====================================================== COMMAND AND CONQUER: RENEGADE ALERT FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE ====================================================== By PointlessAmbler ================== i. Table of Contents ------------------ i. Table of Contents. ii. Version History 1. FAQ 1.1 Gameplay Questions 2. Unit Synopsis 2.1 Structures 2.2 Base Defenses 2.3 Allied Infantry 2.4 Soviet Infantry 2.5 Allied Vehicles 2.6 Soviet Vehicles 2.7 Vehicles Planned for Future Release 3. Allied Strategies 3.1 Basic Tips 3.2 Stealthy Strategies 3.3 Artillery 4. Soviet Strategies 4.1 Basic Tips 4.2 Rushing 5. Miscellaneous Strategies 5.1 Snipers 5.2 Building Priorities 6. Credits ------------------- ii. Version History ------------------- v.1.02: Fixed some MORE data I got wrong, and clarified some of the submitted strategies so they were understandable. Also added the Soviet Transport "Chinook" Helicopter and the Naval Transport to section 2.7. v.1.01: Fixed some data and unit idiocyncricies that I got wrong initially. (Thanks Ididyamom!) v.1.0: Initial release of this FAQ. ------------------- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 1. FAQ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Q: What is Renegade Alert/RenAlert? A: Renegade Alert is a total conversion for Command and Conquer: Renegade, released by Westwood Studios in 2002. It changes the game to be an experience like Westwood's 1996 smash hit, Red Alert, and its expansions Counterstrike and The Aftermath. (RenAlert is an abbreviation for Renegade Alert.) Q: What's this "expansion format" thing I heard about? A: Unlike other mods for Renegade, RenAlert is completely self-contained - it copies the necessary files from your Renegade/Data folder and uses them separately. It runs from a separate executable file. The main reason this was instated, other than looking more professional, was to eliminate a phenomena known to Renegade modders and mod players known as the "Zero Bug" - a bug that would at random times set your Credits to 0 and prevent you from doing any damage to enemy units, which was very annoying. Q: So what are some of the features that RenAlert has? A: RenAlert features virtually all Allied and Soviet units from the game -- Heavy Tanks, V2 Rocket Launchers, Rangers, Artillery, Phase Transports, Spies, Thieves, and the like. Custom models have been done for most of the weapons. Other features worth mentioning include the ability to buy your own harvesting units (Ore Trucks) to collect money for your whole team, a building that controls whether or not your team has a working radar, and certain subtle features, like mimicking the Flame Tower/Flamethrower infantry in Red Alert in their ability to shoot fireballs instead of a constant stream of fire. Q: How do I install it? A: First, make sure you have a LEGITIMATE version of Renegade patched up to version 1.037. A patch is available on Westwood's FTP server, which is miraculously still up (ftp.westwood.com) or you could attempt to go online with Renegade (the patch will automatically be installed). Next, download the main 0.991 install off of one of the mirrors shown on the site. Then download the 0.9915, 0.992, and 0.9925 patches off of the website. Install them in that exact order. If it doesn't work, you probably didn't do one of these things. If you have errors but did everything correctly, try reinstalling Renegade and re-patching it, and/or redownloading and reinstalling Renegade Alert. Q: Who's working on it? A: Here's the current staff, ripped directly from the Staff page at renalert.com (credit to Panther): Staff: Aircraftkiller: Lead Producer/3D Level Design/Building Lead Gernader8: 3D Modeler Dante: Scripts/Expansion Manager and Producer/Tool Designer Sir Phoenixx: Weapon Modeler/Vehicle Modeler Darkblade: 2D Interface Artist/Loading Screens/Wallpapers/Skinning NeoSaber: Building and Map Animations/Weapon Animations/Preset Changes Agent_Gibson [inactive]: Original Vehicle Models/Infantry Models/ Infantry Skins/Mod Co-Founder Contributors: Panther: Site Layout/Mod Website Manager Chicajo: Music Artist Silent_Kane: Programming Assistant L3f7H4nd3d: Public Relations/Mod Co-Founder/Original Webmaster Mac: Mod Distribution/Linux FDS Manager/Linux Port of RenAlert Blazer: Video Capture and Editing Chronojam: Zoomed-out Red Alert map images djlaptop: Video Capture and Editing Crimson: Team Cheerleader and Errand Girl Q: When/will X feature be implemented? A: Read the forums at http://www.renalert.com/forum (it's a redirect) and check the Game Updates forum. If you don't see an answer, try asking politely on the General Discussion board (yes, you will have to register a name). If you are able to express yourself coherently and aren't a jerk, chances are some one will help you. It is generally not a good idea to ask Aircraftkiller questions while he is playing the game (his WOL nicknames are JupitersK and TankCmdr6), as when he is playing, he usually doesn't like answering questions unless he brings up something he finished ingame. Bugging him incessantly is a good way to get kicked out of servers. Don't pester him elsewhere, either. Use the forums if you have a question and he isn't already talking about some feature ingame. Q: What are some of the new features of the new patch? A: Version .992 has the following features: -Working Ore Trucks -Working