Vehicle Depot Units

Scorpion

Hit Points:

Damage Caused:

Movement:

Scorpions are the main UNSC vehicle. They can stand toe-to-toe with the toughest enemies but are mobile enough to quickly get where they’re needed.

Base Unit

Upgrade #1: Canister Shell Ability

Weapon Type: S1 “Grapeshot”

Equips Scorpion with a secondary Canister Shell attack. This attack is devastating to any infantry in its blast area.

Upgrade #2: Power Turret

Doubles the rotation speed for Scorpion turrets, making them considerably more responsive in combat.

Upgrade #3: Grizzly Super Unit (Forge Only)

Weapon Type: 120 mm High-Velocity Gun (x2), M247T Machine Guns

Upgrades Scorpions to Grizzly Super Units. Grizzlies are heavier tanks that pack a bigger punch than regular Scorpions.

Scorpion Overview

Officially known as the M808B Main Battle Artillery Tank (MBAT) but nicknamed the Scorpion, this Battle Tank is a mainstay of UNSC forces. It is a flexible weapons platform that can take a beating as well as dish out a great deal of damage, although its main gun can have difficulty penetrating some heavy-armor vehicles. Some would call it a jack-of-all-trades, but a Scorpion can truly be the ace up your sleeve when it comes to breaking through an enemy position. The Scorpion can be upgraded with a variety of technologies that make it pack more punch. Your enemy will learn to respect the Scorpion or end up under its treads.

Tactics

As the Main Battle Tank, the Scorpion is a rumbling and powerful weapon designed to pierce through enemy territory. It is arguably the most effective at destroying enemy units and is extremely efficient at defeating enemy infantry. This is a very well-rounded unit and is preferred when dealing with Covenant leaders.

Their main drawback is against air units; they can fight them but won’t win any battles against them. Therefore, it is wise to pepper a force of Scorpions with other troops that are more suited to attacking the skies.

The Scorpion’s Canister Shell ability is extremely effective against massed units and is recommended if you’re employing hit-and-run tactics against enemy armies. It is also useful when launched at enemy buildings if you’re raiding a foe’s base.

Instead of charging in with Scorpions, bring them into combat, launch a barrage of Canister Shells, and then retreat while the Canister Shell ability cools down. Then repeat.

Scorpions can quickly deal with infantry troops. However, Hunters present a specific problem, as their weaponry can punch through Scorpion armor. If you spot Hunters, make it a priority to wipe them out.

Sergeant Forge can upgrade his Scorpions to Grizzly Tanks, the ultimate form of this unit, with further improvements on offense and armor.

Devastating against most units of a Covenant army, the Scorpion is a little less useful against UNSC forces because of its vulnerability to Jacking by Spartans. Counteract this by protecting Scorpions with Flamethrowers, and try to use this combo as early into the battle as possible.

If your foe is creating a large number of infantry units, Tech up to Reactor Level 2 and take a defensive posture. During this time, set up your base to start constructing Scorpions quickly and continuously; if you send the units onto the battlefield quickly, this can be a very adept retaliation strategy as you roll over him.

Cobra

Hit Points:

Damage Caused:

Movement:

The UNSC Cobra is an incredibly effective antivehicle threat. It’s fast and agile against vehicles and has an active Unpack ability that turns the Cobra into a long-range artillery unit that is excellent against buildings.

Base Unit

Upgrade #1: Deflection Plating

Hardened steel plates give the Cobra extra protection when locked down.

Upgrade #2: Piercing Shot

Cobra Railguns gain extra power to allow them to punch through multiple targets, inflicting damage on each.

Cobra Overview

Although the SP42 Cobra Main Battle Tank has the ability to fill two roles, it is a specialized fighting vehicle. It has unique armored panels that are designed to deflect hardened projectiles and absorb massive amounts of damage from explosive shells. Although it is not particularly fast, the Cobra is highly maneuverable. It totes around a pair of Rail Cannons on its turret that fire a high-density slug designed to penetrate enemy armor. Alternately, the Cobra crew can choose to lock down the vehicle and Deploy the larger Rail Cannon, which fires a more high-velocity explosive artillery shell. The range advantage gained from elevating the big gun makes up for its sacrificed mobility. The artillery round is multipurpose and can cause a great amount of damage to just about anything it hits, including enemy fortifications.

