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Th number of additional hits is ~1/4 more than what a normal Reaper would generate. (0.83 - 0.67) / 0.67 = 0.24

You should also factor in how many more wounds you'll generate with a S8 weapon fired twice vs a S5 weapon fire twice against the normal 40k enemy (Marines). It is a 2+ vs a 3+, after all. It isn't a whole lot, and IMO not worth the points spent.

In 5th edition though, being able to barrage anyone, re-roll wounds, AND negate their cover...that has proven itself very dangerous.

Because the exarch fires twice with his reper launcher he has enough of a boost to maybe be worth the 12pts, but you could use the 12pts elsewhere easily enough, and its easier and ever so slightly more cost effective to roll all the dice on 3's.

A naked exarch is ok, but just a gimic, a tooled exarch gets expensive.

The only possible combo I would go with is exarch crack shot and reaper launcher. Removing cover saves is a bonus that doesnt fit well into stats, ideally you should be shooting Meq in the open, but it doesnt always work out like that. Still its best to just have another ordinary reaper instead, as the rest of the squad has to make do with its regular shooting, and if they have 3+ bunker saves, you are shooting the wrong target.

When the rules change to 5th I might have a second glance at the Tempest launcher, but not quite yet. If the new blast rules are never roll to hit, just scatter, Bs5 tempest launcher exarchs will be a bleeding hole of wasted points.

Also something people forget, Dark Repaers are very nasty at taking down light vehicles. People hide infantry from Dark Reapers then see Land Speeders fall to them forgetting that 10 S5 shots can quite easily do the job.

Well, if you scatter you'd reduce the scatter by 5 inches.

It does have a use, but since the scatter reduction isn't currently voluntary (i.e. you MUST reduce) it's actually a flaw in the game system...being able to manipulate where you 'scatter' should be something highly-trained troops can do, after all.

tegeus-Cromis wrote:Lady_Canoness:

Fast shot with 3 templates would make this gun even more valuable

Not really. When it comes to the tempest launcher, even before factoring abundant cover in the, the reroll on a 4+ is as good as the extra shot against MEqs (50% more wounds vs 50% more shots) and it costs half as much. The choice is clear IMO. Ignoring cover just tips the scale from "must have" to "you'd be mad not to get it."

Time to chime in on this issue. Tegeus-Cromis has it right here. I sat down with a buddy of mine and rolled out 200 rounds of shooting with the tempest launcher to see what it would do to marines in various formations with various exarch powers and what not. The end result was that fast shot just isn't worth it. Crack shot is cheaper and provides not only rerolls to wound, but ignores cover (which is huge). Giving the exarch both is a waste since you can only use one at a time (sort of like giving a farseer two powers but not buying spirit stones). In practice on the battle field, this has proven to be true and now I only ever field my reaper exarch with a tempest launcher and crack shot.

As far as the missile launcher goes, I would highly sugest that you avoid it. It makes the unit more versatile at the expense of making it less powerful. Sacrificing ability for utility has never been a good idea for any eldar unit. Dark reapers are virtually unparalleled heavy infantry death. They kill MEQ's like there was no tomorrow, but they are completely unable to hurt AV12 armor. Why would you ever waste the incredible firepower the unit provides to go after a tank? It just boggles my mind. The only real consideration I see for the missile launcher is that the tempest launcher only has a 36" range while the reaper and missile launchers have 48" range. If this is really such an issue for you, just leave the exarch with the reaper launcher...or skip the exarch entirely.

It was pure theoryhammer on my part (50% more wounds vs 50% more shots--logically equivalent, right?), btu I'm glad to hear it bears out in practice.

Like I said, though, there are times when the EML actually does complement the reapers perfectly, and that's when you're hunting MCs. If I expected to play lots and of nidzilla and Chaos with DPs (or Plague Marines), I could see taking this upgrade.

tegeus-Cromis wrote:Like I said, though, there are times when the EML actually does complement the reapers perfectly, and that's when you're hunting MCs. If I expected to play lots and of nidzilla and Chaos with DPs (or Plague Marines), I could see taking this upgrade.

I guess I will have to concede that point. The missile launcher would be a good addition if you are going after high toughness or T4(5) + "Feel No Pain" targets. In general though I think that pointing the reapers at a different target (if possible) and using a more fitting unit to kill those targets is the better way to go, but that's just me and your army may not have a better unit for the job. All in all though, in an all commers list crack shot and the tempest launcher will do a lot more for you than the missile launcher and fast shot will.