Flame Towers -Working Spies/Thieves -Nuke Flares -Flamethrower infantry/Flame Towers shoot fireballs -Most structures received a revamp of some sort -New purchase icons -Six maps on release (North by Northwest, Zama, Fjord, Keep off the Grass, DM_Isles, and Woods Today) -Service Depots -Maps with Tech Levels (currently one: North by Northwest) Version .9925 is a fix for version .992, and contains these changes: -Flamethrower infantry do more damage/have a bigger damage radius -Flamethrower infantry got a custom flame explosion for their weapon this patch -Tesla Coil/Turret range increased to prevent "glitching" (shooting them outside their range with weapons not designed to do so, such as the Medium Tank) -Tesla Tank increase in speed/power/armor, reflected by cost increase (1500) -Volkov has soldier-style armor (he's currently too hard to kill). To balance this, he was given C4 and had a price decrease to 1200. -Light Tank rate of fire decreased. -Fixes the map Fjord, which had major issues in .992 -Tanya price increase to 1200 to match that of Red Alert Q: When will the next version be out? A: Not a good idea to ask. Q: What features will the next version have? A: A whole lot of new features will be going into the next version. You can expect version .993 to have features such as naval combat (!), working Helipads, new units including the MAD Tank, Chrono Tank, and Demo Truck, and a massive vehicle revamp, some of which has already been finished. They rock. [Go read section 2.7 for details.] Q: Can X be in Renegade Alert? I think it's a really good idea... A: If it wasn't in Red Alert, then no. If it was, try posting something on the forums and see what result you get back. Make sure to think out your question before posting it. Q: What about Yaks or MiGs? A: The Renegade engine does not support true aircraft flight, ie. planes have to be moving all the time to stay up in the air. The only type of flight supported is Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL), which is great for helicopters, but it wouldn't feel right to be flying a VTOL Yak, now would it? Q: Hey, what about the Iron Curtain/Chronosphere? A: Yes, plans have been made to implement them. Chill out. [See Section 2.1 for details.] ======================= 1.1 Gameplay Questions ======================= Q: How do I harvest? Q: Harvesting doesn't work! (Or the common variant: "OMFG I DTRY 2 HARVST AND IT WKR NOT!!!!!!") A: These go hand in hand, really. First of all, harvesting does work. To harvest, buy an Ore Truck (1400) from the War Factory, and drive to the nearest Ore or Gem patch and stay there. After a while, a large rotating gold dollar sign ($) should appear directly over your Ore Truck. Drive back to your Ore Refinery and onto the concrete dumping platform (it's where the AI Ore Truck goes). Depending on whether you stayed in an Ore or Gem field, your entire team will receive 700 or 1400 credits, respectively. If you don't think it worked, make sure your Refinery is up and that you actually watched your credits -- there is no audio confirmation for player-controlled harvesting. The money is instantly added into your funds. Q: What does the Spy do? A: Spies pose a unique threat to the Soviets: They look like Soviet soldiers, and completely bypass base defenses. Because of this, a popular technique with Spies is to purchase an A-Bomb Signal Flare and running into the Soviet base and planting it somewhere. Spies aren't invisible, however. If a Spy gets too close to an enemy unit, they will be able to see their player name, which will be colored yellow, which is the color of Allied players. Spies can choose to appear as Rifle Infantry, Grenadiers, or Flamethrowers, and are given a dummy weapon that looks real but has no ammunition. Spies are also good for recon. Q: What does the Thief do? A: If you can get a Thief into the first level of the Soviet Ore Refinery, he will acquire 500 credits for his team roughly every 20 seconds (and an additional 500 just for making it there at all) -- quite a nice lump of cash. Thieves are, however, shot at by base defenses, so special care will need to be taken in order to successfully infiltrate a Soviet Refinery. Thieves do not function if the Soviet Refinery has been destroyed. Q: What's the deal with that nifty nuke I saw? A: NeoSaber has redone the Nuclear Missile animation, changing it from looking like a rapidly-growing red and orange mushroom to a kickass nuclear explosion. The A-Bomb Signal Flare was born. A-Bomb Signal Flares, which are available to both sides, cost 2400 credits, but are capable of destroying up to three structures at once! Units and structures outside the "kill zone" of the nuke will still be damaged, the amount depending on the proximity to the center of the explosion. A-Bomb Signal Flares can still be disarmed by Engineers, and trade being more visible (what with the bright yellow smoke that they emit) for being less audible (the hissing sound the flare makes is softer than the beeping noise superweapon beacons made in Renegade). Q: Light Tanks are too powerful! (Fun quote: "Are you cheating? There's no way a Heavy can kill a Light one on one!") A: If you're smart, you can learn to lead your shots in a Heavy Tank, negating their ability to dodge your cannon fire. Light Tanks won't seem so powerful anymore. I forget who said that little snippet of wisdom above, but you made my day. Idiot. 