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i like plasma alot better than melta just because it hase 4 times thes range of a melta gun and only one lower strength so im gonna have to say that plasma beats the melta gun except for the fact of the possibility of rolling that dreaded 1

The Plasma doesn't have 4x the range of the Melta.

Even the Plasma Cannon vs the Meltagun is only 3x.

That said, a lot of people prefer the Melta for its Tank-crushing power, and it's certainly a lot safer than Plasma. Additionally, for close-combat armies, you can assault after using the Melta, while you can't with the Plasma...

Also, until 5th Edition, if you Rapid-Fire with a Plasmagun, it Gets Hot on a 1 or a 2.

I like the Melta Gun better than the Plasma Gun.

Firstly, the Melta Gun is an Assault weapon. This lets you use a Melta Gun before following up with a charge. It complements the Flamethrower in that regard.

Secondly, the Melta Gun has the same range as a Plasma Gun if the user is moving, though half the attacks. Despite having twice the shots of a Plasma Gun, the Melta Gun will never harm its user, and the Plasma Gun has a much greater chance of harming the user when firing twice. The Plasma Gun's range will be twice that of the Melta Gun if and only if the entire unit does not move.

Something that many people seem to ignore with Gets Hot! is that the to hit results that might cause a wound on the wielder equals the number of to hit dice being rolled. If a Plasma Gun is attacking with two dice, rolling 1 or 2 on either dice will require an armour save to avoid a wound, and roll 1 or 2 with both will require two armour saves to avoid wounds.

Thirdly, the Melta Gun has a better Strength rating, which allows it to engage AV14 models, as well as the Melta rule and AP1 which makes it very very handy for Death or Glory against Tank Shock.

Taken altogether these three points should be construed as describing a different role for the Melta Gun than the Plasma Gun. The Melta Gun is for anti-tank and anti-monster work, while the Plasma is for anti-light vehicle and anti-heavy infantry. If you have other weapons for engaging light vehicles and heavy infantry, then obviously the Melta Gun will help close the anti-tank gap in your arsenal. My Blood Angels (Loyalist and Renegade) have these other weapons, hence why I prefer the Melta Gun.

If you have plenty of anti-tank weapons, and not much in the way of anti-light vehicle and heavy infantry weapons, then the Plasma Gun is preferable since you don't want to waste anti-tank weapons on light vehicles and heavy infantry when the alternative is more efficient (particularly when the enemy also fields many light infantry as well, such as Orks).

but still the longer range of a plasma wepon makes it more useful for an open map were as a melta gun is more useful in a close fighting city map. but you dont want all of ether a decent mix is required for a good fighting force

well if your using sm its not as much of a problem, wearas with ig the liklyness of them surviving to get close enough to the tank is unlikely

meltagun for squads that will be rushing at the army.

plasmagun for squads that will be stand and shoot.

for deep striking? Take both? But I would still personally prefer melta. Guard is a different story, guard need that edge vs MEQ I might consider plasma.

Don't forget that at 12" while it is only one shot it is still S8, for attacking S4 insta-kill. Every army has got them. Crises suits, FNP, Necrons, etc, etc. Meltaguns make Tau players cry inside.

lol i have to agree there

And, as Nurglitch has mentioned, Meltaguns work wonders for Death or Glory checks. With S 8, AP 1, 2d6 Armour Pen, there's almost nothing that can stand up to it.

invul. saves kinda screw that over though

What? Death or Glory is part of Tank Shocks. With Tanks.

2d6 Armour Pen only applies to vehicles, Moldovian.

I think he was refferring to the insta kill on str 4. If you want your suits to survive give them a 4+ inv save. Its better than most and you can even give them sheild drones to max your survivability, seeing as you can haave the crisis hide amongst the drones.

One question though, how does a melta fair against a Falcon decked out?

yes i was refering to the insta kill not the death or glory /tank shock bussiness

Ratbarf wrote:One question though, how does a melta fair against a Falcon decked out?

it gives you a very good chance at a glance, but that is it, of course.

that is what lascannons are for.

Neither weapon is better than the other as both weapons have completely different roles. It's like trying to compare Heavy Bolters and Lascannons - they both do different things, so to say one is 'better' than the other is to miss the point entirley.

BYE

H.B.M.C.: I'm glad you agree.

Very interesting arguement,

People tend to spam las/plas squads.
You would never put a melta in this situation (as it makes no sense)

They both have their uses (and as the last to posts have suggested they have 2 different roles)

As for the roles;

You need AT weapons: Go Melta.
You need high AP multi shot: Go Plasma.

You a jack of all trades (IE works in all situations better than the other) I would say Melta. The Assault option for me makes it the more flexible option.

But just an opinion.

As an extra added bonus for those of you that like melta over plasma... they're cheaper too.

As many have stated already, the melta is an assult weapon, anti-tank, and safe, plus generally cheaper in the new trend of codex's.

If you're fighting Plague Marines, Melta is really the way to go since the blasted Nurglites get a FNP save against Plasma.

After using plasma heavily for a long time, I've begun to convert my army over to Melta as it is much more tactically amenable to an assaulty army.

Ratbarf wrote:One question though, how does a melta fair against a Falcon decked out?

A melta at short range has a good chance of glancing a flacon, however the chances of killing it are slim. At ranges over 6", the plasma is the superior weapon due to the number of shots and if you can get to the rear arc, the plasma even out does the melta at short range.

Nurglitch, how is the plasma inferior to the melta for anti-monsterous creature work? It seems to me the difference between AP1 and 2 is nothing for MC's, so the only issues are range, str and rate of fire. The range question goes to the plasma hands down, the str difference of 1 is sort of negligable since few MCs are T 8 if I recall, and the rate of fire goes to the plasma.

Well the Str difference isn't negligible, Wehrkind. It's significant; it's just that the second shot more than makes up for it.

It's the 2+ against Carnifexes, Wraithguard, Nobz, and Obliterators, although the Plasma Gun is better against Hive Tyrants, Daemon Princes, and wounded Obliterators thanks to an equal wound threshold and armour penetration. That said, with Melta Guns you can sometimes charge in and finish a wounded beast off.