Rocket infantry (Tiberian Sun)

Rocket infantry are heavy infantry employed by Nod and the Forgotten during the Second Tiberium War and the Firestorm Conflict.
==Background==
During the First Tiberium War, both GDI and Nod used rocket soldiers as a basic anti-armour unit. Although GDI replaced these kind of infantry with Disc Throwers, Nod continued using rocket launcher armed infantry for that purpose. They were replaced by the cheaper but less trained Militant Rocket Squad in the Third Tiberium War. Just like the Nod light infantry, they wore advanced Nod combat armour and the iconic Nod advanced helmet. Their missile launchers also gave them an advantage the discs their GDI counterparts didn't have, the abillity to shoot air units.
==Game unit==
Although dealing minimal damage alone, a small group of them can inflict heavy damage over time.
A major issue in Tiberian Sun is that Nod simply has no direct counter to GDI's Titan Mk. I - Titans can easily outmatch Tick Tanks, Attack Cycles, and most base defenses. They can't fire back at air units, but it would take a massive and expensive air wing to take down a full attack force of a dozen or so Titans. Obelisks of Light work decently but are expensive, can be taken down with a massed group of Titans, and are an immobile defense.
In contrast, along with the principles of asymmetric warfare, a massed group of Rocket Infantry can actually take down Titans like an elephant under a pack of hyenas. Titans are vehicles armed with powerful anti-vehicle weapons, which means they aren't very effective against infantry, such as Rocket Infantry - who in turn possess anti-vehicle weapons, which are effective against Titans. They aren't super-effective as a one-hit kill, but still, Titans will struggle to take on packs of Rocket Infantry. Granted, one Titan costs as much as three Rocket Infantry, but the numbers reveal the contrasts: both unit costs divide evenly into 4,000, so that five Titans would be equaled by 16 Rocket Infantry. The swarm effect comes into play, as the Titans would only be concentrating on one unit at a time, one sixteenth of the force, while all 16 RI's would be concentrating on one fifth of the attacking force. The Rocket Infantry in this case would soon overwhelm the Titans. Thus Rocket Infantry become a vital backbone to Nod forces, far more than comparatively overpriced and ineffectual Tick Tanks; Attack Cycles only have the advantage of speed, and Stealth Tanks only the advantage of surprise.
The one danger when facing a group of Titans with Rocket Infantry is to make sure that they don't simply rush the Rocket Infantry and try to trample them underfoot.
=== AI behavior ===
Rocket Infantry controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:
==== All difficulties ====
* 4x targeting vehicles; loaded inside a Subterranean APC with 1 Mutant Hijacker then unloaded near a Tiberium Refinery
==== Easy ====
* 1x targeting Construction Yards, production structures, power plants, Tiberium Refineries, Upgrade Center or Missile Silo
** This task force may be accompanied by 1 Stealth Tank
** This task force will only be ordered to attack power plants if enemy base is close to low power mode
** This task force will only be ordered to attack Tiberium Refineries if the enemy owns 4 or more of these
* 1x targeting infantry
** This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Rocket Infantry
* 1x targeting vehicles
** This task force may be accompanied by 1 additional Rocket Infantry or 1 Tick Tank
* 1x guarding friendly base
** This task force may be accompanied by 1 Stealth Tank
** This task force will only be constructed if the enemy owns 4 or more Orca Bombers/Banshees, or 5 or more Orca Fighters/Harpies/Jumpjet Infantry
* 2x targeting Tiberium Refinery; loaded inside a Subterranean APC with 2 Light Infantry and 1 Engineer
** This task force will only be sent if the enemy owns 5000 credits or more
* 2x targeting anything; loaded inside a Subterranean APC with 2 Light Infantry and 1 Engineer then unloaded near a Construction Yard
==== Medium/Hard ====
* 2x targeting Tiberium Refinery; loaded inside a Subterranean APC with 3 Engineers
** This task force will only be sent if the enemy owns a certain amount of credits (4000 for Medium, 3000 for Hard)
* 4x targeting Construction Yards, production structures, power plants, Tiberium Refineries, Upgrade Center or Missile Silo
** This task force may be accompanied by 4 Stealth Tanks
** This task force will only be ordered to attack power plants if enemy base is close to low power mode
** This task force will only be ordered to attack Tiberium Refineries if the enemy owns a certain number of these (3 in Medium, 2 in Hard)
* 4x targeting infantry
** This task force may be accompanied by 4 additional Rocket Infantry (Hard only)
* 4x targeting vehicles
** This task force may be accompanied by 4 additional Rocket Infantry (Hard only) or 4 Tick Tanks
* 4x guarding friendly base
** This task force may be accompanied by 4 Stealth Tanks
** This task force will only be constructed if the enemy owns a certain number of the following:
*** 3 or more Orca Bombers/Banshees, or 4 or more Orca Fighters/Harpies/Jumpjet Infantry (Medium only)
*** 2 or more Orca Bombers/Banshees, or 3 or more Orca Fighters/Harpies/Jumpjet Infantry (Hard only)
==See also==
* Disc thrower, GDI support infantry
Category:Tiberian Sun infantry