'Sides, I doubt you'll complain about them in .9925. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 2. UNIT SYNOPSIS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> =============== 2.1 Structures =============== NOTE: Not all of these structures are on all maps. Structures are available to both sides unless specifically listed otherwise. An asterisk denotes structures not in any .992 maps. -------- Barracks -------- Allows the purchase of higher classes of infantry. If destroyed, players will only be allowed to purchase the basic Rifle Infantry you spawn as or Engineers. Barracks provide the same function for both sides, even though they look different. ----------- War Factory ----------- Allows the purchase of vehicles. Vehicle purchases can no longer be made when the building is destroyed. ------------ Ore Refinery ------------ Brings in Credits. Every time the AI or player-controlled Ore Trucks return to the Ore Refinery, the team receives money that they use to purchase better infantry classes or vehicles. Once destroyed, all forms of income that come from it stop (including Thieves if the enemy's is destroyed). ----------------- Construction Yard ----------------- If you've ever played some of Aircraftkiller's maps for Renegade, you'll know what this does. It slowly repairs all structures except itself. When your base is under attack, it effectively negates some of the damage that is done to it. This benefit is lost when it is destroyed. ---------- Radar Dome ---------- Provides Radar for your team. Radar and your compass are disabled when it is destroyed. (Just because the map has a Radar Dome doesn't necessarily mean you can see enemy units on it -- that's a server option. Thankfully, the .9925 n00bstories server has both sides visible to radar, meaning that the radar is now useful for finding A-Bomb Signal Flares (marked as stars of the opposite team color).) ------------- Service Depot ------------- Repairs vehicles that drive on to it quickly. This is supposed to replace Engineers as the form of repairing vehicles. Especially vital for the Soviets, who have no alternate way of repairing vehicles. Service Depots stop functioning when destroyed. When Mine Layers are added to the game, they will be rearmed at the Service Depot. --------------------------------- Power Plant/*Advanced Power Plant --------------------------------- Provides power to certain base defenses and functions that require it (including superweapons). Although the Power Plant currently does not affect anything other than unit price (which doubles when the PP is destroyed), it will also affect if the Tesla Coil or AA Guns work. The unit price doubling 'feature' of the Power Plant is probably going to go away in later versions, as it's too crippling. Advanced Power Plants serve the same function as normal Power Plants, but are used in lieu of the normal variety on maps with large bases. --------- *Ore Silo --------- Not actually in any maps in .992, but when it is in a map, every player receives two credits per second. Again, this benefit is lost when it is destroyed. (This function is completely separate from the Refinery.) At the very least, the redone map Zama (which is really cool) will have Ore Silos. -------- *Helipad -------- Not in .992 and only vestigial in .991, but in .993 it will allow the purchase of helicopters, and rearm helicopters that have run out of ammo. ------------------- *Naval Yard/*Sub Pen ------------------- These will be in .993. Ships will be purchased at the Naval Yard/Sub Pen, and will no longer be able to be purchased once it is destroyed. The Naval Yard/ Sub Pen may also repair damaged ships, although this hasn't specifically been announced yet. ------------ *Tech Center ------------ A model exists for the Tech Center, but no official plans exist as to its function. ------------------------------------- *Sandbags/*Barbed Wire/Concrete Walls ------------------------------------- Currently only the last of the three is implemented. A Concrete Wall provides a passive defense, simply. Walls are destroyable. Destroying these is a great way to make an entrance into the enemy base. Sandbags and Barbed Wire will probably have less hit points than a section of Concrete Wall. Concrete Walls can take a fair beating from tanks, and take a lot of hits from infantry weapons, but a single V-2 Rocket can destroy them in one shot, making the V2 the best unit adapted to destroying walls. --------------------------- *Chronosphere (Allies only) --------------------------- Plans for how the Chronosphere works have officially been announced! Every so often, a Chrono beacon will spawn at the Chronosphere. A unit can take this beacon and plant it somewhere on the map, and a chrono vortex will appear both at the Chronosphere and at the location of the beacon. Units that drive through the vortex at the Chronosphere will suddenly appear at the other vortex. The vortex will remain open for 15-20 seconds. Doesn't function without power. ---------------------------- *Iron Curtain (Soviets only) ---------------------------- Not exactly sure on this one, but it seems like it will work in a similar way to the Chronosphere. Units in a specific area when the Iron Curtain is charged will become temporarily invincible. It's possible that it will spawn a beacon, like the Chronosphere, which will determine the location