Shock Wave Side: Freedom Guard Type: Vehicle Movement Type: Wheeled Ground Weapon: Seismic Wave Anti-Air Weapon: None Range: 24 Damage: 17 Hit Points: 166 Sight Range: 9 Movement Speed: Slow Cost: 4000 Requirements: Headquarters 3 Advanced Phasing Facility Built At: Assembly Plant

This fearsome single-use weapon sends a wave of destruction to mow over any enemies that dare to stand in its path.

Demolishing Enemies

When a Shock Wave attacks, it creates a rumbling line of seismic activity that rolls over just about anything in its path. This does incremental damage to anything standing on the ground; the longer something is caught within the line, the more damage it takes. The seismic wave travels the distance of roughly a screen’s width, then fades out.

When a seismic wave is activated, all players receive a notice alerting them to its presence. The wave is visible on the mini-map as a line.

A seismic wave will pretty much obliterate anything it rolls over, but because the damage is applied incrementally, units which are in motion don’t take as much damage and can even escape death. For example, it is possible for even a lowly Raider to walk across the path of destruction and take some damage but survive. Buildings, on the other hand, cannot move and thus are more vulnerable. Most structures will be destroyed utterly by the seismic wave. Some will, however, take severe damage but still remain standing, especially if they are only caught on the edge of the wave.

Notice that the seismic wave only affects things on the ground. Also, phased units are not harmed at all by the wave.

The Shock Wave unit itself takes a significant investment in time and credits to build and moves at the speed of an infantry. It cannot be put into transports and must lumber its way along land to reach its desired destination. Furthermore, it is not terribly durable, and has no way of countering opposition it meets along the way other than by setting off its seismic wave.

A Shock Wave is destroyed when it activates its seismic wave, so it is a single-use weapon. Because of this cost, it is important to use each one carefully. The seismic wave behaves like a weapon, so you can trigger it by clicking on an enemy or by using the Attack command and targeting the ground. Also, be sure to set Shock Wave’s Independence rating to something other than HIGH or it will set off its wave at the first enemy that wanders by, to perhaps less than desirable effect.

When planning where to use a Shock Wave, note that you don’t need to get it right up against whatever it is going to destroy. The wave travels a decent distance, so you can afford to park the tank outside the range of defensive turrets and attack from there. You will want an escort with your Shock Wave to protect it, and spotters of some sort are useful for aiming the wave. You can utilize an air unit as a spotter, or if necessary, use a Raider or other unit which can phase, and then when you trigger the Shock Wave’s attack, phase your spotter and the wave will pass harmlessly over him.

Countering

Of course, the best way to deal with the threat that is the Shock Wave is to attack it in transit, as that is when it is the most vulnerable. At the very worst, you may force your opponent to set off the wave at a less than optimum moment, thereby wasting his resources.

If you fail at this and the Shock Wave is activated near your units or one of your bases, move all of your units out of the way as much as possible. If a unit cannot move sideways fast enough to escape the wave, try moving him directly toward the wave, so that he walks across the wave as it moves toward him. This will help him to take less damage. For buildings that are damaged or destroyed, begin preparations immediately to repair or replace them.