Battalion's Backup

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Revision as of 03:51, 10 March 2011 by Strange Quirk (talk | contribs) (Update history)
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The Soldier

The Battalion's Backup is a secondary weapon for the Soldier. It appears as a military backpack-mounted radio transceiver, featuring a folded map secured by a couple of straps and an attached magnetic compass. Accompanying it is a bronze-colored bugle, and a tattered yellow triangular banner that is displayed when the buff is active.

Working essentially in reverse to the Buff Banner, this weapon aims to support teams defensively rather than offensively. Once the player's Rage meter displayed in the HUD is filled through taking roughly 175 damage from other players in a single life, the pack can be used to make all nearby teammates within 450 units (and the player themselves) immune to critical hits and grant them 35% resistance to regular damage for 10 seconds. Rage cannot be gained from fall damage or self-inflicted damage, but it can be given by map effects. All forms of enemy-inflicted damage, including afterburn, give rage.

The critical damage immunity applies to criticals and Mini-Crits for all teammates within the radius, regardless of Critical/Mini-Crit application method. A Scout under the buff using Crit-a-Cola, for example, suffers no negative trade off for his own Mini-Crits. The critical immunity also prevents all increases to knockback normally incurred by a critical hit. The damage resistance stacks multiplicatively with all other damage modifiers, such as Pain Train's hitscan weakness and Chargin' Targe's explosive resistance.

Damage and function times

See also: Damage
Damage and function times
Effect range 450 units
Damage
Charge fill damage 175
Function times
Effect duration 10 s
Activation time 3 s
Values are approximate and determined by community testing.

Self inflicted damage from rocket jumping does not contribute to filling the Rage Meter. Drowning and taking fire damage from torches (such as in Egypt) both contribute to filling the Rage Meter.

Item set

Main article: Item sets
The Tank Buster
Backpack The Tank Buster Bundle.png
Effect

Leave a Calling Card on your victims

Demonstration

Crafting

See also: Crafting

Blueprint

Buff Banner Reclaimed Metal Battalion's Backup
Item icon Buff Banner.png + Item icon Reclaimed Metal.png = Item icon Battalion's Backup.png

As a crafting ingredient

Refined Metal Battalion's Backup Grenadier's Softcap
Item icon Refined Metal.pngx4 + Item icon Battalion's Backup.png = Item icon Grenadier's Softcap.png

Related Achievements

Leaderboard class soldier.png Soldier

The Boostie Boys
The Boostie Boys
Buff 15 teammates with the Buff Banner in a single life.

Update history

September 30, 2010 Patch

  • The item was added to the game.

October 6, 2010 Patch

  • Soldiers no longer maintain their rage level when changing loadout.
  • The Battalion's Backup no longer gives rage for falling damage.

(Beta) March 09, 2011

  • Reduced rage generation rate with by 50%

Bugs

  • If a player activates this weapon's Rage meter and uses the Equalizer taunt, they will fall through the floor or fly backwards instead of being gibbed.
  • Even after the update that fixed accumulating rage from fall damage, there are still ways to build rage that do not involve damage from enemies, such as drowning.
  • If a player activates the weapon and is subsequently backstabbed, it will not register as a critical kill.
  • The Battalion's Backup protects from Crits in humiliation.
  • Players that, whilst deploying the weapon's buff hold down primary fire, will prevent the Soldier from releasing the trumpet and thereby ensure the buff is not activated.
  • The backpack clips with the Soldier's primary weapons.
  • When the bugle is equipped, it clips through the Soldier's hand.

Trivia

  • The Battalion's Backup most closely resembles the US Military's Vietnam-era backpack-mounted radio transceiver, the AN/PRC-77.

Gallery

See also