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They would have to possess some besides the planet killer, right?

If so why isn't it used as much?

If the Imperium can simply shoot a shell at a planet and watc it go boom why couldn't chaos?

I understand the argument that a well protected planet would have a fleet protecting it but with the technology they use, it would be simple to aim at a planet and pull the trigger and have good accuracy. They wouldn't need to get close.

So why don't we see chaos using it, more often?

Abbaddon has been saving them for the Terra and the solar system.

But realistically I think it's just because they have no need. Chaos either wants to raid the planet for it's resources or to worship the chaos gods on it. Both of which aren't that achievable after you've blown it to bits with an Exterminatus payload analogue.

Why waste your own munitions on a planet when you can open a warp portal on it, get some daemons on it, then have the imperials do it for you?

 TheLumberJack wrote:
Why waste your own munitions on a planet when you can open a warp portal on it, get some daemons on it, then have the imperials do it for you?

Oh that's just devious XD

I never thought of it like that.

I'm the Cadians can answer that question.

Well with Cadia, they would have saved a lot of troops just throwing a exterminatus munition on it... I get that it has the best fleet protecting it but if you appear from the warp, fire the munition at the planet... time and effort saved.

Maybe Cadia had plot armor?

usmcmidn wrote:
Well with Cadia, they would have saved a lot of troops just throwing a exterminatus munition on it... I get that it has the best fleet protecting it but if you appear from the warp, fire the munition at the planet... time and effort saved.

Maybe Cadia had plot armor?

it's possiable exterminatus is also something easily defended against, I don't seem to recall any situation where it was applied without total orbital superiority

Chaos forces have been known to burn planets. Tanith for example.

Exterminatus requires orbital supremacy to allow bombardment across the whole area (planets are big).

Chaos fleets will probably be running low of planet killing material by now. But they can produce some if plot demands.

I'm not sure on the attraction of Exterminatus to chaos. Generally, I get the impression they want to spread corruption, not total disruption. That said, there are examples where chaos characters have caused the destruction of planets, maybe even systems worth of populations. Generally this is done as part of a pact to elevate themselves to daemonic status, than anything else.

usmcmidn wrote:
Well with Cadia, they would have saved a lot of troops just throwing a exterminatus munition on it... I get that it has the best fleet protecting it but if you appear from the warp, fire the munition at the planet... time and effort saved.

Maybe Cadia had plot armor?

Abaddon planned to take, not destroy, Cadia, because he could use it's warp suppressive capabilities as a lens in order to focus the 'Crimson Path' (the spilling of the Warp into the Materium) to follow a direct path to Terra. With Cadia destroyed, he was not able to do this, so the tear in reality instead spread all the way across the Galaxy, instead of to his preferred destination.

A focused tear in reality would have shepherded the chaos forces to where Abaddon wanted them and progress the Long War. The unfocused tear that resulted from the destruction of Cadia means indisciplined Chas forces are free to come and go as they please, furthering Eternal War objectives, but ultimately working against the objective of the Long War.

They most certainly do, but why ruin perfectly good killing grounds and a potential Daemon world?

usmcmidn wrote:
If you appear from the warp, fire the munition at the planet... time and effort saved.

In general you don't just "appear from the warp" in a spot where you can fire immediately. Imperial ships (and their CSM counterparts) normally aim for the outer fringes of the system where the incredible gravity of the star isn't as noticable. It's simply much too risky to operate warp drives deep in planetary systems even if you're a Chaos commander with too little sanity left to bother worrying about your own life - you still want to have an operational ship for killing enemies! By the time the ship carrying Exterminatus munitions gets into position to use them the defending fleet has had weeks or months to redeploy for containing and destroying it.

Besides, large missiles are often shot down by fighters so space superiority is really a must for Exterminatus.

Azariah Kyras got the Inquisition to do his exterminatus work for him as an offering to Khorne.

Captyn_Bob wrote:
Chaos forces have been known to burn planets. Tanith for example.

Exterminatus requires orbital supremacy to allow bombardment across the whole area (planets are big).

Chaos fleets will probably be running low of planet killing material by now. But they can produce some if plot demands.

I was under the impression that the Imperium has munitions that will kill a planet in one shot. This reduces the need for orbital supremacy. Chaos would certainly have these as well.

Spetulhu wrote:

usmcmidn wrote:
If you appear from the warp, fire the munition at the planet... time and effort saved.

In general you don't just "appear from the warp" in a spot where you can fire immediately. Imperial ships (and their CSM counterparts) normally aim for the outer fringes of the system where the incredible gravity of the star isn't as noticable. It's simply much too risky to operate warp drives deep in planetary systems even if you're a Chaos commander with too little sanity left to bother worrying about your own life - you still want to have an operational ship for killing enemies! By the time the ship carrying Exterminatus munitions gets into position to use them the defending fleet has had weeks or months to redeploy for containing and destroying it.

