Marathon-class heavy cruiser

UNSC Marathon-class heavy cruiser Cost: 950 | 250 | 90 Build Time: 32 seconds. Uses: 20 supply.   Hull: 6000 Armor: 8 Experience value: 30 Squadrons: 9   MAC Damage: 2500 MAC Cooldown: 60 seconds   Archer Missile Damage: 250 Archer Missile Cooldown: 7.5 seconds   AAA Helix Gun Damage: 17.5 AAA Helix Gun Cooldown: 4 seconds       Shiva nuclear missile Missile barrage Intercept   The Marathon-class is quite possibly the most well rounded ship in the UNSC navy. Armed with twin MACs, numerous Archer pods, and the ability to overdrive its engines, Marathon cruisers can fill almost any role imaginable.

 

Overview

The Marathon-class is essentially a buffed up cruiser that takes up a capital ship slot. Cheap and quick to build for a capital ship, they are powerful units to have within your fleet. Their powerful engines allow them to operate in fast-moving harassment fleets or return quickly to assist in defending a planet.

History

Replacing the Halcyon-class as the navy's general-purpose cruiser, the Marathon-class quickly grew in popularity among the fleets. During the Insurrection, their superior armor, heavy weapons and jack-of-all-trades design allowed them to take on even fleets of inferior rebel ships. As they were often tasked leading battlegroups, very few missions led to the destruction of these cruisers, and they continued to serve the UNSC well for many years.

When the Covenant arrived, however, the Marathon-class' success took a steep fall. Unlike the cruisers they were built to replace, the Marathon's inferior structural support and armor made them susceptible to the advanced Covenant weaponry, resulting in huge amounts of these cruisers being destroyed in the early years of the war. When it became clear that their foe's advance was not slowing down, all remaining cruisers were recalled to defend the most important Inner Colony worlds. While a small number of these cruisers survived the war, their ineffectiveness against the Covenant led to themselves being replaced by the Autumn-class Heavy Cruiser - ironically a modification of the ships they were supposed to replaced.

Weapons and Tactical Usage

This ship comes with a twin MAC gun that fires twice as fast as the Halberd-class destroyer. It has a substantial armament of Archer missiles, but a lackluster compliment of point defense guns. This vessel is definitely a threat by that alone, however its abilities set it apart from cruisers. Especially the ability to fire a Hyperion nuclear missile.

Due to their low fleet supply, they can be built almost as numerously as the Halcyon-class light cruiser, only limited by capital ship slots. Use these with one's large frigate fleets to provide extra firepower. This should be the most numerous capital ship one fields.

Credits

Old model

• Model - Annihilater102
• Texture  - Annihilater102

New model

• Model - Malcontent1692
• Texture - Malcontent1692

Gallery

Render of the old model.

External links

• Marathon-class heavy cruiser (halo.wikia)