40K: The Humble T’au Fire Warrior
The backbone of every T’au gunline, the Fire Warrior stands tall to fight for the Greater Good.
The Fire Warrior is the backbone of Tau military force, the Fire Caste. Having been bred and trained to be soldiers at birth, Tau Fire Warriors strictly follow both the Greater Good and the Code of Fire and represent the best fighters of their species.They are soldiers outfitted with a wide variety of advanced technology. Their main firearm is the Pulse Rifle, although they do sometimes use Pulse Carbines.
As basic infantry, they are deployed in smaller numbers than other races’ infantry because of the superior firepower they can bring to bear. Fire Warriors are known to be efficient, professional, but cautious fighters. Often deployed from a Devilfish APC, they are able to rapidly deploy and way down withering barrages of fire against their foes. The basic team is made up of six Fire Warriors, but it is not uncommon for them to contain up to twelve including a Shas’ui team leader, as well as Gun Drones and Shield Drones.
Fire Warrior Strike Team
The Strike Team is the most common type of Tau Fire Warrior deployment. A Fire Warrior Strike Team is a high-speed detachment of shock troops who lay down sheets of withering pulse rifle fire, throwing electromagnetic Pulse Grenades and aiming powerful tactical support turrets at a rapidly-depleting foe.
Fire Warrior Breacher Team
The Breacher Team is a type of Tau Fire Warrior deployment. The Fire Warriors Breacher Team specializes in brutally effective close-range assaults, clearing buildings of threats in a tight, tactical formation and delivering sharp, shockingly sudden frontline displays of raw incendiary power that grind enemy soldiers into dust, discharging Pulse Blasters and hurling Photon Grenades until they are certain every path is clear.
Fire Warriors’s Weapons of War
Fire Warrior squads are typically armed with Pulse Rifles but sometimes are also seen with Pulse Carbines and Pulse Blasters and the Shas’ui may be equipped with a Markerlight. Fire Warriors also typically carry Photon or EMP Grenades, and frequently make use of Devilfish vehicles for transport. Tau military doctrine does not allow for organic, integrated heavy weapons, so Fire Warrior teams are reliant on other units for heavy support, typically in the form of Seeker Missiles.
The armor worn by the Fire Warriors is lightweight and agile but sturdy, produced by advanced metal fusing techniques that are more advanced than Ork or Imperial methods. The enlarged sinistral shoulder pad is particularly useful, as Fire Warriors are trained to position themselves in a way to use it as a shield. In addition, Fire Warrior helmets contain a number of aids including sensors, target-trackers, air quality monitors, and communications uplinks.
Fire Warriors make frequent use of supporting technology in field operations, most notably Drones and the DS8 Tactical Support Turret.
Learn more about the T’au at the Lexicanum
