NOTE: Players cannot switch between front and rear seats.
Armament
The HH-b “Hoplite” is equipped with one main armament:
Tripod Mount
An empty mount at the rear facing forward where a Mounted Weapon can be installed (90 degree firing arc)
Inventory
It has 2 inventory slots and 3 dedicated ammo slots that can only hold ammunition for the mounted weapon. Depending on the weapon installed, it can hold:
The HH-b “Hoplite” has 1500 HP and is disabled under 30% health. It has "Light Armor" resistance: it can soak small arms fire and shrapnel, and it is immune to Flamethrowers. It can soak 12.7mm machine gun fire but not for long. Heavy explosives and anti-tank weaponry are an extremely dangerous threat to it. It has subsystems that have a chance to be disabled by heavy explosives and anti-tank weaponry if hit specifically: Tracks: 30% (Anti-Tank Mines always disable them). It has Tank Armor. With it, in best case scenario, penetrating projectiles only have a 65% chance of penetrating and doing damage. That chance goes up quickly if the armor is worn or if it is shot from up close, or on the side or rear from a direct angle, or with ammo that has penetration bonuses. It takes 110 Basic Materials to fully repair it from 1% to 100% health with a Hammer. Its health, subsystems, and Tank Armor can be instantly repaired at a Garage for 100 Basic Materials.
Interactions
Mounting a tripod weapon - press B then LMB on the vehicle
Must be holding the tripod weapon and the blueprint shown on top of it
Dismounting a tripod weapon - open up the vehicle's menu and click the "Detach Tripod Weapon" button (located in the bottom right corner)
The HH-b "Hoplite", like all Half-Tracks, can only handle targets in front of them. As such, it is best to keep them facing towards the enemy at all times, and protect them from flanks. Additionally, the Gunner (and any Passengers in the back) can be killed if directly hit by weapons, so extra care must be taken to ensure this does not happen. In any case where retreating is necessary, the driver should reverse instead of turning around so the Gunner isn't exposed and can still defend the vehicle.
Despite having tougher armor compared to the HH-a "Javelin", it is still a relatively weak vehicle. It is capable of dealing with Armored Cars and Tankettes, but more late-game vehicles like Light Tanks, Medium Tanks, and Battle Tanks will quickly destroy them. Additionally, heavier anti-armor weapons will be unlocked, which have higher penetration power and will quickly shred light armor.
Half-Track Versatility
Due to its ability to swap mounted weapons, its relative good on-road and off-road speeds, and its 5 passenger seats, it can be used either as an armored infantry carrier, an armored infantry support, an anti-armor vehicle, or an anti-structure vehicle. The only issue with this is the amount of ammo that can be used at one time, so the effectiveness will vary. Additionally, depending on what faction controls it, the type of tripod weapon will limit what targets the vehicle can effectively attack.
Due to the tripod mount, a tripod weapon MUST be mounted in order to make the vehicle combat effective. If not, then the vehicle will be unable to defend itself, with any anti-armor weapon able to attack it and destroy it without any worries of the vehicle retaliating.
With its towing capability and its multiple passenger seats, the Hoplite is ideal for the transport and support of a field weapon and its crew. After driving to the desired location, the passengers can disembark, unhitch the Field Weapon, and operate the field weapon while the Hoplite crew covers them, resupply them, and help them relocate somewhere else quickly if needed.
One of the rear passengers can serve as a spotter/commander for the crew by using binoculars.
Standard Equipment Loadout
Like with every other armored vehicle, the crew should ALWAYS equip themselves with a Gas Mask and multiple Filters to avoid dying to Gas Grenades. Additionally, they should bring a Hammer and Basic Materials to repair the tank. These tactics can be buffed by wearing either a Tank Uniform or an Engineer Uniform.
Trivia
A Hoplite was a type of citizen-soldier in ancient Greece, famous for fighting in densely packed formations known as Phalanxes
The model of the HH-b “Hoplite” was the default Colonial half-track before the introduction of vehicle variants in Update 0.37
This update removed the player's ability to stand on the rear deck of the vehicle in a fashion similar to Landing APCs and Barges, which was replaced with a pair of passenger seats
Prior to Update 0.47, all half-tracks had a 12.7mm machine gun mounted on top of them
This update changed that, which removed the machine gun, allowing any tripod weapon to be mounted
This change meant that half-tracks required additional logistical support in order to be combat-ready
Half-tracks could also only hold two Passengers in the rear, but that was increased to four
Gallery
A HH-b “Hoplite” from the front (does not have a mounted weapon attached)
A HH-b “Hoplite” from the rear (does not have a mounted weapon attached)
A Tier 3 HH-b “Hoplite” with a “Typhon” ra.XII mounted and with two passengers in the rear
A pre-Update 0.47 HH-b “Hoplite”, which has a permanent machine gun mounted on top
