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I have an Ad Mech army list that I am building using the Ryza Forge world rules and one of the unique Arcana Mechanicum is a weapon called Weapon XCIX that replaces the Volkite Blaster of a Dominus. The question is which one should I take? First a comparison;

Volkite Blaster 24" Heavy 3 6 0 1 For each wound roll of 6+ the target suffers a mortal wound in addition to any other damage
Weapon XCIX 24" Heavy 1 7 -1 1 The same

So for two less shots I get +1 strength and +1 AP. On one hand the main point of the Volkite Blaster to me is that 6+ causing mortal wounds and going from 3 shots to 1 means I will be making two thirds less mortal wounds. On the other I find the blaster on the whole to not be very reliable and that regular 0 in AP really hurting it and adding a plus 1 to strength just makes it better. There are other relics I can take so it isn't like I have to but I would like other peoples opinion.

Weapon 99 is 1/6-1/3 more likely to wound. That definitely doesn't make up for the loss of 2 shots.

If there isn't some other difference you haven't mentioned then I'd say it's just worse.

Unless you're fighting an army of T6 models, I really don't see the point. Even then, I don't think the math makes up for the loss of two bullets.

I am not going to do the math either, but this is the way I look at it:
Against most targets the +1 strength is going to be meaningless, as 6 is already double Guard Toughness while it takes an 8 to double Marine Toughness.
So it is going to be the -1 to the Armour Save that has to tip the scales, and as it is costing 2 additional shots in order to get this modifier... far from worth it.

Having now seen the codex, Weapon 99 is Heavy 3, and it has D2 as well.

It's just a straight upgrade to the Volkite Blaster.

 Purifier wrote:
Having now seen the codex, Weapon 99 is Heavy 3, and it has D2 as well.

It's just a straight upgrade to the Volkite Blaster.

That makes more sense!

Going Ryza you have access to the First-Field Testing trait that gives +1S and +1D to any of your weapons, relics excluded. So if you want to use your free relic for something else, take this trait and you'll have a regular Volkite Blaster with S7, AP0 D2. The only thing you get more by using the Weapon XCIX is the AP-1, which, if you wanted to go vehicle hunting, is better than AP0. So it's a choice between a Warlord trait and a Relic in the end.

 Aaranis wrote:
Going Ryza you have access to the First-Field Testing trait that gives +1S and +1D to any of your weapons, relics excluded. So if you want to use your free relic for something else, take this trait and you'll have a regular Volkite Blaster with S7, AP0 D2. The only thing you get more by using the Weapon XCIX is the AP-1, which, if you wanted to go vehicle hunting, is better than AP0. So it's a choice between a Warlord trait and a Relic in the end.

Except with more shots the AP0 is still better. This isn't like the gun is maybe AP-3. It's at -1. 3 shots wins completely and I honestly have trouble finding a mathematical niche. Definitely one of the worst relics, if not the worst, created so far.

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:

 Aaranis wrote:
Going Ryza you have access to the First-Field Testing trait that gives +1S and +1D to any of your weapons, relics excluded. So if you want to use your free relic for something else, take this trait and you'll have a regular Volkite Blaster with S7, AP0 D2. The only thing you get more by using the Weapon XCIX is the AP-1, which, if you wanted to go vehicle hunting, is better than AP0. So it's a choice between a Warlord trait and a Relic in the end.

Except with more shots the AP0 is still better. This isn't like the gun is maybe AP-3. It's at -1. 3 shots wins completely and I honestly have trouble finding a mathematical niche. Definitely one of the worst relics, if not the worst, created so far.

Except the OP has misread the relic completely, and it's actually 3 shots. It's in the thread.

 Purifier wrote:
Having now seen the codex, Weapon 99 is Heavy 3, and it has D2 as well.

It's just a straight upgrade to the Volkite Blaster.

I appear to have misread the entry. Thanks for pointing that out.

 Purifier wrote:

Slayer-Fan123 wrote:

 Aaranis wrote:
Going Ryza you have access to the First-Field Testing trait that gives +1S and +1D to any of your weapons, relics excluded. So if you want to use your free relic for something else, take this trait and you'll have a regular Volkite Blaster with S7, AP0 D2. The only thing you get more by using the Weapon XCIX is the AP-1, which, if you wanted to go vehicle hunting, is better than AP0. So it's a choice between a Warlord trait and a Relic in the end.

Except with more shots the AP0 is still better. This isn't like the gun is maybe AP-3. It's at -1. 3 shots wins completely and I honestly have trouble finding a mathematical niche. Definitely one of the worst relics, if not the worst, created so far.

Except the OP has misread the relic completely, and it's actually 3 shots. It's in the thread.

Oh gak. I have kept reading it was one shot and have been wondering why anyone was talking about it.

What they could have done for a more *interesting* weapon 99, would be to make it 12" Pistol 1, 7/-1/D2.

It would take on a completely different role, so it could actually outperform the Volkite blaster in some instances. Instead we get the laziest upgrade to a Volkite blaster imaginable. Almost just the standard Ryza weapon-upgrade as determined by the Ryza warlord trait.

But GW has gone down the route of "no weapons that aren't in the kit" and that really limits them in terms of interesting rules.

Does change everything,
Agreed as well Purifier, I hate when the writers make a weapon a clear upgrade to the default... a tactical/situational choice is far more interesting.