Where are the Tyranids Going?

[Lathe Biosas]

I was looking at maps of the Tyranid Invasion... and I can't seem to find a definitive endpoint for the Tyranids.

 

They just seem to be poking their tendrils willy-nilly at the Milky Way Galaxy. 

 

Are they headed somewhere?

[FabiusV4lcoran]

I don't have a lore answer, but as intergalactically nomadic carnivorous organisms, I think it's safe to say they're following the food.

 

I would say that the presence of the GSC supports this.  They need these beacons to know where the food is, and that guides them along their path.

Edited 4 hours ago by FabiusV4lcoran
Prior answer sucked

[Karhedron]

There was speculation in previous editions that they were actually being attracted to the Astronomicon, rather like a moth to a flame.

[Grotsmasha]

A long, LONG time back I read something, and I don't recall if it was official or not, BUT, it basically said after the Old Ones moved on from our Galaxy, and had traversed many more, they came across a species they couldn't defeat and they created the Tyranids, which turned on the Old Ones when their enemy (food) was eliminated. Now the Tyranids were travelling back along the Old Ones path through the Galaxy in the endless quest to consume, the Milky Way is basically a road trip pit stop.

[phandaal]

3 hours ago, Grotsmasha said:

A long, LONG time back I read something, and I don't recall if it was official or not, BUT, it basically said after the Old Ones moved on from our Galaxy, and had traversed many more, they came across a species they couldn't defeat and they created the Tyranids, which turned on the Old Ones when their enemy (food) was eliminated. Now the Tyranids were travelling back along the Old Ones path through the Galaxy in the endless quest to consume, the Milky Way is basically a road trip pit stop.

 

I cannot recall anything official that has ever said the Tyranids were a creation of the Old Ones, but that is theory that people float when coming up with head canon.

 

Probably because some people want to tie things together into neat packages rather than have unexplained loose ends. Personally, I like the Tyranids much better when the Hive Mind is something that came from somewhere else all on its own.

 

As for where the Tyranids are going - the Great Devourer is already where it wants to be. The Tyranids are just its body parts. To something as massive as the Hive Mind, the galaxy has to be the destination, rather than any particular spot within the galaxy.