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Can you feel the power within?
—A M.A.D.M.A.N. driver

The M.A.D.M.A.N. (Mutually Assured Destruction Mechanized Area Nullifier) is the epic unit of the Haihead used to deliver a "mutually assured destruction" to their enemies, as its name clearly suggests.

Official description[]

If you thought the destructive potential of the Haihead strike forces ended at the Megalodon, Shadrays or the Diverbee drones, you were mistaken. What truly proves how much Haihead is set on destruction is this monumental design: the fearsome heavy metal monster codenamed "M.A.D.M.A.N".

Having analyzed the short, but incredibly dynamic history of weapons development throughought the 20th century, Haihead's engineers have decided to attempt to resurrect the infamous M.A.D. Tank project and make use of the Foehn's ability to manipulate the air and weaponize plasma, to create a bomb so powerful it could level entire bases, taking down the sturdiest of structures.

The Mutually Assured Destruction Mechanized Area Nullifier works on a similar principle the original vehicle that inspired it did back during the late stages of the Second Great War. Once deployed, its driver will trigger the detonation and exit the vehicle. After several short seconds, the unit will explode, creating a large shockwave that will sweep everything in its way. The warhead's design subverts some of the expectations regarding a powerful shockwave, as it is actually the weakest in its very center. This results in M.A.D.M.A.N.'s drivers surviving the few detonations of the vehicle that have already occured.

As the M.A.D.M.A.N.'s warhead is extremely dangerous and devastating, the driver requires an explicit order for detonation before activating the weapon. This means that the vehicle can only explode once given the deploy command. The M.A.D.M.A.N. is still a very rare sight - highly experimental, absurdly expensive for a one-use tank, and limited in numbers. Regardless, they pose the biggest threat to Haihead's enemies, who have entire task forces designated just for dealing with these machines.[1]

Overview[]

Once the M.A.D.M.A.N. starts charging its plasma shockwave, the process cannot be interrupted. The only way to stop the activation of the weapon is to destroy the vehicle before it can be activated; the M.A.D.M.A.N.'s high armor, however, makes it very difficult to destroy unless with focused fire, especially before it can get close to the enemy base. Unfortunately, the M.A.D.M.A.N. can neither be transported nor chronoshifted, severely restricting its mobility. It is also unaffected by the Iron Curtain.

The effects of the plasma shockwave is somewhat awkward: the closer and/or smaller the targets are, the lesser the damage they take. As a result, buildings that are close to the M.A.D.M.A.N., especially defenses, will mostly survive, albeit heavily damaged. However, it can even destroy a Construction Yard in a single use if positioned correctly, and can usually wipe out ground vehicles caught in its wake. As it can crush infantry and vehicles anyway, the M.A.D.M.A.N. is a rather dangerous vehicle.

The only limitations to the M.A.D.M.A.N. is its high price, at $3000, which is double to that of Demolition Trucks and Bomb Buggies, and the fact that only one of them may be present at a time.

AI behavior[]

The AI uses an exclusive variant that is coded to only target buildings within 12 tiles. Buildings spawned through support powers (such as the Risen Monolith) are ignored.

M.A.D.M.A.N. controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

Easy/Medium[]

  • 1x targeting production structures
    • This task force will only be constructed if a Reprocessor is built

Hard[]

  • 1x targeting Construction Yards
    • This task force will only be constructed if a Reprocessor is built

Due to inconsistencies, the AI-exclusive variant has increased hit points (2400 to 3000) and speed (3 to 4), and is able to get bounty from kills.

Appearances[]

Challenges[]

  • In the Madness Challenge, the enemy AI at the top area will constantly send M.A.D.M.A.N. from top left and right corner of map to attack challengers. Only defeating the AI can cease the M.A.D.M.A.N. deployment.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Deploys to unleash an incredible shockwave blast which can annihilate most base structures and armored vehicles.
  • Massive blast radius.
  • Can destroy a Construction Yard in a single shockwave blast.
  • Very heavily armored.
  • Immune to mind control, hijacking, chrono weapons and confusion rays.
  • Can self-repair.
  • Cannot be immobilized completely with EMP.
  • Extremely expensive suicide unit ($3000).
  • Very slow.
  • Detonation has a short activation delay.
  • If the M.A.D.M.A.N. is destroyed before it can deploy, it will not activate the shockwave blast, unlike the Demolition Truck and Bomb Buggy.
  • Shockwave blast deals least amount of damage at the centre.
  • Not as effective against infantry and base defenses.
  • Only one can be built for each player.
  • Cannot be transported.
  • Unaffected by the Chronosphere and Iron Curtain.

See also[]

Other Foehn epic units:

External links[]

Notes[]

References[]

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