Tanks Through Time - The story so far..

HBFT:   Tanks Through Time (Month-Long) "Legend has it that humanity once faced a threat so terrifying that we found ourselves on the verge of extinction. From this bitter struggle arose an organization of knights tasked with the discovery and protection of lost artifacts -- The Conclave.   Hailed as the saviors of humanity, these knights defended our right to exist by using technology that let them create replicas of four ancient weapons. While records are hazy, it's believed that The Conclave, having secured humanity’s future, utilized temporal runes to send these weapons through time, never to be seen again.   Decades later, The Conclave has evolved into a band of experienced treasure hunters. Having proven yourself in The Gauntlet, you have now been called upon by The Conclave to seek and recover something they once thought was lost for all time..."     Mission: Hunter - Rising Star: Every 3 Completions "Some call us thieves. Some call us cavalier adventurers. Though Treasure Hunters come from all walks of life, The Conclave is always watching for its brightest stars."   Mission: Hunter - Elite: 14 Completions "My father used to tell me that Treasure Hunters have to look out for one another...and only those who proved to The Conclave that they numbered among the elite were granted the very best tools."   Mission: Bushido - Way of the Warrior "All types answered the The Conclave's call. These warriors from the East were new to our lands, but it took them little to no time at all to adapt to the lifestyle."   Gifts from The Conclave (Premium Shop) "There is much about The Conclave that is a mystery. They were founded as an order of knights many generations ago and evolved into what they are today. How does a group even survive for that long? One thing is for certain, The Conclave is always on the lookout for promising new treasure hunters and they reward those who have served them lavishly. Perhaps that is their secret.   The gifts from The Conclave are the gifts that fuel their organization’s immortality…"       Tanks Through Time (Week 1)  Approaching the Search Site - Hovercraft "The Conclave had discovered artifacts of great power in the most unlikely of places, and word spread quickly to those who listened for the call. It was unusual that they would request the assistance of so many; it spoke volumes to the value of their find.   At the dig site, experienced treasure hunters from around the world were greeted by ancient machines unlike anything seen before. Inscribed upon them were strange glowing runes that seemed to form a faint afterimage of a large treasure carrack resting upon the ocean floor -- the fabled Flower of the Sea…   We loaded everything onto a fleet of hovercrafts as we prepared for our journey. Our task was simple -- use these ancient machines to guide us to the wreckage and recover what the world had once thought lost forever."     Mission: Dangerous Seas - Defending The Hovercraft "Our hovercrafts carried the Ancient Weapons that The Conclave had discovered, temporal runes guiding the way to a payday beyond imagining. As if the violent waves that tossed us around weren't enough to dissuade a Treasure Hunter from the search for the Flor de la Mar...these waters were also filled with pirates."   Mission: Obligatory Mini-Boss (1 of 2) "We heard a metallic sound that made us cringe as we traveled to our destination. Emerging from the choppy waves a pirate vessel, painted in red, screamed into view. Covered in ablative armor, it's intentions were crystal clear. We needed to go through it."   Mission: Obligatory Mini-Boss - Final Form (2 of 2) "Having stripped our pursuer of its armored plates and less than aesthetically-pleasing attire, the truth of its situation was obvious...it was on its last leg and it would only take another push to take it down."   Excavation Site - Search for the Flor de la Mar "Our battle leading up to this point left no doubt in our minds that we had in our possession weapons of incredible power.   Having weathered an assault by pirates and guided by the calm pulsing of each machine’s temporal runes, our fleet had arrived. We quickly donned diving gear, prepared sonar buoys, and began our descent..."   Mission: Sonar Race - Finding What Was Lost (1 of 3) "Treasure Hunters were trained to work together and it took dedication from everyone to find the treasure lost with the Flor de la Mar. Even the smallest contribution would prove invaluable."   Mission: I see the gold...It's a trap! (2 of 3) "We received some of the strangest readings from our instruments, but there was no denying that we had hit the motherload! As we rejoiced a powerful beast swam between us and our treasure. It was a shark with what looked to be a large red laser strapped to its head. Pew pew pew?"   Mission: Escaping the Flower of the Sea (3 of 3) "We fought with the shark and defeated it, but as more swam into view there was no time to rest. Like killing a bear in Oregon Trail, each hunter could only carry so much treasure back to our hovercrafts and a fight was unavoidable to return to them."   Mission: Defending Your Friends' Escape (Repeatable) "The Conclave stresses working as a team as the first rule of survival. As such, they are generous with their gifts to those who would stay and continue to protect their "resources". As our friends were surrounded by vicious waves of sharks with laserz, there was only one thing to do."       Ancient Weapon #1 - 59-Patton "The newspapers briefly speculated that an unknown archaeological organization had discovered what appeared to be an ancient weapon of war. Blurry photographs of what looked to be a chassis/weapon-mount hybrid with two very different design philosophies were tucked neatly into obscure sections of all associated publications. These photos were an obvious call to those from the hunter world and would have never reached the public in such a manner unless it was of vital importance.   It was clear to us that this was The Conclave’s work and we would answer the call."   Mission: Powering Up The Ancient Weapon "This great mechanical beast served a purpose both open and hidden at the same time. It was clear to every hunter that it housed incredible power, useful in a fight...but it also seemed drawn to something else. The undeniable truth was that it had slept for aeons and seemed to have a hunger for battle that we would not deny."       