Dawn of War Codex

Hi all, I'm curious to know what people think about the Leman Russ lascannon upgrade.

Based on the Codex entry, it has about 2x the DPS output of the standard battle cannon; however, in the few instances where I have used it, the anti-vehicle DPS did not seem to be that significantly improved. It does do more damage against vehicle targets, but when you consider the trade-off, which is the sacrifice of any significant anti-infantry ability, this makes the vanquisher seem like a pointless upgrade at the moment. The battle cannon is still a great anti-tank weapon, and also great against infantry (a true all-around weapon for any tank to have). Furthermore, the executioner upgrade, by comparison, is exceedingly efficient against heavy/super-heavy infantry and also not bad against vehicles. The only infantry which lascannons can accurately target (terminators) are also the primary victim of the executioner, so even in that one instance the executioner is still a preferable weapon. I often find myself willing to pay the 150/30 for the executioner, but I can't say I ever find myself willing to trade away anti-infantry ability in exchange for a marginal increase in anti-tank damage.

What are other people's thoughts on this upgrade? Do you see it/use it often? Is the extra AV damage worth the trade-off? If not, what would make this upgrade more appealing?

Yes. All of the yes. Vanquisher cannon is probably one of the best tank upgrades in the game in my opinion given that it buffs the Leman Russ to pretty insane degrees.

For starters, it offers a pretty sizable buff to damage against single targets. While it won't hit with the aoe of the standard cannon, it's still capable of blasting chunks out of low-model/single-model squads with a bit of good fortune. Terminator variants especially feel the pain given that they're large targets. The Executioner is still superior for dedicated anti-super heavy, but that doesn't mean the Vanquisher is out of the running.

Where it shines of course, is against other vehicles. Essentially, the way I see it, the Vanquisher is your be-all-end-all armor dominance upgrade. It improves the dps of the Leman Russ against other vehicles considerably, and, more importantly, gives a solid range boost to the main battle cannon. That's huge on a tank. That means the Leman Russ will almost always get the first shot in when engaging, the last shot when fleeing, and has far more chase potential than the Predator could ever hope for. With the Vanquisher, you're suddenly sniping Fire Prisms that thought they were safe, and dominating pretty much every other battle tank in the game. Heck, with a bit of micro, two Leman Russ with Vanquishers can take out a Baneblade pretty convincingly.

Stack all that on the inherent 30% damage resist of the Russ and you've got a monster of an av tank with a bit of ai potential (or as much as a Lascannon Pred/Venom Fex/etc. at least)

Hmm, I never noticed the improved range, that's about a 25% increase. Next time I'm against a fire prism or maybe a carnifex with poor range I'll force myself to buy it.

Vanquisher is a pretty great weapon for Russes. Mainly due to range and good burst damage.

Far better AV than other weapons but no splash so it isn't the greatest anti-infantry but still decent especially against low model count squads.

Executioner has inferior range and the projrctiles move more slowly and will often at least partly miss moving targets.

Buy it! Upgrade it! Own with it!

Honestly I have had games where I have taken out 3 or 4 vehicles with a LR Vanquisher tank, with good old GM support!
It has a great range and because of that it is perfect for getting rear armour on vehicles trying to get away from it after it has decided it can't/won't win.

IG have very few solid AV options. Plenty of options for infantry however. The LR Vanquisher tank fills the gap! Keep it alive!

It seems like you haven't tasted the proud when Vanqui cannon explodes a Lootad Tank or Fire Prisim.

Just to make your mind more clear :

EXECUTIONER
+ Flawless anti-infantry option vs swarmed armys.
+ Does satisfying damage.
+ Scary, no one dares to get close range.
+ Still scary AV potencial.

- Has close range so a primiry target for evey AV that enemy has.
- Can not chase vehicles.
- Other tanks can just keep distacne safe and shoot it forever.

VANQUISHER
+ Flawless AV option.
+ Extreamly long range.
+ Can chase down vehicles.
+ Does satisfying damage.
+ Changes enemy plans about his tanks.
+ Can explode infantry models.

- Cannon has an annoying cool down for exploding infantry models so not so practical.
- Not as good as Executionar upgrade for anti infantry.

Do not think any of these upgrades as a go to or no branier. You have different options for different situations.