability it gives; with Bonded Exoskeleton, Genestealers are substantially harder to kill, and Raveners and Warriors are much more survivable - to say nothing of the meaty buff this gives to the Tyrant Guard. It's the single best armor to pair with Toxin Sacs due to the HP bonuses. A great upgrade for a commander Tyrant.

*'''Articulated Carapace''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor: 114
**Ability: Horror (20 Energy, Forces enemies to fall back)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Swift (+15% Speed), Minion Swift (+25% Speed to minions)
***This one has less defense and no health boosts, but is one of only two carapaces with no speed penalty - rather, it gives you Swift, instead. Indeed, between the lack of the penalty and the application of Swift, this makes a Tyrant with this upgrade roughly 50% faster than normal - an advantage that carries over to the likes of Thornback and makes the Tyrant much harder to pin down. The availability of The Horror, however, and the version of Swift given to Minions, makes this one of the best overall support armors. If properly used, the amount of control this offers is fantastic, and it allows you to eschew Toxin Sacs on a given build - an enormous advantage when fighting the comp on Coliseum. Use it well.

*'''Reinforced Chitin''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor: 98
**- 14% Speed, +25 Health, +80 Minion Armor
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Reactive Armor (Tyrant temporarily gains +10 Armor each time it is attacked, stacking up until +300)
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Does not work in Chaos Rising and early versions of Last Standalone. Does in Retribution and current updated versions.
***Reinforced Chitin gives you increasingly tough armor the more you're attacked, allowing you to become harder to kill as a fight drags on, and which gives a very useful minion defense upgrade as part of the bargain. When maxed out, Reinforced Chitin offers incredible protection - almost 50% more defense than even a kitted-out-for-defense Tau Commander - and it offers a health buff, to boot. Even better, it also gives Minions a substantial defense buff. In practice, however, Reinforced Chitin is incredibly situational. The buff requires several hits before it even equals the basic armor types, and units with Searing, Corroding, or Armor Piercing attacks will continue to deal damage to you normally in spite of your heavy defense. This armor combines well with Bio-Feedback based builds, where tanking lots of hits while invulnerable is commonplace and the extra armor helps between summonings. The minion armor buff also gives you more control over when your minions die- ie, your stealers won't all be killed while they are on cooldown. And if they are, the extra 300 armor helps you stay alive those extra few seconds.

*'''Thornback Carapace''' - ''DLC''
**Armor: 190
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Barbed Armor (Any who attack the Tyrant take 20 damage for each attack)
***This is an armor which doesn't look very good at all when first viewed - it has massive armor - the heaviest of any Tyrant subtype, in fact - but no ability and no Health boost. In exchange, Thornback has one of the most absolutely vicious passives in the game. Anyone attacking the Tyrant in melee takes 20 points of damage - each and every time. This retaliatory damage is enough to easily kill lighter threats like swarms of Hormagaunts and Ork sluggas, and reduces the threat Banshees pose somewhat, since a Banshee can die in hitting a Tyrant with this in about 3 hits - though sadly, this heavy defense isn't so helpful against opponents with Armor Piercing or Corroding attacks, where the lack of a health boost makes itself especially well-known. Where the Thornback Carapace shines is as part of a caster build or feedback build - pair this thing with Psychic Scream and/or Warp Field, and it can absorb considerable punishment whilst amplifying any damage done, and pairing it with feedback lets you deal damage whilst lounging about, dangerous to touch. As an added bonus, it's the ''other'' carapace that lacks a speed penalty, although you still won't move as fast as a Tyrant with Articulated Carapace.

==Weapons==
All the weapons the Tyrant has take up both hands, so you'll have only one choice out of a rather vast and rather surprising list of weaponry available.

*'''Scything Talons''' - ''Default''
**Melee Weapon
**8.2 DPS
***Default weapon. As per all of them, it absolutely sucks and exists as a placeholder, mostly.

*'''Enlarged Scything Talons''' - ''Level 1''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Minion Armor Piercing (Minion attacks can ignore enemy armor up to 100), Minion Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***With roughly twice the damage per second of Scything Talons, and a pair of highly useful upgrades for minions, the Enlarged Scything Talons is a mediocre set of melee weapons in terms of actual quality, but provides immense benefits for your minions. It's your only non-DLC/achievement weapon to start, which kind of sucks, but the high special attack rate and huge bonuses to Minions means this gets better and better the further in your career you go.

*'''Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 4''
**Ranged Weapon
**13.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee and Ranged attacks ignore up to 240 Armor)
***One of, if not ''the'' best overall weapons in the entire game for the Tyrant, due to the Venom Cannon's high rate of fire, relatively high damage, and monstrous Armor Piercing trait. Between its huge range and ability to take on all comers, this biomorph delivers. It has a secondary - and highly useful - feature as well - the Armor Piercing trait applies to the Hive Tyrant's melee attacks with this weapon as well - which means that it can out-melee several dedicated melee biomorphs. All of this conspires to make the Venom Cannon an intimidating weapon, with few real drawbacks. It tends to get eschewed for more specialized builds, since pretty much all of the biomorphs are useful on some level or another, but if you lack better options, no Tyrant ever went wrong with a Venom Cannon.

*'''Heavy Talons''' - ''Level 10''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Knockdown (Attacks can knock down enemy infantry), Minion Unshakable (Minions are immune to knockback)
***At a glance, this weapon seems like a tweaked Enlarged Scything Talons - same damage, and a different benefit (unshakable minions) for your minions. Unlike the Enlarged Scything Talons, however, the Heavy Talons offers a number of benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. It enables the Tyrant to easily knock foes down, allowing the Tyrant to essentially stunlock enemies that aren't vehicles/unshakable in close combat. Even better, the Heavy Talons boas the second-highest Special Attack rate of all melee mesomorphs, which means that the Hive Tyrant is less prone to suffer from being mobbed and is likely to use more attacks that cover an area. It's a very specialized choice, but has a place with several dedicated melee builds. A noticeable downside, each attack will bounce and enemy outside the range of the rest of your attacks so your slow tyrant ass has to waddle back up to it and slap it again, this is especially frustrating and humiliating when fighting the force commander.

*'''Crushing Talons''' - ''Level 14''
**Melee Weapon
**14.6 DPS
**+1 Minion Health Regeneration
**Traits: Feedback Zeal (Whenever a minion attacks, Tyrant gains back 3 Health)
***This weapon is weaker than the other two claw weapons seen thus far, but it provides one of the most absolutely amazing benefits for any tyrant who's willing to let their minions do the talking. Feedback Zeal can give the Tyrant back considerable amounts of health from its minions, especially when using Genestealers - it adds immense survivability to what was already an incredibly survivable class. Better still is that it also bolsters the health regeneration of your minions, letting them stay in the fight longer. The Crushing Talons also boast the highest Special Attack rate of any melee biomorph, somewhat eclipsing how big a drawback its lowered damage output could otherwise be. Paired up with Bonded Exoskeleton or Articulated Carapace, this can be one of the most directly-useful weapons a Hive Tyrant can use.

*'''High-Toxin Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 19''
**Ranged Weapon
**5.7 DPS
**Traits: Zealous Leadership (Attacks with Venom Cannon heal minions up to 5% of total Health), Area of Effect (Cannon attack damages over small area)
***A deceptive weapon. Its DPS seems rather low, but this is because it does damage in an area, and in rather large chunks, potentially applying Searing to several of them at once. As a major side benefit, it heals your minions each time you land a shot. Suffice to say, this is an amazing benefit for a minion-heavy Tyrant; fire into a crowd and you can keep even your most fragile minions in the fight or that much longer. Sadly, it doesn't have the basic Venom Cannon's huge damage or close-combat capability, so it requires much more care to get the most out of...
Melee attacks also heal you minions where ever they are on the map so force attack the tanks on anvil and heal your raveners when they burrow strike into trouble.

*'''Rending Stranglethorn''' - ''Achievement: Kill 20 enemies in 1 second''
**Ranged Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppression (Can suppress enemies)
***A great ranged weapon, especially early on, with amazing synergy with Bio-Plasma and Toxin Sacs. This biomorph works especially well if you're teamed with other players who would otherwise lack a means of suppressing enemies - its relatively high damage and sizable AOE, paired with indirect-fire capability and huge range makes it an outstanding weapon for ranged support, especially given its relatively high accuracy. Additionally, it has a highly useful secondary feature - in close-combat, the Rending Stranglethorn does knockdown with every melee attack, meaning that in addition to being an excellent fire support weapon, it can be used to stun-lock high-profile threats, like the Lictors on Anvil of Khorne.

*'''Behemoth Claw''' - ''Achievement: Kill 25 Superheavy Units ([[Khaine|Avatar of Khaine]], [[Swarmlord]], [[Baneblade]], [[Land Raider]], [[Great Unclean One]], Ork Battle Wagon)''
**Melee Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**+50 Armor
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks ignore armor)
***The Behemoth Claw is, without exception, the single strongest melee weapon in the game, exceeding even the Sorcerer's Cataclysmic Hellblade and the Mekboy's Zzap Knife. It isn't capable of burst damage like the Staff of Fate or Warp Spear, but it doesn't need to be - unlike these powerhouses, the Behemoth Claw is entirely raw damage - it completely bypasses armor, gives a huge bonus to your own defense, and thus boasts one of the highest DPSes of any close-combat weapon in the game, as well. Nothing survives this beast when the Tyrant has it equipped. Sadly, getting it is quite difficult, but it's definitely worth your time and patience. When you need to punch a rampaging Dreadnought in the balls, accept no substitutes.

*'''Devourer Cannon''' - ''DLC''
**Ranged Weapon
**7.4 DPS
**Traits: Gestate (Units hit by Devourer Cannon take 30 damage over 6 seconds)
***The Devourer Cannon is relatively weak on its own - it has a sluggish fire rate and does acceptable damage per hit, but without armor piercing or AOE, it's a rather lackluster weapon. Thankfully, the Devourer Cannon has other advantages - if it hits a unit, ''all units in that squad will be infested and take damage over time''. This effect also procs with Searing, allowing you to do considerable damage to squads with every single shot. Unfortunately, it's not an actual AOE weapon and has rather poor damage against armor (the infested damage isn't anything to write home about when targeting the likes of a Dreadnought). It's worth noting that whilst this weapon can be quite powerful, it's also terribly risky to bring to the Coliseum if not prepared - it'll easily wreck the shit of any minion-focused ally you have along, potentially ruining the efforts of allied Lord Generals or Tyrants, and it's a nightmarishly effective weapon against low-HP heroes like the Sorcerer. Be aware. Gestate kills don't count so you only "kill" one or two in each squad. Also melee heals your pets like the high-toxin venom cannon so can give them a boost with force attacks in between waves or when surrounded.

==Accessories==
*'''Seismic Roar''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Seismic Roar (15 Energy, stuns nearby enemies)
***Mediocre at the outset. It's a decent ability for one available at the start, but it has a huge lag before properly firing off and a surprisingly small radius of effect. If timed correctly, it's extremely effective for buying a few seconds of breathing room, but it's extremely easy to misjudge the timing on and wind up with a face-full of Banshees or Stormboyz if you screw it up. Synapse makes this ability infinitely better and much more versatile, since it costs bugger all and can be fired off whilst using ranged weapons. It's generally avoided by most high-level builds, but has some use on ranged Tyrants.

*'''Genestealer Nest''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Call Genestealer (10 Energy, summons 3 [[Genestealer]]s as minions)
***Genestealers are your first minion and the only one you deploy in groups. Individually, they're extremely fragile, tending to die ''extremely'' quickly if targeted unless you're packing the likes of Bonded Carapace or Reinforced Chitin. On the plus side, they're fast, extremely inexpensive, available right from the get-go, and have a built in Corroding trait when they attack that temporarily weakens enemy armor with each hit. Paired with their quick attack speed, these vicious little beasts are amazingly powerful with Enhanced Scything Talons and can easily act as impromptu medics with Crushing Talons. They're the go-to minion for Feedback Invulnerability chains. For raw efficiency, they're a tough minion to beat, even if they tend to wither under fire, and they make excellent screeners when dealing with large enemy groups or ranged units.

*'''Toxin Sacs''' - ''Level 2''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Searing (Tyrant's attacks deal additional damage over time, scaling with the Tyrant's maximum health. Stacks with itself. Minions also get this trait.)
***A great upgrade for not only the Tyrant, but all of your minions, especially the Tyrant Guard. Causes both your - and your minions' - attacks to do 10% of the user's max HP over 2 seconds. This burn damage is particularly vicious when from ranged weapons from the Tyrant, and, due to it scaling off HP, it works much better for the Tyrant Guard and Warrior than for the Ravener and Genestealers. Make a note that this biomorph will make your doppleganger in Wave 16 a much bigger threat, due to the comp getting higher max health. Curiously, this upgrade also effects the Bio-Plasma attack from Extended Carapace.

*'''Tyrant Guard Nest''' - ''Level 3''
**Ability: Call Tyrant Guard (20 Energy, summons a [[Tyrant Guard]] as a minion)
***Sometimes called "Pangy" by fans, due to the Tyrant Guard's resemblance to a Pangolin, the Tyrant Guard is the second summon you get, and quite a good one. The Tyrant guard is a competent melee attacker, and more than this, the single toughest minion you get as a Hive Tyrant. It can survive for quite a while between its high health and heavy armor, and it has the ability to taunt enemies to draw their attacks away from the Hive Tyrant. Its enormous healthpool means that the Tyrant Guard benefits more from Toxin Sacs than it does Implant Attack, and that it's the most powerful minion you have if blown up with Explosive Decomposition. Note, however, that its damage output, whilst satisfactory, isn't great, and it's actually the weakest of Tyrant's minions on offense otherwise. Use it well.

*'''Warrior Nest''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Call Warrior (15 Energy, summons a [[Tyranid Warrior]] with scything talons as a minion)
***Tyranid Warriors aren't as tough as Tyrant Guards, nor as easily-spammed as Genestealers, but they make up for this with raw damage - in close-combat, they are easily your strongest overall minion, and the fact that they have a built-in minor Armor Piercing trait makes them even better. Seeing these guys eviscerate Space Marines or other heavy infantry isn't uncommon, and the fact that they have a leaping attack with knockdown means they often wind up drawing fire by getting in the enemy's face. Whilst they tend to go down fairly quickly, they're the second-toughest minion the Tyrant gets and probably one of the most consistently useful. Due to moderate health, they benefit more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs. Their innate armor piercing stacks with that from Enlarged Scything Talons - this enables them to act as vehicle harassers. Overall, an excellent minion with few real weaknesses. More specialized builds may have particular use for the other choices, but the Warrior benefits from pretty much all of the Tyrant's support equipment but doesn't explicitly ''need'' any of it to be effective. As such, it's useful on nearly every build and works well as a "set it and forget it" extra body for damage and distraction.

*'''Warp Field''' - ''Level 8''
**+50 Energy
**Ability: Warp Field (Force field that makes attacks drain energy instead of health)
***Warp Field's easy to ignore; energy shield abilities are normally stunningly mediocre. Warp Field, however, is ''vastly'' better than the others. The shield from Warp Field is not only more efficient than the others, and not only is on a class that needs it way more - taking it essentially doubles the Hive Tyrant's energy pool, which otherwise cannot get ''any'' improvements. The amount of survivability Warp Field potentially adds is ''insane'' - when paired with Psychic Scream, Toxic Miasma, or The Horror, and especially Synapse, Warp Field really comes into its own. Make a note - Warp Field doesn't shut off automatically when your energy runs out, which makes it easy to misjudge how much juice is left in it. Be careful.
*** Important Note: Multiple sources around the Internet claim that Warp Field reduces incoming damage by 50% when active; in-game observations seem to corroborate this claim. However, it is unclear as to whether this damage reduction effect is dependent on the Hive Tyrant's energy levels (that is, whether or not Warp Field reduces incoming damage when the Hive Tyrant's energy has been depleted). Gameplay evidence strongly suggests that Warp Field converts damage to energy at a 2:1 ratio, meaning that the Hive Tyrant loses 1 point of energy per 2 points of damage while Warp Field is active (meaning that 100 energy effectively represents 200 health). This is consistent with how energy shields of various kinds (such as the Iron Halo) work in Skirmish mode, and would provide a 50% damage reduction while Warp Field is active. If accurate, this means that if the Hive Tyrant's energy is depleted, an active Warp Field will ''not'' provide any reduction to incoming damage. Any builds incorporating Warp Field should consider this possibility.

*'''Implant Attack''' - ''Level 9''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Combat Master (Tyrant has +30% Melee and Ranged damage), Minion Combat Master (Minion has +30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***Implant Attack provides not only much of the benefits of Enlarged Scything Talons (and indeed, stacks with it), but it gives those benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. This boost is absolutely ''amazing'' for Bio Plasma and gives immense benefits to both the Warrior and Ravener. Implant Attack is much less risky to use than Toxin Sacs, since it does ''not'' give disproportionate upsides to your doppleganger like Toxin Sacs does, and the fact that it doesn't require any use of HP-boosting armor means it's viable for more builds.

*'''Psychic Scream''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Psychic Scream (10 Energy, reduces attack and defenses of nearby enemies)
***Without a doubt, one of the most powerful and unsung abilities in last stand. For 10 energy, it all-but-cripples the offense and defense of every enemy in a massive radius around the Hive Tyrant (specifically, it reduces the damage output of effected enemies by 75% and increases the damage they take by 25%) - and it only gets better the more enemies it hits. If you're not a fan of Feedback Invulnerability Spam, and you like an ability which helps all your allies, lean in this direction.

*'''Bio-Feedback''' - ''Level 12''
**+25 Health
**Traits: Feedback Invulnerability (When a minion dies, Tyrant gains 5 seconds of invulnerability)
***If you bring something cheap to kill like Genestealers or a Warrior, than this will easily be your uber-tool to glory. Decried as cheese by some, but considering how much Last Stand loves to have its enemies openly fucking cheat, those claims can be safely ignored. Use it for powerful - if risky - invulnerability exploitation and laugh as you simply never die for as long as you can maintain energy.

*'''Explosive Decomposition''' - ''Level 16''
**+50 Health, +20 Minion Health
**Trait: Minion Death Throes (When minions die, they explode, dealing damage over an area. Damage scales based on the sacrificed minion's max health)
***If you're more fond of the minions with a tendency to die, like Genestealers, Raveners, and Warriors, this is potentially very useful - it makes your minions generate a potent toxic cloud each and every time one dies - whether because you re-summoned your minions, or because an enemy killed them. If stacked with HP boosting gear and Searing, this can be quite potent - simply re-summon minions for raw damage, or use them as sacrificial damage sources by throwing them at the enemy and forgetting about them.

*'''Ravener Nest''' - ''Level 18''
**Ability: Call Ravener (Energy, Summons a [[Ravener]] with a Deathspitter as a minion)
***The Ravener is the second-most fragile minion, being a little easier to kill than the Warrior despite the Ravener having slightly more health. However, it's by far the strongest minion offensively. Its dual [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|Deathspitter]]s are incredibly powerful, capable of shredding lighter foes in seconds, and it can burrowstrike in order to disrupt and damage groups or get into position. This minion goes from being simply strong to being obscenely powerful with upgrades - with the right ones, this minion is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most dangerous ones - if something of a glass cannon. Even a Carnifex goes down in about half a dozen shots from a fully-kitted-out Ravener.

==Commander Items==
More than any other hero, the Tyrant has perhaps the best Commander Items in the game with the deadliest boosts to his playstyle.

*'''Thornback''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability - Charge (10 Energy, Tyrant charges over to destination)
***Causes the Tyrant to charge forward, hurling aside enemies in its way. This ability destroys some cover pieces, and has shorter range than it initially appears to. It also does little real damage, and has a reputation for being inefficient. Its main advantages are that it's the only mobility boost the Tyrant has until Articulated Carapace, and the only Commander Item ''period'' until Level 15. It can actually be useful all game long even past this if you know what you're doing - after all, it's the only mobility boost a Tyrant gets - but due to its finicky nature and tendency to stop short if you hit level geometry or large enemies, often isn't all that great for the most part.

*'''Synapse''' - ''Level 15''
**Reduces all energy costs by 50%.
***Simple, simple, simple. Never has such a simple upgrade been so absolutely ''amazing''. Synapse makes everything you do more viable - Toxin Misama spamming, Firing off Bio-Plasma, Psychic Scream, etc - It lowers the cost for absolutely everything and the advantages this provides to almost every build that doesn't specifically ''require'' the boost of Evolution or the mobility enhancement of Thornback can and will find a use for it.

*'''Evolution''' - ''Level 20''
**+2 Health Regen
**Traits: Minion Resilient (+50 Minion Health and +2 Minion Health regen), Minion Swift (+15% Minion speed), Minion Combat Expert (+25% Minion Melee and Ranged damage)
***It's rare that any Commander Item, let alone another of the Hive Tyrant's - is capable of out-performing the sheer, balls-out amazing power of Synapse, but by god, this one does. Evolution gives absolutely massive bonuses to your minions - roughly equal to having Articulated Carapace, Implant Attack, and Bonded Carapace's passives attached to your minions - ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Even better, it stacks with those, for extra awesome, and provides an always-useful health regen bonus to the Tyrant itself. Boosting survivability, boosting minions, and potentially turning even Genestealers into death machines, Evolution is one upgrade that is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, you get it at level 20.

==Tactics & Strategy==
* '''On Achievements:'''
** ''Heavy Hitter'' (Which unlocks the Behemoth Claw) is an achievement that tests your skill on the Anvil of Khorne, as that's the only place where you'll be able to take down Superheavy Units. Even if you're only able to kill one or two of them, you'll be making progress. The real bugger is just making it there.
** ''Megakill!'' (Which unlocks the Rending Stranglethorn) is something that requires the use of either the Devourer Cannon, Bio-Plasma, or Poison Cysts, as these are the only tools the Tyrant owns ''other'' than the Rending Stranglethorn itself that can kill that many enemies in that span of time. Target a pair of high-number, low-health units with the Devourer Cannon (cultists on Anvil are ''ideal''), cluster up a bunch of enemies into a choke-point for Bio-Plasma, or camp a spawn during an Imperial Guard or Ork Wave with Toxic Miasma. Any of these three will earn you the Megakill award easily.

* '''On Minions:'''
** '''[[Genestealer]]s''' are your first available minion, are close-combat focused, and the only minion you get more than one of. As far as Minions go, they're not much to write home about on paper - they lack the things that make pretty much all of the other Minions better choices. They do less damage, and perhaps most annoyingly, they're ''excessively'' fragile. Indeed, they are barely more survivable than guardsmen. What they have in return is that they boast the highest attack rate of any minion creature. They have innate corroding effects on their melee attacks (they temporarily debuff enemy armor when they hit), but the effect is relatively minor and won't usually change the tide of battle. Genestealers as a whole will thus have two main attractions: The fact that you get three of the damned things per cast, and their relatively low cost. In addition: they are comparatively fast AND, as melee units, can lock ranged units in melee, thus potentially shutting down damage from a single ranged squad (though impossible to control directly, they tend to attack nearby enemies when they spawn, so deploying them carefully provides some level of control, though their AI can be unpredictable in this regard). Another curious merit they have that is often under-appreciated is their tendency to lock exceptionally powerful and dangerous enemies into their overly extravagant sync kill animations. It can buy you some few precious seconds when avoiding Dreadnoughts, Carnifexes, and the Avatar of Khaine while they spend several seconds showing off their melee talents to their friends. Meanwhile your new Genestealers are back to going choppy on everything else. Unbeknownst to a lot of players, enemy units are not completely invincible while sync killing; searing and corrosion will continue to liquify them, and the several stacks of searing they acquire while distracted will continue to devour their health bar.
***Genestealers become ''very'' attractive if paired with sacrificial abilities - Explosive Decomposition or Bio-Feedback. Indeed, they're central to both Feedback Invulnerability and Minion Bomber builds due to their extremely cheap cost and the quick cooldown of their summon. They turn into a ''very'' different threat, however, the second you get Evolution and pair this up with literally any other minion buff - keep a keen eye out for Bonded Exoskeleton, Articulated Carapace, Crushing Talons, Implant Attack, and Toxin Sacs. Though Searing damage seems counter-intuitive for them, the fact that they attack so quickly means it builds up quickly and doesn't give a damn about armor. They actually become halfway survivable with a bit of support, especially if you're using the High-Toxin Venom Cannon or Fire on their intended targets with the Devourer Cannon or Stranglethorn to soften them up. If all three Genestealers focus their attacks on one target, they can often do more damage than almost any other minion, but care must be taken given their small size and low health pool; without Evolution and Minion buffs, they're solely useful as screening troops or suicide minions, and don't expect them to do the former very long.
**'''[[Tyrant Guard]]''' Are your second minion. These guys are the "tanks" of your minions, having by ''far'' the highest HP and defense. In fact, seeing these things stay standing in the craziest of circumstances isn't unheard of. They have strong melee attacks, but with awkward hit rates that render them squarely average as a melee combatant. Their big edge is actually the fact that they refuse to die, and in fact, use a Taunt ability to draw attacks to them and away from you. In [[Last Stand]], this is a very useful feature, since any attacks directed at the oversized pangolin and not your Hive Tyrant is are ones you don't need to worry too much about. His high health pool renders him a natural choice for Searing, but with a mediocre attack rate, he's only so-so as an offensive choice. You choose the Tyrant Guard to be a meat wall that attacks. As an interesting note, The Tyrant Guard is also ''the'' most powerful minion to use for a Minion Bomber build due to his massive HP count.
***Uniquely, the Tyrant Guard doesn't change all that much when given Evolution. His attack power goes way up, as does his mobility and survivability, but none of this really matters to the reason you chose the damned thing to begin with, which is his tanking for you. Thankfully, that goes way up as well, making him one of the better utility minions. The Tyrant Guard may never solo certain high-profile enemies or dominate battles like the Warrior or Ravener, but his role - keeping you alive - is arguably more critical. They tend to shine brightest in the mid-game, where Evolution isn't available yet and the various assets the Tyrant Guard brings to the table make it the most valuable minion by a head and a hair, but they'll start to flag at level 20.
** '''[[Tyranid Warrior|Warriors]]''' are your first dedicated combat minion that aren't the Genestealers. The Warrior is fast, aggressive, and unlike the Genestealers has a special attack - it can leap into the battle to knock a target down. Even better, it is ''significantly'' stronger than the Genestealers and has a minor Armor Piercing trait. However, whilst quite fast and strong, he also is a melee fighter only, and has an abysmal health pool - whilst he is much tougher than a Genestealer, the fact that you get only one of him means that he's easily [[Tarpit]]ted and worn down. In essence, with this guy you trade the squad numbers of the Genestealers for putting all your eggs in one basket with a single Warrior.
*** Warriors initially are good for squad disruption and single-target damage. They are much more likely to survive close-combat with tougher opposition than the Genestealers, though the fact that you only get one means they tend to melt against ranged units. Early on, they're ideal carriers for Explosive Decomposition (due to their natural tendency to get in the enemy's face), and their high damage output means excellent synergy with Implant Attack. They really come into their own, however, when you have Evolution. Evolution bolsters these guys to an almost absurd degree, making them easily able to butcher enemies and take on small squads of opposition without trouble. Throw on minion buffs and Warriors are the second-most damaging minion, as well as durable enough to take abuse. Do note, however, that they aren't as durable as Tyrant Guard and will die with shocking regularity until fully kitted out. Interestingly, they're one of the rare few units that benefits more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs, owing to their high damage, but with their having the second-highest health of your minions, they can use Searing damage just fine as well.
** '''[[Ravener]]s''' are your last minion and arguably the most powerful. They're the only ranged minion as well, armed with a twin-linked [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons#Deathspitter|Deathspitter]]. They do significant damage with this attack, are competent in close-combat, and possess the unique ability to "burrowstrike" and damage and disrupt enemy units. They're also one of the fastest minions. However, what you get in damage and speed with this guy, you lose in durability - it's roughly as durable as the Warrior, whilst being both a larger unit and one that tends to draw ranged fire towards it due to being a shooter. This unit is as high in the level tree of the Tyranids for a reason - it's a staple of most minion builds owing to its considerable power and utility, though it's extremely fragile.
*** Evolution is practically a requirement for getting the most out of these bastards. The amazing part is that they're strong enough that if you load them with literally NOTHING but minion buffs, they can arguably win wave after wave for you. Seeing them gun down entire squads in a few volleys, melt Wraithlords into puddles, and punch gaping wounds out of the errant Carnifex is ''not'' unheard of. Without the all-important Evolution upgrade, Raveners struggle heavily; they can do decent damage, but their damage is notably less and not anywhere near as good against armor. With their survivability also taking a hit, their fragility often tends to impress itself on you. As such, the best option for the Ravener is to load it up with Evolution, or shelve it in favor of the other minions, which tend to be more useful in the mid-game (before Evolution becomes available).

==Builds==

'''BUILD 1 - INVINCIBILITY LAUGHING OUT LOUDS'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback, any minion summoning (Genestealers recommended because of how cheap they are, especially ''with'' Synapse), maybe Explosive Decomposition.
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' The big draw to this build is that you can kill your minions and re-summon them again, not only making them a cheap near-infinite shield thanks to Synapse and Bio-Feedback, but also a walking source of bombs if you decide to equip Explosive Decomposition. Armor, on the meantime, is a largely open choice, though Poison Cysts could help with clearing out some swarms. Weapons are also largely open, but talons and claws better utilize the free invincibility.

'''BUILD 2 - SUPPORT TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (20 if Evolution)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream, Tyrant Guard Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse or Evolution

'''Explanation:''' If invuln-spamming Genestealers isn't doing it for you, and whilst there's a certain beauty to that to be sure, you may prefer a hands-on approach. Don't worry - /tg/ has your back. There's something to be said for a far more frontline build designed to work with teammates - and good god, does this build deliver. Venom Cannon has absolutely monstrous armor-penetration and high damage, whilst Poison Cysts gives you armor and health to spare - as well as the Tyrant's single greatest crowd-control move. Psychic Scream can effectively turn entire ranged force groups that would otherwise be terrifying (such as the Marine Squads on Wave 6 of Bloodied Coliseum) into a complete non-issue by crippling their attack and defense. This build easily can support an unoptimized team, and turns into complete murder when paired with a Tau Commander that has a shield drone: Bunker down in the shield-field and spam the hell out of Toxic Miasma the second enemies get close. Tyrant Guard is there to draw fire, something it excels at.

'''BUILD 3 - INFECTION TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Explosive Decomposition, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This is a high-level build well-suited for squad support. Devourer Cannon's gestate affects an entire squad and stacks with Toxin Sacs. Throw in the Ravener for ranged damage and you can kick back and relax as your larvae-shooting gun quickly mulches squads and slowly grinds down even heavy enemies into submission.

'''BUILD 4 - MORE LIKE RAPE-VENER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Enlarged Scything Talons
*Armor: Articulated Carapace
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Implant Attack, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:'''Every single game needs some kind of "Nutter" build that makes absolutely no sense but somehow works well on its own merits, such as the infamous [[Daemonhunters|Krazypantzoff Walker Army of Doom]]. This is one of the most spectacular in Last Stand, and it's disturbingly powerful. The general gist is simple: create the single most powerful Ravener you can muster, and back off as it kills FUCKING EVERYTHING. With this loadout, the Ravener will kill any conventional enemy in one shot, a Wraithlord in 2-3 bursts, a Carnifex in 6, and a Warboss in less than ten. Vehicles, infantry, nothing can survive more than a few barrages from your hideously over-powered Ravener of doom, and all you need to give up for it is the ability to do much of anything but summon the damned thing. Articulated Carapace is, in a weird case of irony, the best armor for this build - The Ravener benefits from doubled Swift, as well as Fearless, and perhaps most critically, you have one target that you absolutely NEED to use Horror on in Wave 16 - your counterpart's Ravener, to take it out of the fight.

'''BUILD 5 - NIDZILLA'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Extended Carapace (provides Bio-Plasma)
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health)
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' This build is both effective and ludicrously fun to play. Bio-Plasma spreads Searing, so what it doesn't kill on impact, it kills over time. You're reasonably durable with Behemoth Claws and Psychic Scream, and you're also reasonably mobile with Charge. You don't need Synapse because none of your abilities cost more than ten energy, and you hit like a truck against single targets and against blobs. On the downside, you ARE fragile without support, and Bio-Plasma requires careful aim. Keep this in mind and play conservatively. On the other hand: with support, you are essentially death incarnate.

'''BUILD 6 - PSYCHIC MONSTROSITY'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (16 if Explosive Decomposition, and requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement')'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Thornback Carapace
*Accessories: Warp Field; Psychic Scream; (Implant Attack, Toxin Sacs, or Explosive Decomposition)
*Commander Item: Thornback (for mobility) or Synapse (to reduce energy costs)

'''Explanation:''' This build is powerful, flexible, and durable. When Warp Field is active your energy effectively provides 200 extra health, and you have ways to deal with both large groups of melee units (which die simply by attacking you) and powerful single targets (which you can dispatch with melee attacks). Be conservative with your energy usage, because your energy is also your health when Warp Field is active. Try to maintain Psychic Scream consistently on a large number of mobs (further enhancing your endurance), and abuse line-of-sight to restore your energy where possible. Use Charge for mobility as-necessary; if your team composition emphasizes stationary gameplay (for example, if your team includes a Lord General), consider swapping Thornback for Synapse to reduce the energy cost of Psychic Scream.
* Though Warp Field and Psychic Scream are mandatory for this build, there is an extent to which your third accessory is more flexible. Toxin Sacs simply adds 10 armor-ignoring damage over two seconds for each melee attack. Implant Attack adds 9 damage (which also ignores armor due to the Behemoth Claws), but the bonus damage provided by Implant Attack transpires instantly; this reduces the number of hits required to kill a mob, thereby allowing you to perform hit-and-run attacks more effectively. Explosive Decomposition provides 50 additional health, which can provide a useful buffer against enemies with attacks that ignore armor, but given that the bulk of your health comes from Warp Field (the damage reduction effects of which may not apply when your energy is depleted; see '''Accessories''' section for more information), even 50 extra health is a comparatively small amount. Ultimately, your third accessory tends to vary based on player preference.

'''BUILD 7 - BOOMSHOT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 18 (But requires 'Megakill!' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Rending Stranglethorn
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health); Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' Though its damage output is not necessarily mind-blowing on its own, the Rending Stranglethorn spreads Searing to whatever it hits, and since you have 225 health, it's doing 22.5 damage per hit to EVERYTHING it hits (in addition to suppressing them). You can take out whole mobs in one shot. The Stranglethorn can also fire over walls, allowing you to abuse line-of-sight. With Charge, you're maneuverable enough to survive (this build doesn't work very well with Evolution, since you can't run when caught in melee), and the Ravener is, as usual, pretty gnarly (though not as gnarly as it could be with Evolution). The only drawback to this build is that the Stranglethorn really doesn't like cover, and your shots can start to become extremely erratic as explosions chew up the terrain. Hence, this build starts to become unreliable towards the late game as craters begin to accumulate.

'''BUILD 8 - MINION BOMBER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton (alternative: Thornback Carapace)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is a variation on the Invulnerable Tyrant, hybridized somewhat with the Psychic Monstrosity mentioned above. The Invulnerable Tyrant relies on minions dying to keep you alive; with the Minion Bomber, your Genestealers heal you while they are still alive. Evolution (and Bonded Exoskeleton, if present) make(s) your Genestealers stronger and beefier, allowing them to do more damage while they're on the field and heal you for longer -- but they are useful even in death due to Explosive Decomposition, which also benefits from their improved health. For this build, both Bonded Exoskeleton and Thornback Carapace are potentially useful; Bonded Exoskeleton provides beefier minions, whereas Crushing Talons can help compensate for the lack of a health buff provided by Thornback Carapace.

'''BUILD 9 - Toxin Sac Abuse Tyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: High Toxin Venom Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Tyrant Guard Nest, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is about searing damage. Bonded exoskeleton and evolution combined give +100 health to minions and +75 to you. The tyrant guard is in this build because he's very tanky here and he has tons of health to make the most of searing. The ravener is in this build due to high health, great damage output and good mobility. The high toxin venom canon makes the +4.0 regen minions even harder to kill and the AOE damage combined with searing makes it quite useful against nearly any enemy. The minions generally last forever. This build is risky on bloodied colosseum, but it's great on anvil. Health raising items like explosive decomp and bio-feedback were left out because of diminishing returns- bonded and evolution have huge synergy with this rest of this build- taking decomp or bio would force you to drop one of the minions, which means a lot less searing damage and less meat between you and the enemy. Bio and decomp work best when used with CHEAP minions like stealers that you can spam again and again.

This build turns most matches into easy mode. With a boss pole mekboy, it's comedic. I actually saw a tyrant disconnect using this build in wave 2 and the minions stayed alive through wave 20, continuing to mulch pretty much everything from boss units to infantry blobs.

'''BUILD 10 - Artillyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Implant Attack, Ravener Nest, Psychic Scream
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' Designed for Gunline support, ideally alongside a Tau Commander, Imperial General, or both. Set up amidst your allies, and use the Venom Cannon's monstrous raw power to demolish enemies that get too close. Ravener is there for allied fire support, and is plenty big a threat with just the doubled Combat Mastery of Implant Attack and Evolution. Psychic Scream and Toxic Miasma help keep melee aggressors away from allies. The armor piercing melee of the Venom Cannon contributes beautifully to this in close-combat as well.

'''BUILD 11 - Support Tank (really unkillable all Arenas)'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Thornback Carapace (DLC)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Genestealer Nest; Bio-Feedback
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Ok easy build, you don't kill like with some other builds, but well you never die, it is quite impossible to die cause you will never run out of energy to spam Genestealer's on quite good positions so your invul is up. Also you can spam Psychic Scream so your even Random Guys or Yourself can easily kill all Targets. When you die with this build you should consider to use hotkeys instead your mouse to spam skills :P. You can easily take aggro from all Melee and even some Range with your melee Attacks, especially behind some range its wise to use the Genestealer's. When Lag or the Delay on Invul hits you, don't panic cause you screamed so no real damage, in Anvil you can easily dispatch while your Teammates lie around the Infantry and then rezz them with Invul on, or just rape the whole Game even if it takes a bit and never Rezz at all, but consider people maybe leave you alone doesn't matter with a bit of skill, time and Target prioritizing you still Solo the whole Last Stand. You survive and while your Invul is up again you get Health back. You also have enough energy to tank wave 20 even without 1 Guy killed from any Map. Have fun and show all, who's the Unkillable, never dying, Immortal Raidboss of the Arena!

