Plasma Weapons - T'au Empire Plasma Weapons: The T'au, whilst a relatively young species in the grand scale of time, have advanced extraordinarily rapidly and have already perfected many different forms of Plasma Weapon technology and use it to a great extent on the battlefield. The T'au variant of Plasma Weapon technology, which they refer to as Pulse Weapons, is commonly utilised by the warriors of the T'au Empire's military Fire Caste.Pulse Weapons make use of micro-pulsed induction fields to propel a particle across a distance. The particle reacts by breaking down after being exposed to the effect of the field to create a plasma pulse as it leaves the barrel, thus allowing for lethal bursts of plasma to be fired over astonishing ranges.Whilst Plasma Weapons technology is used by many of the advanced intelligent races of the Milky Way Galaxy, despite its unstable nature, the T'au favour this variant form of the technology, which foregoes a degree of stopping power for the increased safety of the operator.Pulse Pistol – Pulse Pistols are the smallest form of T'au Pulse Weapon, and utilises the same pulse technology to accelerate plasma at high power. Whilst it retains the same strength as larger Pulse Weapons such as Pulse Rifles and Pulse Carbines, the weapons smaller size means it has a greatly reduced range. Pulse Pistols are most often issued to T'au personnel as a hold-out weapon for use in desperate situations.Pulse Rifle – The Pulse Rifle is the standard weapon issued to T'au Fire Warriors on the frontline, and is far more powerful than many of the standard weapons issued to the mainline infantry of many other major races in the Milky Way Galaxy. A Pulse Rifle uses an induction field to propel a particle that reacts to the effect of the field by breaking down into a plasma pulse as it leaves the barrel. The linear accelerators that propel this plasma pulse allow for shots to be made with great accuracy over extreme ranges, and the simple speed of the projectile is often enough to punch through enemies in its path. A Pulse Rifle's long twin barrels also feature a recoil absorber weight mounted towards the end, which completely steadies the weapon in even the shakiest of hands.Pulse Carbine – A Pulse Carbine is a T'au Pulse Weapon that is very similar to the Pulse Rifle, except that it sacrifices the latter’s long barrel and range for better portability and the chance to mount an underslung Photon Grenade launcher. Most often issued to Fire Warrior squads which are deployed in urban environments, the weapon's additional pinning abilities are immensely useful in close quarters fighting and room to room sweeping. T'au Gun Drones are also armed with Pulse Carbines as standard, giving them powerful weaponry that can be brought to bear once they have used their mobility to get into position.Kroot Rifle and Kroot Gun Pulse Ammunition – Since the Kroot have joined the T'au Empire, the T'au have adapted their weapons to fire a charged pulse round supplied by them, instead of relying on standard Kroot ammunition that is fired using primitive chemical propellants. This new ammunition gives Kroot Weapons far greater stopping power and armour penetration, making Kroot wariors fearsome enemies at range as well as in close combat.Pulse Submunitions Rifle – Pulse Submunitions Rifles are advanced variants of the standard Pulse Rifle and can only be wielded by the powerful systems of the XV9 Hazard Battlesuit. Pulse Submunition Rifles fire rounds that affect large areas and can bypass cover effectively.Burst Cannon – Multi-barreled weapons capable of sustaining very high rates of fire, Burst Cannons are an offshoot of T'au Pulse Weapon technology. They are usually mounted on Tau Battlesuits and vehicles, providing heavy anti-infantry support. Burst Cannons have four barrels and are short-ranged, like Pulse Carbines, though this is deficiency is offset by the maneuverability of the T'au units commonly armed with them. Long-barrelled Burst Cannons are variants of standard Burst Cannons usually mounted on T'au aircraft, and possess almost double the range due to their extended barrel lengths.Heavy Burst Cannon – Heavy Burst Cannons are larger variants of standard Burst Cannons that are only mounted as primary arm weapons on the experimental XV104 Riptide Battlesuit. A Heavy Burst Cannon possess six large barrels with extended lengths, and are capable of ferocious rates of fire that can mow down enemy hordes with ease. A Heavy Burst Cannon can also draw upon an XV104’s Dark Matter Nova Reactor to nova-charge its power, allowing for a devastating hail of pulse rounds that can crack even the toughest of armour with ease.Plasma Rifle – Plasma Rifles are the T'au equivalent of Imperial Plasma Guns, albeit sacrificing a modicum of the Imperial weapon's power for increased safety. Plasma Rifles are powerful weapons that are often used to kill heavily armoured infantry, and are most commonly wielded by Tau Battlesuits, such as the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.Plasma Cannon – So far, T'au Plasma Cannons have only been mounted as a variant turret on Hammerhead gunships, and were first identified by the Imperium during the Taros Campaign where it is believed they were being field-tested. They use the same plasma technology as that incorporated into T'au Plasma Rifles, but are far larger in size. Because of this, they are more powerful and also fire more rapidly. However, a Plasma Cannon sacrifices some of its armour penetrating power for this advantage, making them similar in power to Ion Cannons.