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—Shock Trooper

The Shock Trooper is a Soviet infantry that is exclusive to Russia as a replacement for the Tesla Trooper.

Official description[]

In an ununsual call back to the original soldier, the new Russian Shock Trooper is their further improved version of the Tesla Trooper. It has thicker armor, a stronger miniaturized tesla coil, and a rate of fire twice as fast as that of the Tesla Trooper. In addition, his bolt is capable of hitting more than one target.

These characteristics make the Shock Trooper appear more effective in countering larger numbers of enemy armor units in combat. Naturally, the Shock Trooper can also charge a Tesla Coil to enhance its bolt power and provide a short-term EMP effect, as well as benefit from the Overcharge.[1]

Overview[]

An evolution to the Tesla Trooper in every aspect, Russia's exclusive Shock Trooper improves on all the aspects of the Soviet Union's iconic walking tank while inheriting almost none of the weaknesses of their predecessors. Boasting even stronger defenses and firepower compared to their older cousins, Shock Troopers are even more efficient in their anti-armor trades along with some additional advantages that Tesla Troopers do not possess.

The Shock Trooper carries a more powerful sized-down Tesla Coil - while it is nowhere near as powerful as the ones fielded on the Tesla Cruiser, they are still potent anti-tank weapons that are also reasonably effective against infantry. The Miniaturized Tesla Coil Mk2 that this trooper carries is also capable of hitting more than one target at once (albeit with reduced damage) provided the other victims are close enough to the primary target. This allows these armored infantry units to better deal with clusters of hostile infantry, which the Tesla Trooper often falters against unless numerical superiority is on their side.

Just like the Tesla Trooper, the Shock Trooper can position themselves near a Tesla Coil to provide it with additional firepower, backup energy in the event a base suffers from insufficient power, and a short EMP effect to the Tesla Coil's bolt. Do note that the latter two bonuses require a pair of such soldiers to be on station to gain those effects. They also act as the primary infantry units for stealth detection among Russian battalions, so they are an indispensable asset as a warning system against potentially dangerous unseen threats, such as Shadow Tanks. If needed, a Russian general can deploy the Overcharge support power on them (provided a Palace is available on the battlefield) to boost their firepower tenfold.

In spite of all these advantages, the Shock Trooper is not a perfect version of the Tesla Trooper that irons out all their flaws. Though the Shock Trooper fares better when it comes to fighting crowds of infantry, anti-infantry specialists such as the Navy SEAL, Virus, and Huntress can still easily counter them. They are also relatively slow on the move, which makes them easy to counter with hit-and-run tactics and won't be able to retreat quick enough if a battle is not swinging in their favor. Russian generals facing PsiCorps proselytes should be especially wary since the latter faction's specialty is magnetic weaponry, and the Shock Trooper can be easily locked down by them and rendered immobile. Finally, Shock Troopers are more expensive than Tesla Troopers, at an additional cost of 50 credits per soldier.

AI behavior[]

Shock Troopers controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • Russiaicon 2x targeting anything, accompanied by Volkov
  • 4x targeting vehicles or ore miners
  • 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 4 Flak Troopers

Medium/Hard[]

  • 1x charging Tesla Coils
    • This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Shock Trooper
  • 2x targeting anything, accompanied by 2 Attack Dogs, 3 Pyros and 1 Crazy Ivan
  • 4x targeting anything, accompanied by 2 Flak Troopers, 2 Attack Dogs and 2 Pyros
    • This task force will only be constructed if a Radar Dish is built
    • If available, Rage, Kinetic Barrier and Regen/Wonder Drugs may be applied
  • 4x targeting anything, accompanied by 4 Pyros and 2 Crazy Ivans
  • 4x loaded inside a Borillo; accompanied by 2 Desolators

Appearances[]

The Shock Troopers are now a staple of the Russian army. May they serve you well.
—Soviet intel during Operation: The Raven

Special Ops[]

  • Shock Troopers first appears in Taciturn as enemy unit.

Act Two[]

  • Shock Troopers make their debut in The Raven as a trainable unit and permanently replace Tesla Troopers for the Russian subfaction for all subsequent missions.
  • In Earthrise, Shock Troopers can be trained without the need of a Field Bureau, and replace Conscripts as survivors that emerge when one of the player's buildings is destroyed or sold. In addition, they are affected by the Elite Reserves support power along with Cosmonauts.

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Most effective against armored vehicles.
  • Decent against infantry and structures.
  • Attacks can deal additional fragment damage to other nearby targets.
  • Cannot be crushed by normal vehicles.
  • Immune to Dogs and Spooks.
  • Improved firepower and armor compared to the Tesla Trooper.
  • Can detect cloaked and submerged enemies.
  • Using Overcharge on Shock Troopers can temporarily increase their firepower.
  • Charging a Tesla Coil can strengthen its firepower.
  • Two or more Shock Troopers can make a Tesla Coil remain online without power and add an EMP effect on its attacks.
  • While having improved durability, still vulnerable to dedicated anti-infantry weapons.
  • Inherits the weaknesses of Tesla Troopers, such as vulnerability to magnetic weapons.
  • Helpless against air units.

See also[]

References[]

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