Battlesuit Nomenclature

There is broad range of T'au Battlesuits, and each has their own specialised tactical role. All nomenclature of Battlesuits mentioned here are their Imperial designations rather than the actual names for the different Battlesuit variants used in the T'au Lexicon. Imperial interrogations with T'au prisoners have yielded the term Her’ex’vre as the T'au name for their single-pilot Battlesuits. This roughly translates into Low Gothic as "Mantle of the Hero."

Her’ex’vre was then transcribed phonetically into Low Gothic as the designation "XV," which forms the foundational prefix of Imperial nomenclature for the different types of T'au Battlesuits. Numerical designators applied to a type of Battlesuit generally consist of one or two numerals placed after the XV prefix.

The first number indicates the Battlesuit's mass class, with "1" being the lightest and smallest Battlesuit in the T'au arsenal, to "9" indicating a large, heavily-armoured and potently armed Battlesuit. Those Battlesuits which have a specific and confirmed specialised function are then given a second numerical designator, while those considered general combat utility Battlesuits retain only the first numeral due to being considered the standard Battlesuit of that mass class without any real specialisation.

It is of note that some Battlesuits may have a secondary operational role, and so a rare third numeral may be included in its designation. Please note that the recently introduced XV104 Riptide, XV107 R'varna, and XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuits are uniquely named, for their three numbers are meant to be read as 10-4, 10-7, and 10-9 respectively; with 10 being the mass class and 4, 7, and 9 being the designator of their tactical role.

Below are the secondary numerical codes and the tactical function assigned to them that have been identified by the Imperium. Note that these numbers should be read as "XVx1" where the "XV" designates the unit as a T'au Battlesuit, the small "x" represents the number from 1 to 9 (10 in the case of the XV104 and XV107) indicating the mass class of the Battlesuit, and the second numeral indicates the Battlesuit's operational role.

XVx1 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class believed to only exist as a theoretical prototype or developmental model.
XVx2 – Designates a prototype Battlesuit of any mass class that has progressed to field trial testing.
XVx3 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class that has not entered mass production and has been assigned permanently to its pilot.
XVx4 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class approved for the command and control role, or is in the final stages of field-testing.
XVx5 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class outfitted with T'au stealth technology.
XVx6 – Designates an air-space Battlesuit unit of any mass class.
XVx7 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class intended to facilitate infiltration.
XVx8 – Designates a fire support Battlesuit unit of any mass class.
XVx9 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class designed for frontline assaults.

Using this system of nomenclature, the following Battlesuit designations can be rendered thusly:

XV8 – Single pilot general heavy combat suit
XV88 – Single pilot heavy fire support suit
XV15 – Single pilot ultra-light Stealthsuit
XV25 – Single pilot light Stealthsuit
XV22 – Single pilot field test prototype light Stealthsuit

There are also variations on the standard XVx naming convention consisting of a " - " followed by 2 other numbers, indicating a variant on the suit itself without altering its battlefield role. For example, the XV8-02 Crisis "Iridium" Battlesuit is a variant on the standard XV8 Crisis with upgraded armour composites; it is not a Battlesuit of mass class 8 that is currently in field testing stages of development, which would be indicated by an XV82 designation.

 Shadox wrote:
I don't know if XV9 are still experimental in the new Expansions. Is there new fluff for them available?

 Kriswall wrote:
From one of the 40k Wiki sites...

Battlesuit Nomenclature

There is broad range of T'au Battlesuits, and each has their own specialised tactical role. All nomenclature of Battlesuits mentioned here are their Imperial designations rather than the actual names for the different Battlesuit variants used in the T'au Lexicon. Imperial interrogations with T'au prisoners have yielded the term Her’ex’vre as the T'au name for their single-pilot Battlesuits. This roughly translates into Low Gothic as "Mantle of the Hero."

Her’ex’vre was then transcribed phonetically into Low Gothic as the designation "XV," which forms the foundational prefix of Imperial nomenclature for the different types of T'au Battlesuits. Numerical designators applied to a type of Battlesuit generally consist of one or two numerals placed after the XV prefix.

The first number indicates the Battlesuit's mass class, with "1" being the lightest and smallest Battlesuit in the T'au arsenal, to "9" indicating a large, heavily-armoured and potently armed Battlesuit. Those Battlesuits which have a specific and confirmed specialised function are then given a second numerical designator, while those considered general combat utility Battlesuits retain only the first numeral due to being considered the standard Battlesuit of that mass class without any real specialisation.

It is of note that some Battlesuits may have a secondary operational role, and so a rare third numeral may be included in its designation. Please note that the recently introduced XV104 Riptide, XV107 R'varna, and XV109 Y'vahra Battlesuits are uniquely named, for their three numbers are meant to be read as 10-4, 10-7, and 10-9 respectively; with 10 being the mass class and 4, 7, and 9 being the designator of their tactical role.

Below are the secondary numerical codes and the tactical function assigned to them that have been identified by the Imperium. Note that these numbers should be read as "XVx1" where the "XV" designates the unit as a T'au Battlesuit, the small "x" represents the number from 1 to 9 (10 in the case of the XV104 and XV107) indicating the mass class of the Battlesuit, and the second numeral indicates the Battlesuit's operational role.

XVx1 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class believed to only exist as a theoretical prototype or developmental model.
XVx2 – Designates a prototype Battlesuit of any mass class that has progressed to field trial testing.
XVx3 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class that has not entered mass production and has been assigned permanently to its pilot.
XVx4 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class approved for the command and control role, or is in the final stages of field-testing.
XVx5 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class outfitted with T'au stealth technology.
XVx6 – Designates an air-space Battlesuit unit of any mass class.
XVx7 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class intended to facilitate infiltration.
XVx8 – Designates a fire support Battlesuit unit of any mass class.
XVx9 – Designates a Battlesuit of any mass class designed for frontline assaults.

Using this system of nomenclature, the following Battlesuit designations can be rendered thusly:

XV8 – Single pilot general heavy combat suit
XV88 – Single pilot heavy fire support suit
XV15 – Single pilot ultra-light Stealthsuit
XV25 – Single pilot light Stealthsuit
XV22 – Single pilot field test prototype light Stealthsuit

There are also variations on the standard XVx naming convention consisting of a " - " followed by 2 other numbers, indicating a variant on the suit itself without altering its battlefield role. For example, the XV8-02 Crisis "Iridium" Battlesuit is a variant on the standard XV8 Crisis with upgraded armour composites; it is not a Battlesuit of mass class 8 that is currently in field testing stages of development, which would be indicated by an XV82 designation.

In other words, any suit that ends with a 1, 2, 3 or 4 hasn't hit full production yet. Shadowsun's XV22 Stealth Suit is in field trial testing. The XV9's are mass produced, but rare as the T'au Empire isn't a big fan of frontline assaults. Realistically, you can just avoid XV25s, XV8s and the plastic Commander suit and you'll be fine. XV10x class suits are all in mass production, but I'd avoid the Riptide. The R'Varna, Y'Varha and XV9 are all in mass production, but still uncommon.

If you want truly experimental suits, you're pretty much limited to the named characters since FW no longer sells the XV82, XV83 and XV84 variants.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
To add a comment... you could use the above with added relics and customize your own experimental suits. You could give an XV8 the Fusion Blades upgrade and call it an XV82-9, still in the experimental phase, but intended for frontline assaults.