How Does the T’au Empire Deal With Boarding Actions

[Skaorn]

Wow, it’s been a while since I logged in.

 

o the easy answers to this question is with Breachers, Stealth Suits, and Kroot.  I’ve been thinking about this, though, and this answer doesn’t feel right to me.  If the T’au are dealing with boarding actions or assaulting a fortified structure, they aren’t just going to pour Breachers and Drones in until they win.  That’s a tactic the Imperium would use and would be very wasteful.  The T’au don’t like sacrificing drones without good reason.  Also stealth suits and Kroot get to do their own thing and are usually outside the coordinated chain of command the Fire Caste rely on.  They don’t make for good support for Breachers, in my mind.

 

For this little thought experiment, I’m assuming that most of a ship or bunker are going to be made up of areas with about 8 to 10 feet tall.  Standard size battlesuits would be right out.  I know the Imperium likes making stupid, cathedral like areas in their ships, but applying this scale for every corridor would be ridiculous.

 

In my mind, Breachers are a fine basis for this kind of fighting, but lack any sort of coordinated support in an assault.  You can send Kroot and stealth suits in once the breach is made to cause confusion and harass the enemy, but I think there would need to be units backing up the Breachers.
 

I’m not writing this as a stealth pitch for close combat weapon T’au battlesuits.  I’m of the camp that doesn’t want this, at least in non-Farsighted armies.  I think that a close quarter assault force would be a good expansion to the T’au, but I’d rather see a close combat element be handled by a auxiliary that is integrated into the chain of command.

 

So my first thought would be an assault weapon support squad for the Breachers.  This could be something as simple as regular breachers with a simple exoskeleton support to carry crisis suit weapons.  Think the support used for the big guns in Aliens.  The other option would be a battle suit using the stealth suit frame, maybe trading the stealth field for a shield generator.  I’d keep the jump pack for moving around larger areas freely.  
 

Some other possibilities could include a new auxiliary that could be more defensive and be at least ok at close combat.  I could also see an EOD Breacher unit for disabling traps and busting through walls.  Maybe give them access to a flamer or some sort of grenade launcher for flushing out enemy units too.  Another unit that might be good would be an electronic warfare pathfinder squad for disrupting enemy communications, hacking systems, and seizing control of important objectives.  Maybe you could even bring back heavy gun drones.

 

The normal T’au force assumes fighting in an open area.  They have no problem giving up an area to draw out enemies and get them to over extend themselves.  You can’t do this if you want to take a bunker or a ship,  I think addressing this issue would be a fun way to expand the army and show that the regular T’au Empire still use Farsights teachings.  What do you think and what would you want to do with this?

[SpecialIssue]

I think Tau at heart are pragmatic about this sort of meat grinder zone mortalis, and much like modern armies would simply bypass and surround such strongpoint rather then bloodily storm them, or annihilate them with air / space power. Again, T'au doctrine allows them to withdraw and save their forces for counter-attacks than hold every single point like a madman to the last.

 

But they would try to match the capabilities they'd have seen from the other races nonetheless, and shipboard security would become an ever-increasing issue as they encounter so many races who love to board as standard tactics.

 

A concept I've always had would be light exoskeletons like that seen in the movie Elysium to enhance their speed/strength and ability to carry heavier breacher-specific handheld weapons (stunning ion pulse launchers, flash bangs, etc to prevent collateral damage to their own forces in close proximity and hull breaches from their own weapons.)

 

On top of that add a bit of oriental/monkish flair (one of the more-ignored tropes that go into the pot of Tau flavour) by having a martial art developed specifically to use the power and agility of exoskeletons, and pulse pistols / pulse gloves (think iron man blasters in the hands) which they use to go for weak points as part of this specific martial art (think of the 'pressure points' / acupuncture 'meridians' in Chinese medicine). Exoskeleton-wearing, carapace-armoured future monks running on walls and flipping across hallways, using gun-foo and calmly placing their pulse-palms at the weakpoints in your armour to blow you away.

 

Keep their armour as carapace equivalent - we're not going for super soldiers or tanks, but trained, lethal, rapid response soldiers.

 

This is not perfect and will still struggle against SMs for example. But that's the point - the Tau are not perfect, they are very mortal and 'modern' in their design, not science-fantasy and mythic like the older races. They aren't the most powerful, but what they have is the willingness to try, and get better. You show this with this effort, that though not perfect, gets them closer and is something unique to them. You do not build faction character by having every single faction duplicate their units and capabilities!

