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All their bass belong to us.
—A Shadray driver dropping the beat

The Shadray Torch Tank is an artillery vehicle used by Haihead that also acts as an powerful anti-air unit.

Official description[]

An alteration and modular enhancement to the crystals previously utilized for sonic weapons resulted in the creation of a weapon much more powerful. By combining four screens that are used individually in its lower tier counterparts, inverting the piece vertically and removing its protective panels, a stronger wave amplifier was created. When this enhanced experimental design was utilized on a prototype microwave emitter, the results stunned everyone in the test hangar. Eventually, it even turned out that this new weapon was capable of emitting its waves even through an active Blasticade defense system.

While the microwaves have been experimented on before, it wasn't until this improved crystal amplifier design was completed, that an effective weaponized version of it became a reality. That is the Shadray Torch Tank - a powerful long-range microwave tank, setting infantry, tanks and even structures ablaze. Much to the surprise of its designers, the range of the emitter became so great, that it could affect aircraft and thus additional targeting systems have been installed onto the Shadray. With its state-of-the-art weaponry, the Shadray shares the role of a siege unit and a long-range anti-aircraft defense.[1]

Overview[]

The Shadray serves as the Tier 3 artillery unit for the Haihead subfaction of the Foehn Revolt. Unique to all the other artillery units utilized by the other factions, this unit is a jack-of-all-trades artillery piece that can take on any threat in the battlefield, whether they may be on foot, on treads, or in the air.

This unit uses a powerful microwave emitter to demolish structures and defensive fortifications from respectable ranges, and its potency can be amplified even further if it can manage to strike multiple targets in a single line. The unique nature of its weapon means that everything within its line of fire will suffer damage, making it a deadly weapon against clustered buildings. Similar effects can be achieved against infantry squads, as a correctly-aimed strike can reduce formations of infantry to ashes. The microwave is reasonably effective against vehicles, though its firepower against armored tanks is marginal at best.

Shadrays also serve as Haihead's Tier 3 anti-aircraft unit, meaning they can down heavy airborne threats with ease in the event Knightframes, Teratorns, and Buzzards are not up to the task, since the aforementioned units are not as efficient when it comes to destroying air units such as Kirov Airships.

This unit's jack-of-all-trades nature also serves to be one of its greatest weaknesses, as it trades damage output for this flexibility. While it's a flexible unit in most regards, it doesn't exactly perform as well in any other fields aside from destroying structures and eliminating lighter infantry. For starters, its weapon cannot inflict substantial damage to heavier tanks unless they attack in large numbers. Though they are also intended to be a high-tech anti-aircraft vehicle, they don't do well against nimble aircraft such as Stormchilds and Dybbuk-Attackers. This is because the Shadray's weapon deals constant damage overtime in contrast to instant damage, meaning a speedy air unit can easily swoop in, deal damage, and possibly escape destruction. Their range also leaves much to be desired for an artillery unit, as they will not be able to outrange Tier 3 base defenses such as Hammer Defenses. While it's classified as a sonic tank, it does not have the armor or durability of one so it should not be used in direct confrontations with units that possess heavy anti-armor ordnance.

AI behavior[]

Shadrays controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 2x targeting structures, accompanied by 6 Lancers

Medium/Hard[]

  • 2x targeting infantry, accompanied by 2 Jackal Racers
    • This task force may be accompanied by 2 additional Shadrays
  • 2x targeting structures, accompanied by 4 Syncronins
  • 2x targeting base defenses
    • This task force may be accompanied by 2 additional Shadrays
  • 2x targeting base defenses, accompanied by 1 Hovracoon
  • 2x guarding Shrike Nests or Railgun Towers
  • 4x targeting structures
    • If available, Chronoboost and Shadow Ring may be applied on this task force

Hard[]

  • 2x targeting structures, accompanied by 3 Megalodons and 2 Syncronins or Hovracoons

It is worth noting that all task forces will only be built when the AI owns a Cloud Piercer, which is not its prerequisite building.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Very effective in demolishing structures.
  • Decent against air units, infantry and light vehicles.
  • Outranges most defensive structures.
  • Sonic wave weapon can damage multiple hostile units in a straight line.
  • Can crush infantry.
  • Quite expensive.
  • Slow-moving.
  • Somewhat fragile, vulnerable to anti-armor weapons.
  • Cannot fire on the move.
  • Short maximum range for a siege vehicle.
  • Not very effective against heavier aircraft in comparison to other Tier 3 vehicles of the same class.

Trivia[]

  • According to Speeder, the lead developer of Mental Omega, the Shadray is based from the Sonic Tank from End of Nations, combined with the Disruptor in Tiberian Sun.[2] In fact, the Disruptor's firing sound can be heard in the Shadray's, but it has a lower pitch.
  • The Shadray is the spiritual successor to the Basswave, which was a United States artillery unit in version 3.0. While the Basswave also used the same technology, what made it different from the Shadray is that its sonic blasts did not continuously emit; instead it fires similarly to the Prism Tank. In light of this change in version 3.3, the United States now has the Athena Cannon to fulfill the role of the Basswave.

See also[]

Other Foehn siege units:

External links[]

References[]

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