Broadside Battlesuit

Tau Portal

Newer generation XV88 with Heavy Rail Rifles in the handheld position.^[7]

The Broadside Battlesuit or XV88 is the heaviest variant of the Crisis Battlesuit. Used by the Tau, these Battlesuits' design is an effective compromise between offensive firepower, defensive protection, and tactical maneuverability.^[3]

Overview

Older generation XV88 Broadside Battlesuit with twin Rail Guns in the shoulder position

Originally the Broadside was just an experiment - to combine the most successful Tau vehicle weapon – the railgun – with the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit. Early Broadside prototypes were cumbersome, their shoulder-mounted weapons unwieldy. However, Earth caste made adaptations, one iteration at a time, until at last the XV88 emerged.^[9] The original generation of XV88 Battlesuits mounted their twin railguns on their shoulders, but recent Earth Caste innovations have found that a Heavy Rail Rifle mounted in a hand-held position is more efficient.^[7]

The repulsor jets of the XV8, which output insufficient to lift such a heavy weight, were substituted by additional layers of armour plating, allowing battlesuit to weather rather than evade incoming fire. The additional recoil dampers and ballistic anchors provide increased accuracy and an extended arsenal of heavy weaponry, which means Broadsides can be equipped to engage massed infantry or armoured targets with equal success.^[9] However this comes at the cost of mobility, as the XV88 needs to be static to fire its primary weapon. Its supporting Smart Missile System or High-Yield Missile Pods were installed to try and reduce vulnerability while in the firing position.^[11] The XV88 is also commonly equipped with a Battlesuit support system.^[1]

Broadside Battlesuits are only issued to Shas'ui veterans who have gained sufficient experience piloting Crisis Battlesuits.^[1] The jetpacks commonly found on Crisis suits are replaced with a Heavy Rail Rifles or High-Yield Missile Pods, some of the most powerful anti-tank weapons available in the Tau arsenal.^[1] It is known that the Great War of Confederation forced the XV88 Broadside to change their Heavy Rail Rifles to High-Yield Missile Pods to better tackle the Ork hordes that repeatedly assaulted their lines.^[8] These missile pods are sometimes more rarely replaced with twin-linked Plasma Rifles.^[1]

Broadsides tend to be encountered supporting larger Tau formations, where one or more three-member teams are tasked with providing fire support for entire Hunter Cadres. Occasionally, a single Broadside is tasked with providing support for a smaller Tau force.^[3] They are most commonly deployed as lethal tank-hunters or as fast-moving artillery platforms capable of obliterating even hardened bunkers with their railguns.^[11]

Being one of the most well protected units in the Tau arsenal, there are reports of Broadside battlesuits surviving direct hits from autocannon and lascannon fire, and they provide as much protection as a suit of Terminator Armour, but unlike the Imperium, the Tau are able to manufacture such heavy suits in huge quantities.^[3] During the Damocles Crusade, the XV88 gained a fearsome reputation and was identified by the Imperium as a major threat. In these battles with Humanity, Broadside Battlesuits decimated entire armoured companies. During the battle against Hive Fleet Gorgon, they proved equally lethal against larger Tyranid creatures, even confronting gargauntuan Bio-Titans in groups.^[11]

Variants

XV88-2 Broadside Battlesuit

The XV88-2 is a variant of the Broadside battlesuit with the Railguns slung under the arms rather than over the shoulders and the support weapon is mounted on the shoulders rather than under the arms. Sometimes the shoulder-mounted missiles are replaced by twin Plasma Rifles.^[4]

Veteran Broadside Battlesuit

Veteran Broadside Battlesuits are used by Veteran Pilots and act as Honour Guards for their Commanders. One such pilot is an old comrade of Shas'O Or'es'Ka, who used one Battlesuit and accompanied him during the T'au Empire's failed campaign on Kaurava.^[10]

• 

  Veteran Broadside Battlesuit piloted by a Veteran Comrade of Shas'O Or'es'Ka on Kaurava.^[10]

Ordo Xenos Classification

Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Record[2]
Serial Number	85673-9081588	Main Armament	2 x Railguns/Heavy Rail Rifles or Smart Missile Systems
Designation	XV88
Vehicle Codename	Broadside	Secondary Armament	2 x Smart Missile System/Plasma Rifles, Seeker Missile
Vehicle Type	Battlesuit
Crew	1, Pilot	Traverse	120°
Weight	3.8 tonnes	Elevation	From -5° to +70°
Length	1.7m	Ammunition	Variable
Width	1.9m	Armour Type	Nano-Crystalline Alloy Composition Unknown
Height	2.8m
Max Recorded Speed	15kph

Images

• 

  Broadside Battlesuit with twin Heavy Rail Rifles (6th Edition)^[5]

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  Broadside Battlesuit with Missile Pods (6th Edition)^[5]

• 

  XV88-2

See also

• Tau Equipment (List)
• Tau Vehicles (List)

Sources

• 1: Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 40
• 2: Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign, pg. 175
• 3: Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos, pg. 6
• 4: Forge World (last accessed 9 June 2015)
• 5: Games Workshop
• 6: White Dwarf 400 (UK), pg. 5
• 7: Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pg. 42
• 8: White Dwarf 91 (2015) — Mantle of Heroes
• 9: Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition), pg. 28 — XV88 Broadside Battlesuits
• 10: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Definitive Edition - Soulstorm: T'au Empire Commander Honour Guard Unit - Veteran Broadside Battlesuit
• 11: Codex: T'au Empire (8th Edition), pg. 64