'''BUILD 12 - Immortal Toxic Death'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Similar to the Support Tank build, this one is ALMOST unkillable if you're fast enough with hitting Genestealers when off cooldown. It also kills basically anything that gets too close, especially infantry. Watch your Energy with Toxic Miasma, using ALL of it is the most likely way to die as you will have to wait a few seconds to summon minions again and get your shield back. Toxic Miasma stacks however and ignores armor, and despite the energy cost is on a short cooldown... two or three stacks will destroy anything staying on them after a bit of waiting, and a single casting will wreck any infantry around you in a wide area. This is incredibly useful for any large infantry swarm and especially Ogryn swarms on Anvil of Khorne. This owes itself to Bio-Feedback and Explosive Decomposition together adding 75 health, a trait that has amazing synergy with Toxic Miasma, boosting its damage which ignores armor for 20 seconds to everything in a wide area every time it is cast, leaving a huge AoE pool of death for anything caught in it. It will be a fast death for lighter infantry and a slower death for anything heavy, but it will die eventually while you keep spamming Genestealers for invincibility, and the Crushing Talons causes the Genestealers to give a lot of health back while still shredding that armor so your own melee attacks will start to do damage in addition to the poison between castings. It is also effective against your clone on Waves 16 and 20, because unlike you the AI will only re-summon Genestealers when all of them die on their own rather than killing them for the invincibility. This build will turn you into a slow death for anything and everything near you while you will be nearly impossible to kill... just be careful of enemies with big AoEs that can easily chew up your Genestealers as fast as you summon them, as if they die too quickly the cooldown on them will last longer than your invincibility. Position of summoning is often key against enemies like the Space Marine superheavy on wave 20 of Anvil.

'''BUILD 13 - DoT Minion Master'''

'''Minimum Level: 7 or 20'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Warrior Nest, Toxin Sacs.
*Commander Item: Thornback OR (very big "or") Evolution.

'''Explanation:''' This build is about supporting your minions (and sometimes your allies... sometimes) with the insane DoT damage you will be throwing out. With Toxin Sacs and Bonded Exoskeleton your Tyrant Guard will be all-but invincible whilst also dealing respectable damage and your Warrior will be able to survive long enough to make a difference in melee. You will focus on putting the hurt on squads of infantry that can overwhelm your minions. Prioritize large squads over tough, small squads. At absolute worst you will need two shots to wipe such squads in a few seconds. You are tough enough to suffer moderate attacks and energy management will be easy, seeing as the only thing you need to do is recast your minion abilities when they die once every few millennia. Melee and tough, singular units will be a problem (you will require several shots off in order to do ''decent'' damage against) but leave that to your minions and allies to handle. Also, you MIGHT actually want to consider taking Thornback over Evolution. Even without Evolution your minions will be very tough and very killy. If you are good enough at aiming Charge the extra maneuverability will really help once you get in between a rock and a hard place. Otherwise, enjoy mowing down waves of infantry while your demi-god minions tear apart anything in close combat.

'''BUILD 14 - Big Game Hunter'''

'''Minimum Level: 20 (Requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton or Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream.
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' A build that is not exceptionally flashy, but fairly amusing nonetheless. You're probably not going to rack up the kill count, but what you do kill makes all the difference. The build is a little less cheesy than Bio-Feedback and more team friendly since its survivability hinges off the use of Psychic Scream and the Tyrant Guard, both of which make life easier for everyone. The strategy is simple: at the beginning of each wave, lumber your fat ass on over towards the biggest enemy on the map, scream at it, then just punch the fucker until it dies. Ignore everything else unless absolutely necessary. Psychic Scream nukes enemy damage so severely that your improved regen and claw armor will overcome the units you're walking by, and with the Tyrant Guard in your wake he'll usually start drawing whatever is chasing you back to him, and if they couldn't put a dent in you, they definitely won't take down the Guard very easily. You're a laser guided surface-to-asshole missile, chopping Dreadnoughts like tin cans, cracking open Carnifexes, licking the Lictors, swatting the Swarmlord, dismantling vehicles... Even Araghast will go down against you if you catch him off guard. Note that you're susceptible to tarpits without team-mates, so you can pack Poison Cysts if you need to melt the occasional banshee swarm. Bear in mind that weakens the Guard a little. This build can also use Crushing Talons instead of Behemoth Claws, which makes the Tyrant Guard a little more resilient, and gives you an extra trickle of health whenever the Guard shanks somebody. With Crushing Talons you will witness a drastic drop in DPS, meaning that your notable damage source will be the searing stacks.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Tyranid]]

Last Stand - Hive Tyrant

2018-03-19T00:03:52Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Accessories */

The [[Hive Tyrant]] is the [[Last Stand]] hero for the Tyranids.

==Overview==
The Hive Tyrant is a unique, multi-role hero in [[Last Stand]]. Capable of summoning minions - and able to fight competently at short or long range, it can accomplish many different roles at once depending on its loadout and equipment, from close-combat bruiser to minion-heavy commander to offensive and defensive support. More so than other heroes of the same ilk, the Hive Tyrant eschews flash and fancy equipment and techniques in favor of being able to get a job done reliably. You won't rain destruction across the battlefield with Eldritch Storms or unleash missile barrages with the Tyrant - you will instead be a centerpoint of offense or defense in and of yourself, capable of devastating enemy squads or vehicles, ripping open threats in close-combat, and wearing opponents down with minions.

The Hive Tyrant excels at two roles in Last Stand, above all others: Battlefield control, and area denial. Control is established through a large number of disrupting, suppressing, stun, knockback, and fear effects the Tyrant gets - whether via the likes of armor abilities like The Horror, or accessory abilities like Seismic Roar, Psychic Scream, and the use of its minions, which are fewer in number than that of the [[Last Stand - Lord General|Lord General]], but much higher in quality. This makes the Tyrant a virtual master of support, as it can keep a team in the fight by dramatically hindering the ability of enemies to wear down its teammates. Area Denial is a huge advantage of the Tyrant as well - though it lacks an ability like the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]]'s mines or [[Last Stand - Tau Commander|Shas'O]]'s snare traps, Toxic Miasma allows it to make a sizable patch of ground dangerous or even lethal for enemies to cross for quite some time - by stacking it with itself, even huge hordes of enemies can be dissolved in short order, protecting vulnerable teammates and dealing with clusters of problematic opponents.

Unlike other Heroes with support or minion elements, like the [[Last Stand - Farseer|Farseer]], the Hive Tyrant is also a superior direct combatant. Even its weakest melee options are perfectly capable of tearing weaker opponents to shreds, and its ranged options contain some of the best AOE, anti-infantry, and anti-armor weapons that Last Stand has to offer. It also boasts a powerful offensive ability in the form of Bio-Plasma. Its strongest melee weapon is capable of turning the Hive Tyrant into the single strongest close-combat fighter in the entire game, bar none, and with one of the largest health and armor pools in the entire game - behind only the Tau Commander kitted-out for durability - the Tyrant is a force to be reckoned with. Even the Necron Overlord isn't as tough as this bastard. As an even bigger upside, the Tyrant is permanently Fearless ''and'' Unshakable.

However, being as big, tough, and flexible as the Tyrant comes with drawbacks. It's a very big creature, and indeed, the biggest hero in [[Last Stand]]. This makes him a very large target and surprisingly vulnerable to area-of-effect weapons. It also means that the Tyrant can't take cover except to reduce the number of shots coming at him from a specific angle. He's also terribly slow and with only two ways to improve mobility (Articulated Carapace and Thornback), he can easily be targetted by enemy firepower for all his durability and utility. Careful balance is required to get the most out of this easy-to-get-into, but hard-to-master Tyranid hero.

==Armor==
*'''Carapace''' - ''Default''
**Armor: 105
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Standard armor. Like all placeholders, it sucks, but is pretty good as far as default armor goes.

*'''Poison Cysts''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 150
**-14% Speed, +50 health
**Ability: : Toxic Miasma (25 Energy: Emit a toxic cloud that poisons a large area. Nearby enemies take damage over time equal to half of the Hive Tyrant’s maximum health over 20 seconds.)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Offering one of the largest armor bonuses and one of the most genuinely useful abilities the Hive Tyrant gets for crowd control, Poison Cysts also offers a massive health bonus as well - it is, without exception, one of the best armors in the game for the Tyrant. Toxic Miasma sprays a cloud that does damage over time; multiple applications of Toxic Miasma stack, so if all else fails, dropping a pair of these can be what ends a horde of charging Banshees or the like. The toxin ignores armor for the most part, as well, giving it limited anti-armor potential.

*'''Extended Carapace''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 144
**-14% Speed, +25 Health
**Ability: Bio-Plasma (10 Energy, shoots a ball of bio-plasma at a target, does splash damage)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***At a glance, Extended Carapace looks awful - it offers lighter armor, less health, and an ability much weaker than Toxic Miasma. Bio-Plasma, however, is much cheaper than Toxic Miasma, recharges faster, and has absolutely brutal synergy with the Tyrant's other wargear. Bio-Plasma benefits from both Implant Attack ''and'' Toxin sacs, enabling it to annihilate infantry targets, and the roiling bio-plasma blast, when upgraded, can easily wreck armored targets. The plasma ball's travel time and AOE take getting used to, and are much less exploitable than the likes of Toxic Miasma, but on the right build, this armor is deceptively powerful.

*'''Bonded Exoskeleton''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor: 134
**-14% Speed, +75 Health, +50 Health to minions, +2 Minion Health regen
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Bonded Exoskeleton has reasonably heavy armor - enough that the loss from the other two armor types is essentially negligible - and offers the largest health boost, which means it's the best at keeping the Tyrant alive, albeit at the expense of missing out on an ability. The bigger advantage is the absolutely enormous buff to Minion survivability it gives; with Bonded Exoskeleton, Genestealers are substantially harder to kill, and Raveners and Warriors are much more survivable - to say nothing of the meaty buff this gives to the Tyrant Guard. It's the single best armor to pair with Toxin Sacs due to the HP bonuses. A great upgrade for a commander Tyrant.

*'''Articulated Carapace''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor: 114
**Ability: Horror (20 Energy, Forces enemies to fall back)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Swift (+15% Speed), Minion Swift (+25% Speed to minions)
***This one has less defense and no health boosts, but is one of only two carapaces with no speed penalty - rather, it gives you Swift, instead. Indeed, between the lack of the penalty and the application of Swift, this makes a Tyrant with this upgrade roughly 50% faster than normal - an advantage that carries over to the likes of Thornback and makes the Tyrant much harder to pin down. The availability of The Horror, however, and the version of Swift given to Minions, makes this one of the best overall support armors. If properly used, the amount of control this offers is fantastic, and it allows you to eschew Toxin Sacs on a given build - an enormous advantage when fighting the comp on Coliseum. Use it well.

*'''Reinforced Chitin''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor: 98
**- 14% Speed, +25 Health, +80 Minion Armor
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Reactive Armor (Tyrant temporarily gains +10 Armor each time it is attacked, stacking up until +300)
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Does not work in Chaos Rising and early versions of Last Standalone. Does in Retribution and current updated versions.
***Reinforced Chitin gives you increasingly tough armor the more you're attacked, allowing you to become harder to kill as a fight drags on, and which gives a very useful minion defense upgrade as part of the bargain. When maxed out, Reinforced Chitin offers incredible protection - almost 50% more defense than even a kitted-out-for-defense Tau Commander - and it offers a health buff, to boot. Even better, it also gives Minions a substantial defense buff. In practice, however, Reinforced Chitin is incredibly situational. The buff requires several hits before it even equals the basic armor types, and units with Searing, Corroding, or Armor Piercing attacks will continue to deal damage to you normally in spite of your heavy defense. This armor combines well with Bio-Feedback based builds, where tanking lots of hits while invulnerable is commonplace and the extra armor helps between summonings. The minion armor buff also gives you more control over when your minions die- ie, your stealers won't all be killed while they are on cooldown. And if they are, the extra 300 armor helps you stay alive those extra few seconds.

*'''Thornback Carapace''' - ''DLC''
**Armor: 190
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Barbed Armor (Any who attack the Tyrant take 20 damage for each attack)
***This is an armor which doesn't look very good at all when first viewed - it has massive armor - the heaviest of any Tyrant subtype, in fact - but no ability and no Health boost. In exchange, Thornback has one of the most absolutely vicious passives in the game. Anyone attacking the Tyrant in melee takes 20 points of damage - each and every time. This retaliatory damage is enough to easily kill lighter threats like swarms of Hormagaunts and Ork sluggas, and reduces the threat Banshees pose somewhat, since a Banshee can die in hitting a Tyrant with this in about 3 hits - though sadly, this heavy defense isn't so helpful against opponents with Armor Piercing or Corroding attacks, where the lack of a health boost makes itself especially well-known. Where the Thornback Carapace shines is as part of a caster build or feedback build - pair this thing with Psychic Scream and/or Warp Field, and it can absorb considerable punishment whilst amplifying any damage done, and pairing it with feedback lets you deal damage whilst lounging about, dangerous to touch. As an added bonus, it's the ''other'' carapace that lacks a speed penalty, although you still won't move as fast as a Tyrant with Articulated Carapace.

==Weapons==
All the weapons the Tyrant has take up both hands, so you'll have only one choice out of a rather vast and rather surprising list of weaponry available.

*'''Scything Talons''' - ''Default''
**Melee Weapon
**8.2 DPS
***Default weapon. As per all of them, it absolutely sucks and exists as a placeholder, mostly.

*'''Enlarged Scything Talons''' - ''Level 1''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Minion Armor Piercing (Minion attacks can ignore enemy armor up to 100), Minion Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***With roughly twice the damage per second of Scything Talons, and a pair of highly useful upgrades for minions, the Enlarged Scything Talons is a mediocre set of melee weapons in terms of actual quality, but provides immense benefits for your minions. It's your only non-DLC/achievement weapon to start, which kind of sucks, but the high special attack rate and huge bonuses to Minions means this gets better and better the further in your career you go.

*'''Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 4''
**Ranged Weapon
**13.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee and Ranged attacks ignore up to 240 Armor)
***One of, if not ''the'' best overall weapons in the entire game for the Tyrant, due to the Venom Cannon's high rate of fire, relatively high damage, and monstrous Armor Piercing trait. Between its huge range and ability to take on all comers, this biomorph delivers. It has a secondary - and highly useful - feature as well - the Armor Piercing trait applies to the Hive Tyrant's melee attacks with this weapon as well - which means that it can out-melee several dedicated melee biomorphs. All of this conspires to make the Venom Cannon an intimidating weapon, with few real drawbacks. It tends to get eschewed for more specialized builds, since pretty much all of the biomorphs are useful on some level or another, but if you lack better options, no Tyrant ever went wrong with a Venom Cannon.

*'''Heavy Talons''' - ''Level 10''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Knockdown (Attacks can knock down enemy infantry), Minion Unshakable (Minions are immune to knockback)
***At a glance, this weapon seems like a tweaked Enlarged Scything Talons - same damage, and a different benefit (unshakable minions) for your minions. Unlike the Enlarged Scything Talons, however, the Heavy Talons offers a number of benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. It enables the Tyrant to easily knock foes down, allowing the Tyrant to essentially stunlock enemies that aren't vehicles/unshakable in close combat. Even better, the Heavy Talons boas the second-highest Special Attack rate of all melee mesomorphs, which means that the Hive Tyrant is less prone to suffer from being mobbed and is likely to use more attacks that cover an area. It's a very specialized choice, but has a place with several dedicated melee builds. A noticeable downside, each attack will bounce and enemy outside the range of the rest of your attacks so your slow tyrant ass has to waddle back up to it and slap it again, this is especially frustrating and humiliating when fighting the force commander.

*'''Crushing Talons''' - ''Level 14''
**Melee Weapon
**14.6 DPS
**+1 Minion Health Regeneration
**Traits: Feedback Zeal (Whenever a minion attacks, Tyrant gains back 3 Health)
***This weapon is weaker than the other two claw weapons seen thus far, but it provides one of the most absolutely amazing benefits for any tyrant who's willing to let their minions do the talking. Feedback Zeal can give the Tyrant back considerable amounts of health from its minions, especially when using Genestealers - it adds immense survivability to what was already an incredibly survivable class. Better still is that it also bolsters the health regeneration of your minions, letting them stay in the fight longer. The Crushing Talons also boast the highest Special Attack rate of any melee biomorph, somewhat eclipsing how big a drawback its lowered damage output could otherwise be. Paired up with Bonded Exoskeleton or Articulated Carapace, this can be one of the most directly-useful weapons a Hive Tyrant can use.

*'''High-Toxin Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 19''
**Ranged Weapon
**5.7 DPS
**Traits: Zealous Leadership (Attacks with Venom Cannon heal minions up to 5% of total Health), Area of Effect (Cannon attack damages over small area)
***A deceptive weapon. Its DPS seems rather low, but this is because it does damage in an area, and in rather large chunks, potentially applying Searing to several of them at once. As a major side benefit, it heals your minions each time you land a shot. Suffice to say, this is an amazing benefit for a minion-heavy Tyrant; fire into a crowd and you can keep even your most fragile minions in the fight or that much longer. Sadly, it doesn't have the basic Venom Cannon's huge damage or close-combat capability, so it requires much more care to get the most out of...
Melee attacks also heal you minions where ever they are on the map so force attack the tanks on anvil and heal your raveners when they burrow strike into trouble.

*'''Rending Stranglethorn''' - ''Achievement: Kill 20 enemies in 1 second''
**Ranged Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppression (Can suppress enemies)
***A great ranged weapon, especially early on, with amazing synergy with Bio-Plasma and Toxin Sacs. This biomorph works especially well if you're teamed with other players who would otherwise lack a means of suppressing enemies - its relatively high damage and sizable AOE, paired with indirect-fire capability and huge range makes it an outstanding weapon for ranged support, especially given its relatively high accuracy. Additionally, it has a highly useful secondary feature - in close-combat, the Rending Stranglethorn does knockdown with every melee attack, meaning that in addition to being an excellent fire support weapon, it can be used to stun-lock high-profile threats, like the Lictors on Anvil of Khorne.

*'''Behemoth Claw''' - ''Achievement: Kill 25 Superheavy Units ([[Khaine|Avatar of Khaine]], [[Swarmlord]], [[Baneblade]], [[Land Raider]], [[Great Unclean One]], Ork Battle Wagon)''
**Melee Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**+50 Armor
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks ignore armor)
***The Behemoth Claw is, without exception, the single strongest melee weapon in the game, exceeding even the Sorcerer's Cataclysmic Hellblade and the Mekboy's Zzap Knife. It isn't capable of burst damage like the Staff of Fate or Warp Spear, but it doesn't need to be - unlike these powerhouses, the Behemoth Claw is entirely raw damage - it completely bypasses armor, gives a huge bonus to your own defense, and thus boasts one of the highest DPSes of any close-combat weapon in the game, as well. Nothing survives this beast when the Tyrant has it equipped. Sadly, getting it is quite difficult, but it's definitely worth your time and patience. When you need to punch a rampaging Dreadnought in the balls, accept no substitutes.

*'''Devourer Cannon''' - ''DLC''
**Ranged Weapon
**7.4 DPS
**Traits: Gestate (Units hit by Devourer Cannon take 30 damage over 6 seconds)
***The Devourer Cannon is relatively weak on its own - it has a sluggish fire rate and does acceptable damage per hit, but without armor piercing or AOE, it's a rather lackluster weapon. Thankfully, the Devourer Cannon has other advantages - if it hits a unit, ''all units in that squad will be infested and take damage over time''. This effect also procs with Searing, allowing you to do considerable damage to squads with every single shot. Unfortunately, it's not an actual AOE weapon and has rather poor damage against armor (the infested damage isn't anything to write home about when targeting the likes of a Dreadnought). It's worth noting that whilst this weapon can be quite powerful, it's also terribly risky to bring to the Coliseum if not prepared - it'll easily wreck the shit of any minion-focused ally you have along, potentially ruining the efforts of allied Lord Generals or Tyrants, and it's a nightmarishly effective weapon against low-HP heroes like the Sorcerer. Be aware. Gestate kills don't count so you only "kill" one or two in each squad. Also melee heals your pets like the high-toxin venom cannon so can give them a boost with force attacks in between waves or when surrounded.

==Accessories==
*'''Seismic Roar''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Seismic Roar (15 Energy, stuns nearby enemies)
***Mediocre at the outset. It's a decent ability for one available at the start, but it has a huge lag before properly firing off and a surprisingly small radius of effect. If timed correctly, it's extremely effective for buying a few seconds of breathing room, but it's extremely easy to misjudge the timing on and wind up with a face-full of Banshees or Stormboyz if you screw it up. Synapse makes this ability infinitely better and much more versatile, since it costs bugger all and can be fired off whilst using ranged weapons. It's generally avoided by most high-level builds, but has some use on ranged Tyrants.

*'''Genestealer Nest''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Call Genestealer (10 Energy, summons 3 [[Genestealer]]s as minions)
***Genestealers are your first minion and the only one you deploy in groups. Individually, they're extremely fragile, tending to die ''extremely'' quickly if targeted unless you're packing the likes of Bonded Carapace or Reinforced Chitin. On the plus side, they're fast, extremely inexpensive, available right from the get-go, and have a built in Corroding trait when they attack that temporarily weakens enemy armor with each hit. Paired with their quick attack speed, these vicious little beasts are amazingly powerful with Enhanced Scything Talons and can easily act as impromptu medics with Crushing Talons. They're the go-to minion for Feedback Invulnerability chains. For raw efficiency, they're a tough minion to beat, even if they tend to wither under fire, and they make excellent screeners when dealing with large enemy groups or ranged units.

*'''Toxin Sacs''' - ''Level 2''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Searing (Tyrant's attacks deal additional damage over time, scaling with the Tyrant's maximum health. Stacks with itself. Minions also get this trait.)
***A great upgrade for not only the Tyrant, but all of your minions, especially the Tyrant Guard. Causes both your - and your minions' - attacks to do 10% of the user's max HP over 2 seconds. This burn damage is particularly vicious when from ranged weapons from the Tyrant, and, due to it scaling off HP, it works much better for the Tyrant Guard and Warrior than for the Ravener and Genestealers. Make a note that this biomorph will make your doppleganger in Wave 16 a much bigger threat, due to the comp getting higher max health. Curiously, this upgrade also effects the Bio-Plasma attack from Extended Carapace.

*'''Tyrant Guard Nest''' - ''Level 3''
**Ability: Call Tyrant Guard (20 Energy, summons a [[Tyrant Guard]] as a minion)
***Sometimes called "Pangy" by fans, due to the Tyrant Guard's resemblance to a Pangolin, the Tyrant Guard is the second summon you get, and quite a good one. The Tyrant guard is a competent melee attacker, and more than this, the single toughest minion you get as a Hive Tyrant. It can survive for quite a while between its high health and heavy armor, and it has the ability to taunt enemies to draw their attacks away from the Hive Tyrant. Its enormous healthpool means that the Tyrant Guard benefits more from Toxin Sacs than it does Implant Attack, and that it's the most powerful minion you have if blown up with Explosive Decomposition. Note, however, that its damage output, whilst satisfactory, isn't great, and it's actually the weakest of Tyrant's minions on offense otherwise. Use it well.

*'''Warrior Nest''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Call Warrior (15 Energy, summons a [[Tyranid Warrior]] with scything talons as a minion)
***Tyranid Warriors aren't as tough as Tyrant Guards, nor as easily-spammed as Genestealers, but they make up for this with raw damage - in close-combat, they are easily your strongest overall minion, and the fact that they have a built-in minor Armor Piercing trait makes them even better. Seeing these guys eviscerate Space Marines or other heavy infantry isn't uncommon, and the fact that they have a leaping attack with knockdown means they often wind up drawing fire by getting in the enemy's face. Whilst they tend to go down fairly quickly, they're the second-toughest minion the Tyrant gets and probably one of the most consistently useful. Due to moderate health, they benefit more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs. Their innate armor piercing stacks with that from Enlarged Scything Talons - this enables them to act as vehicle harassers. Overall, an excellent minion with few real weaknesses. More specialized builds may have particular use for the other choices, but the Warrior benefits from pretty much all of the Tyrant's support equipment but doesn't explicitly ''need'' any of it to be effective. As such, it's useful on nearly every build and works well as a "set it and forget it" extra body for damage and distraction.

*'''Warp Field''' - ''Level 8''
**+50 Energy
**Ability: Warp Field (Force field that makes attacks drain energy instead of health)
***Warp Field's easy to ignore; energy shield abilities are normally stunningly mediocre. Warp Field, however, is ''vastly'' better than the others. The shield from Warp Field is not only more efficient than the others, and not only is on a class that needs it way more - taking it essentially doubles the Hive Tyrant's energy pool, which otherwise cannot get ''any'' improvements. The amount of survivability Warp Field potentially adds is ''insane'' - when paired with Psychic Scream, Toxic Miasma, or The Horror, and especially Synapse, Warp Field really comes into its own. Make a note - Warp Field doesn't shut off automatically when your energy runs out, which makes it easy to misjudge how much juice is left in it. Be careful.
*** Important Note: Multiple sources around the Internet claim that Warp Field reduces incoming damage by 50% when active; in-game observations seem to corroborate this claim. However, it is unclear as to whether this damage reduction effect is dependent on the Hive Tyrant's energy levels (that is, whether or not Warp Field reduces incoming damage when the Hive Tyrant's energy has been depleted). Gameplay evidence strongly suggests that Warp Field converts damage to energy at a 2:1 ratio, meaning that the Hive Tyrant loses 1 point of energy per 2 points of damage while Warp Field is active (meaning that 100 energy effectively represents 200 health). This is consistent with how energy shields of various kinds (such as the Iron Halo) work in Skirmish mode, and would provide a 50% damage reduction while Warp Field is active. If accurate, this means that if the Hive Tyrant's energy is depleted, an active Warp Field will ''not'' provide any reduction to incoming damage. Any builds incorporating Warp Field should consider this possibility.

*'''Implant Attack''' - ''Level 9''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Combat Master (Tyrant has +30% Melee and Ranged damage), Minion Combat Master (Minion has +30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***Implant Attack provides not only much of the benefits of Enlarged Scything Talons (and indeed, stacks with it), but it gives those benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. This boost is absolutely ''amazing'' for Bio Plasma and gives immense benefits to both the Warrior and Ravener. Implant Attack is much less risky to use than Toxin Sacs, since it does ''not'' give disproportionate upsides to your doppleganger like Toxin Sacs does, and the fact that it doesn't require any use of HP-boosting armor means it's viable for more builds.

*'''Psychic Scream''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Psychic Scream (10 Energy, reduces attack and defenses of nearby enemies)
***Without a doubt, one of the most powerful and unsung abilities in last stand. For 10 energy, it all-but-cripples the offense and defense of every enemy in a massive radius around the Hive Tyrant (specifically, it reduces the damage output of effected enemies by 75% and increases the damage they take by 25%) - and it only gets better the more enemies it hits. If you're not a fan of Feedback Invulnerability Spam, and you like an ability which helps all your allies, lean in this direction.

*'''Bio-Feedback''' - ''Level 12''
**+25 Health
**Traits: Feedback Invulnerability (When a minion dies, Tyrant gains 5 seconds of invulnerability)
***If you bring something cheap to kill like Genestealers or a Warrior, than this will easily be your uber-tool to glory. Decried as cheese by some, but considering how much Last Stand loves to have its enemies openly fucking cheat, those claims can be safely ignored. Use it for powerful - if risky - invulnerability exploitation and laugh as you simply never die for as long as you can maintain energy.

*'''Explosive Decomposition''' - ''Level 16''
**+50 Health, +20 Minion Health
**Trait: Minion Death Throes (When minions die, they explode, dealing damage over an area. Damage scales based on the sacrificed minion's max health)
***If you're more fond of the minions with a tendency to die, like Genestealers, Raveners, and Warriors, this is potentially very useful - it makes your minions generate a potent toxic cloud each and every time one dies - whether because you re-summoned your minions, or because an enemy killed them. If stacked with HP boosting gear and Searing, this can be quite potent - simply re-summon minions for raw damage, or use them as sacrificial damage sources by throwing them at the enemy and forgetting about them.

*'''Ravener Nest''' - ''Level 18''
**Ability: Call Ravener (Energy, Summons a [[Ravener]] with a Deathspitter as a minion)
***The Ravener is the second-most fragile minion, being a little easier to kill than the Warrior despite the Ravener having slightly more health. However, it's by far the strongest minion offensively. Its dual [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|Deathspitter]]s are incredibly powerful, capable of shredding lighter foes in seconds, and it can burrowstrike in order to disrupt and damage groups or get into position. This minion goes from being simply strong to being obscenely powerful with upgrades - with the right ones, this minion is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most dangerous ones - if something of a glass cannon. Even a Carnifex goes down in about half a dozen shots from a fully-kitted-out Ravener.

==Commander Items==
More than any other hero, the Tyrant has perhaps the best Commander Items in the game with the deadliest boosts to his playstyle.

*'''Thornback''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability - Charge (10 Energy, Tyrant charges over to destination)
***Causes the Tyrant to charge forward, hurling aside enemies in its way. This ability destroys some cover pieces, and has shorter range than it initially appears to. It also does little real damage, and has a reputation for being inefficient. Its main advantages are that it's the only mobility boost the Tyrant has until Articulated Carapace, and the only Commander Item ''period'' until Level 15. It can actually be useful all game long even past this if you know what you're doing - after all, it's the only mobility boost a Tyrant gets - but due to its finicky nature and tendency to stop short if you hit level geometry or large enemies, often isn't all that great for the most part.

*'''Synapse''' - ''Level 15''
**Reduces all energy costs by 50%.
***Simple, simple, simple. Never has such a simple upgrade been so absolutely ''amazing''. Synapse makes everything you do more viable - Toxin Misama spamming, Firing off Bio-Plasma, Psychic Scream, etc - It lowers the cost for absolutely everything and the advantages this provides to almost every build that doesn't specifically ''require'' the boost of Evolution or the mobility enhancement of Thornback can and will find a use for it.

*'''Evolution''' - ''Level 20''
**+2 Health Regen
**Traits: Minion Resilient (+50 Minion Health and +2 Minion Health regen), Minion Swift (+15% Minion speed), Minion Combat Expert (+25% Minion Melee and Ranged damage)
***It's rare that any Commander Item, let alone another of the Hive Tyrant's - is capable of out-performing the sheer, balls-out amazing power of Synapse, but by god, this one does. Evolution gives absolutely massive bonuses to your minions - roughly equal to having Articulated Carapace, Implant Attack, and Bonded Carapace's passives attached to your minions - ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Even better, it stacks with those, for extra awesome, and provides an always-useful health regen bonus to the Tyrant itself. Boosting survivability, boosting minions, and potentially turning even Genestealers into death machines, Evolution is one upgrade that is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, you get it at level 20.

==Tactics & Strategy==
* '''On Achievements:'''
** ''Heavy Hitter'' (Which unlocks the Behemoth Claw) is an achievement that tests your skill on the Anvil of Khorne, as that's the only place where you'll be able to take down Superheavy Units. Even if you're only able to kill one or two of them, you'll be making progress. The real bugger is just making it there.
** ''Megakill!'' (Which unlocks the Rending Stranglethorn) is something that requires the use of either the Devourer Cannon, Bio-Plasma, or Poison Cysts, as these are the only tools the Tyrant owns ''other'' than the Rending Stranglethorn itself that can kill that many enemies in that span of time. Target a pair of high-number, low-health units with the Devourer Cannon (cultists on Anvil are ''ideal''), cluster up a bunch of enemies into a choke-point for Bio-Plasma, or camp a spawn during an Imperial Guard or Ork Wave with Toxic Miasma. Any of these three will earn you the Megakill award easily.

* '''On Minions:'''
** '''[[Genestealer]]s''' are your first available minion, are close-combat focused, and the only minion you get more than one of. As far as Minions go, they're not much to write home about on paper - they lack the things that make pretty much all of the other Minions better choices. They do less damage, and perhaps most annoyingly, they're ''excessively'' fragile. Indeed, they are barely more survivable than guardsmen. What they have in return is that they boast the highest attack rate of any minion creature. They have innate corroding effects on their melee attacks (they temporarily debuff enemy armor when they hit), but the effect is relatively minor and won't usually change the tide of battle. Genestealers as a whole will thus have two main attractions: The fact that you get three of the damned things per cast, and their relatively low cost. In addition: they are comparatively fast AND, as melee units, can lock ranged units in melee, thus potentially shutting down damage from a single ranged squad (though impossible to control directly, they tend to attack nearby enemies when they spawn, so deploying them carefully provides some level of control, though their AI can be unpredictable in this regard). Another curious merit they have that is often under-appreciated is their tendency to lock exceptionally powerful and dangerous enemies into their overly extravagant sync kill animations. It can buy you some few precious seconds when avoiding Dreadnoughts, Carnifexes, and the Avatar of Khaine while they spend several seconds showing off their melee talents to their friends. Meanwhile your new Genestealers are back to going choppy on everything else. Unbeknownst to a lot of players, enemy units are not completely invincible while sync killing; searing and corrosion will continue to liquify them, and the several stacks of searing they acquire while distracted will continue to devour their health bar.
***Genestealers become ''very'' attractive if paired with sacrificial abilities - Explosive Decomposition or Bio-Feedback. Indeed, they're central to both Feedback Invulnerability and Minion Bomber builds due to their extremely cheap cost and the quick cooldown of their summon. They turn into a ''very'' different threat, however, the second you get Evolution and pair this up with literally any other minion buff - keep a keen eye out for Bonded Exoskeleton, Articulated Carapace, Crushing Talons, Implant Attack, and Toxin Sacs. Though Searing damage seems counter-intuitive for them, the fact that they attack so quickly means it builds up quickly and doesn't give a damn about armor. They actually become halfway survivable with a bit of support, especially if you're using the High-Toxin Venom Cannon or Fire on their intended targets with the Devourer Cannon or Stranglethorn to soften them up. If all three Genestealers focus their attacks on one target, they can often do more damage than almost any other minion, but care must be taken given their small size and low health pool; without Evolution and Minion buffs, they're solely useful as screening troops or suicide minions, and don't expect them to do the former very long.
**'''[[Tyrant Guard]]''' Are your second minion. These guys are the "tanks" of your minions, having by ''far'' the highest HP and defense. In fact, seeing these things stay standing in the craziest of circumstances isn't unheard of. They have strong melee attacks, but with awkward hit rates that render them squarely average as a melee combatant. Their big edge is actually the fact that they refuse to die, and in fact, use a Taunt ability to draw attacks to them and away from you. In [[Last Stand]], this is a very useful feature, since any attacks directed at the oversized pangolin and not your Hive Tyrant is are ones you don't need to worry too much about. His high health pool renders him a natural choice for Searing, but with a mediocre attack rate, he's only so-so as an offensive choice. You choose the Tyrant Guard to be a meat wall that attacks. As an interesting note, The Tyrant Guard is also ''the'' most powerful minion to use for a Minion Bomber build due to his massive HP count.
***Uniquely, the Tyrant Guard doesn't change all that much when given Evolution. His attack power goes way up, as does his mobility and survivability, but none of this really matters to the reason you chose the damned thing to begin with, which is his tanking for you. Thankfully, that goes way up as well, making him one of the better utility minions. The Tyrant Guard may never solo certain high-profile enemies or dominate battles like the Warrior or Ravener, but his role - keeping you alive - is arguably more critical. They tend to shine brightest in the mid-game, where Evolution isn't available yet and the various assets the Tyrant Guard brings to the table make it the most valuable minion by a head and a hair, but they'll start to flag at level 20.
** '''[[Tyranid Warrior|Warriors]]''' are your first dedicated combat minion that aren't the Genestealers. The Warrior is fast, aggressive, and unlike the Genestealers has a special attack - it can leap into the battle to knock a target down. Even better, it is ''significantly'' stronger than the Genestealers and has a minor Armor Piercing trait. However, whilst quite fast and strong, he also is a melee fighter only, and has an abysmal health pool - whilst he is much tougher than a Genestealer, the fact that you get only one of him means that he's easily [[Tarpit]]ted and worn down. In essence, with this guy you trade the squad numbers of the Genestealers for putting all your eggs in one basket with a single Warrior.
*** Warriors initially are good for squad disruption and single-target damage. They are much more likely to survive close-combat with tougher opposition than the Genestealers, though the fact that you only get one means they tend to melt against ranged units. Early on, they're ideal carriers for Explosive Decomposition (due to their natural tendency to get in the enemy's face), and their high damage output means excellent synergy with Implant Attack. They really come into their own, however, when you have Evolution. Evolution bolsters these guys to an almost absurd degree, making them easily able to butcher enemies and take on small squads of opposition without trouble. Throw on minion buffs and Warriors are the second-most damaging minion, as well as durable enough to take abuse. Do note, however, that they aren't as durable as Tyrant Guard and will die with shocking regularity until fully kitted out. Interestingly, they're one of the rare few units that benefits more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs, owing to their high damage, but with their having the second-highest health of your minions, they can use Searing damage just fine as well.
** '''[[Ravener]]s''' are your last minion and arguably the most powerful. They're the only ranged minion as well, armed with a twin-linked [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons#Deathspitter|Deathspitter]]. They do significant damage with this attack, are competent in close-combat, and possess the unique ability to "burrowstrike" and damage and disrupt enemy units. They're also one of the fastest minions. However, what you get in damage and speed with this guy, you lose in durability - it's roughly as durable as the Warrior, whilst being both a larger unit and one that tends to draw ranged fire towards it due to being a shooter. This unit is as high in the level tree of the Tyranids for a reason - it's a staple of most minion builds owing to its considerable power and utility, though it's extremely fragile.
*** Evolution is practically a requirement for getting the most out of these bastards. The amazing part is that they're strong enough that if you load them with literally NOTHING but minion buffs, they can arguably win wave after wave for you. Seeing them gun down entire squads in a few volleys, melt Wraithlords into puddles, and punch gaping wounds out of the errant Carnifex is ''not'' unheard of. Without the all-important Evolution upgrade, Raveners struggle heavily; they can do decent damage, but their damage is notably less and not anywhere near as good against armor. With their survivability also taking a hit, their fragility often tends to impress itself on you. As such, the best option for the Ravener is to load it up with Evolution, or shelve it in favor of the other minions, which tend to be more useful in the mid-game (before Evolution becomes available).

==Builds==

'''BUILD 1 - INVINCIBILITY LAUGHING OUT LOUDS'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback, any minion summoning (Genestealers recommended because of how cheap they are, especially ''with'' Synapse), maybe Explosive Decomposition.
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' The big draw to this build is that you can kill your minions and re-summon them again, not only making them a cheap near-infinite shield thanks to Synapse and Bio-Feedback, but also a walking source of bombs if you decide to equip Explosive Decomposition. Armor, on the meantime, is a largely open choice, though Poison Cysts could help with clearing out some swarms. Weapons are also largely open, but talons and claws better utilize the free invincibility.

