Editing Last Stand - Tau Commander (section)

==Weapon Options==
The Tau Commander has 2 weapon slots - one for weapons, one for shields. All options for both are listed below.

===Weapons===
Uniquely, all of the Tau Commander's primary weapons are ranged - he has no options for close-combat. As such, it's vitally important that you keep him out of close-combat with enemy units, though the Flamer is an excellent choice for the rare, intrepid Tau Commander who [[Farsight|isn't afraid to shorten his reach]].

*'''Plasma Rifle''' - ''Default''
**Ranged Weapon
**10.0 DPS
***The Default plasma rifle is, like all default weapons, utter shit and should never be used except as part of a joke. Its sole purpose is as a place-holder so that the Tau Commander cannot be sent into combat unarmed and thus unable to do anything.

*'''Command Issue Plasma Rifle''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**23.3 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 100 armor rating)
***Unlocked from the start, this basic, no-frills weapon is a central Tau Commander weapon. It does good damage, has decent range, can be fired on the run, has a decent rate of fire, and has the armor-piercing trait - all wonderful things to have in a weapon. It tends to be very middle-of-the-road and is invariably out-performed by other weapons at various ranges, but it makes for a damned fine "all comers" weapon that has relatively few drawbacks to speak of, though it tends to flag a bit when facing crowds and its 75% accuracy can result in periodic bouts of [[RAGE|doing no damage when you absolutely need it to]]. Best when backed by Targeting Cluster, though tolerable without. Useful all game long, and works well on any variety of target.

*'''Flamer''' - ''Level 1''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (Flamer attacks in large radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon).
**Notes: This weapon, like most Flamer-type weapons, has an undocumented minor Armor-Piercing trait that causes it to ignore 20 points of armor.
***A criminally-under-used unlocked-from-start weapon that does only modest damage, but has a huge area of effect, ignores cover, and has no accuracy loss when fired on the run. The Flamer is excellent for killing packs of mooks, especially cover-camping shits like Eldar Guardians and Grav Platform Teams. It also makes a great weapon when using the Tau Commander's jets; the Tau Commander will start firing even before he hits the ground, giving a truly unpleasant surprise to anyone that happens to be near his landing zone. Perhaps most importantly, the Flamer is one of the only guns that the Tau Commander will reliably try to fire in close-combat, so don't be put off by the Flamer's relatively poor damage. Works especially well when twin-linked, since the damage loss from twin-linking is virtually nil.
***Another powerful choice is to stack a single flamer with the "heavy" battle suit and iridium shield. Double heavy jumping on a horde of light infantry will almost instantly kill them making it take less than a second to finish off the whole pack and the immense health and armor values make for a reasonably survivable build. Assuming you haven't mastered kiting yet in which case the lighter armors and their superior jump range will serve you better for longevity.

*'''Fusion Blaster''' - ''Level 3''
**Ranged Weapon
**30.0 DPS
**Traits: Armor Piercing (Attacks from this weapon ignore 150 armor rating)
***This belter of a weapon unlocks at level 3. Boasting vastly higher damage and scarily high DPS, as well as the Armor-Piercing trait, the Fusion Blaster, at a glance, seems too good to be true... And it sadly ''is''. Firing only a little slower than the Plasma Rifle for a vastly higher damage output seems like a great trade-off... And, likewise, it ''is'', in some situations. Unfortunately, the Fusion Blaster has much shorter range than the Plasma Rifle, and with a slower refire rate, the Fusion Blaster, when it does miss, will sting all the more - meaning that Targeting Cluster is borderline-essentially for maximizing this thing. Also, unlike the Plasma Rifle, it cannot be fired while moving. The Fusion Blaster absolutely excels at fighting heavily-armored foes, though - tanks, walkers, wraithlords, enemy Heroes, and the errant Carnifex - virtually nothing can stand in this thing's way when put on the right build, especially when Twin-Linked, but its ridiculously slow recycle rate and accuracy issues can make it a losing proposition for some situations. A weapon to be used with care.

*'''Airbursting Fragmentation Projector''' - ''Level 9''
**Ranged Weapon
**6.0 DPS
**Traits: Area of Effect (AFP shells have a blast radius), Ignore Cover (Enemies do not get cover defense bonuses against this weapon)
*** This overly-elaborate Tau Grenade Launcher unlocks at level 9. Firing powerful, long-ranged shells, the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector does only mediocre DPS, owing to its sluggish refire rate, but it affects an area, ignores cover saves, and does fairly good damage when it fires and can fire on the move. Rather poor in close-combat and somewhat weak against fast-moving foes, the biggest upside to this beast is that it's an indirect-fire weapon - there's nothing stopping you from launching Airburst shells over intervening terrain to hit enemies hiding behind - something incredibly helpful since the Airbursting Fragmentation Projector is one of the Tau Commander's longest-ranged weapons as well. Bear in mind its weaknesses in close-combat and targeting highly-mobile foes, however, and it will serve you well - especially if you have an ally that can cause suppression or Snare Mines. It functions like a lower-grade version of the Fragmentation Missile Pod, one that doesn't always take as much time to fire and doesn't hit allies in melee.