Tactics

The Cobra is most proficient when it is pounding vehicles and buildings from long range; it is particularly devastating against enemy ground vehicles.

When the Lockdown ability is employed, it can fire farther and inflict even greater damage. However, this does have drawbacks. The first is obvious: It is immobile until unlocked. The other problem is its minimum range, meaning enemy infantry and melee units can easily strike it without retaliation. Keep this in mind when using the Cobra.

The other major deficit is that the Cobra cannot attack airborne foes under any circumstances and is therefore useless against them. Also beware of infantry, Covenant leaders, and Spirit of Fire attacks directed against them; they cannot fight these attacks effectively. Therefore, Cobras are utilized with other troop types within your army; they take the role of obliterating vehicles at extreme range.

Support Cobras with other units that can tackle enemy air troops, and bolster their locked prone position.

If your opponent is mainly building infantry or air units, Cobras should be mothballed in favor of other troop types.

Because of the Cobra’s major deficits, many ignore its benefits. Try the following tactic: Position a few Cobras within extreme range of your enemy’s base, ideally at a place that is difficult to reach without air forces, such as the top of a cliff overlooking the base. Then shell the opposition’s buildings. If you do this at an opportune moment, you can wipe out a few key installations before your foe reacts.

Cobras are a support unit and require a reasonably high Reactor level to build. It isn’t usually practical to use them alone. However, if you mingle them in with a group of Scorpions, they can reduce the time it takes to bombard a base or an opponent’s vehicle army.

Wolverine

Hit Points:

Damage Caused:

Movement:

Antiair missile pods cover the UNSC Wolverine’s shell. Devastatingly effective against air units, Wolverines can also unleash a fusillade of rockets against buildings.

Base Unit

Upgrade #1: Volley Ability

Weapon Type: Argent V Missile

Enables the Wolverine’s active Volley ability, which can be used to deal big damage to any ground target.

Upgrade #2: Dual Launchers l

Weapon Type: Argent V Missile

An extra rocket pod gives Wolverines considerably more damage potential.

Wolverine Overview

The MAAT-9 Wolverine Main Antiair Tank (MAAT) is a fast-moving maneuverable antiair vehicle. In its arsenal are two pods of Argent V Missiles that are located on the left and right of the driver and gunner seats, respectively. These missiles are specialized to target and deliver their warhead to an aircraft with great speed and maneuverability. The missile pods are quite large and can be reloaded via a mechanical system in the Wolverine, which stores a small supply of missiles on board. The Wolverine’s targeting systems and antiair capabilities are second to none, but it can also angle its missile pods to launch missiles at ground targets. Stationary targets and buildings are your best bets for actually hitting anything. Although air vehicles generally know to steer clear of the Wolverine, the Wolverine is quite vulnerable to antiarmor attacks from vehicles and heavily upgraded infantry. The driver can use an XM511 Heavy Grenade Launcher for defense from ground attacks, which can potentially wreck soft targets, but truly this support vehicle relies on heavier units to defend it from a determined attack.

Tactics

Wolverines feature only light armor but are the perfect foil for enemy air units, especially at long range. The moment you spot your foe building aircraft, counteract them with this versatile vehicle, but only build Wolverines after you see the enemy constructing air units. The Wolverine is good value as well; you don’t need a great number to attack a squadron of airborne attackers.

The Wolverine can upgrade to launch a Volley: Use this ability repeatedly to bathe ground units and buildings in explosive fire.

Wolverines are the perfect complement to Cobras, as they both attack at long range, but the Wolverine has the benefit of fending off air attacks while the Cobras continue enemy base bombardment. In fact, Wolverines are the best “guardian” vehicle the UNSC builds; use them to protect against any airborne foe.

As with the Cobra, the Wolverine is clearly a support vehicle and is best used for this purpose; although it can drop a foe from the skies with ease, it is less proficient against other unit types, although it can attack both air and ground targets when upgraded.

Upgrade Wolverines to at least the Volley level, as this adds greater flexibility, and ground units can feel the Wolverine’s vicious attacks. However, the vehicle is only of greater benefit to you than other troop types if you’re tackling flying foes; build something else otherwise.