| Unit | Quotes | Gallery | Changelog |
| “ | The future begins now. | ” |
| —Cyborg Vanguard |
The Cyborg Vanguard is a Chinese heavy infantry unit that only appears in the campaign and in certain skirmish maps as unbuildable units. These towering soldiers clad in body armor are based from the same technology that created Volkov and is a menacing presence to be encountered in the battlefield.
Official description
Cyborg Prototypes[note 1] are the secret attempts by the Chinese at creating their own cybernetic weapons, using information gained from reverse engineering Russia’s mighty commando, Volkov. Though by far not as powerful as their progenitor, the Prototypes are still a powerful threat, mowing down infantry and razing structures with little to no effort, their mechanical bodies taking more punishment than any normal soldier ever could.[1]
Overview
While normally unavailable in the current build of Mental Omega aside from very special circumstances (see the Appearances section below), Cyborg Vanguards are powerful forces of destruction that will decimate anything on the ground with little effort - infantry units perish almost instantly from their high-powered chainguns, and their nuclear grenades will destroy vehicles and level entire structures with a few short barrages.
Although Volkov still possesses supernatural durability over them, Cyborg Vanguards are still ridiculously hardy units that can withstand immense punishment that would kill a regular infantry unit many times over.
As they are machines, they have inherent immunity from the majority of battlefield hazards (poison, radiation, mind control, etc.) that would normally plague an organic being. They are still vulnerable to EMP and magnetic weaponry though, and massed anti-personnel fire will still pose a threat to these killing automatons. Aircraft is another danger they should avoid, as they cannot retaliate against them.
Appearances
Act Two
- Cyborg Vanguards are among the Chinese forces present in Cyberanatomy and Heartwork. In Heartwork, all of them must be destroyed by the player-controlled Russians.
- Shortly after Meltdown begins, a squad of Cyborg Vanguards expropriated by Russia will paradrop in the base to aid the player.
- Cyborg Vanguards can be trained from the Barracks in Earthrise once an Industrial Plant is established.
- In the Covert Ops mission Dawnbreaker, once the player proceeds past the initial Epsilon position, 24 Cyborg Vanguards (12 on Mental difficulty) will paradrop into the area to aid the Russians.
- In the Covert Ops mission Brothers in Arms, Cyborg Vanguards can be trained by the Russian task force that is using stolen Chinese arsenal.
Challenges
- Cyborg Vanguards appear in the Revolution Challenge as part of the enemy Chinese forces, and spawn near the bottom right corner. Destroying the Nanocentrifuge causes them to stop appearing.
Skirmish
- Six Cyborg Vanguards, alongside the Cyborg Commando, form the starting army of the defending player in The Sky Mountain.
Assessment
| Pros | Cons |
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Behind the scenes
- Prior to 3.3.1, the Cyborg Vanguard was known as Cyborg Prototype. It appeared in 3.0 as a Soviet stolen tech unit acquired by infiltrating any of the enemy Soviet labs.
Trivia
- The Cyborg Vanguard's design is based off the Soviet cyborg from the cancelled Renegade 2.
- The Cyborg Vanguard uses the similar weapons as Sammy Stallion. However, the former could employ explosive weapons against vehicles while the latter could not.
Notes
- ↑ This official description is written during version 3.0, where the Cyborg Vanguard is known as Cyborg Prototype (see Behind the Scenes).
