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Someone suggested that use a battery of grot manned Kannons in a Mech list I posted. Are they worth their salt? Are Zzap guns a viable option? I've used Zzap guns as anti terminator but not much else.

Help dakka. I need guidance.

Absolutely. If you have the heavy slots available, you should take them with full squads and full ammo runts. I think zzap guns are a little expensive for what they do, and I'd suggest kannons or lobbas depending on what you need. The grots when in cover are surprisingly resilient as they get T7 from the artillery.

Well if your in a mech list then your heavy slots are probably used up by battlewagons.

If not then yeah, I would say they are the seond best heavy option , zzap guns are fun altho they can wiff on their random value sometimes. I myself preffer the lobba for a kinda middle of the road barrage.

Kannons work just like missles for any SM army nice range of what they can and cant hit and are not worried about shooting at most things since you can fire either frag or krak shots.

If you have a few spare points take ammo runts, escpecially with lobbas, the reroll to hit helps.

Lobbas always seem to kill a lot more than their points. Kannons are a little less reliable but they can handle high armor vehicles which isn't true of many other ork's ranged shooting.

I think Battlewagons are the best Heavy Support choice for Orks, but Lobbas are 2nd, and Kannons are 3rd.

I honestly never really tried kannons or zzap guns but I know for certain that lobbas are a gem in the ork codex. I absolutely recommend no more than a unit of 3 lobbas with ammo runts.

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering the same thing myself. I'm thinking of maxing out my HS with every Big Gun.The GW model is a bit steep for the amount I want however, so I'm going to dig in the bitz box and see what I come up with.

Just to compare: i've tried kannonz and zzap gunz also. They were almost useless and did almost nothing. While lobbas have won me a number of games.

What is your mech list if you don't mind me asking? I've personally never fielded them mysels as I am a fan of walker spam. I am just curious what your going to surround them with.

Someone was just talking about Zzap guns being AP2 in another thread. With some ammo runs they could be good at shooting things that have an armor save of 2

The list I'm running is only 1000 points, it has two Battle wagons. One with MANZ and one with Boyz so I have two heavy slots open. Someone on the thread suggesed that I take a squad of kannons over a deff dread (not a straight up trade but thats the biggest change out).

The deff dread was not doing much for me so I figured i'd give it a go.

So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

 Rismonite wrote:
Someone was just talking about Zzap guns being AP2 in another thread. With some ammo runs they could be good at shooting things that have an armor save of 2

They are one of the very few things Orks get that are AP 2

Str is random, but if you are using them on infantry rather than vehicles it's far more likely to be useful.

They are really REALLY overpriced for that role though, since you only get 3 shots at BS 3.

I like the zapp concept, but not the price tag. They used to auto-hit, which made them a lot more useful....


I use kannons as throwaway light anti-tank. They are cheap and relatively effective as transport killers or supporting fire.

Lobbas have better range and can fire indirect, which allows you to drop small blasts all over the backfield.

Both are useful, cheap and reasonably effective.

I've had pretty good luck with zapp guns. They're a bit random but the AP 2 can be very helpful... as can the (occasionally) high strength. Will have to try lobbas, though I don't see a lot of infantry heavy armies around here... still mostly vehicles & transports.

compared to the battlewagon,

nope not really worth the slot choice...

if you dont want/need BW's andhave a more shooty army, sure go for it... but the ork artillary is over costed compared to its effectiveness 75pts for 3 str 4 or 5 ap 5 small blasts vs 75 for a large str 9 ap 3 one from IG artillary


Automatically Appended Next Post:
that being said the lobbas would be the only ones id take, as they fill a decent barrage niche in the ork dex, and are ok for taking out small units of stuff...


but again, you take up a BW slot with them, so not so hot unless you are foot slooging

 Warboss Zarruk wrote:
So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

I know it seems odd. Kannon's blast is very similar to Lobba's, and they have a S8 single shot. The key is that Lobbas are Barrage, and Kannons are not. That means:
1) They don't require line of sight
2) Cover saves are from the center of the blast marker rather than the firing unit.
3) It is Pinning (Units that take a wound, must take a leadership test, if they fail they must "Go To Ground" and can only shoot snap shots next turn).
4) 2nd and 3rd shot placement is slightly better.

