Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System
Hover MRLS | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ground Vehicle | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Faction |
 Global Defense Initiative | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Long range ballistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Health |
400 (Recruit) 450 (Veteran) 500 (Elite) 550 (Heroic) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Armor type | Light | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Seats | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| M269 Missiles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Damage |
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| Projectile type | Explosive - Rockets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Projectile speed | 3500 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Range | 15000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rate of fire | 0.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Internal name | TS_Vehicle_HoverMRLS | ||||||||||||||||||||
The Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System is a hovering artillery vehicle of the Global Defense Initiative from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. It is considered as an improved version of the Mobile Rocket Launcher System. It can only be obtained through Mystery Crates.
Appearance
The Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System is gold-colored machine with a driver cockpit and moving with hover engines on its bottom. It is armed with a turret carrying a 16-rocket launcher armament on its back.
Function
The Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System improves on GDI's previous rocket launcher vehicle, able to quickly reposition itself around the battlefield and fire up to a maximum of sixteen rockets at time before reloading. It shines for offense due to its high damage per second and its long range; It also doubles as an anti-air vehicle due to its lock-on ability on its rockets.
The Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System is the second unit with the highest damage per second, only eclipsed by the Flame Tank.
Strategy
Usage
Considering the rarity of "Tiberian Sun" vehicles, it is likely that each team only possesses one at time, so they should carefully protect it since they are usually better counterparts of the "Tiberian Dawn" vehicles.
Anything that applies to the basic Mobile Rocket Launcher System can also be applied for the Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System due to their similarities; however, due to the latter vehicle moving with hover engines, it is much faster than the former and thus it can retreat faster; it is also able to strafe directly to the left and right without needing to turn around. Note that even if it hovers around, the HMRLS cannot traverse over water or lava.
In most cases it is best to drive the Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System backwards with its rocket launcher turned around, so that the vehicle is not exposed while shooting.
Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher Systems work best behind cover, be it map obstacles or other vehicles; this will allow them to fire and reload will less chances of retaliation, along with having a safe retreat should they take too much punishment. They are usually employed to attack enemy buildings from afar rather than defense. Due to their light armor, they will need Engineers assisting them to venture into the open without being destroyed when exposed to enemy gunfire.
Is it advisable to wait for the lock-on to track its target before firing the rockets on a fast moving target, such as APCs or Orcas/Apaches; this will give the driver better chances to struck the moving vehicle.
The rocket launcher can fire all 16 rockets at once, but then it has to reload quite slowly; thus carefully management is necessary in order to not let any rockets to be wasted. Generally, if the you are sure that you can hit a target, unleash all the rockets on it; wait for the lock-on to zero in before firing on fast vehicles. A complete volley from the HMRLS will destroy any light armored vehicle.
Against Infantry, fire at them with one rocket at time, since they will be in constant motion and possibly avoid the other rockets if you decided to fire all 16 of them in the same spot, and possibly leaving an open window for the opponent to work with. This also applies when snuffing out Stealth Black Hands in the base, albeit the rocket explosion might obscure the view. It is better to save at least one rocket to kill a Laser Chaingunner at critical health than losing the HMRLS to him because you had to reload.
Counters
Most counters against Mobile Rocket Launcher Systems will work on the Hover version too, albeit one must account the latter's speed and maneuverability aforementioned.
If the Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System is backed up by a Engineers, consider sniping them or close in with a Flame Tank, both will probably make the HMRLS to fall back.
On flying maps, exercise caution when fighting a Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System with an Orca/Apache: if the enemy fired locked-on rockets at you, you will hear an alert sound. It is possible to evade those rockets if you fly behind some cover or if you fly fast (holding shift) in one direction. Try to ambush the HMRLS when it is reloading instead: you will be able to destroy it before it has a chance to retaliate.
Stealth is also a viable option to deal with Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher Systems: ambushing it with a Stealth Tank, especially when it is reloading, will be enough to destroy it. Also, Stealth Black Hands can linger around in the field and lob Timed C4 on HMRLS; however, they could get rammed over by it while or before throwing the C4. Exercise caution when approaching a moving HMRLS, since it can directly strafe to the sides to crush you.
Laser Chaingunners, Sydneys/Raveshaws, and also Mobius/Mendozas are able to quickly dispatch Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher Systems, should they be able to destroy it before it retreats. Airstrikes might not be so useful against HMRLS due to their speed.
Trivia
- The Hover Mobile Rocket Launcher System is arguably the hardest vehicle to drive around; practice is advised before heading into the battlefield.
- However, a veteran driver can make use of the HMRLS' special movement options such as strafing for increased manoeuvrability.
- It is also the vehicle with the weirdest physics, usually able to go on top of the vehicles and prone to slide around supposedly due to inertia.
- Sometimes, infantries will not be rammed over by a moving HMRLS, since the latter can hover on top of the former.
Gallery
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In-game
