Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Nuclearmaster

"Reactor at stable!"

-Nuclearmaster

The ZTZ-88N Nuclearmaster is a variant of the Battlemaster tank used exclusively for the Castanic Nuclear Division. This Empire tank is planned to be voiced by, like the Battlemaster, Stephen Fu.

Tactical analysis

 * New Year's Surprise: One of the many vehicles serving in the arsenal of the Castanic Nuclear Division, the Nuclearmaster is a deadly battle tank to face in combat. Thanks to its powerful ECM shield, it can deflect blows that would otherwise destroy it, and its weaponry is not to be laughed at either.
 * Bright Orange Lights: The weaponry in question consists of an all round, all-purpose radiation gun, which can turn enemy vehicles and infantry into molten puddles easily enough. Do note that the radiation gun's rays tend to scatter after a certain distance like other laser guns, limiting the Nuclearmaster's effective combat range and also leaving it unable to target aircraft.
 * Off in a dash: By rerouting power from the ECM shield to the wheels and the radiation gun, the Nuclearmaster can gain a significant speed and firepower boost, at the expense of exposing its thinly armored chassis to retaliation.
 * Seeing Red: The Nian Tank is horrifically vulnerable to enemy weaponry without its ECM shield. Also, like other Empire nuclear units, should it take critical damage it's nuclear engine will explode, taking everyone around them with it and leaving behind a field of radiation.

Overview
Revamped with nuclear engines, Nuclear Battlemasters, or Nuclearmasters as they are nicknamed, have a substantial advantage in speed. Nuclearmasters can easily chase down enemies or escape from a dangerous situation. However, its nuclear engines come with a downside. In a direct confrontation without Isotope Stability, the Nuclearmasters can cause collateral damage to friendly units when destroyed.

History
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The main battle tank of the Atomic division, the Nuclearmaster represents the core of the division's armored power and is built en masse to add bulk to mechanized maneuvers. The unique "reverse tricycle" shape and three sets of tank treads give the Nuclearmaster great all-terrain ability and surprising acceleration, while the atomic core delivers impressive power both to the rear drive wheels and swept ray turret.

Relying on reinforced frontal armor and a wedge deflector that helps to prevent perpendicular hits to the front, the Nuclearmaster can take an impressive amount of damage before a nuclear meltdown. This enhances the tank's ability to close to attack distance, vital due to the short range of the primary ray cannon. Each blast of this stubby weapon imparts enough thermal energy into an armored target to slag a Kodiak tank and send it's turret dozens of feet into the air with the sudden energy release, and the rotating charge cell system allows for each shot to be taken while the other two cells are recharging, cutting the recharge time of the main gun to a third of earlier models.

However, all this power output generates staggering amounts of waste heat, which is stored in sinks on the rear of the vehicle and slowly radiated through a circulating coolant to the underside radiator panels. Radiating waste heat through the ECM field is a difficult act, which prevents full use of the reactor's power output. By deactivating the ECM field and opening the sinks to air convection, the Nuclearmaster gains an impressive burst of speed and a constant beam of violent energy from the main cannon, but of course, must rely on its paper-thin aluminum armour for protection.

The Nuclearmaster packs a crew of three into an extremely tight compartment in the middle of the hull. The commander, weapons officer, and driver are chosen from the best Battlemaster candidates and are known for their calm resolve and tactical sense during battles. The compartment of the Nuclearmaster is fully sealed due to the high radiation of their weapons and the tendency for the close-range tank battles it specializes in to create unbreathable masses of dust in the air.

Controlling through a wide viewscreen, Nuclearmaster has excellent visibility along the length of the gun but lacks side or rear cameras, making it difficult for them to track infantry targets. Unfortunately, this screen includes no aiming markers or rangefinder, so gunners must simply point the weapon and hope for the best, contributing to the Nuclearmaster's pitifully short range.

Guardians of the Tacitus

 * Crusader/Laser Crusader (Aquila)
 * Coyote/Stryker MGS
 * Centurion Hovertank/Enforcer Hovertank
 * Grizzly Tank (Alliance)
 * Cavalier Tank
 * Liberty Tank
 * M1 Predator (ADI)
 * Type 74 MBT/Tsunami Tank (Protectorate)
 * Leopard 3 (Andora)
 * Guardian Tank
 * Panther
 * Battlemaster Tank (Empire)
 * Nuclearmaster
 * Cadillac Stingray (Community)
 * Bushmaster Tank (Wolf Clan)

Destroyers of Balthazar

 * Kodiak Tank (Voshkod)
 * T-64 Rhino
 * Ursa II Tank
 * Tick Tank (Brotherhood)
 * T-62
 * Type 59 (Horde)
 * Looted Lemia Russ Tank
 * T-72 "Scarab" (MLA)
 * Lasher Tank (Collective)
 * T-55 (Encantadia)
 * Ch'onma-Ho (Hathoria)
 * M15/42 (Lireo)
 * Devourer Tank (Scrin)

Neutrals

 * Predator Destructor (Coalition)
 * Sicaran Tank (Heralds)
 * Cleric Track (Order)
 * M48 Patton "Mastiff" (Survivors)
 * Talos AFV (Syndicate)
 * BMPT Terminator (Conglomerate)
 * Lemia Russ Tank (Legion)

Bonus Faction

 * MBT-52 Kuma (ASA)
 * OF-40 "Takhar" (Bastion)
 * MBT Creep (Rangers)
 * AAV-7 (Pirates)
 * PT-76
 * KPz T-62 "Hammer" (Ascalia)
 * White Shock Rhino Tank (Alfheimr Shock Corps)
 * Rama Tank (Elona)
 * Lion of Babylon
 * Predator Walker (Dominion)
 * M60 Sabra (Security)
 * Dandelin Armoured Rover (Ascendancy)

DLC

 * Bison (Federation)
 * Qilin Tank (Corona)
 * ... (Party)
 * AAT (Skynet)
 * Sd. KS 78 "Isegrim" (Elemental)
 * 2-M (Autocracy)
 * 59-Patton (League)
 * ... (Swarm)
 * TAM Tank (Confederation)
 * Oaxaca Tank
 * Tyrian Leopard 1D
 * Strv 103B (Kingdom)
 * Strider (Goo)
 * Panzerwagen (Imperium)
 * ... (Dynasty)
 * T-44 (Warlords)
 * Abomination (Cult)
 * Bison Combat Tank (Raiders)
 * Mark V (Theocracy)
 * Panzer IV (Reiksgard)
 * T-55AMV (Insurgents)
 * Conqueror (Guardians)
 * Phase Tank (Hierarchy)
 * ... (Sundered)
 * T-62M (Ecumene)
 * Centurion (Concordat)
 * Cromwell
 * Cantha-Panzer
 * M60-2000 (Contingent)
 * PL-01 (Eden)
 * Edenfire Crusader (InGen)
 * ... (Hallows)
 * M47-Mod (Commune)
 * Type 61 (The Uncorrupted)
 * Vickers (Clique)
 * Chi-Ha (Guild)
 * Spike Bug (Threat)
 * Gallagher Outlaw Mk. II (Traders)
 * CS-63 (Entente)
 * Mancubus (Oblivion)
 * T-103 (Corporation)
 * Eklon'Dal Workshop Marauder (Covenant)
 * H.I.S.S. Tank (Institute)
 * TT77 Nosorog (Eremite)
 * ... (Nimbus)
 * Parasol Tank (Carnival)
 * Chrono Chieftain (Wraiths)
 * ... (Chronophage)
 * Tiger Armoured Car (Privateers)
 * Predator Apex (Foundation)
 * Panzerwanderer (Spartacus)