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So what happens if two different Tyranid Hive Fleets run into each other? Lets say both just in the void and also if there's a situation where they are trying to consume the same planets.
Two Hive fleets say hello
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I do not know if they would fight or if they would join forces, but either way it is basically the exact same result. Whichever fleet wins the battle will simply consume the casualties on both sides and have the exact same strength as if they didn't fight at all.
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With the exception of the amount of time it would take for the fleets to battle I suppose. That could be crucial rallying time for the Imperium/whatever world is next in the Hive Fleet's flight path.
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I'd wonder if they're like the Argentine Ants making their way up the West Coast of the US, considered a 'super-colony' that stretches over 900 km... the European colony on the Mediterranean cost for over 6,000 km. All the ants are genetically the same (even between Europe and California), so when two adjacent hives come into contact, there's no competition and the ants can just swap hives with each other. If they come into contact with a different kind of ant/insect however, it's game on.
Considering the Hive Mind casts it's shadow in the warp over interstellar distances, I don't think two Hive Minds would ever have to worry about their Fleets suddenly being in competition over the same planet. If they made even glancing contact, I think they would either choose separate planets and trash the entire sector at once, or possibly merge into a single larger Hive Fleet with much the same effect.
"Two carnifexes walk into a bar..."
Considering the Hive Mind casts it's shadow in the warp over interstellar distances, I don't think two Hive Minds would ever have to worry about their Fleets suddenly being in competition over the same planet. If they made even glancing contact, I think they would either choose separate planets and trash the entire sector at once, or possibly merge into a single larger Hive Fleet with much the same effect.
"Two carnifexes walk into a bar..."
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Yeah Hybrid Hive fleets haha. Kind of a neat modeling idea I suppose, mixing t
he colors and traits of two different fleets.
Good example with the ants. :good:
he colors and traits of two different fleets.
Good example with the ants. :good:
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The upcomming Valedor novel touches on that issue. Where the eldar desperately tries to prevent 2 hive fleets from merging and becomming stronger by sharing dna code.
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Guess thats the official answer then!
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The Fluff has changed on this a few times.
At one stage all tyranids were unified, and would simply merge.
Then it was written that the separate Overminds within the Hive Fleets would compete with other Hive Fleets, leading tyranids to fight one another but the victorious fleet always came out far stronger for the added biomass and genetic diversity. This was called Convergent Evolution.
I don't think any direct references to this scenario have been made since, but recent lore seems to suggest they're all one side again.
At one stage all tyranids were unified, and would simply merge.
Then it was written that the separate Overminds within the Hive Fleets would compete with other Hive Fleets, leading tyranids to fight one another but the victorious fleet always came out far stronger for the added biomass and genetic diversity. This was called Convergent Evolution.
I don't think any direct references to this scenario have been made since, but recent lore seems to suggest they're all one side again.
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Well, if small Tyranids on the ground lose cohesion when the synapse creatures aren't close enough maybe it is the same on a much larger scale as well. Some giant Hive node floating around back and forth between other galaxies somewhere.
That would pretty neat, anyway.
That would pretty neat, anyway.
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I read somewhere or another (maybe from that Cain novel) that they fight each other to determine which fleet's...overall strategy is "best". Sorta like a practice match of sorts, except the winner eats the loser.
The source, if I recall correctly, says no biomass is lost in the exchange, so it's a free lesson. Though that doesn't make sense to me, since the actual fighting requires energy (and hence loss of biomass), but that's just me.
The source, if I recall correctly, says no biomass is lost in the exchange, so it's a free lesson. Though that doesn't make sense to me, since the actual fighting requires energy (and hence loss of biomass), but that's just me.
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Well said. I knew there was something fishy about tyranids: energy loss during respiration and digestion.
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By that thinking then the nids shouldn't fight period as they lose energy
On a less asshole note: the "energy", biomass, gained would far outway the energy lose, every basic functions take energy to create energy, i.e. cellular respiration, photosynthesis, etc.. I also imagine that the fight between 2 hive fleets are the safest form of weapon testing, as the nids don't really lose much in the fighting it self.
Nope, since they (normally) get to eat the biomass of the defenders and the rest of the planet.
Think of it as running a marathon to get to the grocery store and then gorging yourself there for a few months. There's a net gain of energy, even though, initially, you lose energy (by running the marathon).
Now the Tyranid hive fleets fighting each other would be like running a marathon and then eating your arm at the end of it. You lose the energy of running the marathon, but in the end you're feeding on yourself. The act of running the marathon causes a net energy loss, the actual cutting off and preparing of the arm would net STILL more loss (akin to the digestion and rebirth of the Tyranid life forms after they devour a planet's biomass).
It's a loss/loss.
Why couldn't they gain energy from sunlight like plants?
Good question. Because a species that lands on a planet and spreads spores everywhere to photosynthesize isn't quite as grim dark as a massive swarm of insect-like monsters nom noming everyone.
One of the real big assumptions we have to run on is WHY the Tyranids are eating their way through the Milky Way.
I mean, if the Tyranids are running from something bigger and scarier than them, a quick snack along the way as they run makes more sense. Sitting around and collecting energy isn't feasible if the monster behind you is nearby.
Maybe the Tyranids are cleaning our galaxy out for some other species. Maybe the Tyranids were created by some other species as galactic weed killer. Leave a nice barren galaxy for some alien species to xenoform to their liking.
Perhaps it's just so much faster to gain energy by devouring a planet's biomass and moving on. For every planet the Tyranids get stopped at, dozens more get devoured.
It also might be for more strategic reasons. One of the reasons why the Hivefleets are so dangerous is that they have no supply lines to cut. They're a self-sufficient army. This means 1. They don't have to depend on outside support and 2. They don't have to use valuable biomass to create defenses for these solar farms.
Okay, so why not pump out some solar collectors while fighting for a planet?
It takes away biomass from the fighting force, so an enemy they may have overcome may be able to successfully resist them.
Maybe the biomass it takes to create them isn't offset by the energy they collect, in general.
Maybe the galaxy they came from didn't have stars as we know them.
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Honestly, I think the biggest reason is that it's not as scary and doesn't fit with their overall theme of chitin horrors.
A spore assault of Tyranid solar collectors could be dangerous, too. They could darken the sky (inhibiting life on the planet) or just plain push the native flora out of the biosphere. That would be disastrous as everything that depends on plant life on the planet (which include primary consumers and up) would be doomed.
But it just ain't as scary as a tidal wave of teeth and claws smashing into your city.
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