Orca bomber (Rivals)

"We'll wallop them!"

- Orca Bomber when attacking

The Orca Bomber is GDI's bombardment aircraft in Command & Conquer: Rivals.

Background
The Orca Bomber, designed by GDI's Engineering Corps, is a bomber aircraft first deployed during the Second Tiberium War. The bomber's heavy bomb load allows it to devastate large formations of enemy ground units, however it's slow speed and large radar signature make it easy pray for enemy fighter aircraft and ground-based anti-air units.

Abilities

 * Flying.
 * Rapidly damages ALL adjacent ground units, then must reload.
 * Fires while moving.
 * Fires while moving.

Game unit
Orca Bomber is a flying anti-ground unit that can turn to rubble whole armies in a single bombing raid. If one sortie is not enough to take out heavier units, several bombing raids will do the work. When the Orca Bomber is on the field, it can't be ignored.

The bombing raid is triggered once an enemy unit appears on an adjacent tile. It takes a little while before the first bomb is released. The bombing continues until all six bombs are dropped irrespective if there are any enemy units to target. The bomb blast deals full damage directly underneath the Orca Bomber and adjacent tiles receive 60% of the damage. To maximize the damage output of the bomber, it should be ordered to move over the target back and forth.

Orca Bomber dominates ground, but is vulnerable to air attacks, which requires good anti-air support, best of which is the Hammerhead. Ground based anti-air units like Slingshots are not as effective, since have a good chance of getting damaged by the Orca's friendly fire. On the ground the main threats are the Zone troopers and Sandstorms, especially when they have the defenders advantage.

Another weakness of the Orca Bomber is baiting. Involuntary bombing, friendly fire and long reload times mean that a single scouting unit like Cyberwheel can push behind the front lines, get near the Bomber and trigger the bombing, forcing it to reload at best, bombing the friendly units at worse.

Changelog

 * 2019-04-23: Health reduced to 1700 (was 1950)
 * 2019-05-01:
 * Health increased to 1950 (was 1700)
 * Cost increased to 110 (was 100)
 * 2019-06-27: Health decreased to 1715 (was 1950)
 * 2020-03-25: Reload time increaded to 12 seconds (was 10 seconds)
 * 2020-08-12: Damage fall-off is greater as the distance increases (was 60% damage on nearby tiles)

When created

 * Orca bomber looking for a fight
 * Orca bomber in the air

When selected

 * Waiting orders
 * Unit ready
 * Orca bomber ready to run

When moving

 * On the way
 * Aye, moving
 * You got it
 * Moving out

When moving to attack favorably

 * Bombers, pound them to pieces!
 * We'll wallop them!

When moving to attack neutral

 * Acknowledged
 * Aye, alright
 * Affirmative

When moving to attack unfavorably

 * Hope I make it back
 * Bombs might not be effective
 * I'm gonna take a skelping

When unable to attack target

 * I cannot do that
 * Cannot do that

When attacking

 * Bombs away
 * Look out below!

When under attack

 * Getting my bahoochie kicked
 * I'm been doon!

When crashing

 * Keep fighting!
 * I'm going doon!

Trivia

 * Modeled after the Orca bomber in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.
 * Has thick Scottish accent. Male.
 * In community orca bomber is often shortened as borca.

Behind the scenes
"Oft requested, the famous Orca Bomber makes its appearance in C&C Rivals, giving GDI a heavy hitter in the Helipad that can contend with Nod’s Inferno."

- MrBlack