"Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II" - Tyranids Light Cruisers [Advanced Ship Guide]

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Tyranids Light Cruisers

The Tyranids in general, have a wide selection of ship varieties to choose from that often only differ from each other in very small ways. Particularly with the Light Cruiser and Cruiser categories of ships, you'll find the entire large pool of vessels is a handful of weapons, mixed and matched to pretty much give one option of each possible combination.

While this gives a lot of versatility to the Tyranid player in being able to really tailor their fleets to their preferred play-style and needs, it does do a fair bit to eliminate much of the uniqueness you can find between the ships of some of the other factions.

Patch Status: Updated for Patch 7 [v.11218] - July 15th, 2020

Tyranids Guide Navigation

• Destroyers
• Frigates
• Light Cruiser <- You Are Here
  
  • Acid Voidprowler
  • Bio Projectile Voidprowler
  • Bio Strangler Voidprowler
  • Corrosive Clutch Voidprowler
  • Bio Clutch Voidprowler
  • Corrosive Strangler Voidprowler
  • Bio Acid Voidprowler
  • Corrosive Projectile Voidprowler
• Cruiser
• Battle Cruiser
• Battleship

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Terms Used

This section briefly covers the advanced weapon data you will find for each ship. These values are calculated based off the base weapons stats and are explained as follows:

DPS - Damage Per Second - The total damage output per weapon type (all guns combined) per second, assuming 100% of shots land, before considering armor penalties.

Crits Pm - Critical Hits Per Minute - Assuming all shots land, this will be the average number of critical hit's the guns will cause every minute before modifiers. (all guns combined)

Salvos PM - Salvos Per Minute - The total number of combined waves of fire, not including multiple rounds fired from the same weapon.

Rounds PM - The actual number of shots or individual projectiles fired each minute from all guns combined.

Tyranids Light Cruisers Ships Stats

The Light Cruisers of the Tyranids are on the short end for hull hit points according to their weight class, but make up for it somewhat by taking high defensive troop numbers, great assault damage and engines that are slow for their escorts, but thanks to the lack of change in the tier up in weight, are fast(ish) for Light Cruisers.

Shield: 200
Armor: 67 (All Sides)
Identification Range: 9,000
Speed: 200
Rotation Speed: 12
Hull: 800
Defense Turrets: 8
Bravery: -75
Boarding Damage: 6
^{+ Causes 2 Assault Actions}
*Lightning Strike Damage: 3
^{+ Causes 1 Assault Actions
*Only available with Lictor Brood upgrade.}
Defending Troops per Stage: 14

Tyranids Light Cruisers Attributes & Skills

As mentioned elsewhere in the Tyranid ship sections, there is just an overabundance of special abilities and skills that make up the Tyranids unique play-style. I have tried to include the most important ones here, while also giving some level of organization to keep things readable. Preferably within the near future, this section will be reconfigured to mostly deffer to a faction-wide guide that covers the less ship-specific stuff.

Movement

• Shroud Hull: Starts stealthed and whenever stealth is regained, it is kept until revealed again.
  
• Adaption: Immune to asteroid fields, plasma storms and spore fields.
  
• Synaptic Link: Unique Tyranid control feature (will be covered separately).
  
• Tyranids Propulsion: Gives access to Tyranid maneuvers.
  

Defensive

• Spores: Ship has 1 defense turret for every 25 active shields and deals 1 DPS for every 100 active shield points, bypassing enemy shields, to all enemy ships in 4,500 units.
  
• Regeneration: Light criticals repair after 20 seconds.

Assault

• Instinctive: -75 Bravery penalty. Standard weapons always target closest enemy.
  
• No Lightning Strike: Given back by Lictor Brood upgrade.
  
• Boarding Expertise: 270° arc for boarding attacks.
  
• Brutal Strike: 10% chance to deal +1 troop damage per assault action.
  
• Deadly Troop Efficiency: Deals 3 troop damage per assault action.
  ^{*Not listed but carried over from other vessels for Feeder Tentacles use}

Acid Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Acid Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 111
Raw Total Crit Output: 2.45 critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 16.3

Armament:

• 1 x Heavy Pyro-Acid Artillery
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Front Arc
  Range: 9,000}
  
• 2 x Pyro-Acid Battery Weapons
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 9,000}

Of the two all standard weapon variants of Light Cruisers, the Acid Voidprowler takes the top DPS position while coming in at a tie for crits per minute. There aren't any prow mounted Bio weapons in the Light Cruiser class, so the only difference between these two ships is what type of broadside weaponry they bring. If you need some armor piercing in your life, the Bio Acid Voidprowler might be more your style.

Bio Projectile Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Bio Projectile Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 100
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.5* critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 5*
^{*Does not count Torpedoes}

Armament:

• Bio-Torpedo Launcher (4 Tubes)
  <sup>Bio Assault* (2 Charges)
  * 3 Troop Damage, 10% Crit Chance</sup>
• 2 x Bio-Plasma Battery Weapons
  ^{Armor Piercing, Shield Piercing, 100% Accuracy
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 4,500}

The price difference of the Tyranid Light Cruisers seems to be primarily dictated by what is the prow weapon equipped, as ships with the same frontal weapons, like the two torpedo equipped Light Cruisers, the Corrosive Projectile Voidprowler and the Bio Projectile Voidprowler, cost about the same. The Bio Projectile Voidprowler only costs 1 point less than the Corrosive Projectile version, so when it comes to choosing which broadside weapons to pick to compliment your prow weaponry, you can forget about price cost and just worry about what is more useful for your fleet's needs.

