Guardian APC

The Guardian is a GDI armoured personnel carrier used during the Third Tiberium War.

Background
Drawing on their seminal research on combining natural defense forms with historical combat tactics, the Dai Nippon/Skunk Works created several prototypes before accepting the ideal form of their new Turtle Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). The Turtle employs the same electromotive systems as the Mammoth: independent high-torque HTSC (High Temperature Super Conductor, a material widely used in the Mammoth's systems) electromagnetic motors with dual Mil-Spec CVJF (Combat Vehicle Jet Fuel) ducted turbine generators as the main power source.

The end result is an advanced, six wheeled transport, with all terrain capability and a dual barreled heavy machine gun capable of engaging both ground and aerial targets. It features a wedge shaped hull to provide protection from IEDs, a common weapon in urban warfare. One of the more interesting features is the high frequency low voltage Titanium alloy bi-metal articulated suspension, which can dynamically adjust its elevation in response to battlefield conditions.

First models were deployed with the Steel Talons, as early as 2034. These lacked the self-defense weapon, but had a repair crane instead. This version was dubbed the Mobile Repair Transport. Later models (which eschewed the crane in favour of the Vigilante system) were outfitted with mine laying equipment, allowing it to deploy a large minefield at any given location, and an automatic turret, capable of mowing down light infantry in seconds.

Any squad of infantry being transported inside may fire out of the APC, granting it greater offensive capability than an empty one; for example, an APC transporting a Missile Squad will have improved fire power against vehicular and airborne targets while the Missile troopers are inside, and when transporting Zone Troopers, the Zone Troopers will tear through vehicles from inside the APC. Additionally, it's twin machine gun can be upgraded to employ armor piercing ammunition.

Legacy

 * The Armadillo APC

Game unit
The Guardian may carry one infantry squad. Troops may fire from within the APC but are killed when the vehicle is destroyed, therefore it is best to have the troops evacuate if you anticipate the APC is about to be blown up to allow them to continue to fight or move. It also mounts a machinegun which is effective against enemy infantry and does some noticeable damage to light vehicles and aircraft.

They can serve as an acceptable AA unit when paired with Pitbulls, as the high firerate of their machineguns helps supplement the high damage but low firerate of the pitbull's missiles, allowing groups of aircraft to be dealt with more efficiently. However their AA abilities still pale in comparison to the Slingshot available in the Kane's Wrath expansion.

The Guardian APC is capable of moving infantry fairly quickly around the battlefield, though in the case of units like Commandos there is no improvement (the GDI Commando can actually run faster than an APC), and Zone Troopers only marginally benefit from the extra mobility.

One of the primary reasons for using the APC other than the obvious role of transporting infantry is merely to protect them from fire that would normally kill them; for example, a missile squad can fire safely from the ports of an APC while it takes rifle or machinegun fire that would normally kill them. In addition the APC helps defend the infantry inside with its own machinegun, supplementing their abilities. If retreat is necessary the APC also gives them a quicker and safer way of escaping. For this reason small APC strike groups can be useful for harassment tactics.

APCs, without garrisoned infantry, are analogous in role to Nod's Raider Buggy; it is a relatively fast vehicle with a machinegun. It is typical of GDI design in that it is more well armored, has more firepower, is slower, and more costly than its Nod counterpart.

The Guardian APC is one of the most well-armored (and slow) of the light vehicle types, but it is still almost never a good idea to use them against heavy units such as tanks or walkers, regardless of their accompanying infantry's benefits.

APCs can serve a variety of support roles with infantry garrisoned in them.


