Thunderhead

"Think they'll mind being obliterated?"

- Thunderhead

The Thunderhead is a Tier 3 heavy dual air/ground unit of the GDI Support Class in Tiberian Twilight.

In-game unit
The Thunderhead is unlocked once a GDI commander reaches Level 12. It can only be constructed once his Support MCV has upgraded to Tier 3 on the battlefield.

The Thunderhead has one very high-powered heavy ion beam cannon fixed to the chassis. The ion beam has the longest range of any weapon currently known, but due to the nature of its mounting, it can only be brought to bear on targets on the same plane as the Thunderhead (i.e. ground units while in ground mode, air units while in flight mode). It is easily capable of slicing through even the heaviest armour. It is less effective against small units, however. The Gravity Field upgrade will cause the ion beam to effectively lock down any target that it hits, and significantly slows down nearby enemy units. Like all laser units, the Thunderhead must come to a halt before opening fire.

As a heavy unit, the Thunderhead has heavy armour that is more or less immune to bullets and highly resistant to shells and rockets. It is, however, vulnerable to lasers due to its large size. It is also slow, like all heavy units.

The Thunderhead has a Toggle Flight ability that allows it to switch between Ground Mode and Flight Mode. By default, it starts off in Ground Mode when produced from the Support MCV. When switching from Flight Mode to Ground Mode again, it accelerates straight downwards towards the ground, damaging any enemy units directly below it. In both modes, the Thunderhead moves on its 4 thrusters, hovering a few feet above the ground in Ground Mode, or like a VTOL jet in Flight Mode. The Thunderhead is too heavy to cliffjump, however.

The Thunderhead's Nod counterpart is the Basilisk warship. The Basilisk has a shorter range and cannot toggle between flight and ground mode, but it can attack both ground and air units at the same time and can hit multiple targets at the same time with the Spectrum Beam upgrade. It is also worth noting that the Thunderhead is the only aircraft capable of gaining veterancy with crates, by toggling to ground mode and picking them up. This makes it significantly easier to achieve heroic status than the Basilisk.

Created

 * Call for a little thunder?

Select

 * Thanks for choosing the best.
 * Thunderhead at the helm.
 * Careful with the hardware now.
 * Give me the biggest target you've got.
 * The biggest laser cannon they'll ever see.
 * I'm ready.
 * It doesn't get any better than this.
 * Thunderhead's all yours, good move.

Moving

 * Thunderhead coming through
 * Is it clear of all that riff raff?
 * Got it, chief.
 * Easy.
 * No problems here!
 * Good idea.
 * Cool beans.
 * Hmmm. Okay.
 * Okay, looking good.

Attacking

 * Don't look directly into the laser.
 * Spaghetti, coming right up!
 * Check this out!
 * Cannon's already charged!
 * Hey ugly, need a light?
 * He'd look much better in pieces!
 * Hmmm, nice choice.

Attacking Light Units

 * That's the biggest you've got for me?
 * That little thing?

Move to Attack

 * Looks interesting.
 * Let me tune the cannon just for them.
 * I'll need to get a closer look.
 * Ah, good. I was getting bored.
 * Think they'll mind being obliterated?

In Combat

 * Be patient!
 * You'll always want to be on this side of the laser!
 * Hmm. What does this button do?
 * It's a pretty good turnout today.
 * They'll be gone soon enough.
 * Did I just destroy more of their stuff?

Taking Fire

 * Inbound!
 * Are they attacking me?
 * I figured they'd go after me.
 * Ah, so resentful!
 * Ehm. Command, are you watching this?
 * *Sigh* They just scratched my armor.

Retreating

 * Okay, clear the way!
 * Oh, can't let them take me!
 * I could use some repairs!