- "Ultimate Gaalsien cruiser equipped with a powerful railgun and defensive capabilities." — In game description
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Honorguard Cruiser
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| Vehicle Information | |
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Classification
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Cruiser
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Purpose
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Anti-Ground
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Vehicle Type
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Heavy Armored Capital Ship
Honorguard Cruiser (Coalition Classification) |
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Cost
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700 CUs 240 RUs
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| Technical Information | |
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Length
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121 meters
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Speed
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60 km/h
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Armaments
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1x Spinal Super Heavy Railgun
4x Point Defence Cannons 8x Quad Anti-Air Missile Arrays |
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Damage
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400
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Rate of Fire
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MED
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Hull
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3600
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Armor
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6
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Build Time
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70s
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Fleet Supply
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6
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| Usage | |
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Eras
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Affiliation
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Note: These are stats are from multiplayer.
Campaign units have different stats. | |
The Seraph-class Heavy Armored Capital Ship (Coalition codename:Sajuuk Taa-class Honorguard Cruiser) or simply Honorguard Cruiser is a large, heavily armed hover cruiser used by Kiith Gaalsien and the Khaaneph during the Exile Era. Featuring the most powerful railgun ever built in the deserts of Kharak, the Honorguard cruiser is one of the deadliest weapons available to the Gaalsien that the coalition faces.
Lore[]
- "*** ALERT *** ALERT *** ALERT *** ALL COMMAND STATIONS ***
On sighting this new Gaalsien heavy cruiser, retreat if possible until you are reinforced by at least a full command carrier group plus air assets. The only combat footage coalition intel has acquired from the fall of fortress base Ba'Shir shows two of these new heavy cruisers on approach. The Sajuuk Taa appears to have punched through fortress defenses with some kind of spinal-mounted heavy rail gun that can obliterate prepared positions with a single shot. Footage also indicates possible variations in model, with either AA or close support cannons used for seperate variants." — Expedition Guide
Campaign[]
Honorguard cruisers fire powerful, long-range railguns. Unlike most railguns, these weapons have an area of effect, and are highly effective against practically all ground units as the splash damage is usually enough to heavily damage smaller, lighter vehicles. They automatically self-repair when out of combat. Like all Gaalsien vehicles, Honorguard cruisers are fast for their size, making pursuing and fleeing from them equally difficult. A small group of Honorguard cruisers can often destroy targets nearly as soon as they are spotted. However, they have less armor and hull strength than their size and appearance may imply.
Two different variants of the Honorguard cruiser appear in the campaign. Despite having identical names and icons, their unit cards don't stack.
Type-1 Honorguard cruiser first appears on mission 7, when Rachel commandeers one. Gaalsien continues to field them for three more missions. Type-1's railgun has a longer range than Type-2 but its anti-air missile battery functions erratically. Therefore, the most effective counters to Type-1 are air units. Additionally, Rachel S'jet's Science Baserunner can immobilize Type-1 for a significant amount of time with her EMP ability, and she can instantly steal them with her hacking ability. This is highly useful due to their versatility and firepower.
Type-2 Honorguard cruiser first appears on mission 10 and becomes a mainstay of Gaalsien forces. It has passive anti-air measures that effectively destroys most air units that stray into their range before they have a chance to flee. However, it has several key weaknesses, Strike fighters can attack these cruisers from a distance and avoid being blown up in turn. Railguns with maximum veterancy comfortably out-range them.
Honorguard cruisers are roughly equivalent to Coalition battlecruisers. Compared to battlecruisers, Honorguard cruisers are faster, have a greater range, and better firepower. However, they have much worse hull strength and much less armor.
Veterancy[]
Honorguard cruisers have identical abilities and veterancy levels compared to multiplayer. In contrast to most other units, nearly every level of increased veterancy improves Honorguard cruisers in a different way. Honorguard cruisers need significant experience to level up, but due to their effectiveness, they can quickly rack up kills, so gaining experience often isn't a problem for them.
| Rank | Effect | XP Required |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | +100m to weapon range | 1120 |
| Acolyte | -15% reload time | 2128 |
| Sentinel | +20% sensors | 4043 |
| Guardian | +100m to weapon range | 7682 |
| Elder | +300 to cruiser hull | 14596 |
Multiplayer[]
Following the hit-and-run strategy of the Gaalsien faction, the Seraph is faster and more maneuverable than its counterpart. It can unleash a lot more damage immediately with its main weapon and then move to a more advantageous position, outright killing lighter units in one go and crippling heavier ones. Also like all Gaalsien units, it is capable of self-repair. Take advantage of its high alpha-strike, healing, and speed to wear down enemy forces, retreat, and strike again from another angle. It can be upgraded with anti-air missiles, making Coalition strike fighters and tactical bombers ineffective against it and eliminating the need for the Honorguard to have anti-air support, allowing it to move unescorted with greater impunity. Even without the range bonuses from its Veterancy its weapon range is profound, surpassed only by Artillery/Siege cruisers. With both range boosts it can even outdistance the Heavy Turrets from the single player campaign.
However its ranged firepower and relative speed comes at the cost of armor, although it is tough for a Gaalsien unit it won't handle a straight slugfest against the Battlecruiser. Its main gun's rate of fire is also slow, so it is unable to deal with groups of enemies at close range effectively. Its AA defensive ability must be manually activated, unlike in the campaign, and also temporarily shuts down its main weapon, leaving it vulnerable to combined forces attacks.
Strong Against:[]
Coalition/Soban:
Gaalsien/Khaaneph:
Weak Against:[]
Coalition/Soban:
Veterancy[]
| Rank | Effect | XP Required |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | +100m to weapon range | 1120 |
| Acolyte | -15% reload time | 2128 |
| Sentinel | +20% sensors | 4043 |
| Guardian | +100m to weapon range | 7682 |
| Elder | +300 to cruiser hull | 14596 |
Abilities[]
| Name | Effect | Cooldown | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Railgun Fire | Toggles auto-targeting of its railgun | 0s | None |
| Self-Repair | Vehicle hull will regenerate when out of combat | 0s | None |
| Toggle Defense Systems | Enabling AA systems and disables its railgun for 30s | 65s | None |
Research[]
| Name | CU Cost | RU Cost | Time | Effect | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honorguard Cruiser Fabrication | 500 CUs | 350 RUs | 85s | Enables Honorguard Cruiser Production | Railgun Fabrication |
| Honorguard Cruiser Anti-Air | 600 CUs | 370 RUs | 75s | Enables Anti-Air Ability | Honorguard Cruiser Fabrication |
Trivia[]
- Honorguard cruisers feature a crew complement of ten personnel.
- Despite its description and appearance, the Honorguard cruiser features little armor and hull.