'''BUILD 2 - SUPPORT TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (20 if Evolution)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream, Tyrant Guard Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse or Evolution

'''Explanation:''' If invuln-spamming Genestealers isn't doing it for you, and whilst there's a certain beauty to that to be sure, you may prefer a hands-on approach. Don't worry - /tg/ has your back. There's something to be said for a far more frontline build designed to work with teammates - and good god, does this build deliver. Venom Cannon has absolutely monstrous armor-penetration and high damage, whilst Poison Cysts gives you armor and health to spare - as well as the Tyrant's single greatest crowd-control move. Psychic Scream can effectively turn entire ranged force groups that would otherwise be terrifying (such as the Marine Squads on Wave 6 of Bloodied Coliseum) into a complete non-issue by crippling their attack and defense. This build easily can support an unoptimized team, and turns into complete murder when paired with a Tau Commander that has a shield drone: Bunker down in the shield-field and spam the hell out of Toxic Miasma the second enemies get close. Tyrant Guard is there to draw fire, something it excels at.

'''BUILD 3 - INFECTION TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Explosive Decomposition, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This is a high-level build well-suited for squad support. Devourer Cannon's gestate affects an entire squad and stacks with Toxin Sacs. Throw in the Ravener for ranged damage and you can kick back and relax as your larvae-shooting gun quickly mulches squads and slowly grinds down even heavy enemies into submission.

'''BUILD 4 - MORE LIKE SEXUAL ASSAULT-VENER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Enlarged Scything Talons
*Armor: Articulated Carapace
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Implant Attack, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:'''Every single game needs some kind of "Nutter" build that makes absolutely no sense but somehow works well on its own merits, such as the infamous [[Daemonhunters|Krazypantzoff Walker Army of Doom]]. This is one of the most spectacular in Last Stand, and it's disturbingly powerful. The general gist is simple: create the single most powerful Ravener you can muster, and back off as it kills FUCKING EVERYTHING. With this loadout, the Ravener will kill any conventional enemy in one shot, a Wraithlord in 2-3 bursts, a Carnifex in 6, and a Warboss in less than ten. Vehicles, infantry, nothing can survive more than a few barrages from your hideously over-powered Ravener of doom, and all you need to give up for it is the ability to do much of anything but summon the damned thing. Articulated Carapace is, in a weird case of irony, the best armor for this build - The Ravener benefits from doubled Swift, as well as Fearless, and perhaps most critically, you have one target that you absolutely NEED to use Horror on in Wave 16 - your counterpart's Ravener, to take it out of the fight.

'''BUILD 5 - NIDZILLA'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Extended Carapace (provides Bio-Plasma)
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health)
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' This build is both effective and ludicrously fun to play. Bio-Plasma spreads Searing, so what it doesn't kill on impact, it kills over time. You're reasonably durable with Behemoth Claws and Psychic Scream, and you're also reasonably mobile with Charge. You don't need Synapse because none of your abilities cost more than ten energy, and you hit like a truck against single targets and against blobs. On the downside, you ARE fragile without support, and Bio-Plasma requires careful aim. Keep this in mind and play conservatively. On the other hand: with support, you are essentially death incarnate.

'''BUILD 6 - PSYCHIC MONSTROSITY'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (16 if Explosive Decomposition, and requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement')'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Thornback Carapace
*Accessories: Warp Field; Psychic Scream; (Implant Attack, Toxin Sacs, or Explosive Decomposition)
*Commander Item: Thornback (for mobility) or Synapse (to reduce energy costs)

'''Explanation:''' This build is powerful, flexible, and durable. When Warp Field is active your energy effectively provides 200 extra health, and you have ways to deal with both large groups of melee units (which die simply by attacking you) and powerful single targets (which you can dispatch with melee attacks). Be conservative with your energy usage, because your energy is also your health when Warp Field is active. Try to maintain Psychic Scream consistently on a large number of mobs (further enhancing your endurance), and abuse line-of-sight to restore your energy where possible. Use Charge for mobility as-necessary; if your team composition emphasizes stationary gameplay (for example, if your team includes a Lord General), consider swapping Thornback for Synapse to reduce the energy cost of Psychic Scream.
* Though Warp Field and Psychic Scream are mandatory for this build, there is an extent to which your third accessory is more flexible. Toxin Sacs simply adds 10 armor-ignoring damage over two seconds for each melee attack. Implant Attack adds 9 damage (which also ignores armor due to the Behemoth Claws), but the bonus damage provided by Implant Attack transpires instantly; this reduces the number of hits required to kill a mob, thereby allowing you to perform hit-and-run attacks more effectively. Explosive Decomposition provides 50 additional health, which can provide a useful buffer against enemies with attacks that ignore armor, but given that the bulk of your health comes from Warp Field (the damage reduction effects of which may not apply when your energy is depleted; see '''Accessories''' section for more information), even 50 extra health is a comparatively small amount. Ultimately, your third accessory tends to vary based on player preference.

'''BUILD 7 - BOOMSHOT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 18 (But requires 'Megakill!' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Rending Stranglethorn
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health); Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' Though its damage output is not necessarily mind-blowing on its own, the Rending Stranglethorn spreads Searing to whatever it hits, and since you have 225 health, it's doing 22.5 damage per hit to EVERYTHING it hits (in addition to suppressing them). You can take out whole mobs in one shot. The Stranglethorn can also fire over walls, allowing you to abuse line-of-sight. With Charge, you're maneuverable enough to survive (this build doesn't work very well with Evolution, since you can't run when caught in melee), and the Ravener is, as usual, pretty gnarly (though not as gnarly as it could be with Evolution). The only drawback to this build is that the Stranglethorn really doesn't like cover, and your shots can start to become extremely erratic as explosions chew up the terrain. Hence, this build starts to become unreliable towards the late game as craters begin to accumulate.

'''BUILD 8 - MINION BOMBER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton (alternative: Thornback Carapace)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is a variation on the Invulnerable Tyrant, hybridized somewhat with the Psychic Monstrosity mentioned above. The Invulnerable Tyrant relies on minions dying to keep you alive; with the Minion Bomber, your Genestealers heal you while they are still alive. Evolution (and Bonded Exoskeleton, if present) make(s) your Genestealers stronger and beefier, allowing them to do more damage while they're on the field and heal you for longer -- but they are useful even in death due to Explosive Decomposition, which also benefits from their improved health. For this build, both Bonded Exoskeleton and Thornback Carapace are potentially useful; Bonded Exoskeleton provides beefier minions, whereas Crushing Talons can help compensate for the lack of a health buff provided by Thornback Carapace.

'''BUILD 9 - Toxin Sac Abuse Tyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: High Toxin Venom Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Tyrant Guard Nest, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is about searing damage. Bonded exoskeleton and evolution combined give +100 health to minions and +75 to you. The tyrant guard is in this build because he's very tanky here and he has tons of health to make the most of searing. The ravener is in this build due to high health, great damage output and good mobility. The high toxin venom canon makes the +4.0 regen minions even harder to kill and the AOE damage combined with searing makes it quite useful against nearly any enemy. The minions generally last forever. This build is risky on bloodied colosseum, but it's great on anvil. Health raising items like explosive decomp and bio-feedback were left out because of diminishing returns- bonded and evolution have huge synergy with this rest of this build- taking decomp or bio would force you to drop one of the minions, which means a lot less searing damage and less meat between you and the enemy. Bio and decomp work best when used with CHEAP minions like stealers that you can spam again and again.

This build turns most matches into easy mode. With a boss pole mekboy, it's comedic. I actually saw a tyrant disconnect using this build in wave 2 and the minions stayed alive through wave 20, continuing to mulch pretty much everything from boss units to infantry blobs.

'''BUILD 10 - Artillyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Implant Attack, Ravener Nest, Psychic Scream
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' Designed for Gunline support, ideally alongside a Tau Commander, Imperial General, or both. Set up amidst your allies, and use the Venom Cannon's monstrous raw power to demolish enemies that get too close. Ravener is there for allied fire support, and is plenty big a threat with just the doubled Combat Mastery of Implant Attack and Evolution. Psychic Scream and Toxic Miasma help keep melee aggressors away from allies. The armor piercing melee of the Venom Cannon contributes beautifully to this in close-combat as well.

'''BUILD 11 - Support Tank (really unkillable all Arenas)'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Thornback Carapace (DLC)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Genestealer Nest; Bio-Feedback
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Ok easy build, you don't kill like with some other builds, but well you never die, it is quite impossible to die cause you will never run out of energy to spam Genestealer's on quite good positions so your invul is up. Also you can spam Psychic Scream so your even Random Guys or Yourself can easily kill all Targets. When you die with this build you should consider to use hotkeys instead your mouse to spam skills :P. You can easily take aggro from all Melee and even some Range with your melee Attacks, especially behind some range its wise to use the Genestealer's. When Lag or the Delay on Invul hits you, don't panic cause you screamed so no real damage, in Anvil you can easily dispatch while your Teammates lie around the Infantry and then rezz them with Invul on, or just rape the whole Game even if it takes a bit and never Rezz at all, but consider people maybe leave you alone doesn't matter with a bit of skill, time and Target prioritizing you still Solo the whole Last Stand. You survive and while your Invul is up again you get Health back. You also have enough energy to tank wave 20 even without 1 Guy killed from any Map. Have fun and show all, who's the Unkillable, never dying, Immortal Raidboss of the Arena!

'''BUILD 12 - Immortal Toxic Death'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Similar to the Support Tank build, this one is ALMOST unkillable if you're fast enough with hitting Genestealers when off cooldown. It also kills basically anything that gets too close, especially infantry. Watch your Energy with Toxic Miasma, using ALL of it is the most likely way to die as you will have to wait a few seconds to summon minions again and get your shield back. Toxic Miasma stacks however and ignores armor, and despite the energy cost is on a short cooldown... two or three stacks will destroy anything staying on them after a bit of waiting, and a single casting will wreck any infantry around you in a wide area. This is incredibly useful for any large infantry swarm and especially Ogryn swarms on Anvil of Khorne. This owes itself to Bio-Feedback and Explosive Decomposition together adding 75 health, a trait that has amazing synergy with Toxic Miasma, boosting its damage which ignores armor for 20 seconds to everything in a wide area every time it is cast, leaving a huge AoE pool of death for anything caught in it. It will be a fast death for lighter infantry and a slower death for anything heavy, but it will die eventually while you keep spamming Genestealers for invincibility, and the Crushing Talons causes the Genestealers to give a lot of health back while still shredding that armor so your own melee attacks will start to do damage in addition to the poison between castings. It is also effective against your clone on Waves 16 and 20, because unlike you the AI will only re-summon Genestealers when all of them die on their own rather than killing them for the invincibility. This build will turn you into a slow death for anything and everything near you while you will be nearly impossible to kill... just be careful of enemies with big AoEs that can easily chew up your Genestealers as fast as you summon them, as if they die too quickly the cooldown on them will last longer than your invincibility. Position of summoning is often key against enemies like the Space Marine superheavy on wave 20 of Anvil.

'''BUILD 13 - DoT Minion Master'''

'''Minimum Level: 7 or 20'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Warrior Nest, Toxin Sacs.
*Commander Item: Thornback OR (very big "or") Evolution.

'''Explanation:''' This build is about supporting your minions (and sometimes your allies... sometimes) with the insane DoT damage you will be throwing out. With Toxin Sacs and Bonded Exoskeleton your Tyrant Guard will be all-but invincible whilst also dealing respectable damage and your Warrior will be able to survive long enough to make a difference in melee. You will focus on putting the hurt on squads of infantry that can overwhelm your minions. Prioritize large squads over tough, small squads. At absolute worst you will need two shots to wipe such squads in a few seconds. You are tough enough to suffer moderate attacks and energy management will be easy, seeing as the only thing you need to do is recast your minion abilities when they die once every few millennia. Melee and tough, singular units will be a problem (you will require several shots off in order to do ''decent'' damage against) but leave that to your minions and allies to handle. Also, you MIGHT actually want to consider taking Thornback over Evolution. Even without Evolution your minions will be very tough and very killy. If you are good enough at aiming Charge the extra maneuverability will really help once you get in between a rock and a hard place. Otherwise, enjoy mowing down waves of infantry while your demi-god minions tear apart anything in close combat.

'''BUILD 14 - Big Game Hunter'''

'''Minimum Level: 20 (Requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton or Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream.
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' A build that is not exceptionally flashy, but fairly amusing nonetheless. You're probably not going to rack up the kill count, but what you do kill makes all the difference. The build is a little less cheesy than Bio-Feedback and more team friendly since its survivability hinges off the use of Psychic Scream and the Tyrant Guard, both of which make life easier for everyone. The strategy is simple: at the beginning of each wave, lumber your fat ass on over towards the biggest enemy on the map, scream at it, then just punch the fucker until it dies. Ignore everything else unless absolutely necessary. Psychic Scream nukes enemy damage so severely that your improved regen and claw armor will overcome the units you're walking by, and with the Tyrant Guard in your wake he'll usually start drawing whatever is chasing you back to him, and if they couldn't put a dent in you, they definitely won't take down the Guard very easily. You're a laser guided surface-to-asshole missile, chopping Dreadnoughts like tin cans, cracking open Carnifexes, licking the Lictors, swatting the Swarmlord, dismantling vehicles... Even Araghast will go down against you if you catch him off guard. Note that you're susceptible to tarpits without team-mates, so you can pack Poison Cysts if you need to melt the occasional banshee swarm. Bear in mind that weakens the Guard a little. This build can also use Crushing Talons instead of Behemoth Claws, which makes the Tyrant Guard a little more resilient, and gives you an extra trickle of health whenever the Guard shanks somebody. With Crushing Talons you will witness a drastic drop in DPS, meaning that your notable damage source will be the searing stacks.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Tyranid]]

Last Stand - Hive Tyrant

2018-03-19T00:03:04Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Accessories */

The [[Hive Tyrant]] is the [[Last Stand]] hero for the Tyranids.

==Overview==
The Hive Tyrant is a unique, multi-role hero in [[Last Stand]]. Capable of summoning minions - and able to fight competently at short or long range, it can accomplish many different roles at once depending on its loadout and equipment, from close-combat bruiser to minion-heavy commander to offensive and defensive support. More so than other heroes of the same ilk, the Hive Tyrant eschews flash and fancy equipment and techniques in favor of being able to get a job done reliably. You won't rain destruction across the battlefield with Eldritch Storms or unleash missile barrages with the Tyrant - you will instead be a centerpoint of offense or defense in and of yourself, capable of devastating enemy squads or vehicles, ripping open threats in close-combat, and wearing opponents down with minions.

The Hive Tyrant excels at two roles in Last Stand, above all others: Battlefield control, and area denial. Control is established through a large number of disrupting, suppressing, stun, knockback, and fear effects the Tyrant gets - whether via the likes of armor abilities like The Horror, or accessory abilities like Seismic Roar, Psychic Scream, and the use of its minions, which are fewer in number than that of the [[Last Stand - Lord General|Lord General]], but much higher in quality. This makes the Tyrant a virtual master of support, as it can keep a team in the fight by dramatically hindering the ability of enemies to wear down its teammates. Area Denial is a huge advantage of the Tyrant as well - though it lacks an ability like the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]]'s mines or [[Last Stand - Tau Commander|Shas'O]]'s snare traps, Toxic Miasma allows it to make a sizable patch of ground dangerous or even lethal for enemies to cross for quite some time - by stacking it with itself, even huge hordes of enemies can be dissolved in short order, protecting vulnerable teammates and dealing with clusters of problematic opponents.

Unlike other Heroes with support or minion elements, like the [[Last Stand - Farseer|Farseer]], the Hive Tyrant is also a superior direct combatant. Even its weakest melee options are perfectly capable of tearing weaker opponents to shreds, and its ranged options contain some of the best AOE, anti-infantry, and anti-armor weapons that Last Stand has to offer. It also boasts a powerful offensive ability in the form of Bio-Plasma. Its strongest melee weapon is capable of turning the Hive Tyrant into the single strongest close-combat fighter in the entire game, bar none, and with one of the largest health and armor pools in the entire game - behind only the Tau Commander kitted-out for durability - the Tyrant is a force to be reckoned with. Even the Necron Overlord isn't as tough as this bastard. As an even bigger upside, the Tyrant is permanently Fearless ''and'' Unshakable.

However, being as big, tough, and flexible as the Tyrant comes with drawbacks. It's a very big creature, and indeed, the biggest hero in [[Last Stand]]. This makes him a very large target and surprisingly vulnerable to area-of-effect weapons. It also means that the Tyrant can't take cover except to reduce the number of shots coming at him from a specific angle. He's also terribly slow and with only two ways to improve mobility (Articulated Carapace and Thornback), he can easily be targetted by enemy firepower for all his durability and utility. Careful balance is required to get the most out of this easy-to-get-into, but hard-to-master Tyranid hero.

==Armor==
*'''Carapace''' - ''Default''
**Armor: 105
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Standard armor. Like all placeholders, it sucks, but is pretty good as far as default armor goes.

*'''Poison Cysts''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 150
**-14% Speed, +50 health
**Ability: : Toxic Miasma (25 Energy: Emit a toxic cloud that poisons a large area. Nearby enemies take damage over time equal to half of the Hive Tyrant’s maximum health over 20 seconds.)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Offering one of the largest armor bonuses and one of the most genuinely useful abilities the Hive Tyrant gets for crowd control, Poison Cysts also offers a massive health bonus as well - it is, without exception, one of the best armors in the game for the Tyrant. Toxic Miasma sprays a cloud that does damage over time; multiple applications of Toxic Miasma stack, so if all else fails, dropping a pair of these can be what ends a horde of charging Banshees or the like. The toxin ignores armor for the most part, as well, giving it limited anti-armor potential.

*'''Extended Carapace''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 144
**-14% Speed, +25 Health
**Ability: Bio-Plasma (10 Energy, shoots a ball of bio-plasma at a target, does splash damage)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***At a glance, Extended Carapace looks awful - it offers lighter armor, less health, and an ability much weaker than Toxic Miasma. Bio-Plasma, however, is much cheaper than Toxic Miasma, recharges faster, and has absolutely brutal synergy with the Tyrant's other wargear. Bio-Plasma benefits from both Implant Attack ''and'' Toxin sacs, enabling it to annihilate infantry targets, and the roiling bio-plasma blast, when upgraded, can easily wreck armored targets. The plasma ball's travel time and AOE take getting used to, and are much less exploitable than the likes of Toxic Miasma, but on the right build, this armor is deceptively powerful.

*'''Bonded Exoskeleton''' - ''Level 6''
**Armor: 134
**-14% Speed, +75 Health, +50 Health to minions, +2 Minion Health regen
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***Bonded Exoskeleton has reasonably heavy armor - enough that the loss from the other two armor types is essentially negligible - and offers the largest health boost, which means it's the best at keeping the Tyrant alive, albeit at the expense of missing out on an ability. The bigger advantage is the absolutely enormous buff to Minion survivability it gives; with Bonded Exoskeleton, Genestealers are substantially harder to kill, and Raveners and Warriors are much more survivable - to say nothing of the meaty buff this gives to the Tyrant Guard. It's the single best armor to pair with Toxin Sacs due to the HP bonuses. A great upgrade for a commander Tyrant.

*'''Articulated Carapace''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor: 114
**Ability: Horror (20 Energy, Forces enemies to fall back)
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Swift (+15% Speed), Minion Swift (+25% Speed to minions)
***This one has less defense and no health boosts, but is one of only two carapaces with no speed penalty - rather, it gives you Swift, instead. Indeed, between the lack of the penalty and the application of Swift, this makes a Tyrant with this upgrade roughly 50% faster than normal - an advantage that carries over to the likes of Thornback and makes the Tyrant much harder to pin down. The availability of The Horror, however, and the version of Swift given to Minions, makes this one of the best overall support armors. If properly used, the amount of control this offers is fantastic, and it allows you to eschew Toxin Sacs on a given build - an enormous advantage when fighting the comp on Coliseum. Use it well.

*'''Reinforced Chitin''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor: 98
**- 14% Speed, +25 Health, +80 Minion Armor
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Reactive Armor (Tyrant temporarily gains +10 Armor each time it is attacked, stacking up until +300)
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Does not work in Chaos Rising and early versions of Last Standalone. Does in Retribution and current updated versions.
***Reinforced Chitin gives you increasingly tough armor the more you're attacked, allowing you to become harder to kill as a fight drags on, and which gives a very useful minion defense upgrade as part of the bargain. When maxed out, Reinforced Chitin offers incredible protection - almost 50% more defense than even a kitted-out-for-defense Tau Commander - and it offers a health buff, to boot. Even better, it also gives Minions a substantial defense buff. In practice, however, Reinforced Chitin is incredibly situational. The buff requires several hits before it even equals the basic armor types, and units with Searing, Corroding, or Armor Piercing attacks will continue to deal damage to you normally in spite of your heavy defense. This armor combines well with Bio-Feedback based builds, where tanking lots of hits while invulnerable is commonplace and the extra armor helps between summonings. The minion armor buff also gives you more control over when your minions die- ie, your stealers won't all be killed while they are on cooldown. And if they are, the extra 300 armor helps you stay alive those extra few seconds.

*'''Thornback Carapace''' - ''DLC''
**Armor: 190
**Traits: Fearless (Suppression Immunity), Unshakable (Knockback immunity), Barbed Armor (Any who attack the Tyrant take 20 damage for each attack)
***This is an armor which doesn't look very good at all when first viewed - it has massive armor - the heaviest of any Tyrant subtype, in fact - but no ability and no Health boost. In exchange, Thornback has one of the most absolutely vicious passives in the game. Anyone attacking the Tyrant in melee takes 20 points of damage - each and every time. This retaliatory damage is enough to easily kill lighter threats like swarms of Hormagaunts and Ork sluggas, and reduces the threat Banshees pose somewhat, since a Banshee can die in hitting a Tyrant with this in about 3 hits - though sadly, this heavy defense isn't so helpful against opponents with Armor Piercing or Corroding attacks, where the lack of a health boost makes itself especially well-known. Where the Thornback Carapace shines is as part of a caster build or feedback build - pair this thing with Psychic Scream and/or Warp Field, and it can absorb considerable punishment whilst amplifying any damage done, and pairing it with feedback lets you deal damage whilst lounging about, dangerous to touch. As an added bonus, it's the ''other'' carapace that lacks a speed penalty, although you still won't move as fast as a Tyrant with Articulated Carapace.

==Weapons==
All the weapons the Tyrant has take up both hands, so you'll have only one choice out of a rather vast and rather surprising list of weaponry available.

*'''Scything Talons''' - ''Default''
**Melee Weapon
**8.2 DPS
***Default weapon. As per all of them, it absolutely sucks and exists as a placeholder, mostly.

*'''Enlarged Scything Talons''' - ''Level 1''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Minion Armor Piercing (Minion attacks can ignore enemy armor up to 100), Minion Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***With roughly twice the damage per second of Scything Talons, and a pair of highly useful upgrades for minions, the Enlarged Scything Talons is a mediocre set of melee weapons in terms of actual quality, but provides immense benefits for your minions. It's your only non-DLC/achievement weapon to start, which kind of sucks, but the high special attack rate and huge bonuses to Minions means this gets better and better the further in your career you go.

*'''Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 4''
**Ranged Weapon
**13.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee and Ranged attacks ignore up to 240 Armor)
***One of, if not ''the'' best overall weapons in the entire game for the Tyrant, due to the Venom Cannon's high rate of fire, relatively high damage, and monstrous Armor Piercing trait. Between its huge range and ability to take on all comers, this biomorph delivers. It has a secondary - and highly useful - feature as well - the Armor Piercing trait applies to the Hive Tyrant's melee attacks with this weapon as well - which means that it can out-melee several dedicated melee biomorphs. All of this conspires to make the Venom Cannon an intimidating weapon, with few real drawbacks. It tends to get eschewed for more specialized builds, since pretty much all of the biomorphs are useful on some level or another, but if you lack better options, no Tyrant ever went wrong with a Venom Cannon.

*'''Heavy Talons''' - ''Level 10''
**Melee Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Knockdown (Attacks can knock down enemy infantry), Minion Unshakable (Minions are immune to knockback)
***At a glance, this weapon seems like a tweaked Enlarged Scything Talons - same damage, and a different benefit (unshakable minions) for your minions. Unlike the Enlarged Scything Talons, however, the Heavy Talons offers a number of benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. It enables the Tyrant to easily knock foes down, allowing the Tyrant to essentially stunlock enemies that aren't vehicles/unshakable in close combat. Even better, the Heavy Talons boas the second-highest Special Attack rate of all melee mesomorphs, which means that the Hive Tyrant is less prone to suffer from being mobbed and is likely to use more attacks that cover an area. It's a very specialized choice, but has a place with several dedicated melee builds. A noticeable downside, each attack will bounce and enemy outside the range of the rest of your attacks so your slow tyrant ass has to waddle back up to it and slap it again, this is especially frustrating and humiliating when fighting the force commander.

*'''Crushing Talons''' - ''Level 14''
**Melee Weapon
**14.6 DPS
**+1 Minion Health Regeneration
**Traits: Feedback Zeal (Whenever a minion attacks, Tyrant gains back 3 Health)
***This weapon is weaker than the other two claw weapons seen thus far, but it provides one of the most absolutely amazing benefits for any tyrant who's willing to let their minions do the talking. Feedback Zeal can give the Tyrant back considerable amounts of health from its minions, especially when using Genestealers - it adds immense survivability to what was already an incredibly survivable class. Better still is that it also bolsters the health regeneration of your minions, letting them stay in the fight longer. The Crushing Talons also boast the highest Special Attack rate of any melee biomorph, somewhat eclipsing how big a drawback its lowered damage output could otherwise be. Paired up with Bonded Exoskeleton or Articulated Carapace, this can be one of the most directly-useful weapons a Hive Tyrant can use.

*'''High-Toxin Venom Cannon''' - ''Level 19''
**Ranged Weapon
**5.7 DPS
**Traits: Zealous Leadership (Attacks with Venom Cannon heal minions up to 5% of total Health), Area of Effect (Cannon attack damages over small area)
***A deceptive weapon. Its DPS seems rather low, but this is because it does damage in an area, and in rather large chunks, potentially applying Searing to several of them at once. As a major side benefit, it heals your minions each time you land a shot. Suffice to say, this is an amazing benefit for a minion-heavy Tyrant; fire into a crowd and you can keep even your most fragile minions in the fight or that much longer. Sadly, it doesn't have the basic Venom Cannon's huge damage or close-combat capability, so it requires much more care to get the most out of...
Melee attacks also heal you minions where ever they are on the map so force attack the tanks on anvil and heal your raveners when they burrow strike into trouble.

*'''Rending Stranglethorn''' - ''Achievement: Kill 20 enemies in 1 second''
**Ranged Weapon
**16.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppression (Can suppress enemies)
***A great ranged weapon, especially early on, with amazing synergy with Bio-Plasma and Toxin Sacs. This biomorph works especially well if you're teamed with other players who would otherwise lack a means of suppressing enemies - its relatively high damage and sizable AOE, paired with indirect-fire capability and huge range makes it an outstanding weapon for ranged support, especially given its relatively high accuracy. Additionally, it has a highly useful secondary feature - in close-combat, the Rending Stranglethorn does knockdown with every melee attack, meaning that in addition to being an excellent fire support weapon, it can be used to stun-lock high-profile threats, like the Lictors on Anvil of Khorne.

*'''Behemoth Claw''' - ''Achievement: Kill 25 Superheavy Units ([[Khaine|Avatar of Khaine]], [[Swarmlord]], [[Baneblade]], [[Land Raider]], [[Great Unclean One]], Ork Battle Wagon)''
**Melee Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**+50 Armor
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks ignore armor)
***The Behemoth Claw is, without exception, the single strongest melee weapon in the game, exceeding even the Sorcerer's Cataclysmic Hellblade and the Mekboy's Zzap Knife. It isn't capable of burst damage like the Staff of Fate or Warp Spear, but it doesn't need to be - unlike these powerhouses, the Behemoth Claw is entirely raw damage - it completely bypasses armor, gives a huge bonus to your own defense, and thus boasts one of the highest DPSes of any close-combat weapon in the game, as well. Nothing survives this beast when the Tyrant has it equipped. Sadly, getting it is quite difficult, but it's definitely worth your time and patience. When you need to punch a rampaging Dreadnought in the balls, accept no substitutes.

*'''Devourer Cannon''' - ''DLC''
**Ranged Weapon
**7.4 DPS
**Traits: Gestate (Units hit by Devourer Cannon take 30 damage over 6 seconds)
***The Devourer Cannon is relatively weak on its own - it has a sluggish fire rate and does acceptable damage per hit, but without armor piercing or AOE, it's a rather lackluster weapon. Thankfully, the Devourer Cannon has other advantages - if it hits a unit, ''all units in that squad will be infested and take damage over time''. This effect also procs with Searing, allowing you to do considerable damage to squads with every single shot. Unfortunately, it's not an actual AOE weapon and has rather poor damage against armor (the infested damage isn't anything to write home about when targeting the likes of a Dreadnought). It's worth noting that whilst this weapon can be quite powerful, it's also terribly risky to bring to the Coliseum if not prepared - it'll easily wreck the shit of any minion-focused ally you have along, potentially ruining the efforts of allied Lord Generals or Tyrants, and it's a nightmarishly effective weapon against low-HP heroes like the Sorcerer. Be aware. Gestate kills don't count so you only "kill" one or two in each squad. Also melee heals your pets like the high-toxin venom cannon so can give them a boost with force attacks in between waves or when surrounded.

==Accessories==
*'''Seismic Roar''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Seismic Roar (15 Energy, stuns nearby enemies)
***Mediocre at the outset. It's a decent ability for one available at the start, but it has a huge lag before properly firing off and a surprisingly small radius of effect. If timed correctly, it's extremely effective for buying a few seconds of breathing room, but it's extremely easy to misjudge the timing on and wind up with a face-full of Banshees or Stormboyz if you screw it up. Synapse makes this ability infinitely better and much more versatile, since it costs bugger all and can be fired off whilst using ranged weapons. It's generally avoided by most high-level builds, but has some use on ranged Tyrants.

*'''Genestealer Nest''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Call Genestealer (10 Energy, summons 3 [[Genestealer]]s as minions)
***Genestealers are your first minion and the only one you deploy in groups. Individually, they're extremely fragile, tending to die ''extremely'' quickly if targeted unless you're packing the likes of Bonded Carapace or Reinforced Chitin. On the plus side, they're fast, extremely inexpensive, available right from the get-go, and have a built in Corroding trait when they attack that temporarily weakens enemy armor with each hit. Paired with their quick attack speed, these vicious little beasts are amazingly powerful with Enhanced Scything Talons and can easily act as impromptu medics with Crushing Talons. They're the go-to minion for Feedback Invulnerability chains. For raw efficiency, they're a tough minion to beat, even if they tend to wither under fire, and they make excellent screeners when dealing with large enemy groups or ranged units.

*'''Toxin Sacs''' - ''Level 2''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Searing (Tyrant's attacks deal additional damage over time, scaling with the Tyrant's maximum health. Stacks with itself. Minions also get this trait.)
***A great upgrade for not only the Tyrant, but all of your minions, especially the Tyrant Guard. Causes both your - and your minions' - attacks to do 10% of the user's max HP over 2 seconds. This burn damage is particularly vicious when from ranged weapons from the Tyrant, and, due to it scaling off HP, it works much better for the Tyrant Guard and Warrior than for the Ravener and Genestealers. Make a note that this biomorph will make your doppleganger in Wave 16 a much bigger threat, due to the comp getting higher max health. Curiously, this upgrade also effects the Bio-Plasma attack from Extended Carapace.

*'''Tyrant Guard Nest''' - ''Level 3''
**Ability: Call Tyrant Guard (20 Energy, summons a [[Tyrant Guard]] as a minion)
***Sometimes called "Pangy" by fans, due to the Tyrant Guard's resemblance to a Pangolin, the Tyrant Guard is the second summon you get, and quite a good one. The Tyrant guard is a competent melee attacker, and more than this, the single toughest minion you get as a Hive Tyrant. It can survive for quite a while between its high health and heavy armor, and it has the ability to taunt enemies to draw their attacks away from the Hive Tyrant. Its enormous healthpool means that the Tyrant Guard benefits more from Toxin Sacs than it does Implant Attack, and that it's the most powerful minion you have if blown up with Explosive Decomposition. Note, however, that its damage output, whilst satisfactory, isn't great, and it's actually the weakest of Tyrant's minions on offense otherwise. Use it well.

*'''Warrior Nest''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Call Warrior (15 Energy, summons a [[Tyranid Warrior]] with scything talons as a minion)
***Tyranid Warriors aren't as tough as Tyrant Guards, nor as easily-spammed as Genestealers, but they make up for this with raw damage - in close-combat, they are easily your strongest overall minion, and the fact that they have a built-in minor Armor Piercing trait makes them even better. Seeing these guys eviscerate Space Marines or other heavy infantry isn't uncommon, and the fact that they have a leaping attack with knockdown means they often wind up drawing fire by getting in the enemy's face. Whilst they tend to go down fairly quickly, they're the second-toughest minion the Tyrant gets and probably one of the most consistently useful. Due to moderate health, they benefit more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs. Their innate armor piercing stacks with that from Enlarged Scything Talons - this enables them to act as vehicle harassers. Overall, an excellent minion with few real weaknesses. More specialized builds may have particular use for the other choices, but the Warrior benefits from pretty much all of the Tyrant's support equipment but doesn't explicitly ''need'' any of it to be effective. As such, it works well as a "set it and forget it" extra body for damage and distraction.

*'''Warp Field''' - ''Level 8''
**+50 Energy
**Ability: Warp Field (Force field that makes attacks drain energy instead of health)
***Warp Field's easy to ignore; energy shield abilities are normally stunningly mediocre. Warp Field, however, is ''vastly'' better than the others. The shield from Warp Field is not only more efficient than the others, and not only is on a class that needs it way more - taking it essentially doubles the Hive Tyrant's energy pool, which otherwise cannot get ''any'' improvements. The amount of survivability Warp Field potentially adds is ''insane'' - when paired with Psychic Scream, Toxic Miasma, or The Horror, and especially Synapse, Warp Field really comes into its own. Make a note - Warp Field doesn't shut off automatically when your energy runs out, which makes it easy to misjudge how much juice is left in it. Be careful.
*** Important Note: Multiple sources around the Internet claim that Warp Field reduces incoming damage by 50% when active; in-game observations seem to corroborate this claim. However, it is unclear as to whether this damage reduction effect is dependent on the Hive Tyrant's energy levels (that is, whether or not Warp Field reduces incoming damage when the Hive Tyrant's energy has been depleted). Gameplay evidence strongly suggests that Warp Field converts damage to energy at a 2:1 ratio, meaning that the Hive Tyrant loses 1 point of energy per 2 points of damage while Warp Field is active (meaning that 100 energy effectively represents 200 health). This is consistent with how energy shields of various kinds (such as the Iron Halo) work in Skirmish mode, and would provide a 50% damage reduction while Warp Field is active. If accurate, this means that if the Hive Tyrant's energy is depleted, an active Warp Field will ''not'' provide any reduction to incoming damage. Any builds incorporating Warp Field should consider this possibility.

*'''Implant Attack''' - ''Level 9''
**+20 Minion Health
**Traits: Combat Master (Tyrant has +30% Melee and Ranged damage), Minion Combat Master (Minion has +30% Melee and Ranged damage)
***Implant Attack provides not only much of the benefits of Enlarged Scything Talons (and indeed, stacks with it), but it gives those benefits to the Hive Tyrant, as well. This boost is absolutely ''amazing'' for Bio Plasma and gives immense benefits to both the Warrior and Ravener. Implant Attack is much less risky to use than Toxin Sacs, since it does ''not'' give disproportionate upsides to your doppleganger like Toxin Sacs does, and the fact that it doesn't require any use of HP-boosting armor means it's viable for more builds.

*'''Psychic Scream''' - ''Level 11''
**Ability: Psychic Scream (10 Energy, reduces attack and defenses of nearby enemies)
***Without a doubt, one of the most powerful and unsung abilities in last stand. For 10 energy, it all-but-cripples the offense and defense of every enemy in a massive radius around the Hive Tyrant (specifically, it reduces the damage output of effected enemies by 75% and increases the damage they take by 25%) - and it only gets better the more enemies it hits. If you're not a fan of Feedback Invulnerability Spam, and you like an ability which helps all your allies, lean in this direction.

*'''Bio-Feedback''' - ''Level 12''
**+25 Health
**Traits: Feedback Invulnerability (When a minion dies, Tyrant gains 5 seconds of invulnerability)
***If you bring something cheap to kill like Genestealers or a Warrior, than this will easily be your uber-tool to glory. Decried as cheese by some, but considering how much Last Stand loves to have its enemies openly fucking cheat, those claims can be safely ignored. Use it for powerful - if risky - invulnerability exploitation and laugh as you simply never die for as long as you can maintain energy.

*'''Explosive Decomposition''' - ''Level 16''
**+50 Health, +20 Minion Health
**Trait: Minion Death Throes (When minions die, they explode, dealing damage over an area. Damage scales based on the sacrificed minion's max health)
***If you're more fond of the minions with a tendency to die, like Genestealers, Raveners, and Warriors, this is potentially very useful - it makes your minions generate a potent toxic cloud each and every time one dies - whether because you re-summoned your minions, or because an enemy killed them. If stacked with HP boosting gear and Searing, this can be quite potent - simply re-summon minions for raw damage, or use them as sacrificial damage sources by throwing them at the enemy and forgetting about them.

*'''Ravener Nest''' - ''Level 18''
**Ability: Call Ravener (Energy, Summons a [[Ravener]] with a Deathspitter as a minion)
***The Ravener is the second-most fragile minion, being a little easier to kill than the Warrior despite the Ravener having slightly more health. However, it's by far the strongest minion offensively. Its dual [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons|Deathspitter]]s are incredibly powerful, capable of shredding lighter foes in seconds, and it can burrowstrike in order to disrupt and damage groups or get into position. This minion goes from being simply strong to being obscenely powerful with upgrades - with the right ones, this minion is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most dangerous ones - if something of a glass cannon. Even a Carnifex goes down in about half a dozen shots from a fully-kitted-out Ravener.

==Commander Items==
More than any other hero, the Tyrant has perhaps the best Commander Items in the game with the deadliest boosts to his playstyle.

*'''Thornback''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability - Charge (10 Energy, Tyrant charges over to destination)
***Causes the Tyrant to charge forward, hurling aside enemies in its way. This ability destroys some cover pieces, and has shorter range than it initially appears to. It also does little real damage, and has a reputation for being inefficient. Its main advantages are that it's the only mobility boost the Tyrant has until Articulated Carapace, and the only Commander Item ''period'' until Level 15. It can actually be useful all game long even past this if you know what you're doing - after all, it's the only mobility boost a Tyrant gets - but due to its finicky nature and tendency to stop short if you hit level geometry or large enemies, often isn't all that great for the most part.

