Do tau battle suits have pilots?

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**War Master Marterix**

Hey guys this might be a dumb question but have seen places saying that Tau battle suits are exoskeletons, is that correct? because if so there is no way that a pilot could ever fit inside on of those things. I thought that they just had to be really advanced drones, but then characters like Farsight make no sense?

Here is a really quick low res photoshop job to highlight my confusion
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**NoiseMarine with Tinnitus**

They certainly do have pilots.

Have a look at the Ghostkeel model. One of the assembly options allows you to have the cockpit open with the pilot visible.

**tneva82**

Well GW being off in scales and weird anatomies is hardly a new thing >D

**Private Jenkins**

They do have pilots- the fluff definition of a Tau battlesuit is a one crew bipedal walker. However, they are curled up in the foetal position in the chest and use sensors and cameras to direct the battlesuit with their thoughts.
It's mentioned that some Tau veterans instinctively try to activate their thrusters instead of walking or compensate for the battlesuit they used to wear. A lot of them are scarred by the changes that happen to their brains to enable them to interact with their suit AIs.
Farsight also mentions climbing into his battlesuit and adopting the Hero's Mantle on several occasions.

**Brutus_Apex**

If you try to overthink 40k or use any kind of logic you’re going to have a bad time.

Just accept the nonsense that is 40k.

**AndrewGPaul**

Tau pilots don't fit into the suits. Just like humans and space marines don't fit into Terminator armour.

**Crimson Devil**

Crisis suits are bigger on the inside.

**BaconCatBug**

As stated, they are controlled more like Dreadnoughts are then being a suit of armour. The pilot is curled up inside and using MIND BULLETS to shoot things.

**Ice_can**

Old tau codex had an interior design for an XV8 suit, rember a firewarrior is in full armour, look at how small pathfinders are.
XV8's pilots are hooked intl there suits like a titain principce, they become the suit. IIRC their was somemention of neural blockers being involved, presumably so they don't destroy their own muscles. Ghostkeel's and riptides are more titian like in that they have a crew compartment persay.
The only suit that is actually worn like armour was xv15 which was worn much like powerarmour. Fairly sure XV25 is the same and obviously shadow suns armour.
Hardwired systems where fluffed out as being wired into the comanders actuall body and hence not being limited by the user suit interface neural link bandwidth. But being expensive and required a significant amount of mastery of the suit to not overload the brain.

**Kanluwen**

BaconCatBug wrote:
As stated, they are controlled more like Dreadnoughts are then being a suit of armour. The pilot is curled up inside and using MIND BULLETS to shoot things.

Not even remotely correct in anything but fanon.

**jeffersonian000**

It’s best to think of Crisis suits as being more like a Drone with an operator inside of it than a suit piloted by the operator. The suit itself does everything, while the pilot guides it by selecting options. Tau Battlesuits are not unlike the anime mecha many haters decry them for.

SJ

**CapRichard**

They should look like this.

**JohnnyHell**

The scale is just off as with a lot of GeeDubs big stuff. A lot of the artwork portrays the suits as bigger, whereas the models are squat and dumpy. Same thing as a Rhino that you couldn’t fit ten Marines in, or a Land Raider where everyone would bash their head coming down the assault ramp. 40K scale works on rule of cool and looking like it’s right, rather than being actually consistent or correct.

**Kanluwen**

JohnnyHell wrote:
The scale is just off as with a lot of GeeDubs big stuff. A lot of the artwork portrays the suits as bigger, whereas the models are squat and dumpy. Same thing as a Rhino that you couldn’t fit ten Marines in, or a Land Raider where everyone would bash their head coming down the assault ramp. 40K scale works on rule of cool and looking like it’s right, rather than being actually consistent or correct.

They've actually kinda/sorta solved this by introducing the XV85 "Enforcer" suit which is in the Commander box.

It's noticeably larger than the standard XV8. XV8 still has enough room for someone to be 'standing' in its torso and upper legs at least with some kind of hand controls inside for the arms.

**CREEEEEEEEED**

The little tau pilot is curled into a ball. That's how he fits. His limbs don't actually go into the robot limbs, he is contained wholly within the chest cavity.

**jhe90**

There more inside the suit than working its arm with arm movements. The suit links up and reacts to thwre mental rather than direct physical commands.

Its like a a little titan. You Don, t need to move you warm yo aim the weapon. Your Am may feel it if you take a hit there in a titan.. I'm not sure if Tau have same level of connection to there machines though.

**Tastyfish**

Kanluwen wrote:
BaconCatBug wrote:
As stated, they are controlled more like Dreadnoughts are then being a suit of armour. The pilot is curled up inside and using MIND BULLETS to shoot things.

Not even remotely correct in anything but fanon.

Isn't it in Gav Thorpe's Kill Team? Last Chancers book where they're trying to assassinate a Tau Commander who's gone rogue.
You climb into the chest and there's a needle that would normally administer a paralysing agent before the neural link engages. Kills a guy who wasn't expecting it as he gets a needle into the skull before being electrocuted.

**NurglesR0T**

tneva82 wrote:
Well GW being off in scales and weird anatomies is hardly a new thing >D

Scale is never 1:1 - just take a look at the Rhino - just how would 10 marines fit in there?

**pm713**

IIRC someone did a diagram of that and the answer is some sit along the sides and the rest are stacked in the middle. I choose to take that as canon.