 

These guys are backed up by the short-range power of their fire warriors armed with those pulse blaster (really they'd be the solution, basically their version of naval armsmen) and deployable turrets placed on every critical hallway/intersection. Maybe a turret-dedicated unit that can plop them a few down wherever they go on a map?

 

Anyways, I don't trust GW at all to come up with any interesting unit designs or even make a boring idea at least look cool. Every single one of their new offerings since 5th edition has been the bottom of the barrel in both inspiration and execution, being exceedingly boring and deriviative (walker, walkers everywhere!), and aesthetically being a mixed bag at best, and horrible at worst. I'm fully prepared for close combat battle suits as they again lean into the low-hanging fruit and continue to flanderize and water-down their factions.

[Skaorn]

I feel you on the walkers.  The T’au went from “Those giant robots are a dumb waste of resources” to giant mecha because they thought it was cool.

 

i do think the T’au would still need forces that fight in tight confines that would qualify for boarding action games, beyond ship security.  How many times has an Ethereal been captured in 40k lore?  Hostage extraction and recovering useful artifacts/information would be good reasons to deviate from standard Fire caste doctrine.  Then you have situations like exploring a space hulk or dealing with insurgents hiding in the lower levels of a captured hive.

 

I think there are plenty of opportunities for Firewarrior specialists that support regular Breachers.  I also would still have a unit of small sized battlesuits.  They have stealth suits already, so why not leave out the stealth system and give them a different toy or two.

[Lathe Biosas]

I really wanted to write "Die Horribly," as a response to your question, but If I'm honest, I think this is what the alien auxiliary aboard ship is for.

 

Kroot and Vespid are quick reaction forces sent to deal with the initial attack, while the Tau themselves can formulate a more measured response.

[Tawnis]

I imagine initially, die horribly was correct as I imagine it's something they never really thought about until it happened the first time. (Likely against Orks)

 

In addition to Auxiliaries like Kroot and their own Breacher Teams, I wouldn't be surprised if they had all kinds of automated defense systems to protect important parts of the ship and not risk their own people in tight, close quarters combat. 

[Skaorn]

4 hours ago, Tawnis said:

I imagine initially, die horribly was correct as I imagine it's something they never really thought about until it happened the first time. (Likely against Orks)

 

In addition to Auxiliaries like Kroot and their own Breacher Teams, I wouldn't be surprised if they had all kinds of automated defense systems to protect important parts of the ship and not risk their own people in tight, close quarters combat. 

I’m going to push back on these things that have been brought up.  I really doubt that close combat was never anything that they encountered before, let alone trained for before coming across Orks.  This goes back to the whole meme of how the T’au are so naive that they’d try to make friends with a genestealer.  They aren’t naive, they’re experiencing things for the first time, it goes bad, and they quickly adapt.  The Tau had problems with Orks at first because they’ll happily charge at machine gun nests laughing in glee.  They adapted and were able to deal with these small Ork kingdoms and went on to aid the Kroot.

 

Also, keep in mind that some of the T’au history is the Firecaste ancestors were laying  siege to  other T’au cities.  This would have led to close quarters fighting.  I don’t agree that the Firecaste would become blind to the necessity of such fighting in the future seems unlikely.  The T’au are the closest thing to a modern army in 40k, they don’t do close combat the same way modern forces don’t train in swordsmanship, because guns.  The T’au see a machine gun nest and go “let’s just shot it with a missile instead of trying to rushing it”.  Modern armies still train forces in house to house close quarters fighting, to bust into fortifications to seize high value targets, hostage rescue, or just exploration of tight locations, besides just ship security.

 

Kroot are a closely allied force.  They work with the T’au, but get their own independence, like stealth suits.  I doubt they’d be regularly on T’au ships and wouldn’t be always available to support ship security.  Vespid might be more common, but I doubt they’d be available in every ship.  Drones, Firewarriors with the Breacher setup, and automated defenses would be the normal load out on most T’au ships.

 

I agree that the T’au would normally just bypass most fortifications or destroy them with air/space strikes.  I also agree that even in urban combat, crisis suits and vehicles are great.  When you need a boarding action style army force, I still think they would have units that provide the layered and interconnected forces for breachers that they’d get in more open locations. 
 

 

[Lathe Biosas]

But some of those things just aren't available to the Tau when fighting in sudden close quarters combat.

 

Remember, the Space Marines really love teleporting Terminators onto the bridge of enemy ships. It's a standard combat tactic (and Tau warships have pretty easy to identify command and control centers on all of their vessels).

