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The Iron Curtain Device is the iconic Soviet superweapon used to make vehicles and buildings temporarily invulnerable.

Official description[]

The previous iteration of the Iron Curtain Device was a huge success for the Soviets and warranted an upgrade. Now capable of making up to nine vehicles or a few buildings impervious to damage, with an increased shield duration and immunity to mind control, the Iron Curtain is a bigger threat than ever.[1]

Overview[]

For a detailed list of changes from the original game, click here.

Superweapon Description
Ircricon
Type: Support Superweapon
Recharge Time: 6:30

Makes friendly vehicles and structures in the target area invulnerable for 40 seconds
Lasts 20% longer on Qilin Tanks
Lasts 20% shorter on Terror Drones

Left-click icon then left-click on target location

General tips[]

  • Superweapons are expensive and power hungry. In some circumstances (such as limited funds) it may be more beneficial to spend credits on other buildings or units.
  • All players will be notified of the construction and activation of a superweapon via an EVA announcement, and every player can see the countdown of a superweapon. Unlike in Red Alert 2 however, the minimap will not show where a superweapon is located, nor the fog of war will be removed around the superweapon.
  • Therefore, build a superweapon only when it is safe to do so. Building one in the wrong circumstances (such as insufficient funds or low power) can be costly.
  • Place superweapons preferably at the back of the base, so enemy units will have to fight through your defenses to reach it.
  • Surround a superweapon with walls to prevent a timer reset by sneaky spies.
  • Superweapons do not guarantee victory. Apart from a long cooldown between activations, an experienced enemy player can destroy a superweapon before it is even activated.
  • Enemies are able to recover quickly after a superweapon activation if they have a captured Tech Maintenance Center. Destruction of this tech building is vital to ensuring an enemy base stays crippled.

Counters[]

  • Arguably the best counter to a superweapon is to prevent the opposing player from building one in the first place.
    • Destroying the enemy's Tier 3 access structure is the most direct option.
    • Disrupt the enemy's economy, whether by eliminating ore miners or Tech Oil Derricks. Infiltrating the enemy's Ore Refinery is also another option. Note that this tactic is not effective against A.I. opponents due to their infinite money perk.
    • Attentive players can occasionally tell if a superweapon is being constructed if the enemy player hasn't built a structure for a long time. If this is the case, eliminating other important structures may force the opponent to cancel the construction of said superweapon.
  • Knocking out the power grid and/or the superweapon itself with anti-building capabilities are the most conventional countermeasures, whether in a direct assault or guerilla tactics. Examples include the following:
    • The Allies' Barracuda bombers can drop their payload and return to base with few or no casualties. 4 of them can take down a superweapon in a heartbeat.
    • If the superweapon is not defended by anti-infantry defenses, Tanya (if playing as United States) or Navy SEALs can plant C4 in the superweapon. The C4 detonation is enough to take it down in little time(1 C4 for Tanya, while 2 for SEAL).
  • If the opposing base cannot be assaulted without taking significant casualties, delaying the countdown of a superweapon is another option. The methods for doing this are:
    • Infiltrating the superweapon directly, resetting the countdown.
    • Infiltrating power plants to shut down the entire enemy base. Since this causes most stationary defenses to become disabled, this is an excellent opportunity to eliminate the superweapon threat.
  • The Foehn Revolt has the defining technology to completely block a superweapon from targeting a specific area, either through mobile Raccoons or the power-dependent Signal Inhibitor. Haihead subfaction has an additional way to do this through the Signal Jammer support power.
    • In addition, the Foehn Revolt can also disable superweapons, halting their countdown. The Raccoon vehicle can do this indefinitely as long as its ECM jammer is locked on to the superweapon, whereas the Ramwagon stolen tech vehicle and the Haihead-exclusive support power Blackout Missile can perform the same for a short period of time.

AI behavior[]

Unlike in the original game, the AI will always build an Iron Curtain after a Tactical Nuke Silo is already built.

