Hijacker (Generals 1)

Hijackers were GLA-affiliated thieves capable of commandeering vehicles, seen during the GLA Conflict.
==Game Unit==
Hijackers can instantly steal most vehicles, converting them to the player's side and inherit its veterancy rank. This is particularly relevant in the case of American vehicles, as they can possibly survive the vehicle's destruction. Their above-average speed also aided them in reaching their targets. Besides picking off isolated vehicles, a common tactic was to place some hijackers near a commonly used route and sending them into a large vehicle cluster, causing havoc. Because of its instant effect upon contact, the Hijacker is sometimes more effective than combat units in a defensive role, seizing vehicles that have started an attack run against the player's base perimeter. 
Despite their utility at sowing confusion and chaos within armored columns, Hijackers can be a gamble to use. They require one promotion point to unlock, and they break stealth when moving, except for Stealth General Kassad's. They are difficult to replace in the event of a loss, since they have a much longer training time. They are unarmed and defenseless against infantry, so Pathfinders can simply pick them off. Vehicles armed with the appropriate weapons could kill Hijackers before they managed to close the distance. Upgrades such as Gattling Cannons added to Overlords can reveal stealth units and gun down hijackers, while aircraft could eliminate them with complete impunity, as they cannot steal any. Occupied transport units like Chinese Troop crawlers and GLA Battle Buses could not be stolen as long as they contained any personnel. Additionally, Hijackers cannot steal unmanned vehicles like the American Sentry Drone. 
With its limitations, the Hijacker is typically used either against an isolated roving vehicle or one that is already attacking the player's base perimeter. A target vehicle could also be lured into attacking a non-stealth unit so that the Hijacker could safely approach it, although this requires some micromanagement. 
==Variants==
* Prince Kassad's Hijackers are available by default, and don't lose their stealth when moving, but are more expensive.
==Changelog==
*Generals sneak peek patch 1.02: 
**build time reduced from 20 to 10 seconds
**speed increased from 20 to 30
*Zero Hour patch 1.03: can no longer capture occupied battle buses
==Quotes==
==Trivia==
*Due to engine limitations, Hijacker's ability doesn't work on neutral vehicles that have no crew. Instead, they will simply pilot it like any other infantry. They will not pass their veterancy bonus on to said vehicle (if any), and will not spawn from destroyed American vehicles.
*Running over a Hijacker with the vehicle he is targeting is nigh-impossible, though they can still be crushed like any other infantryman.
*Like the Saboteur, the Hijacker is unarmed and thus his "main weapon" is the hijack ability itself. This renders the button on his UI redundant.
==See also==
*Saboteur (Zero Hour), GLA building sabotage unit
*Mutant hijacker, similar infantrymen deployed by the Forgotten in the Tiberium universe
*Hijacker (Tiberian Twilight), a similar Nod infantrymen deployed in the Fourth Tiberium War
Category:Generals 1 infantry