Power Armor and Availability

[SinerAthin]

Hello there!

So I've been thinking a little bit. And that was about Warhammer, equipment and Power Armor specifically.

While it's quite obvious that power armor is the best available armor, used by the most elite forces, I just never get why it's never in any real Mass Production.

With the Imperium's grand production capacity, endless of credits and over three millenias of technological advancement, shouldn't it be easy to put Power Armor into mass production to arm their armies(at least their front-troopers) with it? It's quite obviously the best piece of combat armaments in the universe, and it doesn't seem like something that any decently supplemented factory should have a problem reproducing en mass.

So why is Power Armor so rare?

[Ulysses S. Grant]

Because the sheer number of men that would need to be given the armour would be too great. And like most technology in the Imperium there are less and less places that are able to build new suits due to the complexity of its construction and the fact that the knowledge to build new suits is becoming forgotten; thats why Space Marine chapters prixe their suits and pass them down.

Your comment about the Imperiums endless credits; well they don't have unlimited resources for everything because of bewildering logistics involved with the transportation of material for wars. Its the same reason that guardsmen aren't given boltguns as their main armament. Also the care and maintenance of the suits would be incredibly difficult and would require daily repairs by mechanicum priests. Besides manpower is the only resource that the Imperium has in abundance. Thats why they are equipped with with lasguns and flak armour; they don't need constant maintenance and are cheap to produce.

Also Power Armour is not the best armour available; that title falls to Terminator armour. Now the reasons that these suits are even less common is that they are even harder to build.

[hellheaven1987]

I am under the impression that Chapter would crave their own Power Armor... We do crave our own in World Eaters though...

[♔Charles the Bold♔]

I kinda think some of the really advanced carapace armour worn by Inquisitor stormtroopers and the like is basically power armour.

[Ulysses S. Grant]

Sisters of Battle wear power armour, and even that does not offer the same protection as Space Marine power armour because it does not contain all of the muscle support sytems and the black carapace.

Carapace armour does not offer the same protection because of what it is made of. Its lighter and less thick plates of armaplas and ceramite only offer good protection against most small arms. Against bigger weapons it is useless. Also another disadvantage of it is it becomes very tiring to wear in extended battles.

[♔Charles the Bold♔]

Sisters of Battle wear power armour, and even that does not offer the same protection as Space Marine power armour because it does not contain all of the muscle support sytems and the black carapace.

Carapace armour does not offer the same protection because of what it is made of. Its lighter and less thick plates of armaplas and ceramite only offer good protection against most small arms. Against bigger weapons it is useless. Also another disadvantage of it is it becomes very tiring to wear in extended battles.

But I read about the Adeptus Mechanicus power armour being made with adamantium.

[Ulysses S. Grant]

But I read about the Adeptus Mechanicus power armour being made with adamantium.

This is a description of what power armour is:

"It is a completely enclosed suit of armour, made of thick ceramite plates. The armour would be heavy and cumbersome to wear but for the electrically motivated fibre bundles within the armour that replicates the wearer's movement and enhances his strength."

[♔Charles the Bold♔]

Skitarii are often armed with similar equipment to Imperial guard, though this can vary massively based on which Magos, Mechanicus Organisation or Forge World has raised and equipped them. There is little standardisation or central command of Skitarii across the Mechanicus, as each individual regiment is the personal army of a particular Magos. For example, the Skitarii of the Titan Legion Invictus are gene-bulked humans with weaponised limbs and augmetic armour4, whereas a different type of Skitarii investigated the dead world of Tarsis Ultra, and were seen to be wearing something similar in both function and design to Terminator armour.2

From lexicanum

[SinerAthin]

Sisters of Battle wear power armour, and even that does not offer the same protection as Space Marine power armour because it does not contain all of the muscle support sytems and the black carapace.

Carapace armour does not offer the same protection because of what it is made of. Its lighter and less thick plates of armaplas and ceramite only offer good protection against most small arms. Against bigger weapons it is useless. Also another disadvantage of it is it becomes very tiring to wear in extended battles.

What makes it that Power Armor requires that much Maintenance?

The Space Marines' power armor gave me an impression of a robust, solid power armor that can last fighting in almost any terrain, and the only real durability damage it'd suffer would be from either direct harm on the battlefield or from months in nature.

I've also noticed a heavy focus on melee combat in Warhammer, how come there's so much close quarter battles in a universe like Warhammer where they probably have massively superior firearms than we have today?

[Ulysses S. Grant]

What makes it that Power Armor requires that much Maintenance?

The Space Marines' power armor gave me an impression of a robust, solid power armor that can last fighting in almost any terrain, and the only real durability damage it'd suffer would be from either direct harm on the battlefield or from months in nature.

I've also noticed a heavy focus on melee combat in Warhammer, how come there's so much close quarter battles in a universe like Warhammer where they probably have massively superior firearms than we have today?

