Tank GZ

The **Stridsmaskin 90 "Resen"** *(ENG: Fighting Machine 90 "The Giant")*, otherwise known as the **Tank,** is a type of Machine in Generation Zero. As the name implies, Tanks sport heavy armor & weaponry, making them among the most dangerous foes in the game. It's beefed-up cousin, the Reaper, is even more dangerous.

The Tank is featured prominently in art & promotional material for Generation Zero, which when combined with the Tank's uniquely eerie design and the distinct & reverberant sounds of its systems, means the Tank is easily recognizable even from a distance.

## Physiology

Tanks are essentially a disembodied pair of heavy, multi-jointed legs with an irregularly shaped pelvis that serves as the main body. Beneath this pelvic section is a stout, cylindrical "head" rotating on a single axis, featuring a set of optical sensors protruding up to about 1 meter away from it. Fixed below the head are two heavy weapons that depend on the loadout, usually a combination of bullet and explosive munitions. Armour content varies with class, but is generally most prominent on the knees and all over the pelvis.

The Tank is very tall and dwarfs most buildings. The exact height is not established, but it is estimated to stand 7-8 meters high. They are slightly shorter and bulkier than Reapers.

## Abilities

### Prototype (aka PT-202)

**Ranged**

Tanks always spawn with at least one ranged weapon, most commonly two, and will never spawn with two of the same weapon. Prototype Tanks are the only class which can spawn with one weapon.

* Heavy Machine Gun
	+ The Tank fires a large burst of 12 heavy rounds with its Machine Gun at a player, dealing medium damage per round.
	+ It is not known if this behavior is intentional or a bug, but despite the Machine gun's inability to rotate beyond the Tank's legs, the attack is programmed to have 360° of reach. Bullets consequently leave the gun's barrel from impossible angles and can penetrate the Tank's own legs **without damaging itself.**
* Missile Launcher
	+ The Tank fires a barrage of 6 missiles at a player. The rockets move rather slowly but deal a lot of damage.
* Linear Accelerator
	+ This is a Railgun with long charge time, but incredibly high damage and velocity. It will glow orange to signify that it's charging up, which the player can use as a cue to evade. After the shot is fired, the orange glow persists, visually representing the heat runoff of the shot.
		- This weapon rarely appears both on Prototype Tanks and in general. It is more often seen on the higher classes.

**Melee**

* Concussion pulse
	+ If a player enters the vicinity of the Tank, it will sometimes charge up (indicated by it standing still and straightening its legs, pushing the body up) and then release a fast traveling shock wave with a medium damage radius. It will damage players nearby once and knock them off their feet if they don't have something like a house or shed between them and the Tank, or the "Steady Feet" perk (Left Survivor tree, fourth skill). The attack has a surprising amount of range, sometimes taking a beat between the attack and contact with the player.
* Melee stomp
	+ If a player enters melee range, the Tank stomps one of its feet on the ground and damages players in a small radius around its foot. This deals a lot of damage.
* Melee Rush
	+ The Tank runs towards a player, damaging any players in its way with each step. It can perform this move anytime, but is commonly used when both weapons are shot off the Tank. It will also use this to rush towards a Seeker that has spotted the player and alerted the Tank about their presence. If the target player is out of view, the Tank may also rush to relocate itself. If it has taken critical damage to its optical systems it will also melee rush to a different location.

### Military (aka Resen-05/269)

**Ranged**

* Tick deployment
	+ The Tank releases a group of Military Class Ticks, but only if the player managed to sneak behind it.

* Linear Accelerator
	+ As mentioned before.
* Heavy Machine Gun
	+ As mentioned before.

* Mortar
	+ The Tank fires a single projectile into the air which lands next to a players position at the time of the shot. It deals high damage in a small radius. Usually, a hissing noise moving towards the player announces this incoming projectile.
* Missile Launcher
	+ As mentioned before.

**Melee**

* Gas Release
	+ If a player gets too close, but not within melee range, the Tank releases a cloud of toxic gas that will damage players within slowly. This does not apply a status effect to the players who enter it, so it will stop damaging them as soon as they move out of the cloud. (In the profile tab under eye wear apparel you can equip a gas mask that increases your gas resistance by 40 points, also under the skills tab in the combat tree the third level armor skill give you an extra 10% gas damage resistance against machines, the vanguard specialization in the combat tree can also increases your overall damage resistance by 25%, also note that gas damage can stack.)
* Concussion Pulse
	+ As mentioned before.
* Melee Stomp
	+ As mentioned before.
* Melee Rush
	+ As mentioned before.

