Standing twice the height of an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit, the XV104 Riptide is the mightiest war-engine the Earth Caste has yet perfected, built to answer foes too dangerous for lesser suits to face. Its long, back-jointed legs bear a heavily armoured torso wrought from dense nanocrystalline alloy, and upon its arms it carries a shield generator and either a heavy burst cannon or an ion accelerator capable of shredding tanks and fortifications alike.
At the Riptide's core beats the Dark Matter Nova Reactor, an experimental generator that fuses exotic matter to yield the energy of a small star. By channelling this surge the shas'vre pilot can drive weapon and shield beyond their safe tolerances, though the reactor's radiation may cripple or kill the very warrior who dares to invoke it. That a pilot accepts such peril willingly, so that a flawless reactor might one day be built for those who follow, is held up across the Empire as a pure expression of the Greater Good.
The XV104 was first unleashed during the Third Sphere of Expansion at Mu'gulath Bay, where its speed and firepower broke Imperial armour and entrenchments that had held for months. Even so, the Riptide remains a rare sight within any Hunter Cadre, for its alloy hide demands materials so scarce that every completed suit represents a considerable feat of production.
Order of battle
