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Mortar combat!
—A Mortar Quad after being ordered to attack

The Mortar Quad is a fast attack vehicle (technically classified as an infantry) used by the Latin Confederation.

Official description[]

The concept of a fast anti-armor harasser has circulated through the halls of the Soviet army before, but never developed into fruition after the initial blueprints for an attack cycle went suddenly missing. The Latin Confederation however, has continued with a different, more improvised approach. Welding armor piercing mortars to high-powered quad bikes makes for a simple, yet effective way to destroy vehicles from a distance. The quads are now used by the Confederation mechanized infantry battalions in order to quickly destroy enemies from afar, often utilized from inside of their Catastrophes.[1]

Overview[]

Latin Confederation's small four-wheeled all-terrain units act as an alternative and/or supplementary anti-armor unit for the Tesla Trooper. Designed to overcome the weaknesses of the latter, Mortar Quads have superior range, better speed, and firepower, allow them to fire upon enemy vehicles at decent ranges. Their armor-piercing weapons are also decently effective against structures and base defenses, making them extemporaneous siege units in the event a Latin Confederation general may not have access to Buratinos yet.

They can also be summoned via the Motor Ambush support power, where three of such units will appear at the designated position. This can be used as an ambush tactic (hence its name) or simply as a quick way to bolster the commanding general's forces.

Mortar Quads, though powerful anti-armor infantry units, are still very fragile and susceptible to small-arms fire. They are immune to the mauling attacks of Attack Dogs and Spooks however. Their weapons are not effective against infantry, so it is wise for them to back away from advancing foot soldiers. While they are superior to Tesla Troopers in range and speed, they must sacrifice durability and taking on the inherent vulnerability of having a minimum range, so it will not be able to fire upon units that get too close to it.

AI behavior[]

Mortar Quads controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 4x targeting vehicles or ore miners
  • 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 4 Flak Troopers

Medium/Hard[]

  • 4x targeting anything, accompanied by 2 Tesla Troopers, 2 Pyros and 2 Attack Dogs
    • If available, Rage, Kinetic Barrier and Regen/Wonder Drugs may be applied
  • 4x targeting anything, accompanied by 4 Jaguar Tanks

Hard[]

  • 1x loaded inside a Catastrophe Tank
    • This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Catastrophe with the same passenger

Appearances[]

Comrade, the Confederation's Mortar Quads will help you eliminate enemy armor.
—Soviet intel during Operation: Idle Gossip

Act One[]

  • Mortar Quads first appear as enemy units in Road Trippin' (high difficulties only).
  • The Mortar Quad become a trainable unit in Idle Gossip. In that mission as well as in the Act Two mission Meltdown, the player can train them despite playing as Russia instead of the Latin Confederation.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Effective against armored units.
  • Can outrange most tanks and even buildings from a distance.
  • Cannot be crushed by normal vehicles.
  • Immune to Dog and Spook attacks.
  • Weapon not very effective against infantry.
  • Exploitable minimum range.
  • Vulnerable to magnetic weapons.
  • Fragile, easy to kill with anti-infantry weapons.
  • Fast-moving units can evade its attacks.

Behind the scenes[]

The SHP sprite for the Mortar Quad by MadHQ is a public asset and can be used by other modders. The link can be found here (called "Conscript on a Quad Bike").

Trivia[]

  • The Mortar Quad is conceptually similar to the Soviet Mortar Cycle from Red Alert 3 Uprising.
  • Mortar Quads are regarded as infantry despite appearing as vehicles; they can be mutated into Brutes by genetic manipulation weapons.

References[]

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