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Is it my shift now?
—A Quickshifter driver wondering when he gets to see some action

The Quickshifter is an Allied stolen tech unit acquired by infiltrating an Allied Tech Center and Construction Yard. It is basically a teleporting tank armed with powerful missile launchers akin to the Aegis Cruiser's, but can engage ground targets.

The Quickshifter can also carry one passenger, but they have to wait until it is fully teleported before disembarking.

Official description[]

For decades, the Allies have been haunted by the painful memory of having their prototype transport stolen by Stalin’s cybernetic underlings, and used against them. To make up for it, in the remote secret labs of SteinsTech deep underground, many years later work on a new next-gen transport has begun.

To SteinsTech engineers, its design was to be a worthy successor to the experimental Chrono Tank from the Second Great War, and a natural evolution of the methods used for the transportation of troops: the Quickshifter's single passenger would have a wider usage than that of the Phase Transport's, due to its combination with the ability to chronoshift anywhere on the battlefield on its own. Even with its drawback of the passenger not being able to leave until the vehicle has fully teleported, the idea of transporting a capable soldier anywhere awakens imagination. Additionally armed with the advanced "Phalanx" missiles, designed to mimic the powerful weapon of the Aegis Cruiser with an additional surface targeting system, the Quickshifter is a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

…or rather, it could have been. With limited funding and delays caused by the chaos of war the Soviets had started, the development did not go as well as expected. As time went on, and most resources got allocated to the Paradox Project, it became apparent that this new tank would never see the light of day. To no one’s surprise, the project was eternally sealed in one of the lost underground SteinsTech labs.[1]

Overview[]

Arguably the best hit and run unit for the Allies, the Quickshifter has long range capabilities, can teleport, and transport units. The Phalanx missile battery it uses is strong against vehicles and aircraft, making it easy to harass groups of tanks and bombardment aircraft. With efficient micromanagement, they can effectively avoid taking significant damage.

The problem with the Quickshifter, however, is that it demands micromanagement to be used to great effect. The farther away it teleports, the longer it takes to reform in the target location, so if it needs to get somewhere quickly, it will likely be faster to move it in short bursts rather than attempt to teleport it there at once. It isn’t very effective against infantry or structures and is rather fragile for its hefty price tag.

Appearances[]

Challenges[]

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Powerful all-purpose attacker.
  • Can teleport anywhere it wishes, just like the Chrono Legionnaire.
  • Rapidly fires numerous rockets which deal significant damage.
  • Can engage both ground and air targets.
  • Good attack range allows it to outgun most enemy units.
  • Can easily avoid enemies by teleporting away.
  • Great at harassing enemy units.
  • Can transport infantry to anywhere it teleports.
  • High passenger survivability rate.
  • Can self-repair.
  • Expensive ($2000).
  • Like the Chrono Legionnaire, takes time to reform itself after teleporting; the further the distance, the more time it will take, leaving it exposed to enemy fire.
  • The passenger can only exit the vehicle once it has completely reformed itself.
  • Late game unit, only available after infiltrating an Allied Tech Center and an Allied Construction Yard.
  • Fragile, easy to kill with anti-armor weapons.
  • Cannot be cloaked.
  • Cannot teleport into unexplored terrain.
  • Susceptible to mind control and confusion rays.

Behind the scenes[]

  • "Phalanx", the name of the Quickshifter's missile battery, traces its to origin to an unused model named "Phal" in Red Alert 2. The said model was used for the Phalanx Tank, a stolen tech unit in pre-3.0 versions, without any modifications in version 1.2 and with minor reskinning in the 2.x series.

See also[]

Other Allied stolen tech units:

External links[]

References[]

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