Hover Tank

The Hover Tank is an Eastasian unit d This allows the hover tank the freedom to strike from unexpected angles or quickly raid enemy logistics (an ability otherwise largely absent from the Eastasian arsenal) or, if needed, as a stopgap naval intervention unit. It would make for a great base assault unit too, if it weren't for the shortage of demolition weapons.

Stats

 * Type: Vehicle
 * Class: Hovercraft
 * Lv:
 * HP: 110
 * SIZ:
 * WGT:

Equipment

 * trackball turret
 * 4x auto-fletcher

A Hover Tank is a recurring tank characterized by its Hover movement, allowing it to traverse both bodies of water and different terrain conditions with unimpeded speed. It is usually associated with the allied sub-faction Asian Alliance, however where the Asian Alliance is present as a seperate side, it is preferentially associated with that side, rather than with the allies.

Autofletcher
The Hover Tank is fitted with two sets of dual-link autocannons, allowing it to double as an effective anti-air counter.

Strategy
The Hover Tank is a strange hybrid of a unit, with its versatility not immediately apparent. While it becomes useful by its ability to traverse land and sea unhindered, striking at unexpected angles and completely ignoring many defenses that rely on terrain, the range of targets it can succesfully engage is quite limited. The Hover Tank can project a fearsome volume of fire, but this firepower is almost exclusively anti-infantry and the tank is utterly outclassed when faced with armor, or fortifications. This is somewhat compensated by the elite promotion, which grants it monoblade flechettes, making it more effective against armored targets - the central challenge becomes actually getting these units that far.

Automatic Fletchers
The hover tank has two independently targetable flechette cannons in ball mounts. The monoblade flechettes can cut through infantry and personal armor with ease and even inflict significant damage to light vehicles, not to speak of the thin hulls of aircraft.

Stats

 * Damage:
 * Damage type: Monoblade
 * Tags:

SWARMs
The hover tank is armed with a supply of SWARMs (short-range wide-area reaction missiles), which leave their launchers as a small number of large, conventional missiles, but split up into multiple micro-missiles as they descend upon their target area. Each micro-missile has a small monofrag warhead, dealing severe damage to infantry and even slicing up light vehicles and aircraft. Unfortunately, the warheads are too small to inflict serious damage to structures or armored vehicles.

Effects
Hover tanks have no particular immunities or vulnerabilities for a vehicle of their size, weight and armor. It should be noted that, because of their ground clearance, hover tanks are entirely immune to radiation. Because their propulsion relies on magnetodynamic effects, their levitation becomes inactive for the duration of thunderstorms in the area.

Strategy
This unit's main purpose is to offer unexpected attack routes, namely over water. They are not particularly sturdy, with almost 50% less hitpoints than the Lynx and light armor. All this combines into a unit that is horrible when faced with counterfire and is ideally used in attacking undefended "soft spots" of the enemy base. When faced with approaching defenders, the hover tank can be withdrawn onto the water, and from there onto the land on the farther shore, should the enemy give pursuit with naval units. When not faced with high-level aerial opponents, it is also quite able to hold its own against aerial pursuit, making this unit extremely hard to catch.

Given their terrain-crossing capabilities, they can also be used to back up infantry in places where other armored units cannot move effectively and the enemy is not expected to field heavy armor.

Because of its varied armament, the Hover Tank can also serve as an anti-aircraft unit when more advanced and effective anti-aircraft units (such as the ECM Tank. While its flechette cannons are effective in defeating at least early-game aircraft, such as helicopters (or, in the case of a terrible internal misunderstanding, fellow Eastasian drones), they lack the range to engage high-flying strategic aircraft. The missiles have a quite different problem - their range is excellent for anti-aircraft purposes, but, like all Eastasian missile weapons, they have a "mind of their own" when it comes to targeting and are not fast or maneuverable enough to engage fighters or strike-fighters.