Mass destruction weapon
Mass destruction weapon is any weapon (structure or mobile unit) that can inflict a great deal of damage during a very short time, is long-range (or has unlimited range) and takes considerable time and resources to deploy.
Most popular mass destruction weapons are the nuclear missile silos. Unlike other RTS games, in XTA they are relatively cheap and quick to build and can fire quite rapidly. However, equally efficient and cheap defense systems exist, which neccesitates a bomber raid in order to destroy anti-nuke defenses before nuking. When enemy has porced with anti-air, it can be troublesome. A solution is to raid or swarm the enemy, but on some maps it is impossible.
Another weapon that can be considered mass-destruction is the long-range plasma cannon. In both Absolute Annihilation and XTA Pimped Edition, it comes in a normal and rapid-firing variant, the latter being much more expensive and less accurate. In comparison with nukes, LRPCs' range is limited, which makes them less useful on large maps. There are shield generator systems to protect player from plasma bombarment in Absolute Annihilation. XTA does not have any unit able to deflect the bombarment. They are more expensive to build than nuke silos (in most mods they are one of the most expensive structures), can take ages to construct without several construction units helping and draw extremely large portions of energy when firing (especially the rapid-firing variant, which needs a dedicated fusion plant to fire continuously). However, economical strain of building such a cannon is greatly rewarded, as the player who constructed it can break through chokepoints without losing a single unit, given the chokepoint is in range of fire, or even demolish the enemy base. It must be noted that the cannon is not invincible and can be quickly destroyed by a nuke strike or bomber raid, which puts the owner way behind the competition (as he spent most of his resources building the cannon). This neccesitates an anti-air and anti-nuke support, which raises the cannon's nonetheless jawdropping cost even more.
The commander itself can also be used as a mass destruction weapon, due to an overwhelming explosion which follows its destruction. Usually, this is done late game by flying an air transport carrying the commander into enemy's anti-air defense or self-destructing this transport over enemy's base. This tactic is known as commander bombing or, when enemy commander is used, commander kidnapping
In some mods, there exist mobile nuclear missile silos or mobile long range plasma cannons (i. e. AA), which are generally weaker than their stationary counterparts, but are less prone to air or nuke attacks due to mobility. Also missiles fired from these weapon systems are usually non-interceptable, making them good at taking out anti-missile structures.