If I were fielding two units of Big Guns, I would probably do 1 unit of Kannons, and 1 unit of Lobbas. But if you have to pick just one, Lobbas all the way.

I think that's my new army motto: "LOBBAS ALL DA WAY!"

I use Zzap Kannons. They were disappointing. They don't fire enough shots to be anti-infrantry, and 2d6 isn't enough to reliably have a high enough strength to hurt monsters and vehicles.

A pity, because I scratch built mine using foam board, hacked up bases, a pair of spare lascannons a friend gave me and the zzap cannon from a battlewagon kit, and a set of grots for the crew.

Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.

 PipeAlley wrote:
Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.

Mine are a lot simpler than that. I just glued the scope from the Ork Boys box on top of it and called it a day

Unless you're gunning for AP2 infantry, Zzap Guns are way over-priced and too random to be effective. You're much better off with a Kannon or a Lobba. Which one you choose usually depends on what kind of army you're running.

The Lobba is S5 AP5 with Barrage while the Kannon is S4 AP5 and lacks Barrage. Barrage can be nice because you don't need LoS, but overall I find the Kannon more versatile, since it can fire at vehicles if you need it to.

If you're going to try to win a shooting war against a Riptide, I suppose a Zzap Gun is an expensive option that will work some of the time... but you've got to get a lot of dice rolls to go your way to pull it off.

I've run a Kannon battery several times and it's always been worth it. I ran a Lobba battery just a couple times... and honestly most of the time I'd wished I had Kannons instead. I missed being able to use those Rokkit shots to kill vehicles.

If you're going shooty with Orks, go all the way. You don't need those Heavy Support slots for Battlewagons. Use them for Looted Wagons with Boom Guns.

I've thrown out the Zzap gun battery. Which is unfortunae because I made 3 kick ass Zzap gun models with krew.

I like the Kannon for that Str 8 option against MCs and Vehicles, but the lobbas sound like a good bit of fun. Only taking one or the other, which would you choose?

@Murrdox I love boomwagons but they often do not pay for themselves, and just get stomped before they can get a direct hit. And my orks are not shooty other than some lootas and possibly a unit of Big Gunz. I like smashing face rather

I should have built lobbas instead of zzap guns. In hindsight, that was the artillery I should have built. I will still keep my Zzaps though; that was a fine bit of scratch building.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 PipeAlley wrote:
Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Lobbas are the closest thing to snipers Orks can get, since they haven't been able to take snipers since Spring of 2008.

Taking out a banner of devastation or Mark of the Wulfen/ Special Weapon Mook is where Lobbas really shine!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Yes, upside down LAscannons with a little bit of telephone wire make great Looted Zzap Guns.

Mine are a lot simpler than that. I just glued the scope from the Ork Boys box on top of it and called it a day

pft.. I got a couple of boyz with a stikkbom glued to a slugga here and there to make it look like a scope.. lulz are had everytime I pick them up.

Zzap guns used to be great in the previous codex - autohit but wildly random strength, very orky.

Presuming GW doesn't decide to nerf ork artillery - 6th ed made them unexpectedly good, but mostly by accident - then hopefully we'll have an artillery kit and some cool rules coming in the new codex. Fingers crossed.

I found that 3 s8 shots with 36 range for almost static models even with rerolls are meh. On paper, they're nice, cheap and durable. But when they face a real opponent, they don't do much.
While lobbas have better range and barrage. There were many fights where this nice gunz allowed me to get a victory.
In every game vs tau or ig or anything with some footslogas - they shine. With new barrage rules and their fancy cheap rerolls they snipe out such key units as pathfinders or marker drones that hide behind tough commanders, sergeants, special weapons and are nice vs clustered foes.

I agree with what others have said. Lobbas have been extremely effective for me and being able to use ammo runts to reroll the initial scatter is huge. Lobbas have helped me win games simply because they can hit objective campers that my army may not be able to see normally. This is a huge tactical advantage.

That said, I would never take the Lobba upgrade onto the battlewagon since you can't fire it as a snap shot and a single small blast is not as effective as 3.

