Super Tank (Beta Class)

"The ultimate combination of man and machine has been enhanced with powerful energy armor."

- The Reckoning Manual

The Super Tank (Beta Class) is a new enemy introduced in the The Reckoning expansion pack, and is an upgraded version of the Super Tank from Quake II. This version is exactly the same as the original regards to fire power. But the Beta Class has new armor which sports a powerful energy shield which improves on the Tank Boss' health of 1,500, lifting it to 2,400; this makes the Beta Class one of the five strongest enemies in all of Quake II.

Chain Gun
It fires a long stream of accurate bullet fire, much similar to the Jorg, although the Beta Class only has one. It is very useful at pinning the player behind cover and can be damaging if the player is caught in the spray for any period of time. Each bullet does 6 damage, which can easily add up to high amounts in a longer spray. It is almost impossible to dodge this attack so any cover that is available must be taken advantage of.

Rocket Launcher
The Beta Class has a shoulder mounted Rocket Launcher, which fires three rockets in quick succession with almost no forewarning. Getting hit by this attack will, if not devastate his/her health and armor, surely kill the player. Each rocket does 50 damage, which leads to a staggering 150 damage if the player is hit with all three. Fortunately, like any other rocket attack, it is fairly easy to dodge if the player sees it coming.

Strategies

 * The first encounter with this behemoth takes place in the Intelligence Center near the end of Unit 2. It is one of the most difficult parts of the game. The player will be trapped in a large area with two giant pillars, and one beta super tank will attack, but as they battle it, they will likely be forced around the pillar to stay in cover. Once they move around the pillar further enough, the second beta super tank will spot them and attack. Due to their position and the two tanks', both come from either side. This puts the player in between the two tanks with nowhere to run. Death is assured if this happens so to avoid this, the player must kill the first tank as soon as possible without being pushed too far around the pillar. This might take a number of attempts, and it is not recommend to enter this area without a decent amount of health.


 * The next two encounters are in the Industrial Facility. The first tank comes out of an exploding wall. However, there is a door that is opened by a button, so you could take pot shots, but it is advised you use the Phalanx in the corner of the area. The Tank will not follow the player to the left of the far staircase so this makes for good cover. The next encounter is in the outdoors of that area. The room is L shape so there is limited cover so it is advised to kill the Tank before it follows the layer around the corner. Again, take pot shots, as there is a door (with a Gladiator inside). Once you defeat this super tank, the Green Key is revealed.


 * The Beta Class' more deadly weapon is his Chaingun as his rocket launcher is easily dodged. The Tank is very large and very wide, so take advantage of this by taking cover and nudging out so that the player can only see the left side of the Tank, thus the Chaingun is out of the picture. This allows for continued fire until the Tank starts up his rocket launcher animation where the player can take cover and repeat. This is very easy to do in the Intelligence Center (until both tanks flank from both sides) and the first fight in the Industrial Facility.

Trivia

 * Like their standard version, Beta Class Super Tanks appear to have weapon barrels above their treads that they never use.