Tanks Through Time (Week 2) Approaching the Search Site - Convoy "We survived our brush with the Flor de la Mar and cleared out more laser-equipped aquatic creatures than any hunter would want to "discover" outside of Shark Week. Not more than an hour had passed before the surrounding sea was covered by Conclave salvage teams.   By the end of the day, The Conclave began to haul up a new series of Ancient Weapons buried beneath our watery battlefield. As we reviewed a new set of temporal afterimages on each weapon, our staid faces turned to stares of awe at the faint depiction of a city made of gold – El Dorado…   A week later and still brimming with excitement at the opportunity, we made our way through dense jungles, with our new "sea behemoths" loaded on a convoy of trucks. We could feel it -- the wind was at our backs, and nothing would stop us."   Mission: Jungle Roads - Defending The Convoy "The newly discovered Ancient Weapons at the Flor de la Mar had runes that held the secret to finding El Dorado - The City Of Gold. Our convoy carried them along winding Jungle Roads, but something was not right... Artillery boomed from afar and trees fell as assailants in red armored vehicles began their assault."   Mission: Obligatory Mini-Boss (1 of 2) "A monstrously large bulldozer of a vehicle splintered trees around us with its large red mechanical arms. No time to think. No time to coordinate. The proverbial gauntlet had been thrown at our feet and we would not back down from the challenge."   Mission: Obligatory Mini-Boss - Final Form (2 of 2) "Under repeated bombardment from our weapons, our unknown assailant's frontal armor had been ripped away only to reveal the same red pirate insignia from our fight near the Flor de la Mar... A coincidence? Coincidence or not, The Conclave had trained us well and we knew exactly what to do with "coincidences"."   Excavation Site - Search for El Dorado "Being treasure hunters moving to claim some of the most sought after artifacts in history, we expected a certain amount of danger… but the obscured markings on our attackers were familiar, suggesting more was at play. However, thoughts of battle fled our minds once we finally gazed upon golden buildings and parapets. Our venerable machines had shown us the way without fail.   Despite our arrival, the temporal runes did not lay still as if to indicate a final destination. There was definitely more to this city than the splendor before us and we resolved to push further. We were treasure hunters, after all."   Mission: Rune Map - Finding The Hidden Vault (1 of 3) "By using these Ancient Weapons seemingly like GPS devices, we were greeted by the most fantastic sight that we had ever seen...El Dorado - The City Of Gold! Our previous excavation taught us that there was more to these excavations than wealth. There had to be a hidden vault somewhere."   Mission: I See The Vault - Gigantic Rolling Boulder (2 of 3) "We followed the pulsing of the runes in the Ancient Weapons and discovered a vault filled with riches. As we began procedures to transmit the vault's location to The Conclave, we heard a rumbling in the distance....a gigantic boulder that dwarfed even a KV-5 threatened to cut a swathe through our ranks."   Mission: Escaping The City Of Gold - (3 of 3) "Having focused our fire to great effect, we had survived the initial threat only to be greeted by additional boulders. The majority of the treasure hunters fanned out into a defensive circle as teams escaped with the resources that we were to claim. Unlike bowling pins, we would not fall."   Mission: Defending Your Friends' Escape (Repeatable) "The Conclave stresses working as a team as the first rule of survival. As such, they are generous with their gifts to those who would stay and continue to protect their "resources". With a stream of gigantic boulders rolling towards our friends, there was only one thing to do."       Ancient Weapon #2 - KV-5 "The previously boisterous hunters were now silent as The Conclave pulled giant metal behemoths from the depths of the ocean. These were the largest weapons we had encountered thus far, and their imposing bulk seemed to foreshadow the dangers that we would undoubtedly face in the coming week.   The best of us slid into these beasts and prepared them for our voyage to find El Dorado.   Every hunter is presented with a choice when they are faced with danger: run, or stand and fight. When danger would find us and these ancient weapons, there was one thing of which we were certain -- there would be no misinterpretation of our intent."   Mission: Powering Up The Ancient Weapon "This great mechanical beast served a purpose both open and hidden at the same time. Every hunter could see that it housed incredible power, useful in a fight...but it also seemed drawn to something else. The undeniable truth was that it had slept for aeons and seemed to have a hunger for battle that we would not deny."       Tanks Through Time (Week 3) Approaching the Search Site - Ridiculous Air Drop "Something tried to stop us in that beautiful city of gold, yet like bowling pins that would not fall, we cleared the way for The Conclave in spectacular fashion. Below El Dorado’s hidden vaults, The Conclave began to extract a series of sleek, “new” Ancient Weapons, each with an inherent lethality in their designs. We learned by now to look within each machine for our next destination, and what we saw next excited us: an island locale with Blackbeard’s insignia upon it…   We adapted to the rhythm of our mission thus as we began to swiftly load our Ancient Weapons onto transport planes. But it was still a sight to behold, with an absolutely ludicrous number of parachutes attached to every machine, for an air drop to rival all others. By the end of the day, our transports had reached our drop point where we mounted up and plummeted towards destiny."   Click on each of the in-game missions to discover more of the Tanks Through Time story!   Excavation Site - Search for Blackbeard's Treasure "We could scarcely believe we had survived a mid-air boarding action on a pirate airship before completing our descent to the islands below. Despite a rocky landing on the island sands, we were delighted to see that our new Ancient Weapons were faster and lighter than the beasts of the sea with which we previously battled.   The real doubt in our hearts revolved around the organization that continued to hinder us at every turn. We knew at this point that our clash in the sky was no coincidence, but who were they, and what was their intention?   Despite the many obstacles in our way, the adventure and promise of treasure drove us forward. We would prevail."   Click on each of the in-game missions to discover more of the Tanks Through Time story!