HC-7 "Ballista"

"The HC-Class "Ballista" is a heavy tank designed to obliterate opposition defenses with its 250mm Hades Mortar Cannon."

- In-game description

The HC-7 "Ballista" is a Colonial Siege Tank.

Description
The "Ballista" is a Colonial Exclusive late-game combat vehicle. It is armed with a 250mm petard mortar with a 25m range, designed for taking down structures. It has 10 slots, reserved for its shells (one per slot, no stacking). It is one of the most resilient tanks available but also one of the slowest.

Although the caliber of the tank's primary weapon is impressive, it is designed to engage structures, not enemy vehicles or infantry. The 250mm shell can deal a lot of damage to armored vehicles (and cannot be deflected), but the Ballista is out ranged and outrun by tanks, allowing enemy armor to simply open fire on the Ballista with impunity so long as they keep their distance. Shooting infantry is also ineffective and a waste of valuable shells. The Ballista is designed to break up enemy static defenses to allow for an infantry push. It excels at this task, but it is otherwise in danger of being overrun by enemy infantry or destroyed by enemy tanks.

It is roughly based on the Churchill AVRE tank used by the British during World War 2.

Driver
The driver is in control of positioning the vehicle. In the Siege Tank, this allows them to control when and how to commit the vehicle to combat. They also frequently have to adjust the facing of the tank to allow the mortar, whose weapon has a 60-degree arc to the front of the vehicle, to fire at targets.

The driver is the only crew member who can see the fuel gauge without leaving the vehicle and should carefully monitor its prodigious consumption.

Petard Mortar Gunner
The gunner is in charge of aiming and firing the tank's petard mortar. Use the  to adjust the firing distance. The mortar fires in an arc, not in a straight line like other tank turrets. Since the firing arc is not shown to the gunner, the target distance must be provided by the spotter or be gauged by the gunner themself to then adjust the mortar's firing distance accordingly.

Tank Spotter
The commander/spotter can use binoculars to see further than the other crew members and provide coordinates for the main gunner to fire. He can also use a secondary weapon) from the cupola with extreme accuracy and can use this to prevent infantry from closing with the tank from the sides.

Like on other Tanks, the commander/spotter is exposed and can be shot at and killed. However, he can close the hatch for protection by pressing.

Of utmost importance is keeping track of the location of enemy Tanks, which are the greater threat to the Ballista.

Lore
''A relatively recent addition to the Colonial arsenal, the HC-7 or "Ballista" is a specialized tank fitted with a front-facing mortar cannon designed to level structures with ease. Built on the bones of the smaller but proven H-series chassis, the HC series of tanks brings improved armour, more reliable treads along with the formidable 250mm short-barreled Hades mortar.''

''The team behind the Ballista operated out of the Velian capital of Damokratos. This intrepid young crew apprenticed under the engineers responsible for the L-series or "Lance" battle tank, earning invaluable experience. One intrepid mechanic by the name of Dell'oro Ricci noted the H-series' inability to directly tackle defense structures and would often fall behind or suffer significant damage, thus identifying a gap in the Colonial arsenal.''

The Ballista has since become a staple in the Legion's feared armour division and-living up to its namesake-lays siege to our enemies before they know what hit them.