### FNIX

**Ranged**

* Tick deployment
	+ The Tank releases a group of FNIX Class Ticks.

* Linear Accelerator
	+ As mentioned before.
* Heavy Machine Gun
	+ As mentioned before.

* Mortar
	+ As mentioned before.
* Missile Launcher
	+ As mentioned before.

**Melee**

* Gas release
	+ As mentioned before.
* Concussion pulse
	+ As mentioned before.
* Melee stomp
	+ As mentioned before.
* Melee Rush
	+ As mentioned before.

### Apocalypse

**Ranged**

* Incendiary Heavy Machine Gun
	+ Exactly like the normal Machine Gun, but with incendiary rounds that will set players on fire, causing them to sporadically take damage over time for a few seconds.
* "Stinger" Tick deployment
	+ The Tank deploys Apocalypse Class Ticks, which can inflict venom on the player.
* Anti-Personnel Cluster Mine launcher
	+ Instead of an explosive shell mortar like its predecessors, the Apocalypse Tank has a cluster mine launcher that will fire a single projectile that travels towards a player. Upon getting close to that player, the projectile will split into several basketball-sized mines and explode as soon as a player gets too close to them (they have a several second period after landing in which they won't explode, regardless of how close they are to the player; this allows for some time for the player to react). The mines will beep louder and faster the closer they are to the player. They can be destroyed from a distance by shooting at them, and the explosion from each mine can trigger nearby mines.
* Linear Accelerator
	+ As mentioned before. (The Apocalypse version of this weapon does not have any additional/alternative effects.)

**Melee**

* Wall of Flames
	+ This melee skill works like the previous iteration's Concussion Pulse, but the shockwave consists of fire and will burn any players caught in it on top of dealing a great amount of initial damage. Unlike the concussion and gas weapons, the Wall of Flames can be obstructed by obstacles.

* Melee Stomp
	+ As mentioned before.
* Melee Rush
	+ As mentioned before.

## Weak spots

The primary weapons can be shot off, limiting the Tank to melee weapons only. However, it's generally quicker to kill a Tank through means other than disabling its ranged weapons.

The main body (above the weapons array) is heavily armored from the front, but once the armor plate is broken, the components beneath can be targeted for heavy damage. The inside of the body has two engine drives on each side. Below them are two battery packs not only protected by its front armor, but also protected by a series of side plating. Attached to the top between each weapons on the weapon array beneath the body is the tank's visual sensors (indicated by one large light and six smaller lights), destroying it can blind the Tank.

On higher classes, the Tank has two exposed actuators, near the rear on the middle of the sides just above the battery packs' side plating, that control its close-range utilities (concussion pulse and/or gas). Shooting both of these off will disable the Tank's ability to use them.

"Cylinders" located on the back of the machine above the feet contain core drives that are critical spots that will end in the Tank's destruction provided a high powered rifle was used and required multiple hits. They are protected on the side by armor.

Above the cylinders are the shoulder joints. Damaging the hinge located near the model number can cripple the Tank. A High voltage sign beneath the top left hinge is also a critical hit point.

There is a bolted square above the "knee pads" armor on the Tank's legs known as the frame support component. Underneath the knee armor is the knee joint component. If the armor is shot off, it exposes the knee's weak point on the front, but the joint is also located on the circular hinge, unprotected on its side. The embedded frame support on the upper foreleg can be difficult to shoot from the front which requires an elevated position such as a second floor of a house or an uphill, although it can be easily shot on the side.

On the back of the Tank, the Tick Pod will be the lowest component, a big barrel hanging from the main body. The second lowest component is the fuel cell; destroying this will cause an explosion and large damage to the Tank. On the middle is a set of three separate ventilation systems. Each three are protected by light armor. Directly above them is an enclosed grey box containing a core drive. After using flares to distract the Tank, a player can easily walk around it and shoot these off, dealing medium damage. The rear core drive is also visible from the front where a small portion of its boxed top is partly exposed atop of the main body.

## Strategy

Never engage a Tank without a strategy in mind. Fortunately, there is plenty of time to concoct one as Tanks are almost always heard before they can be seen. They can be heard from a distance of over 150 metres away.

Tanks are large and slow (except when dashing), but heavily armoured with even heavier weaponry. Heavier hitting bullets will help destroy the armored parts quickly. Slug rounds and armour-piercing (AP) ammunition are especially potent. After the armor is gone, the underlying components should be targeted using FMJ or Hollow-Point ammo, as those deal more damage to components.