 * Adding a Missile Squad to an APC can make it a decent harassment and anti-air platform.
 * Adding a Sniper Team makes it excellent for dealing with enemy infantry, as it is fast enough to allow the snipers to 'kite' enemy infantry; the APC is too fast for most infantry to catch it, and the snipers have more range than any other infantry unit, making them lethal for picking off squads and retreating. It is particularly efficient for dealing with groups of elite enemy infantry.
 * Adding Zone Troopers is very expensive but it makes the APC very deadly against light vehicles. It will also be effective against heavy vehicles but the APC will not last long against heavy vehicle fire if used this way, so that is not advisable. The advantages of combining the two are small; Zone Troopers are generally well protected and very mobile anyways. However they will be more resistant to anti-infantry fire if used in this way. Keep in mind that this combinaison is only available to the standard GDI faction.
 * Adding a Grenadier Squad makes it the ideal unit for quickly clearing out areas that are heavily garrisoned by enemy infantry, as the grenadiers can throw grenadies while the APC is moving, and the APC moves around quickly.
 * Adding Zone Raiders makes it excellent at anti-air, anti-infantry, and anti-light vehicle roles. This is very expensive and is only viable for ZOCOM commanders.
 * Loading a GDI Commando and having one run into your enemy's base then unloading the Commando can be devastating, though this is an expensive tactic and Commandos are actually more mobile and more resistant to anti-vehicle fire than the APC itself is.
 * Obviously loading an Engineer is a good way of helping an engineer reach a building more quickly and safely than usual.

Their ability to lay minefields comes in handy especially in defensive situations. Enemy forces that stumble into a minefield often meet with heavy losses, and laying minefields at strategic locations and chokepoints on a given battlefield will deter/slow and sometimes obliterate enemy forces. When APCs are loaded with the appropriate infantry, lay minefields, then guard an area, they can be very effective. Another useful tactic is to lay minefields in front of units like Juggernauts when they fire on an opponent's base to slow or destroy units they will send to counter, or laying them near sides of your opponents base where you are not primarily attacking while performing an attack, so if they try to send a flanking force from another area of their base, the force might run into or be slowed by the mines. Also laying minefields near Tiberium fields can be effective too, though it takes several mine hits to destroy a harvester unit.

However, any vehicle with sensor capability can see minefields and easily neutralize them. A good player will often notice if their vehicles or infantry are getting hit by mines, turn them around, and then have a sensor-capable unit move in and then simply remove the field. Minefields cost 500 credits to lay, so it is important to make cautious use of them. Minefields damage 'hover' units just as well as any other ground unit, like the Devourer Tank or the GDI Slingshot, for example.

The Steel Talons variant of the Guardian APC, the Mobile Repair Transport, costs the same and performs the same except it trades its machinegun for a crane that lets it repair vehicles. In addition, its loadout options are more limited since the Steel Talon subfaction does not make use of advanced GDI infantry.

Advantages

 * Cheap to build
 * Armament is effective against infantry, light ground vehicles and aircraft
 * Extremely flexible; effective against vehicles and aircraft with Zone Troopers and Missile Squads, and lethal against infantry with Riflemen and Sniper Teams
 * Fast and manuverable, able to respond quickly
 * Available at Tier 1; useful for early rushes, quick attacks and holding off sudden infantry charges
 * Capable of laying mines to deter or destroy approching enemies
 * If built from a War Factory captured in the Andrews AFB mission of the Nod campaign, APCs will have four times the normal carrying capacity

Disadvantages

 * Requires infantry units to reach its full potential; effects varry on the type of infantry
 * Relatively fragile; is vulnerable to tanks, massed anti-vehicle infantry, and bombers
 * Multiple units are required to make effective use of the APC's abilities
 * Any infantry inside an APC when it is destroyed are lost as well

Idle

 * APC, what's the plan?
 * Commander?
 * Ready when you are...
 * Armored Personnel Carrier.
 * APC standing by...

Moving

 * Park it there!
 * Operations underway
 * In transit!
 * Hang on...
 * We're coming...
 * Right away!

Attacking

 * Get 'em!
 * Right there, right there!
 * Hit them, HIT THEM!
 * FIRE!
 * Let's make it quick!
 * Ready weapons
 * Move in on then!
 * Standby for assault!

Retreating

 * We gotta move!