All this Lobba talk has given me delusions of WAAGH! I've got a game this weekend against my CSM buddy. Just for fun, I think that I will deploy 2-3 units of Lobbas. Goodbye Cultists. We'll see how my opponent fares.

tag8833 wrote:

 Warboss Zarruk wrote:
So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

I know it seems odd. Kannon's blast is very similar to Lobba's, and they have a S8 single shot. The key is that Lobbas are Barrage, and Kannons are not. That means:
1) They don't require line of sight
2) Cover saves are from the center of the blast marker rather than the firing unit.
3) It is Pinning (Units that take a wound, must take a leadership test, if they fail they must "Go To Ground" and can only shoot snap shots next turn).
4) 2nd and 3rd shot placement is slightly better.

If I were fielding two units of Big Guns, I would probably do 1 unit of Kannons, and 1 unit of Lobbas. But if you have to pick just one, Lobbas all the way.

Can you please point me to the book\page number where it defines lobbas as barrage? I have my ork book in front of me right now and I cannot find it.

osirisx69 wrote:

tag8833 wrote:

 Warboss Zarruk wrote:
So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

I know it seems odd. Kannon's blast is very similar to Lobba's, and they have a S8 single shot. The key is that Lobbas are Barrage, and Kannons are not. That means:
1) They don't require line of sight
2) Cover saves are from the center of the blast marker rather than the firing unit.
3) It is Pinning (Units that take a wound, must take a leadership test, if they fail they must "Go To Ground" and can only shoot snap shots next turn).
4) 2nd and 3rd shot placement is slightly better.

If I were fielding two units of Big Guns, I would probably do 1 unit of Kannons, and 1 unit of Lobbas. But if you have to pick just one, Lobbas all the way.

Can you please point me to the book\page number where it defines lobbas as barrage? I have my ork book in front of me right now and I cannot find it.

It says G48. G was the old way of denoting if a weapon was a barrage weapon.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

osirisx69 wrote:

tag8833 wrote:

 Warboss Zarruk wrote:
So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

I know it seems odd. Kannon's blast is very similar to Lobba's, and they have a S8 single shot. The key is that Lobbas are Barrage, and Kannons are not. That means:
1) They don't require line of sight
2) Cover saves are from the center of the blast marker rather than the firing unit.
3) It is Pinning (Units that take a wound, must take a leadership test, if they fail they must "Go To Ground" and can only shoot snap shots next turn).
4) 2nd and 3rd shot placement is slightly better.

If I were fielding two units of Big Guns, I would probably do 1 unit of Kannons, and 1 unit of Lobbas. But if you have to pick just one, Lobbas all the way.

Can you please point me to the book\page number where it defines lobbas as barrage? I have my ork book in front of me right now and I cannot find it.

It says G48. G was the old way of denoting if a weapon was a barrage weapon.

Ahh okay is that in some sort of old rule book or something? No where in the Ork book or the Faq of ork does it state a barrage. Do you know what rule book it was printed in the G = Barrage?

osirisx69 wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

osirisx69 wrote:

tag8833 wrote:

 Warboss Zarruk wrote:
So what I am hearing from you guys is lobbas all the way huh? What makes them so much better than kannons?

I know it seems odd. Kannon's blast is very similar to Lobba's, and they have a S8 single shot. The key is that Lobbas are Barrage, and Kannons are not. That means:
1) They don't require line of sight
2) Cover saves are from the center of the blast marker rather than the firing unit.
3) It is Pinning (Units that take a wound, must take a leadership test, if they fail they must "Go To Ground" and can only shoot snap shots next turn).
4) 2nd and 3rd shot placement is slightly better.

If I were fielding two units of Big Guns, I would probably do 1 unit of Kannons, and 1 unit of Lobbas. But if you have to pick just one, Lobbas all the way.

Can you please point me to the book\page number where it defines lobbas as barrage? I have my ork book in front of me right now and I cannot find it.

It says G48. G was the old way of denoting if a weapon was a barrage weapon.

Ahh okay is that in some sort of old rule book or something? No where in the Ork book or the Faq of ork does it state a barrage. Do you know what rule book it was printed in the G = Barrage?

Fourth ed, pg 31

Fifth ed, pg 32 (they mention that some old books have this way of writing it)

6th ed not mention it. I guess GW thought they updated all of the books to use the 5th ed system.