Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I am considering getting Rokkitz on my Boyz squads. I know a lot of people prefer the Big Shoota or nothing at all but I figure 2-3 Rokkits per unit in a green tide or kan wall you're looking at 6-9 rokkits. Sure the BS2 is not great but people swear by Rokkit Kans and those are only BS3. If you get 2 hits per turn it's a worthwhile investment IMO.

Problem is, it's not unlikely to not get 2 hits per turn. Also you waste an entire mob's shooting for three rokkits shooting at a vehicle, which they probably won't hurt anyway.

The reason that I don't like rokkits in boys squads is because it creates a conflict of purpose.

Boys are good at killing infantry. Rokkits are good at killing tanks. If you take rokkits, you're:

1) Not running, meaning you'll take more fire before you get to your opponent.
2) Shooting at tanks, meaning your boys can't assault any infantry that turn.
3) Tying up points that could be spent elsewhere.

Kanz are good with Rokkits because:

1) They tend not to run as much.
2) They are tank killers, so they're doing their job.
3) Because of 1 and 2, they aren't typing up points that should be spent elsewhere.

The idea of "Choppa the Dakka and Dakka the Choppa" is that you want to focus your strengths against your opponents weakness. So, you want to use your AT against your opponents Tanks and your AI against your opponents infantry.

Heffling wrote:The reason that I don't like rokkits in boys squads is because it creates a conflict of purpose.

Boys are good at killing infantry. Rokkits are good at killing tanks. If you take rokkits, you're:

1) Not running, meaning you'll take more fire before you get to your opponent.
2) Shooting at tanks, meaning your boys can't assault any infantry that turn.
3) Tying up points that could be spent elsewhere.

Kanz are good with Rokkits because:

1) They tend not to run as much.
2) They are tank killers, so they're doing their job.
3) Because of 1 and 2, they aren't typing up points that should be spent elsewhere.

The idea of "Choppa the Dakka and Dakka the Choppa" is that you want to focus your strengths against your opponents weakness. So, you want to use your AT against your opponents Tanks and your AI against your opponents infantry.

Well Said. A squad a 3 kans can put rokkits on tanks fairly regularly.

Joshawa wrote:

Heffling wrote:The reason that I don't like rokkits in boys squads is because it creates a conflict of purpose.

Boys are good at killing infantry. Rokkits are good at killing tanks. If you take rokkits, you're:

1) Not running, meaning you'll take more fire before you get to your opponent.
2) Shooting at tanks, meaning your boys can't assault any infantry that turn.
3) Tying up points that could be spent elsewhere.

Kanz are good with Rokkits because:

1) They tend not to run as much.
2) They are tank killers, so they're doing their job.
3) Because of 1 and 2, they aren't typing up points that should be spent elsewhere.

The idea of "Choppa the Dakka and Dakka the Choppa" is that you want to focus your strengths against your opponents weakness. So, you want to use your AT against your opponents Tanks and your AI against your opponents infantry.

Well Said. A squad a 3 kans can put rokkits on tanks fairly regularly.

This.

As someone who faces orks fairly often, I am more concerned about the 2 big shootas my opponent takes, then if he had 2 rokkits. Big shootas get 3 shots and are 36". Therefore, in a shoota boy squad, you can put some serious hurt out, and with 3 shots you will usually get contact with at least one. With a single rokkit shot, you really won't be killing much. There are better rokkit platforms.

PraetorDave wrote:As someone who faces orks fairly often, I am more concerned about the 2 big shootas my opponent takes, then if he had 2 rokkits. Big shootas get 3 shots and are 36". Therefore, in a shoota boy squad, you can put some serious hurt out, and with 3 shots you will usually get contact with at least one. With a single rokkit shot, you really won't be killing much. There are better rokkit platforms.

i think that the shootas arent boosted too much by the big shoota, and if you are between 24-36 you might as well run instead.

i also think that it makes sense to cram as many rokkits in as you can, its a good pot-shot against light vehicles, and not wasted against troops because a lot of them it insta-kilss so i dont see it as conflicting

I actually run rokkits in my mobs, and no I dont normally use them to shoot at tanks. As most people do Im sure, I play against alot of space marines and a Nid player. So rather I use the rokkits to KO marines or strip a wound or 2 off a MC before assaulting. Ive had them pay for themselves rather quickly in many games


So yea, give it a shot. The problem with most people is they get an idea and then ask everyone else what they should do about it. You want advice thats fine, but try it out yourself, everyone has different play styles, and what works for one wont work for the other. So take them and see if they fit

I just started running rokkits in my mobs just to fill out some points. To be honest, in the 2 or 3 games so far, they have earned their points back every time. We are talking 20 or 30 points for a 220 point mob already. It is not TOO much and it does give those mobs a little bit of punch.