*'''Synapse''' - ''Level 15''
**Reduces all energy costs by 50%.
***Simple, simple, simple. Never has such a simple upgrade been so absolutely ''amazing''. Synapse makes everything you do more viable - Toxin Misama spamming, Firing off Bio-Plasma, Psychic Scream, etc - It lowers the cost for absolutely everything and the advantages this provides to almost every build that doesn't specifically ''require'' the boost of Evolution or the mobility enhancement of Thornback can and will find a use for it.

*'''Evolution''' - ''Level 20''
**+2 Health Regen
**Traits: Minion Resilient (+50 Minion Health and +2 Minion Health regen), Minion Swift (+15% Minion speed), Minion Combat Expert (+25% Minion Melee and Ranged damage)
***It's rare that any Commander Item, let alone another of the Hive Tyrant's - is capable of out-performing the sheer, balls-out amazing power of Synapse, but by god, this one does. Evolution gives absolutely massive bonuses to your minions - roughly equal to having Articulated Carapace, Implant Attack, and Bonded Carapace's passives attached to your minions - ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Even better, it stacks with those, for extra awesome, and provides an always-useful health regen bonus to the Tyrant itself. Boosting survivability, boosting minions, and potentially turning even Genestealers into death machines, Evolution is one upgrade that is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, you get it at level 20.

==Tactics & Strategy==
* '''On Achievements:'''
** ''Heavy Hitter'' (Which unlocks the Behemoth Claw) is an achievement that tests your skill on the Anvil of Khorne, as that's the only place where you'll be able to take down Superheavy Units. Even if you're only able to kill one or two of them, you'll be making progress. The real bugger is just making it there.
** ''Megakill!'' (Which unlocks the Rending Stranglethorn) is something that requires the use of either the Devourer Cannon, Bio-Plasma, or Poison Cysts, as these are the only tools the Tyrant owns ''other'' than the Rending Stranglethorn itself that can kill that many enemies in that span of time. Target a pair of high-number, low-health units with the Devourer Cannon (cultists on Anvil are ''ideal''), cluster up a bunch of enemies into a choke-point for Bio-Plasma, or camp a spawn during an Imperial Guard or Ork Wave with Toxic Miasma. Any of these three will earn you the Megakill award easily.

* '''On Minions:'''
** '''[[Genestealer]]s''' are your first available minion, are close-combat focused, and the only minion you get more than one of. As far as Minions go, they're not much to write home about on paper - they lack the things that make pretty much all of the other Minions better choices. They do less damage, and perhaps most annoyingly, they're ''excessively'' fragile. Indeed, they are barely more survivable than guardsmen. What they have in return is that they boast the highest attack rate of any minion creature. They have innate corroding effects on their melee attacks (they temporarily debuff enemy armor when they hit), but the effect is relatively minor and won't usually change the tide of battle. Genestealers as a whole will thus have two main attractions: The fact that you get three of the damned things per cast, and their relatively low cost. In addition: they are comparatively fast AND, as melee units, can lock ranged units in melee, thus potentially shutting down damage from a single ranged squad (though impossible to control directly, they tend to attack nearby enemies when they spawn, so deploying them carefully provides some level of control, though their AI can be unpredictable in this regard). Another curious merit they have that is often under-appreciated is their tendency to lock exceptionally powerful and dangerous enemies into their overly extravagant sync kill animations. It can buy you some few precious seconds when avoiding Dreadnoughts, Carnifexes, and the Avatar of Khaine while they spend several seconds showing off their melee talents to their friends. Meanwhile your new Genestealers are back to going choppy on everything else. Unbeknownst to a lot of players, enemy units are not completely invincible while sync killing; searing and corrosion will continue to liquify them, and the several stacks of searing they acquire while distracted will continue to devour their health bar.
***Genestealers become ''very'' attractive if paired with sacrificial abilities - Explosive Decomposition or Bio-Feedback. Indeed, they're central to both Feedback Invulnerability and Minion Bomber builds due to their extremely cheap cost and the quick cooldown of their summon. They turn into a ''very'' different threat, however, the second you get Evolution and pair this up with literally any other minion buff - keep a keen eye out for Bonded Exoskeleton, Articulated Carapace, Crushing Talons, Implant Attack, and Toxin Sacs. Though Searing damage seems counter-intuitive for them, the fact that they attack so quickly means it builds up quickly and doesn't give a damn about armor. They actually become halfway survivable with a bit of support, especially if you're using the High-Toxin Venom Cannon or Fire on their intended targets with the Devourer Cannon or Stranglethorn to soften them up. If all three Genestealers focus their attacks on one target, they can often do more damage than almost any other minion, but care must be taken given their small size and low health pool; without Evolution and Minion buffs, they're solely useful as screening troops or suicide minions, and don't expect them to do the former very long.
**'''[[Tyrant Guard]]''' Are your second minion. These guys are the "tanks" of your minions, having by ''far'' the highest HP and defense. In fact, seeing these things stay standing in the craziest of circumstances isn't unheard of. They have strong melee attacks, but with awkward hit rates that render them squarely average as a melee combatant. Their big edge is actually the fact that they refuse to die, and in fact, use a Taunt ability to draw attacks to them and away from you. In [[Last Stand]], this is a very useful feature, since any attacks directed at the oversized pangolin and not your Hive Tyrant is are ones you don't need to worry too much about. His high health pool renders him a natural choice for Searing, but with a mediocre attack rate, he's only so-so as an offensive choice. You choose the Tyrant Guard to be a meat wall that attacks. As an interesting note, The Tyrant Guard is also ''the'' most powerful minion to use for a Minion Bomber build due to his massive HP count.
***Uniquely, the Tyrant Guard doesn't change all that much when given Evolution. His attack power goes way up, as does his mobility and survivability, but none of this really matters to the reason you chose the damned thing to begin with, which is his tanking for you. Thankfully, that goes way up as well, making him one of the better utility minions. The Tyrant Guard may never solo certain high-profile enemies or dominate battles like the Warrior or Ravener, but his role - keeping you alive - is arguably more critical. They tend to shine brightest in the mid-game, where Evolution isn't available yet and the various assets the Tyrant Guard brings to the table make it the most valuable minion by a head and a hair, but they'll start to flag at level 20.
** '''[[Tyranid Warrior|Warriors]]''' are your first dedicated combat minion that aren't the Genestealers. The Warrior is fast, aggressive, and unlike the Genestealers has a special attack - it can leap into the battle to knock a target down. Even better, it is ''significantly'' stronger than the Genestealers and has a minor Armor Piercing trait. However, whilst quite fast and strong, he also is a melee fighter only, and has an abysmal health pool - whilst he is much tougher than a Genestealer, the fact that you get only one of him means that he's easily [[Tarpit]]ted and worn down. In essence, with this guy you trade the squad numbers of the Genestealers for putting all your eggs in one basket with a single Warrior.
*** Warriors initially are good for squad disruption and single-target damage. They are much more likely to survive close-combat with tougher opposition than the Genestealers, though the fact that you only get one means they tend to melt against ranged units. Early on, they're ideal carriers for Explosive Decomposition (due to their natural tendency to get in the enemy's face), and their high damage output means excellent synergy with Implant Attack. They really come into their own, however, when you have Evolution. Evolution bolsters these guys to an almost absurd degree, making them easily able to butcher enemies and take on small squads of opposition without trouble. Throw on minion buffs and Warriors are the second-most damaging minion, as well as durable enough to take abuse. Do note, however, that they aren't as durable as Tyrant Guard and will die with shocking regularity until fully kitted out. Interestingly, they're one of the rare few units that benefits more from Implant Attack than Toxin Sacs, owing to their high damage, but with their having the second-highest health of your minions, they can use Searing damage just fine as well.
** '''[[Ravener]]s''' are your last minion and arguably the most powerful. They're the only ranged minion as well, armed with a twin-linked [[Tyranid Bio-Weapons#Deathspitter|Deathspitter]]. They do significant damage with this attack, are competent in close-combat, and possess the unique ability to "burrowstrike" and damage and disrupt enemy units. They're also one of the fastest minions. However, what you get in damage and speed with this guy, you lose in durability - it's roughly as durable as the Warrior, whilst being both a larger unit and one that tends to draw ranged fire towards it due to being a shooter. This unit is as high in the level tree of the Tyranids for a reason - it's a staple of most minion builds owing to its considerable power and utility, though it's extremely fragile.
*** Evolution is practically a requirement for getting the most out of these bastards. The amazing part is that they're strong enough that if you load them with literally NOTHING but minion buffs, they can arguably win wave after wave for you. Seeing them gun down entire squads in a few volleys, melt Wraithlords into puddles, and punch gaping wounds out of the errant Carnifex is ''not'' unheard of. Without the all-important Evolution upgrade, Raveners struggle heavily; they can do decent damage, but their damage is notably less and not anywhere near as good against armor. With their survivability also taking a hit, their fragility often tends to impress itself on you. As such, the best option for the Ravener is to load it up with Evolution, or shelve it in favor of the other minions, which tend to be more useful in the mid-game (before Evolution becomes available).

==Builds==

'''BUILD 1 - INVINCIBILITY LAUGHING OUT LOUDS'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback, any minion summoning (Genestealers recommended because of how cheap they are, especially ''with'' Synapse), maybe Explosive Decomposition.
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' The big draw to this build is that you can kill your minions and re-summon them again, not only making them a cheap near-infinite shield thanks to Synapse and Bio-Feedback, but also a walking source of bombs if you decide to equip Explosive Decomposition. Armor, on the meantime, is a largely open choice, though Poison Cysts could help with clearing out some swarms. Weapons are also largely open, but talons and claws better utilize the free invincibility.

'''BUILD 2 - SUPPORT TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (20 if Evolution)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream, Tyrant Guard Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse or Evolution

'''Explanation:''' If invuln-spamming Genestealers isn't doing it for you, and whilst there's a certain beauty to that to be sure, you may prefer a hands-on approach. Don't worry - /tg/ has your back. There's something to be said for a far more frontline build designed to work with teammates - and good god, does this build deliver. Venom Cannon has absolutely monstrous armor-penetration and high damage, whilst Poison Cysts gives you armor and health to spare - as well as the Tyrant's single greatest crowd-control move. Psychic Scream can effectively turn entire ranged force groups that would otherwise be terrifying (such as the Marine Squads on Wave 6 of Bloodied Coliseum) into a complete non-issue by crippling their attack and defense. This build easily can support an unoptimized team, and turns into complete murder when paired with a Tau Commander that has a shield drone: Bunker down in the shield-field and spam the hell out of Toxic Miasma the second enemies get close. Tyrant Guard is there to draw fire, something it excels at.

'''BUILD 3 - INFECTION TYRANT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Explosive Decomposition, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This is a high-level build well-suited for squad support. Devourer Cannon's gestate affects an entire squad and stacks with Toxin Sacs. Throw in the Ravener for ranged damage and you can kick back and relax as your larvae-shooting gun quickly mulches squads and slowly grinds down even heavy enemies into submission.

'''BUILD 4 - MORE LIKE SEXUAL ASSAULT-VENER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Enlarged Scything Talons
*Armor: Articulated Carapace
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Implant Attack, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:'''Every single game needs some kind of "Nutter" build that makes absolutely no sense but somehow works well on its own merits, such as the infamous [[Daemonhunters|Krazypantzoff Walker Army of Doom]]. This is one of the most spectacular in Last Stand, and it's disturbingly powerful. The general gist is simple: create the single most powerful Ravener you can muster, and back off as it kills FUCKING EVERYTHING. With this loadout, the Ravener will kill any conventional enemy in one shot, a Wraithlord in 2-3 bursts, a Carnifex in 6, and a Warboss in less than ten. Vehicles, infantry, nothing can survive more than a few barrages from your hideously over-powered Ravener of doom, and all you need to give up for it is the ability to do much of anything but summon the damned thing. Articulated Carapace is, in a weird case of irony, the best armor for this build - The Ravener benefits from doubled Swift, as well as Fearless, and perhaps most critically, you have one target that you absolutely NEED to use Horror on in Wave 16 - your counterpart's Ravener, to take it out of the fight.

'''BUILD 5 - NIDZILLA'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 16 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Extended Carapace (provides Bio-Plasma)
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health)
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' This build is both effective and ludicrously fun to play. Bio-Plasma spreads Searing, so what it doesn't kill on impact, it kills over time. You're reasonably durable with Behemoth Claws and Psychic Scream, and you're also reasonably mobile with Charge. You don't need Synapse because none of your abilities cost more than ten energy, and you hit like a truck against single targets and against blobs. On the downside, you ARE fragile without support, and Bio-Plasma requires careful aim. Keep this in mind and play conservatively. On the other hand: with support, you are essentially death incarnate.

'''BUILD 6 - PSYCHIC MONSTROSITY'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (16 if Explosive Decomposition, and requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement')'''

*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Thornback Carapace
*Accessories: Warp Field; Psychic Scream; (Implant Attack, Toxin Sacs, or Explosive Decomposition)
*Commander Item: Thornback (for mobility) or Synapse (to reduce energy costs)

'''Explanation:''' This build is powerful, flexible, and durable. When Warp Field is active your energy effectively provides 200 extra health, and you have ways to deal with both large groups of melee units (which die simply by attacking you) and powerful single targets (which you can dispatch with melee attacks). Be conservative with your energy usage, because your energy is also your health when Warp Field is active. Try to maintain Psychic Scream consistently on a large number of mobs (further enhancing your endurance), and abuse line-of-sight to restore your energy where possible. Use Charge for mobility as-necessary; if your team composition emphasizes stationary gameplay (for example, if your team includes a Lord General), consider swapping Thornback for Synapse to reduce the energy cost of Psychic Scream.
* Though Warp Field and Psychic Scream are mandatory for this build, there is an extent to which your third accessory is more flexible. Toxin Sacs simply adds 10 armor-ignoring damage over two seconds for each melee attack. Implant Attack adds 9 damage (which also ignores armor due to the Behemoth Claws), but the bonus damage provided by Implant Attack transpires instantly; this reduces the number of hits required to kill a mob, thereby allowing you to perform hit-and-run attacks more effectively. Explosive Decomposition provides 50 additional health, which can provide a useful buffer against enemies with attacks that ignore armor, but given that the bulk of your health comes from Warp Field (the damage reduction effects of which may not apply when your energy is depleted; see '''Accessories''' section for more information), even 50 extra health is a comparatively small amount. Ultimately, your third accessory tends to vary based on player preference.

'''BUILD 7 - BOOMSHOT'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 18 (But requires 'Megakill!' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Rending Stranglethorn
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs; Explosive Decomposition (for 50 additional health); Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Thornback

'''Explanation:''' Though its damage output is not necessarily mind-blowing on its own, the Rending Stranglethorn spreads Searing to whatever it hits, and since you have 225 health, it's doing 22.5 damage per hit to EVERYTHING it hits (in addition to suppressing them). You can take out whole mobs in one shot. The Stranglethorn can also fire over walls, allowing you to abuse line-of-sight. With Charge, you're maneuverable enough to survive (this build doesn't work very well with Evolution, since you can't run when caught in melee), and the Ravener is, as usual, pretty gnarly (though not as gnarly as it could be with Evolution). The only drawback to this build is that the Stranglethorn really doesn't like cover, and your shots can start to become extremely erratic as explosions chew up the terrain. Hence, this build starts to become unreliable towards the late game as craters begin to accumulate.

'''BUILD 8 - MINION BOMBER'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton (alternative: Thornback Carapace)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is a variation on the Invulnerable Tyrant, hybridized somewhat with the Psychic Monstrosity mentioned above. The Invulnerable Tyrant relies on minions dying to keep you alive; with the Minion Bomber, your Genestealers heal you while they are still alive. Evolution (and Bonded Exoskeleton, if present) make(s) your Genestealers stronger and beefier, allowing them to do more damage while they're on the field and heal you for longer -- but they are useful even in death due to Explosive Decomposition, which also benefits from their improved health. For this build, both Bonded Exoskeleton and Thornback Carapace are potentially useful; Bonded Exoskeleton provides beefier minions, whereas Crushing Talons can help compensate for the lack of a health buff provided by Thornback Carapace.

'''BUILD 9 - Toxin Sac Abuse Tyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: High Toxin Venom Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Toxin Sacs, Tyrant Guard Nest, Ravener Nest
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' This build is about searing damage. Bonded exoskeleton and evolution combined give +100 health to minions and +75 to you. The tyrant guard is in this build because he's very tanky here and he has tons of health to make the most of searing. The ravener is in this build due to high health, great damage output and good mobility. The high toxin venom canon makes the +4.0 regen minions even harder to kill and the AOE damage combined with searing makes it quite useful against nearly any enemy. The minions generally last forever. This build is risky on bloodied colosseum, but it's great on anvil. Health raising items like explosive decomp and bio-feedback were left out because of diminishing returns- bonded and evolution have huge synergy with this rest of this build- taking decomp or bio would force you to drop one of the minions, which means a lot less searing damage and less meat between you and the enemy. Bio and decomp work best when used with CHEAP minions like stealers that you can spam again and again.

This build turns most matches into easy mode. With a boss pole mekboy, it's comedic. I actually saw a tyrant disconnect using this build in wave 2 and the minions stayed alive through wave 20, continuing to mulch pretty much everything from boss units to infantry blobs.

'''BUILD 10 - Artillyrant'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 20

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Venom Cannon
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Implant Attack, Ravener Nest, Psychic Scream
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' Designed for Gunline support, ideally alongside a Tau Commander, Imperial General, or both. Set up amidst your allies, and use the Venom Cannon's monstrous raw power to demolish enemies that get too close. Ravener is there for allied fire support, and is plenty big a threat with just the doubled Combat Mastery of Implant Attack and Evolution. Psychic Scream and Toxic Miasma help keep melee aggressors away from allies. The armor piercing melee of the Venom Cannon contributes beautifully to this in close-combat as well.

'''BUILD 11 - Support Tank (really unkillable all Arenas)'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Thornback Carapace (DLC)
*Accessories: Psychic Scream; Genestealer Nest; Bio-Feedback
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Ok easy build, you don't kill like with some other builds, but well you never die, it is quite impossible to die cause you will never run out of energy to spam Genestealer's on quite good positions so your invul is up. Also you can spam Psychic Scream so your even Random Guys or Yourself can easily kill all Targets. When you die with this build you should consider to use hotkeys instead your mouse to spam skills :P. You can easily take aggro from all Melee and even some Range with your melee Attacks, especially behind some range its wise to use the Genestealer's. When Lag or the Delay on Invul hits you, don't panic cause you screamed so no real damage, in Anvil you can easily dispatch while your Teammates lie around the Infantry and then rezz them with Invul on, or just rape the whole Game even if it takes a bit and never Rezz at all, but consider people maybe leave you alone doesn't matter with a bit of skill, time and Target prioritizing you still Solo the whole Last Stand. You survive and while your Invul is up again you get Health back. You also have enough energy to tank wave 20 even without 1 Guy killed from any Map. Have fun and show all, who's the Unkillable, never dying, Immortal Raidboss of the Arena!

'''BUILD 12 - Immortal Toxic Death'''

'''Minimum Lvl: 15 (But requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need:'''
*Weapon: Crushing Talons
*Armor: Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Bio-Feedback; Explosive Decomposition; Genestealer Nest
*Commander Item: Synapse

'''Explanation:''' Similar to the Support Tank build, this one is ALMOST unkillable if you're fast enough with hitting Genestealers when off cooldown. It also kills basically anything that gets too close, especially infantry. Watch your Energy with Toxic Miasma, using ALL of it is the most likely way to die as you will have to wait a few seconds to summon minions again and get your shield back. Toxic Miasma stacks however and ignores armor, and despite the energy cost is on a short cooldown... two or three stacks will destroy anything staying on them after a bit of waiting, and a single casting will wreck any infantry around you in a wide area. This is incredibly useful for any large infantry swarm and especially Ogryn swarms on Anvil of Khorne. This owes itself to Bio-Feedback and Explosive Decomposition together adding 75 health, a trait that has amazing synergy with Toxic Miasma, boosting its damage which ignores armor for 20 seconds to everything in a wide area every time it is cast, leaving a huge AoE pool of death for anything caught in it. It will be a fast death for lighter infantry and a slower death for anything heavy, but it will die eventually while you keep spamming Genestealers for invincibility, and the Crushing Talons causes the Genestealers to give a lot of health back while still shredding that armor so your own melee attacks will start to do damage in addition to the poison between castings. It is also effective against your clone on Waves 16 and 20, because unlike you the AI will only re-summon Genestealers when all of them die on their own rather than killing them for the invincibility. This build will turn you into a slow death for anything and everything near you while you will be nearly impossible to kill... just be careful of enemies with big AoEs that can easily chew up your Genestealers as fast as you summon them, as if they die too quickly the cooldown on them will last longer than your invincibility. Position of summoning is often key against enemies like the Space Marine superheavy on wave 20 of Anvil.

'''BUILD 13 - DoT Minion Master'''

'''Minimum Level: 7 or 20'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Devourer Cannon
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Warrior Nest, Toxin Sacs.
*Commander Item: Thornback OR (very big "or") Evolution.

'''Explanation:''' This build is about supporting your minions (and sometimes your allies... sometimes) with the insane DoT damage you will be throwing out. With Toxin Sacs and Bonded Exoskeleton your Tyrant Guard will be all-but invincible whilst also dealing respectable damage and your Warrior will be able to survive long enough to make a difference in melee. You will focus on putting the hurt on squads of infantry that can overwhelm your minions. Prioritize large squads over tough, small squads. At absolute worst you will need two shots to wipe such squads in a few seconds. You are tough enough to suffer moderate attacks and energy management will be easy, seeing as the only thing you need to do is recast your minion abilities when they die once every few millennia. Melee and tough, singular units will be a problem (you will require several shots off in order to do ''decent'' damage against) but leave that to your minions and allies to handle. Also, you MIGHT actually want to consider taking Thornback over Evolution. Even without Evolution your minions will be very tough and very killy. If you are good enough at aiming Charge the extra maneuverability will really help once you get in between a rock and a hard place. Otherwise, enjoy mowing down waves of infantry while your demi-god minions tear apart anything in close combat.

'''BUILD 14 - Big Game Hunter'''

'''Minimum Level: 20 (Requires 'Heavy Hitter' achievement)'''

'''Gear you need.'''
*Weapon: Behemoth Claws
*Armor: Bonded Exoskeleton or Poison Cysts
*Accessories: Tyrant Guard Nest, Toxin Sacs, Psychic Scream.
*Commander Item: Evolution

'''Explanation:''' A build that is not exceptionally flashy, but fairly amusing nonetheless. You're probably not going to rack up the kill count, but what you do kill makes all the difference. The build is a little less cheesy than Bio-Feedback and more team friendly since its survivability hinges off the use of Psychic Scream and the Tyrant Guard, both of which make life easier for everyone. The strategy is simple: at the beginning of each wave, lumber your fat ass on over towards the biggest enemy on the map, scream at it, then just punch the fucker until it dies. Ignore everything else unless absolutely necessary. Psychic Scream nukes enemy damage so severely that your improved regen and claw armor will overcome the units you're walking by, and with the Tyrant Guard in your wake he'll usually start drawing whatever is chasing you back to him, and if they couldn't put a dent in you, they definitely won't take down the Guard very easily. You're a laser guided surface-to-asshole missile, chopping Dreadnoughts like tin cans, cracking open Carnifexes, licking the Lictors, swatting the Swarmlord, dismantling vehicles... Even Araghast will go down against you if you catch him off guard. Note that you're susceptible to tarpits without team-mates, so you can pack Poison Cysts if you need to melt the occasional banshee swarm. Bear in mind that weakens the Guard a little. This build can also use Crushing Talons instead of Behemoth Claws, which makes the Tyrant Guard a little more resilient, and gives you an extra trickle of health whenever the Guard shanks somebody. With Crushing Talons you will witness a drastic drop in DPS, meaning that your notable damage source will be the searing stacks.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Tyranid]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T23:41:08Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Commander Items */

The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, it's easy to look at the Necron Overlord's extremely high "raw numbers" and think out-of-hand that the he's overpowered. These are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. And let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when his weaknesses are kept in mind. Looking past his strengths however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects than just "low health/low damage" etc, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, and his advantages are simple to exploit, but he's not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates). Also heals living allies in the area when the duration finishes (so they don't just get taken down to 1hp while it's up and then die instantly).
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T23:40:24Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Commander Items */

The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, it's easy to look at the Necron Overlord's extremely high "raw numbers" and think out-of-hand that the he's overpowered. These are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. And let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when his weaknesses are kept in mind. Looking past his strengths however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects than just "low health/low damage" etc, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, and his advantages are simple to exploit, but he's not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates). Also heals living allies in the area when the duration finishes (so they don't just get taken down to 1hp and then die instantly).
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T23:39:45Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Commander Items */

The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, it's easy to look at the Necron Overlord's extremely high "raw numbers" and think out-of-hand that the he's overpowered. These are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. And let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when his weaknesses are kept in mind. Looking past his strengths however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects than just "low health/low damage" etc, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, and his advantages are simple to exploit, but he's not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates). Also heals living allies in the area when the duration finishes.
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T21:53:47Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B:

The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, it's easy to look at the Necron Overlord's extremely high "raw numbers" and think out-of-hand that the he's overpowered. These are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. And let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when his weaknesses are kept in mind. Looking past his strengths however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects than just "low health/low damage" etc, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, and his advantages are simple to exploit, but he's not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates.)
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T21:49:51Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B:

The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, the Necron Overlord's strengths are ''in'' his extremely high "raw numbers", and these are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. It's easy to glance at these and think out-of-hand that the Necron Overlord is overpowered; and let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when played right. Looking past them however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, but not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates.)
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

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[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Necron Overlord

2018-03-18T21:49:08Z

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The Necron overlord is a [[Last Stand]] Hero of the [[Necrons]].

==Overview==
As inevitable as death and as tough as living metal, the '''Necron Overlord''' is the second of the two DLC heroes in [[Last Stand]]. The Necron Overlord has a host of major advantages - tough armor, high health, extremely potent abilities that primarily focus on control and support, and strong damage output, all on one platform. In fact, the Necron Overlord's strengths are ''in'' his extremely high "raw numbers", and these are things that are easy to read; high number = strong. It's easy to glance at these and think out-of-hand that the Necron Overlord is overpowered; and let's not beat around the bush, correctly exploited, he ''is'' extremely powerful when played right. Looking past them however, one sees technicalities that add weaknesses in other, more esoteric respects, such as casting times and slow reactivity. To put it another way, he ''is'' very powerful, and not exactly hard to play, but not idiot-proof.

In summation, he is a relatively balanced character - albeit one who's basically designed for Last Stand, with all that implies.

The Necron Lord does two things superlatively well: Tanking and surviving. He has many options for keeping himself alive and ranks as the toughest character in Last Stand except for one of the toughness-focused Hive Tyrant, Captain, or Shas'O Commander builds. The downside is that while he has many big advantages, he essentially needs these advantages to break even with other classes, and indeed, he loses out to these in other areas; he will consistently be outrun by other heroes, and his means for improving his mobility are limited to a comparatively short-ranged teleport and an upgrade that still sees him outmaneuvered by other heroes. His damage is very high, but is almost entirely single-target; choices that give him abilities on top of this tend to weaken him by removing his fearless ability or are generally inefficient, with the Necron Overlord's abilities being consistently less efficient in terms of power/cost ratio. In general, the Necron Lord will consistently pay more for abilities which just don't match the power of other heroes unless they keep him alive or help tear down single, hardened units, in which case they'll be practically unmatched. Because most builds for the Necron Overlord focus so hard on surviving, builds that focus more on support or offense tend to do comparatively poorly and demand much more attention out of.

The Overlord has other drawbacks as well. Like the Shas'O Commander and Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Necron Overlord cannot benefit from cover and cannot enter buildings. Whilst the Necron Overlord is unshakable by default, he is not immune to being thrown around - just knocked down - which means he can get jostled away from where he needs to be. This pairs with another weakness of his - that all of his abilities have long activation times. The Necron Overlord often takes several seconds to activate an ability, during which time he can be overwhelmed or be knocked unconscious. Fight smart, or even the Necron Overlord's toughness won't be enough to save you.

==Armor==
*'''Overlord's Diadem''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
*** Default Armor. It kind of sucks, but out the gate, the Necron Lord does not have any armor unless you got the achievement for Monolithic Diadem previously, so it'll generally be a companion for the first three levels whether you like it or not.

*'''Diadem of the Nemesor''' - ''Level 4 ''
**Armor Rating: 125
**Traits: Combat Expert (+30% Melee and Ranged damage)
*** Simply put, one of the best armors the Necron Overlord gets. ''Everything'' benefits from Diadem of the Nemesor, and the huge damage boost it gives not only your attacks, but your abilities goes a long way. Much like the Farseer's Armor of Indranel, this armor is strong enough that it's extremely hard to justify the later armors the Necron Lord gets outside of specific builds.

*'''Monolithic Diadem''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Revive two allies at the same time using the Res Orb, twice in the same game''
**Armor Rating: 75
**Traits: Might of the Triarch (Reduces energy cost of abilities)
*** This is amazing. The armor rating isn't all that high by Necron standpoints, but cutting the cost of absolutely everything by 50% is huge. Any of the Diadems can be used with much less risk, making the Necron Overlord that much more able to spam. Any build that particularly loves to abuse the Necron Overlord's abilities can find a use for this, especially builds that love to abuse the Nightbringer or Doomsday Edge. Even better, as an achievement unlock, it makes decent armor available to the Necron Overlord right out the gate when going for elite ranks, making it especially worthwhile.

*'''Tachyon Diadem''' - ''Level 8''
**Armor Rating: 80
**Grants Ability: Tachyon Arrow (5 Energy; fires an extreme-ranged, armor-piercing energy bolt)
*** A tough sell. Tachyon Arrows gives the Necron Overlord a wrist-crossbow that can fire at given targets. This is extremely useful, firing out (after a short delay) obscenely long-ranged energy bolts that ignore both armor and intervening terrain, making them good for picking at targets of opportunity and generally increasing the ranged DPS of the Necron Overlord, as well as harming enemy vehicles about as much as a shot from a Shas'O's Plasma Rifle. Unfortunately, while the Arrows are very useful, they aren't very strong, meaning they're better for picking off and weakening single targets from extreme range than they are for actually killing tougher foes. Very handy, especially with good positioning and Phase Shifter. Between its low cost and the fact that the cooldown is instantaneous with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this little piece of wargear is by no means a powerhouse, but can be extremely useful on long-ranged builds.

*'''Technomancer's Diadem''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor Rating: 65
**Grants Ability: Voidblast (18 Energy; launch an explosive energy wave that knocks foes back)
*** The Necron Overlord's own version of the Captain' Oath of Merciless Rage, Voidblast is a handy utility tool. The damage is moderate, but the actual blast will hurl foes away from you, making it pretty damned handy. Melee builds can use it for additional disruption or damage, and ranged builds can use it for a "get the hell away from me" button. The downside is that the Technomancer's Diadem has the worst armor available of all the Necron Lord's choices, but it's still possible to get ludicrously solid defenses from the Glyph of the Implacable and Glyph of Living Metal, so the loss isn't as big as it otherwise could be. A gimmicky choice with some possibilities, but ''really'' hard to actually engineer into a build.

*'''Diadem of Reanimation''' - ''Level 12''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Reanimation Protocols (Self-resurrect after a delay)
*** Good armor rating (only 15 points less than Nemesor), and you get to resurrect automatically without having to wait for teammates to pick you up. Of course, the goal should be to not get incapacitated in the first place, but at least now you won't feel so bad about bringing everyone else down with you. If you're the last guy on your team to fall (which you probably WILL be because nothing is as tanky as a Necron Overlord) the game will end in defeat before you reanimate, so this isn't exactly something you want to be counting on. Additionally, you will revive with significantly less health than you would have if you were revived conventionally, so while a very handy ability, especially with good teammates, it can be hard to justify given that you have other ways to get it, including Phylactery and the Resurrection Orb.

==Weapons==
'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Necron Overlord's weapons fall into one of three categories. Ranged Staves of Light (Staff of the Obelisk, Celestial Staff, Staff of the Phaeron, Lance of Annihilation) do not provide Fearless or Unshakable, since they help the Necron Overlord bypass one of his main downsides (his mobility) but they do hit much harder in melee than would normally be expected from a ranged weapon. The Voidreaper provides both Fearless and Unshakable, but in return has a terrible special ability and really is mostly a beatstick. The Doomsday Edge, Warscythe of Extinction, and Warscythe of the Phalanx provide Unshakable, but not Fearless, since they also give useful abilities. More than any other choice, your choice of what weapon you are using will determine your playstyle. Choose wargear to emphasize your new role and you will find it works quite well for you.

*'''Staff of Light''' - ''Default''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 10.8 DPS
** +25 energy
*** Unlike most default weapons, the Staff of Light you start with is actually pretty good. By no means is it worth taking beyond the most elementary levels, but when first starting out, the combination of halfway-decent ranged damage with a good rate of fire and a decent amount of bonus energy makes it a decent pick. Shelve it once you get better, however.

*'''Staff of the Obelisk''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 5.1 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Area of Effect (Deals damage in a radius)
*** The staff of the Obelisk's low DPS belies its wide area of effect and shotgun-like spread. It's a decent weapon for ranged lords, which remains surprisingly viable for most of the Necron Lord's career (provided you go with Diadem of the Nemesor), as, unlike most Necron Lord weapons, it actually has an area of effect and thus is capable of taking out small groups. Built-in Armor Piercing also means that it's good at taking out tougher medium-armored enemies like Space Marines. It also doubles with a decent amount of close-combat damage. The main drawback: It doesn't have the single-target damage or bonuses of the other staves, making it mostly for killing blobs or single tough targets at close-range.

*'''Celestial Staff''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 20.7 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor), Rush of Battle (Attacks lower ability cooldowns)
**+15 Energy
**+15 Health
*** A decent health and energy bonus pairs with a pretty damned good rate of fire to make this a good ranged weapon against single targets. Though the Staff of the Phaeron is way better against single foes, and the Staff of the Obelisk is way better at crowd control, the Celestial Staff is hardly a bad weapon and Rush of Battle is a halfway-decent ability, especially with good positioning. With good micromanagement and the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, this can get your cooldowns to an almost hilariously low degree. Worth considering for power-focused builds. Can use force attack to get Rush of Battle as well. With the Glyph of the Tireless Harvest the Nightbringer's cooldown is over almost right after he's done blasting things so you can spam him all game. Played one game on bloodied beat all 20 waves no deaths killing with nothing but the Nightbringer.

*'''Warscythe of Extinction''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 14.6 DPS
**Ability: Necrotic Barrier (15 Energy; draws a wall between two points and knocks down units standing where you place it)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+1 Energy regeneration
***Swiss Army Warscythe. This weapon does it all: Gives good passives, has impressive damage, and even has a great ability, all for good measure. The Warscythe of Extinction has a great level of utility, and never stops being useful. Necrotic Barrier is not only a decent choice of weapon with ranged options, and not just an area denial tool, but a potent weapon in its own right, capable of causing significant harm to enemies when it's drawn THROUGH an enemy squad. Mostly useful for tearing apart light infantry, this can even splatter a Marine unit if it gets dragged through the wall's formation too hard. The fact that it gives an energy regen boost is just gravy. Constantly underestimated, this weapon will virtually never let you down.
*** At early levels, the energy regen from this is nearly enough to completely offset nanoscarabs, meaning you can have nearly infinite crazy health regen. By level 16, an accessory comes along that you can combine with this to make Nanoscarabs truly infinite (you can literally turn them on, leave them on all level and still have some energy regen left over to use other abilities, like Necrotic Barrier), but this has great early tanking potential.

*'''Voidreaper''' - ''Level 6''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 30.0 DPS
**Ability: Entropic Strike (Removes armor from an enemy, plus any nearby ones)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Fearless (Immune to suppression)
**+1.5 Health regeneration
*** Voidreaper is the most powerful of all the Necron Overlord's weapons in terms of damage-per-second; other warscythes may do more per hit or more aggressively, but none of them have the blend of speed, power, and passives this monster has. No real crowd control, but you'll kill fast enough to deal with small packs and lets be real you're bringing Immortal Reclamation for that anyway. Devastating against single armored targets, and the Entropic Strike will let your buddies hit just as hard. The combination of Unshakable and Fearless gives you some good mobility, but turns your wave 16 clone into a relentless bastard that will chase you right across the map. Still the most OP fucking melee weapon in the game- insane DPS, Unshakable AND Fearless, extra tankiness and completely ignores armour, with only one real rival. Only drawback is that you'll get tarpitted to fuck, but Glyph of the Reclaimer will solve that little problem for you.

*'''Staff of the Phareon''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 37.5 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing
**+75 Energy
*** The heavy hitter of the Necron Lord's ranged weapons, the Staff of the Phaeron has obscene damage-per-second, plus a massive energy buff for the wielder, making it a premier weapon for caster builds. The downside: It has a relatively slow recycle range, so while every shot does tons of damage, the Necron Lord is more vulnerable to being swarmed. Correctly used, it's devastating, as it can cut the legs out from enemy heavies long before they can get anywhere near you, and the energy buff means additional healing or support is that much easier to come by.

*'''Lance of Annihilation''' - ''Level 15''
** Two-handed Ranged Weapon
** 16.6 DPS
** Abilities: Annihilation Barrage (20 energy; Fires a bunch of beams in a line at the target area, like a Dreadnought's Assault Cannon Sweep)
** Traits: Armor Piercing (Melee attacks ignore 100 points of armor)
** 1.3 Health Regeneration
*** Single shot damage is even higher than the Staff of the Phaeron, but the rate of fire is laughable. Annihilation Barrage is probably the most destructive ability available to the Overlord short of the Nightbringer and will gib an entire line of weenies, but it's slow to fire and rather narrow, meaning it's easy to miss if the target starts moving while you're starting it up. You could possibly build an ability-based loadout around it, but you'd need Glyph of the Tireless Harvest since the cooldown is irritatingly long and your basic shots are just too damn slow. Still, between the passive health boost and long range, this is a surprisingly utilitarian option, and gives players the option of much more flexible tactics. Just plain effective, even if the recycle rate of the weapon is horrid.

*'''Warscythe of the Phalanx''' - ''Level 17''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 16.1 DPS
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback), Unending Vengeance (Killing blows with the WarScythe cause damage to near by enemies)
**+100 health
*** This heavy melee choice has abilities that are absolutely amazing. The HP boost alone is the stuff of legends; pair it with any major ability that boosts survivability (Nanoscarabs, Glyph of Living Metal, etc) and you're going to find that this one pays for itself before ever factoring in the thing's offensive capabilities. Thankfully, this weapon is no slouch there, either; though it swings slowly, each attack that kills an enemy triggers an explosion of energy that damages all nearby enemies, resulting in high cleave damage across the squad; seeing a Necron Overlord butcher an entire group of Cultists in 2-3 swings is not unheard of, and it even can help the Necron Overlord avoid being mobbed by high-threat mooks like Banshees and making you the bane of [[Tarpit|tarpits]] everywhere. The only real downside is that the damage blast of Unending Vengeance only triggers if you actually kill a target with the swing. Still, the best survivability weapon in the Necron Overlord's armory and a solid weapon through and through.