Well due to the technological regression of most 40k races close combat is very common. Also the tactics employed by most races usually calls for close quarter fighting. For example, Orks, Daemons and Tyranids are specially made for close combat and they feel most comfortable in a melee. Space Marines and Chaos Marines specialise in close quarter action due to it being the best way to eliminate their only real weakness (Their vulnerability to heavy weapons fire). Up close their power armour cannot be defeated by most small arms fire and all but the most powerful close combat weapons, can be shrugged off by power armour. Imperial Guard on the other hand engage in close combat a lot due to the tactics of most Imperial Guard regiments involves them using a kind of Napoleonic/ WW1 mix of fighting, with them advancing on the enemy while firing volleys of lasgun fire from tightly packed ranks, bayonets fixed, ready to charge into melee range of the enemy.

As for the maintenance of power armour; it is possible for them to last for many days in combat as they were designed for that. But to repair them after or during a battle Space Marine chapters have a number of Artificers who build and maintain the armour for each chapter. They are among the few who know how to do this, which is why its not practical to equip every imperial soldier with power armour.

[Outlawstar15a2]

I kinda think some of the really advanced carapace armour worn by Inquisitor stormtroopers and the like is basically power armour.

No, it's not. Because it doesn't enhance the power of it's wearer. Carapace armor is basically your standard, modern day reactive armor (Kevlar). Only it's made with different materials.

[Outlawstar15a2]

Because the sheer number of men that would need to be given the armour would be too great. And like most technology in the Imperium there are less and less places that are able to build new suits due to the complexity of its construction and the fact that the knowledge to build new suits is becoming forgotten; thats why Space Marine chapters prixe their suits and pass them down.

Your comment about the Imperiums endless credits; well they don't have unlimited resources for everything because of bewildering logistics involved with the transportation of material for wars. Its the same reason that guardsmen aren't given boltguns as their main armament. Also the care and maintenance of the suits would be incredibly difficult and would require daily repairs by mechanicum priests. Besides manpower is the only resource that the Imperium has in abundance. Thats why they are equipped with with lasguns and flak armour; they don't need constant maintenance and are cheap to produce.

Also Power Armour is not the best armour available; that title falls to Terminator armour. Now the reasons that these suits are even less common is that they are even harder to build.

Listen to this man! He speaks the truth!

[hellheaven1987]

Listen to this man! He speaks the truth!

He is not man, but Deciever...

[Outlawstar15a2]

He is not man, but Deciever...

They both are easily crushed within the grasp of my Power Fist...

[hellheaven1987]

They both are easily crushed within the grasp of my Power Fist...

Don't really care since Necron don't spill blood, and their skulls always run away from my display box during night.

[Outlawstar15a2]

I have a Necron skull on the hood of my vintage hover bike and a bumber sticker that says "I break for 'Crons."

[SinerAthin]

Well due to the technological regression of most 40k races close combat is very common. Also the tactics employed by most races usually calls for close quarter fighting. For example, Orks, Daemons and Tyranids are specially made for close combat and they feel most comfortable in a melee. Space Marines and Chaos Marines specialise in close quarter action due to it being the best way to eliminate their only real weakness (Their vulnerability to heavy weapons fire). Up close their power armour cannot be defeated by most small arms fire and all but the most powerful close combat weapons, can be shrugged off by power armour. Imperial Guard on the other hand engage in close combat a lot due to the tactics of most Imperial Guard regiments involves them using a kind of Napoleonic/ WW1 mix of fighting, with them advancing on the enemy while firing volleys of lasgun fire from tightly packed ranks, bayonets fixed, ready to charge into melee range of the enemy.

As for the maintenance of power armour; it is possible for them to last for many days in combat as they were designed for that. But to repair them after or during a battle Space Marine chapters have a number of Artificers who build and maintain the armour for each chapter. They are among the few who know how to do this, which is why its not practical to equip every imperial soldier with power armour.

So basically, the reason for power armor being so rare is because only a few actually posses the knowledge to create/maintain it?


Also, why does the guard use such old doctrines when they know that they're weak in melee but also that they have more big guns and tanks than god himself?

[Slaytaninc]

I'm not sure about the Canon reason, but the real reason is Rule of Cool.

[Outlawstar15a2]

So basically, the reason for power armor being so rare is because only a few actually posses the knowledge to create/maintain it?


Also, why does the guard use such old doctrines when they know that they're weak in melee but also that they have more big guns and tanks than god himself?

Because if the Guard adopted a more Tau like approach to war, which is very similar to a modern doctrine if using Mont'ka. They'd be torn to shreds as they don't have the maneuverability of a Tau army. So they blast their way into melee distance because only a idiot would level the field with all their heavy weapons when melee joins as you'd kill your own. Even Chaos isn't that reckless.

[Muagan_ra]

Mass production is useless without reliable supply lines - and this the Imperium does not enjoy. Given that it takes years (or decades) for Imperial Guard regiments to be deployed to the battlefield, the very idea of giving innumerable guardsmen from one corner of the Imperium to other a suit of Power Armour from the Forge worlds seems like a logistically impossible task.