Crisis Battlesuit Teams are the Tau answer to weapon specialists from other armies.  While many armies can add special or heavy weapons to basic squads, the Tau way of war is more specialized, and each unit fills a certain role.

One of the most hotly debated topics of discussion is how to outfit your Crisis suits for maximum effectiveness.  You must fill three hard points, but what is the most effective combination of equipment?  Everyone's playing style is different, and different enemies have their own weaknesses that certain combos can exploit.  Below I will discuss each weapon's potential uses, followed by some successful hard point combinations.

Flamer:  Excellent in City Fight, but of little use in regular games due to its short range and low strength.   Unless there is a very high density of terrain, your XV-8's will be dead before they ever get to use them.  Useless against Marines or other heavily-armored troops, but devastating against the likes of Dark Eldar and Imperial Guardsmen.

Burst Cannon:  The high rate of fire may make the Burst Cannon seem an attractive option, but it loses some of its luster when you consider the short 18" range.  Stealth Suits already have this weapon in mass quantities, so I prefer to kit my Crisis suits out for other eventualities.  Having said that, they can be useful against hordes of poorly armored troops.

Plasma Rifle:  One of the few weapons in the Tau armory capable of piercing Marine armor, and with a range of 24", the Plasma Rifle is arguably the best choice for Crisis weaponry.  Its Strength of 6 and AP2 will keep most hard-armored enemies down, and can be used against light vehicles as well.  Crisis suits always count as stationary for Rapid-Fire purposes, but the downside is these guns still only get one shot out to 24".

Fusion Blaster:  Due to its S8 and 2D6 armor penetration, it would make an ideal tank-hunter if not for its infernally short range of 12".  It is the highest-powered Crisis weapon, but also the shortest-ranged, and only fires once.

Missile Pod:  Who can argue with two S7 shots at up to 36" every turn?  The downside is the AP of 4 which allows Marines and the like to still make saves.  The Missile Pod is possibly the most versatile Crisis weapon, due to its rate of fire, long range, and high strength.  It can be used against troops, high-toughness monsters, and vehicles alike.  The huge range allows your Crisis team to remain out of assault range the entire game, as well.

Important!  Certain combinations of equipment are more effective than others, but no matter what weapons and support systems you choose, it is important to outfit your team identically.  The Target Lock option may look attractive, outfitting your 3 Crisis suits in different ways to be ready for anything, but this really makes the unit as a whole completely ineffective.  Concentrate your firepower to one purpose, and do not fall into the trap of trying to outfit them for any eventuality.  Remember that "Jacks of all Trades" are "Masters of None."

Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker:  This combination is probably the most common Crisis outfit used among Tau Commanders.  It is especially good for Tournament play, where you do not know what enemies you will be facing, as the weapon fit can be used for a number of roles.  This combination maximizes firepower and flexibility by giving you long-range, high strength firepower with a relatively high rate of fire.

Twin-linked weapon, Drone Controller:  Popular choices for the Twin-Linked weapon are Plasma Rifles or Missile Pods.  This combination minimizes your rate of fire, but improves accuracy and survivability.  The Drones are taken more for protection than for their firepower; a unit with 6 drones can take a lot of punishment before the suits start taking damage.  The twin-linked Fusion Blaster can be a good Tank Hunter, if maneuvered skillfully enough.

Plasma Rifle, Fusion Blaster, Multi-Tracker:  A difficult combination to get to work correctly, due to the short range of the Fusion Blaster, but extremely effective against Marines and other heavily-armored infantry such as Sisters and Necrons.  This requires expert use of the Assault Phase jump move to get out of assault range after firing the Fusion Blaster.  Also effective tank hunters.

Flamer, Burst Cannon, Multi-Tracker:  This combination can work miracles in City Fight, where ranges are often limited, and where your suit can jump back behind a building and out of range after shooting.  Not very useful against heavily-armored infantry, although the sheer number of hits will mean failed saves.

Twin-Linked Fusion Blaster, Shield Generator:  This suit is effective as a Monat, if maneuvered skillfully enough to reach the heavy armor before taking fire.  Upgrade this single-suit "team" to Team Leader, and take a hard-wired Drone Controller with a pair of Shield Drones.  An expensive suit, but almost guaranteed to reach and then destroy that enemy Land Raider or Monolith.

Enemy have to use the Night Fighting rules to spot them.  They can Infiltrate when the mission allows.  They have a 3+ save, Tau jetpacks, and a weapon that can unleash 3 S5 shots each turn.  Who wouldn't take at least one team?

The one downside is the 18" range of the Burst Cannon, which is somewhat mitigated by the fact that they can move another 6" away after they fire.  Hopefully that Assault Phase jump will leave them out of charge range, and out of sight... an average Night Fight sight roll is 21.  If maneuvered just right, they can reign down punishment with impunity.

This is another unit that I would NEVER leave T'au without.  Even against Marine armor, the sheer number of dice rolled will ensure casualties.  Always field full teams of 6 if possible; the effectiveness of massed Burst Cannon fire grows exponentially with each additional suit.  Since the teams start so small to begin with, it is essential to Bond your team so that if they DO suffer casualties, they will still be able to regroup.