*'''Doomsday Edge''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Complete 100 total waves as the Overlord''
**Two-handed Melee Weapon
** 13.5 DPS
**Ability: Pitiless Strike (20 Energy; Damages all nearby enemies and stuns them.)
**Traits: Armorbane (Melee attacks ignore 200 armor), Unshakable (Immune to knockback)
**+30 Energy
*** Like the Warscythe of the Phalanx, the Doomsday Edge swings slowly, but hits hard, if a little weaker. In return, it offers a nifty energy buff and perhaps most notably, a terrifically useful ability in Pitiless Strike, which is a top-notch move for clearing space and supporting the battle line. If timed well, the effect can be used right after a melee attack to increae DPS and it can help disrupt enemies who would otherwise overwhelm you. The delicious energy buff it also gives you helps you use it (and pretty much everything else) whenever needed, and it has great synergy with the Necron Lord's other attacks. The only downside is that it's a skosh energy-hungry and isn't quite as potent as similar effects used by other heroes.

==Accessories==

*'''Mindshackle Scarabs''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Mindshackle Scarabs (10 Energy; converts target squad to ally for a duration)
*** Terrible range, terrible duration, long cooldown, long cast time, and takes longer to kick in the stronger the target. So absolutely horrible, right? Not quite. Mindshackle Scarabs are the earliest ability with an actual offensive effect you get that isn't Necrotic Barrier, and it ''does'' get better with upgrades. Glyph of the Tireless Harvest makes this actually usable, and it uniquely can turn any unit - from a squad of Guardsman to the Swarmlord - momentarily to the Necron Lord's side. While turned, you can't damage them, but they'll gleefully turn on their allies. Ideally, use it to cause some chaos and provide yourself with a chump or two to distract an enemy while you back off. The duration isn't that long, but the effects are quite useful and there's nothing quite so hilarious as seeing the Great Unclean One turn around and eat a few of his allies, so don't underestimate it despite it being somewhat mediocre.

*'''Nanoscarabs''' - ''Default''
**Ability: Nanoscarab Repairs (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains energy to restore health)
*** Don't underestimate it, it can keep you alive through a surprising amount of fire. It can heal you from near death to max health in around two seconds, it is a must have at early levels as it can and will save your life. Once you get to higher levels other means of regen are much better. Note that if you use this in conjunction with the Glyph of the Star Gods and Warscythe of Extinction, you will not lose any energy and will slowly regain it, allowing you to still use other abilities.

*'''Glyph of the Implacable''' - ''Level 1''
**+100 Armour
*** Like a beefed up version of the Mekboy's Cybork Parts, it does nothing but give a boost to your armour. The difference is the Necron Overlord is a SHITTON tankier than the Mekboy can even dream of being, even with 'Eavy Armor- you can easily push your Overlord up to well over 200 armour, and when you factor in his other tanking abilities it can make him almost unkillable. A powerful defensive tool that shouldn't be obsoleted until you get Phylactery, and even then is a perfectly viable option.

*'''Glyph of Tombs''' - ''Level 1''
**+85 Energy
*** Mostly useful early on to help out builds going towards elite status, where the combination of halved energy consumption (from Monolith Diadem) and so much extra energy goes a long way towards helping early Necron Lords abuse the hell out of their gear. Warscythe of Extinction and Doomsday Edge both love this damned thing, and bonus repairs at opportune times via Nanoscarabs or Glyphy of the Reclaimer is virtually always an asset. If you're feeling particularly saucy, pair it with Staff of the Phaeron and bask in your massive 210 base energy. Spam ALL the things!

*'''Glyph of the Wraith''' - ''Level 2''
**Trait: Swift (+25% movement speed)
*** Defy the stereotypes, move like you have functional legs. The Overlord has no movement abilities except this and Phase Shifter, and mobility, as ever, is the golden egg of Last Stand. Highly useful, especially when it first becomes available, but it quickly flags as the Necron Overlord is forced to choose between improved speed or even more tankiness.

*'''Glyph of Living Metal''' - ''Level 4''
**+90 health
**+3.0 Health Regen
*** One of the best accessories available, and being perfectly clear: The Necron Overlord needs this. Virtually no build worth a damn exists that does not make use of this piece of Wargear, so useful and utilitarian are its uses. Survival is always paramount, even in the most fragile Necron builds, and nothing exemplifies it quite like this potent option. Put it on once you get it, and only take it off if you absolutely ''need'' to; you'll be glad you did.

*'''Glyph of the Reclaimer''' - ''Level 7''
**Ability: Immortal Reclamation (10 Energy; After a cast timer, drains health from nearby enemies while immobilizing the Necron Overlord. The more enemies nearby to drain, the faster and more intense the health drain effect.)
*** Are you creating a ranged build? Stop. Don't use this item. Glyph of Living Metal as better because it is a constant regeneration boost and you can continue to do what you do best which is shoot things. From far away. All of the Overlord's ranged weapons do considerably more DPS when compared to this ability, even in melee, unless your facing the Banshee wave in the BC. So if you're looking for regen get a regen item that is working for you all the time if you' looking for a DPS item why don't you use that big gun in your hands. Are you creating a melee build lacking any reliable AoE damage? Continue. Most insanely OP bullshit item in all of the Last Stand. Just park your fat ass on the ground and watch every enemy around you slowly die, while you regen so much HP that you can literally tank an entire wave single-handed without your health bar even twitching. With this thing you can LITERALLY tank the entire Imperial Guard wave 19 on Anvil of Khorne, all 30 Ogryns, 50 Stormtroopers, both Leman Russ and the motherfucking BANEBLADE without even breaking a sweat. It's not perfect- enemies can stand outside its range and shoot you while you sit there looking stupid with nothing to drain health from, but it's the ULTIMATE anti-tarpit item. The Banshee megawave in wave 9 of the Colosseum can all jump onto you at once and you can just laugh at them. Orks die in droves. Tyranids are a light snack. Take it with an energy boost like Staff of the Phaeron and you can do it for ages. Word to the wise, the more enemies around you the better your health regen will be so don't use if you have one Dreadnaught attacking you because you will die AND you will do more damage against heavily armored enemies, such as Nobs, Warriors, Tac Marines and vehicles, with your weapon you actually brought to do damage with. Also because of their ability to shred your armour down to 0, the Bloodletters in the Anvil of Khorne will still be able to kill you through this if enough of them mob you.

*'''Phase Shifter''' - ''Level 13''
**Ability: Phase Shift (15 Energy; Teleport to target location.)
*** Phase Shifter gives you a major ability; you can teleport. The effect is just as quick as the Mekboy and Chaos Sorcerer's, but is less efficient and has slightly less range. Despite the general inefficiency, this is still an incredible mobility booster, especially for Ranged overlords, giving the Necron Lord the ability to move around and get into better positions. with good use of terrain, it proves almost as handy as the other races' teleporting abilities, but in the end the short range and relatively bad efficiency make it a tougher sell than it would be. Incredibly handy in many builds, but not for everyone, the Phase Shifter is a useful choice.

*'''Phylactery''' - ''Level 14''
**Trait: Impervious
*** Your ridiculous OP get out of jail free card when it comes to being brought to 0 health with some extra effects. You get full life, energy, and a huge armor buff. Once you are down you have to wait for 30 seconds before your hamster ball is back. The difference between this and either the Tau Commander's Stimulant Injector or the Chaos Sorcerer's Robes of the Deathless (aside from the fact that you're really taking Robes of the Deathless for your Demonic Doppelganger) is that the Necron Overlord is a supertanky motherfucker to start with, so forcing the enemy kill to him TWICE is insane and don't forget you also get full energy too which makes it great for caster builds as well. Just don't take this on Colosseum because your clone will go from a bitch to a double-bitch.

*'''Glyph of the Star Gods''' - ''Level 16''
**+1.7 Energy Regeneration
*** The Overlord's only access to energy regeneration, aside from Warscythe of Extinction. Good for offsetting the cost of Nanoscarabs or Immortal Reclamation, useful in specialized caster builds. Combine with the Warscythe of Extinction to keep Nanoscarabs up ''literally'' forever.

*'''Glyph of the Tireless Harvest''' - ''Level 18''
**Trait: Awoken
*** Reduces the cooldown time of all of the Overlord abilities. This is a FLAT reduction, meaning it's enough to reduce the cooldowns of Phase Shifter and Tachyon Arrow to literally ''nothing,'' which is enough to actually make them usable. Its effect on most other abilties isn't as drastic, but it still goes a long way towards making the Annihilation Lance, Tachyon Diadem, and Diadem of the Technomancer viable weapons, and it's a big help if you like the Raiment of the Tesseract (and frankly, who doesn't?).

*'''Nightmare Shroud''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Nightmare Shroud (10 Energy; Causes all lower level enemies that enter the range to flee for a short duration.)
*** A lot of potential here in a finicky choice. The Nightmare Shroud immobilizes the Necron Overlord like Immortal Reclamation, though unlike those, the Necron Overlord is free to shoot or melee enemies during the effect). Any enemy crossing the line in the sand it draws will immediately panic and run away, allowing you to drive off enemies that would otherwise corner trap your buddies, and be a constant environmental hazard while the effect lasts. The drain is particularly high, and it is a difficult sell, but it opens up a lot of possibilities. While not as powerful as the Captain's Terror of Xenos, it's still extremely strong and an see a particularly large amount of use if paired with Phase Shifter - or an allied Farseer with Veil of Tears.

==Commander Items==

*'''Raiment of the Overlord''' - ''Default''
**+50 Armor rating
*** Unlike most default gear, the armor bonus can potentially give a slight advantage over the Level 5 replacement. Actually, the Necron Overlord is the only character to even HAVE a default item in his commander slot rather than just an empty space to be filled, though it mainly exists to slightly soften the blow of having no starting armor, and also to make the ACTUAL commander items a tradeoff, as each provides progressively lower armour.

*'''Raiment of the Tesseract''' - ''Level 5''
**+35 Armor rating
**Ability: Tesseract Tomb (30 Energy; fires a slow projectile at a location to lock down enemies in a radius)
*** Basically lets you point at some units and suppress the entire group. This is your main crowd control ability, covering the Overlord's biggest weakness. Don't expect it to happen immediately - it takes time to cast the ball, which takes time to travel to the point and only then sets up the AoE control zone. You should spam this at every opportunity to take half the wave out of the fight. This is super-powerful on wave 16 of the Colosseum because you can easily set it up where your clones are going to spawn in advance and they'll start locked down, free for you to butcher. Do it right and you can make one of the biggest asspains in the game into a walkover. Plus even if you screw it up, your clone is oddly reluctant to use it on you (although he will ''eventually'', the bastard).

*'''Raiment of Resurrection''' - ''Level 10''
**+25 Armor rating
**Ability: Resurrection orb (35 energy; Throws a slow-moving orb that, upon landing, creates a field that prevents you and your allies from taking fatal damage, and revives dead allies (and yourself, if you manage to get incapacitated before the orb lands and puts up the field) once it fully activates.)
*** Very useful, you can even revive yourself and allies and make everyone tanky for a short amount of time. Take note, if all three players are incapacitated at once, even if they are later revived by the orb, the game ends in defeat. In general, though, you're better off with the Raiment of the Tesseract- prevention is always better than cure as they say (or in other words, it's better to lock down and slaughter hapless enemies to keep them from killing you than it is to revive your teammates and yourself from death). It's still useful to have one on a team if you have multiple Overlords.

*'''Raiment of the Nightbringer''' - ''Level 20''
**+10 Armor rating
**Ability: Summon Nightbringer (50 Energy; summons the Nightbringer, who remains stationary and spams enormous AOE blasts for a short time.)
***Despite the middling size of the blasts, it's still possibly one of the better nukes in the game, and certainly the second most reliable after Rocket Run. Unlike Orbital Bombardment, which requires specific positioning to maximize damage, or Roks/Eldritch Storm which are randomized, the Nightbringer applies its damage consistently across its area of effect, and also spits infantry towards its center and not away from it. Additionally, the Nightbringer is one of the most consistent damage dealers across unit types and actually severely threatens armored targets - dropped on top of a stationary full-health Baneblade, the Nightbringer WILL kill it. Also very easy to exploit for shooting builds, as a Nightbringer at your feet means you can dakka with impunity and not worry about melee attackers pretty much at all. Nightbringer is even consistently effective against clones, even 275 armor 290 health phylactery Overlords. Once you hit level 20, you can certainly keep using the Tesseract and Res Orb as they're still good enough, but the Nightbringer is just so delicious you'll be really hard-pressed to use anything else, even with its pretty abysmal armor rating.

==Progression==
shoot things, cleave things, get bigger cleavers, cleave more things.

==Tactics and Strategy==

*'''On Achievements:'''
** ''The Red Harvest'' (Unlocks the Doomsday Edge) Complete a total of 100 waves as the Necron Overlord.
*** Strategy? Just play the game and you'll get it eventually.
** ''Lord of Risen Doom (grab me the paddles: cron edition)'' (Unlocks Monolithic Diadem) requires the necron to use the Resurrection Orb to revive either two allies, or an ally and himself simultaneously, twice in a single match.
*** This one is a challenge. You'll need to ideally use it when helping newcomer teammates and hope for the best; revive them both with your Res Orb twice and the achievement (and its delicious Monolith Diadem) is yours. You can farm it manually by getting two friends to help you and die on purpose in early waves, since you can all ragequit once the achievement's unlocked.

== Builds ==

Build 1: Literally Death Incarnate - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 7 (yup)

OK, so. Do you want to never die while killing everything? This is how you never die while killing everything. Sporting a ridiculous 260 armor, 190 health, and 6.5 base health regen, you can take an immense beating before you even factor in your abilities. Voidreaper means you can ignore knockback and suppression, and will absolutely annihilate any hard target up close - you'll one shot Marines and Ogryns, 3 shot wave serpents, and on Anvil, Entropic Strike + 7 blows will destroy a full health Battlewagon. You are the bane of anything that would seem to be a problem target. Oh, but what's that? No crowd control? '''Wrong.''' Immortal Reclamation gives you a RIDICULOUS amount of health regen, and does very very respectable damage - it's like the Hive Tyrant's Poison Cysts or 3-4 layers of teleport fire from the Sorcerer. Turn that sucker on and watch all the squishy targets in a wave evaporate. And if crazy health, armor, regen, single and multi target damage aren't enough, you've got the Tesseract, which lets you shut down enormous chunks of the battlefield at a time. The only mild downside to this build is energy management, but if you budget a wee bit then by Level 7, a team of three Overlords can trivially clear Anvil and at least make it to 20 on BC with ease.

Build 2: God of Cycle of life, Trolls, and Dainty tea cups - Voidreaper, Diadem of the Reanimation, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Raiment of Resurrection

'''Available by:''' Level 14

Any respectable melee build has Voidreaper just because while it's ability sucks (seems more for those who aren't playing NL for some reason) you just can't top it. If you throw in your impressive hat you can charge into horde no matter how large drop down to one knee and watch as you just kill half of the map or at least any thing in your area. What's that your doing anvil you can literally hold a side by your self no matter what spawns you can kill it easily. Your reaper means you can make it to any group or target of your choice with out issues. If you some how have enemies still up after you open to door way to the Dead Zone just finish them off with a few swipes. Tanks and heavy inf just hit them with your reaper until they die. Your team mates are scrub tier? Just throw an orb on their dead bodies and let it do the work for you. What about that other power issues Crons suffer from? Well your Phylactery has that covered if for some reason you drop to 0 health your instead brought back with huge armor bonus and full health and energy meaning you can drain a horde until your hamster ball is back. That still isn't enough and you're dying to something. Well provided your teams aren't idiots you can live for ever because what self respecting Necron doesn't have reanimation protocols in about the same time for some one who was standing next to you to pick you up, you're standing again and most likely with your hamster ball ready again. I would highly warn against using this build in BC just because the orb ability should make you primary target to let you kill and keep down your enemies, the phylactery means that even if you kill him once he will have energy for a second orb, the hat will make sure that you need to kill him last or risk him standing back up mid fight with another hero, and the reaper means that you can not interrupt him easily and stop him from picking some one else up.

Build 3: #1 Stunna - Doomsday Edge, Diadem of the Nemesor, Phylactery, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 14 (lvl 5 w/o Phylactery)

Is it that savage new metal cape or that 10 foot scythe that just keeps people looking? Neither its your super sweet stuna build! Thats right why risk dying when you can just make you enemies stare at you mindlessly as you slaughter them in droves. The Doomsday Edges extra energy lets you utilize Pitiless Strike with reckless abandon stunning anything and everything all the time and if used immediately after you swing it will reset you swing timer and do a great burst of damage to anything. If you do run low on energy just run in the thickest part of the fray let that sweet Phylactery re-up you life and energy. But what happens when you get in real trouble and that second life just isn't enough? Bust out your stuna shades and drop that Tesseract my friend... you earned it. Wave 16 and 20 giving you problems in BC? Throw a preemptive Tesseract at your clones and go to town while they admire you amazing skills and when it wears off just hit em with a Pitiless Strike and keep them wondering "How can this Necron be so amazing?"

Alternative: Swap out the Glyph of Implacable for Gift of the Wraith. You become way more squishy but can potentially up that DPS with more Pitiless Strikes. Since you will be triggering Phylactery more often you should be able to use PS every time it is off cool down just remember you're no longer an uber tank monster and let to smashing continue.

Build 4: Immortal Nuker - Weapon of choice, Diadem of the Nemesor, Glyph of Living Metal, Glyph of the Implacable, Phylactery, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

One of the easier builds to challenge the Voidreaper/Reclaimer combo, this build is nice because it is SUPER tanky and puts out good damage regardless of weapon because of the Nightbringer - the basic strat is to just facetank a wave while pewpewing or meleeing in between charges of the Nightbringer, which will demolish anything that's left. Super strong on Anvil, and even good on BC because the Nightbringer does a number on clones. Best weapons to look at are probably Warscythe of the Phalanx for extreme tanking and AoE damage, Voidreaper for mobility and single-target damage, or Staff of the Phaeron for a nice hybrid build with a lot of shooting, yet still having tanking and an answer for swarms at your feet.

Build 5: And Now For Something Completely Different - Lance of Annihilation, Tachyon Diadem, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

What's this? NOT a tanky build? You're goddamn right it isn't.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Gauss Wizard. Welcome to the rave laser party.

So, in essence, this build is a way of making the best of the Lance of Annihilation. You know how the main drawback to the Lance is its piss-poor RoF and its expensive and slow laser blast? Yeah, we fix that here. Thing is, with Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Tachyon Arrow recharges INSTANTLY, and with Glyph of the Star Gods the activation windup is long enough that you actually regenerate the 5 energy cost as it fires, which means you can indefinitely spam Tachyon Arrows, which means your RoF is now much faster with a solid long range weapon that doesn't need line of sight. This also incidentally semi-fixes Tachyon Arrows, as when you constantly spit them out it doesn't matter so much if they're a bit shit. Your Annihilation laser lance rave party blast recharges faster. You've got more frequent Tesseracts to pin enemies in place for your lasers. Also don't worry, shit probably won't go south, because you've got the constant and soothing healing of Glyph of Living Metal to keep you in it. This build is WAY less tanky than virtually any other build, sporting an astoundingly shit 190 health and 115 armor, but you make up for it by being so damn FUN to play. You'll always be casting something, controlling the battlefield, and pew-pewing your way to victory. This build actually also fares decently against clones, because firstly, Tesseract, and secondly, your clone won't spam Tachyon at you as fast as you can, which gives you the advantage in single-target damage. You'll also probably out(s)kill melee Necrons.

Build 6: Bane of All Melee Ever - Warscythe of Extinction, Diadem of Reanimation, Glyph of the Reclaimer, Glyph of the Implacable, Glyph of the Star Gods, Raiment of the Nightbringer/Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 16 (Level 20 with Nightbringer)

Yo yo yo. I hear you like that broken-ass health drain.

Wanna do it forever?

Now you can.

At 3.7 energy regen, you can truly keep Immortal Reclamation on all game if you so chose.

You can LITERALLY park your ass in one corner of the map and against any melee wave in the game, just sit there and laugh as you eat all the damage they can deal while slowly sapping them all to death. This includes Wave 20 of Bloody Colosseum, as you can just sit in front of Araghast and laugh - even his levitation crush won't really move your health.

The only thing that can kill you at ALL is ranged attackers and doing this in front of a single Dreadnaught, but yo, guess what? If they drop you, your ass pops back up after a couple minutes. And then you drop a Nightbringer on their heads. And then you laugh.

Build 7: Devotion to C'Tan - Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem, Phylactery, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Glyph of Living Metal, Raiment of the Nightbringer

'''Available by:''' Level 20

Here it is the all Nightbringer, all the time build. You do two thing: first you summon the Nightbringer, second you shoot things. Rinse. Repeat. Victory. Celestial Staff, Monolithic Diadem and Glyph of the Tireless Harvest combine to vastly reduce the cool down so you can use it multiple time a round. That's right you can summon the bad boy 2 or even 3 times in longer rounds. Once he's summoned just stand beneath him and let melee enemies get crushed while pew pewing to reset the Nightbringer. You have shit armor and are super squishy so don't get too bold but the regen and extra health from Glyph of living metal negate a lot of the damage you'll be seeing. If you get in trouble from ranged guys just kite them toward you big friend. Phylactery is more for when stuff goes south and not so much for the energy gain but the second life and extra armor is crucial for running away. Use Force Attack to get Rush of Battle between waves or when only one guy is left but you need the Nightbringer for the next wave like wave 15 so you can nuke your clones.

Build 8: Nightcrawler - Doomsday Edge, Monolithic Diadem, Phase Shifter, Glyph of the Star Gods, Glyph of the Tireless Harvest, Raiment of the Tesseract

'''Available by:''' Level 18

This build shatters nearly every stereotype the Necrons have. It's by far the most mobile listed here and offers amazingly fun melee AoE, at the cost of what Necrons are best known for - any semblance of tankiness whatsoever. Tireless Harvest drops Pitiless Strike's cooldown to a mere several seconds, while Monolithic Diadem and Star Gods allow you to spam it as often as you please. Combine with Phase Shifter to wreak as much havoc as Nightcrawler in the opening scene of X2, blinking from one group to the next as you smash face and cause maximum disruption. You'll be wishing you had a fourth accessory slot, because at a base 100 health and no armor bonuses to speak of, you are as frail as it gets for a walking metal death machine. This build takes intense micro to stay alive, let alone excel at. A couple of Ork Shoota squads can wear you down if you're not paying attention, but if you play aggressively, this build is more survivable than it seems. Pitiless Strike's nearly non-existent cooldown allows you to permanently stunlock any infantry, and as an added bonus, it throws them back, interrupting melee swings in progress. You're extremely vulnerable to vehicles, but you can drop a Tesseract on anything you can't handle and let your teammates whale away, while still doing acceptable damage yourself. You can kite an Avatar or Great Unclean One with ease, and just like a tanky Overlord, you'll probably still be the last alive. Zip across the map using your infinite teleport to lead enemies away, then zip back to raise your allies. Or if the enemy is clustered well, drop a Tesseract on them and blink over to resurrect right under their noses!

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Necrons]]

Last Stand - Tau Commander

2018-03-15T19:20:11Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Armor */

The [[Tau]] Shas'O Commander is a DLC Character for [[Last Stand]], and as such, locked behind a pay-gate. If this [[Games Workshop|reminds you of something]], then congrats - you too, are aware of the irony.

At any rate, the Tau Commander ''is'' an immensely fun and useful character, with the ability to be set up in any of dozens of different fashions, making him somewhat unique as far as Last Stand heroes go. He always has a jet ability of some sort, and can fulfill many different tactical roles, depending on loadout and situation. His biggest drawback is that he has no melee attack whatsoever and if engaged, can do little but try to helplessly block enemy melee attacks or try to flee. Bearing this in mind is crucial to getting the most out of the Shas'O Commander.

'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Tau Commander has no melee attack. If he is engaged in melee, he will try to block enemy melee attacks, but he has no ability to fight back in close-combat without the aid of wargear options, so do your best to get the fuck out of dodge using your Jet ability if enemies close in, unless, of course, you're packing the Flamer and/or Kinetic Shield. Also note that, like the Hive Tyrant, the Tau Commander is too obese to enter buildings or take direct cover.

==Weapon Options==
The Tau Commander has 2 weapon slots - one for weapons, one for shields. All options for both are listed below.

===Weapons===
Uniquely, all of the Tau Commander's primary weapons are ranged - he has no options for close-combat. As such, it's vitally important that you keep him out of close-combat with enemy units, though the Flamer is an excellent choice for the rare, intrepid Tau Commander who [[Farsight|isn't afraid to shorten his reach]].

*'''Plasma Rifle''' - ''Default''
**Ranged Weapon
**10.0 DPS
***The Default plasma rifle is, like all default weapons, utter shit and should never be used except as part of a joke. Its sole purpose is as a place-holder so that the Tau Commander cannot be sent into combat unarmed and thus unable to do anything.

*'''Command Issue Plasma Rifle''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**23.3 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 100 armor rating)
***Unlocked from the start, this basic, no-frills weapon is a central Tau Commander weapon. It does good damage, has decent range, can be fired on the run, has a decent rate of fire, and has the armor-piercing trait - all wonderful things to have in a weapon. It tends to be very middle-of-the-road and is invariably out-performed by other weapons at various ranges, but it makes for a damned fine "all comers" weapon that has relatively few drawbacks to speak of, though it tends to flag a bit when facing crowds and its 75% accuracy can result in periodic bouts of [[RAGE|doing no damage when you absolutely need it to]]. Best when backed by Targeting Cluster, though tolerable without. Useful all game long, and works well on any variety of target.

*'''Flamer''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (Flamer attacks in large radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon).
**Notes: This weapon, like most Flamer-type weapons, has an undocumented minor Armor-Piercing trait that causes it to ignore 20 points of armor.
***A criminally-under-used unlocked-from-start weapon that does only modest damage, but has a huge area of effect, ignores cover, and has no accuracy loss when fired on the run. The Flamer is excellent for killing packs of mooks, especially cover-camping shits like Eldar Guardians and Grav Platform Teams. It also makes a great weapon when using the Tau Commander's jets; the Tau Commander will start firing even before he hits the ground, giving a truly unpleasant surprise to anyone that happens to be near his landing zone. Perhaps most importantly, the Flamer is one of the only guns that the Tau Commander will reliably try to fire in close-combat, so don't be put off by the Flamer's relatively poor damage. Works especially well when twin-linked, since the damage loss from twin-linking is virtually nil.

*'''Fusion Blaster''' - ''Level 3''
**Ranged Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 150 armor rating)
***This belter of a weapon unlocks at level 3. Boasting vastly higher damage and scarily high DPS, as well as the Armor-Piercing trait, the Fusion Blaster, at a glance, seems too good to be true... And it sadly ''is''. Firing only a little slower than the Plasma Rifle for a vastly higher damage output seems like a great trade-off... And, likewise, it ''is'', in some situations. Unfortunately, the Fusion Blaster has much shorter range than the Plasma Rifle, and with a slower refire rate, the Fusion Blaster, when it does miss, will sting all the more - meaning that Targeting Cluster is borderline-essentially for maximizing this thing. Also, unlike the Plasma Rifle, it cannot be fired while moving. The Fusion Blaster absolutely excels at fighting heavily-armored foes, though - tanks, walkers, wraithlords, enemy Heroes, and the errant Carnifex - virtually nothing can stand in this thing's way when put on the right build, especially when Twin-Linked, but its ridiculously slow recycle rate and accuracy issues can make it a losing proposition for some situations. A weapon to be used with care.

*'''Airbursting Fragmentation Projector''' - ''Level 9''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (AFP shells have a blast radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon)
*** This overly-elaborate Tau Grenade Launcher unlocks at level 9. Firing powerful, long-ranged shells, the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector does only mediocre DPS, owing to its sluggish refire rate, but it affects an area, ignores cover saves, and does fairly good damage when it fires and can fire on the move. Rather poor in close-combat and somewhat weak against fast-moving foes, the biggest upside to this beast is that it's an indirect-fire weapon - there's nothing stopping you from launching Airburst shells over intervening terrain to hit enemies hiding behind - something incredibly helpful since the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector is one of the Tau Commander's longest-ranged weapons as well. Bear in mind its weaknesses in close-combat and targeting highly-mobile foes, however, and it will serve you well - especially if you have an ally that can cause suppression or Snare Mines. It functions like a lower-grade version of the Fragmentation Missile Pod, one that doesn't always take as much time to fire and doesn't hit allies in melee.

*'''Burst Cannon''' - ''Level 16''
**Ranged Weapon
**15.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppressive (This weapon suppresses infantry, slowing their movement speed and ranged attack speed)
***Gatling fetishists rejoice - your favorite weapon in the Tau Armory is available once more, and at level 16. A somewhat easy-to-underestimate weapon, the Burst Cannon does pretty decent damage at long range, but is far better for its suppressive fire effects, which slow and cripple foes under the effects, and it boasts both long range, and the ability to fire on the move. Its main drawback: it essentially does chip damage to armored foes. With proper upgrades, the Burst Cannon can actually become quite effective against most infantry, and is a huge boon to teams that are lacking in anti-infantry punch - it's the longest-ranged primary weapon the Shas'O gets and has excellent crowd control capability, especially when twin-linked.

===Shields===
The Tau Commander's shield slot is normally used for equipping Shields that boost his health and armor rating, and provide other useful benefits. It can also be used to equip the Networked Weapon Interface, in case you want to scream: ''"[[Commissar Fuklaw|fuck shields]]!!"'' and go for even more [[Dakka|shooty goodness]].

*'''Shield Hardpoint''' - ''Default''
**Shield
***Like all default weapons, the Shield Hardpoint is a place-holder and should not, under any circumstances, be used on its own merits. It offers no benefits, and solely exists to have items replace it. Avoid.

*'''Shield Generator''' - ''Level 1''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Energy Shield (Activates a powered shield that absorbs incoming damage in the form of energy)
***Unlocked from the start, this little shield gives a good health and armor boost - 50 Armor, 25 Health - and it makes available the ''Energy Shield'' ability -
Don't underestimate this early-game shield, especially when backed with Ion Batteries and/or Coolant Injectors. It adds a surprisingly heavy amount of survivability to what is already a phenomenally-durable class (only the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]] and [[Last Stand - Necron Overlord|Necron Overlord]] can withstand anywhere near as much abuse). It works the same way as the Hive Tyrant's Warp field. This can actually be amazingly utilitarian when backed with the "Agile" Crisis Suit and works very well for waves against heavily-shooty opposition (such as Space Marine Scouts). This said, the Tau Commander tends to use energy a lot, which makes this ability more of a "get out of death free" card rather than the mass survivability boost of the Hive Tyrant. The health and armor boosts are welcome, and make this worth taking even if you don't want to spend the energy on the bubble shield.

*'''Repulser Shield''' - ''Level 7''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Kinetic Pulse (15 Energy; Discharges stored kinetic energy, knocking back and dealing damage to nearby enemies)
***Unlocking at Level 7, This shield gives the same health and armor boosts as the Shield Generator (+50 Armor, +25 Health), but instead has the incredibly useful ''Kinetic Pulse'' ability. For 15 energy, the Tau Commander generates a short-ranged shockwave that deals decent damage and hurls away lighter foes. This can be used offensively (jump into a crowd and activate it to hurl them away), or defensively (bunker down and use it to throw away enemies that love crowding you, like Sluggas and Banshees). This versatility makes it one of the best overall shields in the game, and a staple of many builds. The only drawback: Can't be used with Networked Weapon Interface.

*'''Iridium Shield''' - ''Level 11''
**Shield
**+75 Armor
**+50 Health
**Traits: Heavy (Lowers range of Jet, but increases damage of impact and adds stun effect)
***Unlocked at Level 11, and boasting the largest health and armor boost of the shields, the Iridium Shield is all about defense. Having the Iridium Shield equipped, due to its mass, gives the Tau Commander the trait ''[[Heavy-chan|Heavy]]'', which increases the damage done by jumping on foes, but cuts the range of the Tau Commander's jump. This same trait is given by the XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit Armor, and if both are used, a [[Extra Heresy|Double Heavy]] state is acquired, which further boosts the damage and impact of the Tau Commander's jumps (the other effects, such as the range and stun duration, are unchanged). It does, however, lack the Kinetic Pulse of the Repulser Shield, the Energy Shield of the Shield Generator, and the always-useful Twin-Linked trait of the Networked Weapon Interface, so bear this in mind.

*'''Networked Weapon Interface''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill 100 Enemies by Jumping on them''
**Shield
**Traits: Twin-Linked
***Not really a shield, this achievement unlock, earned by getting the Dynamic Entry achievement, gives no health or armor, and instead duplicates whatever weapon your commander had in the primary weapon slot in his shield slot, allowing the Commander to fire 2 of whatever his weapon of choice was. A side-effect of the twin-linking is that both weapons are about 25% weaker - so you trade 25% of one gun's firepower to gain a second 75% damage gun. This upgrade benefits the Tau Commander's various weapons in different ways - the Burst Cannon and Flamer lose almost no damage from being twin-linked, so the upgrade is a flat damage improvement, whereas the primary benefit to the Fusion Blaster and Plasma Rifle is being able to fire at more than one one round per cooldown cycle, compensating for some of their accuracy issues. The Airburst Fragmentation Projector and Flamer get a second pieplate/flamerplate to drop. You're trading defense for offense here, so make sure that whatever weapon you choose, to make the choice worth it.

==Armor==
All armors for the Tau Commander provide the Unshakable trait, meaning that the Tau Commander cannot be knocked down. Additionally, all of the armors provide some variation of the Jet ability, so getting around the battlefield is never a problem for the Tau Commander. His available armors are as follows:

*'''XV8 Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
**Traits: Unshakable
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***Like all default armors, this one sucks. It gives 50 Armor Rating, Unshakable, and the Jet ability, however, so it sucks ''slightly'' less than other default armors. Uhm.... Yay?

*'''XV8 "Light" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 90
**+25 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Low-Weight Composites (+1 Speed)
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***This starting armor tends to be under-used, which is a shame because it's also incredibly useful. Giving 90 Armor, +25 Health, and the Jet ability, it also grants the Unshakable trait and a notable movement speed boost. This can be deceptively helpful, and is definitely worth it for mobile offensive builds. This is especially good for Shas'Os using the Fusion Blaster or Shield Generator.

*'''XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 120
**+50 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Heavy (Lowers range of Jet, but increases damage of impact and adds stun effect)
**Abilities: Heavy Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
*** Unequivocally the most-common armor used for the Tau Commander, and with damned good reason - it gives the best defense, as well as the ''Heavy'' trait, which replaces your standard Jet ability with the Heavy Jet ability. This jet variant has a slower speed and shorter range, but does more damage when it lands and a longer stun effect. The survivability of this armor alone makes it a solid choice, and definitely worth using.

*'''XV8 "Agile" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor Rating: 90
**+25 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Superior Stabilizers (Increases range and lowers cooldown of Jet)
**Abilities: Stabilized Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***A deceptively powerful armor. Statistically almost-identical to the "Light" Crisis Suit, the "Agile" Crisis Suit unlocks at level 13. It gives 90 Armor, 25 Health, Unshakable, and the ''Stabilized Jet'' ability, which is both faster and longer-ranged than the standard Jet ability. Of all the Tau Commander armors, this one is arguably the most survivable - not for its armor or health boosts, but for its ability to get the hell out of dodge when things get too scary. The Golden Egg of Last Stand is mobility, and this armor has it in spades.

*'''XV8 "Command" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Fearless (Makes the wearer of this suit and allies around him immune to suppression), Improved Targeting (Increases the wearer’s and nearby allies’ ranged damage by 15%).
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***This rarely-used - but exceptionally-powerful - armor is the last one to be unlocked, at level 17. It has no health boosts, but the passive upgrades it gives are obscenely useful, and it has better armor than most Tau Armors at 110. It gives the Jet ability, Unshakable, and two incredibly handy auras - one that boosts the Tau Commander's (and all nearby allies') ranged damage by 15%, and a second one that makes the Tau Commander and all nearby allies ''Fearless'' (and thus immune to Suppression). These traits conspire to make the "Command" suit one of the best supporting armors available to the Tau Commander, and a veritable magnum upgrade if he's placed alongside an allied Lord General, ranged-focused Hive Tyrant, or Mekboy. It can also effectively offset the damage loss of Twin-Linking.

==Accessories==
The Tau Commander has a number of useful accessories - some bringing back fond memories of [[Shas'o Kais]] from [[Dawn of War: Dark Crusade]], and much of it all new. It's these items that form the meat-and-potatoes of the Tau Commander's playstyle, as with these a Shas'O can serve as either a front-line slugger, ranged fighter, or support soldier.

*'''Photon Grenade''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Photon Grenade (25 Energy; Project a photon grenade at the targeted location. Photon grenades temporarily disorient and confuse enemies, causing them to attack random targets or walk around aimlessly for a short time)
***An old Tau favorite, and a wargear option you start with. Photon Grenade allows you to, for 25 energy, launch a grenade that induces the ''Confusion'' status. At a glance, this seems very similar to the Eldar Farseer's Runes of the Harlequin ability, but it costs more, has a slower start-up, and, perhaps most notably, has a blast radius, which means it can confuse a whole crowd of clustered enemies. Even better, it also effects vehicles, and even the wave 16 clones! Extremely useful for disrupting enemy attacks, the Photon Grenade is an excellent early upgrade and works extremely well as a support option.

*'''Snare Mine''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Snare Mine(10 Energy; Places a Tau snare mine at the targeted location. When an enemy moves near it the mine detonates, slowing the target and other enemies nearby)
***A classic from the first Dawn of War - and one you start with, no less - Snare Mines let you place, for 10 energy, a mine that, when triggered by an enemy getting too close, explodes, slowing the enemy considerably for several seconds. Compared to the Mekboy's similar Booby Traps ability, the Snare Mine costs less, only places one mine, and each mine has a blast radius. However, unlike Booby Trap, Snare Mine's effect lasts quite a while, and effectively immobilizes those effected by five seconds (they can still move a bit and attack, but their movement is pretty much crippled). Better, it effects vehicles whereas Booby Traps do not. Absolutely worth your time and one of the most versatile wargear options the Tau Commander gets.