 

[Tawnis]

4 minutes ago, Skaorn said:

I’m going to push back on these things that have been brought up.  I really doubt that close combat was never anything that they encountered before, let alone trained for before coming across Orks.  This goes back to the whole meme of how the T’au are so naive that they’d try to make friends with a genestealer.  They aren’t naive, they’re experiencing things for the first time, it goes bad, and they quickly adapt.  The Tau had problems with Orks at first because they’ll happily charge at machine gun nests laughing in glee.  They adapted and were able to deal with these small Ork kingdoms and went on to aid the Kroot.

I get the misconception from what I said, but that's not what I meant. 

Boarding actions as depicted in 40k, sending small elite teams into enemy ships on suicide missions to disable key systems is anathema to the Tau style of warfare. It's not about the fact that it's close quarters, while that's not their preference, they are capable at it. It's the cost benefit analysis of loss of life to achievable gain that I don't think they would have factored in. Your point about the Orks is actually the same point I was making, they would expect thousands of warriors to be blasted into an enemy ship to die when you can just shoot that ship with your ship. 

[Skaorn]

On 8/26/2026 at 4:17 PM, Lathe Biosas said:

But some of those things just aren't available to the Tau when fighting in sudden close quarters combat.

 

Remember, the Space Marines really love teleporting Terminators onto the bridge of enemy ships. It's a standard combat tactic (and Tau warships have pretty easy to identify command and control centers on all of their vessels).

 

Awesome,  whatever was going on with my phone connecting to the forum today also meant my post I wrote this morning wasn't actually posted.  Guess I'Il redo it without things like the bit about countering SM by making shops that have a usual ceiling height of 7 feet. 

 

I think T'au warships would have Firewarriors with the Breacher kit and drones pretty much standard.  I just doubt the same could be said for Kroot and Vespid.  I also think they'd be able to respond to teleport attacks on their bridge.  They probably don't have much of a chance against terminators, but they'd been fighting against Orks for a while before fighting the Imperium., so teleporters wouldn't be new to them.  They might not be expecting something exactly like a terminator, especially considering how exceptionally rare just a bog standard SM is, because they've had to deal with Ork nonsense.

 

On 8/26/2026 at 4:19 PM, Tawnis said:

I get the misconception from what I said, but that's not what I meant. 

Boarding actions as depicted in 40k, sending small elite teams into enemy ships on suicide missions to disable key systems is anathema to the Tau style of warfare. It's not about the fact that it's close quarters, while that's not their preference, they are capable at it. It's the cost benefit analysis of loss of life to achievable gain that I don't think they would have factored in. Your point about the Orks is actually the same point I was making, they would expect thousands of warriors to be blasted into an enemy ship to die when you can just shoot that ship with your ship. 

 

I just think you're looking at boarding actions in the specifics of Battlefleet Gothic use of the term, in regard to specific attacks launched during ship-to-ship combat to cause chaos that lets the boarder's ship get the advantage. You're right T'au would probably avoid doing this, for the most part (though there are always exceptions to the rules).  What I've meant when I've said boarding actions is either the actual game type (which works just as well for the fights in a bunker, sewer, or some other cramped area) or the act of boarding another ship that is dangerous.  This could be a disabled warship, an isolated starport, or a space hulk.  Aside from Ork spaceships, because the only people who'd get anything useful out of one would be Orks, there would probably be plenty of reasons for T'au to want to board a disabled enemy craft that had been neutralized.

 

The boarding actions you're talking about would only be suicide relative to the faction.  SM of any stripe would probably be expecting to come back, for example.

[Tawnis]

On 8/27/2026 at 3:44 PM, Skaorn said:

I just think you're looking at boarding actions in the specifics of Battlefleet Gothic use of the term, in regard to specific attacks launched during ship-to-ship combat to cause chaos that lets the boarder's ship get the advantage. You're right T'au would probably avoid doing this, for the most part (though there are always exceptions to the rules).  What I've meant when I've said boarding actions is either the actual game type (which works just as well for the fights in a bunker, sewer, or some other cramped area) or the act of boarding another ship that is dangerous.  This could be a disabled warship, an isolated starport, or a space hulk.  Aside from Ork spaceships, because the only people who'd get anything useful out of one would be Orks, there would probably be plenty of reasons for T'au to want to board a disabled enemy craft that had been neutralized.

