Mental Omega Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Pump a few rounds of sweet revenge.
—Stalker enjoying his job

The Stalker is a heavy infantry used by Epsilon Headquarters. Functioning as an artillery unit, they can destroy vehicles and structures with their "Meteor" cannon, and leech enemy infantry's health with their drain cannon.

Official description[]

The hulking behemoths known as the Stalkers are the more successful counterparts of the many genetic experiments by the Epsilon scientists which resulted, among others, in the Brute. Incredibly tough and strong, Stalkers can withstand a lot of firepower. Though rudimentary, Stalkers have enough intelligence to wield firearms and are therefore hoisted into large protective metal suits with two integrated weapons.

Serving as mobile artillery platforms, Stalkers can withstand the recoil of their "Meteor" cannon, allowing them to easily bring down structures as they collapse upon themselves. Their secondary arm-cannon temporarily drains psychic energy from their infantry targets, slowing them down and allowing your own troops nearby to slowly regenerate using the drained power. Combined with melee infantry like the Brutes and Epsilon HQ's troop-enhancing powers, Stalkers form a powerful force to be reckoned with.[1]

Overview[]

Stalker, once called Nightmares, is now the unique infantry of the Epsilon Headquarters, not only inheriting the original Imploder, but now also has a Drain Cannon for attacking enemy infantry and heal friendly infantry in a certain range, but the damage done by the weapon to the enemy infantry itself was not so high.

The Stalker's primary purpose is to act as the primary siege unit for Epsilon Headquarters, as the faction lacks a dedicated siege vehicle. The Meteor Cannon it carries are capable of tearing down buildings easily if they are deployed in sizable groups and can lightly damage vehicles with lesser armor, but they lack the firepower to deal any visible damage to heavily armored vehicles. The Stalker also carries a secondary weapon, the Drain Cannon, to deal with infantry. If any infantry unit is hit by a Drain Cannon projectile, they will not only take damage but also emit an aura that heals all nearby friendly infantry units affiliated with the same faction as the Stalker themselves. This is of a particular advantage for Brutes, as their close combat natures mean they can rapidly regain health in the amidst of a fight.

While these heavy infantry units possess heavy plate armor and their survivability is relatively high for an infantry unit, they should avoid heavier vehicles at all costs due to their ineffectiveness against them overall. Dedicated anti-infantry weapons will still put them down rapidly if given the opportunity. Lastly, rogue PsiCorps proselytes can also utilize magnetic weapons to immobilize them due to the nature of their armor.

AI behavior[]

Stalkers controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 3x targeting base defenses
    • This task force may be accompanied by 3 additional Stalkers
  • 6x targeting structures
    • The AI will use Rage, Kinetic Barrier and Regen/Wonder Drugs on this task force

Medium/Hard[]

  • 3x targeting anything, accompanied by 6 Brutes
  • 3x targeting anything, accompanied by 7 Bloaticks

Appearances[]

Proselyte, a task force of Stalkers will reinforce your push for the Airbases. Their powerful long-range weapons will help you deal with enemy defenses.
—Epsilon intel during Operation: Machinehead

Act Two[]

  • In the single player campaign, Stalkers make their debut in Machinehead, where a small group of them is given to the player a while after mission starts.
  • Stalkers become available to train in Unthinkable.

Cooperative[]

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Effective against structures.
  • Outranges most enemy defenses.
  • Drain cannon heals friendly infantry near the target.
  • Good combination with Brutes.
  • Quite durable.
  • Immune to Dog and Spooks.
  • Cannot be crushed by normal vehicles.
  • Slow-moving.
  • Cannot attack air units.
  • Vulnerable to magnetic weapons and anti-infantry fire.
  • Ineffective against armored vehicles.
  • Slow rate of fire.
  • Quite costly unless a Cloning Vats is built.

Behind the scenes[]

  • The Stalker is the successor to the Nightmare from pre-2.0psi versions that had far more firepower but did not have the drain cannon.[2]
  • The drain cannon's visual effects are reused from the old Geneburst support power in version 3.0.
  • Previously, the Stalker's base SHP sprite was available for public download. Downloads are no longer possible as there are no known links that are still working.
    • The Stalker's sprite is a slightly modified and retextured of the original SHP sprite[3].

Trivia[]

  • The Stalker's ingame appearance is based off the Tesla Trooper from Red Alert 3 (see Behind the scenes above), though the cameo was derived from the render of the Tesla Trooper from Red Alert 2.
  • The Stalker's Drain Cannon uses the firing sound of Shogun Battleship from Red Alert 3.

See also[]

References[]

Advertisement