A Shield Generator is a Tau defensive technology that projects a cohesive energy field around it and its bearer, protecting the bearer from weaponry and firepower that would otherwise slay him outright. Shield Generators are employed on varying scales, from infantry portable versions to Tau starship shields.
Shield Generators are most commonly available as a Support System to most Tau Battlesuits, and allows the bearer Battlesuit to survive extreme firepower such as heavy ordnance and anti-tank weapons fire. Shield Generators can also be mounted on Tau Drones such as Shield Drones and Shielded Missile Drones, which specialise in using the Shield Generator to protect their master. Ethereals sometimes carry Shield Generators into battle as a form of personal protection, whilst Drone Sentry Turrets are also able to be upgraded with defensive technologies such as Shield Generators.
Notable Shield Generator Variants
- Riptide Shield Generator – A Riptide Shield Generator is an especially large Shield Generator fitted into an XV104 Riptide Battlesuit’s ablative shield. Whilst it provides a slightly lesser degree of protection to a normal Shield Generator, it can harness the energy from a Riptide’s Dark Matter Nova Reactor to supercharge itself; making the shield near impervious to enemy attacks.
- Miniaturised Shield Generator – Commander Shadowsun’s experimental XV22 Stealthsuit is fitted with Miniaturised Shield Generators built into it. Miniaturised Shield Generators provide a slightly lesser degree of protection compared to a normal Shield Generator
- MV52 Shield Generator – A MV52 Shield Generator is an experimental variant of the standard Shield Generator currently only fitted onto specialised MV52 Shield Drones, and is able to project the most potent shields of its kind. During the Battle of Mu’gulath Bay, a MV52 Shield Drone was easily able to shrug off a single Battle Cannon shell that would have otherwise found its mark.
- Commander Longknife’s Variant Shield Generator – Commander Longknife carries an experimental variant of a Shield Generator, one that has a larger ablative shield and improved protective qualities against enemies in close combat.
- ’Eclipse’ Shield Generator – An ‘Eclipse’ Shield Generator is an experimental prototype variant of a Shield Generator, and is only wielded by Shas’O R’alai. His ‘Eclipse’ Shield Generator exerts drain on O’Ralai’s XV9 Hazard Battlesuit power capacity, but is able to project a potent defensive energy barrier that is also capable of diffracting light much in the same manner as a Stealth Field Generator; making the Commander harder to target at long range.
- Energy Shield or Deflector Shield – An Energy Shield, also known as a Deflector Shield, is an especially large Shield Generator most commonly fitted onto larger Tau aircraft and spacecraft, such as the Manta. Strike modified Orca transports utilised exclusively by XV9 Hazard Battlesuit Swift Protector Wings also are fitted with an Energy Shield. A Deflector Shield is formed by shaping a gravitic field to repel incoming fire. They do not stop incoming projectiles, but rather are shaped and positioned in such a way as to deflect incoming fire (hence its designation). A Deflector Shield’s response will always be proportionally more powerful with the energy of an attack. Deflector Shields mounted on the prow of some Tau starships work slightly differently, in that they shape a vessel’s gravitic sheath into a dense wedge which is far more effective against incoming fire from the frontal arc.
Sources
- Codex: Tau (3rd Edition), pg. 17
- Codex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 27
- Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition), pp. 33, 45, 59, 69
- Imperial Armour Apocalypse (2nd Edition), pg. 84
- Imperial Armour Apocalypse 2, pg. 60
- Imperial Armour Volume Three – The Taros Campaign, pp. 211, 282, 287
- Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, pg. 98
- Battlefleet Gothic: 2010 Compendium, pg. 159
- Forge World Tau Update
- Shas'O R'myr Experimental Rules