Mod page:
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/-tanks-reaver-039-s-tanksVideo showing the tanks in action:
https://youtu.be/PzLoMC3VFb4This mod does not add any new graphics, but simply splits up the existing tanks into three varieties:
Guardian tanks: strong armor and a weak weapon; lower accuracy, time units, and reactions
Battle tanks: almost the same as before; reactions are slightly improved, some weapons hit harder, and aimed shots are much more accurate
Assault tanks: weaker armor but a very powerful weapon; higher accuracy, time units, and reactions
The mod gives you a Guardian, Battle, and Assault version of every kind of tank. You can purchase the cannon or rocket types right away from the store. The cannon battle tank hits a lot harder now, making it a more useful choice as a starting tank. The cannon assault tank can be used to take out mutons or other heavily-armored units if you don't have any laser weapons yet.
Guardian tanks are very durable and are great for drawing enemy fire and hiding your troops behind. If it's the first thing off your craft it'll tend to survive being shot at, and can get those pesky first-turn reactions out of the way without any losses. Guardian tank armor is both stronger and more even, so it doesn't make much difference whether it gets hit from the front, the back, or even underneath. The tank's low reaction stat makes aliens more likely to react to its movements.
Assault tanks have a very accurate aimed shot. Their armor is weaker but also less even. It is weakest in the back and strongest in the front, so as long as it takes all its hits in the front it should usually be okay. The higher reaction stat on these tanks isn't going to put your soldiers to shame but it can help protect the tank from reaction fire or you can reserve time units and let it fire on the aliens' turn.
Researching the Laser Rifle unlocks the Laser Guardian Tank, Heavy Laser unlocks the Laser Battle Tank, and Laser Cannon unlocks the Laser Assault Tank. This way you can get some laser tank going earlier if you like, but you have to put in some good laser research to get that beast mode laser on the assault tank. It'll drop a sectopod in one hit more often than not.In version 2.x forward, you research Laser Weapons to get the Laser Guardian Tank, and Heavy Laser Weapons to get the Laser Battle and Assault Tank. You must also research alien alloys for these tanks.Hovertanks are now unlocked with research into UFO Construction, you do not have to research New Fighter Craft to build them.
The plasma tanks are unlocked similarly to the laser tanks, each one to a different plasma weapon you research. Now with all this making weapons more powerful, I wound up with a plasma weapon that was more powerful than there was much point to have, so I altered it into a faster-firing variant. Now the plasma turrets deal less damage per hit but have a lower time unit cost to fire and auto shot capability.
The fusion missile tanks are all unlocked at once with the Fusion Missile research. The guardian fusion tank maintains the old weak 140 damage but has the explosion radius greatly reduced. It blows up an area about as big as the assault rocket tank, but its damage is significantly higher. The battle tank's missile is like the PWT Launcher in TFTD and will blow more than a neat little hole in the side of a UFO. The assault tank's missile is too powerful and you shouldn't use it. Really. I mean it. Don't even make one of those. It's not worth it. You have stuff to live for.
Version 2.0 release:
Several changes, some small and some important, detailed in Reply #2 below.
Version 1.1 release:
Changed Assault Hovertank (Plasma) hit points from 90 to 60
Added listOrder rule so that all tanks list in correct order with everything else
