Kanes Wrath

Stealth tanks, Specters and Reckoners are the bane of many a GDI player. While many do well for stealth detection using Pitbulls, mastering the use of sensor pods will add another tool to the inventory of any player looking to fix the Noddy stealth issue.

Firstly it is necessary to understand exactly what a sensor pod does. After researching the upgrade for $500 at the command post, all Orcas gain the ability to fire sensor pods. This ability costs $200 every time it is used, and takes a few seconds to execute, but has no recharge time.

The sensor pod itself stealthed, and reveals shroud and enemy stealth units in a fairly large radius which can be seen by selecting the sensor pod. It is worth noting, this radius is exactly the same as the Pitbull's stealth detection radius. The pod lasts for 2 minutes 30 seconds, or until it is fired at by enemy units. It can be attached to anything friend foe or neutral bar infantry and aircraft, and it may also be planted on the ground. If planted on a building, repairing the building will instantly destroy the pod, and the same goes for vehicles repaired by drones. This includes friendly buildings and vehicles, so if you pod a building of your own then don't repair it unless you don't need the stealth detection anymore.

So sensor pods are highly versatile stealth detection, with the drawbacks of being temporary and $200 a pop. Any use must be taken into account the temporary nature of the pod. Permanent stealth detection of a passageway for example, should not be done with stealth pods as it will require constant replacement every 150 seconds, which is both costly and if you forget then you wont know what slipped through til its hammering your harvesters or tech buildings. For these uses a Pitbull on hold ground stance or else a minefield are more appropriate.

There are many uses of sensor pods which do not depend on it lasting a long time.

Here is a list of some examples:

- Nod harvester raid. Sometimes you may find your Radar Scan is still recharging, or you may have sold/lost your Command Post. Or, you may just want to save your scan for something else. Pulse scan is a fairly difficult means of finding stealthed harvesters, and most of the time you need to get in, hit the harvesters and get out, which doesn't give time for scooting around the field scanning one by one. A quick sensor pod to the center of the Tib field (select just one Orca first, or else you'll paying for 3 unnecessary pods in the same spot) will allow you to focus your efforts on destroying those harvesters and getting out alive. It then provides the added benefit of another 2 minutes of stealth detection, possibly helping the next raid and giving you some view of your opponents base.


- Fending off stealth tanks. Often a Pitbull mass is the easiest way to do this, but if you find yourself without, or want to give your opponent a bit of a surprise, then planting a sensor pod on a couple of railgun tanks and standing on a common harvester attack path may result in a few easy $1800/piece kills. Your opponent unsuspectingly aims to drive past your tanks to raid your tib field and base, and suddenly comes under fire of 4 or 5 railguns. Beautiful when it happens, but given that the pods wear off this isn't really a long term solution, more of a temporary fix when you know the stealth tanks are coming and haven't got a mass of Pitbulls ready.