The Prowler is the Terran Republic’s MBT. It is not a siege tank despite what its abilities may suggest, but excels in an ambusher role. It lacks the durability to sustain engagements as well as the speed to escape from other tanks, but makes up for this with excellent handling and incredible firepower. Prowler alpha strike capacity is the highest of all tanks, and skilled drivers will make use of this and the tank’s abilities to punish enemy vehicles with no fear of retaliation.

Prowler strengths

  • When anchored, the prowler has the highest shell velocity in the game, with 375 m/s shell speed for AP and 300 m/s for HEAT/HESH. This gives the Prowler unparalleled performance in regards to landing opening salvoes, especially when paired with the Gatekeeper top gun.
  • The damage dealt from landing both shells gives the Prowler the highest alpha-strike capacity in the game, and is fully capable of one-shotting lightnings in certain circumstances.
  • When equipped with racer chassis, the Prowler has a top speed of 79 KPH. This makes it marginally faster than a Magrider not using a mobility build or a Vanguard with racer chassis. Crucially, the Prowler is much easier to control at high speed than a Vanguard, and doesn’t suffer from negative mouse acceleration while turning like the Magrider.

Prowler weaknesses

  • HP pool of 5000 is the same as that of a magrider, and 1000 HP less than that of a vanguard.
  • Main guns have a shell velocity of 250/200 m/s when unanchored. This gives poor shell trajectories.
  • While the Prowler’s dual barrel design may give it significant alpha damage potential, this becomes a double edged sword for any missed shots. Newer players should become comfortable with pulling down the barrel for continuous two-shot volleys and spacing out their shots when aiming at mobile targets from a distance or while shooting on while mobile on bumpy terrain.
  • P2-120 HEAT has mediocre direct and indirect damage coupled with poor shell velocity, which can make it a very frustrating weapon in the hands of new players.
  • The tank is significantly wider than a Vanguard or Magrider, which somewhat restricts movement in areas with lots of props.
  • Resupplying ammunition while firing can occasionally cause a phantom third shell to be loaded. This third shell in the salvo does no damage. Resupplying while firing can also trigger a double reload glitch.
  • Prowler main guns are extremely loud and also very unique. Likewise, the Vulcan and Gatekeeper also have very unique firing sounds, so trigger discipline must be observed to remain undetected.

Anchored Mode

Anchored mode is the Prowler’s passive ability increases main cannon shell velocity by 50%. The tank becomes locked down like an artillery piece while this ability is in use. Because of this, it’s prudent to only use anchored mode sparingly- a stationary tank is a dead tank. Anchored mode is best used to guarantee the first hits connect against a target you’re attacking. With 375 m/s AP shell velocity missing is extremely difficult, and even if a targeted vanguard shields after the two shells land you will win the DPS race. The improved shell velocity also makes sniping ESFs very easy.

Here’s a demonstration of the difference between unanchored and anchored modes:

Prowler Chassis Options

Defense

In the defense slot, the prowler has the common pool modules listed in the general tanking information guide, as well as the empire-specific Rampart Projector. Of the ES defensive modules, Vehicle Stealth is by far the most popular amongst skilled drivers.

Rampart Projector

The Prowler’s signature defense option is the Rampart Projector, which creates a hard light barrier in a half sphere around the prowler’s front. It reduces incoming damage by 10-20% from the front, but damage to the barrier is applied directly to the prowler’s health pool. Because of this, it is recommended to use the barrier with heavy support from allied repair sunderers and engineers to fully take advantage of this resistance buff.

One must be aware however that the downside of having the rampart shield up when deployed is a significant increase of the Prowler’s hitbox. While of course this makes it easier for targets to hit you in general, don’t be discouraged from using this loadout on long-range loadouts as being deployed makes you an easy target to hit in general and gives you benefits during engagements beyond the range that defense slots such as stealth may give you. 

Drivers using rampart should always be aware of how much damage they are taking or how much damage they could take when anchoring down during an engagement. Newer drivers may experience the thrill of false invincibility when tanking damage but large groups of tanks can easily burst them down if they aren’t aware of their surroundings. Over time, drivers should be comfortable to rapidly deploy the shield to absorb damage in the case of unplanned CQC engagements (deploy, absorb a shot, undeploy and turn to keep front armor facing) or undeploy the shield at angles where incoming rounds could hit the shield but can be dodged just by undeploying.

Rampart Projector in action.

Stealth Module

The stealth module defense option removes the Prowler from being auto spotted on the minimap at 75/50/20m and completely prevents the vehicle from being auto spotted at max rank. Max rank also increases lock-on time of rocket launchers by 1 second.

Stealth is the usual tanker’s go to when it comes to flexible survivability for the defense slot as being invisible on the minimap makes it easier to maneuver or sneak around targets as long as direct line of sight is broken. Keep in mind that stealth doesn’t mute your tank engine so enemies sitting in areas with minimal noise interference can easily hear tanks sneaking up from behind if they have a sense of awareness. 

Close-range and Medium-range loadouts benefit from this ability the most to easily push unaware targets from behind or to charge smoking targets hiding behind cover. Long-range loadouts can potentially benefit from stealth in forced CQC engagements or aircraft passing by but doesn’t get the direct benefit that the rampart shield can give when shelling from long range.

Utility

Fire Suppression

Fire Suppression brings the tank out of the burning state and heals 20% of HP, making it a great choice for solo tanks or new drivers due to its forgiving nature. Investment improves cooldown time.

Barrage

–Barrage increases main gun ROF by 30% for 15 seconds. This allows for extremely punishing follow-up strikes against ambushed tanks. When combined with the anchored mode it’s possible to nuke targets from range before they can retaliate effectively or disengage. In comparison to Fire Suppression, Barrage offers significantly more firepower at the expense of survivability and can be very powerful in the hands of a skilled driver. Investment improves cooldown time.

Barrage Particle Effect:

Smoke Screen–Smoke Screen generates a dense smoke cloud around the vehicle which blocks map auto spotting, and breaks lock-on attempts for 8 seconds. Investment reduces cooldown time. In comparison to the survivability and firepower increases offered by Fire Suppression and Barrage, the benefits of Smoke Screen are minimal, and its benefits can be partly replicated through the use of the stealth defensive module and terrain to block lock-ons.