Fluff Reason for lack of Cryx Ranged?

[Darkness is Rising]

Hey guys, I was just wondering, is their a fluffy reason Cryx doesn't use many ranged weapons? Since they make thralls out of bodies of soldiers littering the ground, couldn't they just yoink the rifles/pistols as well and give them to the thralls? Or just manufacture some cheap stuff on their own to give their army more ranged ability? Why don't we see any kind of "Rifle Thrall" or something?

[Bunny de Guerre]

I'd guess it's because the reanimation of Thralls isn't particularly conducive to them being good at ranged combat. The amount of work required to make a stitched together undead mockery of life swing a sword - or claw at faces - is pretty simple (10 Swing Arm 20 GOTO 10), whereas I imagine that it'd be a more complex process to create a ranged thrall that handles a rifle. Even Bile Thralls just kind of spray indiscriminately (10 Point Rifle 20 Burp 30 GOTO 10).

[petegrrrr]

Cyrx have Bloat Thralls, Bile thralls, revenant crew, Black Ogrun, Rengrave, pistol wraiths, the revenant cannon, 4 ranged heavies, etc...cryx uses plenty of ranged weapons :D

[Feeple]

I'd guess it's because the reanimation of Thralls isn't particularly conducive to them being good at ranged combat. The amount of work required to make a stitched together undead mockery of life swing a sword - or claw at faces - is pretty simple (10 Swing Arm 20 GOTO 10), whereas I imagine that it'd be a more complex process to create a ranged thrall that handles a rifle. Even Bile Thralls just kind of spray indiscriminately (10 Point Rifle 20 Burp 30 GOTO 10). I'm not sure why Thralls are programmed in (IIRC) Fortran.

The point remains, though. Most thralls have an abysmally low MAT by living troop standards (even the elite Banes only have MAT 6.) With exception to a rare few cases, Cryx to me has always been about "low quality, high volume." Guns and rifles require precision instruments and dedicated craftsmen. While swords and axes require the latter, not so much on the former.

Plus, the Revenants are getting riflemen as a WA in Wrath.

[Temoinlanuit]

Beginning in 2010, and continuing into the 2011 there has been a significant migration of Nyss hunters into Cryxian forces as the demand for their vital ranged abilities have grown.

Nyss hunters work the most dangerous and lowest paid jobs in Immoren. Despite their thrift and hard work, they are often the first casualties of war, suffering both from foreign discrimination - Prey, and the domestic inequity of bile thrall purges in the back.

Willing to deliver more accurate shots for less, they are raising expectations for all in-faction ranged units. Many Cryxian units have been squeezed out of their good paying jobs.

[Alviaran]

Beginning in 2010, and continuing into the 2011 there has been a significant migration of Nyss hunters into Cryxian forces as the demand for their vital ranged abilities have grown.

Nyss hunters work the most dangerous and lowest paid jobs in Immoren. Despite their thrift and hard work, they are often the first casualties of war, suffering both from foreign discrimination - Prey, and the domestic inequity of bile thrall purges in the back.

Willing to deliver more accurate shots for less, they are raising expectations for all in-faction ranged units. Many Cryxian units have been squeezed out of their good paying jobs.
Thank you, sir. You have just made my day. :p

[Cambeul]

Time to start the Thrall Union Workers of Immorium (spelling)

Do not let the take our Jobs. Dirty Elves.

[Darkness is Rising]

Beginning in 2010, and continuing into the 2011 there has been a significant migration of Nyss hunters into Cryxian forces as the demand for their vital ranged abilities have grown.

Nyss hunters work the most dangerous and lowest paid jobs in Immoren. Despite their thrift and hard work, they are often the first casualties of war, suffering both from foreign discrimination - Prey, and the domestic inequity of bile thrall purges in the back.

Willing to deliver more accurate shots for less, they are raising expectations for all in-faction ranged units. Many Cryxian units have been squeezed out of their good paying jobs.

Curse you Nyss! *shakes fist* Stealing jobs from honest Cryxians! The nerve!

I second the motion to start the Thrall Union Workers of Immoren.

[FearLord]

Curse you Nyss! *shakes fist* Stealing jobs from honest Cryxians! The nerve!

I second the motion to start the Thrall Union Workers of Immoren.

I'm pretty sure the best reason to create a Thrall army that never sleeps or eats, is that they also don't really unionize or care to...

Also, I'm fairly certain that there are no honest Cryxians - at least not for long!

