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Last Stand - Lord General

2018-02-22T03:42:12Z

2605:6000:D54B:2800:C9D8:96E2:2145:6191: /* Accessories */

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 anti-infantry 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==
<br />
{{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

2018-02-22T03:20:07Z

2605:6000:D54B:2800:C9D8:96E2:2145:6191: /* Weapons */

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 that's usually eschewed for more specialized choices.

*'''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 - Captain

2018-02-22T02:58:01Z

2605:6000:D54B:2800:C9D8:96E2:2145:6191: /* 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 struggles against armoured opponents, the axe is very effective against armoured opponents (especially when combined with the plasma pistol) but the 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.

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[[Category:Space Marines]]