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For other vehicles of the same class, see Specter. |
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| “ | They die so brightly! - Specter pilot observing the mayhem he started |
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The Specter artillery is one of the primary tools of the Brotherhood in the wake of the split after the Firestorm Crisis.
Background
Developed during the Second Tiberium War period, Nod's Specter stealth artillery vehicle was designed as the ultimate evolution of the artillery-based guerilla warfare tactics first developed in South-East Asia during the mid-twentieth century. Alternating between two modes, one high-speed and stealthed, the other visible and static, but capable of launching high-impact artillery from a massive distance, the Specter is a confounding opponent to face in battle. Able to enter occupied territory undetected, deploy, take out key structures and vanish before the enemy can hope to react, it is truly an insidious and dangerous opponent. This is even more the case when the unit is paired with the equally stealthy Nod Shadow Team, which has been equipped with targeting beacons, allowing the Specter to launch bombardment from an even greater distance.
The Specter was succeeded by a more advanced variant by the time of the Ascension Conflict, which does not need to deploy before firing.
Design
Essentially a lightly-armored tracked vehicle with a large caliber cannon mounted on its top, the design of the vehicle seems to be based on the scorpion, Nod's traditional symbol. In order to fire, it needs to deploy itself by spreading six "claws" that provide a stable platform for the large caliber weapon. In order to allow it to safely reach its destination and prevent premature detection by enemy scouts, the Specter, as its name suggests, is outfitted with a state-of-the-art stealth generator. The high impact shells fired from the cannon follow a high-arc trajectory and do tremendous amounts of damage, especially against structures, with a large blast radius. Care should be exercised when using the Specter, lest there be friendly fire incidents due to the large blast radius from its shells.
Under Marcion, the Black Hand removed the stealth generators from their Specters, as the Black Hand's religious doctrines forbade the use of stealth.
Abilities
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Bombardment | This ability allows Specters to fire at a designated location on the map that is within the line of sight (radius 400) of a Beacon planted by a Shadow Team. This ability has a 20 second cooldown (Ctrl+S). |
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Call for transport | If an Air Tower is deployed, Specter can call in a Carryal transport for pickup for a small fee of $200. This ability has a 2 minute cooldown (Ctrl+A). |
Game unit
Nod Shadow Teams can interact with these artillery units and deploy a beacon to accurately guide their fire, like the GDI Sniper Team and Juggernaut. The beacon, however, reveals itself as it transmits the coordinates, leaving it vulnerable to being destroyed. Interestingly, so long as a single beacon is activated on the local battlefield, Sniper Teams under Nod control can also spot for a barrage. The Specter itself has a long deployment time, during which the stealth generator must be deactivated, leaving it vulnerable to attack.
The Specter is available to all Nod sub-factions, but require the presence of a Tech lab to be constructed. Also, Black Hand Specters do not have stealth capabilities.
Assessment
Pros
- Very powerful attack; devastates most ground units and structures
- Cloaked unless attacking (except Black Hand); due to its stealth ability, it can spot enemy positions before launching preemptive strikes
- Cheaper than the Devastator Warship and Juggernaut Assault Walker
- Used by all Nod factions
- Decent movement speed
- Far outranges base defenses and Epic Units, allowing it to counter them effectively
- Extremely long-ranged and accurate when used in conjunction with Shadow Team
- Outrange even GDI Juggernauts
- Does Splash damage
Cons
- More expensive than Beam Cannon
- Lengthy deploy time; decloaked while firing
- Fairly inaccurate, cannot hit fast-moving targets
- Available only at Tier 3
- Very loud, can quickly get enemy attention
- Needs other units' support against heavy vehicles, otherwise vulnerable
- Like all artillery units, reveals its position even in fog of war
- Black Hand Specter does not have stealth ability
- Can cause friendly fire
Quotes
Created
- Specter online!
- None shall see me coming!
- Active!
- Stealth!
Select
- Hidden and dangerous!
- Hidden death!
- Stealthed and ready!
- Ready to strike!
Moving
- Into the darkness!
- Like a ghost!
- Moving out!
- Stealth artillery moving out!
- Taking position!
- They won't see us coming...
- Specter moving!
Attacking
- Death from above!
- Kane's fury!
- Target acquired!
- Unloading!
- Death comes silently!
Bombardment
- Beacon online!
- Stars will fall!
- Light of the morning!
- The light of Kane!
- Like a nightmare!
Move to Attack
- Undetected!
- Never see me coming!
- It's all over for them!
- Weapons primed!
- Silent and deadly!
In combat
- Haha!
- Hahaha...!
- Bombarding!
- Glorious destruction!
- They die so brightly!
Retreating
- It's better to fade away!
- Time to disappear!
- Zone is hot!
Gallery
Render
Render
Concept render
- Specter Brigade.jpg
A group of Specters firing
 Brotherhood of Nod Third Tiberium War Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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