Combat Vehicles

Combat Vehicles are machines that can be constructed by engineering (once the appropriate research has been completed) that can be deployed in place of soldiers on the battlefield.

All robotic units:

• are immune to stun, gas and morale effects
• are vulnerable to EMP damage
• always begin missions with fully loaded weapons (but cannot reload)
• do not require weapon manufacturing (engineering can upgrade their weapons, which is a one-time topic that permanently upgrades their weapons).
• have a shared limit on how many can be deployed on a ship (1 for the Phantom, 2 for the Dragonfly and 3 for the Pegasus).

They are a versatile alternative to soldiers that fulfill the roles of frontlines, demolitionists or utility supports, depending on the choice of equipment and weapons.

Vehicle Types

MARS Combat Platforms

MARS Combat Platform

MARS Combat Platforms can be constructed in Engineering once the Combat Vehicles research project has been completed. They cost $250,000 to produce and have an upkeep cost of $5,000. MARS Combat Platforms have the following stats:

• 100 Health
• 80 Time Units
• 50 Accuracy
• 100 Strength
• 25 Reflexes
• 100 Bravery

Sentry Guns

Sentry Guns can be constructed in Engineering once the Combat Vehicles research project has been completed. They are usable during base defense, and act as cheap fodder units that carry respectable firepower. Each one costs $40000 and has an upkeep cost of $2000. If a sentry gun is destroyed, it can be rebuilt at half of the cost. They are always equipped with the latest machine gun available. Sentry guns have the following stats:

• 80 Health
• 40 Time Units
• 50 Accuracy
• 100 Strength
• 75 Reflexes
• 100 Bravery

ARES Support Platform

ARES Support Platforms can be constructed upon completion of the Antigravity Emitter research project (in addition to the Combat Vehicles project) and are generally upgrade versions of the MARS. They share the same construction cost and upkeep as the MARS, but also require 20 Alenium and 20 Alloys each to construct. They have the following stats:

• 100 Health
• 90 Time Units
• 55 Accuracy
• 50 Strength
• 40 Reflexes
• 100 Bravery

ARES uniquely have jetpack capabilities, giving them the same mobility as soldiers for flying over terrain. They additionally have more armor points (see below) for the same tier of armor compared to MARS, giving them an edge in durability.

Vehicle Weapons

The following weapons can only be used by the MARS and ARES combat platforms. Damage type follows the in-game labels: Kinetic, Energy (laser/fusion) and Explosive (rockets).

Weapon	Damage	Destruction (armor per hit)	Range (tiles)	Hit Bonus (per tile)	Capacity (shots)	Fire Modes	Type	Required research
Cannon	68 Kinetic	-4	24	1%	20	Normal Shot (80% Acc, 40% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 54% TU)	Primary	None; available at start
Rocket Launcher Turret	36 Explosive	-10	25	1%	6	Normal Shot (120% Acc, 50% TU) Salvo Fire X3 (120% Acc, 60% TU)	Primary	None; available at start
Ballistic Autorifle	34 Kinetic	-2	20	1.25%	100	Snap Shot (45% Acc, 24% TU) Normal Shot (80% Acc, 36% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 48% TU) Burst Shot X3 (40% Acc, 50% TU)	Secondary	None; available at start
Smoke Launcher	None	0	12	12%	4	Normal Shot (45% Acc, 20% TU) Aimed Shot (80% Acc, 28% TU)	Secondary	None; available at start
Laser Cannon	80 Energy	-16	24	1%	20	Normal Shot (100% Acc, 44% TU) Aimed Shot (130% Acc, 54% TU)	Primary	Heavy Lasers
Laser Autorifle	40 Energy	-8	20	1.25%	100	Snap Shot (45% Acc, 24% TU) Normal Shot (80% Acc, 36% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 48% TU) Burst Shot X3 (40% Acc, 50% TU)	Secondary	Heavy Lasers
Alenium Rocket Turret	52 Explosive	-15	25	1%	6	Normal Shot (120% Acc, 50% TU) Salvo Fire X3 (120% Acc, 60% TU)	Primary	Alenium Explosives
Gauss Cannon	120 Kinetic	-8	24	1%	20	Normal Shot (80% Acc, 40% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 54% TU)	Primary	Heavy Gauss Weaponry
Gauss Autorifle	60 Kinetic	-4	20	1.25%	100	Snap Shot (45% Acc, 24% TU) Normal Shot (80% Acc, 36% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 48% TU) Burst Shot X3 (40% Acc, 50% TU)	Secondary	Heavy Gauss Weaponry
Plasma Rocket Turret	80 Explosive	-20	25	1%	6	Normal Shot (120% Acc, 50% TU) Salvo Fire X3 (120% Acc, 60% TU)	Primary	Fusion Explosives
Fusion Cannon	144 Energy	-10	24	1%	20	Normal Shot (80% Acc, 40% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 54% TU)	Primary	Heavy Fusion Weaponry
Fusion Autorifle	77 Energy	-5	20	1.25%	100	Snap Shot (45% Acc, 24% TU) Normal Shot (80% Acc, 36% TU) Aimed Shot (120% Acc, 48% TU) Burst Shot X3 (40% Acc, 50% TU)	Secondary	Heavy Fusion Weaponry

Vehicle Armors

These are armors available for the MARS and ARES to use in combat. Armor Penetration Reduction is a property of the armor that reduces the amount of shredding that armor will receive when taking damage. The research topic specified in this table shows the topic that reveals the upgrade project in Engineering. After this upgrade project, all vehicles will begin to use the upgraded armor at no cost.

It is worth mentioning that the ARES is more effective with armor - the same armor on the ARES has a higher rating relative to the MARS and Sentry.

Armour can also be fitted with Heavy Plating, an optional module that raises the armour value (shown in brackets below) by +10 / +15 / +20 / +25 by tier, at the cost of -12 Time Units. Sentry turrets cannot use the heavy armor option.

Armor	MARS/Sentry Armor (Heavy)	ARES Armor (Heavy)	Armor Penetration Reduction	Required Research
Steel Plating	15 (25)	20 (30)	0	None; available at start
Alloy Plating	25 (40)	30 (45)	5	UFO Hull Plating
Ceramite Plating	35 (55)	40 (60)	10	Advanced Alloys
Shielded Plating	45 (70)	50 (75)	20	Ultradense Alloys