A fight should always be started by distracting them, be it with a radio, flares, Soviet Machines or a co-op partner moving in. Tanks cannot target more than one threat at a time, so splitting up is encouraged.

Engaging Tanks in a wooded or similarly dense area is ideal, as it provides numerous points of cover and will prevent the Tank from dashing. Should players engage in an open area, they should do so at range to avoid all of the Tank's melee weaponry.

The Machine Gun is the Tank's most difficult weapon to dodge, so players should prioritize shooting it off early in the fight. All other ranged weapons can be ignored, but be advised that if both of a Tank's ranged weapons are disabled, it will start running after players (being one of the only attacks it has left), potentially making the Tank harder target to both hit and avoid.

The back of the Tank is another prioritizable area. The Tick Pod can easily be shot off and the battery pack above it is also an easy target. At the top of the backside, there's a quadratic panel that, when shot off, reveals a component that takes a lot of damage when shot. Of course, the Gas aggregate all the way at the top of the body is also a valuable target quickly taken out from the high ground.

A more unconventional strategy involves the use of an EMP effect combined with exploding placed items like Mines or Gas Canisters. These do extreme amounts of damage and are a great way of stripping the Tank of its armor. However, if the Tank is active when the player deploys the mine, it can detonate too early, and the player can get caught in its blast. EMP rounds fired from a Granatgevär are advised to keep the Tank inactive while the player plants the mine and gets away. A difficult strategy to pull off, but very rewarding if done right.

Tar ammunition, especially when used with an automatic weapon, is extremely effective at slowing down a Tank during a dash. This can be useful in open areas where more time is needed to find viable cover.

The optical systems of a Tank are difficult to destroy. Blinding the Tank should instead be done with radioactive ammunition or distraction items like fireworks. Nevertheless, should one decide to completely disable a Tank's optics, **it will become blind and deaf** to the point it will slowly calm down as if there are no threats nearby. After this point, it will never reenter the combat state unless it is touched, but it will hesitate to attack because it cannot target anything; thus, incentivizing it to calm down again.

## Story

Diary Extract 3 - The Tank

We almost lost half the group today. It was so stupid too, so pointless. We should have heard that…thing approaching sooner, but we were too busy rummaging through the shelves of a garage to realize that we weren’t hearing the sound of thunder. It wasn’t until the items on the shelves started to shake that we realized something was very wrong.

That thing was like a Tank but on legs, massive. Beyond massive. It towered over all the houses, every step of its two heavy legs shook us to the core. Thankfully it was slow, but every aspect of it from its size to the gigantic weapons hanging underneath it screamed danger. Death. Run.

So needless to say, we ran for our lives the moment we saw it. We were severely unprepared to face whatever that monstrosity was; we barely made it out alive. The robot started shooting at us with some kind of automatic machine gun, hitting the ground, nearby cars and even a few of us. Thankfully mostly flesh-wounds. When the bullets stopped, I foolishly thought we might have made it. Then a weird whizzing noise filled our ears, getting closer and closer. We weren’t prepared for the rockets. The explosion sent us tumbling to the ground, ears ringing from the impact. It took us way too long to get back on our feet but helping each other we were able to hide long enough for it to stop pursuing us. I pray we never see one again.

## Trivia

* The game's lore implies Tanks are only called so because they're built like one, not for any other reason.
* Along with Harvesters, Reapers, Wolves, and Firebirds, the Tank's true "head" is positioned below its body.
	+ Also like these other machines, the Tank's deceased body is a solid object to the player, which can be used as cover against any other machines that are still alive.
* Tanks are the fastest machines in the game while sprinting along with the Reaper.
* Tanks never loop their running animations like Hunters & Runners. Consequently, they will instead always dash forward, stop, and then start running again.
* Tanks, along with Firebirds, are the easiest enemies to hear from a distance. Their idling tones and footsteps can be heard from over 150 meters away.
* It's possible the electric tones and sirens of the Tank were installed as an intimidation tactic, as they otherwise have no practical use in combat scenarios and are counterproductive to stealth.
* Tanks are almost constantly walking aimlessly, even in small areas where they pace for long periods of time. Realistically, this is not an energy-efficient practice for a robot.
* An engineering oversight in the design of the Tank's model results in the ankle being able to move in ways it shouldn't and clip through the feet.
* Engineering-wise, for the Tank to support its main body and maintain balance the way it does, its legs must heavier than or similarly weighted to the main body.
* The tank is one of four robots that use large fuel cells, and one of three that can deploy other robots. (The reaper only summons runners in after a thermobaric blast, so it cannot be counted.)