| “ | Who's looking for a good pounding? - Hammer Tank |
” |
The Hammer Tank is the main battle tank of the Soviet Union in Red Alert 3 and its expansion, Uprising.
Background
Main article: Hammer tank/Profile
The Hammer's heavy armor plating protects its crew from all but the heaviest concussive impacts, and its standard 85 mm autoloading cannon is a proven anti-vehicle weapon, offering excellent rates of fire and lower chances of ammunition accidents. A complex recoil management system, based on the stabilization system used to keep Sickles and Terror Drones upright, redirects the gun's kick and keeps the gunner on target through multiple shots.
The reason for its unusual turret configuration was its TS1 "Tsarsky" Leech-Beam, a weapon accidentally invented by Soviet scientists while they were researching the Apocalypse tank's Magnetic Harpoon. By concentrating the tractor beam and increasing the frequency, the device can literally rip metal objects apart. This allows the Hammer to repair itself during battle by melding vehicular debris to weak sections of its armor.
Another benefit was that the Hammer tank can steal the weapon of an enemy vehicle by increasing frequency at the time of its destruction, with little to no damage to the weapon itself. Using advancements in Soviet mass production capabilities, Soviet engineers devised a multifunctional weapon interface mounted on the left side of the turret, allowing nearly any weapon to be re-attached. This gave the Hammer a versatility unlike almost any other weapon in the Soviet arsenal.
Soviet officials did no comment on accusations that some Hammer crews have increasingly shown thug-like, callous behavior in the field.
Game unit
In direct action, the Hammer Tank usually prevails over the Imperial Tsunami tank and the cheaper Allied Guardian tank. Its leech beam also grants it a great deal of versatility unlike any other, since it can potentially acquire weapons that compensate for its existing vulnerabilities and to also heal itself, with a few other notable interactions:
- The Leech Beam works with force-firing on any vehicle regardless of its allegiance, and can still acquire secondary weapons from them.
- The Leech Beam only needs to maintain contact with its target at its time of destruction, the means of which can come from another source, such as the Crusher crane's ability to destroy and recycle vehicles.
- If multiple Hammer Tanks are leeching the same target, one is chosen at random, regardless if it has a secondary weapon or not.
- Any weapons attached to the Hammer Tank may not be replaced.
- The Terror Drone cannot be targeted by it.
- The Sea-Wing, Akula sub and Yari mini-sub can only be targeted when at the surface.
- The Leech Beam's damage is internally classified as "Magic". All types of armor (even including frozen targets) have a 100% scalar against it, resulting in the attack always dealing same amount of damage to them.
Abilities
| “ | Give me that! - Hammer tank |
” |
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Main Cannon
The Hammer Tank resumes using its primary weapon and any leeched secondary weapon.
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The Hammer Tank attacks ground vehicles and buildings with its leech beam at range that causes it to slowly heal.
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Leech Beam effects
- Aircraft Carrier: The tank now has a Sky Knight that bombards enemies (even when it is using its leech beam) and rearms periodically mid-air. The Sky Knight has an extraordinary range, it's capable of attacking anything across the entire map. If the drone is destroyed, the slot is freed up in Red Alert 3, but remains occupied in Uprising.
- Apocalypse Tank: The tank gains a 125mm cannon that fires twice in quick succession. In combination with its own 85mm cannon, the Hammer Tank can deal heavy damage to other vehicles and allows it to take on several times its own weight and survive. However, veterancy doesn't change its damage type or bonus despite retaining the visual effects reserved for the Apocalypse.
- Assault Destroyer: The tank gains a powerful 120mm cannon that makes its main cannon nothing more than support. It dishes out good damage to enemy vehicles but has a side effect of slowing down the fire rate of the 85mm cannon. As a result, both cannons will have the same rate of fire.
- Athena Cannon: The tank gains a laser designator to mark targets for proton beam strikes. Due to a further minimum range than other leeched long-range weapons, it doesn't bug out quite as often as others, making it a very valuable attachment that does significant damage to anything standing still.
