[redshadow]

hail ethereals...

i am very curious to know whether any of you out there used ML and whether or not you have found them to be usefull or just too complicated to use?

i personally never used them but mostly becasue i think they are a bit complicated to use ...what ya think?

[Yaifrog]

They aren't comlicated at all and they drastically improve the firepower of your units. I recommend taking some Forge World Tetras or sniper drones if you want to try to squeeze them in to your army.

[Wilko]

I wouldn't say they're that hard to use at all, it's just firing a laser beam of light at the enemy so you can lock onto them more clearly. I usually have one for all my firewarrior squads and it just helps to share out the +1 ballistic skill love. I'm still not convinced however about marker drones with networked markerlight just for firewarrior squads, seems a bit expensive.
The only sticking point I occasionally come across is that they're a heavy weapon issue, but sitting still so your pulse rifles get 30" too isn't always a bad thing :P. I would say use a couple next time you play, get a feel for them and see if it fits in well with your style.

[march10k]

I think they're fantastic. It really helps tau play the IG game, which is "pick a target and focus all your fire into it until it is destroyed, then pick another target. Wash, rinse, repeat!" Tau markerlights are nastier than eldar putting fortune on their own units and doom on the unfortunate enemy unit in the same turn. And they're incredibly versatile. Troops hiding in cover? Strip the save. Absolutely, positively HAVE to destroy that Leman Russ this turn? Railgun suddenly hits on 2+. Marines about to charge? Make them take a panic test at leadership 5. The key, though, is having several lights in different units. I usually bunker 1/3 of my force together as a markerlight firing line for the mobile 2/3 of my army. 6 pathfinders, 2 target-locked shas'uis, and two sniper teams make for 10 lights in 5 different units. Obviously, the pathfinders will light up the "target du jour", but the other 4 lights give me a good bit of flexibility, and the units that those other lights come in go a long way towards keeping all of the lights alive. That way, I can, if the firebase isn't under too horrible a threat of being assaulted, target a unit of infantry for destruction at the same time that I boost a tank or two to BS5. If I took the lights out, I'd get more maneuverable, of course, but my shooting would suffer greatly.

[majonga]

i find them pretty cool and in situations very helpful, however being a heay weapon requires the squad not to have moved.

actually i have a question.

the stealth suit team can take a drone controller with a marker drone. drones are the same unit type as their controller... does that mean that a markerlight drone joined to a team that has jetpacks it can fire its heavy weapon and move? can't quite remember the rules

[zannal]

Originally Posted by <<Majonga>>

the stealth suit team can take a drone controller with a marker drone. drones are the same unit type as their controller... does that mean that a markerlight drone joined to a team that has jetpacks it can fire its heavy weapon and move? can't quite remember the rules

The rules state that the suits can shoot their rapid fire weapons to max range and move and also they are able to assault if the fire. There is nothing about Heavy weapons unless you have an Advance Stabilization system, which wouldn't help the drones.

On topic I have recently been taking sniper drones and the addition of a single marker light has made me want to get a pathfinder team to provide a whole volley of marker lights for the same reasons that others have posted. The marker lights cancel out the weakness of the Fire Warriors' low BS, thus enabling them to pretty much wipe out whole squads, or at least make them take leadership tests.

[Shas O Dalyth Montau]

I never leave home without at least a markerlight/hw target lock shas'ui in every fire warrior squad. lately I have been enjoying the positives of pathfinders. markerlights are not very difficult to hit with, roll to hit, for every hit, leave some kind of marker (like a base or piece of card) with the 'marked' unit, then you expend these to vastly inprove your chances of systematically tearing your enemies apart.

long of the short, give markerlights a go, I highly recommend them.

PS: if any mods (or anyone else for that matter) know of any markerlight tactica that has been created in the past, I think here would be a great spot to post a link!

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

I recommend tetra's. I know they are forge world, and more expensive, but my 1500pt list takes a pair, at 120 points. Used separately, they are usually ignored by the enemy, and they can be used to increase my Forge World Broadsides BS, or fire teams, or crisis suits when needed.

Originally Posted by Shas O Dalyth Montau

PS: if any mods (or anyone else for that matter) know of any markerlight tactica that has been created in the past, I think here would be a great spot to post a link!

How about Tonka's Tactica on Marker lights? Always check the important topics.

[krupintupple]

Against large, swarmy assault based armies, like Tyranids and Orks, they are a must-have. Trust me, no Tyranid player wants to find out that your fire warriors are now hitting on a 3 and that his formerly cushy 4+ cover save has been bumped down to a 6+ or worse. Maybe not such a worry against gaunts, but against their expensive gene-stealers, costing over 20 points each, that can really whittle them down fast especially since our standard troop weapon bypasses their natural armour.

My only complaint of marker lights is that as a mostly mech tau player, I find myself wishing there was a version of markerlight that was assault 1, as opposed to heavy 1; wishful thinking i suppose.

[T0nkaTruckDriver]

Originally Posted by krupintupple

My only complaint of marker lights is that as a mostly mech tau player, I find myself wishing there was a version of markerlight that was assault 1, as opposed to heavy 1; wishful thinking i suppose.

It's called the Skyray and the Tetra!