| “ | Ready for extinction level event. - Gorgon |
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The Gorgon is a self-propelled howitzer used by the Russian Federation.
Lore
The Gorgon is the self-propelled version of a 152mm howitzer that was introduced in the late 1980s. Its high explosive shells are powerful enough to hammer any opponent into submission within a few moments but the vehicle's greatest claim to fame lies in its rarer variant, the Koalitsiya-SV, which is fitted with an 'over-and-under' dual cannon that increases the Gorgon's otherwise mediocre rate of fire to downright frightening levels and it slightly improves range.
Abilities
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
 Ground Attack |
Order the unit to continuously attack the target area. |
 Deploy Smoke Screen |
Launch four smoke grenades in front of the vehicle, creating a smokescreen that lasts for 3.5 seconds and make nearby enemies blindly fire at the smokescreen if they are not firing at something else. 30 seconds cooldown. |
 Precision Bombardment Mode |
The Gorgon fires their howitzer in precision mode in which the shells fired accurately hits the target. Useful against single targets. |
 Area Bombardment Mode |
The Gorgon fires their howitzer in area mode in which the shells fired are dispersed over a small area. Useful against multiple targets. |
Overview
The Gorgon is Russia's SPG. Armed with a 152mm howitzer, it has excellent range and damage, but lacks any outright advantage over the other artillery until upgraded. It does not have any AOE damage, such as with the Inferno or Nuke Cannon, and it lacks the range or tracking advantage as the US Tomahawk. Nor does it do as much damage as the Mortar Track or Grad. So at first glance it seems inferior to the other artillery pieces.
Thankfully, this is not the case. Unlike the Nuke Cannon, the Gorgon does not require a General's Point to unlock. Additionally, it has better range than the Inferno cannon, and has the fastest rate of fire of any artillery, especially if upgraded.
After building an Industrial Plant, the Gorgon becomes cheaper than most other tier 2 artillery pieces. After the Advanced Artillery System upgrade it gains a second barrel to double its rate of fire, making it effective at saturating a target with a large volume of shells and gains 5% better range. While the Gorgon is mostly about rate of fire, its mobility and range lend itself to the role of an assault SPG, fire, then move. The Gorgon shells are mostly HE shells, so do not expect the enemy to be forced to move due to AOE effects, but on the plus side the shells are impossible to intercept.
The main thing to remember with the Gorgon is that it is a basic SPG, with no fancy tech or AOE effects to make it super-powerful. So using it is not difficult, and with the MTP recovery vehicle around, you can 'resurrect' destroyed Gorgons in seconds.
Tactics
Since the Gorgon lacks any effective AOE effects and the tracking ability of the US Tomahawk missile, the focus of the Gorgon becomes defense crusher. Use Gorgons in groups of 3 or more, and target base defenses, like bunkers, garrisoned buildings, etc. Do not use Gorgons against vehicle convoys, as the vehicles generally move faster than the shell take to be fired and explode: that task is best left to the BRDM if it is available.
If tank columns are threatening your base, and all you have are Gorgons, then use the barrage function to have them shell in front of the column, and stagger the Gorgons firing, that way you always have a shell landing in front of the column. This should counter the tank threats, unless you have a lot of tanks to worry about, or if they are coming in from many directions.
Gorgons should be guarded by light AA vehicles, as any attack helicopter will take its time to kill the artillery. Also some other threats to Gorgons are bombers and other artillery. If you come under fire, move your Gorgon back and send in the counter to force the enemy back.
Counters
As stated in Tactics, the Gorgon is not great against tank columns, and lacks any sort of defence against air threats. So countering them depends on how the enemy is using them.
If the enemy is using Gorgons in a large group and by themselves, then the best approach would be by a general strike on them or a attack helicopter wing. It kills the Gorgons incredibly fast as well as makes it impossible for them to counter with only Gorgons.
If the Gorgons in question are guarded by light AA vehicles or a base defence, then the method involved changes to a heavy tank attack, as the Gorgons are highly ineffective against heavy tanks. The heavy tanks should only focus on the Gorgon and not on the base defence.
If the Gorgons in question are guarded by a mixed defence, the only counter is a counter-battery with your choice of artillery. Nuke Cannons are highly effective due to their large blast radius, but Tomahawk missiles can track retreating Gorgons down.
Assessment
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Quotes
The Gorgon is voiced by Kii "ComradeCrimson" McKenzie.
Prior to 1.85 the Gorgon uses the Rhino Tank's voiceset in Red Alert 2.
- See: Russian unit quotes#Gorgon
Gallery
Behind the scenes
- Prior to 1.87 the Gorgon is named Msta.
