Below is a list of the most common available support systems that an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit can be armed with.

If T’au players aren’t going to take standalone Drone squads, we’re certainly going to see fewer Drones on the tabletop. I would estimate that we’re going to see T’au armies with around 20 Drones of a variety of types — certainly Shield, Marker, and Gun Drones, but also Stealth Drones attached to Ghostkeels, Grav-inhibitor Drones attached to Pathfinders, and so on. In competitive play, it wasn’t uncommon to see upwards of 40 Drones in a T’au army, most of which would be Shield Drones. Both Brian Pullen and Richard Siegler had a significant amount of success with T’au lists built around Shield Drones, Riptides, and Commanders.Kroot Shaper • Kroot Carnivore Squad • Kroot Hound • Krootox • Knarloc • Great Knarloc • Vespid Stingwings • Gue'vesa

While its protective armour and mobility are highly valued by the T'au, it is the ability of the XV8 Battlesuit to carry multiple weapons and support systems that makes them so incredibly dangerous and versatile. Designed to compensate for the recoil of light weapons fire, the XV8's weapon loadout can be easily altered to reflect mission requirements or the pilot's own personal preference.Every piece of Tau wargear has a unique identification code detailing its size, design and battlefield role. Battlesuits are given the classification XV followed by a numerical code to denote their mass class (size) and their evolution in the design process. The XV88 Broadside Battlesuit, for example, is a mass class 8 suit, and the eighth variation of the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit. The much larger XV104 Riptide is in the tenth mass class, while the 4 in its classification indicates that it is in the final stages of field testing. [15] Battlesuits can also have a sub-designation of the standard suit, indicating a small alteration on the generic version of the suit, but without a specific battlefield role. For example, the XV8-05 "Enforcer" armour is an enhanced version of the Crisis suit, as opposed to an XV85, which would indicate a mass class 8 stealth suit. Many cadres operating on the outer fringes of the T'au Empire's expansion zone, however, have been observed by Imperial military forces and Rogue Traders still equipped with the distinctive XV89 variant battlesuits. Becoming an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit pilot is one of the first steps to becoming a T'au officer, and those who take that step are experienced warriors who have fought the deadliest of foes and triumphed. Once a Fire Warrior has proven himself ready for more responsibility in a second Trial by Fire, he will then be promoted to the rank of Shas’vre and lead his own XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Team. If he succeeds at that demanding role, he will go on to be assigned to a T'au Commander's Battlesuit Bodyguard Team, and eventually will become a T'au Commander himself once he attains the rank of Shas'el.