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So, I ask this because I'm almost certain I'm in the right on this, but I don't want to cheat a friend of an advantage if it's supposed to be that way. He says that markerlights fire either during the psychic phase, or before all other weapons in the shooting phase (so all units with markerlights use their markerlights, then all units shoot normal weapons). Now I can't find anything in the Tau codex or the BRB that indicates that, but I could easily be missing something as i'm somewhat new to the game.

So my question is, who's right, and if I'm wrong, can someone point me to where the rules indicate this?

Your friend is incorrect, it is treated as any other Weapon in the Unit.
Page 68 of the Tau Codex, Markerlight Section, begins by stating they are Ranged Weapons and lacks any instruction saying to treat them different to Default till half way through the Shooting Sequence.

Yep they're just regular guns and shoot DURING THE SHOOTING PHASE, WITH THEIR UNIT, same as any other ranged weapon.

I believe there is a specific exception for *networked* markerlights, which fire before the rest of the models in the same unit. (but not at the beginning of the phase.)

Pretty much correct here all around, but for clarity and completeness.

Markerlights are shooting weapons which shoot when the unit makes a shooting attack.. They do not modify the shooting attacks of the unit firing the Markerlights, but they can be used to modify the shooting attacks of subsequent units.

Networked Markerlights, which are less common and clearly indicated on the datasheet for the unit, are the exception to this. A unit that has Networked Markerlights fires the Networed Markerlights first when making a shooting attack. It may then use the effects of the Networked Markerlights to modify its own shooting or the shooting of subsequent units,

Note that each Markerlight token can only be used to benefit the shooting of the one unit that redeems it, no others.

So the ignores cover one is only for the unit that 'redeems' the markerlight tokens? the targeted model can still take cover saves from other sources of fire?

 carldooley wrote:
So the ignores cover one is only for the unit that 'redeems' the markerlight tokens? the targeted model can still take cover saves from other sources of fire?

Correct with two provisos.

1) Markerlights are not the only source of Ignores Cover in the Tau codex, so a subsequent unit may have that from another source.

2) Markerlight tokens not spent by a shooting unit may be spent by a later unit shooting at the same target. So if there were still 2 unused tokens on the target unit after the first unit finished it shooting a second unit could spend those for Ignore Cover.

Thanks everybody! I figured as much, like I said I couldn't find anything other than what supported my argument, but I didn't want to let my newbiness get in the way of playing the game right!

lycio wrote:
So, I ask this because I'm almost certain I'm in the right on this, but I don't want to cheat a friend of an advantage if it's supposed to be that way. Now I can't find anything in the Tau codex or the BRB that indicates that, but I could easily be missing something as i'm somewhat new to the game.

So my question is, who's right, and if I'm wrong, can someone point me to where the rules indicate this?

Your attitude is commendable. Keep up the good researching!
(I wish the people I played with had this sort of attitude toward the rules)