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Shades of agony.
—A Shadow Tank preparing an ambush

The Shadow Tank is a stealth mobile assault vehicle used by the Epsilon Headquarters.

Official description[]

Deadly and completely hidden from sight - the most valued attributes a machine of war could possess. The Shadow Tank is one of Yuri's greatest achievements, with its technology taking countless years to master. Much to the Allies' surprise, Yuri has somehow taken what was left of their unfinished stealth technology and progressed with it far enough to be utilized for mobile applications en masse. Only revealing itself when diverting power to their weapons, the Shadow can otherwise remain unseen indefinitely. If explicitly ordered, the unit can withhold fire completely and stay in its cloaked mode.

Equipped with twin dissolver beam weapons, the Shadow is one of the most dreaded of Epsilon inventions, becoming a pivotal instrument of victory for Yuri's proselytes. Whenever their presence is suspected, detector units are quick to join the main Allied and Soviet forces. While the Shadow's weapons inflict less damage to structures than upon units, no base should be left exposed to its assault.[1]

Overview[]

The Shadow Tank is an interesting addition to Epsilon Headquarters' arsenal - while the faction primarily relies on a slow but steady and armored approach combined with somewhat unconventional yet superior firepower to eliminate the opposition (as evidenced by their employment of Stalkers, Rahn, Opus Tanks, Colossi, and the dreaded Aerial Fortress Irkalla), this stealthy vehicle is the polar opposite of the ground forces exclusive to this faction. Shadow Tanks fulfill the element of surprise and devastating hit-and-run attacks for HQ while acting as a supplemental stealth detector for the Stinger. These vehicles can slink across the battlefield discreetly and strike their enemies when they least expect it - only units with stealth detection can sense their approach before it's too late. With their twin Dissolver Beams, Shadow Tanks can liquidize infantry into a puddle of organic waste in the blink of an eye while dealing significant damage to armored vehicles. Since the majority of stealth detection units are rather fragile anyways, Shadow Tanks are not to be underestimated in the hands of a cunning HQ proselyte.

These vehicles can also be ordered to hold their fire indefinitely in order to retain their stealth, they will not eagerly shoot at anything that comes into range. This will allow them to stay completely unnoticed unless a hostile stealth detector approaches, giving them a major tactical advantage as unseen scouts - this is helped by the fact that the Stealth Tank is the only land stealth detector unit (alongside Malver and the Archelon) that is also stealthed. Do note they will not retaliate even if detected and fired upon - their respective proselytes must manually command them to 'un-deploy' their permanent cloaks before they can fire their Dissolver Beams again.

While the Shadow Tank is a potent psychological weapon in every regard (even the mere glimpse of one will often prompt HQ's enemies to start mass-producing stealth detection units to paranoid levels), they are rather fragile and will not hold up in a skirmish against heavy tanks, as their Dissolver Beams are not effective against them unless they strike en masse. They are also ineffective against buildings but it would be wise to never leave an opening in a base for them to sneak in, for they can still deal significant damage to lightly-protected vital infrastructures such as power sources. Base defenses are also another danger they should avoid, unless there are no stealth detectors in the vicinity.

AI behavior[]

Shadow Tanks controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 2x targeting infantry
  • 4x targeting vehicles

Medium/Hard[]

  • 1x guarding Inferno Towers or Gatling Cannons; accompanied by 1 Colossus
  • 2x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 2 Opus Tanks and 2 Colossi
  • 4x targeting ore miners

Hard[]

  • 2x targeting anything, accompanied by 2 Invaders
  • 2x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 4 Opus Tanks

The AI is not programmed to switch between Shadow Tank modes.

It is worth noting that all task forces here that do not include Colossi will only be built when the AI owns a Radar Spire, which is not its prerequisite building.

Appearances[]

Shadow Tanks! These vehicles were reportedly used to conquer Moscow! We cannot let them overtake this Morocco base we've just reestablished!
—Allied intel during Operation: Ghost Hunt

In the campaign, the Shadow Tank is a unit shared by the Epsilon Headquarters and the PsiCorps. But for other factions, obtaining the Shadow Tank is only possible by capturing an Epsilon HQ base.

Act Two[]

  • The first division of Shadow Tanks are used in The Conqueror. They are tasked with sneaking inside the city of Moscow to destroy the Nuclear Reactors powering the city, and are aided in this objective by the explosive barrels planted near the reactors. Once the Nuclear Reactors are destroyed, the MCVs will arrive with the rest of Epsilon forces.
  • Shadow Tanks become buildable in Memory Dealer.
  • In Divergence and Godsend, elite Shadow Tank divisions act as controllable sleeper agents.
  • In the final part of Ghost Hunt, a large amount of Shadow Tanks will emerge to launch a surprise attack on the Allies.

Special Ops[]

What was that? It appeared out of nowhere! A stealth tank!
—Feng squad member during Operation: Time Capsule
  • Shadow Tanks also debuts in Fallen Ashes along with The Conqueror, as reinforcement units from PsiCorps.
  • In Nightcrawler, a traitor Shadow Tank that joined the Allies located at the top right part of map acts as an easter egg. Destroying it will gain several bonus crates to the player.
  • Chronologically, the Shadow Tank first appears in Time Capsule.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Cloaked, difficult to detect.
  • Effective against armored units and infantry.
  • Can ambush units without warning, especially those without stealth detection capabilities.
  • Can detect cloaked and submerged units.
  • Can deploy to hold fire to avoid unnecessary attention.
  • Fast.
  • Must disengage its cloak to open fire.
  • Lightly armored, easy to kill with anti-armor weaponry.
  • Weak against stealth detection.
  • If detected in hold fire mode, they will not retaliate automatically (must be manually commanded to do so).
  • Cannot attack air units.
  • Not as effective against structures unless used in large numbers.

Behind the scenes[]

  • In 2.0 the Shadow Tank was also effective against buildings, which made it unbalanced.

Trivia[]

  • The image in the beta icon is an American M4 Sherman tank.
    Shadow Tank cameo from version 2.0 and 1.2.
  • The Shadow Tank was the first tank made for Mental Omega.[2]

See also[]

References[]

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