Personally, I get tired of my orks running about not being able to hurt anything until a nob gets in close. It is kind of nice being able to reach out and touch someone with a rokkit. Granted, most miss. But when they kill something, it is fantastic!!

Green is Best! wrote:I just started running rokkits in my mobs just to fill out some points. To be honest, in the 2 or 3 games so far, they have earned their points back every time. We are talking 20 or 30 points for a 220 point mob already. It is not TOO much and it does give those mobs a little bit of punch.

Personally, I get tired of my orks running about not being able to hurt anything until a nob gets in close. It is kind of nice being able to reach out and touch someone with a rokkit. Granted, most miss. But when they kill something, it is fantastic!!

I like everything you said. Those are the same reasons I take them. Besides sometimes, depending on games and such, you just have to send a mob of boyz at a transport with something inside it. Now, I dont like assaulting transports because afterwards, your boyz are just sitting there ready to get assaulted, and Orks SUCK when they dont get the charge. So being able to down a transport in the shooting phase is fantastic.

This thread just made me give rokkits another try... after four games with a total of 24 rokkits (one unit of tankbustaz included) and only three hits total, I dropped them all.

Actually I think either one is a perfectly viable option, as my most common enemies are T3 armies, the big shoota pulls a little ahead for me.

Sometimes you get lucky, and when you do, having lots of rokkits is lethal. well worth it.

i've had a few turns where most of them hit, and it makes such a difference. especially when you expect them to miss

Heffling wrote:The reason that I don't like rokkits in boys squads is because it creates a conflict of purpose.

Boys are good at killing infantry. Rokkits are good at killing tanks. If you take rokkits, you're:

1) Not running, meaning you'll take more fire before you get to your opponent.
2) Shooting at tanks, meaning your boys can't assault any infantry that turn.
3) Tying up points that could be spent elsewhere.

Kanz are good with Rokkits because:

1) They tend not to run as much.
2) They are tank killers, so they're doing their job.
3) Because of 1 and 2, they aren't typing up points that should be spent elsewhere.

The idea of "Choppa the Dakka and Dakka the Choppa" is that you want to focus your strengths against your opponents weakness. So, you want to use your AT against your opponents Tanks and your AI against your opponents infantry.

ABSOLUTELY, not to mention Kans' BS 3...your basically being imperial guard with them =]

I'll saw give them a shot. But there are situation when you'll do more damage with the one rokkit then the 3 big shoota shots and that is aggainst space marines and variants (SW, BA).

Sm has 3+ save and T4 by default which means it takes 5+ to hit, 3+ to wound and then he makes his 3+ save which means he'll save at least 2/3 of his wounds.
1/6 * 2/3 * 1/3 = 2/36 shots of big shoota will do something. so 3 shots per boy = 3/1 * 2/36 = 6/36 or 2/12 chance of doing something per big shoota.

the rokkits hits on a 5+, wounds on a 2+ and does not allow the 3+ armor save of the marines.
1/2 * 5/6 = 5/12 chance of wounding a space marines per rokkit...

If you add possible FNP (sanguinary priest for BA for example), the big shoota chances of doing somthing are getting even lower while with the rokkits, it becomes wasted points to have FNP since it is an Insta death scenario.

So overall, when playing against SM, rokkits are more viable then shootas by a lot. vs other type of armies that, i have no experience aggainst them and cannot say anything, but guards or Tau will probably get totally destroyed.

It depends for me on the enemy

Against nids rokkits are golden (even with the lousy accuracy) against the big nid baddies, and ther mob can still pull one down in cc. Their big scary armour ignoring attacks make no nevermind when the only armour you wear is a shoulderplate, and orks are cheap enough to throw away piling attacks on an MC.

against marines and in most of my all comers lists (since almost all comers will be marines) i usually go for rokkits on vehicles, big shootas in the mobs

Ascalam wrote:against marines and in most of my all comers lists (since almost all comers will be marines) i usually go for rokkits on vehicles, big shootas in the mobs

Unless you live in my area, where you'd only find one loyalist marine army(any variant) per 15 players

I'm on the road again...