 

The boarding actions you're talking about would only be suicide relative to the faction.  SM of any stripe would probably be expecting to come back, for example.

Ah, okay, I gotcha. 

In that case, size permitting, I'd say the XV9 Hazzard suits are a solid option. 

[Skaorn]

I never got any of the Forge World books or their models, just couldn’t afford them, so I don’t know a lot about Hazard Suits.  I remember that they had two sets of TL Burstcannons and I think they were supposed to be faster than other suits?  I have no idea about their scale.

 

For the purposes of this thread, I’m assuming an average ceiling height of about 8ft tall for most passages and rooms for these types of structures.

[Indy Techwisp]

On 8/25/2026 at 3:48 AM, Skaorn said:

Wow, it’s been a while since I logged in.

 

o the easy answers to this question is with Breachers, Stealth Suits, and Kroot.  I’ve been thinking about this, though, and this answer doesn’t feel right to me.  If the T’au are dealing with boarding actions or assaulting a fortified structure, they aren’t just going to pour Breachers and Drones in until they win.  That’s a tactic the Imperium would use and would be very wasteful.  The T’au don’t like sacrificing drones without good reason.  Also stealth suits and Kroot get to do their own thing and are usually outside the coordinated chain of command the Fire Caste rely on.  They don’t make for good support for Breachers, in my mind.

 

For this little thought experiment, I’m assuming that most of a ship or bunker are going to be made up of areas with about 8 to 10 feet tall.  Standard size battlesuits would be right out.  I know the Imperium likes making stupid, cathedral like areas in their ships, but applying this scale for every corridor would be ridiculous.

 

In my mind, Breachers are a fine basis for this kind of fighting, but lack any sort of coordinated support in an assault.  You can send Kroot and stealth suits in once the breach is made to cause confusion and harass the enemy, but I think there would need to be units backing up the Breachers.
 

I’m not writing this as a stealth pitch for close combat weapon T’au battlesuits.  I’m of the camp that doesn’t want this, at least in non-Farsighted armies.  I think that a close quarter assault force would be a good expansion to the T’au, but I’d rather see a close combat element be handled by a auxiliary that is integrated into the chain of command.

 

So my first thought would be an assault weapon support squad for the Breachers.  This could be something as simple as regular breachers with a simple exoskeleton support to carry crisis suit weapons.  Think the support used for the big guns in Aliens.  The other option would be a battle suit using the stealth suit frame, maybe trading the stealth field for a shield generator.  I’d keep the jump pack for moving around larger areas freely.  
 

Some other possibilities could include a new auxiliary that could be more defensive and be at least ok at close combat.  I could also see an EOD Breacher unit for disabling traps and busting through walls.  Maybe give them access to a flamer or some sort of grenade launcher for flushing out enemy units too.  Another unit that might be good would be an electronic warfare pathfinder squad for disrupting enemy communications, hacking systems, and seizing control of important objectives.  Maybe you could even bring back heavy gun drones.

 

The normal T’au force assumes fighting in an open area.  They have no problem giving up an area to draw out enemies and get them to over extend themselves.  You can’t do this if you want to take a bunker or a ship,  I think addressing this issue would be a fun way to expand the army and show that the regular T’au Empire still use Farsights teachings.  What do you think and what would you want to do with this?

 

Idk if anyone's mentioned it, but the Deathwatch RPG has a mark of T'au Battlesuit in it that's purpose designed for shipborne operations, in both a military and, surprisingly, civilian configuration (Earth Caste Engineers use the Suit for extra-vehicular repairs to the outer hull).

 

Like all interesting stuff from the RPGs tho, it is doomed to never appear in 40k again due to licencing.

[Skaorn]

9 hours ago, Indy Techwisp said:

 

Idk if anyone's mentioned it, but the Deathwatch RPG has a mark of T'au Battlesuit in it that's purpose designed for shipborne operations, in both a military and, surprisingly, civilian configuration (Earth Caste Engineers use the Suit for extra-vehicular repairs to the outer hull).

 

Like all interesting stuff from the RPGs tho, it is doomed to never appear in 40k again due to licencing.

I don’t think this is a concept that has no chance of appearing, just not the exact suit from the rpg.  I think having suit that fulfills these tasks in both castes works.  At the very least I expect the lid model stealth suits would be repurposed.  Remove the stealth field generator and maybe change the weapon load out for the Fire Caste.  The last option would be there for GW to sell a new model kit.  Stealth Suit - Stealth + Shield for rules wouldn’t exactly make them more money.