TDA

[Grimdarkness]

I'm wondering about the HH books describing terminators as elite.

 

My understanding is that TDA was a specialized armour used for ship fighting and in built up urban areas.

 

So my thinking was that the chapter/company using them would be specialized units not elite?

 

It's only post hearsay that the first company become elite.

 

Or did i misunderstand something in the background?

[Valkyrion]

If you are specialised then you are elite in that field. The elite members of the companies were trained to use TDA as even then it was rare.

It means the same thing really - there were no elite terminators in 30k, just elite marines in terminator armour that specialised in doing terminator armour things. Elite in this case doesn't necessarily mean 1st company, it means a better than the best marine that isn't a captain, if you get my meaning.

 

Am I making sense? Its not 'heres some terminator armour, find some guys and train them' but 'heres a brilliant guy, lets give him terminator armour'.

[Droma]

Terminator units in legions are also not limited to a max of 100 suits. You can do much bigger/cooler spearhead assualts with a mass formation of these guys. Look at the Iron Hands in the dropsite massacre. They went in as just their terminator elite. A massed assault of 1000+ of your best marines wearing armor that is next to indestructible and you've got a very fearsome group.

 

1. Terminator suits are rare compared to power armor

2. Terminator suits provide better protection and offensive power

3. Because of 1&2 it makes sense to give them to your best troops, generally being your 1st company.

4. Because of the quality of the armor and the quality of the troops you can utilize them in a variety of roles including

a) teleport assaults

:( advancing under heavy fire

c) massed heavy infantry spearhead

[Grimdarkness]

If you are specialised then you are elite in that field. The elite members of the companies were trained to use TDA as even then it was rare.

It means the same thing really - there were no elite terminators in 30k, just elite marines in terminator armour that specialised in doing terminator armour things. Elite in this case doesn't necessarily mean 1st company, it means a better than the best marine that isn't a captain, if you get my meaning.

 

Am I making sense? Its not 'heres some terminator armour, find some guys and train them' but 'heres a brilliant guy, lets give him terminator armour'.

 

No it makes sense considering that the average legion was about 60'000(IMO) marines only the first company/chapter being termis seems like putting all your eggs in a big basket.

[Doghouse]

I don't think that there has been anything specific to say that the terminators were the first company equivalent of the time as the jump pack troops were originally considered the elites in the old material.

The original plan for terminator armour was that all marines would use it but as far as I remember from the IA in WD the bulk of the armour worked against it meaning that power armoured marines were more agile.

Whether it was due to this factor or the heresy breaking out and the technology slowly being lost over time I couldn't say until it's covered in more detail. It was relatively new when the heresy broke so this could be the reason why only the best of the best are trained in it's use now.

 

The annoying bit I find is that the HH books seem to have skipped the use of combi-bolters and reaper cannons moving straight to storm bolters and assault cannons.

 

EDIT: Just checked the IA article and it says that the terminator armour was widely available by the time Horus turned.

 

It says that according to fragmented records of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Terminator armour was originally designed to be the ultimate Space Marine power armour and was supposed to replace the regular power armoured suits. However, as the Horus Heresy drained the resources from the Imperium Terminator armour became increasingly rare as they were exceptionally difficult to create and maintain. In addition, during most battles their bulk became a disadvantage against the lighter power-armoured warriors who easily outmanoeuvred them.