Leviathan (vehicle)

Leviathan (vehicle)
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Appears in	Unreal Tournament 2004 Unreal Tournament 3

The Leviathan is a vehicle appearing in Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Tournament 3.

Overview

It is a large-sized vehicle that is the center of all might for Axon Research Corporation. It has infantry turrets that support it on the upper deck. It has an Ion cannon which explodes upon impact amongst the surrounding area. This vehicle is also considered the "supervehicle" of the game due to its sheer power and size.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Leviathan (vehicle)
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Health	5000
Seats	5
Seat functions	Driver/rocket turret/deployment, plasma turret, plasma turret, plasma turret, plasma turret.

"Originally designed for urban pacification, the Leviathan found its greatest deployment near the end of the Human-Skaarj Wars. The Leviathan represents the ultimate in mobile military force projection, able to carry one driver and four passengers. Each passenger mans an anti-vehicular turret at the corners. The pilot can target enemies with the rear-mounted rocket pack while driving, firing a continuous swarm of projectiles. When the pilot needs to hold a position, the main weapon can be deployed. This will immobilize the Leviathan for stabolization. Powered by two quantum-fusion impulse reactors, the main gun projectile creates a negative singularity at the point of impact, drawing all energy and matter out of the immediate area. Exploding outward with devastating force, the shockwave can annihilate everything within its radius. There are documented cases of Leviathans single-handedly leveling entire cities, and lone attacks against a fully manned Leviathan are suicide."

– UT2004 manual

The Leviathan is the super weapon of the vehicle roster. It can be manned by five people (one driver, four passengers) and each seat has its own weapon to fire. The driver is in control of the homing missile launcher and the main gun whereas the passengers take control of identical energy cannons similar to the Link Gun's primary fire.

What sets the Leviathan apart from the rest of the vehicles in UT2004 is that it can transform. When stationary the driver can activate the transformation sequence in order to make use of the main gun. The main gun is a giant energy cannon capable of taking out a Power Core in two shots and any vehicle or player in one direct hit. As with the Ion Plasma Tank the main gun takes a couple of seconds to charge before it can be fired.

Unreal Tournament 3

Leviathan (vehicle)
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Health	6500 (vehicle) 1000 (each turret)
Seats	5
Seat functions	Driver/stinger turret/deployment, beam turret, rocket turret, stinger turret, shock turret.

"The Leviathan "super vehicle" is the ultimate expression of Axon military firepower. This behemoth is the size of a building, supported by 8 wheels. Each wheel is more than 3 meters in diameter. Infantry accessible turrets sit along the upper deck of the vehicle, strategically located near each corner to ensure maximum protection capability and shield coverage. The Leviathan's massive girth is required to support the true centerpiece of Axon weaponry. The backbone of the vehicle deploys outward and upward to expose an orbital-grade ion cannon, Powered by two quantum-fusion impulse reactors, the cannon's beam focuses to create a negative singularity at the point of impact, drawing all energy and matter out of the immediate area. This singularity explodes outward with devastating force. The resulting shockwave annihilates everything within its radius. There are documented cases of Leviathans single-handedly leveling entire cities; anything less than a full battalion assault against a fully-manned Leviathan is nothing short of suicide."

– UT3 manual

In UT3, this mobile fortress still features its devastating main cannon. However, it now has added distinct weapon fire to each of its four turrets, rather than 2004's link-like projectile, as well as an alternate shield function. It also has considerably more armor, and the Ion Cannon takes nearly twice as long to deploy, compared to the 2004 version.

Compared to its immense firepower, the Leviathan is astoundingly lacking in the defensive department if only manned by a single person. Its entire offensive and defensive potential can only be activated if all of its turrets are manned as well. These turrets are very similar to the four types of stand-alone turrets, except that the Leviathan's stinger turret is hit-scan and its shots somewhat look like those of the beam turret.

All four turrets are equipped with small shields similar to that of the Paladin. When activated, a shield lasts for about 3.6 seconds and then needs about 4.5 seconds to recharge. The shields should not only protect the Leviathan, but also the turrets themselves, because they can now be destroyed separately.

The Leviathan's driver has a separate Stinger Turret that fires huge Tarydium shards with a lot of damage potential. Deploying and undeploying takes quite some time, during which the driver cannot use any of the two main weapons. Once deployed, the driver gains control over the Leviathan's main Ion Cannon. The cannon needs about 1.8 seconds to power up before releasing a devastating shockwave, and then it needs another 2.7 seconds to recharge.

Related Achievements

	Armadillo  10
	Get the "Roadkill" award in 10 matches.

	Jack of All Trades  10
	Kill an enemy with every vehicle (except Hoverboard).

Tips and tricks

• In both versions of the game, the main use of the Leviathan is to ensure a node lockdown and become the center of attention of the enemy fire.
• With it:
  • Given that the map you're playing has Leviathans, these titans are especially powerful if deployed near a prime (power)node. Rushing in this vehicle is a bad idea, as not only is it slow, but it's also large in size, as the vehicle's sheer size means that it will take a lot of damage.
  • Always keep at least one seat manned. You will be very, very sorry if your Leviathan is hijacked by the enemy team and turned against you!
• Against it:
  • Rushing is not advised, and faster vehicles can easily outrun the deployed vehicle's main gun, making the whole vehicle a lot easier to kill. Raptors or other flying vehicles can park above one and shoot away while the Leviathan cannot aim up that high. Redeemers are also a great option due to their super strength.
  • A Leviathan can take quite some beating before eventually going down. It can do considerable amounts of damage, even if only manned by a driver. A team needs to concentrate all of its firepower to prevent an enemy Leviathan from reaching the power core.
  • In UT3, if any of the Leviathan's turrets are manned, concentrate fire on them while their shields are down to destroy them as quickly as possible. Any damage to the turrets is also applied to the Leviathan itself. So concentrating on turrets won't slow down destruction of the entire vehicle, but weakens its defensive potential.

Trivia

• The only maps in the base version of UT2004 to include the Leviathan are ONS-RedPlanet and ONS-Severance. The ECE version later added ONS-Urban.

Gallery

UT3 Concept Art

UT3 model

UT3 model