Appearances[]

The Iron Curtain Device makes our vehicles and structures temporarily invulnerable.
—Soviet intel during Operation: Dragonstorm

In the campaign, certain enemy Iron Curtain Devices are dedicated to shielding certain enemy units or buildings. These targets are permanently invulnerable until the Iron Curtain is destroyed, but unless if specified otherwise they do not provide the Invulnerability superweapon. Despite being a Soviet structure, it is also used frequently by the Epsilon Army, up to the point where it is deployed in conjunction with their own superweapon, the Rage Inductor.

Act One[]

The Iron Curtain in the Latin Confederation base is dedicated to shielding the Psychic Amplifier, and it must be destroyed so the Amplifier can be attacked.

The Russian army will build an Iron Curtain and use it to shield their Kuznetsov Dreadnoughts.

  • See: Sunlight

  • The Iron Curtain becomes a buildable structure in this mission.

  • See: Dragonstorm

  • An Iron Curtain is one of the targets to be destroyed.

  • See: Singularity

  • The Russian army will build an Iron Curtain after the contents of the first Rocket Launch Bay has been extracted, and use it to shield the 3 remaining Rocket Launch Bays (this will not happen in Casual difficulty, however).

  • See: Moonlight

  • Act Two[]

    An Iron Curtain Device is located near the White House. When the American rebels start the attack, Reznov will provide Invulnerability from this Iron Curtain Device for the player.

    When the Proselyte attempts to use 16 Foxtrots to destroy the Centurion Siege Crawler, the attempt fails as the Centurion suddenly turns invulnerable. Libra is then deployed and tasked with destroying the Foehn Iron Curtain, but once it is, the Centurion remains invulnerable and it is revealed that it has its own portable Iron Curtain Device.

  • See: Machinehead

  • The Psychic Dominator is permanently shielded by an Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain is protected by a large number of EMP Mines, and, unlike the ones in Beautiful Mind and Kill the Messenger, can still be normally used to turn vehicles invulnerable. Unlike normal superweapons, this particular Iron Curtain can be captured by Engineers, which will also cause its timer to reset.

  • See: Meltdown

  • An Iron Curtain network protects the Kremlin where Yuri resides. There are two sets of Iron Curtains that must be destroyed so the Kremlin becomes vulnerable:

    • Outer Iron Curtain Devices that are magenta-colored and are permanently cloaked. These are found in the outskirts of the Epsilon bases, and must be destroyed so the second set of Iron Curtain Devices become vulnerable. The number of these cloaked Iron Curtains depend on the difficulty.
    • Inner Iron Curtain Devices that applies Invulnerability to each other, but there will always be one Iron Curtain that is vulnerable to attack. These are found within the Epsilon bases, and must be destroyed so the Kremlin becomes vulnerable.
    • The player have to deal with the last extra Iron Curtain source when attacking the unshielded Kremlin however.
  • See: Death's Hand

  • Origins[]

    • In Kill the Messenger, the vehicles and defenses guarding the Ironwing are invulnerable until the Iron Curtain shielding them is destroyed. While this Iron Curtain does not provide the Invulnerability superweapon, the Chinese will eventually build another Iron Curtain that does.

    Special Ops[]

    • In Trophy Hunter, friendly forces have an Iron Curtain Device, which will be used from time to time to protect the player's facilities, and it will be handed over to the player to use in the later stage of the mission.
    • In Gridlock, the three Iron Curtain Devices shielding the Rocket Launchpad's controllers must be destroyed so they could be captured.
      • On Mental difficulty, these are permanently invulnerable until all Nuclear Reactors have been destroyed.

    Cooperative[]

    • Chronologically, the Iron Curtain Device is buildable for players since Ravages of War.
    • Two Iron Curtain Devices are the targets to destroy in Mind Over Matter.

    Challenge[]

    • In the Ironwall Challenge, 8 old Iron Curtain Devices will act as controllers of Iron Curtain defense line.

    See also[]

    External links[]

    References[]

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