Battle base

"The Battle Base is a heavy defense platform that has the ability to automatically repair nearby damaged vehicles."

- EVA

The Battle Base is a point defense and forward repair emplacement used by GDI during the Third Tiberium War.

History
The deployed form of the Rig, the Battle Base is equipped with Guardian cannons and a missile launcher, capable of engaging enemy vehicles and aircraft. It also carries a complement of auto-drones for making field repairs to GDI vehicles. The Rig/Battle Base Combination is ideal for claiming and holding terrain, enabling GDI field commanders to employ a classic "Clear and Hold" strategy for securing Tiberium fields or gradually taking over an objective area.

Game building
The Battle Base is a point defense and repair platform available only by unpacking a Rig. It comes with two guardian cannons and a missile launcher akin to the one found on the Pitbull. It is primarily used by GDI commanders to support armored attacks, set up forward bases, control strategic points of the field with vehicle support, or to supplement base defenses.

It is a cost-efficient unit when used correctly; it is somewhat durable, is good at destroying enemy vehicles, and can repair vehicles around it, allowing armored groups to either hold a point by taking positions within its repair radius, or to support an attack by serving as a forward 'pit stop' for friendly vehicles, where ones damaged in battle can stop for a repair then rejoin the assault. If used aggressively it can be set up right outside an opponent's base so it can continue to heal friendly attacking vehicles while attacking enemy units as long as it stays alive, and doubling as a detection platform for any hostile stealth units that may be nearby. A distinct advantage of Battle Bases is that when they unpack they can be set to be repaired just like any regular base building, so commanders can spend credits to keep them alive longer. If multiple Battle Bases are used, nearby ones can pack up into a vehicle, then be healed by unpacked Battle Bases, making them more sustainable. They also require no power to operate, meaning that they can substitute for base defense structures.

However, the Battle Base has a few severe drawbacks: The most obvious one is that it must unpack and repack if it needs to be moved, and is defenseless and an easy target when it is not unpacked. Another disadvantage is that its weapons are wholly inadequate for doing much damage to infantry, so if left alone without support, it can be easily taken out by any type of infantry with some anti-structure power, especially commandos. Its weapons are not long range, so in any situation it can be outgunned by artillery, since it can't pack up and unpack near artillery with reasonable enough speed to remotely have a chance of catching and damaging them. Finally, while Battle Bases technically have a missile launcher that can fire at enemy aircraft, it fires very slowly and only does average damage on impact, so it is poor at defending itself from any aircraft other than perhaps a handful of Nod Venoms at best, and it can be easily neutralized by a single airstrike from a small wing of Vertigos. To offset these disadvantages it relies on the vehicles that will presumably be accompanying it into battle, such as Mammoth tanks and Guardian APCs.

Changelog

 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.05: repair drones changed to work like all other repair drones
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.01:
 * repair drone range increased 33%
 * unpack/pack time decreased 40%
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.02: stealth detection range increased from 200 to 400

Trivia

 * Even though the battle base can be upgraded with Railguns in Kane's Wrath, its physical appearance does not change after the upgrade.