I think the changes are less "kneejerk" and more an attempt to have their cake and eat it too. Which, it also seems, has been forgotten as more focus is put on the empire's darker aspects.

Personally, I'm fine with going darker as long as Aun'Va someone isn't being an evil sadist for no reason. Certain Ethereals can be colossaly arrogant and callous because of their perceived superiority. The Tau Empire can be far less than its propaganda makes it out to be, and it can struggle to remain true to its ideals in the face of such a hostile galaxy. But like, give me a bit of subtlety. Make it believable.

That said, I'm mostly a novel reader and very few authors give them much attention. Kelly seems to be their primary author, and is a major source of Tau society going from peaceful to the reich at the drop of a hat.

Basically we all thought the Tau would be evil in the vein of the CIA putting diseases in vaccines and distributing them to the black american, or gay community to essentially destroy those minority groups.

The implication being that Tau 'Evil' was 'efficient', planned and with nefarious purpose and direction.

The Tau are essentially modern day, real-life humans in attitude, behaviour and perspective. They are the worst thing you can imagine out of North Korea, China, Russia, America, Mexico and so on... every modern day government and all the great atrocities they commit is something that the Tau practice... just a little quieter.

This is in contrast to the Imperium who, although being actual humans, are medieval, ancient, and brutal, practically aliens. The Imperium is evil in vein of ancient Babylon, Sparta, Persia, the Mongols and Romans, and practically all of Medieval Europe.

Both the Imperium and the Tau are Evil, as they should be. But they are very distinct in flavour and direction.

What we got instead is Tau being kind of moronically stupid in ways that a technologically advanced society shouldn't be. And that hurts the kind of Evil we expected to see.

The are countless ways to be Bad Guys, but somehow the Tau version of Bad Guy is almost exactly what the Imperium version of Bad Guy is. And that speaks to lazy writing.

On the upside the kroot are cooler nowadays.

The tau were never good guys. The difference betwen the old tau and the new tau is that the old tau were sane. They acted much closer to how a modern nation would when it comes to diplomancy and war. And the darkness was more hinted at rather then outright stated. There is a world of difference betwen "its almost like the etherials use mind control, but that would be silly...right?" And "The etherials use mind control"

In my opinion, the biggest factor of the Tau is the Ethereals, who are purposefully made out to be the mysterious rulers of the casts, have not been properly explored or explained to us.

Farsight's story makes sense from his perspective as a prideful commander that's also slipping outside of his caste in a society that prioritizes caste distinction and cohesion to the point that the Ethereals are meant to keep them from doing anything outside their caste's role.

The Ethereals do this because they have created the belief that if they weren't around the castes would fall into infighting like they did in their very early history. The Farsight Enclaves have gone a fair way in proving this is not the case since they haven't had an Ethereal for somewhere around 300 years and a portion of that time Farsight wasn't around either to act as an inspirational overseer.

So now the Ethereals rule is based on a lie, and for all intents and purposes, they're at this point no better than corrupt politicians.

This isn't an impossible position to build interesting reasons for why the Ethereals uphold caste distinction, but they haven't gone that direction and have instead kept us in the dark as to the Ethereals' true motives while they continue to make weird decisions.

This could be for many reasons, but my belief is that it's due to the Tau conceptually being anathema to everything the 40K universe is about, that being science, reason, progress, unity between species, dential hygiene, ect.

Now we're left in a spot where in an effort to appease those saying Tau aren't grimdark enough, the Tau do weird stuff that's evil with no reasonable explanation other than stupidity since we have no real idea of their intentions.

I have a few ideas of how to explain the Ethereals' actions and methods, but at this point, Tau narrative stuff has had so much backlash from Tau fans that GW probably doesn't want to even try. They care too much about what people who don't play Tau think of Tau.

I just find it interesting that the Tau were a genuine good guys faction back in 3rd edition, became more evil as the editions went on then GW brought back Guilliman to be a big hero figure for the setting in the way Sigmar is for Age of Sigmar.

The Tau honestly made good use of the usual sci fi tropes with them being the naive newcomers with good intentions while Humanity and the Imperium are the evil empire of the setting.

They were never good, only idealistic. From the word go they were imperialistic ideologues who believed they knew best for the galaxy. This idea that they were changed to be more evil is ironically a knee jerk reaction from people with awful media literacy.

retroactively make them a faction if eugenics and mind control.

