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Since 6th edition has not only increased Pulse Rifle rapid-fire range to 15", but also allows Firewarriors to move and shoot once upto 30" with their Pulse Rifles, GW had to essentially double the firepower of the Pulse Carbine to help it keep up.

But because Pulse Carbines are no longer pinning, and because of the above changes, I think they are more useless than they have ever been. At least in 5th edition there was no overwatch and you had to choose between move & fire twice at 12" or move and fire once at 18" + pinning + charge (deny enemy charge bonus without purchasing photon grenades). Now all of this is out of the question. For one, charging is idiotic as you deny yourself overwatch AND become the victim of the attacker's overwatch. Secondly, you come with photon grenades by default.

So really, the only thing the Pulse Carbine gives you is 3 more inches of double shot range, but you're sacrificing 30" one-shot range both stationary and mobile.

Am I missing something or is the Pulse Carbine for regular Firewarriors a steaming pile of crap?

Heh, at least those who built their FWs with Carbines can use them as Pathfinders.

I also believe that back in the day, if you wanted to field a bigger sized squad of Pathfinders, buying a box of FWs and kitting them out with Pulse Carbines was actually cheaper than buying the metal Pathfinder models. Now of course your Firewarrior-Pathfinders will look a bit odd as their armor save is only 5+ now.

Uhh, Carbines still have pinning, guy. They would theoretically also give you additional chances to glance down vehicles before charging in with the haywire grenades you theoretically bought. Certainly isn't how most Tau are played nowadays, but it is an option in your codex.

The three main points are the ability to assault after firing, pinning, and +3 range on two shots.

The first is highly situational, but there are times where you do want to charge with firewarriors, the most frequent one as protection from shooting on the enemies turn. Receiving overwatch fire is going to be less punishing then being shot at, and it denies options to the enemy force for a round or two.

Pinning is a very strong effect, but is unfortunately rendered rather rare due to the high leadership values around. Its nice, but not something you should really be putting a lot of stock in. The +3 inch on double tap is where most of the value is, notably from deploying out of a devilfish. Those extra inches give you more safety from assault and can let you reach out a bit further when needed. Its not that good when you have multiple fish all focusing on the same target (because then you bring an ethereal), but for lone or pairs of fish its a decent option.

I'm not saying that carbines are awesome, but they do have there uses when you build around them. You just can't treat them like rifles and expect them to perform well.