[admanb]

I'm pretty sure the best reason to create a Thrall army that never sleeps or eats, is that they also don't really unionize or care to...

Also, I'm fairly certain that there are no honest Cryxians - at least not for long!

Disagree. Most Cryxians are very honest about their desire to kill you and eat your soul.

[2LiveIs2Die]

I don't see any lack of range in cryx.
Lack of excessively good range maybe (like long gunners)
But there is no reason to have all tau armies in a game that is better off for not having it.

Non warcaster cryx models with range or magic abilities:
Defiler
Nightwretch
Corruptor
Harrower
Leviathan
Reaper
Malice

Bile Thralls
Black Ogrun Boarding Party
Cephalyx Overlords
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous
Revenant Cannon Crew
Satyxis Raider Sea Witch
Withershadow Combine

Pistol Wraith
Satyxis Raider Captain
Skarlock (for almost every caster)
Rengrave
Darragh Wrathe
Warwitch Siren
Bloat Thrall

And of course that's not including mercs like (but not limited to):
Dougal Macnaile
Gorman De Wolfe
Nyss Hunters


So I don't think there needs to be a fluff reason for the lack of a ranged element, because there is not a lack of range in cryx, if you want range you have it.
I think what you're looking for is a reason that we do it at a higher cost or not as well as other factions, and the reason is simply our strengths lie in other things, I personally think if you gave mechanithralls guns the game wouldn't be challenging.

[Darkness is Rising]

Disagree. Most Cryxians are very honest about their desire to kill you and eat your soul.

You bet we are!

We're also quite honest about our desire to eliminate all other faiths by force and covert all of you losers to the worship of our glorious Dragonfather.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Villainc.svg/220px-Villainc.svg.png

[IAN LACEY]

My observation is that even though the emphasis on their design was ranged combat from the off, the likes of the Bloat Thrall, and the Leviathan, still have better MAT than RAT.

[Appolus]

Zombies are notoriously bad at ultimate frisbee. Seeing that fact, necrotechs decided that guns would be entirely out of the question.

[Halfhoot]

... is pretty simple (10 Swing Arm 20 GOTO 10), whereas I imagine that it'd be a more complex process to create a ranged thrall that handles a rifle. Even Bile Thralls just kind of spray indiscriminately (10 Point Rifle 20 Burp 30 GOTO 10).

You do realize how old this has made some of us think you are right? Of course... sadly... those of us who know to really think that are probably marking ourselves as quite old as well. *sigh*

[Warlordtheft]

I don't see any lack of range in cryx.
And of course that's not including mercs like (but not limited to):
Dougal Macnaile
Gorman De Wolfe
Nyss Hunters

To name some of the other Mercs:

Steel Head Riflemen
Croes Cut Throats
Sea dogs (a lot of them have ranged)

[bouncymischa]

I'm not sure why Thralls are programmed in (IIRC) Fortran.

Wasn't that BASIC? Admittedly, I never used Fortran so the syntax could be the same.

One idea that occured to me was that Cryx might actually be low on the components to make gunpowder with. (I can't remember what the IK version of gunpowder is called, at the moment.) Most of their ranged weapons don't use a powder propellant. So outfitting ranks of thralls with rifle might be beyond their capabilities to produce powder.

[Col_Festus]

They took errrrrr jobs!

[2LiveIs2Die]

They took errrrrr jobs!

Durka Durrrrrr!!!

[Feeple]

Wasn't that BASIC? Admittedly, I never used Fortran so the syntax could be the same.

One idea that occured to me was that Cryx might actually be low on the components to make gunpowder with. (I can't remember what the IK version of gunpowder is called, at the moment.) Most of their ranged weapons don't use a powder propellant. So outfitting ranks of thralls with rifle might be beyond their capabilities to produce powder.

Honestly, I can't remember. Hence the IIRC. *shrug*:D

[Lanz]

I would imagine it is difficult to aim ranged weapons with no eyeballs. One tends to lack depth perception at that point.

[Halfhoot]

Wasn't that BASIC? Admittedly, I never used Fortran so the syntax could be the same.

Both had goto statements. *shrug* Cryx seem like more like Basic kinda folk... Cygnar's probably Pascal with Khador being Fortran and those pesky elves as straight C... darn pointers getting around normal coding techniques...

[Bunny de Guerre]

Cryx uses Fortran, because Toruk is old fashioned that way.

[Kuarnix]

Why shoot it when you can hit it with some of that good ol' hellfire?