So I recently got the core book and I was going through it when I ran into this monster. The eviscerator seems very powerful, infact it is currently my favorite weapon. Its only real weakness seems to be not being able to resist powerfields. Since I am planning on using it I have been thinking of ways to overcome this weakness. I was wondering if anyone knows any I don't list, would they let me know.

In no paticular order:

disarm talent: get rid of the power weapon, then attack to your hearts content.

Unarmed: parry and counter attack with unarmed attacks.

Arm mounted pistol/baleful eye: use dual wielding rules to use up thier reaction bypassing their ability to parry your eviscerator.

dodging: so they can't destroy your weapon when you parry… Also helps against ranged attacks.

grappling: remove weapons from the equasion entirely.

Killing strike: at the cost of a fate point, they cant parry and destroy your weapon.

Please let me know if I'm missing any other options

- The Reinforced weapon customisation reduces the chance of weapon destruction to 60%. But you will need a nice GM for this.

- Swift/Lightning Attack to "overload" the enemy Parry attempt.

- Team up with someone to deplete your opponent's Reactions (if you use "extended" Comrades, then your Comrade will be perfect for this job).

- Photon flash/Stun grenade your opponent before engaging with him in melee. 

- On a different note, I think the "unarmed" option won't work because the Eviscerator is two-handed. 

My assumption, and my own gms agree, is that unarmed includes more than hands for both attack and defense, so for me, it works just fine. Reinforcing it is definetly desirable, and my gms do allow customizations. Swift and lightning attack arent quite what I was looking for, because, while I might get hits in, if the powerweapon blocks even one of them it could destroy my weapon. Teaming up is a good way to go though, especially with doubleteam talent added in. I hadnt thought about flash/stun grenades before thanks.

Seemed to have found most of the ways so far, some of them look a bit complex or may need special gear that may be hard to get.

One very easy way that needs no talent or gear is use the Feint Action before you attack.

Another thing to remember about using attacks to burn up their reaction chances to parry with their power weapon is that the enemy picks when to parry what attacks, so a nasty GM can just wait till you swing with the weapon you don't want the power weapon to hit.

Now if you are facing a lot of enemies with power weapons over and over then you really do have a nasty GM.

Probably not going to be a power weapon filled game, but I just want to be prepared. Feint action is great, had completely forgotten about it thanks.

1) Use Delay and wait until their Reactions are used up.

2) Have your Comrade carry a spare.

3) Uh, you could just pull an Indiana Jones and shoot the guy. The Exterminator upgrade is very fitting for an Eviscerator.

Hmm delay is not a bad choice. I thought exterminators were ranged weapon only things, but I havent looked. If it works Ill definetly use them, that will be awesome… They might have trouble parrying while thier flesh is cooking lol.

The main Problem of the Eviscerator is not enemies with Power weapons but the Eviscerator itself. Back in Dark Heresy, this weapon was completely overpowered, inflicting 1d10+10+Sb R dmg with a Pen of 5, with no additional penalties but  the possiblity to hit yourself with it, which however was a neglectible factor - Good thing they nerfed it quite alot.

First problem is that its a two-handed weapon, so you cant quickdraw it, wasting half an action just to get it ready. This could of course be countered by keeping it readied the whole time, but keeping a 2 meter long Chainsaw running all the time is something worth of getting *BLAMMED* by the nearest Commissar for being both dangerous and annyoing. Aside from that, 15 Kg is really heavy for a melee weapon, limitng the other stuff you can carry round.

Second, its unwieldy, therefore you can't make lightning attacks with it or use it to parry anything. This aside, I would personally argue that due to the sheer size of the thing you simply cant use it effectively in cramped enviroments, such as the interior of most non-palace-sized buildings, inside vehicles, or in a tight infantry formation.

Third, the Pen of 9 might seem nice, but is ultimately kinda ambivalent. Its so high that it cracks any kind of non-powered armor with ease, but its too low to make it an effective AV weapon. Razor Sharp is nice, but scoring 3 degrees of success is generally rather uncommon. It could be a really nice melee can opener, but it eventually isnt quite.

Fourth, the damage ultimately done by it fluctuates alot due to it having no fixed damage bonus aside from the Sb. Its like a frag grenade, only it doesnt explode.

Anyways, what I mean to say is that the Eviscerator is a really unstable weapon that requires a lot of luck in order to be a good weapon. At first glance it might look like the Mother of all Swords, but I ultimately find it underperforming and highly wanting. At low Exp level it is still a reasonable choice, even if the weight, size, noise and slow attack speed (No lightning attacks) are then already factors that make it a choice I would think twice about. Especially given that the Eviscerator has the same rarity as Power weapons, I would always prefer one of those due to their flexibility. But as mentioned before, this is just my opinion and you may or may not that it into consideration.

 

Hingie said:

And it has Tearing (I mean, the Eviscerator)! That +1 dice could be very handy for triggering Righteous Fury.

@Hingie: one of the advantages of two handed weapons, is that they are some of the best for single attack actions like charging. A charge only inflicts a single hit and gives you 3 times the movement that a half move + lighning attack would give. 

The character is going to be a priest, and with the curate ability combined with the eviscerators special, the idea is to maximise righteous furies. I do acnowledge that power weapons would generally be more efficient, better weapons, but it really like the idea of a called shot to the head with an eviscerator instantly killing that guy that sill has a bajillion wounds left. I do hope you were exaggerating a bit with the only in palaces comment though. I could see it being restricted in tight confines like inside a tank or a truely tiny structure, but only in palace sized openness seems a bit over the top restrictive. I have been wondering what happened to the hit yourself part of the eviscerator. It has been a part of it since the tabletop. I wonder if they dropped that bit because they felt it was iconic but no one was willing to use it. Im going to be using it as much for flavor as for stats. I am liking the idea of combining it with unarmed master, so when you picture it, dont think crazy priest with eviscerator, instead think religious jet li with giant chainsword, maybe with some kind of holy warrior order in the background.