[DELPHEUS]

I just got the Eldar codex today, and reading through it, I came across the Wraithguard entry. It says their fearless cause they're not living beings.

With that logic, shouldn't drones be fearless? Heck, they're MACHINES to begin with, while Wraithguard have the spirits of past Eldar...

[Dezart Fox]

It's a 'logical withdrawal'
like the necrons

[GearheadXII]

I agree! they should be fearless cause they are machines designed to protect the Tau... if the drones run away they really aren't doing their job. However perhaps to balance or something like that they clearly are not stated as being fearless...

As to the Logical Withdrawal stated above. In order to protect withdrawing Tau I do believe it is a wise idea to sacrifice drones vs. have more casualties from the main army. Just my 2 cents.

GearheadXII

[Shades1802]

This was explained in the drone question thread by Rafe. They are programed with self preservation in mind; why? Because it's a boot up the arse for Tau players everywhere and the fluff says so, despite logical reasoning.

[GeorgeCrane]

Maybe they are aware of being expensive pieces of equipment.

So everytime a drone dies, the other drones hear a cashregister go "Katching!"?

[Jormungard]

The Wraithguard are dead. Why fear what you already are?

The Drones aren't destroyed. Try not to get destroyed!

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Balance, basically. "Programmed for self preservation" is sheer bull, you do not program a "war" drone to worry about dying, yeah, program it not to be stupid, but to fear death? Stupid.

So, its a matter of balance, as otherwise they would be overpowered for their points.

A better rule would be to make them count LD tests as pinning tests, as they mill around in confusion, not sure what to do.

[Shades1802]

Originally Posted by GeorgeCrane

Maybe they are aware of being expensive pieces of equipment.

So everytime a drone dies, the other drones hear a cashregister go "Katching!"?

As far as I can tell there's about 1 drone for every 2-3 firewarriors, sounds like they do an alright job at mass producing which you can't do easily with an particularily expensive piece of equipment. Although I love the Idea of drones having a "Ka-ching" noise as a casualty alert system. ;D

P.S. Rafe you were the one who introduced the "self preservation" crap on the drone question thread.

[Deus]

"Dead, disassemble. Dead, disassemble. Dead, DISASSEMBLE!? NO DISASSEMBLE, STEPHANIE, NO DISASSEMBLE! FIVE ALIVE!"

A cookie for whoever guesses the movie first!

[CmdrBonesaw]

Number Five lives? No idea how the english name is; it`s about a cute war robot with a frickin`laser beam who, after a lightning strike, is developing a consciousness (a pacifist one at that...).

The reason Drones are programmed for self preservation is simple:
You want your weapons of war to be as effective as possible. A destroyed weapon`doesn`t have much impact on the battle. Therefore, it stands to reason to program them in a way that they avoid dying; i.e. taking cover, and retreating if the situation is hopeless.

Besides, not all Drones are programmed like this. Just take the Smart Missile AIs. Intelligent, yes, but not quite enough to think about self-preservation...

Cheers,
-Bone