*'''Energy Core''' - ''Level 2''
**+25 Energy
***The first unlock you get at level 2, and also the first passive accessory, the Energy Core improves your energy max by 25, letting you use more abilities before running out. How useful this is primarily depends on the user; many prefer the more-ubiquitous Ion Battery ability, though it sees quite a bit of use with players using more energy-hungry abilities, such as Fragmentation Missile Pod.

*'''Stimulant Injector''' - ''Level 4''
**Traits: Resuscitation (When the Commander’s health slips below 20 he automatically revives 100 health. Resuscitation can only trigger once every 30 seconds. If an attack is powerful enough to lower the Commander’s health to 0 from above 20 it will bypass the injectors and be fatal)
***An incredible survivability tool unlocked at level 4, this nifty little wargear allows the Tau Commander, once every 30 seconds, to restore 100 health automatically if he tips below 20 health. This may be only a small buffer if you truly get screwed, but it can keep a player in a fight for an almost embarrassingly long time considering how early it becomes available. Extremely common with many Tau Commander players, and with good reason, though many high-level Shas'O players eschew it.

*'''Ion Battery''' - ''Level 6''
**Ability: Ion Battery (10 Energy; Places an ion battery at the targeted location. The ion battery quickly resupplies the energy of nearby allies)
***An incredibly useful item unlocked at level 6, the Ion battery allows the Tau Commander to, for 10 Energy, plunk down a battery that rapidly recharges the energy of all allies (the Tau Commander included) in a wide radius. This is an incredibly handy upgrade, allowing for rapid recharging of abilities for not only the Commander, but his teammates - Sorcerers, for example, love Ion Batteries something fierce, and every Lord General loves the ability to use Sniper Shot, Solid Slug, and Take Aim! more often. This wargear tends to have a very harsh rivalry going on with the Energy Core; many players agonize over which is the better choice. Uniquely, the Ion Battery is the only wargear not effected by Coolant Injectors.

*'''Fragmentation Missile Pod''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Fragmentation Missile Barrage (30 Energy; Fires a large salvo of fragmentation missiles at the targeted location, dealing damage and knocking back enemies)
***Players who remember the Missile Barrage of the [[Skyray Missile Gunship]] in [[Dawn of War]] will be pleased to learn that they can fit a smaller version of this ability on their crisis suits. For 30 energy, the Crisis Suit can fire, after a small delay, a barrage of frag missiles that rain destruction down on a wide radius and from a very long range. This does huge damage and excels at destroying mobs of enemies though it can be tricky to aim. Unfortunately, the missiles themselves are not very good against vehicles, though the warheads can still cause a bit of damage. The warhead scatter tends to be somewhat random, but it's nonetheless a strong ability and a favorite of many a Shas'O. Benefits heavily from Coolant Injectors and either Ion Battery or Energy Core. Note that this weapon is capable of friendly fire, so be careful firing off at an ally surrounded by enemies, unless he or she is beefy enough to shrug off the damage with armor.

*'''Coolant Injectors''' - ''Level 10''
**Trait: Cooled Systems Cooled Systems (Decreases the cool down of abilities by 5 seconds and the cost by 5 energy)
***One of the most subtle - and useful - passive accessories for the Shas'O, the Coolant Injectors reduces the energy costs of every ability - Except Ion Battery - by 5 energy, and reduces their cooldown by 5 seconds. This allows the Crisis Suit to more frequently fire off its jets, and renders many abilities much less costly; Skyray Missiles only cost 35 Energy under this upgrade, Missile Barrage 25, and even Drones cost less. It cannot be understated just how incredibly useful this upgrade is; many players consider it a must-have.

*'''Anti-Armor Missile Pod''' - ''Level 12''
**Ability: Anti-Armor Missile (15 Energy; Fires a salvo of anti-armor missiles at the target. These missiles deal high damage to single targets with high armor)
***This shoulder-fired dingus is unlocked at level 12. Costing 15 energy a volley, the Anti-Armor Missile Pod fires off a trio of anti-armor missiles that are extremely effective against enemy heavy armor and vehicles. One of the more unilaterally fun weapon options, it gives Shas'Os using anti-infantry weapons some serious anti-vehicle punch. It's often compared to the Lord General's High-Powered Shot, and with good reason; they're both uniquely good priority target killers, though spreading it across three warheads does have its disadvantages. Note that the Anti-Armor Missile Pod does have a blast radius (albeit a ''very'' small one) and IS capable of friendly fire, so be careful when firing on targets trying to melee your allies, but timed properly you can wipe out those three Zoanthropes sticking a little too close together. Flanking enemies in melee before taking the shot will usually remove the danger.

*'''Targetting Cluster''' - ''Level 14''
**+25% Accuracy
***This accessory, unlocked at level 14, increases the accuracy of the Crisis Suit's ranged weapon by 25% (of its current value). This is ''worthless'' for the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector and Flamer, which will generally always hit what they are firing at, and of questionable value for the Burst Cannon, but is a magnum upgrade for the Plasma Rifle and Fusion Blaster, making them infinitely more reliable and, in the latter case, much more worth using. It actually amplifies both weapons DPS considerably due to how big the accuracy buff is. Combine with Networked Weapon Interface and Command armor for a truly rapetastic damage output. If you're going to use the Plasma Rifle or ''especially'' the Fusion Blaster, strongly consider using this!

*'''[[Markerlight]]''' - ''Level 18''
**Abilities: Mark Target (5 Energy; Mark a target using the markerlight - Marked targets receive additional ranged damage and will be the target of Skyray Seeker Missiles when the Sky Ray Barrage is activated), Sky Ray Barrage (40 Energy: Drops a seeker missile on any targets marked by either Markerlights or Marker Drones)
***YES. Unlocked at level 18, the Markerlight lets you mark targets for 5 energy, which seriously increases the ranged damage they take and lasts for an incredibly long period of time. Even better, it also lets you call down Smart Missiles from an outside-of-map Skyray, dealing massive area-of-effect damage to anything unfortunate enough to be in the area - on every single target currently marked with a Markerlight. This includes units marked by you, by a Marker Drone, and by other Tau Players and their Marker Drones. Yes, this is exactly as fun as it sounds, and can reduce the entire map to a moonscape. Even better, Mark Target is free to cast if you have Coolant Injectors. Note that the Skyray Barrage costs a ton of energy, however, and can easily kill both yourself and your allies, so be aware of this.

*'''Nano Technology''' - ''Level 19''
**Traits: Nano Machines (Increases the health regeneration of the Tau Commander and any allies nearby by 1.0/second)
***[[Meme|NANOMACHINES, SON]]. Unlocked at level 19, this accessory grants you a 1.0/sec regeneration boost, and grants it to nearby allies too. In essence, a weaker, but wider-ranging, version of the Space Marine Captain's Larraman's Blessing Commander Item. A decent survival upgrade, especially for Tau that will be working in close-support with allies, but is generally outclassed by Stimulant Injectors.

*'''Advanced Drone Controller''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill all Three Doppelgangers on Wave 16 of Bloodied Coliseum within 5 seconds of one another''
**Grants an ability based on the equipped Drone. This ability costs a different amount of energy depending on the drone.
**Ability (Shield Drone): EMP Field (25 Energy; Locks down all Shield Drones and any enemy under their radii; anything locked down cannot attack, move, take damage, or use abilities for the duration)
**Ability (Heavy Gun Drone): Overdrive (15 Energy; For a short time, all Gun Drones gain boosted damage and massively increased rates of fire)
**Ability (Marker Drone): Self-Destruct (10 Energy); All Marker Drones violently explode after several seconds, causing immense damage to anything close by)
***The single hardest piece of wargear ''in the entire game'' to unlock, but totally worth your time and patience once you get it - especially considering that it works with multiple Tau Commanders at once. What order your Commander can give depends on what drone you have equipped; when engaged your orders will effect all drones of that type on the field (so if you have a Heavy Gun Drone, the order will go to ''all'' Heavy Gun Drones deployed). This makes the Drone Controller extremely potent with multiple Tau Commanders, and opens up a number of very versatile tactical options. These effects are covered under the individual drones.

==Commander Items==
The Tau Commander's Commander Items are all, interestingly enough, Drones. Once placed, they will roam about, doing their thing until destroyed or they move far enough away from the controller. Each Drone is useful, either with or without the drone controller accessory, so the key is in their individual abilities. Note that, due to a bizarre coding algorithm issue, drones will cheerfully wreck most cover they come into contact with - this can be either advantageous or not, depending on the map and what your team composition is.

* '''Shield Drone:''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Shield Drone (35 Energy; Summon a Tau shield drone to the battlefield. Shield drones emit a protective field that reduces incoming ranged damage by 50% to allies within range.)
***Deceptively powerful, especially given how early it unlocks. The Shield drone generates a (surprisingly large) shield that cuts the ranged damage all allies within the shield take by half. For a predominantly-ranged team (or one that has a Hive Tyrant with Toxin Cysts), this can effectively make for a mobile firebase - provided the drone doesn't derp out and wander off, which, like all Drones, it of course has a legendary propensity for doing, unless you leash it (such as using the Southern corner of Bloodied Colosseum). It does, however, cost the most at 35 energy a pop, so bear that in mind.
***The EMP Field ability, used by the Drone Controller, functionally takes both the Drone and any enemies near it out of the fight for the duration; they cannot move or attack, nor can they take damage, but for the duration, you've effectively cut a huge chunk of enemy forces out of the fight - a ridiculously powerful advantage. This can easily be one of the most powerful of the Drone abilities tactically, since correctly used it can divide an enemy force significantly. Bear in mind, however, that it won't last too long - a mere five seconds.

* '''Heavy Gun Drone:''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Heavy Gun Drone (25 Energy; Summon a Tau heavy gun drone to the battlefield. Gun drones are equipped with twin-linked burst cannons and fire on the enemy.)
***Simple but effective, the heavy gun drone is tougher health-wise (although, without the benefits of the shield, it tends to die quicker when targeted) and packs twin-linked Burst Cannons. Sadly, unlike the Burst Cannons the Shas'O can equip, they don't cause suppression, but it's still a very good infantry-killer, especially when paired up with Markerlights and/or the Command Aura. It's less expensive than the Shield Drone, but still rather pricey.
*** When the Advanced Drone Controller is used, it gains the Overdrive ability, which boosts the damage of the drone and massively kicks up its fire rate, causing it to do phenomenal amounts of damage to infantry targets - its actual DPS essentially doubles due to this, making its damage rival the damage output of the Tau Commander himself in many builds, but it doesn't last very long. Best when used with multiple gun drone-equipped Commanders.

* '''Marker Drone:''' - ''Level 20''
**Ability: Marker Drone (15 Energy; Summon a Tau marker drone to the battlefield. Marker drones automatically mark targets. Marked targets receive increased ranged damage and can be targeted by Skyray Missile Barrages.)
***Ironically for a Drone you get at level 20, this is one of the least consistently useful drones.... At first. All it does normally is drop Markerlights (albeit for free) as it roams the battlefield. On one hand, this means it's vastly easier to mark targets, and the marked targets can be blown up by your Skyray Barrage ability (you still need the Markerlight to do so, however). Considering that Markerlight drops can be free with Coolant Injectors, this seems like a gimmicky - if useful - piece of wargear, though obviously best used alongside the Markerlight itself for Skyray compatibility. It is, however, the cheapest drone.
***The Drone Controller turns this gimmicky little drone into a devastatingly powerful impromptu weapon; it overloads the core and causes the drone to explode in an almost ludicrously powerful explosion that will instantly gib heavy infantry, deal heavy damage to vehicles, and punch your clones right into space. It can just as easily kill you or your allies, however, so be extremely careful in its use. It can easily be used offensively (jump into crowds, deploy, jump away) or as a trap for pursuing foes. Be wary of using it if your allies are using Marker Drones too.

==Tactics & Strategy==
A few tricks of the trade are discussed below.

===Drone Tactica===
Drones are a major part of Tau Commander strategy, and they offer major benefits. If you don't use your drone, you're doing it wrong.

'''Shield Drone:'''
* This drone is actually arguably the strongest of the three - if your goal is party support. It essentially halves incoming ranged damage, and in a fairly substantial radius. The drone's aura is clearly marked, and is selective enough to not effect friendly fire directed at enemies inside the shield range. Shield Drones do not stack with one another; they simply boost the radius.
** The Shield Drone is ironically the most durable drone; it takes a huge amount of ranged damage to actually kill one, though it tends to go down pretty quick in close-combat against tougher foes.
** Immediately, the obvious teammates that should come to mind with this drone is the Lord General and Hive Tyrant. The former gets minions and an emplacement, all of which can be protected by the bubble, whereas the latter offers not only minions, but potential screening against threats, especially with Poison Cysts. Other beneficiaries include the Chaos Sorcerer and the Mekboy, who either can support the front line, add minions for a firing line, or help buff the team.
** For the most durable team in Last Stand, pair a Mekboy with a Trophy Rack with a Hive Tyrant with Psychic Scream and a Tau Commander with shield drones. You'll be looking at well over 80% damage reduction to ranged damage!
*** The Shield Drone's EMP Field is best-used as a last-ditch "get out of trouble free" card; it will immediately lock down the shield drone (and indeed, all shield drones) for five seconds, essentially taking the enemies stunned by the stasis field out of the fight. It's extremely handy for backing up less mobile teammates, allowing them to get clear of incoming threats. The EMP field can actually be extremely powerful with Multiple Shield Drones and Controllers; If each Tau Commander fires one off right as the effect ends, you can essentially keep a massive area completely locked down ''indefinitely'' with some Ion Batteries.

'''Heavy Gun Drone:'''
* This simple piece of hardware fires off a barrage of burst cannon fire. Not all that strong - about as effective as one single Burst Cannon with no upgrades or suppression - but can help whittle foes down. Of the three drones, it's the most prone to drawing aggro and it's the only one capable of actually engaging in combat.
** Don't expect miracles from this drone, though it can be quite effective with a solid team behind it. Boosted by a Sorcerer's Icon of Pain, a Tau Commander's Command Aura, or an Imperial General's Take Aim!, it can inflict surprisingly heavy damage, making it a bit more killy if that's what's called for. It's otherwise best for just directing more [[Dakka]] downrange.
** It lacks the defense of the Shield Drone and tends to draw fire which means it's also the drone most likely to die in combat (other than the Markerlight Drone with the controller, of course). It's a cheaper drone, however, which makes it a bit more utilitarian. It's quite handy for getting enemies that are chasing you off your back (by giving them something else to concern themselves with).
*** All bets are off when the Overdrive of the Gun Drone is online; the Heavy Gun Drone fires much faster and is much more powerful, dealing roughly double its DPS. Whilst this isn't enough to make it as powerful as say, the Hive Tyrant's Ravener, but it's way better at cutting down single targets than it was before, especially ones that lack heavy armor. It's also even more likely to draw attention with this ability going. Even better, the ability is relatively cheap and has outstanding synergy with multiple drones; one drone controller can mean 3 gun drones that are now all in buzzsaw mode, firing a hilarious number of shots at once.

'''Marker Drone:'''
* This drone's the cheapest one and has the most clear-cut advantages and use. It flies around, marking targets with a markerlight for you. The benefits are obvious; it debuffs enemies against ranged damage, of which virtually all the Tau Commander's weapons are.
** The obvious benefits of pairing Marker Drone with Markerlight is obvious, but it's even better with multiple Tau Commanders, since you can all contribute to the Skyray Party. The benefits of the Markerlight are also handy for ranged heroes like the Lord General or Mekboy. Bear in mind that calling in a Skyray strike will also shut off all currently-active markerlights.
*** Marker Drone's benefit from the Controller is self-destructing; it goes off in roughly the radius of a Kinetic Shield pulse and deals enormous damage - and it's ''quite'' capable of friendly fire. As such, it's the only drone better off used singly with the controller; whilst other Tau Commanders can plant drones for you to explode, your control of them is relatively minimal and imparts too much risk. Use it sparingly with teammates! That said, it's extremely destructive and arguably usable as a de facto demo charge for the Tau Commander.

===Drone Tethering===
[[Image:DroneTethered.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A Tau Commander Tethers his Drone.]]

The Drones have a notorious tendency to wander off in Last Stand, mostly because they try to keep up with you. Unfortunately, because the Drone also destroys cover when it moves around (the Tau commander doesn't give a shit, since he can't benefit anyway, but other heroes might), you may want to find a way to keep the drone in one spot. Thankfully, there is a way to do this, and it's known as ''Drone Tethering''.

Sadly, it's also only possible in a few spots in each arena. If you pull it off, and position it right, the Drone will spawn and be unable to move from its one spot.

It is completely impervious to melee enemies in this spot, and only enemies that can shoot (or throw grenades) can hurt it in any way.

For the Shield Drone, this makes the tether spot a premium camping position, especially when backed with either a Mekboy with a Trophy Rack or Hive Tyrant with Psychic Scream and/or Poison Cysts.

For the Heavy Gun Drone, this essentially makes it a turret.

The Marker Drone will continue to do its time-honored tactic of marking things, completely unaffected by the nearby cover.

Note that the rocks can be destroyed by explosive damage, advancing monstrous creatures or walkers, and players who teleport/jump in.

Known Tether Spots are:

'''Bloodied Colosseum:'''
* The large pile of rocks in the southern corner, specifically the fallen pillar. This is probably the best-known tether spot.
* The large pile of rocks in the northern corner is also usable but takes more practice. Between the top gate's right side and the rocks only found it cause using that spot to make melee guys stop I cloned the force commander and he spawned in it couldn't move or attack but use his ground slam to kill so I though to try putting a drone there and it works though it didn't shoot till they had got out into the middle of the map.
* (Insert Additional Tether Spots Found Here)

'''Anvil of Khorne:'''
* * (Insert Additional Tether Spots Found Here)

===Achievement Tactica===
* '''Dynamic Entry''' (Which unlocks the Networked Weapon Interface) is unlocked by killing 100 people by jumping on them. Know that under no circumstances can you defeat any enemy, even a gaunt, with a mere jump.... Without help, at least. The Flamer is a good choice for accomplishing this achievements, as it's area of effect damage can cover entire crowds so you can stomp on them later. When you have both the Armored Crisis Suit and Iridium shield, however, you ''will'' reliably one-shot low-level mooks like Guardsmen and Shootas. Use it well.

* '''Tau Efficiency''' (Which unlocks the Advanced Drone Controller) is probably the hardest achievement to get, as the constraints for it (Killing the Doppelgangers of Wave 16 within 5 seconds of each other) are nearly impossible without coordinating intentionally flawed builds that Relic specifically designed to not be able to beat the game mode. The most reliable way to do it is to coordinate with allies using intentionally gimped builds, stun the clones (such as with Snare Mines or Frag Grenades) and then finish them off with focused fire, a Kinetic Pulse, or a Skyray Barrage. '''YOU''' have to be the one to strike the killing blow; simply alpha striking the spawn with Rocket Run or the like won't work!.

==Progression==
The Tau progression is extremely balanced and measured, with equipment distributed quite evenly throughout. At no point does the Tau Commander ever really have a "struggle point" like the [[Last Stand - Captain|Captain]] before the Jump Pack or [[Last Stand - Lord General|Lord General]] before Guardsmen. Out the gate, the Tau Commander is a versatile, effective hero that excels at fire support. Initially in his career, however, he is better used as an offensive support unit, debuffing, controlling, and bringing down tough enemies, but later he can be kitted out for everything from line support to long-range, high-damage combat or infantry destruction.

At the start of your career as a Shas'o, you have two decent gun options - the Flamer and the Plasma Rifle, a usable-if-not-overwhelming shield in the Shield Generator, and a ''very'' useful pair of starting wargear options - the Photon Grenade and Snare Trap. Both of these items are usable ''all game long'' and unlike many similar options in other classes retain their usefulness no matter how high in level the Shas'o is; consider them if you don't necessarily ''need'' another tactical option (for example, if you are running Dual Fusion Blasters, Photon Grenade and Snare Trap are generally a better choice than Anti-Armor Missiles). You should stick with the Armored Chassis - at least for the first few levels - so you can work towards the ''Dynamic Entry'' achievement and so you have a bit more survivability, since you don't have the usual degree of flexibility a Shas'o will later have yet.

Levels 2 through 4 bring you, in order, the Energy Core, Fusion Blaster, and Stimulant Injector. The Energy Core should be used ''immediately'', whereas the Fusion Blaster is more of a tactical choice - huge damage, but a very slow reload, making the Shas'o better at wiping out heavy targets at the cost of everything else. It's better to shelve the Fusion Blaster (for now), because it becomes way better later on. The Stimulant Injector comes next, and should ideally replace the accessory of your choice if you plan to use the other crisis suit - the Agile suit will give you plenty of mobility and really helps the Flamer; it'll be even better later on with some additional gear. Though the Stimulant Injector's a great survivability upgrade, try to learn to get by ''without'' it - you'll train yourself better and be more able to avoid over-relying on it for when accessories are scarce!

Level 5 brings you the Shield Drone, and a great option it is. Use it immediately and familiarize yourself with using it as mobile cover, since the Tau Commander lacks the ability to gain cover saves.

Levels 6, 7, and 8 are characterized by major utility upgrades. Level 6 brings you the Ion Battery, which is one of the most useful wargear items in the game if you're packing a lot of heavy drain equipment (Photon Grenades, Shield Drone) and are great for allies as well. Level 7 brings you the Kinetic Shield, a great defensive enhancement that makes the Tau Commander a threat at close combat and synergizes beautifully with the Fusion Blaster and Plasma Rifle. Level 8 brings you your first legitimate anti-squad option in Fragmentation Missile Pod - Use this weapon sparingly - it's both energy-hungry and hard to aim, but its firepower is excellent.

With Level 9 and 10, you get the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, which is your first long-ranged weapon and extremely handy for fighting from afar. This is then chased by the Coolant Injectors - arguably the most important and powerful item in ''all of Last Stand'' for the Tau Commander, reducing the cost of ''everything'' by five and reducing your cooldowns. Virtually every quality Tau Commander build ''needs'' this piece of hardware, but it isn't ''critical'' if you're focused on weapon use, so bear this in mind.

Level 11 brings the Iridium Shield, giving you an alternate way to get the Heavy trait for lighter chassis builds, and giving major survivability to any build that doesn't need sheer mobility. You can now run a heavy defense build, or use it to bolster light builds. Anti-Armor Missile comes next, arguably the most useful offensive option the Tau Commander gets for almost six levels, and one of the most useful weapons of its type, making anti-infantry weapon builds much more viable. 13 then chases this with the Agile Crisis Suit, giving you a substantial boost to airmobility and making most long range offensive builds viable. 14 then brings Targeting Cluster - now you can get the most out of Plasma Rifle and Fusion Blaster builds. Score!

Level 15 gives you the Heavy Gun Drone. Get used to using it - it's less survivable and less helpful to allies than the Shield Drone, but it's way more self-sufficient and can help you stay alive that much longer. Very handy for fire support and as a distraction, and it becomes lethal if you can get Drone Controller - more on that later.

Level 16 finally starts to bring the Tau Commander up to his zenith as far as power goes, unlocking the Burst Cannon. This weapon offers suppression, high damage, and long-range - it's hard to find a more efficient weapon for infantry-killing, though it struggles with high armor. Fortunately, you ''have'' an option for heavy armor by now (you got it at level 12). 17 then gives you the Command Armor, the only Shas'o armor with Fearless and a unique aura that boosts your ranged damage. Unfortunately, it's also the only suit without a health boost, so it also makes both the Shields and Stimulant Injector highly desirable.

Level 18 brings Markerlight - pretty much the best "utility" ability the Shas'o gets, because it debuffs enemy defense significantly against ranged attacks, which ''every single primary you carry is''. It also gives you your most powerful offensive option, the Skyray Barrage, though it's nowhere near as strong as other nukes (such as Rocket Run or even Eldritch Storm).

Level 19 gives you Nano Technology - your ''only'' health regen boost in the game and an advantage the Tau Commander ''seriously'' benefits from. Better, it bolsters teammates, so it can help keep nearby allies in the field. It's a reasonable alternative to Stimulant Injector if your build is durable enough already, and can easily pay for itself if you're on the move often enough.

Level 20 then wraps things up by giving you Marker Drone. Not much to say here - it's a great option that works best with Markerlight.

Special note needs to be placed on the achievement wargear. Networked Weapon Interface is absolutely amazing, giving the Tau Commander remarkably high damage, even early on. This weapon costs some of your primary's damage, but in exchange, clones the weapon in your alternate slot, giving you, on average, a 50% increase in overall damage. Use it well.

The Drone Controller is the hardest-to-get item ''in the entire game'', but is also ridiculously useful, opening up tons of new tactics for an enterprising Tau Commander. The Shield Drone becomes an amazing lockdown and control device, the Gun Drone a fire support minion par excellence, and the Marker Drone becomes a ridiculously powerful suicide device. If you can get this item, consider using it - it has many advantages and few drawbacks to speak of.

==Build Options==
*Note* The Tau Commander is by far the most diverse hero in the game, being able to easily switch between all rounder, tanks, fire support, and blob counters with a switch of only one or two items.

'''BUILD 1 - GOOMBA STOMPER'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Armored' Crisis Battlesuit, Stimulant Injector, Shield Drone Controller, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Coolant Injectors, Iridium Plated Shield, Anti Armor Missile Pod

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' You are a short range, damage tanking jump trooper. Combining the heavy crisis suit with the Iridium shield gives you a double "heavy" trait, allowing you to instakill some blobs on impact from your jump (Tyranids in particular are vulnerable to this). The damage resistance provided makes the Commander nearly impervious to small arms fire, while the Stimulant Injector gives you a chance if any heavy melee units like Nobz get too close. Your main strategy will be disrupting blobs with your jumps while focusing on hard targets with your plasma rifle and missile pod. The Shield Drone will draw fire and provide damage resistance, while the Coolant Injectors allow you to hop around the map like a hyperactive frog that crushes blobs underfoot when it lands. This build is excellent for achieving the "Dynamic Entry" achievement, and for kiting mobs while slowly whittling them down in dire situations where your other two teammates are down and it is too risky to revive them.

'''BUILD 2 - HAILSTORM'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Burst Cannon, Networked Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Coolant Injectors, Anti Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build gives you the most DPS you could hope for, essentially giving you almost the equivalent firepower of a single medium-wave: the double burst cannon combined with the "command" suit deals more damage than a Plasma Rifle (without armour piercing, though) making the commander literally shred to pieces any kind of light and medium infantry in a matter of seconds. The Heavy Gun Drone also synergies extremely well with the armour, making your combined DPS almost insane! You also got anti-armor missile pod to engage the bigger targets, although they shouldn't be your first objective (this is one of the two "weak points" of this build, the other being toughness. But you got team mates for a reason!). The coolant injectors make you able to spam more rockets, drones and to jump a lot more freely, and this alone makes you a much bigger threat and significantly bolster your survivability. Lastly, Stimulant Injectors are key to survive the latest waves; in this build you are quite squishy, meaning even a single squad of plasma rifle marines could easily kill you in a single volley if caught in the open. The SI provides you with an extremely solid heal effects that will easily mitigate the biggest weak point of the build. But remember that it doesn't make you tanky, so you shouldn't rely on it unless compelled!

'''BUILD 3 - SWISS KNIFE'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Repulsor Shield, Ion Battery, Coolant Injectors, Anti Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' with this build you compromise between survivability and DPS, becoming an effective Jack of All Trades and offsetting the only limitation the Tau Commander has: hand to hand combat. All right, let me clarify myself: you still suck in close combat and your attacks still do shit. '''But''' you can effectively keep melee enemies at bay thanks to your kinetic pulse (which also do a lot of damage to light armoured enemies) and the Ion Battery and Coolant Injectors make you able to spam it with little to no concern, while your Heavy Gun Drone wreck light-medium infantry squads from distance and you destroy armoured foes thanks to the Plasma Rifle and the Anti Armor Missile Pod. If an enemy that you can't knock back comes dangerously close, you can just jump away, place down your Ion Battery and re engage from a safe distance. Rinse and repeat until they're all dead.
*You can also use this build more aggressively by jumping on infantry squads and swiftly activating the Kinetic pulse, knocking them back and dealing heavy damage to the entire squad, then retreat away and finishing them from range (if they're still alive, that is). You could also use the 'armoured' suit instead of the 'command' one, dealing a lot more damage and gaining some more tankiness. Only remember that, by doing this, you are losing some mobility and ranged damage but, depending on your team mates, it could work better than the original build.

'''BUILD 4 - SKY RAY PARTY'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'agile' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Network Weapon Interface, Ion Battery, Coolant Injectors, Markerlight, Marker Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum (It is effectively viable on both maps, but a lot more difficult in Anvil of Khorne because of its lowered dimensions)

'''Explanation:''' a tricky (and not so simple to use) build, but really effective with the right team mates. With this, the tactic is to nimbly bounce around the map, thanks to your superior stabilizers, remaining out of range from enemy fire while marking everything in sight. Then you obliterate any marked target with your Sky Ray Barrage! You can effectively remain airborn almost at any time thanks to the Coolant Injectors, and the Ion Battery will help you recharge your energy after a barrage. You equip the Plasma Rifle in this build because it's got great range and a lot of punch, keeping you safe while you maintain your distance and target armored enemies that your barrage would have problems dealing with. Although you could exchange the NWI with a Repulsor Shield, making you less of a Glass Cannon, you shouldn't do that for two reasons: number one being that, by doing so, you aren't properly taking advantage of the markerlights, who increase your ranged damage by a lot, and, number two, you are already sufficiently energy hungry as it is, so you wouldn't want to waste other energy on the kinetic pulse. Besides, with this build you should avoid melee anyway, jumping from point to point.

'''BUILD 5 - PLASMA MASSACRE''' (added by: Warptrooper)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Network Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Targeting Clusters, Coolant Injectors, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' Simply massive amounts of ranged damage to Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry and Armor. Dual Plasmas + Command Suit (+15% damage) + Targeting Clusters (93%, Accuracy would be 75% without it) = Retarded amounts of damage on anything. Stimulant injectors help keep you alive in case you get low. The Heavy gun drone is just icing on the cake and adds additional damage plus helps draw fire away from you. Strategy: Stay mobile. No Heavy trait means you have good jump range. Use this to your advantage. Keep moving, ideally getting in cover at your next jump position and use your plasma's range to kill everything. Don't let melee get close. The downsides to this build: No anti-armor missiles (but you don't really need them with 2x Plasmas @ 93% accuracy with +15% command buff). Tanks die in just a few volleys plus you save energy that can be saved for gun drone or jet pack. Again, use and abuse your mobility and kill everything with your range. I have never seen anyone else using this and I do not understand why. Getting 500-600+ kills is fun and you pretty much NEVER miss with both plasmas thanks to Targeting Clusters. PS: If your ally Tau Commander has Command armor already, you could replace your Command armor for Armored for extra 50 HP + 10 Armor plus stronger jump but you lose a bit of range on jump. Could also do Agile for 25 more HP and additional Jump range at the cost of 20 armor. The jump range could be helpful but again this is only if you already have an ally Tau with Command armor.

'''BUILD 6 - Disco Inferno'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Flamer, Network Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Anti-Armor Missile Pod, Coolant Injectors, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' Do you like roasting chestnuts over a roasting fire? What about guardsmen, nids, or any other inf squad. The name of the game with this suit is rapid response. Jump in cook a squad and move on with the coolant you are able to move quickly across the battlefield. The Anti-Armor Missile Pod will allow you to target anything big and bad such as 'Uge Hammers or Zoanthrope at a huge range. Keep in mind since your Missile pods take energy that you should balance out your shooting and moving try to boost into position for a good shot and while in the air target with the pods. It is also worth noting that your pods are great against your clone on wave 16 of the Colosseum and the AI will also try to make use of them, a single volly is enough to trigger the Stim which should be followed with a jump and fire to finish them off. Mobility is your friend with this build helping an ally if they start to get over whelmed by normal or putting a rocket in a threat before boosting off. make use of any rest time you can to keep your energy up. You should also make sure to keep up your gun drone while it is effective to do so (other wise your just wasting energy to let it die in one shot) to help with the groups either for drawing them in for your jump and burn or to being helpful if you need to let your energy build back up. Don't be afraid to seek cover away from the action or dance around the map if your stims trigger for the cool down to go away.

'''BUILD 7 - FIREKNIFE CONFIGURATION''' (Added by: Jaimas)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Light' Crisis Battlesuit, Networked Weapon Interface, Fusion Blaster, Targeting Clusters, Fragmentation Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Gear Options:''' Advanced Drone Controller is fantastic for this build; Otherwise go with Stimulant Injector, Nano Technology, or Ion Battery.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build, named for its counterpart in the tabletop game, is a heavily-armed brute. Fusion Blasters basically ''need'' Targeting Clusters and and the Networked Weapon interface for ideal performance, and with the increased movement speed of the Light crisis suit, you can control your distance well - necessary for any use of this brutal weapon. Your main role in the fireteam is killing priority targets - heavy vehicles, monstrous creatures, and the errant walker.
You lack much anti-mob damage so you'll be relying on your gun drone and your teammates as a screener; Advanced Drone Controller really helps by letting this thing whittle down enemy mobs. Frag missiles are included to help you whittle down mobs from afar but the bulk of your work is mostly going to be punching holes in big threatening things, and at this, you will excel - you're packing the kind of firepower that allows you to take out a more-or-less intact Ork Nob in one direct hit of your dual guns. Expect to kill Kans in 2-3 volleys and Dreadnoughts in the same. Rear armor shots on tanks or APCs will blow them apart in record time.

'''BUILD 8 - AERIAL BOMBARDMENT''' (Added by: Jaimas)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Agile' Crisis Battlesuit, Networked Weapon Interface, Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Coolant Injectors, Stimulant Injector, Anti-Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' A build designed to exploit mobility, this absolute ''bastard'' of a tactical build isn't for the faint of heart. Agile Suit and Coolant Injectors give you something no other build has: ''instant jump jet cooldowns''. You cover enough ground to cross the entirety of Anvil in a single jet, or cover close to 60% of Colosseum in a single bound. The tactical advantage his provides is ''fucking huge''.
To work with this, you'll be using the AFP, which has the longest range of any Tau Commander weapon, doesn't give a shit about cover or intervening terrain, and twin-linking the goddamned thing for good measure. Back this up with Anti-Armor missiles (for hole-punching armored targets) and a Heavy Gun Drone (to draw fire whilst you zip around the battlefield) and this thing is an absolute ''monster'' in practiced hands. You're less durable than many builds but that doesn't really matter when you have no intention of getting into close-combat in the first place and have instant cooldowns on your jets.

'''Build 9 - Drone Devastation''' (Added by: Harkonnen)

'''Minimum Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit, Repulsor Shield, Plasma Rifle, '''Advanced Drone Controller''', Coolant Injectors, Ion Battery, Marker Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' This build is named for the ability of your drones to be absolutely devastating. Advanced Drone Controller is essential and allows you to self-destruct your Marker Drone with a large explosion that does massive damage to anything nearby ''(including allies, be wary.)'' Use the Tau Commander's mobility and heavy trait to jump on groups of enemies and activate kinetic pulse, killing most weak enemy blobs with ease. For tougher enemies you jump on them and stun them, deploy your marker drone in their face and calmly walk away or jump as you leave devastation in your wake. Running low on energy? Drop an Ion Battery at your feet and watch most of it come rushing back and your energy intensive allies also get these benefits. Which is probably the least you can do for jumping around and stealing most of the kills. 600+ is not uncommon, depending on your allies. What about the clones on wave 16 you ask? Pfft, what clones? Determine their spawn location based off where the large horde of Banshees comes from at the end of Wave 9 and when Wave 16 comes around, wait at the gate and jump on them as they spawn, stunning them before dropping a Marker Drone on top of them and triggering the self-destruct. When stunned, your clone will summon his own drone and both will go off in their faces, leaving your allies to wonder what happened as the clones are turned to dust. Only the beefiest tanky heroes are likely to survive, but not for long as you jump-stun them again and re-introduce them to your little friend.

One of the best parts about this build is that you will always have something to do. Use Kinetic Pulse to relieve your beleaugered allies of melee hordes. Lead your enemies around the battlefield while turning to drop a drone surprise and revive your allies as they focus on how cool it looks as it spins for the greater good. Not for them though. The downsides of this build are that it can be fairly micro-intensive and you have no Stimulant Injectors to fall back on when things get rough so it's important to keep on the move. But if you pay attention, nothing will be a challenge except for Wave 17 and 20 on Colosseum and the final waves on Anvil.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Tau]]

Last Stand - Tau Commander

2018-03-15T19:18:40Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Weapon Options */

The [[Tau]] Shas'O Commander is a DLC Character for [[Last Stand]], and as such, locked behind a pay-gate. If this [[Games Workshop|reminds you of something]], then congrats - you too, are aware of the irony.

At any rate, the Tau Commander ''is'' an immensely fun and useful character, with the ability to be set up in any of dozens of different fashions, making him somewhat unique as far as Last Stand heroes go. He always has a jet ability of some sort, and can fulfill many different tactical roles, depending on loadout and situation. His biggest drawback is that he has no melee attack whatsoever and if engaged, can do little but try to helplessly block enemy melee attacks or try to flee. Bearing this in mind is crucial to getting the most out of the Shas'O Commander.

'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' The Tau Commander has no melee attack. If he is engaged in melee, he will try to block enemy melee attacks, but he has no ability to fight back in close-combat without the aid of wargear options, so do your best to get the fuck out of dodge using your Jet ability if enemies close in, unless, of course, you're packing the Flamer and/or Kinetic Shield. Also note that, like the Hive Tyrant, the Tau Commander is too obese to enter buildings or take direct cover.

==Weapon Options==
The Tau Commander has 2 weapon slots - one for weapons, one for shields. All options for both are listed below.

===Weapons===
Uniquely, all of the Tau Commander's primary weapons are ranged - he has no options for close-combat. As such, it's vitally important that you keep him out of close-combat with enemy units, though the Flamer is an excellent choice for the rare, intrepid Tau Commander who [[Farsight|isn't afraid to shorten his reach]].

*'''Plasma Rifle''' - ''Default''
**Ranged Weapon
**10.0 DPS
***The Default plasma rifle is, like all default weapons, utter shit and should never be used except as part of a joke. Its sole purpose is as a place-holder so that the Tau Commander cannot be sent into combat unarmed and thus unable to do anything.

*'''Command Issue Plasma Rifle''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**23.3 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 100 armor rating)
***Unlocked from the start, this basic, no-frills weapon is a central Tau Commander weapon. It does good damage, has decent range, can be fired on the run, has a decent rate of fire, and has the armor-piercing trait - all wonderful things to have in a weapon. It tends to be very middle-of-the-road and is invariably out-performed by other weapons at various ranges, but it makes for a damned fine "all comers" weapon that has relatively few drawbacks to speak of, though it tends to flag a bit when facing crowds and its 75% accuracy can result in periodic bouts of [[RAGE|doing no damage when you absolutely need it to]]. Best when backed by Targeting Cluster, though tolerable without. Useful all game long, and works well on any variety of target.

