Ion cannon (Rivals)

"Ion cannon activated"

- EVA

The Ion Cannon is a rare GDI support power in Command & Conquer: Rivals.

Background
Targets any tile on the battlefield. After 3.3 seconds, it deals massive damage to any unit and medium damage to all adjacent units.

Game power
When hitting directly, the Ion Cannon can remove all but the most durable battle units in the game. Light to medium armored units won't survive even being next to the blast. This makes it very hard to play fortress setup against Solomon, since at the critical moment it can remove, say, an Artillery setup, and move in to capture the pads.

The high damage makes it suitable to deal with tech units, but the high cost means it will rarely trade favorably. To compensate, the Cannon should be used only in critical moments, such as removing enemy units from the pads and capturing the control of the nuclear missile.

When facing Solomon, the units should be kept apart from each other as the missile is about to launch. The units in the blast periphery should be moved out of harm's way when the Ion blast warning is given, and moved back in after the blast.

Changelog

 * 2018-12-06: Damage to structure decreased to 4000 (was 6000)
 * 2019-07-31:
 * Damage gradually decreases with distance from the center tile
 * Damage to structure increased to 6000 (was 4000)
 * 2019-12-11: Reduced cost to 130 (was 150)
 * 2020-03-25: Damage to structure decreased to 4000 (was 6000)

Videos
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