Command and Conquer 4

• Designation: AT-6 (Assault Tank)
• Affiliation: Nod
• Role: Short-Range Base Assault
• Introduced: 2066
• Class: Offense
• Armament: "Devil's Breath" Twin Flamethrowers
• Type: Medium Vehicle
• Speed: Medium

Background



The construction site was shut down for the night, but we heard rumbling. We thought maybe Jenkins was doing some late night maintenance, but then everything just... everything.... We were surrounded by fire, swirling around us, incinerating the equipment, burning people alive, engulfing the entire camp, and in the center of it was this black monster, this devil belching inferno everywhere... I was sure I was in hell. - Henry Liu, TCN Construction Worker, Sole Survivor

GDI has always had reservations about the questionable and "inhumane" use of flamethrowers in combat, but the Brotherhood of Nod has held no such compunctions. The "Devil's Tongue" Flame Tank is rightfully feared for its ability to immolate entire infantry divisions and raze complete structures in a matter of seconds. GDI's inability to provide cost-effective infantry protection against flame weapons has made the vehicle a key weapon in Nod's arsenal for nearly a century, and, despite some minor tweaks, the Flame Tank has remained largely unchanged throughout.

In 2064, the balance of power shifted with the introduction of GDI's new line of Zone Armor, providing excellent flame protection, among other things, and economical enough to be standard issue for every GDI soldier. This posed a problem for the Separatist forces, which relied on the TWIII Flame Tank for its "shock and awe" campaign against the Tiberium Control Network. With the older model increasingly ineffective against Zone Infantry and easily destroyed by opposing GDI tanks, the Separatists began modifying the Flame Tank to handle these new developments; they reworked the chemical cocktail used in the flamethrower to support anti-structural attacks and added additional armor plating for better survivability.

These Separatist Flame Tanks blazed a path of destruction through the yellow zones, razing TCN construction sites until their rampage was finally checked by GDI's hastily assembled Hunter Tank. Kane's commanders, who had advised that the Flame Tank's time had passed and advocated its decommission, were embarrassed by the successful revitalization of the vehicle by the Separatists, and were ordered to design a new Flame Tank based on the Separatist model.

Introduced in 2066, Nod's new Flame Tank follows closely in the steps of its Separatist brother, equipped with more powerful, albeit slower firing, flamethrowers, and carrying more armor than its previous three incarnations combined. Although its official role is to "defend" the TCN, Nod Flame Tanks were designed with a single purpose in mind - to find enemy bases and raze them to the ground.

Battlefield Specifications


Up In Flames
With the modifications to the fuel cocktail, Flame Tanks are now far more effective at destroying structures than ever before, making them the bane of many Defense commanders. Though the progress of technology has made flame weaponry less effective against other targets, Flame Tanks are still capable of dealing significant damage over a wide area and can cause trouble for packs of units, especially infantry.

Burn! BURN!!!
Every burst from the Flame Tank not only burns the targets caught in the flames, but also sets them on fire, dealing continuous damage until the flames die out. Furthermore, the flamethrowers are powerful enough to leave the surrounding area ablaze, and any units traveling through are guaranteed to sustain some damage. Hardy Nod commanders can continue firing into a scorched area, eventually turning the flames into a firestorm capable of incinerating any infantry or vehicles that remain in range.

Trail of Flame
The decision to sacrifice some of the Flame Tank's speed for additional armor was met with resistance by many tank commanders. The ability to withstand more punishment was welcome, but they argued that the necessity of reaching a target quickly was more important, given the vehicle's primary armament was a short-range flamethrower. When the design was not changed, engineers modified the new vehicles by adding a useful, but highly dangerous connection between the flamethrower fuel tanks and the engines; at a flick of a switch, the tank driver could use flamethrower fuel instead, gaining a tremendous burst of speed at the expense of leaking ignited fuel in its wake. In order to prevent an internal explosion, the speed boost can only be used for several seconds before the vehicle automatically switches back to standard fuel.

Takin' You With Me
To the amusement of many Flame Tank commanders, most civilians believe the Flame Tank to be a highly dangerous walking bomb, ready to explode when a stray bullet hits the fuel reservoir. This is a common myth, as Flame Tank fuel is designed to not be combustible from stray gunshots or explosions, and the tanks themselves are well protected from accidental ignition, despite their prominent location. That being said, if a Flame Tank is destroyed, the resulting explosion is all but guaranteed to detonate the reservoir of fuel, making for a very bad day for anyone in the vicinity.

Source: Official Nod Flame Tank Unit Profile