Hammer tank

"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
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 thuglike, callous behavior in the field.

In-game
The Hammer Tank deals somewhat less damage and is slower than the Guardian tank, its Allied equivalent, but makes up for this with better armour, a somewhat higher rate of fire and much greater versatility thanks to the Leech Beam, which can grant it anti-aircraft or anti-infantry capabilities; something the Guardian lacks. Of course, such capabilities come with some cost and the Hammer is a little more expensive than the Guardian.

Hammer tanks will defeat the vastly inferior tsunami tank and the somewhat inferior guardian tanks one on one and win.

Abilities
"Give me that!"



The TS-1 Tsarsky Leech-Beam is the Hammer Tank's secondary attack. It uses a magnetic beam to steal armor and weapons off enemy tanks, allowing the tank to effectively repair itself and gain a secondary weapon. This gives the Hammer a unique versatility that no other unit has. In addition, the range of the Leech-Beam is considerable, longer than the 85mm cannon itself. The Leech-Beam can also steal armor from buildings but does not have any effect on infantry.

Note that a Hammer Tank that is leeching an enemy vehicle does not have to destroy the vehicle itself in order to gain its secondary weapon, it just has to have the Leech Beam locked on the target when it is destroyed. This is useful when leeching tougher enemies such as Assault Destroyers, Apocalypse Tanks, King Onis, etc., which Hammer Tanks are largely ineffective against. For example, a commander can start leeching an Assault Destroyer and then finish it off quickly with Twinblades or something powerful. Once the tank has leeched a weapon it becomes a permanent feature that cannot be swapped so choose your targets wisely.

Leech Beam effects

 * Aircraft carrier: The tank now has a Sky Knight. The little drone behaves the same as if using an actual aircraft carrier - it will fly to the target, drop its bomb then returning to the Hammer tank to re-arm. The downside is it still can be killed quite quickly by anti-air weaponry, and cannot be replaced.
 * Assault destroyer: The Hammer tank is now equipped with a very powerful cannon that makes its main cannon nothing more than support. It dishes out heavy damage, but has a slow rate of fire.
 * Stingray: Hammer Tank will now be equipped with a Tesla Coil and since Tesla Tanks can't be built outside of the campaign, this a good way to get them. The attack range of the Tesla Coil is almost the same as the standard cannon, but it is highly effective against infantry (kills them with one shock) as well as lightly armored units.
 * Wave-Force artillery: The Hammer tank gains the Wave-Force Artillery's turret. Coupled with a very long wind-up time and no visual or aural indicator, it's not quite as endearing as the original Wave-Force Artillery, but still very powerful, obliterating anything caught inside its beam.
 * Apocalypse tank: This transforms the somewhat meager Hammer tank into a weapon of devastation and danger. Combined with its own basic 85mm cannon is a 120mm cannon that fires in quick succession, dealing heavy damage and allowing a Hammer equipped with this to take on several times its own weight and survive.
 * Shogun battleship: At short range Hammer Tank is nothing new, but at long range it gains the power of a triple shot Shogun. Not quite as strong as a well angled Shogun, but having this on solid ground allows the Hammer tank to make up for the slight reduction in range. The power is still strong enough to be a significant factor in overcoming an enemy’s defenses or simply causing large amounts of damage.
 * Bullfrog: The Bullfrog's flak turret is mounted on the left of the Hammer's own turret. As a result, the Hammer tank can prove a deadly foe for air units, especially if it has heroic veterancy.
 * V4 Hammer Tank/Dreadnought: The Hammer Tank acquires a devastating V4 rocket, inflicting enormous damage on pretty much everything. The downside is that neither can be used together - The rocket's minimum range conflicts with the cannon's range and a Hammer Tank with this setup is prone to bugging out and reversing from a hostile unit when in sight or ordered to attack.
 * King Oni: Keeping with the Oni's Eye Beam mechanics, this is a good unit that will do good damage to basically anything. Like the King Oni, it has a slow start up first shot, but follow-up shots are at a steady speed, which allows it to go toe to toe with some healthier units like Assault Destroyers. The Oni beam has a better range than the leeched spectrum cannon, reducing the need for micromanagement.
 * Sickle/Reaper/Riptide ACV/Mecha Tengu/Imperial ore collector: The tank gains an anti-infantry Gatling gun. Synergises well with the main gun, allowing the tank to take on armoured and infantry units. The range is on par with the cannon so it will always assist in damage anything Hammer Tank target.
 * 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.
 * Guardian tank: The Guardian cannon fires at a lower rate than the Hammer Cannon beside it, but offers greater damage per shot. A Hammer Tank with a Guardian cannon upgrade will beat a Dual Hammer Tank in a 1 on 1 battle.
 * Hammer tank: two cannons firing at the same speed, causing nearly the same damage which adds a decent amount of firepower to the already powerful tank.
 * Multigunner IFV: The Hammer Tank receives an anti-air rocket launcher.
 * Hydrofoil: The tank gains the Hydrofoil's gun, with a damage output rivalling that of an Apollo. This is an extremely good anti-air attachment.
 * Striker-VX: The Hammer Tank receives a respectable anti-air rocket launcher. Not quite as strong as the Striker VX itself, but stronger than the IFV’s rockets. Appears as the flak trooper's flak cannon.
 * Giga Fortress: Hammer Tank will be equipped with 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. The only downside is the long reload time.
 * Mirage tank: Armed with a spectrum cannon, the Hammer tank becomes a force to be reckoned with since the spectrum cannon fires at a steady rate and offers the same scatter damage. Combined with the main gun, it makes short work of generally anything. There is however a small range issue with this: the 85mm's range is a margin longer than the spectrum cannon's range, thus if a Hammer tank comes across a hostile unit or structure, the spectrum cannon won't fire unless the tank is moved slightly forward.
 * Athena cannon: Allows the tank to act as artillery. Due to a further minimum range than other leeched long-range weapons, it doesn't bug out quite as often as them, making it a very valuable attachment that does significant damage to anything standing still.
 * Future Tank X-1: The Neutron Scrambler of the Future Tank X-1 is now mounted on the left side as a comically oversized cannon, rendering the Hammer tank an incredibly dangerous foe with the ability to take out clusters of vehicles.
 * Grinder, Mortar cycle and Pacifier FAV: none

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

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 Scorpion Tank of the Brotherhood. 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.
 * In the real-life Soviet Union there was a tank prototype Object 477 "Molot" (Hammer) designed by Kharkov Design Bureau.
 * 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 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.