Tau Commander

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Dawn of War logo.jpg This article is part of the Dawn of War Player's Guide.
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Dark crusade appicon.png This article has been updated for Soulstorm.
The Dark Crusade version is now archived.


Dawn of War Commander Unit
Tau Commander
Tau Commander.jpg
Race Tau
Version Soulstorm v1.2
Build Info
Tau commander Ss icon.jpg
Hotkey C
Build Cost Resource requisition.gif 250 Resource power.gif 55  Resource cap infantry.gif 0
Build Time 50 s
Built From Tau Barracks
Unit Size 1
Requires Nothing
Limit 1
Unit Stats
Hitpoints 1000/2
Armour Commander
Morale 500/12/500
Unit Mass 25
Move Speed 16
Sight Radius 25 (cannot detect)
Attachable No
Weapons
Ranged Burst Cannon
Melee Burst Cannon (melee)



Contents

Tau Commander

"I will lead us to victory!"

The Tau Commander is the primary hero of the Tau Empire. Encased in an experimental XV22 Battlesuit, he can use jump jets to quickly get into battle, ready to unleash a barrage of firepower from the many weapon systems his battlesuit can be outfitted with.

In Dark Crusade, Shas'o Kais was tasked with retaking the planet Kronus from its invaders. Commander Or'es'Ka led the Tau in their subjugation of the Kaurava System in Soulstorm.

Tactics

The Tau Commander does very good ranged damage and is good against all targets with the appropriate upgrades. It is important to keep the Tau Commander out of melee, which can be done by slowing enemies with Snare Traps and/or using jump packs to fall back and resume firing from safety. Enemies often target the snare traps, so a good tactic is throwing a Snare Trap behind the Commander, and then jumping behind it once the trap has gone invisible. It is possible to use snare traps rather then Kroot Carnivores to keep melee units away from Fire Warriors, but this should be a temporary arrangement and it requires extra Plasma Generators. However, Snare Traps are most effective in tandem with Kroot auxiliaries; for example, the Commander can lay Snare Traps below Fire Warriors to counter an enemy's jump infantry. The Snare Trap can also be laid on top of a Necron Lord, effectively making the Necron Lord think he got out of the wrong side of bed that morning.

In the early game when facing off at range versus other troops, jump your commander, upgraded with the Flamer, behind the enemy lines to quickly destroy enemy morale. In tier 2, the Tau Commander becomes an effective anti-vehicle unit with the Fusion Blaster and Missile Pods upgrades, but should be assisted by Stealth Suits upgraded with Fusion Blasters against numerous or durable vehicles. Late in the game, the Tau Commander should be used solely for laying Snare Traps and fire support. His low health and inability to attach to another squad means he must be kept behind the bulk of the Tau army and out of direct fire.

The Tau Commander has the lowest health out of all the primary commanders. He can only get his health to 1400 with both Improved Metallurgy and the Ethereal. He deals an amazing amount of damage once fully upgraded, but this firepower doesn't come cheap. A Tau Commander with all weapon upgrades costs Resource requisition.gif 475 Resource power.gif 255  , and if he dies all upgraded weaponry is lost and must be repurchased when he is rebuilt.

One useful tactic to increase the survivability of the Tau Commander is to look first at his weaponry. With his fragile health, your best bet to keep him alive is through his Missle Pods, which outrange most non-Tau enemy infantry. Though this lessens his damage potential, this tactic can help harass the enemy while your assemble your troops for the assault. And since the enemy always has the tendency to move his/her forces to the area, you can have the chance to see what's in store for you when you finally attack.

Another very useful tactic is for the Tau Commander become a make-shift detection unit while no other allied detection units are in the vicinity. With some excess resources, have the Tau Commander make a wall of Snare Traps in an area or better yet, a choke point, do this as fast and tactical as possible. Though the snare traps do not give an area of sight, they can be monitored easily by memorizing their locations and with the red beam they emit. Once one or two Snare Traps have disappeared, it is easy to assume that your enemy has detected them or is on the move for an assault. This way you can gather your forces and repel an incoming attack. This may also serve as an early warning device as although your Snare Traps cannot detected infiltrated units, they still TRIGGER when one passes nearby. Be warned though, never EVER place one Snare Trap near the other as this will result in triggering more than one Snare Trap and a waste of resources.

Abilities

Snare Trap

Snare Trap Hotkey: N
Tau snare trap icon.jpg Requires Nothing
Target Types Any enemy units
Range 20
Area of effect 4 Cooldown time 10 s
Cost Resource power.gif 35 
Effects Places a Snare Trap at the targeted spot on the ground. The trap can be attacked and destroyed as normal (50 HP, Building Low armor type), however it is Infiltrated after 10 seconds. When an enemy unit enters the Snare Trap's area of effect, all enemy units within a radius of 8 from the trigger unit have their weaponry cooldown tripled and lose 90% of their movement speed for 12 s. This destroys the snare trap.

Troops with Teleport or Jump ability can use it to escape the effects of the trap. Units jumping or teleporting over a Snare Trap will not trigger a Snare Trap. Units landing in the trigger radius will set it off, but only the first unit to touch down will be affected.

