Purifier

"Set it on fire!"

- Purifier entering combat

The Purifier was a heavy walker used by the Marcion-led Black Hand. It was the predecessor to the Avatar.

Design
Its 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 constructed to recreate Marcion's iconic feat, in the form of a giant walking humanoid spouting flames, with a subliminal messaging system inspiring infantry near it.

Black Hand's obsession and expertise with flame weapons allowed Purifiers to be upgraded with more combustible and efficient fuel for their flamethrowers, giving them the Purifying flame upgrade. Unlike the Avatar, the Purifier doesn't need to stop or turn to use its flamethrower, as it will automatically set ablaze any enemy unit that comes within its radius. However, it lacks its successor's ability to upgrade itself with components from allied units, making it less adaptable. It compensates for this with its immensely powerful flamethrower and cost efficiency; the cost for an Avatar and a Flame Tank to upgrade it costs 3200, compared to the Purifier's 3000 cost, subliminal message bonus, and ability to use its flamethrower while moving. However, as a fully modified Avatar possessed all the Purifier's features, plus stealth detection, stealth generators and an additional laser cannon, a Purifier is simply technologically inferior to it.

If a base commander is not careful or 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, with its powerful laser and flamethrower quickly dispatching them. However, the Purifier is at a disadvantage when facing other heavy vehicles such as the GDI Mammoth Tank, simply because the laser is not as powerful as the Avatar's and its 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.

On the other hand, its automatic flamethrower does afford it limited protection against enemy commandos, as the commando would have to be extremely quick to detonate one of these behemoths. While a single Purifier can pose a hazard to a base, a group of 6 or more can literally burn down the base as they walk. It is also worth noting that a group of 6 Purifiers or more with the Purifying Flame upgrade can easily defeat an Eradicator Hexapod.

All in all, despite being older and more crude than the Avatar, the Purifier Warmech is anything but obsolete.

Service
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 utilized to complete the 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, i.e. 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. The Purifier was replaced by the Fourth Tiberium War era Avatar walkers.

Changelog

 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.01:
 * beam weapon damage increased by 6.25%
 * purifying flame damage bonus decreased 75%

When created

 * Purifier ready!
 * The flame shall purify!
 * And then there was fire!

When selected

 * Ready to burn!
 * Fired up!
 * Purifier ready!
 * Flame tanks primed!
 * In control!
 * Systems engaged!

When moving

 * Onwards!
 * Lead the way!
 * Location set...
 * Target vector!
 * Forge a path!
 * Acknowledge!
 * Advancing!

When ordered to attack

 * Combat sensor online!
 * There will be fire!
 * Into the fray!
 * All will be ashes!

When attacking

 * Burn it!
 * Into ash!
 * Fire is purity!
 * Eliminate!
 * Thy will be done!
 * Leave no trace!
 * Char!
 * White hot!
 * Set it on fire!

In combat

 * Combat system engaged!
 * Active purification!
 * They burn!
 * It shall rain ash!
 * Purifying!
 * All will be cleansed!

When retreating

 * If it is Kane's will.
 * I depart!
 * I shall return!

Trivia

 * The Purifier is similar to the Emperor Overlord tank from Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour, in that it is a faction specific variant of an existing unit, and its default state is one of the upgraded states of its base unit.