*'''Burst Cannon''' - ''Level 16''
**Ranged Weapon
**15.0 DPS
**Traits: Suppressive (This weapon suppresses infantry, slowing their movement speed and ranged attack speed)
***Gatling fetishists rejoice - your favorite weapon in the Tau Armory is available once more, and at level 16. A somewhat easy-to-underestimate weapon, the Burst Cannon does pretty decent damage at long range, but is far better for its suppressive fire effects, which slow and cripple foes under the effects, and it boasts both long range, and the ability to fire on the move. Its main drawback: it essentially does chip damage to armored foes. With proper upgrades, the Burst Cannon can actually become quite effective against most infantry, and is a huge boon to teams that are lacking in anti-infantry punch - it's the longest-ranged primary weapon the Shas'O gets and has excellent crowd control capability, especially when twin-linked.

===Shields===
The Tau Commander's shield slot is normally used for equipping Shields that boost his health and armor rating, and provide other useful benefits. It can also be used to equip the Networked Weapon Interface, in case you want to scream: ''"[[Commissar Fuklaw|fuck shields]]!!"'' and go for even more [[Dakka|shooty goodness]].

*'''Shield Hardpoint''' - ''Default''
**Shield
***Like all default weapons, the Shield Hardpoint is a place-holder and should not, under any circumstances, be used on its own merits. It offers no benefits, and solely exists to have items replace it. Avoid.

*'''Shield Generator''' - ''Level 1''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Energy Shield (Activates a powered shield that absorbs incoming damage in the form of energy)
***Unlocked from the start, this little shield gives a good health and armor boost - 50 Armor, 25 Health - and it makes available the ''Energy Shield'' ability - 
Don't underestimate this early-game shield, especially when backed with Ion Batteries and/or Coolant Injectors. It adds a surprisingly heavy amount of survivability to what is already a phenomenally-durable class (only the [[Last Stand - Mekboy|Mekboy]] and [[Last Stand - Necron Overlord|Necron Overlord]] can withstand anywhere near as much abuse). It works the same way as the Hive Tyrant's Warp field. This can actually be amazingly utilitarian when backed with the "Agile" Crisis Suit and works very well for waves against heavily-shooty opposition (such as Space Marine Scouts). This said, the Tau Commander tends to use energy a lot, which makes this ability more of a "get out of death free" card rather than the mass survivability boost of the Hive Tyrant. The health and armor boosts are welcome, and make this worth taking even if you don't want to spend the energy on the bubble shield.

*'''Repulser Shield''' - ''Level 7''
**Shield
**+50 Armor
**+25 Health
**Abilities: Kinetic Pulse (15 Energy; Discharges stored kinetic energy, knocking back and dealing damage to nearby enemies)
***Unlocking at Level 7, This shield gives the same health and armor boosts as the Shield Generator (+50 Armor, +25 Health), but instead has the incredibly useful ''Kinetic Pulse'' ability. For 15 energy, the Tau Commander generates a short-ranged shockwave that deals decent damage and hurls away lighter foes. This can be used offensively (jump into a crowd and activate it to hurl them away), or defensively (bunker down and use it to throw away enemies that love crowding you, like Sluggas and Banshees). This versatility makes it one of the best overall shields in the game, and a staple of many builds. The only drawback: Can't be used with Networked Weapon Interface.

*'''Iridium Shield''' - ''Level 11''
**Shield
**+75 Armor
**+50 Health
**Traits: Heavy (Lowers range of Jet, but increases damage of impact and adds stun effect)
***Unlocked at Level 11, and boasting the largest health and armor boost of the shields, the Iridium Shield is all about defense. Having the Iridium Shield equipped, due to its mass, gives the Tau Commander the trait ''[[Heavy-chan|Heavy]]'', which increases the damage done by jumping on foes, but cuts the range of the Tau Commander's jump. This same trait is given by the XV8 "Armored" Crisis Battlesuit Armor, and if both are used, a [[Extra Heresy|Double Heavy]] state is acquired, which further boosts the damage and impact of the Tau Commander's jumps (the other effects, such as the range and stun duration, are unchanged). It does, however, lack the Kinetic Pulse of the Repulser Shield, the Energy Shield of the Shield Generator, and the always-useful Twin-Linked trait of the Networked Weapon Interface, so bear this in mind.

*'''Networked Weapon Interface''' - ''Achievement Unlock: Kill 100 Enemies by Jumping on them''
**Shield
**Traits: Twin-Linked
***Not really a shield, this achievement unlock, earned by getting the Dynamic Entry achievement, gives no health or armor, and instead duplicates whatever weapon your commander had in the primary weapon slot in his shield slot, allowing the Commander to fire 2 of whatever his weapon of choice was. A side-effect of the twin-linking is that both weapons are about 25% weaker - so you trade 25% of one gun's firepower to gain a second 75% damage gun. This upgrade benefits the Tau Commander's various weapons in different ways - the Burst Cannon and Flamer lose almost no damage from being twin-linked, so the upgrade is a flat damage improvement, whereas the primary benefit to the Fusion Blaster and Plasma Rifle is being able to fire at more than one one round per cooldown cycle, compensating for some of their accuracy issues. The Airburst Fragmentation Projector and Flamer get a second pieplate/flamerplate to drop. You're trading defense for offense here, so make sure that whatever weapon you choose, to make the choice worth it.