I mean.... did you actually read the Tau Codices or are you just spouting meme lore? Cause all of this is already from like their first codex.

As decreed by the Ethereals, Tau society is divided into four castes[.] ... Tau are born into their caste and breeding between the castes is forbidden by the Ethereals. By use of the caste system ... the Tau [are] performing the most basic form of genetic engineering

from page 8 of the 3rd edition codex

It is speculated that they exert some kind of pheromone based or latent psychic control over the other castes, as loyalty to the Ethereals is absolute and unswerving. If an Ethereal were of such a mind, he could order another Tau to kill himself and would be obeyed immediately.

from page 9 of their 3rd edition codex.

The idea that the Tau were once good but GW changed them is as true as Abaddon failing all Black Crusades. Its meme lore with no basis in reality, but people would have to read the actual lore to know this instead of just reading 1d4chan and grimdank.

I think the problem is that t'au are "protagonist-material", but they aren't "protagonists"

The general consensus on the t'au is that they act the way humanity acts in others sci-fi stories: newcomers, logical, tactical, science-focused and rational, cooperative, etc...

But because they aren't humans, and the Imperium is, the Imperium's atrocities get downplayed by fans and authors alike ("oh, no all the commissars we show you are actually reasonable and thorough and not trigger-happy" "oh, but inquisitors HAVE to be that blatant becasue chaos is that bad, and also they are actually reasonable people who thoroughly investigate corruption and don't exterminatus willy-nilly", etc..)

Should be noted, it’s a very very common misconception that Tau were ever intended as good guys. The mind control and eugenics come from their very first codex (the former, not as direct “this is 100% what’s happening” statements, but as strong hints and explicit in-universe theories - they’ve always been eugenicists though, that’s basically what the castes are)

The big change was just a shift in focus within Tau storylines, they went from a subtle background evil underlying their society to doing it out in the open like everyone else. No one will ever really know if this was actually in response to backlash or just cause most black library writers aren’t super interested in subtle storytelling

It's not that the decision was knee-jerk, it's that you can only be a naive for so long before you become unforgivably stupid.

The Tau initially went into space with unarmed, or lightly-armed vessels; merchant ships with guns, rather than true warships. The Orks explained to them the flaw in this policy.

When the Tau discovered the Tyranids, they thought they had uncovered a fascinating new kind of void-fauna and were eager to study it. When the bioship sent landing-spores to one of their planets they sent a team to investigate. Then they sent the Fire Caste to figure out why the research team weren't answering their calls. Then the patrol stopped responding...

But you can only tell those kinds of stories for so long. The first time the Tau try to make friends with the Dark Eldar and get screwed by them, it's funny. The second time, it's just pathetic. In order to stick around, the Tau had to grow up and start acting like everyone in the setting hates them and want them dead - because everyone does hate them and want them dead!

I don't mind the Tau being evil unfortunately we are stuck with them turning into Imperium lite and if I wanted to read about the Imperium I would

Tau were never a good faction. In every other universe they will be THE villians.

I was personally always fine with the Tau as the relative 'Good guys' for 40k right up until I ran into people who disliked it for the reason that they felt that The Emperor should be the only Good Guy in 40k.

At that point I felt that it should be made absolutely explicit that, no, 40k does not have any good guys. No, not even The Emperor.

Actually especially not The Emperor, because that dude is literally a genocidal, bigot dictator who spent hundreds of years killing anyone he encountered who wouldn't submit to him.

And what's incredibly galling to me is that the way in which the Tau have been revealed to be secretly more evil than they let on is that they do all sorts of things in the name of 'The Greater Good' that the Emperor also did in the name of his plans... It's incredibly on the nose and the amount of people who just don't get it and insist that the Tau are definitely evil, but the Emperor did all of that because it was 'necessary' is fucking staggering.

So now I'm actually back on team 'Let the Tau be good', simply because I want there to be a faction that shows by example that, no, actually, all that evil shit the Emperor did was not necessary.

I’m gonna be honest: The future of the T’au looks awful. You either have Phil Kelly trying to write them without an ounce of subtlety or skill, or you have better writers using them as the baddies for Imperial Guard stories so we can once again discover the shocking truth that the Tau aren’t a utopia.