*'''Flamer''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (Flamer attacks in large radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon).
**Notes: This weapon, like most Flamer-type weapons, has an undocumented minor Armor-Piercing trait that causes it to ignore 20 points of armor.
***A criminally-under-used unlocked-from-start weapon that does only modest damage, but has a huge area of effect, ignores cover, and has no accuracy loss when fired on the run. The Flamer is excellent for killing packs of mooks, especially cover-camping shits like Eldar Guardians and Grav Platform Teams. It also makes a great weapon when using the Tau Commander's jets; the Tau Commander will start firing even before he hits the ground, giving a truly unpleasant surprise to anyone that happens to be near his landing zone. Perhaps most importantly, the Flamer is one of the only guns that the Tau Commander will reliably try to fire in close-combat, so don't be put off by the Flamer's relatively poor damage. Works especially well when twin-linked, since the damage loss from twin-linking is virtually nil.

*'''Fusion Blaster''' - ''Level 3''
**Ranged Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 150 armor rating)
***This belter of a weapon unlocks at level 3. Boasting vastly higher damage and scarily high DPS, as well as the Armor-Piercing trait, the Fusion Blaster, at a glance, seems too good to be true... And it sadly ''is''. Firing only a little slower than the Plasma Rifle for a vastly higher damage output seems like a great trade-off... And, likewise, it ''is'', in some situations. Unfortunately, the Fusion Blaster has much shorter range than the Plasma Rifle, and with a slower refire rate, the Fusion Blaster, when it does miss, will sting all the more - meaning that Targeting Cluster is borderline-essentially for maximizing this thing. Also, unlike the Plasma Rifle, it cannot be fired while moving. The Fusion Blaster absolutely excels at fighting heavily-armored foes, though - tanks, walkers, wraithlords, enemy Heroes, and the errant Carnifex - virtually nothing can stand in this thing's way when put on the right build, especially when Twin-Linked, but its ridiculously slow recycle rate and accuracy issues can make it a losing proposition for some situations. A weapon to be used with care.

*'''Airbursting Fragmentation Projector''' - ''Level 9''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (AFP shells have a blast radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon)
*** This overly-elaborate Tau Grenade Launcher unlocks at level 9. Firing powerful, long-ranged shells, the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector does only mediocre DPS, owing to its sluggish refire rate, but it affects an area, ignores cover saves, and does fairly good damage when it fires and can fire on the move. Rather poor in close-combat and somewhat weak against fast-moving foes, the biggest upside to this beast is that it's an indirect-fire weapon - there's nothing stopping you from launching Airburst shells over intervening terrain to hit enemies hiding behind - something incredibly helpful since the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector is one of the Tau Commander's longest-ranged weapons as well. Bear in mind its weaknesses in close-combat and targeting highly-mobile foes, however, and it will serve you well - especially if you have an ally that can cause suppression or Snare Mines. It functions like a lower-grade version of the Fragmentation Missile Pod, one that doesn't always take as much time to fire and doesn't hit allies in melee.

*'''Burst Cannon''' - ''Level 16''
**Ranged Weapon
**15.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppressive (This weapon suppresses infantry, slowing their movement speed and ranged attack speed)
***Gatling fetishists rejoice - your favorite weapon in the Tau Armory is available once more, and at level 16. A somewhat easy-to-underestimate weapon, the Burst Cannon does pretty decent damage at long range, but is far better for its suppressive fire effects, which slow and cripple foes under the effects, and it boasts both long range, and the ability to fire on the move. Its main drawback: it essentially does chip damage to armored foes. With proper upgrades, the Burst Cannon can actually become quite effective against most infantry, and is a huge boon to teams that are lacking in anti-infantry punch - it's the longest-ranged primary weapon the Shas'O gets and has excellent crowd control capability, especially when twin-linked.

===Shields===
The Tau Commander's shield slot is normally used for equipping Shields that boost his health and armor rating, and provide other useful benefits. It can also be used to equip the Networked Weapon Interface, in case you want to scream: ''"[[Commissar Fuklaw|fuck shields]]!!"'' and go for even more [[Dakka|shooty goodness]].

*'''Shield Hardpoint''' - ''Default''
**Shield
***Like all default weapons, the Shield Hardpoint is a place-holder and should not, under any circumstances, be used on its own merits. It offers no benefits, and solely exists to have items replace it. Avoid.

*'''Shield Generator''' - ''Level 1''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Energy Shield (Activates a powered shield that absorbs incoming damage in the form of energy)
***Unlocked from the start, this little shield gives a good health and armor boost - 50 Armor, 25 Health - and it makes available the ''Energy Shield'' ability -
Don't underestimate this early-game shield, especially when backed with Ion Batteries and/or Coolant Injectors. It adds a surprisingly heavy amount of survivability to what is already a phenomenally-durable class (only the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]] and [[Last Stand - Necron Overlord|Necron Overlord]] can withstand anywhere near as much abuse). It works the same way as the Hive Tyrant's Warp field. This can actually be amazingly utilitarian when backed with the "Agile" Crisis Suit and works very well for waves against heavily-shooty opposition (such as Space Marine Scouts). This said, the Tau Commander tends to use energy a lot, which makes this ability more of a "get out of death free" card rather than the mass survivability boost of the Hive Tyrant. The health and armor boosts are welcome, and make this worth taking even if you don't want to spend the energy on the bubble shield.

*'''Repulser Shield''' - ''Level 7''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Kinetic Pulse (15 Energy; Discharges stored kinetic energy, knocking back and dealing damage to nearby enemies)
***Unlocking at Level 7, This shield gives the same health and armor boosts as the Shield Generator (+50 Armor, +25 Health), but instead has the incredibly useful ''Kinetic Pulse'' ability. For 15 energy, the Tau Commander generates a short-ranged shockwave that deals decent damage and hurls away lighter foes. This can be used offensively (jump into a crowd and activate it to hurl them away), or defensively (bunker down and use it to throw away enemies that love crowding you, like Sluggas and Banshees). This versatility makes it one of the best overall shields in the game, and a staple of many builds. The only drawback: Can't be used with Networked Weapon Interface.

*'''Iridium Shield''' - ''Level 11''
**Shield
**+75 Armor
**+50 Health
**Traits: Heavy (Lowers range of Jet, but increases damage of impact and adds stun effect)
***Unlocked at Level 11, and boasting the largest health and armor boost of the shields, the Iridium Shield is all about defense. Having the Iridium Shield equipped, due to its mass, gives the Tau Commander the trait ''[[Heavy-chan|Heavy]]'', which increases the damage done by jumping on foes, but cuts the range of the Tau Commander's jump. This same trait is given by the XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit Armor, and if both are used, a [[Extra Heresy|Double Heavy]] state is acquired, which further boosts the damage and impact of the Tau Commander's jumps (the other effects, such as the range and stun duration, are unchanged). It does, however, lack the Kinetic Pulse of the Repulser Shield, the Energy Shield of the Shield Generator, and the always-useful Twin-Linked trait of the Networked Weapon Interface, so bear this in mind.

*'''Networked Weapon Interface''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill 100 Enemies by Jumping on them''
**Shield
**Traits: Twin-Linked
***Not really a shield, this achievement unlock, earned by getting the Dynamic Entry achievement, gives no health or armor, and instead duplicates whatever weapon your commander had in the primary weapon slot in his shield slot, allowing the Commander to fire 2 of whatever his weapon of choice was. A side-effect of the twin-linking is that both weapons are about 25% weaker - so you trade 25% of one gun's firepower to gain a second 75% damage gun. This upgrade benefits the Tau Commander's various weapons in different ways - the Burst Cannon and Flamer lose almost no damage from being twin-linked, so the upgrade is a flat damage improvement, whereas the primary benefit to the Fusion Blaster and Plasma Rifle is being able to fire at more than one one round per cooldown cycle, compensating for some of their accuracy issues. The Airburst Fragmentation Projector and Flamer get a second pieplate/flamerplate to drop. You're trading defense for offense here, so make sure that whatever weapon you choose, to make the choice worth it.

==Armor==
All armors for the Tau Commander provide the Unshakable trait, meaning that the Tau Commander cannot be knocked down. Additionally, all of the armors provide some variation of the Jet ability, so getting around the battlefield is never a problem for the Tau Commander. His available armors are as follows:

*'''XV8 Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Default''
**Armor Rating: 50
**Traits: Unshakable
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***Like all default armors, this one sucks. It gives 50 Armor Rating, Unshakable, and the Jet ability, however, so it sucks ''slightly'' less than other default armors. Uhm.... Yay?

*'''XV8 "Light" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 90
**+25 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Low-Weight Composites (+1 Speed)
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***This starting armor tends to be under-used, which is a shame because it's also incredibly useful. Giving 90 Armor, +25 Health, and the Jet ability, it also grants the Unshakable trait and a notable movement speed boost. This can be deceptively helpful, and is definitely worth it for mobile offensive builds. This is especially good for Shas'Os using the Fusion Blaster or Shield Generator.

*'''XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor Rating: 120
**+50 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Heavy (Lowers range of Jet, but increases damage of impact and adds stun effect)
**Abilities: Heavy Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
*** Unequivocally the most-common armor used for the Tau Commander, and with damned good reason - it gives the best defense, as well as the ''Heavy'' trait, which replaces your standard Jet ability with the Heavy Jet ability. This jet variant has a slower speed and shorter range, but does more damage when it lands and a longer stun effect. The survivability of this armor alone makes it a solid choice, and definitely worth using.

*'''XV8 "Agile" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor Rating: 90
**+25 Health
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Superior Stabilizers (Increases range and lowers cooldown of Jet)
**Abilities: Stabilized Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***A deceptively powerful armor. Statistically almost-identical to the "Light" Crisis Suit, the "Agile" Crisis Suit unlocks at level 13. It gives 90 Armor, 25 Health, Unshakable, and the ''Stabilized Jet'' ability, which is both faster and longer-ranged than the standard Jet ability. Of all the Tau Commander armors, this one is arguably the most survivable - not for its armor or health boosts, but for its ability to get the hell out of dodge when things get too scary. The Golden Egg of Last Stand is and shall always be mobility, and the Tau Commander's armor that best emphasizes this trait certainly has it in spades.

*'''XV8 "Command" Crisis Battlesuit''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor Rating: 110
**Traits: Unshakable (Immune to Knockdown), Fearless (Makes the wearer of this suit and allies around him immune to suppression), Improved Targeting (Increases the wearer’s and nearby allies’ ranged damage by 15%).
**Abilities: Jet (10 Energy; Jumps to target location, flying through the air and knocking enemies back on impact)
***This rarely-used - but exceptionally-powerful - armor is the last one to be unlocked, at level 17. It has no health boosts, but the passive upgrades it gives are obscenely useful, and it has better armor than most Tau Armors at 110. It gives the Jet ability, Unshakable, and two incredibly handy auras - one that boosts the Tau Commander's (and all nearby allies') ranged damage by 15%, and a second one that makes the Tau Commander and all nearby allies ''Fearless'' (and thus immune to Suppression). These traits conspire to make the "Command" suit one of the best supporting armors available to the Tau Commander, and a veritable magnum upgrade if he's placed alongside an allied Lord General, ranged-focused Hive Tyrant, or Mekboy. It can also effectively offset the damage loss of Twin-Linking.

==Accessories==
The Tau Commander has a number of useful accessories - some bringing back fond memories of [[Shas'o Kais]] from [[Dawn of War: Dark Crusade]], and much of it all new. It's these items that form the meat-and-potatoes of the Tau Commander's playstyle, as with these a Shas'O can serve as either a front-line slugger, ranged fighter, or support soldier.

*'''Photon Grenade''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Photon Grenade (25 Energy; Project a photon grenade at the targeted location. Photon grenades temporarily disorient and confuse enemies, causing them to attack random targets or walk around aimlessly for a short time)
***An old Tau favorite, and a wargear option you start with. Photon Grenade allows you to, for 25 energy, launch a grenade that induces the ''Confusion'' status. At a glance, this seems very similar to the Eldar Farseer's Runes of the Harlequin ability, but it costs more, has a slower start-up, and, perhaps most notably, has a blast radius, which means it can confuse a whole crowd of clustered enemies. Even better, it also effects vehicles, and even the wave 16 clones! Extremely useful for disrupting enemy attacks, the Photon Grenade is an excellent early upgrade and works extremely well as a support option.

*'''Snare Mine''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Snare Mine(10 Energy; Places a Tau snare mine at the targeted location. When an enemy moves near it the mine detonates, slowing the target and other enemies nearby)
***A classic from the first Dawn of War - and one you start with, no less - Snare Mines let you place, for 10 energy, a mine that, when triggered by an enemy getting too close, explodes, slowing the enemy considerably for several seconds. Compared to the Mekboy's similar Booby Traps ability, the Snare Mine costs less, only places one mine, and each mine has a blast radius. However, unlike Booby Trap, Snare Mine's effect lasts quite a while, and effectively immobilizes those effected by five seconds (they can still move a bit and attack, but their movement is pretty much crippled). Better, it effects vehicles whereas Booby Traps do not. Absolutely worth your time and one of the most versatile wargear options the Tau Commander gets.

*'''Energy Core''' - ''Level 2''
**+25 Energy
***The first unlock you get at level 2, and also the first passive accessory, the Energy Core improves your energy max by 25, letting you use more abilities before running out. How useful this is primarily depends on the user; many prefer the more-ubiquitous Ion Battery ability, though it sees quite a bit of use with players using more energy-hungry abilities, such as Fragmentation Missile Pod.

*'''Stimulant Injector''' - ''Level 4''
**Traits: Resuscitation (When the Commander’s health slips below 20 he automatically revives 100 health. Resuscitation can only trigger once every 30 seconds. If an attack is powerful enough to lower the Commander’s health to 0 from above 20 it will bypass the injectors and be fatal)
***An incredible survivability tool unlocked at level 4, this nifty little wargear allows the Tau Commander, once every 30 seconds, to restore 100 health automatically if he tips below 20 health. This may be only a small buffer if you truly get screwed, but it can keep a player in a fight for an almost embarrassingly long time considering how early it becomes available. Extremely common with many Tau Commander players, and with good reason, though many high-level Shas'O players eschew it.

*'''Ion Battery''' - ''Level 6''
**Ability: Ion Battery (10 Energy; Places an ion battery at the targeted location. The ion battery quickly resupplies the energy of nearby allies)
***An incredibly useful item unlocked at level 6, the Ion battery allows the Tau Commander to, for 10 Energy, plunk down a battery that rapidly recharges the energy of all allies (the Tau Commander included) in a wide radius. This is an incredibly handy upgrade, allowing for rapid recharging of abilities for not only the Commander, but his teammates - Sorcerers, for example, love Ion Batteries something fierce, and every Lord General loves the ability to use Sniper Shot, Solid Slug, and Take Aim! more often. This wargear tends to have a very harsh rivalry going on with the Energy Core; many players agonize over which is the better choice. Uniquely, the Ion Battery is the only wargear not effected by Coolant Injectors.

*'''Fragmentation Missile Pod''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Fragmentation Missile Barrage (30 Energy; Fires a large salvo of fragmentation missiles at the targeted location, dealing damage and knocking back enemies)
***Players who remember the Missile Barrage of the [[Skyray Missile Gunship]] in [[Dawn of War]] will be pleased to learn that they can fit a smaller version of this ability on their crisis suits. For 30 energy, the Crisis Suit can fire, after a small delay, a barrage of frag missiles that rain destruction down on a wide radius and from a very long range. This does huge damage and excels at destroying mobs of enemies though it can be tricky to aim. Unfortunately, the missiles themselves are not very good against vehicles, though the warheads can still cause a bit of damage. The warhead scatter tends to be somewhat random, but it's nonetheless a strong ability and a favorite of many a Shas'O. Benefits heavily from Coolant Injectors and either Ion Battery or Energy Core. Note that this weapon is capable of friendly fire, so be careful firing off at an ally surrounded by enemies, unless he or she is beefy enough to shrug off the damage with armor.

*'''Coolant Injectors''' - ''Level 10''
**Trait: Cooled Systems Cooled Systems (Decreases the cool down of abilities by 5 seconds and the cost by 5 energy)
***One of the most subtle - and useful - passive accessories for the Shas'O, the Coolant Injectors reduces the energy costs of every ability - Except Ion Battery - by 5 energy, and reduces their cooldown by 5 seconds. This allows the Crisis Suit to more frequently fire off its jets, and renders many abilities much less costly; Skyray Missiles only cost 35 Energy under this upgrade, Missile Barrage 25, and even Drones cost less. It cannot be understated just how incredibly useful this upgrade is; many players consider it a must-have.

*'''Anti-Armor Missile Pod''' - ''Level 12''
**Ability: Anti-Armor Missile (15 Energy; Fires a salvo of anti-armor missiles at the target. These missiles deal high damage to single targets with high armor)
***This shoulder-fired dingus is unlocked at level 12. Costing 15 energy a volley, the Anti-Armor Missile Pod fires off a trio of anti-armor missiles that are extremely effective against enemy heavy armor and vehicles. One of the more unilaterally fun weapon options, it gives Shas'Os using anti-infantry weapons some serious anti-vehicle punch. It's often compared to the Lord General's High-Powered Shot, and with good reason; they're both uniquely good priority target killers, though spreading it across three warheads does have its disadvantages. Note that the Anti-Armor Missile Pod does have a blast radius (albeit a ''very'' small one) and IS capable of friendly fire, so be careful when firing on targets trying to melee your allies, but timed properly you can wipe out those three Zoanthropes sticking a little too close together. Flanking enemies in melee before taking the shot will usually remove the danger.

*'''Targetting Cluster''' - ''Level 14''
**+25% Accuracy
***This accessory, unlocked at level 14, increases the accuracy of the Crisis Suit's ranged weapon by 25% (of its current value). This is ''worthless'' for the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector and Flamer, which will generally always hit what they are firing at, and of questionable value for the Burst Cannon, but is a magnum upgrade for the Plasma Rifle and Fusion Blaster, making them infinitely more reliable and, in the latter case, much more worth using. It actually amplifies both weapons DPS considerably due to how big the accuracy buff is. Combine with Networked Weapon Interface and Command armor for a truly rapetastic damage output. If you're going to use the Plasma Rifle or ''especially'' the Fusion Blaster, strongly consider using this!

*'''[[Markerlight]]''' - ''Level 18''
**Abilities: Mark Target (5 Energy; Mark a target using the markerlight - Marked targets receive additional ranged damage and will be the target of Skyray Seeker Missiles when the Sky Ray Barrage is activated), Sky Ray Barrage (40 Energy: Drops a seeker missile on any targets marked by either Markerlights or Marker Drones)
***YES. Unlocked at level 18, the Markerlight lets you mark targets for 5 energy, which seriously increases the ranged damage they take and lasts for an incredibly long period of time. Even better, it also lets you call down Smart Missiles from an outside-of-map Skyray, dealing massive area-of-effect damage to anything unfortunate enough to be in the area - on every single target currently marked with a Markerlight. This includes units marked by you, by a Marker Drone, and by other Tau Players and their Marker Drones. Yes, this is exactly as fun as it sounds, and can reduce the entire map to a moonscape. Even better, Mark Target is free to cast if you have Coolant Injectors. Note that the Skyray Barrage costs a ton of energy, however, and can easily kill both yourself and your allies, so be aware of this.

*'''Nano Technology''' - ''Level 19''
**Traits: Nano Machines (Increases the health regeneration of the Tau Commander and any allies nearby by 1.0/second)
***[[Meme|NANOMACHINES, SON]]. Unlocked at level 19, this accessory grants you a 1.0/sec regeneration boost, and grants it to nearby allies too. In essence, a weaker, but wider-ranging, version of the Space Marine Captain's Larraman's Blessing Commander Item. A decent survival upgrade, especially for Tau that will be working in close-support with allies, but is generally outclassed by Stimulant Injectors.

*'''Advanced Drone Controller''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill all Three Doppelgangers on Wave 16 of Bloodied Coliseum within 5 seconds of one another''
**Grants an ability based on the equipped Drone. This ability costs a different amount of energy depending on the drone.
**Ability (Shield Drone): EMP Field (25 Energy; Locks down all Shield Drones and any enemy under their radii; anything locked down cannot attack, move, take damage, or use abilities for the duration)
**Ability (Heavy Gun Drone): Overdrive (15 Energy; For a short time, all Gun Drones gain boosted damage and massively increased rates of fire)
**Ability (Marker Drone): Self-Destruct (10 Energy); All Marker Drones violently explode after several seconds, causing immense damage to anything close by)
***The single hardest piece of wargear ''in the entire game'' to unlock, but totally worth your time and patience once you get it - especially considering that it works with multiple Tau Commanders at once. What order your Commander can give depends on what drone you have equipped; when engaged your orders will effect all drones of that type on the field (so if you have a Heavy Gun Drone, the order will go to ''all'' Heavy Gun Drones deployed). This makes the Drone Controller extremely potent with multiple Tau Commanders, and opens up a number of very versatile tactical options. These effects are covered under the individual drones.

==Commander Items==
The Tau Commander's Commander Items are all, interestingly enough, Drones. Once placed, they will roam about, doing their thing until destroyed or they move far enough away from the controller. Each Drone is useful, either with or without the drone controller accessory, so the key is in their individual abilities. Note that, due to a bizarre coding algorithm issue, drones will cheerfully wreck most cover they come into contact with - this can be either advantageous or not, depending on the map and what your team composition is.

* '''Shield Drone:''' - ''Level 5''
**Ability: Shield Drone (35 Energy; Summon a Tau shield drone to the battlefield. Shield drones emit a protective field that reduces incoming ranged damage by 50% to allies within range.)
***Deceptively powerful, especially given how early it unlocks. The Shield drone generates a (surprisingly large) shield that cuts the ranged damage all allies within the shield take by half. For a predominantly-ranged team (or one that has a Hive Tyrant with Toxin Cysts), this can effectively make for a mobile firebase - provided the drone doesn't derp out and wander off, which, like all Drones, it of course has a legendary propensity for doing, unless you leash it (such as using the Southern corner of Bloodied Colosseum). It does, however, cost the most at 35 energy a pop, so bear that in mind.
***The EMP Field ability, used by the Drone Controller, functionally takes both the Drone and any enemies near it out of the fight for the duration; they cannot move or attack, nor can they take damage, but for the duration, you've effectively cut a huge chunk of enemy forces out of the fight - a ridiculously powerful advantage. This can easily be one of the most powerful of the Drone abilities tactically, since correctly used it can divide an enemy force significantly. Bear in mind, however, that it won't last too long - a mere five seconds.

* '''Heavy Gun Drone:''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Heavy Gun Drone (25 Energy; Summon a Tau heavy gun drone to the battlefield. Gun drones are equipped with twin-linked burst cannons and fire on the enemy.)
***Simple but effective, the heavy gun drone is tougher health-wise (although, without the benefits of the shield, it tends to die quicker when targeted) and packs twin-linked Burst Cannons. Sadly, unlike the Burst Cannons the Shas'O can equip, they don't cause suppression, but it's still a very good infantry-killer, especially when paired up with Markerlights and/or the Command Aura. It's less expensive than the Shield Drone, but still rather pricey.
*** When the Advanced Drone Controller is used, it gains the Overdrive ability, which boosts the damage of the drone and massively kicks up its fire rate, causing it to do phenomenal amounts of damage to infantry targets - its actual DPS essentially doubles due to this, making its damage rival the damage output of the Tau Commander himself in many builds, but it doesn't last very long. Best when used with multiple gun drone-equipped Commanders.

* '''Marker Drone:''' - ''Level 20''
**Ability: Marker Drone (15 Energy; Summon a Tau marker drone to the battlefield. Marker drones automatically mark targets. Marked targets receive increased ranged damage and can be targeted by Skyray Missile Barrages.)
***Ironically for a Drone you get at level 20, this is one of the least consistently useful drones.... At first. All it does normally is drop Markerlights (albeit for free) as it roams the battlefield. On one hand, this means it's vastly easier to mark targets, and the marked targets can be blown up by your Skyray Barrage ability (you still need the Markerlight to do so, however). Considering that Markerlight drops can be free with Coolant Injectors, this seems like a gimmicky - if useful - piece of wargear, though obviously best used alongside the Markerlight itself for Skyray compatibility. It is, however, the cheapest drone.
***The Drone Controller turns this gimmicky little drone into a devastatingly powerful impromptu weapon; it overloads the core and causes the drone to explode in an almost ludicrously powerful explosion that will instantly gib heavy infantry, deal heavy damage to vehicles, and punch your clones right into space. It can just as easily kill you or your allies, however, so be extremely careful in its use. It can easily be used offensively (jump into crowds, deploy, jump away) or as a trap for pursuing foes. Be wary of using it if your allies are using Marker Drones too.

==Tactics & Strategy==
A few tricks of the trade are discussed below.

===Drone Tactica===
Drones are a major part of Tau Commander strategy, and they offer major benefits. If you don't use your drone, you're doing it wrong.

'''Shield Drone:'''
* This drone is actually arguably the strongest of the three - if your goal is party support. It essentially halves incoming ranged damage, and in a fairly substantial radius. The drone's aura is clearly marked, and is selective enough to not effect friendly fire directed at enemies inside the shield range. Shield Drones do not stack with one another; they simply boost the radius.
** The Shield Drone is ironically the most durable drone; it takes a huge amount of ranged damage to actually kill one, though it tends to go down pretty quick in close-combat against tougher foes.
** Immediately, the obvious teammates that should come to mind with this drone is the Lord General and Hive Tyrant. The former gets minions and an emplacement, all of which can be protected by the bubble, whereas the latter offers not only minions, but potential screening against threats, especially with Poison Cysts. Other beneficiaries include the Chaos Sorcerer and the Mekboy, who either can support the front line, add minions for a firing line, or help buff the team.
** For the most durable team in Last Stand, pair a Mekboy with a Trophy Rack with a Hive Tyrant with Psychic Scream and a Tau Commander with shield drones. You'll be looking at well over 80% damage reduction to ranged damage!
*** The Shield Drone's EMP Field is best-used as a last-ditch "get out of trouble free" card; it will immediately lock down the shield drone (and indeed, all shield drones) for five seconds, essentially taking the enemies stunned by the stasis field out of the fight. It's extremely handy for backing up less mobile teammates, allowing them to get clear of incoming threats. The EMP field can actually be extremely powerful with Multiple Shield Drones and Controllers; If each Tau Commander fires one off right as the effect ends, you can essentially keep a massive area completely locked down ''indefinitely'' with some Ion Batteries.

'''Heavy Gun Drone:'''
* This simple piece of hardware fires off a barrage of burst cannon fire. Not all that strong - about as effective as one single Burst Cannon with no upgrades or suppression - but can help whittle foes down. Of the three drones, it's the most prone to drawing aggro and it's the only one capable of actually engaging in combat.
** Don't expect miracles from this drone, though it can be quite effective with a solid team behind it. Boosted by a Sorcerer's Icon of Pain, a Tau Commander's Command Aura, or an Imperial General's Take Aim!, it can inflict surprisingly heavy damage, making it a bit more killy if that's what's called for. It's otherwise best for just directing more [[Dakka]] downrange.
** It lacks the defense of the Shield Drone and tends to draw fire which means it's also the drone most likely to die in combat (other than the Markerlight Drone with the controller, of course). It's a cheaper drone, however, which makes it a bit more utilitarian. It's quite handy for getting enemies that are chasing you off your back (by giving them something else to concern themselves with).
*** All bets are off when the Overdrive of the Gun Drone is online; the Heavy Gun Drone fires much faster and is much more powerful, dealing roughly double its DPS. Whilst this isn't enough to make it as powerful as say, the Hive Tyrant's Ravener, but it's way better at cutting down single targets than it was before, especially ones that lack heavy armor. It's also even more likely to draw attention with this ability going. Even better, the ability is relatively cheap and has outstanding synergy with multiple drones; one drone controller can mean 3 gun drones that are now all in buzzsaw mode, firing a hilarious number of shots at once.

'''Marker Drone:'''
* This drone's the cheapest one and has the most clear-cut advantages and use. It flies around, marking targets with a markerlight for you. The benefits are obvious; it debuffs enemies against ranged damage, of which virtually all the Tau Commander's weapons are.
** The obvious benefits of pairing Marker Drone with Markerlight is obvious, but it's even better with multiple Tau Commanders, since you can all contribute to the Skyray Party. The benefits of the Markerlight are also handy for ranged heroes like the Lord General or Mekboy. Bear in mind that calling in a Skyray strike will also shut off all currently-active markerlights.
*** Marker Drone's benefit from the Controller is self-destructing; it goes off in roughly the radius of a Kinetic Shield pulse and deals enormous damage - and it's ''quite'' capable of friendly fire. As such, it's the only drone better off used singly with the controller; whilst other Tau Commanders can plant drones for you to explode, your control of them is relatively minimal and imparts too much risk. Use it sparingly with teammates! That said, it's extremely destructive and arguably usable as a de facto demo charge for the Tau Commander.

===Drone Tethering===
[[Image:DroneTethered.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A Tau Commander Tethers his Drone.]]

The Drones have a notorious tendency to wander off in Last Stand, mostly because they try to keep up with you. Unfortunately, because the Drone also destroys cover when it moves around (the Tau commander doesn't give a shit, since he can't benefit anyway, but other heroes might), you may want to find a way to keep the drone in one spot. Thankfully, there is a way to do this, and it's known as ''Drone Tethering''.

Sadly, it's also only possible in a few spots in each arena. If you pull it off, and position it right, the Drone will spawn and be unable to move from its one spot.

It is completely impervious to melee enemies in this spot, and only enemies that can shoot (or throw grenades) can hurt it in any way.

For the Shield Drone, this makes the tether spot a premium camping position, especially when backed with either a Mekboy with a Trophy Rack or Hive Tyrant with Psychic Scream and/or Poison Cysts.

For the Heavy Gun Drone, this essentially makes it a turret.

The Marker Drone will continue to do its time-honored tactic of marking things, completely unaffected by the nearby cover.

Note that the rocks can be destroyed by explosive damage, advancing monstrous creatures or walkers, and players who teleport/jump in.

Known Tether Spots are:

'''Bloodied Colosseum:'''
* The large pile of rocks in the southern corner, specifically the fallen pillar. This is probably the best-known tether spot.
* The large pile of rocks in the northern corner is also usable but takes more practice. Between the top gate's right side and the rocks only found it cause using that spot to make melee guys stop I cloned the force commander and he spawned in it couldn't move or attack but use his ground slam to kill so I though to try putting a drone there and it works though it didn't shoot till they had got out into the middle of the map.
* (Insert Additional Tether Spots Found Here)

'''Anvil of Khorne:'''
* * (Insert Additional Tether Spots Found Here)

===Achievement Tactica===
* '''Dynamic Entry''' (Which unlocks the Networked Weapon Interface) is unlocked by killing 100 people by jumping on them. Know that under no circumstances can you defeat any enemy, even a gaunt, with a mere jump.... Without help, at least. The Flamer is a good choice for accomplishing this achievements, as it's area of effect damage can cover entire crowds so you can stomp on them later. When you have both the Armored Crisis Suit and Iridium shield, however, you ''will'' reliably one-shot low-level mooks like Guardsmen and Shootas. Use it well.

* '''Tau Efficiency''' (Which unlocks the Advanced Drone Controller) is probably the hardest achievement to get, as the constraints for it (Killing the Doppelgangers of Wave 16 within 5 seconds of each other) are nearly impossible without coordinating intentionally flawed builds that Relic specifically designed to not be able to beat the game mode. The most reliable way to do it is to coordinate with allies using intentionally gimped builds, stun the clones (such as with Snare Mines or Frag Grenades) and then finish them off with focused fire, a Kinetic Pulse, or a Skyray Barrage. '''YOU''' have to be the one to strike the killing blow; simply alpha striking the spawn with Rocket Run or the like won't work!.

==Progression==
The Tau progression is extremely balanced and measured, with equipment distributed quite evenly throughout. At no point does the Tau Commander ever really have a "struggle point" like the [[Last Stand - Captain|Captain]] before the Jump Pack or [[Last Stand - Lord General|Lord General]] before Guardsmen. Out the gate, the Tau Commander is a versatile, effective hero that excels at fire support. Initially in his career, however, he is better used as an offensive support unit, debuffing, controlling, and bringing down tough enemies, but later he can be kitted out for everything from line support to long-range, high-damage combat or infantry destruction.

At the start of your career as a Shas'o, you have two decent gun options - the Flamer and the Plasma Rifle, a usable-if-not-overwhelming shield in the Shield Generator, and a ''very'' useful pair of starting wargear options - the Photon Grenade and Snare Trap. Both of these items are usable ''all game long'' and unlike many similar options in other classes retain their usefulness no matter how high in level the Shas'o is; consider them if you don't necessarily ''need'' another tactical option (for example, if you are running Dual Fusion Blasters, Photon Grenade and Snare Trap are generally a better choice than Anti-Armor Missiles). You should stick with the Armored Chassis - at least for the first few levels - so you can work towards the ''Dynamic Entry'' achievement and so you have a bit more survivability, since you don't have the usual degree of flexibility a Shas'o will later have yet.

Levels 2 through 4 bring you, in order, the Energy Core, Fusion Blaster, and Stimulant Injector. The Energy Core should be used ''immediately'', whereas the Fusion Blaster is more of a tactical choice - huge damage, but a very slow reload, making the Shas'o better at wiping out heavy targets at the cost of everything else. It's better to shelve the Fusion Blaster (for now), because it becomes way better later on. The Stimulant Injector comes next, and should ideally replace the accessory of your choice if you plan to use the other crisis suit - the Agile suit will give you plenty of mobility and really helps the Flamer; it'll be even better later on with some additional gear. Though the Stimulant Injector's a great survivability upgrade, try to learn to get by ''without'' it - you'll train yourself better and be more able to avoid over-relying on it for when accessories are scarce!

Level 5 brings you the Shield Drone, and a great option it is. Use it immediately and familiarize yourself with using it as mobile cover, since the Tau Commander lacks the ability to gain cover saves.

Levels 6, 7, and 8 are characterized by major utility upgrades. Level 6 brings you the Ion Battery, which is one of the most useful wargear items in the game if you're packing a lot of heavy drain equipment (Photon Grenades, Shield Drone) and are great for allies as well. Level 7 brings you the Kinetic Shield, a great defensive enhancement that makes the Tau Commander a threat at close combat and synergizes beautifully with the Fusion Blaster and Plasma Rifle. Level 8 brings you your first legitimate anti-squad option in Fragmentation Missile Pod - Use this weapon sparingly - it's both energy-hungry and hard to aim, but its firepower is excellent.

With Level 9 and 10, you get the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, which is your first long-ranged weapon and extremely handy for fighting from afar. This is then chased by the Coolant Injectors - arguably the most important and powerful item in ''all of Last Stand'' for the Tau Commander, reducing the cost of ''everything'' by five and reducing your cooldowns. Virtually every quality Tau Commander build ''needs'' this piece of hardware, but it isn't ''critical'' if you're focused on weapon use, so bear this in mind.

Level 11 brings the Iridium Shield, giving you an alternate way to get the Heavy trait for lighter chassis builds, and giving major survivability to any build that doesn't need sheer mobility. You can now run a heavy defense build, or use it to bolster light builds. Anti-Armor Missile comes next, arguably the most useful offensive option the Tau Commander gets for almost six levels, and one of the most useful weapons of its type, making anti-infantry weapon builds much more viable. 13 then chases this with the Agile Crisis Suit, giving you a substantial boost to airmobility and making most long range offensive builds viable. 14 then brings Targeting Cluster - now you can get the most out of Plasma Rifle and Fusion Blaster builds. Score!

Level 15 gives you the Heavy Gun Drone. Get used to using it - it's less survivable and less helpful to allies than the Shield Drone, but it's way more self-sufficient and can help you stay alive that much longer. Very handy for fire support and as a distraction, and it becomes lethal if you can get Drone Controller - more on that later.

Level 16 finally starts to bring the Tau Commander up to his zenith as far as power goes, unlocking the Burst Cannon. This weapon offers suppression, high damage, and long-range - it's hard to find a more efficient weapon for infantry-killing, though it struggles with high armor. Fortunately, you ''have'' an option for heavy armor by now (you got it at level 12). 17 then gives you the Command Armor, the only Shas'o armor with Fearless and a unique aura that boosts your ranged damage. Unfortunately, it's also the only suit without a health boost, so it also makes both the Shields and Stimulant Injector highly desirable.

Level 18 brings Markerlight - pretty much the best "utility" ability the Shas'o gets, because it debuffs enemy defense significantly against ranged attacks, which ''every single primary you carry is''. It also gives you your most powerful offensive option, the Skyray Barrage, though it's nowhere near as strong as other nukes (such as Rocket Run or even Eldritch Storm).

Level 19 gives you Nano Technology - your ''only'' health regen boost in the game and an advantage the Tau Commander ''seriously'' benefits from. Better, it bolsters teammates, so it can help keep nearby allies in the field. It's a reasonable alternative to Stimulant Injector if your build is durable enough already, and can easily pay for itself if you're on the move often enough.

Level 20 then wraps things up by giving you Marker Drone. Not much to say here - it's a great option that works best with Markerlight.

Special note needs to be placed on the achievement wargear. Networked Weapon Interface is absolutely amazing, giving the Tau Commander remarkably high damage, even early on. This weapon costs some of your primary's damage, but in exchange, clones the weapon in your alternate slot, giving you, on average, a 50% increase in overall damage. Use it well.

The Drone Controller is the hardest-to-get item ''in the entire game'', but is also ridiculously useful, opening up tons of new tactics for an enterprising Tau Commander. The Shield Drone becomes an amazing lockdown and control device, the Gun Drone a fire support minion par excellence, and the Marker Drone becomes a ridiculously powerful suicide device. If you can get this item, consider using it - it has many advantages and few drawbacks to speak of.

==Build Options==
*Note* The Tau Commander is by far the most diverse hero in the game, being able to easily switch between all rounder, tanks, fire support, and blob counters with a switch of only one or two items.

'''BUILD 1 - GOOMBA STOMPER'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Armored' Crisis Battlesuit, Stimulant Injector, Shield Drone Controller, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Coolant Injectors, Iridium Plated Shield, Anti Armor Missile Pod

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' You are a short range, damage tanking jump trooper. Combining the heavy crisis suit with the Iridium shield gives you a double "heavy" trait, allowing you to instakill some blobs on impact from your jump (Tyranids in particular are vulnerable to this). The damage resistance provided makes the Commander nearly impervious to small arms fire, while the Stimulant Injector gives you a chance if any heavy melee units like Nobz get too close. Your main strategy will be disrupting blobs with your jumps while focusing on hard targets with your plasma rifle and missile pod. The Shield Drone will draw fire and provide damage resistance, while the Coolant Injectors allow you to hop around the map like a hyperactive frog that crushes blobs underfoot when it lands. This build is excellent for achieving the "Dynamic Entry" achievement, and for kiting mobs while slowly whittling them down in dire situations where your other two teammates are down and it is too risky to revive them.

