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For this structure's successor, see Battle bunker (Red Alert 3). |
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The battle bunker is a garrisonable Soviet defensive structure in Yuri's Revenge.
Game building[]
At its core, the Battle Bunker was a simple concept: make the power of garrisons more consistent by allowing commanders to deploy their own fortifications. Combined with the Union's vast legions of Conscripts, these deceptively simple buildings made cheap but powerful defenses for Soviet bases and could quickly be amassed. Their construction only required the presence of a Soviet Construction Yard, and unlike traditional civilian garrisons they could be repaired through more conventional means (the sidebar repair tool), drastically cutting down on the expenses required to maintain them. Commanders could still choose to spend $500 credits on an Engineer to repair it if they so wished, but most opted for the slower but cheaper manual repair action. These bunkers could also be laid down with staggering speed; the bunker itself cost only $500 credits and a few seconds to build, as did the five Conscripts that they could hold, making the cost of a fully garrisoned Battle Bunker $1000 credits. (Should a Soviet Commander have access to an Allied or Yuri Barracks, G.I.s and Initiates, or any combination of the three, could also be garrisoned within them.) In other words, they cost the same as two Sentry Guns, or a single Flak Cannon. It certainly also helped that, like the Sentry Gun, the Battle Bunker did not require power to operate.
In combat, these Bunkers were reasonably sturdy and could dish out startling amounts of punishment to enemies who foolishly wandered within its range. Especially when garrisoned with its maximum of five infantrymen (which was often not hard), Battle Bunkers excelled at cutting through hordes of infantry and could tear apart light vehicles in seconds. Their effectiveness even extended to heavier armor, albeit in a more limited capacity; while they couldn't chew through larger health pools nearly as quickly, especially when isolated, given enough time even the humble Conscripts within could tear apart the heaviest of armor. Should the Battle Bunker be destroyed, the five infantrymen within would escape the building with no injury and be rewarded veterancy for the damage they dealt. The latter also happened if they were manually evacuated from the building. And, unlike civilian garrisons, the resulting land would be as flat as it was when the Bunker was placed upon it (ignoring a few negligible craters or scorch marks), leaving the space available for future construction.
In terms of the survival of the infantrymen within, the Battle Bunker confers all the advantages of a building upon their occupants: they became immune to snipers, radiation damage, and mind control, and weapons typically powerful against infantry but less so against structures (ie Flak, Allied Mirage Tanks) would now have to be supported by anti-structure units before they themselves could move in for the kill. Note that Yuri Prime, who possessed the ability to bend structures to his will, could only capture these buildings if they were empty.
Overall, compared to garrisonable civilian buildings found across most maps, Battle Bunkers had the advantage of control: the commander could choose to plant them in more strategic positions, instead of having to work with the hand they had been dealt. They were also far more expendable, as they could easily be rebuilt, and could be repaired without the (at times hefty) investment of an Engineer. Infantry would also stay within the building until it was completely destroyed, instead of leaving it upon reaching a certain critical threshold, allowing them to remain in the fight longer and win fights that their comrades garrisoned in civilian buildings may not have been able to. The Battle Bunker's main shortcomings were its lower health pool and smaller capacity. Though these varied from building to building, in general most civilian buildings could withstand more blows (even after discounting the remaining HP after infantry were forcibly evacuated), and could sometimes garrison up to double the Battle Bunker's troop capacity, which resulted in superior firepower.
However, Battle Bunkers were far from perfect. While empty they were essentially useless, and the commander had to put time and attention to ordering troops within them for them to deal any damage. Their durability was not incredibly impressive, either; though they could hold up under a few hits from most weapons reasonably well, dedicated anti-structure units and high-tier units tended to find their armor easy to break through. In particular the dreaded Soviet Apocalypse Tank, famed for its armor as heavy as its damage, could shatter these Bunkers in two or three hits and force its occupants out, all while suffering relatively minor damage. The Bunker also did not have a very impressive range, and could easily be blasted from a distance with impunity by Allied Prism Tanks, Soviet V3 Launchers or Siege Choppers, and Yuri's Magnetrons. Finally, Battle Bunkers had the (not altogether flattering) distinction of being a larger defensive structure, in that it occupied four tiles (a trait shared only with the French Grand Cannon and Yuri's Tank Bunkers). While this typically simply meant a few more headaches for Soviet commanders as they tried to fit a Bunker in a flank, only to be repeatedly told it was too large to fit, this also gave it an increased vulnerability to splash damage. Structures take damage for every affected tile that they sit on, which makes them more vulnerable to units like the V3 Rocket Launcher and the Kirov Airship (which, ironically enough, were both Soviet designs).
Gallery[]
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Concept art -
Buildup animation
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In a snow theater, empty
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In a snow theater, garrisoned
Cameos[]
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See also[]
- Battle Fortress, Allied moving bunker counterpart
- Tank bunker, Yuri vehicle bunker counterpart
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