| “ | Considerably outperforms any opponent at close-ranged exchange of fire. Rhino is a living incarnation of indomitable rage, a true berserk of the future. Able to enter assault mode. While in assault mode, Rhino gains protection from built-in shields and loses ability to turn and fire medium weapons. In exchange, his movespeed is increased by 100%, which allows him to break through enemy lines and force enemies into close combat
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- — in-game description
Rhino (Heavy Robot)
The Rhino is a Heavy Robot with 2 Light and 2 Medium hardpoints and the Assault ability. The Rhino can only be purchased in the store for Workshop Points and becomes available at player level 20.
When the Assault mode ability is activated a physical shield deploys in the front of the robot disabling its medium weapons and the Rhino's forward movement speed is increased by 100%. In Assault mode the upper torso movement is also extremely limited to about 5 degrees per second. Similar to the Écu, the Rhino's shield offers protection against energy and gun type weapons, but does not block splash damage weapons. Often times, two Rhinos will charge headfirst into each other to bypass each others shield, reminiscent of actual rhinos fighting in real life.
The Rhino excels as a brawler, using its Assault Mode to quickly get into its weapons' range and then unleashing a devastating barrage of fire. The shield works well for blocking enemy fire while waiting for medium weapons (e.g. R40M Orkans) to reload, with the light weapons providing cover fire.
Although the Rhino is a strong robot and is a fearsome sight in battle, it isn't flawless. Its glacial traverse speed with assault mode activated makes it extremely vulnerable to small, fast robots, especially Cossacks and Stalkers. In addition, remaining in assault mode at ranges less than 100m allows even medium robots to circle the Rhino and quickly get around the frontal shield and out of the line of fire of its light weapons before the shield can be retracted to allow traversing.
The Rhino is also noticeably weak to the CRV Pin, S-25 Tulumbas, and Trident weapons, as their large amount of damage, splash damage properties, and ranges of 500-600m allow for the weapons to damage the Rhino with or without shield, and the robot possessing the weapons can fire in safety, with the extra distance. This is one of the main reasons of why the Russian Death-Button had become popular in competitive play.
An easy way to negate this is to remain at ranges of about 200-300m. For 300m engagements, 2 ×R40M Orkans and 2 × EP Magnums can be very effective. Engaging at this range is particularly effective against enemies using ECC Thunders, as the damage will be significantly decreased due to the wider spread of fire.
Rhinos can be devastating for leading charges on city maps like Shenzhen and Dead City. Pushing up to enemy held beacons and continuing the assault straight into the enemy spawn usually leads to confusion among enemy forces and breakthroughs. The favoured combination of weapons on Rhinos is usually 2 × SURA-F Pinatas or EP Magnums on the light hardpoints (or 2x Aphids),and 2 × E-SG Tarans or R40M Orkans on the medium hardpoints. Especially with Orkans, the burst damage potential on the Rhino is absolutely brutal, meaning you can quickly bring down your opponent’s health, activate Assault Mode, and finish them off with the light weapons. This strategy applies very much to ambushing targets in the spawn area, although this will inevitably lead to the destruction of the robot. However, it gives your team some breathing space to regroup and capture beacons as you draw enemy fire and do large amounts of damage.
Upgrades
| Level | Cost | Health | Shield | Speed (mph) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15,000 WP | 86,000 | 126,000 | 19 | N/A |
| 2 | 8,500 Ag | 92,000 | 133,000 | 20 | 5 min |
| 3 | 33k Ag | 98,000 | 141,400 | 21 | 1 hour |
| 4 | 100k Ag | 104,000 | 149,800 | 21 | 4 hours |
| 5 | 130k Ag | 111,000 | 158,200 | 22 | 10 hours |
| 6 | 500k Ag | 118,000 | 168,000 | 23 | 20 hours |
| 7 | 1mil Ag | 126,000 | 177,800 | 24 | 1 day 8 hours |
| 8 | 2mil Ag | 134,000 | 189,000 | 24 | 1 day 22 hours |
| 9 | 5mil Ag | 143,000 | 200,200 | 25 | 2 days 9 hours |
| 10 | 7mil Ag | 152,000 | 212,800 | 25 | 2 days 21 hours |
| 11 | 15mil Ag | 162,000 | 225,400 | 25 | 4 days 14 hours |
| 12 | 24mil Ag | 172,000 | 240,800 | 25 | 5 days 10 hours |