Editing Last Stand - Tau Commander (section)

===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.