Purifier

"They burn."
 * Purifier entering combat

The Purifier is the significantly more primitive predecessor to the Avatar Warmech, and is used exclusively by the Marcion-led Black Hand.It is fitted with a subliminal message device that boosts the morale of nearby infantry, and comes pre-equipped with a flamethrower in addition to the laser.

It's development was commenced after brother Marcion, in a pitched Second Tiberium War urban battle against GDI forces, noted how his presence on the battlefield (along with the improvised flamethrower he used to clear GDI trenches) had an inspiring effect on the brothers that fought alongside him. The Purifier was created to recreate Marcion's iconic feat, a giant walking humanoid spouting flames, with a subliminal messaging system inspiring infantry near it.

Black Hand's expertise with flame weapons allow Purifiers to be upgraded with more powerful fuel for their flamethrowers, giving them the purifying flame effect. Unlike the Avatar, the Purifier doesn't need to stop or turn to use its flamethrower and will automatically burn any enemy unit in its radius. However, it lacks its successors ability to upgrade itself with components from allied units, making it somewhat less adaptable. It does compensate for this with it's immensely powerful flamethrower. If a base commander is not careful and does not possess adequate base defenses, a single Purifier is capable of razing an entire base to the ground, especially with the Purifying Flame Upgrade. The Purifier is also effective against mass light vehicle and infantry attacks, it's powerful flamethrower quickly despatching them. However, the Purifier is at a disadvantage when facing other heavy units such as the Mammoth 27 simply because the laser is not as powerful as the Avatar's and it's flamethrower's range is rather short. Having said that, if it can close the distance quickly and has the Purifying Flame upgrade, it stands a reasonable chance against the Mammoth Tank.

The Purifier's introduction into the Black Hand originally caused dissent within the organization; as many viewed the machine as incompatible with the religious purpose of the Black Hand. To avoid further problems, Brother Marcion mandated that prior to deployment, all Purifiers had to be consecrated by Black Hand abbots.

Purifiers were fairly rare during Marcion's rebellion; several guarded his main base from attack and attempted to escort Marcion away from the battlefield once his command center was destroyed by LEGION's forces. Another group of twelve Purifiers was encountered following the Black Hand's reintegration with Nod; when LEGION assaulted a GDI Liquid Tiberium Lab. Though they had been damaged by Steel Talons forces, they were reactivated and used to complete their mission. Despite the introduction of the Avatar, the Black Hand chose to continue to use the Purifier, up to the year 2052, when the 2nd Armoured Regiment of the Black Hand assisted the Marked of Kane in capturing the Tacitus

Purifiers take the place of the Avatar for the Black Hand subfaction and are thus built at the same tech level and require the same facilities before combat delivery can commence, ie. a Tech Lab and a War Factory/Redeemer Engineering Facility.

Like the Avatar, the Purifier husk can be reactivated by suitably trained personnel if the Purifier has been destroyed, provided the husk is not destroyed first.