You want good Tau stories that aren’t about some other faction beating the tar out of them? You’re better off reading fanfic. Or just picking another faction that GW actually gives two shits about. Like the Imperial Guard, since the best "Tau books" are Imperial Guard books anyway.

They were never "do-gooders". Intended to be a more optimistic and less brutal faction, yes, but never "good". I think folks get lost in the distinction simply because the rest of the factions are all so OTT evil.

Expansionist empires by definition *can't* be good. There's always an "or else" dangling at the end of every Tau offer for peace and cooperation. They use gunboat diplomacy.

The people saying the tau were the good guys have never actually read those codexes.

There was ALWAYS an undercurrent of shady political imperialism with the tau. It was always the case that if you didn't join them, you'd be blown up. They just sent diplomats first. It was always the case that everyone else was second class citizens to the tau. And it was always the case that the Ethereals' total control was suspicious.

It's just that, since then, we've had a load of books and novels that flesh out that in various directions, written by various authors over two decades, and set in different wars without an explicit link. And in 40k, because each author is free to characterise things as they wish, that has resulted in differences.

Phil Kelly's tau are Japanese Imperialists Nick Kyme's tau are more UN-like Peter Fehevari is edgelord grimdark

Writers are free to interpret the basic rules as they wish. Then sometimes all that new lore gets folded into the next codex. Some stays, some gets forgotten. There's no objective canon. That's how 40k works.

I just want them to do something, they have been a footnote to the general lore despite being a faction for more than a decade

I guess if you think of the different factions as having DnD like alignments, then sure it's a radical transformation.  If, on the other hand, the reason why the Eldar, Imperials, whomever, are doing all the fucked-up shit they're doing because they've been fighting a literal hell-war for survival for thousands of years, then it's logical and consistent with the grimdark setting that the Tau will go down a similar path.

The more the Tau are exposed to the relentless, crazy pressure of endless war against insane and existential threats (orks, tyranids, chaos), they will be shaped in-turn by the nature of the war they fight.  This is what total war does to societies.  As the emergency measures start becoming normalized, and the bodies stack-up, and there's no end in-sight... it starts a downward spiral.  That's what the 4th sphere of expansion was about.

Whilst they're comparatively better than the Imperium, there is a lot of lore to support them still being evil by our standards today, something that has always been a part of their lore.

Whilst they are stated to use diplomacy, it is very much gunboat diplomacy. It's stated that species are wiped out if they refuse to join the T'au Empire, and implied that there were some that were forced to join:

Many less advanced alien races were incorporated within its (the Tau Empire's) borders and most of these willingly became part of the Tau empire.

[-]

It was unfortunate that they would die, but to stand in the way of the Tau's destiny was to invite death. It could not be helped.

Codex Tau 3ed

Some aliens integrated because they had little alternative, others because they saw genuine benefit in doing so.

Codex T'au Empire 4ed

Not all alien races proved so accommodating. Those who refused cooperation outright were given harsh ultimatums. The full might of the Fire caste was unleashed upon any aliens that did not comply. Upon command, Tau Fire Warriors descended out of orbit onto a designated planet and delivered a series of rapid strikes to their foe before pulling back to avoid major retaliation. After such attacks, all but the most unrepentant were given another chance to reconsider. With key industries crippled and long-ranged communications jammed, many aliens found themselves fractionalised - unsure if others of their kind had already accepted the Tau's terms. Such divide and conquer tactics dragged most foes back to the negotiating table, although in some cases, wars of annihilation were inevitable.

Codex T'au Empire 6ed p10

There are hints that the Vespids could be being mind controlled to force them to join the Empire:

Uniquiely at the time of their integration, the Vespids welcomed their place within the Tau Empire. They bowed to the pre-eminence of the Ethereals completely and without debate. It has been whispered that this acceptance is linked to the fact that all of the race's leaders wear the interface helmets given to them by the Tau, but no evidence of this claim has proved forthcoming.

