Furhtermore, as its fire behaves much like a grenade launcher's, it's equally effective against units in cover and behind walls. As an area-of-effect suppression weapon, it can affect multiple clustered squads, allowing you to easily render horde units like guardsmen ineffective. While not as deadly as the venom cannon, the barbed strangler offers its own benefits. What places it above almost all other weapons is that its rate of fire, coupled with all-around good damage, makes it equally potent against both infantry and tanks. The venom cannon also fires at a rapid pace, meaning that missed shots have less of an adverse impact. An immediately noticeable advantage is that you will have it from the first mission- the Tyranid warrior squad starts fully upgraded, meaning that you have more opportunities to take wargear. Blurring the line between the two is the venom cannon carried by Tyranid warriors. In retribution, you generally see two classes of heavy weapons: slow-firing anti-vehicle, and suppressive anti-infantry. However, what truly marks the Tyranids as a terrifyingly effective force in single player are the warriors, and genestealers to a lesser extent. The Tyranid Hive Lord has some of the best unit synergy and excellent abilities, as well as being the game's best tank.