Love to, from a game perspective. The rolling vistas of humungous shoulder plates come in a rainbow of colours, but the gooey filling is all the same flavour.

A bit like M and M 's . I want more skittles in my life

And against Nids you can take Tankbustas without having to worry about Glory Hogs!

Indeed you can. I brought that to light a couple months ago here on dakka. Its one of those things you just look over until it hits you in the face. Tankbustas are just how you kick nids asses with Orks.....I mean, if there wasnt another way to do that already

And I don't care what people say, they're actually pretty useful against tanks, too. I know everyone's like "OMG Kiting!" but honestly, so few people are used to Tankbustas that they sometimes forget that they can be kited. And they still have a 24" threat range. My last game I was able to shake a Drednaught with 5 Bustas, through cover. Allowed me to drop some Kans on it the next turn, instead of it assaulting me. And even without a Nob w/PK, they all still have Tankbusta Bombs, and Bomb Squigs are ded useful.

S8 rokkits aren't bad against most tanks.

They'll barely tickle LRs and Liths though, which is why everyone badmouths them

Personally I take great satisfaction in ripping the engine out of a Metal Brick (tm) with Powerklaws

Anvildude wrote:And I don't care what people say, they're actually pretty useful against tanks, too. I know everyone's like "OMG Kiting!" but honestly, so few people are used to Tankbustas that they sometimes forget that they can be kited. And they still have a 24" threat range. My last game I was able to shake a Drednaught with 5 Bustas, through cover. Allowed me to drop some Kans on it the next turn, instead of it assaulting me. And even without a Nob w/PK, they all still have Tankbusta Bombs, and Bomb Squigs are ded useful.

Agreed. Its pretty awesome sticking busta bombs onto a tank. You suddenly feel like it was easy blowing a tank up, which isnt normal for Orks

Also itd be 30" threat, since they move and THEN shoot

How do you kite Tankbustas? It's not like you can make them move anywhere I don't want them to.

Well, unless you hide all your vehicles out of sight and park one into assault range. But that one vehicle is only kiting for one turn, as they will turn it into a smoldering wreck.

It's not 'kiting' per say, but instead a way to sort of prioritize the enemy's shooting phase. All Tankbustas must shoot at and attempt to assault the nearest visible enemy vehicle. That means, if you have tankbustas on one side of the board, and the enemy deploys a single Rhino on the other side of the board, those Bustas are gonna shoot at it, despite having absolutely no chance of being in range (I'm talking long edges here). That means they're almost less than useless against any footslogging army with at least one vehicle, especially if that vehicle is Fast, and can stay out of range of them. This also means that if there's a single visible enemy vehicle, they cannot Run, and can't Waaagh!! properly, not to mention being basically at the mercy of any other non-vehicle units between them and their quarry.

So no, you can't really 'kite' them in the sense that you're forcing them to move, but unless the Ork player can move them somewhere where they cannot see any vehicles, they're gonna be useless against anything else.

On the other hand, in today's Heavy Mech Meta, it's unlikely that you're not going to have a vehicle within 30", though cover is an issue.

Anvildude wrote: All Tankbustas must shoot at and attempt to assault the nearest visible enemy vehicle.

Actually, this is a common mistake: Tankbustas must attempt to shoot and assault an enemy vehicle if there is one in line of sight, but nowhere in the glory hog rule is it stated that it must be the nearest visible vehicle.

Everything you've said about situations with only one visible vehicle, though, still applies.

That's true, but unless you're being overrun by a Kan Wall or some other Vehicle Spam list, you're usually going to want to shoot and assault the nearest one, simply because that's the one you can shoot and assault.

Be that as it may, it's not a restriction. If your enemy drives a worthless vehicle up to them to distract them, you can still shoot at the important targets further away if you want. You just can't shoot or assault infantry if there are vehicles in view. That's all it means.

Plus you can easily block sight to the lone vehicle by driving a battlewagon or trukk in the way, not to mention just moving out of sight. They are clunky, but not as bad as one might think, they gave my last opponent's scorpions hell, even though he kept moving warwalkers into their sight.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And, of course, lootaz can blow the single vehicle away to stop those shenanigans.

You know, I find it somewhat funny that an opponent might move a vehicle into the line of sight of Rokkit-wielding Ork Boyz, instead of out of it. Actually, I find it really funny.