The Devastator was a vehicle used by House Harkonnen during the First Spice War and the Battle for Dune.

The first iteration of the Devastator, used in the First Spice War, was a massive tank with a fixed turret carrying two plasma cannons. It was extremely slow and vulnerable to Sandworms but had thick armour that allowed it to withstand plenty of returning fire from enemy weapons. It was also capable of self-destructing to cause a massive explosion in an attempt to take out nearby enemies.

The second iteration of the Devastator was used during the Battle for Dune by House Harkonnen. This Devastator was as a 'mech-like' vehicle that walked on three legs. Like its predecessor, it too was a slow, heavily-armoured vehicle capable of self-destructing and was armed with plasma cannons, but it also carried a missile launcher for use against lighter and more mobile threats such as infantry and Ornithopters. It was also capable of being transported by advanced, militarized versions of the Carryall, which made up for its extremely slow movement. The engine of this version of Devastator can be set to overload which results in a huge blast that destroys the machine and deals heavy damage to anything nearby. Both iterations are accesible to high tier only.

Behind the scenes

• Both the Devastator tank and the Devastator walker are implied to run on atomic fuel and are categorized "Atomics", similar to the original book series's Stone burner. Designer notes from Dune II indicate they were designed to circumvent the laws concerning atomic warfare^[1] by being merely "atomic-powered", and not strictly using said atomic power for offensive purposes. Storyline-wise, the fact they create a nuclear explosion when destroyed was rationalised as merely an unfortunate side effect, and the existence of their deliberate self-destruct function was most likely kept secret.
• In Emperor: Battle for Dune, the Devastator's reactor is heavily implied to leak radiation into the crew compartment, as the unit's dialogue includes lines such as "Radiation level high, but not toxic." and "I feel sick."
• "Devastator" was the codename for beta test 1 for Stormgate. The codename was derived from the Devastator unit.^[2]

Appearances

• Dune II
• Dune 2000
• Emperor: Battle for Dune

References