- Bullfrog: The tank gains a twin-barrelled flak cannon. As a result, the Hammer tank can prove a deadly foe for air units, especially if it has heroic veterancy. However, unlike the Bullfrog, it will not automatically fire upon air units when on the move.
- Future Tank X-1: The tank gains the Neutron Scrambler as a comically oversized cannon, rendering the Hammer tank an incredibly dangerous foe with the ability to deal massive damage to clusters of vehicles. Veterancy visual effects are not retained.
- Giga Fortress: The tank gains the homing multi-role missiles of the Giga Fortress. This is a powerful weapon which gives the Hammer Tank a formidable new weapon against ground and air targets alike, but has a long reload time.
- Grinder/Pacifier FAV/Mortar Cycle/Sea-Wing/Akula sub/Yari mini-sub/Naginata Cruiser: The Hammer Tank cannot gain any secondary weapons from them, and the slot remains unoccupied.
- Guardian Tank: The tank gains the 90mm cannon from a Guardian Tank, which fires at a lower rate than the 85mm cannon but offers greater damage per shot.
- Hammer Tank: Essentially doubles the Hammer Tank's firepower and puts it on par with any Hammer Tank that has a Guardian Cannon, though it reuses the Guardian Tank's cannon model.
- Hydrofoil: The tank gains the Hydrofoil's AA gun with a damage output rivaling that of an Apollo Fighter, and reuses the model of the Flak Trooper's weapon.
- King Oni: The tank gains the King Oni's head that constantly fires lasers effective against enemy vehicles after a short heat-up period, which allows it to go toe to toe with some heavier units like Assault Destroyers.
- Mirage Tank: The tank gains a spectrum cannon. Combined with the main 85mm cannon, the tank makes short work of generally anything. However, the range of the spectrum cannon is slightly shorter than the 85mm's range, the tank must move slightly forward for the spectrum cannon to fire when ordered to attack.
- Multigunner IFV: The tank gains an anti-air rocket launcher, regardless of which variant it actually leeches, and reuses the model of the Flak Trooper's weapon.
- Sickle/Riptide ACV/Mecha Tengu/Imperial Ore Collector/Reaper: The tank gains an anti-infantry Gatling gun that has similar range to the main weapon, improving its matchups against enemy infantry. This, however, slows down the fire rate of the main cannon, and as a result, a Hammer Tank with this upgrade will lose to even a Guardian Tank or a Tsunami Tank in a 1 on 1 battle.
- Shogun Battleship: The tank gains the Shogun Battleship's Shirada cannon that reuses the Apocalypse Tank's Cannon model and fires in three-round bursts, dealing heavy explosive damage. Despite its high maximum range, the Hammer Tank tends to fire it much closer to the target.
- Stingray/Tesla Tank: The tank gains a tesla coil, allowing it to take out small numbers of infantry with minimal effort and deal more damage to vehicles. Much like the spectrum cannon obtained from Mirage Tanks, the range of the tesla coil is also slightly shorter than the 85mm's range and thus the tank needs to move slightly forward for the tesla coil to fire.
- Striker-VX: The tank receives an anti-air rocket pod that reuses the model of the Flak Trooper's weapon.
- Tsunami Tank/Steel Ronin: Similar in appearance to the Guardian and Hammer tank weapons. Damage per shot is pretty much equal to the leeched Hammer Tank cannon, but a higher rate of fire makes it slightly better against infantry. Nevertheless, this variant loses to both Dual Hammer Tank and Guardian Hammer Tank in 1 on 1 battle.
- V4 Rocket Launcher/Dreadnought: The tank gains a V4 rocket launcher, inflicting enormous damage on pretty much anything standing still. The downside is that neither can be used together - The rocket's minimum range conflicts with the cannon's range and the Hammer Tank with this setup is prone to bugging out and reversing from a hostile unit when in sight or ordered to attack.
- Wave-Force Artillery: The tank gains a smaller version of the Wave-Force Artillery's turret. Unlike the Wave-Force Artillery, the turret lacks any visual indicators nor could it be prematurely discharged, but the full blast is just as devastating, dealing massive amounts of explosive damage in its area of effect.