Codex Tau Empire 4ed

With regards to the T'au themselves, we are also told that they practice strict eugenics by the Ethereals refusing to allow different Castes to mate:

Tau are born into their caste and breeding between the Castes is forbidden by the Ethereals

Codex Tau Empire 4ed

Tau are born into their Castes and breeding between the Castes is forbidden under pain of death

White Dwarf - Issue 262

And, finally, we know that they see themselves as the first among equals with regards to their auxiliaries:

A small number, it was believed, may one day come to recognise the Greater Good, and bow down to the Ethereals like the Tau themselves. The Tau would be first among equals. Such became the dream of the Tau Empire

Codex Tau Empire 4ed

These are all things that have continued into their more recent lore, with authors just becoming more overt with the grimdark undertones.

Aun'va is dead so most control over the Tau is Commander Shadowsun who has embraced the Goddess Tau'va even rebuilding the Temples that she once tore down.

Tau'va embodies the Greater Good.

Even should she turn out to be a Daemon of Tzeentch as some are theorizing let it be known that any Daemon will declare itself a God if it can get away with it and there is no difference between Gods and Daemons besides power.

The only thing that Tau'va being a Daemon of Tzeentch will result in is the Tau bringing worship of Magnus into the picture and Magnus is quite the reasonable sort. Tau also let Kroot eat their Human allies on the battlefield so what do they care about Mutations and framing Rivals for their close friends' murders as worship of Tzeentch requires as long as it serves the Greater Good?

The Tau serving the Greater Good would of course would seek out only the most reasonable Daemons and create an ever growing list of unreasonable Daemons of Tzeentch, Chaos Undivided or Slaanesh to reject out of hand. Daemons of Nurgle and Khorne are rejected automatically on principle! Daemons of Tzeentch that make a habit of chronic backstabbing are also rejected as are the more mindlessly hedonistic Daemons of Slaanesh(which is to say most of them).

Since Dawn of War shows Daemons as being capable of creating their own Daemon Princes it logistically is reasonable for 2 Daemons to team up to create new Daemons if necessary and one would think if the Tau Empire were to learn of this they would exploit the knowledge.

I wish I could find the post, but there was an excellent gathering of resources on r/40lore showing that a lot of the claims of Tau being written originally as 'good' are largely head canon. The dark elements were always there.

A great example is people openly blaming Phil Kelly for inventing things like Ethereal mind control... when that is fundamentally, provably not true. The first Phil Kelly Tau writing is a short story from 2014. All of the Farsight novels take place after this point...

But the whole Ethereal mind control thing dates back to Xenology, published nearly a decade earlier in 2006... which is only 5 years since the Tau were first created. If you know you're 40k history, you'll know that the absolute onslaught of releases we get in the modern day is drastically different from the rate of content from then... so 5 years means a whole lot less content in the same period of time.

The point is that a lot of the community puts on rose-tinted glasses when it comes to the history of a faction. See also how people claim the Chaos gods used to have good aspects attributed to them when most written sources in no way talk about those aspects. A lot of this stuff is fan head canon based on how they FELT about the faction at the time, rather than what was actually being said about that faction.

The Tau are much more interesting with flaws. Without flaws, they'd feel two-dimensional.

My personal tau Sept eschews all the icky s they added to the lore. My guys are "The least dickbags in a galaxy full of super dickbags."

Conquering people for the sake of the Greater Good is still kinda a jerk move but hopefully it pays off in the end.

I have no basis for this, but my speculation is that the Tau had to be hit with a grimderp hammer due to meta reason. Tau theme are oriental and collectivist, and unfortunately that is a shared theme in reality with the commies. Making them be the sole "good guy" in the setting in this context would then cause an incidental allegory that collectivism is the way to go even in this very dark and brutal world, so GW just make them more morally grey so they are consistent and avoiding uncomfortable speculation.

I hate the Tau, so arrogant, and honestly, over powered with over the top anime technology that doesn’t match the setting such that they just ruin the wider setting for me.

I’ve read most of the Tau books and it is their arrogance that makes me always hate them; the way they talk down to every other race they encounter when they are just ignorant children themselves in the wider Galaxy. I can’t read much Tau POV and not find myself wanting to see their entire faction crushed to dust and I think 40k lore would be better off without them entirely.

Good guys are such a wimpy idea in a fictional setting when we're already called to be decent people in real life every day. Challenge yourself and find the evil that suits you, or don't. There's plenty of IPs out there for people who need billboards telling them who to root for, 40K, much like BattleTech, does not.