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It's super effective!
—A Hailstorm assesses an attack result
Hailicon

The Hailstorm is a siege vehicle used by the Pacific Front. It is a mobile platform carrying a Hailhitter (called Hailjet in-game) bomber jet which it uses to destroy enemy structures from a distance.

Official description

Raining icy destruction from the skies above, the Hailstorm is the Pacific Front's premier siege engine. Formerly used to combat forest fires in Australia, the Hailstorm makes use of a bomber aircraft that unleashes several payloads of high-yield cryogenic substances, turning buildings into brittle constructs which easily collapse under their own weight. Though incredibly effective against structures and other hardened targets, the vehicle's Hailhitter bomber is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.[1]

Overview

Among the three siege vehicles of the Allies, the Hailstorm is the most survivable because it has the heaviest armor, making the Hailstorm usually survive from enemy's precise air raids.

Another major feature of Hailstorm is the attack mode and attack range. The small bomber Haihitter can cast a large number of hail cannon to a large target area, and their attack range is the highest among the three siege vehicles, which means that Hailstorm can even destroy enemy advanced defense structures like Antares Battery, outside their range. But this type of attack also means that Hailstorm is more difficult to attack bases full of anti-air power.

On the other hand, Hailstorm's maneuverability is far less than Prism Tank, even though its hail cannons are affective for infantry, its movement speed is the slowest. Therefore, Hailstorm usually needs some more flexible units and anti-air units to guard.

Appearances

Act One

  • In the Covert Ops mission Eclipse, two Hailstorms appear in the KI complex. They do not have Hailjets on them and serve purely as props.

Cooperative

  • The first functional Hailstorms appear in Rush Tactics, in a convoy protected by Battle Tortoises, Blizzard Tanks and Future Tanks. Their elimination is the goal of the two players, ensuring that they won't be put to use until much later in the war.
  • Chronologically, the Hailstorm is first buildable in Hypothermia, earlier than Relentless.

Act Two

  • The Hailstorms are first put to use in Relentless. Some time after the player receives an MCV, a few Hailstorms will be given to the Allied Commander, although they aren't buildable until Insomnia.

Origins

Assessment

Pros Cons
  • Very effective against infantry and structures, and adequate against lighter vehicles.
  • Can destroy structures and units from an incredible range.
  • Can strike targets with decent accuracy.
  • Most durable of the three Allied siege vehicles.
  • Can self-repair.
  • Immune to omnicrush.
  • Expensive ($1750).
  • Vulnerable against aircraft and anti-armor threats.
  • Its Hailhitter bomber is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.
  • Hailhitter takes time to return and reload after finishing its bombing run.
  • If the Hailhitter is shot down, it takes time for the Hailstorm to provide a replacement.
  • Not effective against heavier tanks.
  • Slow-moving.

Trivia

  • The Hailstorm bears resemblance to the concept art of ORCA Lift Truck, an unit that was planned for Renegade but was removed from the final release.

See also

References

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