Play a little Eldar you will understand how durable a space marine is. I play a Dark Angel as well as Eldar in EC Eldar goes down to VERY few Bolter rounds. Space marine durability is fine when compared to the other factions. In general I feel all races should be a bit more durable.
<-- i want to play as an vindicare temple asssassin, but being a Scout Marine (because i like to use stalker bolter and almost nothing in armor but plenty of tools) for me its ok, i mean going retard in front of a predator or a autocanon or in open wide areas or running in the road to get killed by the Eldar transports are not very good ideas. Now this is a topic that have been discussed several times, the mindset of every people joining Eternal Crusade is (for LSM case) the "am a Space Marine i can fight 1 vs 10000", without thinking the other factors that people have already told in this thread, fighting against other super soldiers, specially bred orks and well trained Eldars, for that reason there is no Imperium Guard or normal Tau troopers, or even cultits.
If anything... In EC your a Tabletop Marine. Those who die in droves at the stiffest breeze. You need to THINK, to coordinate, to use cover, etc. to be truly effective. Otherwise you are swept away and put back in your box. Your not a "Lore Marine" who with his mighty plot armor single handedly arm wrestles a Chaos Titan while shooting every single ork in the face in a WAAGH with an infinite ammo bolter all while outdancing the Eldar Harlequins.
You are only fighting other super soldiers, You are not some named hero in the lore like Davian Thule or Tarkus from the DOW series. You are a simple marine, You know the ones who die and get replaced with reinforcements. You can stand toe to toe with the enemy and with careful decision making you can come out on top whilst outnumbered. Yes, I feel like a spacemarine. I do not feel like a movie superhero who is the only super soldier which is fine.
Ahh the famous "space marine kills hundreds by himself" argument. Sure, but these "hundreds" are weakest ork boys, tyranids or guardsmen level infantry, not their chaos gods enhanced counterparts and most certainly not aspect warriors, which only SM elites can fight against.
"Thankfully, most people understand the concept of dramatic license, an amusing little technique that involves exaggerating or ignoring facts, physical laws, and general plausability to keep things entertaining. Space Marines are embellished in fiction, where their heroism and invincibility are accentuated." -- White Dwarf #300 "Often a conflict will be simply too large, the enemy too powerful, too numerous, or too well entrenched for local forces, ships, or Space Marines to defeat. In such a case mobility counts for very little. In conflicts such as this, the really huge invasions, the wars that spread across whole star systems and decades of warp space, only the grinding steamroller of the Imperial Guard can hope to crush the foe." -- 2E Codex:IG I believe some (or perhaps many, given the faction's size) players may be approaching this game expecting the kind of protagonist plot-armour and bolterporn depicted in certain Black Library novels rather than more nuanced and less biased portrayals as they exist in instances where all factions are treated equally, such as the original tabletop rules or the fluff in its codices. Eternal Crusade also attempts to treat all its factions equally, which means Space Marines will actually die to stuff that kills Space Marines. I for one do usually feel like an Astartes, thanks to the "look and feel" with which my LSM moves, the slight delay in reaction and the heavy stomping giving me an impression as if I might as well crash through building walls if they weren't a meter thick thanks to the Imperium's resilient gothic architecture. My characters' weapons discharge with thunderous roar, spewing death and destruction towards the xeno and the heretic, and I get a kick out of the "execution" animations when I down them, especially when dispatching someone with the standard boltgun. But, as other players have already mentioned, just being better doesn't make you invulnerable. And honestly, what would be the alternative, especially considering that 33% of the other factions in the game are EVIL Space Marines?
I love how people feel to weak but what do you expect!? Why should a LSM be better than a CSM. Or do you think you should be able to kill hundreds of orks!? That's not how it works! LSM should also get in their heads: This is not "Warhammer40k Space Marines" where you play some kind of hero. You are able to kill dozens of enemies without dying as a veteran but please don't expect EVER to be able to kill ANY enemy without EFFORT!
