Manta (vehicle)

If you're looking for the enemy from the single-player games and the Invasion gametype, you might want to check Manta (enemy).

Manta
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Appears in	Unreal Tournament 2004 Unreal Tournament 3

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

Overview

The Manta is a very lightweight, very agile hovercraft-type vehicle. It has neither strong armor (200 HP) nor much firepower. Its main strength is its agility. Due to this, it is mainly feared by infantry which can easily get squished by the Manta from nearly anywhere, as well as slower-moving vehicles such as the Leviathan and the Goliath.

Unlike wheeled vehicles, the Manta is able to jump. When the jump key is pressed, the Manta will quickly rise several feet into the air, and gently float back down to the surface. This move is useful to allow the Manta to ascend steeper hills and cliffs, and also to position the vehicle over an enemy's head to perform a pancake. After a jump has been performed, the pilot must wait a few seconds, as indicated by a bar gauge, before the Manta is ready to jump again. Also, a jump can only be performed when the vehicle hovering just above the ground or water surface.

The primary fire shoots a plasma projectile from the front of the Manta that does 30 damage with a direct hit. Although an individual plasma projectile does not do much damage on its own, the vehicle's rapid firing rate will allow the pilot to quickly chip away the health of an enemy, or the energy of a power node rather easily.

The Manta is highly maneuverable and can dodge most types of enemy fire.

If a flag carrier enters a Manta in VCTF, he drops the flag immediately, just like he does when he enters a Raptor or Cicada, for balancing reasons, since a Manta driver could easily get away from enemies nearby.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Manta
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Health	200
Seats	1

"Despite its light weight and diminutive size, the Manta is one of the more fearsome sights in battle."

– Vehicle description

In this game, the Manta excels at Offense, Transport and Overall Annoyance.

Although a flag can't be transported in a Manta, a flag carrier can stand on either one the Manta's wings or (more infrequently) on top of the Manta so the driver can transport them. This is commonly called a Manta run. Some people see the Manta run as an exploit, yet some see it as a valid tactic, so most VCTF servers allow Manta runs.

Manta runs are also useful in Onslaught when vehicles are rare and the team needs to get to the front as fast as possible.

Mantas can also be used as transports for Mines from the mine layer, just shoot them at the wings. Maximum of 3 mines per wing, otherwise the fourth one will explode causing nearby damage. So you can take a quick trip to a powernode and defeat any pesky units that stand in your way.

Unreal Tournament 3

Axon Manta
Background info
Faction	Axon
Game info
Type	Ground
Health	200
Seats	1

"Thanks to its ultra-lightweight armor and unmatched agility, the Axon IFV Manta has repeatedly proven itself on battlefields across the galaxy.

The Manta is propelled by two flush-mounted, magnetically impelled fans which can be instantly pitched, allowing the vehicle to leap high into the air, then quickly duck below incoming obstacles or enemy fire.

Its superior agility is paired with two multi-stage plasma casters that burn hot and reload quickly, making the Manta particularly effective in suppressing enemy infantry."

– Vehicle description

In UT3, in addition to a visual update, the Manta excels at road kills and orb runs. The newer design aims to fix issues regarding manta spawn-camping as well as making flag runs impossible; with players will no longer being able to ride on top of the side fans, as they will get sucked into the rotor and turned into gibs. The Manta is also unable to hit players without crouching down anymore unless the player is on a hoverboard or a slope. Also, this version's open design means that the driver can get hurt as well as the vehicle.

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

Using the Manta (both games)

• Overall, the Manta is great for notching up vehicular manslaughters, pancakes, and road rages. It is easy to run over enemies and take out other small vehicles. It is the perfect anti-infantry weapon; it will probably rack up more kills than the Redeemer, if used properly.
• The Manta's high speed and acceleration make it very valuable for flag or orb runs. Due to its fast speed, the Manta is also a good vehicle for getting to places quickly.
• The Manta is great for taking out fast smaller vehicles such as the Scavenger or Viper because it can keep up in speed and chip away their armor with its plasma guns. A skilled player can even take out a full-health Goliath.
• Part of being a good Manta pilot involves keeping your Manta healthy as long as possible, while knowing when to dump the Manta before it is too late.
• Aside from the usual method of killing enemies by running over them, a more challenging and fun method is to pancake them literally. This can be done by positioning the Manta above the enemy by jumping, and then using the "Alt-Fire" or the "Crouch" key to quickly descend, crushing the player like a pancake, usually ensuring an instant kill. This also makes the Manta useful for squishing enemy flag carriers, especially if the carrier is distracted by other players.
• Sometimes Mantas can run low on health quite quickly, and you might want to take down your enemies before your die in the vehicle. Your option in this case is to do a 'Manta Jettison', by simply using "Alt-Fire", until you get close to the opponent, then exit the vehicle, the Manta will go flying into the enemy, crushing them. Also, you can use this if you do not want to take damage, but want to make a surprise attack. Then after using, you can go back in the Manta, it is just like a frisbee, except with spikes and blades. Not to mention that incoming AVRiL/Longbow AVRiL missiles will lose their target lock since they can't home in on any unmanned vehicle.

Fighting against the Manta (both games)

• Raptor missiles can be dodged by a skillful pilot at long range, but at mid or close range the Raptor wins.
• The AVRiL/Longbow AVRiL locked-on shots, while slow enough that can be jumped over with the correct timing, can hit the Manta in the back afterwards.
• A lucky shot with the Sniper Rifle or the Lightning Gun can headshot the pilot out of the cockpit.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Capture tips

The following are a series of tips released by the defunct website Capture.

"Onslaught 101! - The Manta

Ah, the Manta. Sweet little hovercraft of FREAKING DOOM! MUAHAHAH! Get in this baby and prepare to wreak havoc on all those little blue or red pedestrians in your way.

The Manta has three modes of fire (well, sort of). Primary fire will spew out a stream of bluish-purple plasma balls, the secondary fire (or your crouch control) will cause the Manta to drop toward the ground. Not only that, but if you hit the jump button, you will propel yourself up into the air. This makes for some serious fun when assaulting your enemy! You can strafe and jump and drop down and jump back up to no end! This is probably the easiest vehicle to get “Road Rage”-type kills in, and definitely the easiest to earn a “Pancake!” in.

While it is one of the weakest vehicles in terms of armor, this little thing can take down even a Goliath if you’re good enough! (This is especially easy if the tank driver isn’t paying attention. :D )"

– SlayerDragon

Using the Manta

• An additional player can literally hitch a ride on the Manta's Rotor frame. This 'hack' enables speedy transport of more than the vehicle's intended capacity. Note that Unreal Tournament 3 "fixed" this by making all players standing on the wings being sucked out and killed by them.

Fighting against the Manta

• In UT2004, the fans of the Manta suck in the ribbon which the Scorpion shoots and receives additional damage from it.

Unreal Tournament 3

Fighting against the Manta

• The mortars of the Scorpion are often most effective weapon against the Manta, as they home in very strongly, difficult to and sometimes negating dodging, and 2-3 shots are enough to kill the driver or Manta.
• The Viper's Kamikaze explosion will probably severely damage if not kill the Manta and its driver outright if done at very close range.
• A fully charged-up Impact Hammer's EMP mode will push back the Manta and severely damage it.
• The Darkwalker's secondary "horn" attack will push the driver out of the Manta.

Gallery