Orion-class assault carrier

UNSC Orion-class Cost: 1100 | 300 | 200 Build Time: 50 seconds. Uses: 1 command, 25 supply.   Hull: 8000 Armor: 8 Provisions: 24 Squadrons: 4   MAC Damage: 48 MAC Cooldown:   Missile Damage: 40 Missile Cooldown:   AA Autocannon Damage: 30 AA Autocannon Cooldown:   Nuclear Missile Damage: 21 Nuclear Missile Cooldown:   Planet Bombing Damage: 45   Colonize Salvage Debris Onboard Factory   Offensive assault ship - Combines infrastructure and firepower. Capable of carrying a large amount of supplies, equipment, and troops, enough firepower to cripple most insurrectionist craft, and able to aide in colonization, the Orion is analogous to the Marathon in its utility and efficiency.

 

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"The Innies will learn to fear my name." An Orion captain preparing for battle

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The Orion-class assault carrier is a heavy support ship in service to the United Nations Space Command.

It excels in the carrying out and support of planetary invasions.

Overview

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During the Insurrection the Orion-class was a symbol of order, as well as an extremely effective instrument of war that could project a solid UNSC presence on entire worlds when it arrived. The carrier comes with state of the art factories and hangars to produce, produce, and house assets for ground combat elements and can deploy hordes of UNSC forces to lock down any planet. The Orion's shipyard description

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History

The 2,220 meter Orion-class assault carrier was built for war against rebellious human colonies during the Insurrection. The class was conceived as a new type of carrier that could directly aid the UNSC's sustained ground operations in addition to maintaining aerospace control over contested worlds. Throughout the Insurrection, the appearance of a battle group led by an Orion-class assault carrier was seen as a symbol of the UNSC's military strength.

As the Human-Covenant War began in 2525, Orion-class assault carriers often served as flagships, serving in numerous battles throughout the Outer Colonies in desperate defensive actions against the Covenant. The Covenant War saw the destruction of most Orion-class carriers as many of these vessels sacrificed themselves to buy time for civilians and troops to be evacuated to the Inner Colonies. The remaining vessels of the Orion-class formed the core of long-range battle groups that attempted to disrupt Covenant supply lines and staging areas, with limited success.

Weapons and Tactical Usage

The Orion was made to assault worlds, carrying out planetary bombings, and help support the construction of new colonies. It is one of the first capital ships available to the player along with the Marathon-class heavy cruiser, and can be built without research. With the ability to bombard and colonize planets while giving and taking a decent beating on its own, the Orion shines as an all-in-one early game colonizer. Being an assault carrier, the Orion can house up to four squadrons at a time to further enhance your fleet's assault or anti-air ability.

Its abilities allow the UNSC to rapidly take ground at all game stages and to make the most of anything available:

• Colonize: Sends supplies and personnel down to the surface of a planet to create a new outpost. For a brief time, this planet will also have access to additional construction frigates.
  • Claims unowned planets for your faction and temporarily spawns additional Gyges Construction Drones to aid in rebuilding. Can be set to autocast.
• Salvage Debris: By salvaging the remains of friendly warships right after their destruction, the Orion can reclaim a significant amount of resources into the available pool to reuse in future warships. In addition, a small portion can be converted into provisions.
  • Automatically converts hulks of lost friendly UNSC spaceships into resources in a large radius.

• Onboard Factory: Activate the onboard factories on the Orion. While active, the Orion's main engines will be shut down, but it will improve the build rate of planet upgrades and stations for the planet it orbits.
  • Immobilizes the ship but increases construction and upgrades for the nearby owned planet.

The combination of all three abilities make an Orion, particularly a well-upgraded one, extremely potent in establishing a foothold on a newly-taken planet. While armed with a pair of MACs, allowing it to handle most Insurrectionist ships and being moderately tough, she is not suited to direct combat with the Covenant, and should be kept at the center of a fleet and away from heavily defended enemy worlds if at all possible.

Gallery

Trivia

• Credit to Malcontent1692 for the model and texture.
• Voiced by "Ken," the Orion-class's commander often voices a supreme dislike of the Insurrectionists.
• AI seem to often focus down the Orion even if much deadlier and more expensive warships stand between them.