The Imperial land-dreadnought Marmota was Maximilian's ultimate weapon, designed to both recover and act as a mobile platform for the mighty Valkof.
Information[]
Built to Maximilian's specifications in a joint effort with the Imperial navy, this vehicle blurs the line between tank and battleship in a new class called the "terrestrial dreadnought." Four engines and two propellers work in parallel to power this behemoth, allegedly developed as a mobile platform for the Valkof. An experimental artificial Valkyria apparatus is said to have been installed at the rear of its main deck.
Technical Information[]
Gameplay stats for its components in Chapter 18: Shadow of the Valkyrur (Pt.1)
Left/Right Heat Sink:
- 300 HP, 2500 Defense (Armor-Grade Steel)
These components must be destroyed before the Valkof can be damaged. Despite their very high defense, they have a very high critical multiplier which allows them to be destroyed by rifles or SMGs.
Valkof:
- 21,000 HP, 1600 Defense (Armor-Grade Steel)
Equipment | Aim | Range | vs Pers | vs Armor | Shots | Ammo | Area | Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lance Gatling | B | 2000 | 39 | 655 | 20 | ∞ | X | - |
The Valkof has a full 360 degree firing angle, but can only attack directly behind/below it or approximately 180 degrees from it due to the starboard propeller blocking its view of the initial start position of Squad 7. Because it is so high up, the height multiplier bonus can cause it to deal severe damage or outright destroy the Edelweiss or Shamrock in one attack.
Every other turn starting Turn 2, the Valkof will also charge up an attack directly in front of it as indicated on the map and fires at the end of the enemy phase. Anyone caught in this will be instantly killed with no chance for a medic rescue.
Anti-Tank Turrets
- 3200 HP, 550 Defense (Armor-Grade Steel) (aft)
- 2400 HP, 450 Defense (Armor-Grade Steel) (starboard)
Equipment | Aim | Range | vs Pers | vs Armor | Shots | Ammo | Area | Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kr N33 Pg101 | C | 1000 | 300 | 1000 | 1 | ∞ | X | - |
The Marmota has two pairs of anti-tank turrets: One pair guards the deployment ramp while another faces Squad 7's deployment position. Both share the same equipment, though the aft turrets have higher HP and defense than the starboard ones.
Gatling Turrets
- 2500 HP, 450 Defense (Armor-Grade Steel)
Equipment | Aim | Range | vs Pers | vs Armor | Shots | Ammo | Area | Effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ur MK 311 | B | 450 | 16 | 57 | 7 | ∞ | X | - |
There are three gatling turrets that overlook Squad 7's starting position and will constantly bombard their positions with interception fire. Oddly enough, they deal very little damage vs personnel (exactly half of the ZM MP 5's vsPer the Trooper Elites are equipped with). There are ladders next to them that can be scaled, where a lancer or grenade to the unshielded rear can destroy it in one attack.
Trivia[]
- It's not entirely clear what kind of vehicle the Marmota actually is; Eleanor Varrot describes it as a "battleship on legs" in the briefing for "The Maiden's Shield" but Marmota has no visible structures that resemble legs. Neither does it have visible treads; it seems most likely it's a hovercraft, especially given the use of propellers to drive it. During "Marmota's End" what appear to be tread impressions are visible in front of the Marmota, but on other occasions it does not leave such marks. Early concept drawings of the Marmota do show multiple treads underneath the end closest to the Valkof's mount; it's impossible to tell if these are present in game, since Marmota's underside and lower body is always obscured by dust clouds or rubble.
- The structure resembling a bow is actually the stern and the Marmota spends half the scenes it appears in driving backwards.
- While plans have been made for larger vehicles, the Marmota is around 2,000 tons heavier than the largest land vehicle ever built, a quarry excavator called Bagger 293. The gun mounting seems to be based on the two large pylons either side of the excavator's bucket wheel; more obviously, though, Marmota resembles a hybrid of a pre-Dreadnought ironclad warship and a large commercial hovercraft. The giant spinal gun mirrors a plan by Nazi Germany to mount the massive 80cm Schwerer Gustav ("Dora") railway gun on a land-based chassis, itself an upscaled version of a plan to mount a Krupp K5 railway gun on a pair of converted King Tiger hulls.
- HG Wells' story The Land Ironclads is often said to have anticipated the deployment of the first tanks. Wells' landships were a quarter of the length of the Marmota, but the vehicle itself was actually fairly typical of the way tank design was imagined to be heading in the early days; Armoured vehicles, the size of sea-faring warships, were often thought of as the future of land warfare. Since the Valkyria Chronicles world does not appear to have any military fixed-wing aircraft, such a vehicle could conceivably have ended up being built.
- Marmota is a genus of large terrestrial squirrels, the Groundhog being the most well-known member. Coupled with the Batomys, this may be used to conclude that Imperial designers may have a sense of humor in naming massive machines after small creatures, similar to Nazi Germany having a prototype superheavy tank named "Maus" (Mouse), and planned tank so large it would use a battleship turret named "Ratte" (Rat).
- The 37mm gatlings aboard Marmota are possibly the most pitiful weapon in game, struggling to do much damage to anything but snipers and engineers. This seems odd as they are the largest calibre rapid-fire weapons seen in game.
Gallery[]
Valkyria Chronicles Vehicles | |
---|---|
Gallian Vehicles | Alicia Bakery | Edelweiss | Gallian Light Tank | Gallian Tank Destroyer | Guard Tank | ISARA | Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer (cut) | Shamrock |
Imperial Vehicles | Heavy Imperial Tank | Imperial Tank Destroyer | Light Imperial Tank | Medium Imperial Tank | Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G (cut) |
Boss Vehicles | Batomys | Dromedarius | Equus | Gallian APC | Lupus / Lupus Regnum | Marmota |