Cicada

A Cicada shooting its rockets.

The Cicada is a flying vehicle, first seen in Unreal Tournament 2004 with the Editor's Choice Bonus Pack. It has two seats.

Features

Pilot

The Cicada is known to be less flexible in turning than the Raptor, but it is more apt at climbing and diving. The primary fire sends a stream of rockets towards a point with limited precision. The alternate fire marks a point that will be attacked when the corresponding button is released (or the maximum capacity is reached) by up to 16 rockets. (When the primary fire button is pressed and held while the rockets are being loaded using the alternate fire button, the loading pauses.)

Gunner

The Cicada's anti-AVRiL flare

The second position gives access to a rapid-firing laser cannon that is instrumental in protecting the vehicle. The gunner's HUD also marks incoming homing missiles (such as those of an AVRiL or a Raptor), which, via the gunner's alternate fire, can be lured away from the Cicada using a flare.

The Cicada is notable for continuing to hover in the air even if only the gunner (and no pilot) is present. It falls to the ground when both seats are vacant.

Tactics

The primary purpose of the Cicada is for taking out enemy Power Nodes. As a flying vehicle, it is designed to reach enemy Power Nodes before ground attackers, especially on terrain that is extremely rough and forces ground troops to detour around areas that they cannot climb over. This type of terrain is where the cicada truely excels. Using its secondary fire, it can mark the enemy node, and then, due to it's fast ascent/descent rate, duck safely behind a hill while it loads it's massive payload of rockets. However, some skill is needed in marking the node precisely while the cicada bobs up and down in the air. This tactic of hiding behind terrain while loading rockets, coupled with a skilled gunner, makes the Cicada one of the best tools in a team's arsenal for direct node assault.