Changelog
- Red Alert 3 beta patch 1.5: speed increased to 75 from 60
- Red Alert 3 patch 1.05:
- fixed a bug where the Hammer tank was not receiving a damage increase on its leech beam after attaining veterancy
- will now receive health when using its leech beam against an enemy that has point-defense drones
- Red Alert 3 patch 1.11:
- can no longer leech while moving
- vision range in leech mode increased
- fixed an exploit that gave the Hammer Tank unlimited toxic corrosion
Quotes
Upon exiting the War Factory
- Who's looking for a good pounding?
Select
- Hammer Tank!
- Let's do this!
- Who's giving you problems?
- Let's start something up!
- What do you say!
- Right here, comrade!
- Hammer tank, ready to crush!
Moving
- As you say!
- Step on it!
- Let's move!
- Come on!
- Full throttle!
- Floor it!
- All right!
- Looking around!
Attacking with Cannon
- Pound 'em!
- Crack him open!
- Nail 'em!
- Crush him!
- Put 'em in the ground!
- Do him up!
- Seichas zhe! ("Right now" in Russian)
Attacking with Leech Beam
- We'll take it!
- Rip it out!
- HOLD STILL!
- Give me that!
- Give it here, chump!
- This will only take a second!
- Shake him down!
Move to Attack
- Let's take care of this!
- Hammer time!
- That one! Heh! NO PROBLEM!
- Hey, come here!
- Hold it there, pal!
- There!
- Bring in the hammer!
In combat
- Punch through 'em!
- Keep the goods coming!
- Yeah, just like that!
- Load the cannon!
- POWW!
- Nail them!
- That's right!
Retreating
- Leave 'em behind!
- Let's get outta here!
- We'll be back!
- I've have enough!
- Can't touch this!
Under fire
- Did he just scratch my paint?
- A tough guy huh?
- They want to play?
- Somebody is looking for trouble!
- Hey, that one got through!
- You must be kidding!
Trivia
- This unit has its gun on the right side like the Nod Scorpion Tank in Tiberium Wars. The design of the 85mm gun and its placement also bears much resemblance to the Scorpion. Also, in the blueprints, the gun is placed on the wrong side. The generally curvy and bulky layout of the tank is something it shares with the Bullfrog and is a generally Soviet design feature.
- The Leech Beam is similar to the Nod's Avatars' Commandeer Technology ability in Tiberium Wars, except that the Hammer Tank can rip weapons off the tanks of all sides, not just their own side, which was the case for the Avatar. The Hammer Tank can also do it at a distance, whereas the Avatar had to walk right up to the vehicle in question.
- A Hammer Tank is one of the three tanks that leads the player through the tutorial missions. It mostly acts as the comedic relief character, often getting shot by the Tsunami Tank for saying stupid things. In the last tutorial mission, it is replaced by an Apocalypse Tank.
- In the tutorial chapter 3 in Uprising, if one freezes the Hammer Tank before shrinking it in the end, it will crawl on the bottom of the lake as if it was land.
- In the second Soviet mission in Uprising, Scheme of the Intruders, a Hammer Tank is programmed to have the AA missiles of a MiG Fighter equipped. The secondary turret has the appearance of a flak cannon, the same ammo capacity as a standard MiG Fighter (16 rounds), and can be replenished by switching between Leech Beam and its main cannon.
- This is not possible during normal games, as the Leech Beam cannot target grounded aircrafts.
Gallery
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Concept art; the markings spell ВКП (VKP), ГЕ (GE), and Ф (F). -
Concept art -
Concept art -
In unit profile
Weapon Variants
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No Weapon variant -
Small cannon -
Athena cannon variant -
Apocalypse cannon -
Bullfrog variant -
Flak missile -
Assault destroyer cannon -
King oni variant -
V4 variant -
Wave-Force Artillery -
Mirage Tank variant -
Tesla variant -
Cryo variant (unused) -
Future Tank variant -
Giga Fortress variant
Videos
See also
- Guardian tank, Allied counterpart
- Tsunami tank, Imperial counterpart
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