Artillery position

Artillery position is a mode-switch ability: “Shifts all systems to artillery mode. Fires at long range across an area.” Demo build 23882143 records a 5-second cooldown. Related placement components also contain terrain and conversion settings, and the carriers have weapon records of their own. The short ability entry is therefore not proof that no range, damage or placement information exists elsewhere in the extraction. Cooldown is not the same as the time taken by the transformation. Inspect the selected carrier and the available placement before assuming the artillery mode can be used immediately in a close fight.

Dreadnought has a calculated anti-vehicle output of 125 damage per second in demo build 23882143; its mineral cost is 700. Those are chassis and weapon values, not a measured bonus from Artillery position. The linked records connect the mode to placement and conversion behaviour rather than a separate purchase. This supports treating it as a choice for the existing carrier, but not a claim that all guns remain active or that the unit has no close-range response. Compare the carrier’s weapons and the selected mode before assigning the output to a particular firing setup.

The description says the mode fires “across an area”. Mercenary factories record an area coefficient of 0.0, the Empire Additional generator −0.5, and Trench and Bunker 0.6. These are target-defence fields, not a verified calculation of the mode’s effectiveness. Prepare the position with room for placement and consider the actual weapons of the carrier. If using Artillery guidance as well, check its Hold Position condition separately. Neither the wording about an area nor the presence of both abilities proves that switching automatically enables unlimited-range fire.

The phrase “Shifts all systems” describes a system change but does not prove that every other weapon is disabled. Dreadnought records an area coefficient of 0.5, while BREM records 0.7; those values do not establish a universal preference for direct fire over splash. Closing the distance may pressure a long-range position, but the active weapons and nearby escort determine whether it is safe. Watch the transformation and the resulting fire rather than assuming a helpless interval. A cooldown field cannot supply the duration of that interval or a guaranteed opportunity to rush the carrier.