Manta

Unreal Tournament 2004
The Manta is one of the six vehicles introduced in Unreal Tournament 2004.

Description
The Manta is a very lightweight, very agile hovercraft-type vehicle. It has neither strong armor (200 HP) nor much firepower. Its main strength is its agility. Due to this, it is mainly feared by infantry which can easily get squished by the Manta.

The Manta's fans suck in the ribbon which the Scorpion shoots and receives additional damage from it. However, if the Manta can stay away far enough it can dodge the Scorpion's shots and kill it with ease. Part of being a good Manta pilot involves keeping your Manta serviceable for as long as possible, while knowing when to dump the Manta before it is too late.

Jumping
Unlike wheeled vehicles, the Manta is able to jump. When the jump key is pressed, the Manta will quickly rise several feet into the air, and gently float back down to the surface. This move is useful to allow the Manta to ascend steeper hills and cliffs, and also to position the vehicle over an enemy's head to perform a pancake. After a jump has been performed, the pilot must wait a few seconds, as indicated by a bar gauge, before the Manta is ready to jump again. Also, a jump can only be performed when the vehicle hovering just above the ground or water surface.

Pancake!
Aside from the usual method of killing enemies by running into them with the vehicle, a more challenging and more fun method of killing enemies is to pancake them. This can be done by positioning the Manta above the enemy by jumping, and then using the alternate fire or the crouch key to quickly descend, crushing the player like a pancake and doing so much damage that the hit is almost always an instant kill.

Primary Fire
The primary fire shoots a plasma projectile from the front of the Manta that does 30 damage with a direct hit. Although an individual plasma projectile does not do much damage on its own, the vehicle's rapid firing rate will allow the pilot to quickly chip away the health of an enemy or the energy of a power node rather easily.

Usage in Vehicle CTF
If a flag carrier enters a Manta in VCTF, he drops the flag immediately, just like he does when he enters a Raptor or Cicada. This is due to balancing, because a Manta driver could quickly get out of range of everyone and would therefore be nearly uncatchable.

The Manta can also be useful for squishing enemy flag carriers, especially if the carrier is distracted by other players.

Manta Run
Although a flag can't be transported in a Manta, in UT2004 a flag carrier can stand on either one the Manta's wings or (more infrequently) on top of the Manta so the driver can transport them. This is commonly called a Manta run. Some people see the Manta run as an exploit, yet some see it as a valid tactic, so most VCTF servers allow Manta runs. In UT3 Manta runs are no longer possible. Players that try to stand on the wings will get sucked into the rotor and turned into gibs.

Manta runs are also useful in Onslaught when vehicles are rare and the team needs to get to the front as fast as possible.

It has also been confirmed that Epic are not allowing Manta Runs in Unreal Tournament 3. If you try, then you will get sucked into the fans and turned into gibs.

Manta Jettison Attack
Sometimes Mantas can get low health quite quickly, and you want to be sure you take down your enemies before your die in the vehicle. To do a Manta Jettison, simply use Alt-Fire, until you get close to the opponent, then exit the vehicle, the manta will go flying into the enemy, crushing them. Also, you can use this if you don't want to take damage, but want to make a suprise attack. Then after using, you can go back in the Manta, its like a frisbee, except with spikes and blades.

Manta Minelayer
Mantas can also be used as transports for Mines from the mine layer, just shoot them at the wings. Maximum of 3 mines per wing, otherwise the fourth one will explode causing nearby damage. So you can take a quick trip to a powernode and defeat any pesky units that stand in your way.

Unreal Tournament 3
"Thanks to its ultra-lightweight armor and unmatched agility, the Axon IFV Manta has repeatedly proven itself on battlefields across the galaxy. The Manta is propelled by two flush-mounted, magnetically impelled fans which can be instantly pitched, allowing the vehicle to leap high into the air, then quickly duck below incoming obstacles or enemy fire. Its superior agility is paired with two multi-stage plasma casters that burn hot and reload quickly, making the Manta particularly effective in suppressing enemy infantry."

- UT3 manual

Going against the Manta
If you have the AVRiL or are in a Raptor and there's at least some distance between you and the Manta, you have almost won. Otherwise if you're on foot and there's an enemy Manta nearby, start making plans for after your respawn.


 * TODO: How effective is the Impact Hammer's EMP mode against an incoming Manta?