Annihilator tripod

"That Tripod left a husk. I think an engineer should be able to capture it!"

- GDI troops talking about the dead Tripod

The Annihilator Tripod is the heaviest Scrin ground combat vehicle encountered during the Tiberium Wars.

Background
The tripod walker is armed with three proton beam weapons, each mounted on the end of an articulating arm.

At closer distances, the walkers release what appears to be a small eletro-magnetic pulse which effectively disables any land-based mechanical object in the blast radius, including structures. Owing to their sheer size, Annihilator tripods have been known to literally walk over smaller units such as Scorpion or Predator tanks, destroying them.

While naturally durable, the armour protection of the Tripod appears to be supplemented on occasion by what appears to be some form of energy shield upgrade comparable to those used on other Scrin units, like Devastator Warships. Units fitted with these shields are capable of absorbing one EMP attack without losing power and can also take a larger portion of anti vehicle fire than they would otherwise.

However, as proven by both GDI and Nod, the Annihilator Tripod is by no means invincible. A well-trained Commando can run up to a Tripod and disable it almost instantly with an explosive charge applied to the vulnerable underside of its body. Once disabled, GDI Engineers, Scrin Assimilators, and Nod Saboteurs can reactivate the downed Tripod for their respective factions.

Tripods also have no defense against aircraft. Other than this, large numbers of anti-vehicle units or very heavy vehicles such as Mammoth Tanks are required to take them on. But the Tripods are useless against Infantry, and can easily be destroyed if the infantry is large enough in numbers, but not much infantry are needed to be produced to take on a Tripod.

Variants
Intelligence has uncovered that the Scrin cult Reaper-17 utilizes a horribly Tiberium mutated, but nonetheless stronger variant of the Annihilator Tripod, referred to as the Reaper Tripod. Despite their dislike of heavy, slow machinery, Traveler-59 can still train Annihilator Tripods but these versions are unable to be outfitted with a Forcefield generator.Annihilator Tripods can be combined with buzzers to be effective against infantry.

In-game
The Annihilator tripod has better firepower, range, and maneuverability than the standard Mammoth 27 However, its armor is not as durable as strong as a Mammoth Tank and a Mammoth tank upgraded with railgun weaponry can easily damage or destroy an unprotected Annihilator at range. At 3000 credits, the walker is also one of the most expensive Tier 3 units seen on the battlefield.

Advantages:

 * Powerful weaponry that is able to either focus on one target or attack multiple targets.
 * Possesses an effective EMP weapon for close range engagements.
 * Can outrange most units, save true artillery.
 * Two versions (the Reaper Tripod and the Scrin's Annihilator Tripod) can be upgraded with shields.
 * Can simply trample Tier 1 and 2 vehicles and infantry
 * Can defeat most of the ground units in a one versus one fight. There have been documented instances of 2 Annihilator Tripods taking out a MARV using well timed EMP blasts.
 * Devastating in large groups.
 * Can be rapidly repaired by fellow Corrupters.
 * Husks may be reactivated to save on funds.

Disadvantages:

 * Defenseless vs aircraft, and very vulnerable to Orca Gunships.
 * Particularly vulnerable to Commandos
 * Mass of anti-vehicles units are a problem
 * Forcefield Generator does not protect it from Commando C4 charges.
 * Ineffective against infantry, such as en mass Missile squads.
 * The Forcefield requires 2 minutes to recharge after being disabled.
 * One of the most expensive ground units.
 * Only available at Tier 3.
 * Being mechanical, EMP weapons may be used to disable the Tripod if it lacks Forcefields.
 * No Forcefields for Traveler-59 faction.
 * Husks may be reactivated by hostile forces.