Tripods

The Tripods are the armored units used by the Extraterrestrials in their invasion of Earth. They are a multipurpose unit with shields, weapons, the equipment needed to turn people into fertilizer and possibly the tech base to make major genetic modifications to plants as part of their attempt to teraform the Earth.

It is likely they are basically operated like a mecha because the Extraterrestrials and Tripods are both three limbed, three fingered things.

Energy Weapon

• They can overturn the deck of an elevated highway.

• Tear the tops of houses off.

• Cause buildings to collapse.

• Knock cars around.

• Reduce people to dust.

• [Accuracy] It is sort of implied that they were able to shoot down a passenger jet.

  • Full version

Strength

• Overturns a ferry.

• Lift a large amount of earth while unburying itself.

• Throw a car.

• Lift a car.

• Walk through a barn without slowing down.

• [Dextarity] It's tentacles have enough fine control they can pick up children without killing them.

Durability

Shields

• It is sort of implied twice that their shields can resist nuclear weapons. But they never tank anything that powerful on screen.

  • In the ending narration "after all of man's weapons and devices had failed"
  • By a news reporter "When they flash that thing, everything lights up like Hiroshima."

• Although we don't see the direct results, a varity of conventional weapons including, air-to-ground missiles, helicopter launched rockets, anti-tank rockets, tank cannon fire, APC autocannon fire and more, Are said to have "no effect on target."

  • The above scene is heavily edited because the dialogue portions drag on a bit. Here is the full version.

Armor

• Survives a lot of anti-tank rocket fire from Javelin and Carl Gustav launchers.

• A Tripod gets destroyed by as little as two grenades when detonated internally.

Other

• Tripods have a tentacle with a camera on the end so it can explore places the Tripod itself can't go.

  • This tentacle is not very durable though and can be cut by a normal human wielding an ax.