Mammoth Armored Reclamation Vehicle

"MARV Assembly complete."
 * MARV going online

The Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle, or simply the MARV, is GDI's Epic Unit. It is approximately three times the size of its smaller brother, the Mammoth 27. It is utilized in the Third Tiberium War, and covered in extremely heavy armour that can shrug off all but the most enduring attacks. Its armour is so great that even an Ion cannon blast will not destroy it. For defense against threats to reclamation operations, it has a triple barreled sonic cannon turret mounted onto its chassis and can garrison up to four infantry squads in bunkers on armored decks above its treads. The MARV must be built in a dedicated structure called the Reclamator hub.

It is often called the MARVester (If you dont understand this nickname, please take a look at this page), because it contains a fully functional Tiberium Refinery inside, and is able to collect the resource by simply driving over it, as the crystals are automatically harvested and processed inside the MARV. This gives the MARV the ability to provide a steady flow of supplies as well as clear massive fields of Tiberium, but at the cost of severely diminished value of the harvest (-350 credits per full green patch, and -700 per full blue patch). Smart commanders used it to clear the enemy Tiberium fields and cutting off their supply lines.

It was first deployed by ZOCOM in the African Red Zone where it was discovered by a forward Nod scout party which quickly fell prey to the MARV. When Nod deployed a strike force to capture and reverse engineer the technology, two additional MARVs were dispatched to deal with the threat. Unfortunately for GDI, all 3 of them were subsequently destroyed in the ensuing battle by Nod's Redeemer.

History


"MARV CANT BE THAT BIG!"
 * Nod Soldier

The Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle, or MARV, was crafted by GDI engineers to complement ZOCOM's Red zone anti-Tiberium operations (as already shown above). Significant advances in Tiberium harvesting and refinement have allowed GDI to house a full Tiberium processing plant within the enormous, armoured behemoth. Using a frontally-mounted scanning and collection system, the MARV can gather, process, and convert terrestrial Tiberium to usable resources in a matter of minutes.

Potential threats, originating from Nod-based operations or any number of Nod splinter, Mutant, or Forgotten factions, forced GDI to add significant armaments to the MARV before Red Zone deployment. In addition to the massive size and high-durability armour afforded to the MARV, a triple-barreled sonic cannon was added to provide offensive power to the MARV design. Firing a large area-of-effect sonic shell, the MARV’s massive cannon is equally as effective against unexpected uprisings as it is at breaking down massive Tiberium deposits for reclamation. In addition, four garrison slots can accommodate a variety of GDI infantry, allowing the MARV to meet any potential threat on the battlefield. For more information about these hardpoints, see ´´Garrison Effects´´.

While it is the most heavily armoured unit on the battlefield, it is lacking in firepower when compared to the Redeemer and the Eradicator. GDI R&D may have known this and this might have been the reason the MARV has 4 garrison slots, the most of any Epic unit. It's also the slowest Epic Unit, making it unsuitable for quick response to attacks. It is, however, excellent for countering large numbers of lower tech enemy units, especially when garissoned with Zone Raiders or grenadiers. [[Media:Example.ogg]]

Garrison effects
"If we are to build a suitable counter to ZOCOM's MARV, we must analyze its wreckage. Destroy the vehicle."
 * Nod EVA

The MARV has four infantry hardpoints that can be outfitted with a variety of weapons. Each hardpoint needs to be manned by the garrisoning crew permanently:


 * Rifleman squad: anti-infantry machine-gun
 * Missile squad: anti-vehicle/anti-air missile launcher
 * Engineer/Combat Engineer: persistent healing, addition of a second, third, and more Engineer garrisoned will heal the unit more rapidly
 * Grenadier: anti-infantry/anti-structure, garrison-clearing grenade launcher
 * Sniper team: anti-infantry sniper rifle
 * Zone Trooper: anti-vehicle Railguns
 * Zone Raider: anti-mass/anti-everything sonic grenades

Although the MARV is an Epic Unit, it does gain veterancy, as do all other Epic Units. However it gains veterancy very slowly, as a promotion is awarded once a unit destroys three times it's worth, and considering the ludicrous cost of the epic units, it takes a very long time or a large amount of units to get all the way to a full promotion. However, promotion or not, the MARV is nonetheless a devastating opponent.

Assessment
"Assault Vector Alpha!"
 * MARV

Good Points:


 * Can survive a Nuke and Rift strike if at full health
 * Extremely heavily armed and armored
 * High Accuracy
 * Can garrison 4 troops, using their specific weapons.
 * Can crush even Avatars, Purifiers, Annihilator Tripods, Reaper Tripods, Titans, Juggernauts and other Mammoth Tanks under its treads.
 * Harvests Tiberium and can turn a Yellow or Red Zone into a Blue Zone.
 * Engineers + Zone Troopers + Missile Squads are great combination in battle

Bad Points

 * Perhaps the slowest Epic unit
 * Expensive
 * A big target for any weapon including Shockwave Artillery and Planetary Assault Carrier
 * Does not have strong firepower unlike the Redeemer or Eradicator
 * Also swarms of enemy units can destroy it which includes Annihilators Tripods or other heavy units
 * Rage Generator (Redeemer ability) can turn the tank against its friends
 * Again like Mammoth 27s it is outranged by Avatars, Annihilator Tripods, Redeemers and even Eradicators can shoot further than its guns.
 * EMPs could disable it, leaving it vulnerable to attack
 * Swarms of aircraft could be a problem
 * Catalyst missiles are worst nightmare to the marv