Target Acquired

Target Acquired Hotkey: G
Tau target acquired icon.jpg Requires Nothing
Target Types Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Commander, Daemon Medium
Range 35
Area of effect 0 Cooldown time 120 s
Effects An instant high powered attack from the Tau Commander inflicting damage on the target. This ability automatically targets squad leaders over regular units in the squad.
Damage Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High Morale Min Max Min.D
200 200 200 200 200 200 - - - - - - - 200 - 75 200 200 200

Jump Packs

Jump Packs Hotkey: J
Jump.jpg Requires Jump Packs Research
Target Types Terrain
Range 50
Area of effect None Cooldown time 45 s
Effects The Tau Commander quickly jumps over any intervening terrain to another location. At full charge the Tau Commander will have two jumps available, requiring 90 s total to charge.

Jumpshot

Jumpshot
PassiveAbility icon.jpg Requires Nothing
Target Types All enemy squads
Range Melee
Area of effect 0 Cooldown time Passive ability, once every 5 seconds
Effects When engaging in melee, the Tau Commander jumps up and shoots the enemy with his main ranged weapon, not the Flamer or Missile Pod.

Weapons

Burst Cannon

Burst Cannon
RangedStance icon bw.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 23.1 34.7 34.7 30.8 27.0 19.3 11.6 7.0 7.0 NA 19.3 7.7 7.0 23.1 7.0 5.3 15 100 120 10

Cost Default Weapon Range 40 Setup Time 0 s
Build Time Default Weapon Accuracy 70% Refire Rate 1 s
Area of Effect 0 Requires Nothing

Burst Cannon (melee)

Burst Cannon (melee)
MeleeStance icon bw.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 23.1 34.7 34.7 30.8 27.0 19.3 11.6 7.0 7.0 NA 19.3 7.7 7.0 23.1 7.0 5.3 15 100 120 10

Cost Default Weapon Range Melee Setup Time 0 s
Build Time Default Weapon Accuracy 70% Refire Rate 1 s
Area of Effect 0 Requires Nothing

Weapon Upgrades

Maximum Weapon Upgrades Allowed: 4

Flamer

Flamer Hotkey: F
Tau commander flamer icon.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 7.5 15.0 13.8 11.3 8.8 6.3 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 6.3 3.8 2.0 8.8 2.0 20 20 10 15 1

Cost Resource requisition.gif 50 Resource power.gif 25  Range 15 Setup Time 0 s
Build Time 20 s Accuracy 100% Refire Rate 0.5 s
Area of Effect Range 5 in a 60 degree arc Requires Nothing
Notes The Flamer does not replace any existing weaponry.

Missile Pods

Missile Pods Hotkey: M
Tau commander missile icon.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 50.1 36.4 18.2 50.1 22.8 13.7 9.1 5.3 13.7 8.8 50 200 320 15

Cost Resource requisition.gif 50 Resource power.gif 50  Range 10-45 Setup Time 0 s
Build Time 20 s Accuracy 70% Refire Rate 2 s
Area of Effect 2.5 Requires Path to Enlightenment
Notes The Misile Pods do not replace any existing weaponry. This weapon does knockback (30-50 force).

Fusion Blaster

Fusion Blaster Hotkey: P
Tau commander fusion icon.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 28.7 24.4 30.1 17.5 17.5 35.9 57.4 50.2 18.7 NA 28.7 21.5 17.5 50.2 17.5 5.3 15.1 185 225 25

Cost Resource requisition.gif 50 Resource power.gif 50  Range 20 Setup Time 0 s
Build Time 30 s Accuracy 70% Refire Rate 1 s
Area of Effect 0 Requires Path to Enlightenment
Notes The Fusion Blaster replaces the Burst Cannon when upgraded.

Plasma Rifle

Plasma Rifle Hotkey: P
TauCommanderPlasmaRifle icon.jpg Damage Per Second Values
Infantry Vehicles Buildings Daemons Morale Base Damage
Low Med High H.Med H.Hi Cmdr Low Med High Air Low Med High Med High DPS Base Min Max Min.D
Initial DPS: 57.8 115.5 96.3 115.5 96.3 57.8 77.0 77.0 38.5 NA 38.5 38.5 38.5 57.8 57.8 7 20 250 300 25

Cost Resource requisition.gif 75 Resource power.gif 75  Range 40 Setup Time 0 s
Build Time 25 s Accuracy 70% Refire Rate 1 s
Area of Effect 0 Requires Fusion Blaster and Mont'Ka Command Post/Kauyon Command Post
Notes The Plasma Rifle replaces the Fusion Blaster when upgraded.

Researchable Upgrades

Jump Packs Research

Jump Packs Research Hotkey: J
Tau anti grav.jpg Cost Resource requisition.gif 50 Resource power.gif 25  Research Time 20 s
Researched From Cadre Headquarters
Requires Nothing
Effects

Improved Metallurgy

Improved Metallurgy Hotkey: I
Tau advanced metallurgy ico.jpg Cost Resource requisition.gif 150 Resource power.gif 150  Research Time 25 s
Researched From Path to Enlightenment
Requires Kauyon Command Post
Effects




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