- "[...]use Assembly Walkers to build them!" -Nufai
| Assembly Walker | |
 | |
| Affiliation: | The Hierarchy |
| Type: | Land Giant, Mobile Structure, Production Walker |
| Health: | Health depends on condition of death puzzle. |
| Death Puzzle: | Outer Arms + Crown + Hardpoints -> Shield Generator x2 -> Core |
| Armor: | Alien Hardpoint/Alien Hardpoint Armor |
| Movement Type: | Large Walker |
| Speed: | 0.25 |
| Sight Range: | 270 |
| Cost: | 2200RM |
| Time: | 1:10 |
| Popcap: | 1 (Walker Cap) |
| Produced From: | Glyph Carver (Requires Reaper Drone) |
| Special Ability: | Hardpoints, Fire Beam Cannon (requires Beam Cannon hardpoint), Produce Vehicles |
| Weapon: | Plasma Blob, Mass Driver (Requires hardpoint), Electric Arc (requires hardpoint), Plasma Beam Cannon (requires hardpoint) |
| Damage: | Plasma Blob: 50 Mass Driver: Electric Arch: Beam Cannon: |
| Upgrades: | Fast Ordering (Quantum-2), Foo Longitivity (Assault-2), Enhanced Locomoters (Assault 4), Molecular Armor (Quantum-3) Quantum Ordnance (Quantum-3), Volatile Reactors (Mutagen-1), Irradiated Shots (Mutagen-1), Gamma Radiation (Mutagen-3) |
The Assembly Walker is one of the two production walkers for the Hierarchy and replaces both a Vehicle Factory and Aircraft Factory for the faction.
General
Like the Habitat Walker, the Assembly Walker is a massive, quadrupedal walker armed with plasma cannons and a teleportion system. The Walker's upper body features two large arms on either side of the main body and a giant teleport device on its back. At the front of the Assembly Walker is a large dish-like structure that serves as the exit-point for units to teleport to the ground (or air in the case of Saucers). The Assembly Walker's six anti-ground plasma cannon barrels are mounted around this dish.
Like the other large Hierarchy walkers, the Assembly Walker can crush almost anything in its path and traverse nearly any terrain, including cliffs.
Campaign
The Assembly Walker first appears as part of a large task force sent to destroy a group of human villages in Turkmenistan, conveniently the same place where Novus had been constructing their Home Portal. As soon as the walker arrived, it made its way off towards the Novus base on its rampage. Fortunately, the Novus hero Mirabel was present and her forces managed to destroy the walker before it could reach the Home Portal. Later, a pair of Assembly Walkers outfitted with Beam Cannons and Mass Drivers were encountered guarding a Material Uplink, posing a major hazard for Novus forces, but where destroyed to allow Mirabel to be teleported up to a Hierarchy command ship. Aboard the alien vessel, another Assembly Walker was present within a holding rack, from where it would fire on Mirabel if she passed by. As their final act in the Novus campaign, a pair of the walkers where sent as the first wave against Novus' Middle Eastern base, producing Defilers as they marched closer.
In the Hierarchy campaign, Orlok is only provided with these powerful walkers twice: First during his mission with the Purifier, where one Assembly Walker was being used by Nufai to guard his base, and later during Orlok's rebellion.
During Prince Zessus' escape from a Hierarchy compound, an Assembly walker was called as reinforcements to take out the Masari base that had been set up by the Prince. This walker, curiously, had no leg hardpoints but was outfitted with Mass Drivers and a Beam Cannon.
Tactical Application
A Beta-version Assembly Walker
Assembly Walkers typically serve as the main choice for an assault walker due to its superior durability and firepower compared to its infantry producing counterpart. Like the Habitat Walker, the Assembly walker is able to produce units for escort and attack as well as trample anything short of another walker, a command center structure, heroes, or Peacebringers. Assembly walkers are also required for both Repair Chamber Hardpoints and saucers, meaning a Hierarchy force without one is incapable of repairing their walkers or structures. The Assembly walker also requires all 3 crown hardpoints, the attached 2 arms and 1 front panel, as well as 2 shield generators and its core to be destroyed, a total of 9 pieces of hardware to take down the walker, compared to the 6 (2 hardpoints, 2 crown panels, 2 coolant nodes) required to destroy a Habitat Walker. The most common usage of the Assembly Walker is to send it escorted by saucers, which is under most circumstances the most cost-effective strategy unless the map contains a high number of instant-grab resources.
The Assembly Walker's disadvantages compared to the Habitat Walker are that it takes longer for its Glyph to be carved and scanned, has 1 fewer crown hardpoint, and produces units that are by far more costly than those of the Habitat Walker.
Like the Habitat Walker, the Assembly Walker is also extremely slow, even compared to the rest of the Hierarchy's units.
