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Disambig
For more units of this type, see Tesla trooper.

The Soviets have taken Tesla technology to the final step: a man in a Tesla-powered suit. These soldiers are excellent at destroying tanks and also seem to be able to power up Tesla Coils for their extra energy.
- Eva Lee(src)

The Tesla trooper is a heavy Soviet anti-surface infantry unit in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.

Official description[]

This specialised infantry unit attacks with a powerful electrical charge generated from his portable Tesla coil. Tesla Troopers are valuable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their immunity to being steam-rolled by enemy tanks. In times of emergency power shortages, Tesla Troopers can charge up the Tesla Coils defending your base to keep them operating against enemy units. Charging up a Tesla Coil will also increase its range and power. To charge a Tesla Coil, simply move a Tesla Trooper near it. Charging will happen automatically.
- Red Alert 2 manual(src)

Deployment history[]

Lt. Eva Lee briefed the Allied commander about Tesla troopers during Operation: Hail to the Chief, describing their power against tanks and their ability to power up Tesla coils with their extra energy. This ability was later seen during the liberation of the city.

RA2Sovietlogo The following is based on the Soviet campaign of Red Alert 2 and might contradict canon.

The Tesla trooper was first made available during the Soviets' invasion in New York and played a significant role in Paris, turning the Paris Tower into a gigantic Tesla coil and subsequently destroying the Allied garrison.

Game unit[]

Tesla troopers were the Soviet Union (and its allies') basic anti-tank infantry unit. However, they were unusually tough and versatile in spite of their low cost and easier deployment. Their equivalents in other factions were the Allies' Guardian GI (Yuri's Revenge only) and Yuri's Brutes.

First and foremost, Tesla Troopers boasted heavy armor that meant that they could survive small arms fire for a longer period of time than most other infantry. Additionally, this meant that vehicles were incapable of crushing them, much to the ire of enemy Allied commanders.

Tesla Troopers also boasted a versatile weapon: their Tesla gauntlets could fry both enemy armor and enemy infantry. While they were, of course, more proficient in the former task, it also allowed them to defend themselves from hostile infantry with reasonable success.

Interestingly, the unique nature of the Tesla trooper's weapon gave them a support ability: they could charge the Tesla coils of friendly bases, increasing its range and firepower. This effect stacked up to three times, at which point the coil could continue to operate even if the base it was connected to had lost power. It was worth noting, however, that the coils still drained power and that the Tesla troopers could not fire while charging the coil. Tesla troopers would automatically begin charging any coil that they were directly adjacent to, though commanders could order them to force-fire upon it should they be a longer distance away (Yuri's Revenge only).

Tesla troopers, however, were by no means invincible. Their first obvious weakness was their below-average speed, which meant many infantrymen could catch up to them should the trooper be on the retreat. This also meant that they had little chance of picking off long-ranged antipersonnel enemies, such as the British Sniper. Combined with their rather lacking range, these weaknesses often meant that they were better suited to support existing base defenses (whether by providing additional firepower or by charging deployed Tesla coils) or adding an extra layer of security to an attack force.

Tesla troopers also had a weakness to being swamped by enemy infantry. Most basic infantry would be unlikely to win a one-on-one fight, but because of their cheaper cost, commanders could deploy more. Since the Tesla trooper's weapon only damages one target at a time, situations where they are forced to contend with multiple antipersonnel targets often do not play out well for them. This is somewhat mitigated by the Tesla trooper's elite upgrade bonus, which allows their bolts to bounce off two other targets (thus damaging three at a time).

Lastly, like most infantrymen deployed in the conflict, Tesla troopers had no means of damaging enemy aircraft, and thus relied on supporting AA fire or luck to survive such scenarios.

In Red Alert 2, Cloning Vats could be constructed to train twice the amount of Tesla troopers (as well as all other infantry) for the original cost. However, due to the reassignment of the uncapturable structure to Yuri's Army in Yuri's Revenge, such a maneuver was harder to pull off in the expansion.

AI behavior[]

Tesla Troopers controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

  • Easy: 3x targeting production structures
  • Hard: 1x charging Tesla Coils; 2x targeting base defenses, accompanied by 2 Flak Tracks and 3 V3 launchers; 3x targeting production structures, accompanied by 10 Conscripts and 2 Flak Troopers

Aftermath[]

After the Psychic Dominator Disaster, the Soviets introduced a new design of their Tesla trooper. Though more powerful and cheaper than the original trooper, they were more vulnerable to tanks as they could be crushed by them. They also lost the ability to charge Tesla coils. After Einstein's erasure in 1927, the Tesla troopers were able to charge Tesla coils and were uncrushable again.

Quotes[]

When selected[]

  • Tesla suit ready.
  • Charging up!
  • Electrodes ready!
  • Checking connection.
  • Extra crispy! (cut)

When moving[]

  • Going to source.
  • Moving out.
  • Yes, comrade.
  • Surging forward.
  • Electrician in the field.
  • Rubber shoes in motion!

When ordered to attack[]

  • 2000 Volts coming up!
  • He's fried.
  • Completing circuit.
  • Let the juice flow!
  • Commencing shock therapy.
  • Congratulations, you've been discharged! (cut)

When suppressed[]

  • Ground yourselves!
  • Reinforcements!
  • I am hit!

Trivia[]

  • Two quotes were cut from Red Alert 2, but were found in early beta versions of Red Alert 3. They are often restored in mods.
  • Due to an error in animation sequencing in art.ini, the walking animation when facing east will show the first frame of the northeast-facing animation in the game.
  • There is evidence in the code that suggests Tesla Troopers, SEALs, Tanya and Boris were once able to enter and clear garrisons, but then that functionality was disabled before release.[1]

Gallery[]

Cameos[]

English French German Korean Chinese
RA2 Tesla Trooper Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper French Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper German Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper Korean Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper Chinese Cameo
RA2 Tesla Trooper Veteran Icons CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper French Veteran Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper German Veteran Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper Korean Veteran Cameo CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper Chinese Veteran Cameo

Alpha cameo:
CNCRA2 Tesla Trooper Alpha Cameo

References[]

We will bury them! Soviet Third World War Arsenal Death to capitalists!
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