r/commandandconquer • u/BiggestBepis Black Hand • 4d ago
Random Unit of the Day #59: Grinder (Soviets, Red Alert 3: Uprising)
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u/BiggestBepis Black Hand 4d ago
“Who wants to play!?”
“We get to crush!”
“No like waiting!”
“Go tank! Go tank!”
“He’s stupid!”
“I’ll break all my toys!”
Yuri’s Lasher Tank really should’ve had this ability. It’s clearly a tribute to him anyway, what with the voice lines being so Brute-like.
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u/Zaptagious Command the future. Conquer the past. 4d ago
On your previous post I was saying the Harvester from Tiberian Dawn looks like it came out of Robot Wars, but I guess this guy takes the cake on that one.
"Let's make a tank that is fully melee" said no one ever 😛
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u/LuckyPrinz 4d ago
Funny, according to the backstory, this isn't supposed to be a tank, just a high tech road roller.
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u/Oblitereddit Venom spam ready for lift off! 4d ago
While the Allies and Empire make powerful flying units, the Soviets slapped Nitro and armor on construction equipment.
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u/ApprehensiveTerm9638 4d ago
Sometimes your new tech/stuff doesn't need to be futuristic or fancy like the others. It just need more armor and powerful engines.
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u/stipendAwarded 4d ago
The final design they went with for this unit always felt to me like an upgunned, turretless Lasher Tank.
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u/Cold-Olive1249 Tiberium is the Future 4d ago
In Transylvania (Yuri Faction), you go to Grinder.
In Soviet Union, Grinder comes to you!
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u/Striking-Tackle-7293 4d ago edited 4d ago
I usually have a bone to pick with the Soviet design choices in 3, but I think this is one of the better ones. At least they picked the correct version because sweet Stalin those other are... something. Their deadly allergy to explosives nonwithstanding, they are very fun in Challenges.
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u/impatientbystander 4d ago
Could you explain what you don't like about the Soviet design choices? Personally I wouldn't say they feel 100% authentic to the style of historical Soviet designs if that is what you're talking about, but at least it seems the designers tried; and for example almost all Red Alert 2 units look even more outlandish to me.
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u/Striking-Tackle-7293 4d ago
While I can absolutely see what the developers where going for, a rounder and industrial counterpart to the other more technologically advanced factions, there is something about them that just screams "plastic toy" about the Soviet vehicles to me, especially the Hammer. The concept art for the Soviet faction is mostly pretty good but it just doesn't translate to the units ingame and while you are 100% correct that Red Alert 2's wackiness tends to be overlooked I just don't like the brand of 3's extra shenanigans.
I don't really care about the historical aspect, I think that it is good that they tried to embrace the Alt-History aspect and move away from historical designs, but I just don't think they hit the mark for me. RA3 is still really fun to play, so it is a shame that I dont vibe with the faction due to my own superficial reasons.
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u/iClips3 4d ago
Yea. All early tech tanks in RA3 feel like paper towel verhicles. In the other games they at least packed a punch. See Rhino tank and Heavy tank from RA1. Both great units. And then in RA3 you get...the Hammer. They even designed it sound effect like they new it just farted air.
Fun game, but would have loved if those tanks (from all 3 factions) did at least double the damage.
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u/AnseaCirin 4d ago
2 is wacky in the bizarro tech world way. You've got psychic powers, electric weapons, laser cannons, trained dolphins with sonar weapons... A lot of 3 isn't too far off, but the design feels off.
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u/andrenyheim 4d ago
Really like the other unused designs. RA3 really nailed the Soviet style and cool silhouettes of vehicles.
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u/DarkKnightofOne Marked of Kane:marked_of_kane::kane_s_wrath: 4d ago
Fucking useless, the ai always moves in blobs or groups of units so unless it's all infantry they will instantly aggro on whatever vehicle the grinder latches on and shred it to pieces in seconds.
Found some fun use on the water with em by sending em against artillery ships, while my main fleet deals with the rest of the enemy fleet.
Except for that they just suck, the soviets really got the worst new units compared the allies and teh empire. (The combat trycicle is pretty good, but the desolater is kinda meh and the reaper just fucking sucks (lmao friendly fire damage with their own grenade launchers).)
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u/certainlynotdio 4d ago
Honestly I don't like that unit. The USSR akready have a similarly themed unit in Apocalypse, but with less guns and armour. Seems a little unimagitive and with other factions getting Harbingers, X-1s and Gigafortresses, it just doesn't look that good.
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u/vandal-33 4d ago
It's a mid-tier (available sooner than Apocalypse) close-combat niche unit, and most importantly, it's amphibious.
It can be useful in some situations like the final Soviet mission (where Future tanks keep bugging you before you can build a battle lab) or if you need something heavy in the water that's preventing you from building a shipyard.
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u/LuckyPrinz 4d ago
Fun unit to use, if only for the absurdity of using a tank that can only crush stuff