Getting the most out of the Storm Raven.

[ghostwalker]

Literally what it says on the box.

The kit comes with a variety of weapon options.
How do you load yours?
Does it depend on cargo or more on the exact role post taxi service?.

A few examples, you take a Raven for tank hunting and leave the cargo empty. So load it up with las/melta no hurricane bolters.
You use it as a dread delivery. Maybe combining Typhoon missile, hurricans and plasma for multi role threat.
Or maybe it's there as a multi transport. Say Marine assault squad, with a dreadnought support. What now? Anti tank to stop them getting rolled, or anti infantry to keep the enemy lines thinned down.

So over to you guys. Whats your optimal load out, especially if you don't magnetize your kits.

[paladin7221]

I usually run mine escorted by a Storm Talon. Whilst the Talon is kitted and optimised for ground-pounding, the Raven is used primariy as anti-armour and anti-air. Thanks to having PotMS and better armour it's far superior in this role. It'll take a Drake or equivalent down easily. Perhaps two seperate ones if you're really lucky.

Mine hauls around a squad of Scouts for late-game objective grabbing (and it's only Scouts, so if it gets burned down the loss is not as critical as if it was packed with Termies etc) and packs a multi-melta, lascannons and the standard missiles. If I wanted to dual-role it then Hurricane Bolters as well. I find Plasma is best avoided since my dice rolls are atrocious and an overheat on a vehicle strips off a Hull Point.

[Geifer]

These days I'd just use the multi melta and assault cannon. Range is not an issue, the weapons are cheap and you have a machine spirit to split fire if you don't want to commit the assault cannon to shooting a vehicle like the melta. It's not cheap to begin with, so I am hesitant to buy any upgrades at all.

I would never let it fly empty. Like Paladin, I would in the very least add a cheap Scout squad to it. Well, a Scout squad, which is cheap because it's a Scout squad, not because it gets no equipment. A treat for the Sergeant doesn't go amiss, and camo cloaks may also be a good selection if you intend to take and hold an objective with them.

Now me, I'd throw a naked Ironclad in as well (probably with flamers since anti tank should be covered elsewhere already). Specifically an Ironclad, due to its AV13. It's reasonably cheap, and gets a delivery method that is fairly reliable and fast. It also gives the opponent something they can't just let rage through their deployment zone, which benefits the Scouts that should get less attention because of it.

Depending on the size of the Scout squad this can add up to 500pts, or if you go cheap on everything you get the whole lot for 400pts. That's not so bad and leaves you with points for a solid army core. I would keep the Stormblebee and passengers as cheap as possible myself as I'm not a fan of having a big, bad 1000pts basket of eggs which will either work fantastically some of the time but fail horribly most of the time.

[haywiregrenade]

I don't use Ravens myself, I love the Eagle Roc though! But the times i use a Raven in my Blood Angels, the only one who gets a ride is Mephiston