“ | Alright, I'm here. Let's have an update. - Black Lotus reporting for duty |
” |
Black Lotus is the codename of a Chinese all-female elite hacker unit in Generals and Zero Hour.
Background[]
“ | Need a transfer? - Black Lotus |
” |
The Black Lotus unit was formed from a need to attack the enemy on a different field than just combat. Each is extremely proficient with any IT, to the point that they can subvert enemy buildings and disable vehicles.
When serving under General Shin Fai, Black Lotus agents received additional training that made them hack faster, gain veterancy and disable buildings in a similar way to Hackers. The agent 'Black Lotus' was renamed Super Lotus and normal hackers were turned into Super Hackers who could also disable vehicles.
Abilities[]
“ | They won't even notice. - Black Lotus hacking enemy supply buildings |
” |
Capture Building | Black Lotus hacks into an enemy building and assumes control of it. | |
Disable Vehicle | Black Lotus uses a computer virus to disable a vehicle's electronics. | |
Cash Hack | Black Lotus hacks into an enemy Supply Center and steals up to $1000 from the enemy. |
Game unit[]
Strategy[]
“ | We have their building, what's next? - Black Lotus after capturing an enemy building |
” |
In spite of the fact that she lacks the plain destructive power of Colonel Burton and Jarmen Kell's outstanding ability to subdue any infantry or manned vehicle instantly, Black Lotus is equally threatening with her combined attributes. She makes for an excellent forward scout that can alert advancing forces of oncoming threats and spot for artillery, since she has stealth and detects enemy stealth units. Her abilities also have a variety of uses - Cash Hack can provide a boost in income and slow the opponent's economy, Vehicle Hack can significantly impede enemy vehicles, and she can seize buildings from afar, including neutral tech buildings, while other friendly units keep her away from the line of fire.
Counters[]
“ | Abort! - Black Lotus under fire |
” |
Black Lotus, though devastating when given the chance, must be used tactically for maximum effect. Unlike Colonel Burton and Jarmen Kell, Black Lotus is unarmed and will be quickly destroyed if exposed to enemy fire, which can occur frequently as all her abilities force her to break stealth. As with most infantry units, vehicles could run her over regardless of visibility.
Campaign[]
“ | Let's turn off their toys! - Black Lotus about to disable a vehicle |
” |
While many of Lotus' covert operations remain a mystery, she is known to have assisted in a number of Chinese and one combined US-Chinese operation against the GLA. The very first appearance of her in China's missions was at the Three Gorges Dam where she joined the surviving garrison forces to rebuild their base and destroy the dam. In the Tanggula Mountains, she led her commando team consisting of Red Guards and Tank Hunters to destroy five Stinger Sites to clear the way for a MIG attack on a GLA toxin factory. In Scorched Earth, Black Lotus guided the Chinese forces through the booby-trapped city and captured an oil complex. She also planted a bomb on the railway bridge at Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan to prevent GLA reinforcements arriving by train and assisted during the attack on the GLA main stronghold in Dushanbe.
Later in the conflict, she appeared in a joint Chinese-American operation with US commando, Colonel Burton to destroy a GLA research facility located in Mount Elbrus, Russia. As Burton prepared his explosives, Black Lotus managed to infiltrate the facility and stole several files holding intelligence to the GLA invasion of Europe. As she escaped the facility, Burton detonated the bomb which caused an avalanche and destroyed the facility. She later appeared in the very final mission to end the GLA war in Europe by capturing or using her Nuclear Missile to blow up the American and GLA bases near Hamburg in Germany.
Changelog[]
- Generals patch 1.07: Jarmen Kell, Black Lotus and Colonel Burton now have a special icon on the radar map
- Zero Hour patch 1.01: fixed a bug that allowed Black Lotus to capture a building while moving
Trivia[]
“ | He's in my way! - Black Lotus' unused attack quote |
” |
- Originally in Generals, Black Lotus was supposed to be able to attack enemy Units, but this ability was removed for unknown reasons. However, the voice quotes remain in the original Generals sound files.