'''BUILD 2 - HAILSTORM'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Burst Cannon, Networked Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Coolant Injectors, Anti Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build gives you the most DPS you could hope for, essentially giving you almost the equivalent firepower of a single medium-wave: the double burst cannon combined with the "command" suit deals more damage than a Plasma Rifle (without armour piercing, though) making the commander literally shred to pieces any kind of light and medium infantry in a matter of seconds. The Heavy Gun Drone also synergies extremely well with the armour, making your combined DPS almost insane! You also got anti-armor missile pod to engage the bigger targets, although they shouldn't be your first objective (this is one of the two "weak points" of this build, the other being toughness. But you got team mates for a reason!). The coolant injectors make you able to spam more rockets, drones and to jump a lot more freely, and this alone makes you a much bigger threat and significantly bolster your survivability. Lastly, Stimulant Injectors are key to survive the latest waves; in this build you are quite squishy, meaning even a single squad of plasma rifle marines could easily kill you in a single volley if caught in the open. The SI provides you with an extremely solid heal effects that will easily mitigate the biggest weak point of the build. But remember that it doesn't make you tanky, so you shouldn't rely on it unless compelled!

'''BUILD 3 - SWISS KNIFE'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Repulsor Shield, Ion Battery, Coolant Injectors, Anti Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' with this build you compromise between survivability and DPS, becoming an effective Jack of All Trades and offsetting the only limitation the Tau Commander has: hand to hand combat. All right, let me clarify myself: you still suck in close combat and your attacks still do shit. '''But''' you can effectively keep melee enemies at bay thanks to your kinetic pulse (which also do a lot of damage to light armoured enemies) and the Ion Battery and Coolant Injectors make you able to spam it with little to no concern, while your Heavy Gun Drone wreck light-medium infantry squads from distance and you destroy armoured foes thanks to the Plasma Rifle and the Anti Armor Missile Pod. If an enemy that you can't knock back comes dangerously close, you can just jump away, place down your Ion Battery and re engage from a safe distance. Rinse and repeat until they're all dead.
*You can also use this build more aggressively by jumping on infantry squads and swiftly activating the Kinetic pulse, knocking them back and dealing heavy damage to the entire squad, then retreat away and finishing them from range (if they're still alive, that is). You could also use the 'armoured' suit instead of the 'command' one, dealing a lot more damage and gaining some more tankiness. Only remember that, by doing this, you are losing some mobility and ranged damage but, depending on your team mates, it could work better than the original build.

'''BUILD 4 - SKY RAY PARTY'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'agile' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Network Weapon Interface, Ion Battery, Coolant Injectors, Markerlight, Marker Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum (It is effectively viable on both maps, but a lot more difficult in Anvil of Khorne because of its lowered dimensions)

'''Explanation:''' a tricky (and not so simple to use) build, but really effective with the right team mates. With this, the tactic is to nimbly bounce around the map, thanks to your superior stabilizers, remaining out of range from enemy fire while marking everything in sight. Then you obliterate any marked target with your Sky Ray Barrage! You can effectively remain airborn almost at any time thanks to the Coolant Injectors, and the Ion Battery will help you recharge your energy after a barrage. You equip the Plasma Rifle in this build because it's got great range and a lot of punch, keeping you safe while you maintain your distance and target armored enemies that your barrage would have problems dealing with. Although you could exchange the NWI with a Repulsor Shield, making you less of a Glass Cannon, you shouldn't do that for two reasons: number one being that, by doing so, you aren't properly taking advantage of the markerlights, who increase your ranged damage by a lot, and, number two, you are already sufficiently energy hungry as it is, so you wouldn't want to waste other energy on the kinetic pulse. Besides, with this build you should avoid melee anyway, jumping from point to point.

'''BUILD 5 - PLASMA MASSACRE''' (added by: Warptrooper)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Command Issue Plasma Rifle, Network Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Targeting Clusters, Coolant Injectors, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' Simply massive amounts of ranged damage to Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry and Armor. Dual Plasmas + Command Suit (+15% damage) + Targeting Clusters (93%, Accuracy would be 75% without it) = Retarded amounts of damage on anything. Stimulant injectors help keep you alive in case you get low. The Heavy gun drone is just icing on the cake and adds additional damage plus helps draw fire away from you. Strategy: Stay mobile. No Heavy trait means you have good jump range. Use this to your advantage. Keep moving, ideally getting in cover at your next jump position and use your plasma's range to kill everything. Don't let melee get close. The downsides to this build: No anti-armor missiles (but you don't really need them with 2x Plasmas @ 93% accuracy with +15% command buff). Tanks die in just a few volleys plus you save energy that can be saved for gun drone or jet pack. Again, use and abuse your mobility and kill everything with your range. I have never seen anyone else using this and I do not understand why. Getting 500-600+ kills is fun and you pretty much NEVER miss with both plasmas thanks to Targeting Clusters. PS: If your ally Tau Commander has Command armor already, you could replace your Command armor for Armored for extra 50 HP + 10 Armor plus stronger jump but you lose a bit of range on jump. Could also do Agile for 25 more HP and additional Jump range at the cost of 20 armor. The jump range could be helpful but again this is only if you already have an ally Tau with Command armor.

'''BUILD 6 - Disco Inferno'''

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Command' Crisis Battlesuit, Flamer, Network Weapon Interface, Stimulant Injector, Anti-Armor Missile Pod, Coolant Injectors, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' Do you like roasting chestnuts over a roasting fire? What about guardsmen, nids, or any other inf squad. The name of the game with this suit is rapid response. Jump in cook a squad and move on with the coolant you are able to move quickly across the battlefield. The Anti-Armor Missile Pod will allow you to target anything big and bad such as 'Uge Hammers or Zoanthrope at a huge range. Keep in mind since your Missile pods take energy that you should balance out your shooting and moving try to boost into position for a good shot and while in the air target with the pods. It is also worth noting that your pods are great against your clone on wave 16 of the Colosseum and the AI will also try to make use of them, a single volly is enough to trigger the Stim which should be followed with a jump and fire to finish them off. Mobility is your friend with this build helping an ally if they start to get over whelmed by normal or putting a rocket in a threat before boosting off. make use of any rest time you can to keep your energy up. You should also make sure to keep up your gun drone while it is effective to do so (other wise your just wasting energy to let it die in one shot) to help with the groups either for drawing them in for your jump and burn or to being helpful if you need to let your energy build back up. Don't be afraid to seek cover away from the action or dance around the map if your stims trigger for the cool down to go away.

'''BUILD 7 - FIREKNIFE CONFIGURATION''' (Added by: Jaimas)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Light' Crisis Battlesuit, Networked Weapon Interface, Fusion Blaster, Targeting Clusters, Fragmentation Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Gear Options:''' Advanced Drone Controller is fantastic for this build; Otherwise go with Stimulant Injector, Nano Technology, or Ion Battery.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' This build, named for its counterpart in the tabletop game, is a heavily-armed brute. Fusion Blasters basically ''need'' Targeting Clusters and and the Networked Weapon interface for ideal performance, and with the increased movement speed of the Light crisis suit, you can control your distance well - necessary for any use of this brutal weapon. Your main role in the fireteam is killing priority targets - heavy vehicles, monstrous creatures, and the errant walker.
You lack much anti-mob damage so you'll be relying on your gun drone and your teammates as a screener; Advanced Drone Controller really helps by letting this thing whittle down enemy mobs. Frag missiles are included to help you whittle down mobs from afar but the bulk of your work is mostly going to be punching holes in big threatening things, and at this, you will excel - you're packing the kind of firepower that allows you to take out a more-or-less intact Ork Nob in one direct hit of your dual guns. Expect to kill Kans in 2-3 volleys and Dreadnoughts in the same. Rear armor shots on tanks or APCs will blow them apart in record time.

'''BUILD 8 - AERIAL BOMBARDMENT''' (Added by: Jaimas)

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 'Agile' Crisis Battlesuit, Networked Weapon Interface, Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Coolant Injectors, Stimulant Injector, Anti-Armor Missile Pod, Heavy Gun Drone.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' A build designed to exploit mobility, this absolute ''bastard'' of a tactical build isn't for the faint of heart. Agile Suit and Coolant Injectors give you something no other build has: ''instant jump jet cooldowns''. You cover enough ground to cross the entirety of Anvil in a single jet, or cover close to 60% of Colosseum in a single bound. The tactical advantage his provides is ''fucking huge''.
To work with this, you'll be using the AFP, which has the longest range of any Tau Commander weapon, doesn't give a shit about cover or intervening terrain, and twin-linking the goddamned thing for good measure. Back this up with Anti-Armor missiles (for hole-punching armored targets) and a Heavy Gun Drone (to draw fire whilst you zip around the battlefield) and this thing is an absolute ''monster'' in practiced hands. You're less durable than many builds but that doesn't really matter when you have no intention of getting into close-combat in the first place and have instant cooldowns on your jets.

'''Build 9 - Drone Devastation''' (Added by: Harkonnen)

'''Minimum Level:''' 20

'''Gear you need:''' XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit, Repulsor Shield, Plasma Rifle, '''Advanced Drone Controller''', Coolant Injectors, Ion Battery, Marker Drone.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne.

'''Explanation:''' This build is named for the ability of your drones to be absolutely devastating. Advanced Drone Controller is essential and allows you to self-destruct your Marker Drone with a large explosion that does massive damage to anything nearby ''(including allies, be wary.)'' Use the Tau Commander's mobility and heavy trait to jump on groups of enemies and activate kinetic pulse, killing most weak enemy blobs with ease. For tougher enemies you jump on them and stun them, deploy your marker drone in their face and calmly walk away or jump as you leave devastation in your wake. Running low on energy? Drop an Ion Battery at your feet and watch most of it come rushing back and your energy intensive allies also get these benefits. Which is probably the least you can do for jumping around and stealing most of the kills. 600+ is not uncommon, depending on your allies. What about the clones on wave 16 you ask? Pfft, what clones? Determine their spawn location based off where the large horde of Banshees comes from at the end of Wave 9 and when Wave 16 comes around, wait at the gate and jump on them as they spawn, stunning them before dropping a Marker Drone on top of them and triggering the self-destruct. When stunned, your clone will summon his own drone and both will go off in their faces, leaving your allies to wonder what happened as the clones are turned to dust. Only the beefiest tanky heroes are likely to survive, but not for long as you jump-stun them again and re-introduce them to your little friend.

One of the best parts about this build is that you will always have something to do. Use Kinetic Pulse to relieve your beleaugered allies of melee hordes. Lead your enemies around the battlefield while turning to drop a drone surprise and revive your allies as they focus on how cool it looks as it spins for the greater good. Not for them though. The downsides of this build are that it can be fairly micro-intensive and you have no Stimulant Injectors to fall back on when things get rough so it's important to keep on the move. But if you pay attention, nothing will be a challenge except for Wave 17 and 20 on Colosseum and the final waves on Anvil.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Tau]]

Last Stand - Captain

2018-03-15T19:07:52Z

2600:6C58:4280:396:69B9:78C1:71E5:30B: /* Weapons */

The [[Space Marine]] Captain is the Space Marine hero for [[Last Stand]]

==Overview==
The Captain is the brutal front-line of [[Last Stand]]. He is notable for his surprisingly high levels of durability and for the relative flexibility of his tactical loadouts. Unlike other front-liners, like the Hive Tyrant, Tau Commander, and Farseer, the Captain is designed to be directly involved in a combat situation no matter what loadout he has. With one of the highest HP totals in Last Stand, the Captain is designed to survive, and with his ability to have an almost ludicrously high regeneration rate, he also tends to have the ability to stick around with only a short time out compared to other heroes. With an impressive number of offensive options, the Space Marine Captain boasts some terrifyingly high damage output and some top-class support abilities. His Plasma Gun and Power Axe boast phenomenal anti-armor ability, the Lightning Claw is a terrifying anti-mob weapon, the Chainsword gives him truly absurd levels of survivability, and the Bolter, Plasma Cannon, and Thunder Hammer are tricky but potent weapons that offer all new tactical options for those willing to indulge. He has a number of secondary wargear options that give him massive firepower, additional backup (and how!), or the ability to bolster and assist teammates.

Unfortunately, what the Captain has in raw power and survivability, he loses in energy capacity and battlefield control. Energy boosts are few and far between for the Captain, with only one armor giving him any more than his base 50, and only one weapon boosting his energy regeneration rate. With many expensive abilities, the Captain often will run low or even completely dry on energy, often at bad times, even with the help of a Tau Commander's Ion Battery or allies who can help bolster your energy regeneration like the Farseer.

The captain also has extremely poor anti-mob damage until ''much'' later in his career, when the Plasma Gun brings the Hellfire Grenade to the table, with the Lightning Claw, Frag Grenade, Plasma Cannon, and Orbital Strike not becoming available until close to the end of his progression. This means the early days of the Captain is hallmarked by him being tactically one-sided, often pigeon-holed into a melee role until the better weapons start to become available. Even afterwards his gear tends to set itself up oddly; Combat Expert, one of the best abilities the Captain can get, demands the Plasma Pistol, which mandates that the Marine carry a melee weapon. This means that the captain's combinations of viable gear are much more strict than they initially appear, and demand much more attention than they initially appear to, demanding that the player kit extremely carefully to get the most out of this front-line bruiser. One you have all his gear, he's surprisingly versatile - but you need to balance his offense and abilities carefully to get the most out of the guy despite a generally very-straightforward play style.

==Armor==
*'''Power Armor''' - ''Default''
**Armor: 62
***Defailt space marine armor, to be replaced by better wargear. Useless.

*'''Armor of Resilience''' - ''Level 1''
**Armor: 128
** Unshakable (Knockback immunity)
***The starting armor for the Space Marine is decent; though its protective value is overshadowed by other armors, it is the only way the Captain gains access to Unshakable, which actually does have its merits.

*'''Armor of Vengeance''' - ''Level 9''
**Armor: 208
**Traits: Reactive Strike (Melee attacks against the Captain have a chance to damage and knockback the attacker.)
***The Armor of Vengeance is incredibly tanky, and useful for many builds. Reactive Strike doesn't quite kick in as often as desired, but it does help to keep some blobs away.

*'''Artificer Armor''' - ''Level 13''
**Armor: 162
**+50 Health, +25 Energy
***One of the most common armor choices on a Captain, and for good reason; its protection is sufficient, only overshadowed by the Armor of Vengeance, the energy boost is much needed for the Captain, and the health boost doesn't hurt, either.

*'''Armor of Fortitude''' - ''Level 17''
**Armor: 144
** +2.5 Health Regeneration
***While not a bad armor, exactly, the Armor of Fortitude is often outclassed by its kin; More times than not, the extra health from Artificer will match the regen of Fortitude, on top of Artificers other benefits, and the sheer tankiness of Vengeance makes it somewhat preferable as well; that said, Fortitude can work well with builds focusing heavily on health regeneration, aiming for 8.5 or 9 health per second, and works extremely well with ranged Captains.

*'''Sacred Relic Armor''' - ''DLC''
**Armor: 135
**Traits: Melee Expert (Melee Damage is increased by 15%.), Crushing Blows (Melee attacks will deal additional damage in an area around the attacker.)
***A decent set of armor, but very much a one-trick [[My Little Pony|pony]]. The buffs it offers can make the Captain terrifying in terms of damage capability, but its armor value is the second lowest of the whole lot, sometimes leaving him more vulnerable than even with the Armor of Resilience due to the presence of knockback. Use it alongside the Power Axe and Plasma Pistol and you can tear apart blobs of heavy infantry in a matter of seconds.

==Weapons==
*'''Bolt Pistol''' - ''Default''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon.
**4.8 DPS
***As there are multiple pistol replacements, one being another bolt pistol, there's no reason to keep this, ever. Why would you?

*'''Chainsword''' - ''Default''
**Melee Weapon
**7.6 DPS
***Like the bolt pistol, there are multiple melee weapon replacements, including another chainsword. Replace this immediately.

*'''Bolter''' - ''Level 1''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**21.8 DPS
** +0.3 Energy Regeneration.
**Ability: Blind Grenade (10 Energy; throws a grenade that stuns a cluster of enemy targets upon impact.)
***An often overlooked weapon that is deceptively powerful. Despite what the DPS says, it really only excels against lighter targets, like Imperial Guardsmen, Eldar Guardians, and Gaunts. Its attack against heavier targets is resoundingly ''mediocre'' and a great example of why judging wargear purely by listed DPS is often a bad idea; with only 50% accuracy and poor per-shot damage, the Bolter is notorious for missing and failing to do damage either to mobs or to armored targets. Suffice to say, the blind grenades and energy regeneration bonus on this weapon, however, give it plenty of value, giving a tactically-minded Captain a great way to control mobs and high priority targets [such as the dopplegangers] as they're stunned for a few seconds, especially at its cheap energy cost. You won't get many kills with this weapon, but you ''can'' change how a battle is faring, which in many ways can be much more valuable.

*'''Master-Crafted Bolt Pistol''' - ''Level 1''
**One-handed Ranged Weapon
**4.8 DPS
** +1.5 Health Regeneration
***Though completely unremarkable in power, to the point of forgetting its even doing damage sometimes, the additional health regeneration makes the bolt pistol useful in some builds, especially where it may be lacking otherwise. Has an unlisted effect to slow enemies on hit not really useful but annoying when a clone slows your ass enough to not get away from the mob on wave 20.

*'''Master-Crafted Chainsword''' - ''Level 1''
**Melee Weapon
**12.3 DPS
**Traits: Zealous (Every melee attack the Captain does gives him back 10 health.)
***The starting melee weapon for the Captain is respectable. Though its damage is low, its attack speed is respectable, and the 10 health back per swing can allow a Captain to stay in melee combat for an extended period of time. This can, therefore, be looked at purely as a tanking item, allowing the already tough Captain to soak up damage all day and keep standing, as long as can keep swinging at something.

*'''Plasma Pistol''' - ''Level 3''
**One-Handed Ranged Weapon
**3.5 DPS
**Traits: Corroding (Targets hit by the plasma pistol have reduced armor for a short period of time), Combat Expert (30% damage buff to melee and ranged attacks.)
***Combat Expert ''alone'' justifies the use of the Plasma Pistol, as its damage buff makes the Power Axe or Lightning Claw all the more terrifying and makes all of the Captain's special attacks that much stronger. Corrosive and decent damage atop this is just gravy.

*'''Power Axe''' - ''Level 7''
**Melee Weapon
**19 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (The power axe ignores armour values up to 100.)
***Though the power axe swings slow, leaving the Captain vulnerable at points, it swings HARD, especially when combined with the Plasma Pistol and Sacred Relic armor. Taking one makes the Captain very, very good at taking out single, tough targets. The power claw is far better against squads but isn't ''quite'' as painful as the axe against heavier enemies (especially when combined with the plasma pistol) but the axe's slow attack speed means it handles hordes poorly and renders zealous leadership a waste of a good slot. However, combined with sacred relic armour makes it able to deal reliable damage to all targets so long as you can say in the fight.

*'''Plasma Gun''' - ''Level 11''
**Two-Handed Ranged Weapon
**22.6 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (The plasma gun ignores armor values up to 100.)
**Abilities: Hellfire Grenade (15 Energy: Throws a grenade that, after 1.5 seconds from impact, does low-medium damage evenly across a pretty wide area, ignoring some armor.)
***An incredibly useful weapon, and hard to go wrong with. The Hellfire Grenades are very useful for wiping out blobs of weaker enemies, and the plasma gun itself is an effective tool at plinking off tougher targets, especially with its Armor Piercing trait. Its only real weakness is the complete lack of any melee power without the use of Oath of Merciless Rage, and its somewhat sluggish fire rate. Arguably the best ranged weapon the Captain gets, since it has both armor piercing, relatively high damage, and can be used with a Jump Pack.

*'''Plasma Cannon''' - ''Level 16''
**Two-handed Ranged Weapon
**10.5 DPS
**Traits: Knockback (Blasts from the plasma cannon will knock down infantry.), Heavy (The Plasma Cannon requires a setup time to fire, and a teardown time to move again.), Area of Effect (The Plasma Cannon's blasts deal damage over a wide area.)
** ''Incompatible with Jump Pack!''
***This thing is the grand mother bull moose of mixed blessings. It looks like crap on paper - it has teardown and setup time, it has a slow fire rate, its accuracy is, at best, barely tolerable, and it cannot be used with the Jump Pack on account of coming with a plasma storage backpack - all things that would largely exclude it from use by sane players. On the other hand, this thing's devastating firepower lets it flat-out obliterate entire squads with a single lucky shot and punch gaping wounds and smoking holes in vehicles and monstrous creatures alike, and doing it from a massive range to boot. Its long range and setup time also makes it one of the best weapons to use from cover (assuming your dreadnought didn't step on it). To get the most out of this weapon, it's critical you kit out to make up for its shortcomings - carry Terror of Xenos for control, and, ideally, a teammate with more crowd-control abilities, such as the likes of Orb of Vengeance (Sorcerer), Bouncy Shield (Mek), or Toxic Miasma (Tyrant). The weapon itself has a bad reputation, and for good reason - not only is it very hard to use, but it's a go-to weapon for glitchers and exploiters, even after the patches removed the ability of a player to shoot themselves off the map. It can be quite powerful ''when used right'', but often under-achieves if used on a team that isn't designed to back it up.

*'''Lightning Claw''' - ''Achievement - "The Warrior Born" [Achieve 350 kills in a single match with the Space Marine Captain.]''
**Melee Weapon
**10.0 DPS
**Traits: Lightning Damage (Strikes from the Lightning Claw do additional damage to a squad over time and ignores armor)
***A terrifying blob-killer with respectable anti-heavy power, this is perhaps the Captain's most versatile melee option. The fastest attack speed of any of his melee weapons combines with ''frighteningly'' high damage-over-time to ''murder'' crowds of light units, despite its on-paper DPS being the lowest of any of his melee weapons. And, unlike traditional area-effect attacks, it applies the lightning to the entire squad, no matter where they are. The Captain can slap a Cultist or Guardsman with this three times and walk off, and the whole squad will BZZZT to death all by itself. While its blob-killing power makes this an option worth using on its own, the lightning damage completely ignores armor and stacks with itself, and the fast attacks will stack it very quickly, so it still kills heavier foes like tanks with little trouble. Because of its high attack speed, it also gets the most mileage out of Litanies of Zeal; combining these two makes it a somewhat safer option for tanking and spanking superheavies than the Power Axe, and its faster attacks are less likely to be interrupted...or get him squished because he was stuck in an attack animation when he needed to move. In summation, the Lightning Claw is quite a lot like the Hive Tyrant's Venom Cannon or the Tau Commander's Plasma Rifle: good for quite a few things, at least decent for everything else; no Captain ever made a mistake by bringing this to the party.

*'''Thunder Hammer''' - ''Achievement - "Fury of the Primarchs" [Kill 2,500 enemies as the Space Marine Captain.]
**Two-handed Melee Weapon.
**15.0 DPS
**Traits: Vehicle Stun, Knockback (Both are self-explanitory.)
***A hard sell, and more of an acquired taste. You know how the Power Axe swings slow, but swings hard? The Thunder Hammer is like that, only 2-handed and slightly slower. It actually does less damage per hit and you can not equip the plasma pistol with it. So its DPS trails far behind it due to the Axe's swing speed, even further behind against armoured opponents since it has no armour penetration. With this in mind, one wonders why to take this weapon. To it's credit, the Thunder Hammer has a small, short ranged and undocumented splash damage, and it reliably stuns vehicles, potentially indefinitely if you can keep up the attacks - handy for later waves, especially on Anvil of Khorne, where a Captain with this thing can render the likes of the Baneblade, Land Raider, or Battlewagon a complete joke and provide massive support to the team against other vehicles, assuming you survive that far with it (your team will wish you brought the axe the rest of the time), you may think the AOE makes it effective against packs but you are still going to need to hit each target at least once which takes longer than you might think. It's not that great on paper, but used wisely, it can work. It's highly recommended that if you use this weapon, you consider taking the Oath of Merciless Rage (for the added AOE punch) and/or Sacred Relic Armor (for AOE and damage buffing). It is worth noting that the you do not get zeal from the splash damage, combined with the painfully slow attack speed and having to equip sacred armour just to deal effective damage, it will render the captain very weak to attacks.

*'''Inscribed Combat Shield''' - ''DLC''
** Shield (uses the one-handed Ranged slot)
** +25 Armor Rating, +25 Health
**Traits: Shield Block (reduces incoming ranged damage by 25%.)
***The Combat Shield is a useful piece of wargear, especially for weaker armors such as the Sacred Relic Armor, protection-wise. Its buffed armor rating, health, and ranged damage reduction are all small buffs that add up pretty nicely. The sheer insane amount of punishment a Captain can shrug off can become laughable, when he's equipped with the Combat Shield, Armor of Vengeance, Larraman's Blessing, and Rites of Fortitude and/or Parable of the Stalwart Brother. Worth considering.

==Accessories==
*'''Rite of Fortitude''' - ''Level 1''
** +75 Health
***There's not much to explain here; +75 health is a noticeable survivability buff to the Captain. A bit situational, as sometimes its twin the Parable of the Stalwart Brother's health regeneration is more useful, but it's hard to go wrong with it, either.

*'''Rift of Swift Victory''' - ''Level 1''
**Ability: Victory Charge (10 Energy, charges in a direction, knocking enemies in the way down as the Captain moves)
***The Rite of Swift Victory grants some extra manuverability to a Captain, though it tends to be overshadowed by the Jump Pack once that becomes available, especially as sometimes the Rite of Swift Victory glitches. It does use less energy, though, and it can clear a path for teammates, so it doesn't completely lose its usefulness.

*'''Oath of Merciless Rage''' - ''Level 2''
**Ability: Merciless Strike (15 Energy, strikes out in a certain direction with an explosive melee attack.)
***Do not underestimate this wargear, even though it tends to be more useful to lower-level players. It can miss, tends to be a little wonky due to targetting the ground (it does NOT target enemies; it targets where they were at time of clicking), and is susceptible to lag. On the other hand, it gives zero fucks about whether you're using a melee weapon or a ranged one, so have fun [[Fist of the North Star|causing explosions with naught but your power armored fists]]. This adds a nice chunk of (literal) melee punch for a ranged build, and is still useful for some melee setups; it becomes quite formidable with the Plasma Pistol. It's quite handy for the Power Axe and Thunder Hammer to add crowd-killing power and adds some much-needed raw offense to the "I'm only here for the healing" Chainsword; the Lightning Claw obliterates blobs all by itself and thus has little use for it.

*'''Parable of the Stalwart Brother''' - ''Level 4''
** +1.5 Health Regeneration
***The twin to the Rite of Fortitude, the Parable of the Stalwart Brother is a useful accessory that's hard to argue with. Sometimes the health regeneration is better, sometimes the extra health is better, sometimes both are best. It all depends on the rest of the config.

*'''Litanies of Hate''' - ''Level 6''
**Ability: Taunt Target (3 Energy, force a targeted enemy to stop their actions and engage the Captain.)
***The Litanies of Hate are a powerful tool; its cheap energy cost and quick cooldown allows the Captain to draw the attention of many targets quickly, keeping fire off of his teammates and giving a lot of needed crowd control, presuming the Captain can either shrug off the attack or run away from his chasers, of course. Also, he was one of the first heroes and lacks voice clips, so make sure that hearing "Carry the Emperor's will as your torch!" roughly ''one billion times'' every match won't drive you insane.

*'''Jump Pack''' - ''Level 8''
**Ability: Assault Jump (15 Energy, soar through the skies and crash down upon a location, knocking back any nearby foes.)
***One of the most useful accessories to the Captain by far, the Jump Pack's increased manuverability completely changes the capabilties of the Captain, giving him the much needed ability to run away when things get too hot. Its energy cost is a bit steep, especially compared to the Tau Commander, but hardly unreasonable.

*'''Rite of the Tireless Crusader''' - ''Level 10''
**Ability: Revive (30 Energy, revive a fallen comrade with temporary invulnerability and full health.)
***An extremely powerful ability, but a dangerous one on the Bloodied Colosseum. The ability to instantly revive a teammate from a distance, with invulnerability for a short time, explains itself; but the Doppleganger has this too, and has lead many defeats due to such. If this ability is brought to the Colosseum, the Captain Dopple must be brought down first, and is literally guaranteed to be an asshole on wave 20 when he decides to randomly revive the Lictor Alpha, Warboss, or Terminator.

*'''Terror of Xenos''' - ''Level 12''
**Ability: Fearsome Shout (35 Energy, causes all nearby enemies to retreat to their spawning points.)
***Though its energy cost is quite steep, the Fearsome Shout is a powerful crowd-management ability, granting the team reprieve as its wide radius will cause quite a few foes to stop what they're doing and run away. It can single-handedly turn an assured defeat into a fair chance again.

*'''Litanies of Zeal''' - ''Level 14''
**Traits: Zealous Leadership (Melee attacks will heal the Captain and nearby allies for 5 health.)
***The Litanies of Zeal can be a useful buff. It scales well with the Master-Crafted Chainsword, as 15 health back per swipe is nothing to laugh at, and the constant swings can cause some health-deprived allies some aid. That said, the Rites of Fortitude or Parable of the Stalwart Brother tend to be better options in the long run.

*'''Frag Grenades''' - ''Level 18''
**Ability: Frag Grenade (15 Energy, Area-of-attack with damage that is higher the closer a target is to the center, knocking down any survivors.)
***Frag Grenades pack a hell of a punch, when timed right. Though the Plasma Gun's hellfire grenades are generally better for blobs, Frag Grenades can wreck some too, as well as do more damage to tougher targets. They can also grant some much needed damage to support Captains wielding weapons like the Bolter.

*'''Feel No Pain''' - ''Level 19''
**Ability: Feel No Pain (20 Energy, Restores health to a nearby ally.)
***In theory, the Feel No Pain accessory should be incredibly useful, and, to its credit, it does give a large health buff. In practice, though, there are better options; the Feel No Pain's range is painfully short, forcing you to almost run up to the teammate to heal them; Revive becomes more practical at that point, and the Litanies of Zeal allow you to heal your allies just by fighting. It can be worked in, and it can be effective, but it is very situational.

==Commander Items==
*'''Larraman's Blessing''' - ''Level 5''
**Trait: Healing Aura (+2 Health Regeneration to Captain and all nearby allies.)
***Larraman's Blessing is a wonderful buff to a party. For health regeneration strapped teammates like the Lord General, Larraman's Blessing can make an enormous difference, and it can fit in to virtually any combination of the Captain, to boot, being useful to supports, ranged, and melee Captains alike.

*'''Dreadnought Drop Pod''' - ''Level 15''
**Ability: Call Dreadnought (50 Energy, bring in a Dreadnought minion via drop pod. Drop Pod causes heavy cover where it crashes, and knockback to EVERYTHING nearby where it lands.)
***The Dreadnought is a beast. A total, unrelenting beast ready to unleash tons of hate and pain to everything he dislikes on the field. The energy cost is extremely steep, but worth it; the Dreadnought is a useful companion at any time; though not without its flaws. The Dreadnought will utterly destroy any cover in its path, sometimes leaving the players without any to utilize for survivability's sake. Furthermore, it tends to wander and do its own thing, or try to catch up...to where the Captain was 20 seconds ago. Its power cannot be understated, though; the Dreadnought is pain, and its presence will be felt. Careful with the dopple versions, though; multiple Captains with dreadnoughts can create a hell of a slugfest, potentially unwinnable.

*'''Orbital Bombardment''' - ''Level 20''
**Ability: Orbital Bombardment (50 Energy, call upon three powerful, destructive beams to annihilate groups and powerful targets alike.)
**''NOTE: The stunning ability of the Bombardment's beams does NOT work on Unshakable heroes or vehicles! Keep this in mind!''
***In terms of sheer, balls out power, the Orbital Bombardment is almost second to none. Its damage is incredibly high, especially if it stunlocks the desired target right in the middle of a beam, virtually ensuring their death, be they a blob of Orks or a Doppleganger. A well timed Orbital Bombardment can make all the difference; but at its energy cost of 50, and with such low energy regen for the Captain, it cannot be used lightly. It can also be one of the most effective tools against Dopplegangers, potentially allowing the team to one-shot them before they even get to do anything; so long as they don't have Unshakable or are a Tau Commander or Hive Tyrant.
****Combine with the Mekboy's Roks when blobs are stunned and watch the chunks fly.

==Tactics & Strategy==
* ''On Achievements:''
** ''Fury of the Primarchs'' (Which unlocks the Thunder Hammer) is a simple task. Since the Captain's job is to kill, racking up 2,500 kills shouldn't be too big of a task.
** ''The Warrior Born'' (Which unlocks the Lightning Claw) is a little easier for the Captain, especially when using the Plasma Gun, whose fine damage and grenades make it less of a hassle to kill 350 enemies in one match.

== Builds ==
'''BUILD 1 - SELF-HEALING TANK'''

'''Gear you need:''' Inscribed Combat Shield, Lightning Claw, Any Armor EXCEPT Armour of Vengeance, Litanies of Zeal, Jump Pack, Parable of the Stalwart Brother, Dreadnought Drop Pod.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' Keep fighting, every time you land a blow you heal yourself and your allies (including the dreadnought) 5hp, the Lightning Claw is the fastest weapon the captain has, more even than the chainsword, and leaves a damage over time effect after a single hit which allows you to connect once and move on to the next squad leaving them to their fate of a slow death or hit multiple times and stack up the DoT effect for vehicles and heavy hitters. It's recommended to grab the Sacred Relic Armor for a bit of AoE damage boost but any armor EXCEPT Armor of Vengeance is solid. The reason to not take Armor of Vengeance is that Reactive Strike has the tendency to go off as your swinging and knock back the enemies you were about to hit before you do causing you to foolishly chase after enemies you were just in melee with and costing you lots of DPS. The damage from Reactive strike is nowhere near what your actual weapon is either so leave the Armor of Vengeance for ranged builds. The combination of your regen items and the dread soaking up some of the enemy fire for you should leave you time to clean a large chunk of the wave, but remember, if the situation becomes too dire you always have the jump pack to escape, earning some precious seconds of life and regeneration, it also allows you to throw yourself and disrupt enemy formations which is especially useful against Nid Warriors and Seer Council.

'''BUILD 2 - ORBITAL NUKER'''

'''Gear you need:''' Bolter, Artificer Armor, Rite of Fortitude, Jump Pack, Parable of the Stalwart Brother, Orbital Targeting Beacon.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' You are the nuker of the team, unleash the lance batteries! Remember the beams will take a bit of time to appear, so this is better used at the beginning of the wave when enemy units are spawned and wait for the spawning point gate to open, alternatively you can use the stun grenades which come with the bolter to keep your intended target in place, then the beams will do the job of immobilizing the enemies, by the way, try to stay out of danger as much as possible, while you have 225 hp you are not intended to be a tank, the hp is just for you to survive long enough to unleash your nukes, use your jump pack to help yourself.

'''BUILD 3 - PLASMA GRENADIER'''

'''Gear you need:''' Plasma Gun, Artificer Armor, Rite of Fortitude, Jump Pack, Frag Grenades, Dreadnought Drop Pod.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' Before the advent of the Tau Commander, this was the most common squad support build in Last Stand. The build is entirely self-explanatory: Use Plasma Gun for single strong foes, Jump Pack for mobility, Hellfire Grenades for anti-mobbing, Frags for armored infantry squads and hard targets, and Dreadnought as a screener. Something of an energy-hose, this build is not for the faint of heart, but offers a lot of heavy firepower on a durable, mobile chassis. Really only the Tau Commander can do better, and that thing doesn't get a Dreadnought nor anywhere near as many grenades.

'''BUILD 4 - FIELD ARTILLERY PIECE'''

'''Gear you need:''' Plasma Cannon, Armor of Vengeance, Terror of Xenos, Oath of Merciless Rage OR Rite of Swift Victory, Rite of Fortitude, Dreadnought Drop Pod.

'''Maps:''' Anvil of Khorne, Bloodied Colosseum

'''Explanation:''' So you're going to take a Plasma Cannon... Welcome to probably the most difficult weapon to use in Last stand. You are armed, uniquely, with a weapon that can end small squads in a single shot, or punch gaping wounds in even heavy armor, but is marred by a slow charge time and need to set up. If you can take allies to make this easier, so much the better, because you're about to go into hard mode. Terror of Xenos is practically mandatory, buying you breathing room if you get mobbed whilst you charge a shot. You can pair this with either Oath of Merciless Rage (to give yourself some additional CQC punch) or Rite of Swift Victory (to get the hell out of dodge) to give yourself either attack or defense. Dreadnought is there specifically to draw fire. If all else fails, you can hop into one of the towers for cover and to shoot from relative safety, but this will demand you keep your eyes peeled for enemies that can damage you in cover. Between your Plasma Cannon, Dread, and Rite of Swift Victory, cover is largely irrelevant so make sure you make use of any you can get... And good luck.

'''BUILD 5 - SLAANESH TANK'''

'''Gear you need:''' Inscribed Combat Shield, Lightning Claw, Armour of Vengeance, Litanies of Zeal, Litanies of Hate, Feel No Pain , Dreadnought Drop Pod.

'''Maps:''' Bloodied Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' Position yourself on either map near the line of sight blocking objects. With this you can taunt any ranged unit safely into melee range as they have to walk to the corner to get loS. Feel no pain gives as much health back per regen of energy then Parable of the Stalwart Brother gives in pure health regen and 2 FNP's fully heals your dread, 10 energy less then replacing it. Armor of vengeance will allow you to tank melee blobs like wave 9 Banshees. Don't worry about not having a jump pack, your job is to dig in and weather the storm. When paired with a Tau/LG/Ranged tyrant you can taunt any threat off of them and watch as the game becomes the easiest thing in the world. loH will force clones to stop ressing (Another marine with Tireless Crusader will not even use it) and for them to chase you all around the map on waves 16/20 making this the single greatest build for getting past them.

'''BUILD 6 - Techmarine'''

'''Gear you need:''' Master-Crafted Bolt Pistol, Lightning Claw, Artificer Armor, Jump Pack, Litanies of Zeal, Purity Seals, Dreadnought Drop Pod.

'''Maps:''' Blood Colosseum, Anvil of Khorne

'''Explanation:''' Support Dreadnought to avoid resummon costs. Jump in place to cause knockback and avoid knockback. Try to let Dreadnought aggro and attack near and heal it with ability also. Also good for healing teammates but focus on Dreadnought won't have energy to resummon later waves.

{{Template:LastStand-Heroes}}
[[Category:Space Marines]]