Overview[]
The Bertha is one of several species of Champion Monovision encountered in Iron Brigade. Whilst all Monovisions, being engineered, lack genders, the Bertha is the only one considered "female" by most.
Based on the same chassis as a Big Willie, the Bertha will advance on objectives like all Champion Monovisions - with the difference being that unlike other similar creatures, Bertha's close-combat abilities, whilst effective, are not as effective as those of her counterparts, nor are they her main threat - instead, Berthas will (appropriately enough) birth swarms of Knobs to overwhelm defenses. A Bertha will stop moving in order to spawn, hatches on its sides opening to release a flood of Knobs, then continue its determined advance towards the objective.
Like all large-scale Monovisions, the Bertha will drop considerable amounts of Scrap when destroyed, and usually a Loot Box as well. Of note, however, is that in her death throes, the Bertha will release one last formation of Knobs. These Knobs do not count toward ending the wave, and often get stuck beneath her during the death animation.
A Bertha will emit a loud, low roaring, accompanied by the loud rumbling of a Knob formation, when she emerges from a Conduit. It will, virtually without exception, be accompanied by a swarm of Knobs.
Tactics for Disposal[]
As is the case for all Champion Monovisions, Bertha is not very fast and thus extremely vulnerable to being slowed down by Dampening Generators. This will also slow the Bertha's knob swarms, allowing Mobile Trench Brigade pilots more time to deal with them both.
One thing of note is that the Bertha's explosive children can also be her Achilles heel. When spawning Knobs, canny pilots using a Machine Gun with Piercing or Ricochet, or using a Broadcaster with the Deathsplosion ability, can cause considerable damage to the Bertha by destroying her knobs whilst they're under her.
"Big Bertha" stops everytime she wants to make knobs and she does this on a timer so keep in mind that minelayers can be place where she stops. plus if "Big Bertha" is being escorted by jacobs it will also kill them with the splash damage.
Other than this, Bertha should be handled the same way players should handle all Champion Monovisions - with maximum firepower. Berthas are not as durable as Amplifiers, but are tougher than Arties and Big Willies, so focused fire is recommended.
Player Notes[]
- "Big Bertha" was a radio handle common to CB-frequency radio operators, along with "Big Willie," both indicating operators of large-scale commercial trucks. This falls in line with similar naming schemes for the Monovisions, which use references to Radio and Television.
- Much like a Big Willie, Bertha is capable of destroying emplacements by stepping on them.