Shockwave artillery

Shockwave Artillery is an offensive GDI support power in Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath.
==Background==
With GDI's expansion of its space assets in the years after the Firestorm Conflict, it was inevitable that they would begin utilizing them as weapons platforms to support surface forces. Aside from the iconic Ion Cannon system, these assets supported three additional combat support mechanisms: Zone Trooper (or, in ZOCOM's case, Zone Raider) Drop Pods, Orbital Strikes, and Shockwave Artillery. The former allowed for rapid deployment of heavy troops, while the slugs launched from orbital platforms could wear down even the heaviest of armor. Enemy forces would seldom patiently wait for these weapons to strike them, however, so the sonic-derived Shockwave Artillery was developed to cover this weakness.
Curiously, the projectiles hurled by these launch systems had the dual effect of impacting with great force and immobilizing enemy armor. While they were not as powerful as the more deliberate kinetic kill weapons often used in tandem with these sonic weapons, their ability to be called down to any part of the battlefield and disable mechanical forces proved to be invaluable on multiple occasions (especially against the Brotherhood of Nod, whose nimble troops often proved to be difficult to catch and destroy).
==Game Effect==
Shockwave Artillery barrages are among the support abilities made available by the construction of GDI's dedicated support power structure, the Space Command Uplink. Their use should be frequently expected by GDI commanders who have the respective structure on the field, largely because of the flexibility of its support potential and its moderate price of $2000 credits per use. Considering its great potential to slow an enemy's response or sabotage their efforts in a similar way, this is not at all a bad investment.
In terms of raw damage, the artillery barrage deals moderate damage to the target area. This is often sufficient to severely damage or outright kill infantry and lighter vehicles, though heavier vehicles and most structures can be expected to survive a blast unless weakened prior to the strike. However, it is its ability to disable mechanical assets as well as its high likelihood of striking the target that makes this power so commonly used: one a target location has been selected, the projectiles' launch sequence can be heard by all commanders and a series of area-of-effect projectiles are fired onto the target area, each with its own spread to ensure the coverage of the designated zone. Due to the short delay between target selection and the impact of its munitions, Shockwave Artillery barrages are generally more reliable at successfully striking moving targets than most other support abilities. Note that there is a short delay between each three synchronized impacts, however.
GDI commanders often use this ability to disable enemy base defenses during an attack, damage and disable tightly-packed groups of enemies or structures, or to temporarily shut down superweapon platforms before they are launched, which buys its commander a bit of extra time before the platform's countdown reaches zero.
Of these three uses, it is most often used to stall enemy attacks or to impair their ability to react. The spread and AoE effect of each shell means that once a unit is struck once, they are likely to be affected by the others that follow. Against rogue GDI commanders with legions of Mammoth Tanks or Juggernauts (or their Steel Talons equivalent, the Behemoth), they is especially effective at leaving the former vulnerable to attack and reducing the pressure created by the fire support of the latter. Note that its damage is indiscriminate, and will also affect friendly units caught within its blasts.
Utilizing the Shockwave Artillery on a base is more conditional on the skill and building placement of the commander in question, as those who have wisely spread their structures out will not be impaired much by its use. Nevertheless, if the opportunity presents itself, especially in the form of a cluster of power plants or production structures, it has the potential to create a vulnerability to exploit. At the very least, such an attack will sow confusion and chaos, and the affected commander is likely to spend their time and attention attempting to mitigate the impact as opposed to commanding their forces. When used in conjunction with the GDI Radar Scan support power, these attacks can be called down literally anywhere.
Due to its speed and EMP-based nature, the effect of Shockwave Artillery is rather difficult to nullify or deflect. GDI commanders outright have no ability that can remove or block the effect save the Steel Talons' specially developed Adaptive Armor, and even so it only covers two of their vehicles (the Titan Mk. II and the Mammoth Tank). Scrin Foremen require a little more skill, as they can block the effect using a swift activation of a Stasis Shield (though Traveler-59 were not know to deploy these). Nod commanders can completely mitigate an attack, but only provided they have their faction's most advanced structure on the field: the Temple of Nod. Its Master Computer Countermeasures ability can remove the EMP effect from all forces.
Emphasis should be placed on its status as a support weapon; while it is true that their damage is nothing that can be easily ignored with no consequence, its firepower alone is a bit underwhelming when compared to its counterparts who are dedicated for this role. To compensate for this lack of damage, the Orbital Strike is often used to follow up on the immobilized units and inflict heavy damage upon them.
GDI AI players will prioritize using this power on enemy power plants. While this is typically nothing more than a mild nuisance and a reminder not to group power plants together, if left unchecked they are capable of wearing down and destroying the affected power plants. They also have a tendency to catch nearby structures and vehicles, what with the ability's spread, and depending on what the nearby object is it can be unintentionally devastating.
==Changelog==
*Tiberium Wars patch 1.05: 
**cost increased by 33% to $2000
**attack power reduced by 38%.
== Trivia ==
* Canonically, the Shockwave Artillery's shells are derived from sonic technology, though it is never explained how this lends them EMP effects (given that other sonic weapons lack this effect).
== See Also ==
* Orbital Strike, similar GDI orbital weapon
Category:Tiberium universe science and technology
Category:Tiberium Wars GDI support powers