Units Produced
Saucer
Defiler (requires Defiler Pod hardpoint)
Phase Tank (requies Phase Tank Pod hardpoint)
Hardpoints
The Assembly Walker has 3 body hardpoint sockets and 4 leg hardpoint sockets. When a leg socket is destroyed, the Walker's speed is reduced. Each existing leg increases the Walker's speed by 10%. Destroying the front panel, left arm, and right arm sockets reveal the Walker's core, left shield generator, and right shield generator respectively. The shield generators must be destroyed before the core may be attacked. When the core is destroyed, the Walker collapses.
Puzzle Hardpoints
Assembly Walker Core
Effect: Destruction of this results in destruction of the Assembly Walker
Prerequisites: Destruction of front panel socket
Cost: N/A
Time: N/A
Health: 600
Armor: Alien Walker
Note: Cannot be attacked until shield generators are destroyed
Shield Generator Right/Left
Effect: Prevents damage to Assembly Walker Core until both are destroyed
Prerequisites: Destruction of right arm and left arm sockets
Cost: N/A
Time: N/A
Health: 350
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Crown/Arm hardpoints
Defiler Pod
Effect: Allows production of Defiler
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 500
Time: 0:14
Health: 400
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Phase Tank Pod
Effect: Allows production of Phase Tank
Prerequisites: Research Quantum Branch Suite 2
Cost: 700
Time: 0:18
Health: 400
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Armor Plating
Effect: Covers the hardpoint in strong armor
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 700
Time: 0:20
Health: 1,000
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint Armor
Range Enhancer
Effect: Raises range for Walker weapons and abilities by 20% each
Prerequisites: Research Assault Branch Suite 1
Cost: 700
Time: 0:20
Health: 700
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Weapon Accelerator
Effect: Reduces reload and recharge times for Walker weapons and abilities by 20% each
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 700
Time: 0:20
Health: 700
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Mass Driver
Effect: Adds an inaccurate but powerful weapon that knocks back small targets and cannot be redirected
Prerequisites: Research Assault Branch Suite 3
Cost: 1,000
Time: 0:24
Health: 1,000
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Beam Cannon
Effect: Adds a powerful beam weapon that sweeps over an arc for about 5 seconds before recharging.
Prerequisites: Research Assault Branch Suite 4
Cooldown: 0:40 (from firing)
Cost: 1,300
Time: 0:30
Health: 1,000
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Leg Hardpoints
Armor Plating
Effect: Covers hardpoint with tough armor
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 700
Time: 0:20
Health: 1,000
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint Armor
Repair Chamber
Effect: Generates 3 plasma orbs like those of a Saucer that repair the Walker
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 400
Time: 0:16
Health: 350
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Cost Optimizer
Effect: Reduces unit costs by 8% each
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 300
Time: 0:15
Health: 250
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Teleport Accelerator
Effect: Reduces unit build times by 12% each
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 300
Time: 0:15
Health: 250
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Plasma Turret
Effect: Adds another anti-ground plasma cannon
Prerequisites: None
Cost: 800
Time: 0:22
Range: 0-280
Damage: 35
Shots per burst: 1
Recharge: 3.0 seconds
Health: 800
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Arc Turret
Effect: Adds an anti-air electricity weapon
Prerequisites: Research Assault Branch Suite 1
Cost: 800
Time: 0:20
Damage: 11.4%
Recharge: 3.0 seconds
Health: 800
Armor: Alien Walker Hardpoint
Upgrades
Advanced Mutagens
Effect: Killed organics become Mutant Slaves and last longer
Method: Research Mutagen Branch Suite 3
Fast Ordering
Effect: Glyphs carve 25% faster
Method: Research Quantum Branch Suite 2
Foo Longetivity
Effect: Orbs last longer away from the Repair Chamber
Method: Research Assault Branch Suite 2
Gamma Radiation
Effect: Radiation effects increased by 50%
Method: Research Mutagen Branch Suite 3
Irradiated Shots
Effect: Plasma bolts are irradiated
Method: Research Mutagen Branch Suite 1
Locomotor Enhancement
Effect: Movement, rotation and speed increased by 60%
Method: Research Assault Branch Suite 4
Molecular Armor
Effect: Drastically lowers damage taken by 50%
Method: Research Quantum Branch Suite 3
Quantum Ordnance
Effect: Plasma does 20% more damage
Method: Research Quantum Branch Suite 3
Volatile Reactors
Effect: Creates radioactive cloud when destroyed
Method: Research Mutagen Branch Suite 1
Trivia
Assembly Walker concept art
- Curiously, the Assembly Walker had a slight change in appearance between the Universe at War Beta and final retail game. The "face" teleport dish had it's design changed and the torso also had a minor texture change. These changes appear to have been at the last minute as the original beta model of the Assembly Walker is still seen during the Hierarchy cutscenes. Also when you place the walker the beta-model is there instead of the retail version.
- Its stated ingame that the Assembly walker is the "newest" of the Hierarchy's walkers. Before its introduction in Turkmenistan, the Hierarchy instead used transport saucers to deliver vehicles to battle.