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What a piece of junk!
—A Trike biker, lamenting his vehicle's fragility

The Speeder Trike is a fast but very fragile harasser vehicle used by the Scorpion Cell.

Official description[]

The first incarnation of the Speeder Trike was a simple motorcycle and sidecar from which a soldier could lob grenades while passing a target. Now the Trike is a state-of-the-art harassment vehicle and one of the fastest units on the battlefield. The Trike can easily outrange most conventional weaponry with its long-range RPG-S launcher and is quick enough to outmaneuver most vehicles, also capable of switching into firing its triple projectiles simultaneously at high altitudes, making it a formidable foe in combat. Its armor is less than stellar though, so it should avoid direct hits from anti-tank weaponry.[1]

Overview[]

In spite of its appearance as a little three-wheeled bike, the Speeder Trike is a deadly anti-armor unit in the hands of a competent Scorpion Cell proselyte. While having paper-thin armor, its immense speed allows it to quickly charge into a fight, unload its ammunition on inviting targets, and quickly get away before the enemy can organize a proper response.

Though it's only available after the proselyte has established an operational Pandora Hub, its usefulness during the late-game stages is unrivaled. Targets such as harvesters and artillery units are easy pickings for this fragile speedster, as both have little defense against these three-wheeled menaces. It can also supplement the Plague Splatter as an auxiliary artillery unit, as the latter is horrendously mediocre when it comes to countering armored threats. They are also immune to the effects of EMP, which only further boosts its evasiveness. They are also Scorpion Cell's only other dedicated anti-armor vehicle next to the Mantis Tank, so they are a necessity for any Scorpion Cell armored division if they are expected to clash with hostile heavy armor.

While a potent anti-tank weapon that can shoot and scoot with little fear of retaliation under most circumstances, it should stay far away from any kind of infantry and aircraft that can fire upon it.

Firing modes[]

For a video demonstration of the two firing modes, click here.

SpeederModes

Speeder Trike in rapid fire and artillery mode

The Speeder Trike has two firing modes, which are rapid fire mode (the default mode) and artillery mode (also known as lobber in the game files). The rapid fire mode fires one shot every few seconds, while the artillery mode fires three shots at a slower pace that deals slightly more damage. Despite the name, the artillery mode does not increase the Speeder Trike's range.

The rapid fire mode is best used against vehicles, as its constant damage output combined with the vehicle's speed means that most enemy vehicles cannot outrun the Speeder Trike to escape from its damage.

The artillery mode is best used against buildings and defenses, especially one-tile defenses. Plague Splatters struggle against such defenses because of its poor accuracy, a weakness that the Speeder Trike's artillery mode can compensate. Unlike the rapid fire mode, the artillery mode is inaccurate versus moving targets.

AI behavior[]

The AI has the ability to create Speeder Trikes in its artillery mode without needing to switch modes first. However, the AI is not programmed to switch between Speeder modes.

Speeder Trikes controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 1x entering Tank Bunker (both modes)
    • This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Speeder Trike of the same mode
  • 2x guarding Epsilon Ore Refineries, Epsilon War Factories and Epsilon Gates EW
    • 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode
  • 4x targeting structures
    • 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode
  • 2x scouting (both modes)
    • This task force will move in a random direction as far as possible, to simulate hit and run maneuvers

Medium/Hard[]

  • 4x targeting vehicles or ore miners
    • 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode
  • 6x targeting vehicles or ore miners
    • 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode

Hard[]

  • 4x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 4 Mantis Tanks
    • 2 Speeder Trikes use the artillery mode

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

Appearances[]

This is all we could reinforce you with here - Rashidi's long-range Speeder Trikes. With its two firing modes, you'll see it's an excellent weapon against enemy armor.
—Epsilon intel during Operation: Rush Tactics

Cooperative[]

Act One[]

Special Ops[]

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Effective against armored units. 
  • Very fast movement speed. 
  • Able to fire on the move. 
  • Outranges most armored vehicles. 
  • Excellent for hit-and-run tactics due to its maneuvering abilities. 
  • Resistant to EMP. 
  • Inexpensive.
  • Ineffective against infantry.
  • Cannot attack air units.
  • Lightly armored.
  • Extremely fragile, easy to kill with any weapons.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Originally the Speeder Trike was intended to be voiced by Speeder, the lead developer of Mental Omega APYR, with completely different lines.[2]
    • The current voiceset used was actually recorded for the Reaver Bike in Atomic_Noodles's Colony Wars which was offered to Mental Omega (along with the Thor Gunship voiceover) at a later point.

Trivia[]

  • The Speeder Trike was originally based on the Speeder unit from Dune 2000, which is particularly visible in the edits its cameo had through the versions.
  • The Speeder Trike is conceptually similar to Nod's Recon Bike (and its respective successors) from the Tiberium series, as they are all speedy anti-armor units with almost nonexistent armor themselves.

See also[]

References[]

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