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“ | Stalin's Fist, punching through! | ” |
—A Stalin's Fist moving in to the frontlines |
The Stalin's Fist is a special unit of Russia. It is unique in which it acts as a mobile War Factory, allowing Russian commanders to produce vehicles anywhere they please, especially right in front of their enemies.
Official description[]
Heavy armor has always been a focus point for Soviet military vehicles. This does bring several problems with logistics, as heavier units are slow and take longer to reach their destination, which can very much mean victory or defeat on the battlefield. The Russians came with a surprisingly complicated solution.
A massive vehicle based on mobile construction, the same technology used by the MCV's, that could deploy into an assembly line in order to produce vehicles from. This moving War Factory, named Stalin's Fist, allows a commander to churn out tanks right on the doorstep of their enemies. Although these machines are expensive and very limited in numbers, they provide a unique strategic advantage to the Russians. In worst case scenario, they can simply crush enemy infantry and ground units alike. Additionally, the Stalin's Fist does not need to shut down for the Gear Change operations.[1]
Overview[]
The Stalin's Fist can both be repaired like a conventional building when deployed and by Repair Drones while mobile. Unlike the similar MCV, it cannot be captured by an Engineer when deployed. The available vehicle production options on the Stalin's Fist are identical to regular Soviet War Factories and respects the tech tree.
Since the A.I. treats a deployed Stalin's Fist like a War Factory, a deployed Stalin's Fist will become a target for superweapons. If this is the case, the player can simply order the Stalin's Fist to undeploy and relocate to a safe spot once a superweapon activation is confirmed. This mobile vehicle production facility is also extremely well armored while in its mobile form, meaning it will survive a direct superweapon strike provided it hasn't suffered substantial damage beforehand. Do remember that it has far less armor when in its structure mode, so it will be destroyed with a direct hit from a superweapon.
A nasty trick can be performed with the Stalin's Fist by building a Kirov Airship until its production has reached above 90%. Next, put its production on hold (right click to do so). Once the Stalin's Fist is deployed close to the enemy base and made as the primary vehicle production structure (by double-clicking), resume the Kirov's production, and results in a Kirov deployed near-instantly. If the enemy base is devoid of anti-air defenses or their commander is distracted, the Kirov will guarantee the destruction of key buildings, which is a game changer for the Russian general. The same tactic can be done to other Russian vehicles (like the Demolition Truck), but the Kirov remains as the best option.
As mentioned before, the Stalin's Fist is well-protected and its tremendous size allows it to crush most infantry and vehicles with impunity. However, it does not have any defensive countermeasures aside from its size and weight, meaning this offensive option should only be used as a last resort. It would be wise for Russian generals to assign a variety of infantry and vehicles to protect it at all times, in order to retain a force projection presence against hostilities.
The Stalin's Fist is especially useful on large-sized maps as it reduces the time it takes for Russian vehicles to move across the map.
AI behavior[]
Instead of building the Stalin's Fist normally, skirmish AI will build a deployed Stalin's Fist as their 2nd War Factory within their base, which means they will never use the Stalin's Fist offensively.
Appearances[]
“ | Stalin's Fist is our mobile War Factory. Use it to produce vehicles for this operation. | ” |
—Soviet intel during Operation: Road to Nowhere |
Campaign[]
Stalin's Fist is always unavailable to build in the campaign.
Despite being a Russian-exclusive unit, the Epsilon Army in Act Two are fond of using Stalin's Fists, even on battlefields without previous Russian presence.
Player's usage[]
Prior to the beginning of the mission, Yuri stole a Stalin's Fist and gave it to Rashidi and his Scorpion Cell forces. During the second part of the mission, it will fall under the player's control and is only capable of producing Mantis Tanks and Tigrs. The Stalin's Fist starts at 50% health (although it can be repaired by Rashidi if he's put inside the Stinger) and must not be destroyed throughout the mission.
- See: Scrapyard
In addition to Mantis Tank, Stingers and Gatling Tanks become available to be produced en masse by 2 Stalin's Fists as well.
The Stalin's Fist is first usable by the Soviet General in this mission. In addition to normal tier 1 vehicles, it can also build Repair Drones, instead of calling them in via support power like normal.
A Stalin's Fist is in the player's base initially.
One Stalin's Fist will come to assist PsiCorps forces after extracted the first Rocket Launch Bay.
Player has one Stalin's Fist initially, which can produce most Scorpion Cell vehicles.
A Stalin's Fist will come to aid the player when the base is deployed.
A Stalin's Fist arrives after a few minutes in the mission to assist the player's Latin Confederation forces.
A Stalin's Fist will be given to player once all Harbinger prototypes are destroyed.
The player starts with a Stalin's Fist which can also build Repair Drones, like the one in Road to Nowhere.
Three Stalin's Fists are sent to the Moon to serve the Soviet General. They can additionally build Repair Drones and can substitute for the regular War Factory for the purpose of building the Centurion Siege Crawler.
A Stalin's Fist will come to assist the player cotancted with the first outpost.
A Stalin's Fist will arrive alongside the player's MCV no matter what arsenal is chosen.
Two Stalin's Fists will be given to Reznov's squad and Krukov's squad, respectively.
Two Stalin's Fists will accompany the vanguard that initiates the assault on Moscow.
Ally's usage[]
The Scorpion Cell will arrive with a Stalin's Fist and produce basic Scorpion Cell vehicles.
- See: The Conqueror
A Scorpion Cell AI ally will deploy a Stalin's Fist in the later battle, also capable to produce most Scorpion Cell vehicles.
Two PsiCorps proselytes will arrive with Stalin's Fists and additional reinforcements when certain areas are cleared. They can produce PsiCorps units without the proper building requirements.
In the final stage, as long as the player eliminates the Pacific Front troops in the upper left corner of the map, a PsiCorps AI ally will come to deploy a Stalin's Fist, and produce PsiCorps vehicles to support the player in combat.
Enemy's usage[]
In several battles against the Russian army in Mental difficulty, additional Stalin's Fists are often deployed to enhance their production line. Other significant usages are:
Six Stalin's Fists must be intercepted and destroyed by the players' European forces, by using Paladin Tank Hunters.
- See: Panzer Ace
Players have to destroy a Stalin's Fist before a Psychic Amplifier could be deployed.
A Stalin's Fist is among the Russian forces mind controlled by PsiCorps. It will deploy and keep producing Russian vehicles during the battle.
PsiCorps will deploy a Stalin's Fist on Scorpion Cell land.
Destroying all deployed Stalin's Fists controlled by PsiCorps is one of the mission objectives.
Each of the three islands held by mind-controlled Russians houses a Stalin's Fist.
Challenge[]
- In the Battlecity Challenge, the Russian enemies start with three Stalin's Fists.
Behind the scenes[]
- Before version 3.0 was released, a deployed Stalin's Fist would have a repair radius much like the current Repair Crane.
- In older builds of Mental Omega, the Stalin's Fist was (fittingly) called the Mobile War Factory and functioned exactly the same as the current Stalin's Fist. However, it could not repack into its mobile form once deployed (but to compensate, additional Mobile War Factories could be built), and it needed at least one standard War Factory on the field to facilitate vehicle production (see Stalin's Fist/Old for details).
Trivia[]
- The Stalin's Fist is functionally similar to the Mobile War Factory/Fist of Nod in Firestorm.