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Are you impressed with the modifications to my tanks, general?
- Kwai, showcasing the Emperor

The Emperor Overlord Tank was an improved model of the Overlord tank developed and used exclusively by Chinese General Ta Hun Kwai.

Background[]

The child of the 2013 Emperor Program, like the original Overlord, these massive tanks could simply roll over smaller vehicles, crushing them beneath their treads. Armed with twin 140mm cannons, the Emperor Overlord was not to be underestimated.[1]

General Kwai, knowing the effectiveness of propaganda during battles, modified his Emperor Overlord so that each of them are equipped with a pre-installed Speaker Tower. Unlike the original Overlord, the Emperor, even with the Speaker Tower installed, still has enough room to install a Gattling cannon, improving its effectiveness against both infantry and aircraft. Compared to the regular Overlord, this Gatling Cannon is placed further down the tank's chassis, effectively increasing its range against targets in front of the Emperor Overlord. However, the Emperor Overlord cannot be upgraded with a Battle Bunker, possibly due to General Kwai's preference of tanks over infantry.

Upgrades[]

Unit[]

The following upgrade must be purchased individually for each tank.

CNCG Overlord Gatling Cannon Gattling Cannon When purchased, provides the desired Overlord with a gattling cannon, effective against infantry and aircraft. This cost $1200 per tank.

Base[]

The following upgrades are purchased at various buildings.

CNCG Uranium Shells Cameo Uranium shells Increased damage of the Emperor Overlord's main gun by 25% and spread residual radiation. Purchasable by Ta Hun Kwai and baseline China's Nuclear Missile Silo for $2500.
CNCG Nuclear Tanks Cameo Nuclear tanks Increased the Emperor Overlord's movement speed significantly. Purchasable by Ta Hun Kwai and baseline China's Nuclear Missile Silo for $2000.

Note that the Subliminal Messaging upgrade does not affect the speaker tower of the Emperor Overlord tank.

Tactics[]

Though a fully upgraded Emperor Overlord was quite an expensive investment ($3100 per tank), it featured practically all possible desirable weapons systems. Its default twin main cannons could tear apart enemy armor, and when upgraded with a Gattling cannon, could easily eliminate enemy infantry and aircraft to a certain extent. Their support abilities made them fit and synergise well in groups with other units, which could in turn aid the Emperor in covering the weakness presented by its lacking main turrets' turn rate. But they didn't lack anything else from then on.

Counters[]

Though the Emperor Overlord was truly a fearsome unit to behold, they were not invincible.

Their main exploitable weaknesses was their slow engine speed (somewhat nullified by the Nuclear Tanks upgrade) and their less than desirable turret turn speed. They were vulnerable to hit-and-run attacks or those with massive range, since they could not hope to contest the attacker's agility and/or impressive range. GLA Rocket Buggies were especially suitable for this task. The tank's slow turn rate meant that, in most tactical engagements, the enemy vehicle would land the first hit if they attacked from the rear.

Various anti-vehicle support weapons also proved to be just as deadly as against other units. Jarmen Kell, a specialized sniper working for the GLA, could kill the Emperor's crew without destroying the tank, effectively eliminating it. The Chinese also appeared to have prepared for the possibility of their war machines being turned against them, for they possess two highly effective weapons to deal with this situtation. Their ECM Tank could capable of disabling it as long as it maintained contact (though given the Emperor's formidable health pool, one tank alone typically was not sufficient) and Neutron shell-loaded Nuke Cannons could eliminate swathes of these vehicles and their supports with impunity, as long as the Emperor Overlord and its escorts did not get too close to it.

Curiously, though China and America were officially allied during the GLA Conflict, all American generals had a special weapon that could dismantle the Emperor with reasonable efficiency. General Townes' Laser Crusaders, which dealt the same damage as the Emperor's main cannons, accordingly had a higher chance of destroying it and therefore surviving. Their inferior armor, however, would mean they easily lose in a one-on-one. General Alexander's EMP Patriot Missile batteries could disable the tank if their missiles made contact, which left it completely inoperable for a short period of time. General Granger could field large armies of advanced aircraft, and could deploy the specially armed King Raptor or invisible Comanches against the Emperor Overlord. These were especially effective if the player maneuvered them behind the tank, hitting it before it could turn to face them.

American generals had a unique advantage over the Emperor, in that it could be swamped by aircraft. Though a costly endeavor - all aircraft cost more than a thousand credits each, and at least one casualty was near certain - the Emperor Overlord's Gattling cannon was simply not effective enough to deal with larger groups of aircraft, and if the general had forgone the upgrade, the Emperor would be forced to rely on nearby AA to gun down its attackers. Chinese generals could, of course, use a similar tactic, though the Chinese aerial arsenal is less expansive and is a little harder to maneuver.

If worst came to worst for an enemy general, they could practically drown the Emperor in anti-tank armor or infantrymen. The Emperor's cannons were strong, but could only target one enemy at a time, and alone usually could not destroy vehicles fast enough to burn through a horde before they themselves were ruined.

However, any fight involving an Emperor Overlord and its related escorts was sure to result in at least a few casualties, and as such the best way to defeat was them was to prevent their deployment in the first place. Sabotaging the general's economy or preventing the appropriate structures from being fielded both meant that the general flat-out could not deploy these behemoths.

Trivia[]

  • A fully upgraded Emperor Overlord is probably the most foolproof and individually powerful unit in Generals, as it has weapons systems that are effective against all types of units.
  • The closest humanity has ever gotten to a super tank in military history is one of the World War 2 Wehrmacht Wunderwaffe (wonder-weapon) prototypes. Designated as the Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte, this tank would supposedly become the heaviest tank created weighing at an approximate 1,000 tonnes, sporting multiple defensive armaments and its main twin-guns turret taken from a naval battleship. However, for obvious situational reasons, it remained only on the drawing boards and never saw production.

See also[]

References[]

  1. Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour manual. Los Angeles, California: Electronic Arts Los Angeles, 2003.
Sheppard Tanks CNCTW Scorpion Tank Cameo
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