Remember, unlike the escort ships with torpedoes, the Light Cruisers can replenish their charges at the cost of troops, while using a separate ability to replenish troops when those start running low.

Bio Strangler Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Bio Strangler Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 104
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.5* critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 5*
^{*Does not count Feeder Tentacles}

Armament:

• Feeder Tentacles
  ^{Applies 1 assault every 6 seconds (2 Assaults Max)
  Enemy ship must stay in range.
  90 second cool-down.
  Range: 9,000}
• 2 x Bio-Plasma Battery Weapons
  ^{Armor Piercing, Shield Piercing, 100% Accuracy
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 4,500}

The Light Cruisers with feeder tentacles don't get an upgrade to their effectiveness versus the escort versions, as they still only cause a single assault action with every "tick" of the ability. What does change with the tier up in weight class however, is the Hook tentacles ability that comes along with it. Now that your tentacle equipped ship weighs more itself, it can better pull other line ships towards it, without flinging itself towards the enemy. You still should be careful hooking into larger vessels however as there is still a large difference between say, Light Cruiser and Battleship sized vessels.

Corrosive Clutch Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Corrosive Clutch Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 99
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.4* critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 9.3*
^{*Does not count Claws}

Armament:

• Great Claws
  ^{Immune to frontal ram damage, Ignores Armor
  30 melee damage every 2 seconds}
• 2 x Pyro-Acid Battery Weapons
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 9,000}

The Corrosive Clutch Voidprowler and it's Bio-Weapon equipped variant both get an upgrade to their claw damage with the scale up in vessel size front he smaller Frigate and Destroyer classes. With their complete bypassing of armor, these unique melee weapons are amazing against heavily armored enemies, especially those that take a hit to their hull points for their armor, like the Astartes vessels. When you also take into account the ramming damage, these vessels can really cripple otherwise hard as nails vessels.

Bio Clutch Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Bio Clutch Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 102
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.5* critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 5*
^{*Does not count Claws}

Armament:

• Great Claws
  ^{Immune to frontal ram damage, Ignores Armor
  30 melee damage every 2 seconds}
• 2 x Bio-Plasma Battery Weapons
  ^{Armor Piercing, Shield Piercing, 100% Accuracy
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 4,500}

The Bio Clutch Voidprowler is even more deadly to heavily armored enemies like Astartes, than it's cousin the Corrosive Clutch Voidprowler, thanks to the Armor and Shield piercing broadside weapons. While you can't use them at the same time as the armor ignoring Great Claws, if you happen to miss with your melee charge or the enemy starts to evade your grasp and slide past, the Bio-Plasma weapons can open up to keep punching through their tough hulls.

Corrosive Strangler Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Corrosive Strangler Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 101
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.4 critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 9.3
^{*Does not count Feeder Tentacles}

Armament:

• Feeder Tentacles
  ^{Applies 1 assault every 6 seconds (2 Assaults Max)
  Enemy ship must stay in range.
  90 second cool-down.
  Range: 9,000}
• 2 x Pyro-Acid Battery Weapons
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 9,000}

If you want some extra morale demolishing fire effects to compliment your troop consuming feeder tentacles, then the Corrosive Strangler Voidprowler if a good option. An excellent choice against Ork vessels thanks to their weakness to fire and their heavy morale penalties.

Bio Acid Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Bio Acid Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 114
Raw Total Crit Output: 2.55 critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 12

Armament:

• 1 x Heavy Pyro-Acid Artillery
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Front Arc
  Range: 9,000}
• 2 x Bio-Plasma Battery Weapons
  ^{Armor Piercing, Shield Piercing, 100% Accuracy
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 4,500}

The other all standard weapon Light Cruiser of the Tyranid fleet, the Bio Acid Voidprowler trades the spot for top DPS dealer, while tying for CPM but has a good shot at outdoing the Acid Voidprowler in practical DPS when up against heavily armored or shielded enemies.

Something to keep in mind, shield piercing does not mean that this weapon will ignore Holofields or somehow affect Shadowfields, so this bonus only benefits you against standard shield using factions.

Corrosive Projectile Voidprowler

Tyranid Light Cruiser - "Corrosive Projectile Voidprowler" - [Behemoth Sub-Faction]

1 / 8

Point Cost: 97
Raw Total Crit Output: 1.4* critical hits per minute
Raw Total DPS: 9.3*
^{*Does not count Torpedoes}

Armament:

• Bio-Torpedo Launcher (4 Tubes)
  <sup>Bio Assault* (2 Charges)
  * 3 Troop Damage, 10% Crit Chance</sup>
• 2 x Pyro-Acid Battery Weapons
  ^{Causes Fire on Critical Hit.
  Efficient Accuracy (80/60/40/20/0)
  90° Side Arc (1 per Broadside)
  Range: 9,000}

Of the two torpedo equipped light cruisers, the Corrosive Projectile Voidprowler has slightly higher dps, with tied crits per minute, when compared to the Bio Projectile variant. Remember that thanks to the Tyranid's abilities to replenish both troops and special weapon charges (at the cost of troops) you can actually use torpedoes beyond just the 3 charges that the ships come equipped with.

Changelog

7/15/2020 - Updated for patch 11218.

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