Heavy Weapons Platforms

There are five different HWP units available to you as an X-COM Commander.

• Tank/Cannon
• Tank/Rocket Launcher
• Tank/Laser Cannon
• Hovertank/Plasma
• Hovertank/Launcher

General Information

With the exception of the Tank/Laser Cannon and the Hovertank/Plasma, you must have sufficient ammunition in your stores to load the tank onto a transport craft. However, if one of your bases is attacked and you do not have ammunition available, any tanks will be granted with a full payload of ammunition. Any rounds remaining after a successful base defense will be added to your stores.

Tanks use turrets to fire. These turrets can turn independently of the tanks themselves. For example, if you tell a tank to fire behind itself, the turret will turn and not the tank. The turret will keep its new bearing relative to the tank until it is told to fire again. Moving the turret costs 1 TU per directional change.

Advantages

• Tanks are very rarely affected by morale loss. In order for a tank to panic, your squad must take a severe amount of losses during a given turn.
• Tanks are not affected by stun, nor can they receive fatal wounds.
• They tend to have a greater amount of TUs then normal soldiers making them excellent for use as scouts.
• They can take fairly heavy damage without being destroyed.
• A damaged tank is instantly repaired at the end of a mission.
• Other units can fire over the top of a tank without the tank getting hit in the crossfire.

Disadvantages

• Tanks are much more expensive then soldiers.
• They do not gain experience during combat.
• Their extra size makes it difficult to get them to certain areas - through most doorways, for example.
• Tanks do not have high reactions.

Tank/Laser cannon Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: 255(?)/(NA) Damage amount/type: (?)/Laser(?) Research requirements: (?)

Much the same as the Tank/Cannon.

Hovertank/Plasma Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: 255/(NA) Damage amount/type: (?)/Plasma Research requirements: (?)

This HWP, due to it's speed, flying ability, hefty payload and high damage capability, is a nice bonus in the field. Most places it can't normally go can be accessed simply by blowing the obstructions away, with barely a dent to it's vast ammo supply.

Hovertank/Launcher Manufactoring cost: Cost: $(?) Man hours: (?) Materials used: (?) Ammo capacity/cost: (?)/(?) Damage amount/type: (?)/HE(?) Research requirements: (?)

This HWP must have ammo manufactored for it. It fires a weaker version of the Blaster Bomb, and is used in much the same way as the Blaster Launcher. Dispite the slight lessoning of damage, and the high costs involved to deploy it, the Hovertank/Launcher can clear any battlefield with ease.