Besides, large missiles are often shot down by fighters so space superiority is really a must for Exterminatus.

Also most important systems have fleets, outlieing patrols ships and ground and orbital defense stations, or starforts in case of biggest.
A main imperial system with vital infrastructure is well defended.

While Chaos undoubtedly possesses Exterminatus capabilities, the use of them in conventional campaigns contradicts their mantra of corruption and conversion into a place receptive to the dark gods. If they deployed Exterminatus, it wound be in a situation of complete orbital supremacy and as an example or terror tactic against a strategically less-important world.

Don't forget too that there are different methods to Exterminatus a world. Blasting it with a lot of munitions is but one way to wipe out a world, a couple other methods are virus bombing a world, or dropping super-sized and super-feral Ogryns down to rip and tear through everything - that would be interesting to see!

And yes, Chaos has the firepower to Exterminatus worlds. Heck, Abaddon's Planet Killer flagship can do pull a Death Star and destroy entire planets with a volley of its main super guns. If nothing else, they can just drop a Blackstone Fortress onto a planet and let that take care of it....

Have people forgot Abaddon's Planet Killer ship he used in 12th Black Crusade?

usmcmidn wrote:

I was under the impression that the Imperium has munitions that will kill a planet in one shot. This reduces the need for orbital supremacy. Chaos would certainly have these as well.

The life-eater virus is probably the most common form of exterminatus employed by the Imperium. When deployed they typically use multiple warheads, wait for it to consume organic matter and produce gases which are then ignited by lance strikes. It's possible a single warhead would be unlikely to traverse the entire planet.

That said the Deathwatch RPG says the Deathwatch have access to kill-ships which are small, automated stealth spacecraft which enter a system undetected, hit a planet with exterminatus weaponry and then slingshot away which suggests it doesn't take much time.

But yeah basically Chaos will have access to the common forms of Imperial exterminatus and likely others besides but I doubt they'd often get much benefit from using them.

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

usmcmidn wrote:

I was under the impression that the Imperium has munitions that will kill a planet in one shot. This reduces the need for orbital supremacy. Chaos would certainly have these as well.

The life-eater virus is probably the most common form of exterminatus employed by the Imperium. When deployed they typically use multiple warheads, wait for it to consume organic matter and produce gases which are then ignited by lance strikes. It's possible a single warhead would be unlikely to traverse the entire planet.

That said the Deathwatch RPG says the Deathwatch have access to kill-ships which are small, automated stealth spacecraft which enter a system undetected, hit a planet with exterminatus weaponry and then slingshot away which suggests it doesn't take much time.

But yeah basically Chaos will have access to the common forms of Imperial exterminatus and likely others besides but I doubt they'd often get much benefit from using them.

Chaos is often after souls, materials. General raiding and such.
Extermitus rarely fits with the aims.

Also. Demaons, well they wanna invade and eat souls not blow it up from orbit.

I guess some would, but why would they use it?

Its a scorched earth tactic. Do they have anywhere to scorched earth to? Do they have earth to scorch?
Warbands have a hard enough time getting war materials, let alone destroying them. I think even if they did, it doesn't make a lot of sense using it.

Maybe as part of a larger strategic campaign launched by a strong and centralised warband - but a part from that. I don't see it happening.

The more powerful of Nurgle's plagues pretty much classify as exterminatus-grade weapons.
Chaos however, as others have already said, rarely has need for exterminatus. They need to capture territory for resources, denying territory to the Imperium by destroying it has no strategic value for them (the Imperium won't miss the resources anyways).
Also, Chaos fleets tend to be smaller and weaker than Imperial fleets and therefore Chaos only rarely gets the orbital superiority needed to perform Exterminatus.

That said, there is a Chaos warband entirely dedicated to exterminatus. Not just of a single planet, but of the entire galaxy. They are called the Purge, and are known for liberally using lots of exterminatus-grade weapons.


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usmcmidn wrote:

Captyn_Bob wrote:
Chaos forces have been known to burn planets. Tanith for example.

Exterminatus requires orbital supremacy to allow bombardment across the whole area (planets are big).

Chaos fleets will probably be running low of planet killing material by now. But they can produce some if plot demands.

I was under the impression that the Imperium has munitions that will kill a planet in one shot. This reduces the need for orbital supremacy. Chaos would certainly have these as well.

Cyclonic torpedoes, yes. They are however very slow and easily shot down even by relatively light weaponry. Deploying them is only possible if enemy capabilities to intercept have been taken out. Same goes for the Life-eater virus and most other exterminatus weapons. Other forms of exterminatus (like orbital bombardment) take a lot of time.

Dead men and woman can't be corrupted or join cults and it's hard to loot a world when you destroyed everything. Though mass sacrifice might benefit chaos short term, long term the legions would be in trouble if they didn't recruit.

BrianDavion wrote:

it's possiable exterminatus is also something easily defended against, I don't seem to recall any situation where it was applied without total orbital superiority