Mammoth tank (Tiberium Wars)

"Armour superiority."

- Mammoth pilot

The Mammoth Mark III (GDI designation: Mammoth 27 ) is GDI's heavy tank in Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath.

Background
"The Mammoth tank is GDI's most advanced mobile armor. Its resilience and firepower are unmatched."

- EVA

In 2039, GDI discontinued the production of its famed Mammoth Mk. II walker due to cost and reliability concerns, a decision met with anger by many, including retired war hero Nick "Havoc" Parker. Nevertheless, production of the Mammoth Mk. III, was scheduled to take place in Reykjavik at the same time.

A heavy tank similar to the original Mammoth, the Mammoth Mk. III was developed for long-range operations in harsh environments. It had four articulating treads and utilized thick hexagonal armor to meet enemy armor threats head-on. It was armed with dual 150mm cannons and a pair of 4.75-inch missile pods specifically designed to attack infantry and aircraft.

Despite the controversies surrounding it, the Mammoth Mk. III proved to be a capable vehicle in its own right. While slow, it was more than a match for all known military vehicles, and could even crush lesser vehicles beneath its treads. While individually not as powerful as the Mk. II, the Mammoth tank was more reliable and less expensive, allowing GDI commanders to deploy multiple tanks on the battlefield rather than concentrating their forces into one or two walkers.

Game unit
The Mammoth Tank is one of the most expensive units in GDI's arsenal, but it is also considered to be GDI's ace in the hole in the late game; it has very heavy armor and very high firepower, and is the ultimate expression of GDI's attitude towards armor superiority.

Compared to the Scrin Annihilator Tripod, or the Nod Avatar Warmech, the Mammoth Tank is the slowest but also the most durable. In terms of firepower and general performance, it is the most cost-efficient for armored battles—being able to match and even overpower its equivalents in a head-on engagement. While its primary weapons are dual cannons, it also classically features dual missile launchers that each can fire a salvo of two missiles at any type of target, giving the Mammoth the ability to attack aircraft and assisting it in attacking anything else.

Mammoths excel at destroying enemy ground vehicles. Almost any type of enemy vehicle aside from other factions' equivalents are guaranteed not to last long in a direct confrontation with a Mammoth unless they have numerical superiority. Several Mammoths attacking and charging forward at once can quickly overwhelm most types of targets and can cut through the defenses of all but the most heavily guarded bases, then proceed to destroy the buildings within.

The sheer size of the Mammoth Tank allows it to aggressively plow through most types of ground units; it can crush anything that isn't a walker-type vehicle, another Mammoth Tank, or a commando-type unit. However, it has weakened side armor, rear armor, and turns slowly. Charging through enemy armor and infantry is not always a good idea since it may take more damage than if it simply stands still and keeps firing. Due to its slow speed it isn't difficult for enemies to evade being crushed, or to simply flank the vehicle, exposing the vulnerable side armor, either. Careful management or exploitation of this weakness is important, depending on if a player is fighting against or fighting with Mammoth tanks.

Mammoth tanks are vulnerable to aircraft; because their missile launchers reload slowly, they are not reliable at bringing down groups of most types of aircraft other than Nod Venoms or Scrin Stormriders; so commanders need to escort them with more reliable anti-air units such as Pitbulls, Slingshots, or Guardian APCs if they expect the Mammoth to receive fire from enemy aircraft. Still, the launchers are helpful in allowing the Mammoth to defend itself, especially against clumped aircraft as they do area-effect damage.

Traditionally, like most tanks, the Mammoth is vulnerable to infantry attacks. It is especially vulnerable because it is slow moving, so it cannot hope to outrun infantry if it is in danger. Upgrading its cannons to Railguns helps it fight infantry more manageably, but still not effectively (especially against cannon-resistant Zone Troopers or Black Hand), so it may require some anti-infantry escorts. Its missile launchers are also far more effective against infantry than its unupgraded twin cannons are due to dealing area-effect damage, but the slow fire rate of the launchers plus their incapability to accurately hit moving infantry still makes them an unreliable defense.

Another key weakness of Mammoth Tanks is the combination of their slow speed, vast size and short attack range (compared to other Tier 3 units)—which renders them highly vulnerable as easy targets to be destroyed or at least damaged by enemy artillery. Small groups of Juggernauts or Specters, masses of Beam Cannons, and even harassment from Annihilator Tripods are all effective ways of countering Mammoth Tank attacks. If a Nod commander charges several EMP coil-upgraded Raider Buggies into a mass of Mammoth Tanks then shuts them down, they can be picked off before they can come back online.

To counter the slow speed of the Mammoth, which naturally leads to it often being worn down from harssing attacks as it moves across the battlefield, GDI commanders often supplement them with Battle Bases which can repair them in the field and provide some extra anti-air cover.

In Kane's Wrath, the Steel Talons subfaction has access to the Adaptive Armor upgrade, which confers EMP immunity and outstanding damage resistance—allowing their Mammoth Tanks to absorb exceptionally higher levels of damage and better survive concentrated attacks (such as airstrikes or even Superweapons), since it can sacrifice some of its firepower for more armor when needed.

Changelog

 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.05:
 * speed reduced by 7%
 * rockets' attack power reduced by 25%
 * railgun rate of fire reduced by 35% but attack power increased proportionally
 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.06: fixed an exploit that caused any unit or structure to become invincible if force-fired upon by a Mammoth tank that had been upgraded with railguns.
 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.07: decoy Mammoth tanks can no longer crush enemy units.
 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.09: turret turn rate reduced by 66% - this makes the vehicle slightly less effective at quickly changing targets.
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.01: speed increased 12.5%
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.02: hit points increased from 10000 to 11500

When created

 * Mammoth tank assembled!
 * Mammoth tank awaiting orders! (unused)

When selected

 * Mammoth tank ready!
 * Mammoth tank!
 * Unrivalled!
 * Armour superiority!
 * Right here!
 * What do you have?
 * Let's get to the front!
 * Yes, sir!

When moving

 * Moving.
 * Unstoppable!
 * Pushing forward!
 * Taking it there!
 * Rollin'.
 * Mammoth advancing!
 * Yes, sir!

When ordered to attack

 * Close in!
 * Move it up!
 * Going in!

When attacking

 * Fire!
 * Take 'em down!
 * Drop 'em!
 * Flatten 'em.
 * Roll over them!
 * Take 'em out!
 * Let's have some fun!

When retreating

 * Back to base!
 * Turn it Around!

Development
The Mammoth tank was modeled by Mike Colonnese.