- Despite the bug already been patched, an AI-controlled lotus unit can still move immediately after using the capture building command, and the building will be obtained as long as she survives until the end of the capturing process no matter how far away she has run. This is a significant advantage to AI enemies and is dangerous to players, especially when leaving buildings unguarded.
- Black Lotus may be named after the Asian assassin of the same name who appears in Marvel Universe strip 'The Femizons'. In turn, the Chinese assassin 'Black Lotus' from the BBC's 'Sherlock' series may be named after her.
Selected Quotes[]
“ | Alright, I'm here. Let's have an update - When emerging from the Barracks |
” |
“ | Need a transfer? - When selected |
” |
“ | What is it? - When selected |
” |
“ | I'm listening. - When selected |
” |
“ | Give me a job. - When selected |
” |
“ | I have work to do here! - When selected |
” |
“ | Is it clear? - When moving |
” |
“ | That's right. - When moving |
” |
“ | Sure. - When moving |
” |
“ | Quickly. - When moving |
” |
“ | Got it. - When moving |
” |
“ | Let's move. - When moving |
” |
“ | Leave it to me - When moving |
” |
“ | I'll get rid of them. - When ordered to attack |
” |
“ | He's in my way! - When ordered to attack |
” |
“ | I'll make this quick. - When ordered to attack |
” |
“ | I got it covered. - When ordered to attack |
” |
“ | Be right back. - When ordered to attack |
” |
“ | I'm in too close! - Under fire |
” |
“ | They found me! - Under fire |
” |
“ | Pull me out! - Under fire |
” |
“ | Abort! - Under fire |
” |
“ | Their buildings can be our own. - When ordered to capture building |
” |
“ | I'll hack into their capture building. - When ordered to capture building |
” |
“ | Let's take their buildings from them. - When ordered to capture building |
” |
“ | Their vehicles can be disabled. - When ordered to disable vehicle |
” |
“ | I'll disable the enemy's vehicles. - When ordered to disable vehicle |
” |
“ | Let's turn off their toys! - When ordered to disable vehicle |
” |
“ | I can hack into their supply stores. - When ordered to hack enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Let's take their money! - When ordered to hack enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Where's their supply center? - When ordered to hack enemy supply building |
” |
“ | I'll be in and out. - When capturing building |
” |
“ | Ready for transfer. - When capturing building |
” |
“ | Up-link available. - When capturing building |
” |
“ | Watch my back. - When capturing building |
” |
“ | Let's do it! - When capturing building |
” |
“ | I'm going in. - When capturing building |
” |
“ | I'll cut their comm relays. - When disabling enemy vehicle |
” |
“ | I'll turn them off. - When disabling enemy vehicle |
” |
“ | Give me a second. - When disabling enemy vehicle |
” |
“ | Setting up. - When disabling enemy vehicle |
” |
“ | I'll unplug 'em. - When disabling enemy vehicle |
” |
“ | We'll clean them out. - When hacking enemy supply building |
” |
“ | They won't even notice. - When hacking enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Credit transfer ready. - When hacking enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Let's make a withdrawal. - When hacking enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Fast cash. - When and after hacking enemy supply building |
” |
“ | Their building is ours. - After capturing building |
” |
“ | I'm in, we control the building now. - After capturing building |
” |
“ | Building capture complete. - After capturing building |
” |
“ | We have their building, what's next? - After capturing building |
” |
“ | They're disabled. - After disabling vehicle |
” |
“ | Disabling complete. - After disabling vehicle |
” |
“ | That's it, their vehicle is down. - After disabling vehicle |
” |
“ | The vehicle is down, what's next? - After disabling vehicle |
” |
See also[]
- Super Lotus, Shin Fai counterpart
- Colonel Burton, American counterpart
- Jarmen Kell, GLA counterpart
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