Guardian APC

The Guardian APC was GDI's primary armored personnel carrier during the Third Tiberium War.

Background
Drawing on their seminal research on combining natural defense forms with historical combat tactics, the Dai Nippon/Skunk Works created several prototypes before accepting the ideal form of their new Turtle Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). The Turtle employs the same electromotive systems as the Mammoth: independent high-torque HTSC (High Temperature Super Conductor, a material widely used in the Mammoth's systems) electromagnetic motors with dual Mil-Spec CVJF (Combat Vehicle Jet Fuel) ducted turbine generators as the main power source.

The end result is an advanced, six wheeled transport, with all terrain capability and a dual barreled heavy machine gun capable of engaging both ground and aerial targets. It features a wedge shaped hull to provide protection from IEDs, a common weapon in urban warfare. One of the more interesting features is the high frequency low voltage Titanium alloy bi-metal articulated suspension, which can dynamically adjust its elevation in response to battlefield conditions.

First models were deployed with the Steel Talons, as early as 2034. These lacked the self-defense weapon, but had a repair crane instead. This version was dubbed the Mobile Repair Transport. Later models (which eschewed the crane in favor of the Vigilante system) were outfitted with mine laying equipment, allowing it to deploy a large minefield at any given location, and an automatic turret, capable of mowing down light infantry in seconds.

Any squad of infantry being transported inside may fire out of the APC, granting it greater offensive capability than an empty one; for example, an APC transporting a Missile Squad will have improved fire power against vehicular and airborne targets while the Missile troopers are inside, and when transporting Zone Troopers, the Zone Troopers will tear through vehicles from inside the APC. Additionally, its twin machine gun can be upgraded to employ armor piercing ammunition.

Legacy
The Guardian APC would continue to see service into the 2060s, where its chassis would become the basis of the AT-22 Hunter.

Game unit
The Guardian may carry one infantry squad. Troops may fire from within the APC but are killed when the vehicle is destroyed, therefore it is best to have the troops evacuate if you anticipate the APC is about to be blown up to allow them to continue to fight or move. It also mounts a machinegun which is effective against enemy infantry and does some noticeable damage to light vehicles and aircraft.

They can serve as an acceptable AA unit when paired with Pitbulls, as the high fire rate of their machine guns helps supplement the high damage but low fire rate of the Pitbull's missiles, allowing groups of aircraft to be dealt with more efficiently. However their AA abilities still pale in comparison to the Slingshot available in the Kane's Wrath expansion.

The Guardian APC is capable of moving infantry fairly quickly around the battlefield, though in the case of units like Commandos there is no improvement (the GDI Commando can actually run faster than an APC), and Zone Troopers only marginally benefit from the extra mobility.

One of the primary reasons for using the APC other than the obvious role of transporting infantry is merely to protect them from fire that would normally kill them; for example, a missile squad can fire safely from the ports of an APC while it takes rifle or machine gun fire that would normally kill them. In addition the APC helps defend the infantry inside with its own machine gun, supplementing their abilities. If retreat is necessary the APC also gives them a quicker and safer way of escaping. For this reason small APC strike groups can be useful for harassment tactics.

APCs, without garrisoned infantry, are analogous in role to Nod's Raider buggy; it is a relatively fast vehicle with a machine gun. It is typical of GDI design in that it is more well armored, has more firepower, is slower, and more costly than its Nod counterpart.

The Guardian APC is one of the most heavily-armored and slowest light vehicles, but it's almost always a bad idea to use it against heavy units such as tanks or walkers, regardless of any accompanying infantry's benefits.

APCs can serve a variety of support roles with infantry garrisoned in them.


 * A Missile Squad will make the APC a decent harassment and anti-air platform.
 * A Sniper Team makes it excellent for dealing with enemy infantry at a distance, as it's fast enough to allow the snipers to 'kite' enemy infantry.
 * Zone Troopers are expensive but make the APC lethal to infantry and light vehicles and drastically increase its effectiveness against heavy combat vehicles like tanks. However, the carrier won't last long against heavy vehicle fire if used this way, so that is not advised.
 * A Grenadier Squad makes the APC an ideal infantry-clearing unit, combining the grenadiers' high damage output against infantry and the vehicle's agility.
 * Zone Raiders makes the Guardian an excellent anti-air, anti-infantry and anti-vehicle platform. This is very expensive and only viable for ZOCOM commanders.
 * Commandos can exponentially increase the APC's effectiveness against infantry and light vehicles, but are relegated to antipersonnel combat abilities while inside the vehicle. Loading a Commando, running the APC into an enemy base and then unloading the unit is effective but ultimately a waste of effort, as the Commando is more mobile than the vehicle itself.
 * Loading an Engineer imparts no combat abilities to the vehicle, but will ensure that the unit reaches the desired location more securely than normal.

Their ability to lay minefields comes in handy especially in defensive situations. Enemy forces that stumble into a minefield often meet with heavy losses, and laying minefields at strategic locations and choke points on a given battlefield will deter/slow and sometimes obliterate enemy forces. When APCs are loaded with the appropriate infantry, lay minefields, then guard an area, they can be very effective. Another useful tactic is to lay minefields in front of units like Juggernauts when they fire on an opponent's base to slow or destroy units they will send to counter, or laying them near sides of your opponents base where you are not primarily attacking while performing an attack, so if they try to send a flanking force from another area of their base, the force might run into or be slowed by the mines. Also laying minefields near Tiberium fields can be effective too, though it takes several mine hits to destroy a harvester unit.

However, any vehicle with sensor capability can see minefields and easily neutralize them. A good player will often notice if their vehicles or infantry are getting hit by mines, turn them around, and then have a sensor-capable unit move in and then simply remove the field. Minefields cost 500 credits to lay, so it is important to make cautious use of them. Minefields damage hover units as much as any other ground unit, like the Devourer Tank or the GDI Slingshot, for example.

The Steel Talons variant of the Guardian APC, the Mobile Repair Transport, costs the same and performs the same except it trades its machine gun for a crane that lets it repair vehicles. In addition, its loadout options are more limited since the Steel Talons subfaction does not make use of advanced GDI infantry.

Changelog

 * Tiberium Wars patch 1.05:
 * fixed a team exploit in which the Nod cloaking field support power could be used to make infantry units inside of allied GDI APCs gain stealth
 * speed increased by 20%
 * attack power vs. infantry reduced by 25%
 * turret turn rate and pitch rate increased, improving the APC’s ability to fire on fast-moving aircraft
 * APCs now always move close enough to their targets to ensure infantry units inside are within attack range
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.01: APCs now lay mines as quickly as the Mobile Repair Transport (instantaneously)
 * Kane's Wrath patch 1.02: minefield cost reduced to 300

When created

 * APC, ready for combat.

When selected

 * Commander?
 * APC, what's the plan?
 * Personnel carrier.
 * Ready when you are.
 * APC standing by.

When moving

 * In transit.
 * Hang on.
 * Transport en route.
 * Operations underway.
 * We're coming.
 * Park it there!
 * Right away.

When ordered to attack

 * Ready weapons!
 * Standby for assault!
 * Move in on them!

When attacking

 * Target confirmed!
 * Fire!
 * Right there!
 * Take 'em out!
 * Give it to 'em!

When ordered to deploy mines

 * Put the mine there.
 * Make sure they don't see 'em.
 * Hide 'em well!

In combat

 * Let's make this quick!
 * Hit 'em, hit 'em!
 * We have contact, sir!
 * Stay on 'em!

When retreating

 * We gotta move!
 * Lets go! Let's go!