of the aforementioned area. The area may also just be next to or on the Iron Curtain itself. I don't really know. Again, this will not function without power. ------------- *Missile Silo ------------- Finally, a way of mediating the amount of A-Bomb Signal Flares planted. Every so often, an A-Bomb Signal Flare will spawn at the Missile Silo. To compensate for the decrease in availability of this weapon, they will be significantly more powerful. Place with care, they won't come around too often. Like all the superweapons, it won't work without power. ================== 2.2 Base Defenses ================== --------------------- Pillbox/*Camo Pillbox --------------------- An Allied anti-infantry defense that fires powerful machine guns at anything that gets too close. Pretty much impossible to get past as any infantry. ------ Turret ------ An Allied anti-tank defense that fires a tank cannon at incoming enemy units. These shells are very powerful against vehicles. Turrets don't have a whole lot of armor, though, so keep them repaired. ----------- Flame Tower ----------- A Soviet anti-infantry defense which shoots fireballs at incoming enemy units. These fireballs are lethal to infantry, but still do pretty good damage to tanks. Fireballs actually miss a lot, but they are pretty good at hitting you at close range or when you're just about to enter a building. ---------- Tesla Coil ---------- The Soviet main defense. It hits any enemy unit that wanders too close by zapping it with a huge beam of electricity. On maps with Power Plants, they will cease to function without power. ------- *AA Gun ------- Allied anti-air defense that does pretty much exactly what it sounds like it does - shoots at enemy aircraft. These stop working if an Allied Power Plant on the map is destroyed. --------- *SAM Site --------- Soviet anti-air defense that shoots missiles at incoming aircraft. Unlike the Allied AA Gun, these continue to function without power, so even if your power is gone, you will be able to stand a chance against Allied aircraft harrassing your base. ==================== 2.3 Allied Infantry ==================== Allied infantry are cheap, strong, and have a load of special abilities that the Soviets don't get, making them extremely useful in most situations. NOTE: All units are armed with a pistol as a backup weapon. -------------- Rifle Infantry -------------- Cost: 0 Health: 75/25 Weapon: M16 Assault Rifle Pros: Strong against other infantry at close range Cons: Outclassed by any combat infantry that costs money Rifle Infantry are the infantry you spawn as. They are exactly the same as their Soviet counterpart except that the M16 has a three-round burst function, while the AK-47 has a single-shot function in addition to full auto. Rifle Infantry are easily killed, but do good damage up close to enemy infantry. If they hit the MCT and there are several of them, they actually can do pretty good damage to buildings, allowing for an early-game rush with this unit. -------- Engineer -------- Cost: 0 Health: 50/25 Weapon: Repair Gun Secondary Weapon: C4 (3) Pros: Repairs buildings, has C4 Cons: Not a good combat unit Engineers repair structures. Like in Renegade, they repair structures twice as fast when using their repair gun on MCTs. Engineers not intended to repair vehicles -- use a Service Depot instead if the map has one. They also have 3 Remote C4 for building detonation. That isn't enough to take down a building with one engineer, but two can. These units help in early-game infantry rushes. Engineers aren't designed for combat, so they die quickly if under lots of enemy fire. ------- Officer ------- Cost: 200 Health: 100/75 Weapon: Chain Gun Pros: Well armored for infantry, stronger weapon than Rifle Infantry Cons: Ineffective against tanks Officers are exceptional at dealing with infantry due to their Chain Gun, which is stronger than either Assault Rifle, and their high health and armor help ensure that they get through an infantry battle alive more often than their free counterparts. They also run faster than Rifle Infantry do. Allied Officers are equivalent to their Soviet counterparts. -------------- Rocket Soldier -------------- Cost: 300 Health: 100/50 Weapon: Rocket Launcher Pros: Strong anti-vehicular weapon Cons: Slow, weapon doesn't always track, not efficient at killing infantry Rocket Soldiers are the main Allied anti-tank unit. Their Rocket Launchers have homing capabilities and two modes of fire. The primary mode of fire (left-click) fires a single, somewhat slow-moving rocket that tracks enemy tanks (and infantry if you're good). Alt-Fire (right-click) shoots a faster rocket that has a tighter turning radius, but does less damage. To track with a rocket, make sure that your cursor is over your target at the exact moment you click the button to fire, and that you're within range. Don't worry if it doesn't all the time: to compensate for its power, rockets do not track units about 20% of the time. ----- Medic ----- Cost: 500 Health: 75/25 Weapon: Healing Gun (Repair Gun) Pros: Very good at healing Allied soldiers Cons: No weapon save the Pistol Medics heal Allied soldiers almost completely in one "shot," so these make a great infantry support unit. You can make other infantry very happy with you by doing so. -------- Mechanic -------- Cost: 950 Health: 75/25 Weapon: Repair Gun Pros: Proficient at repairing vehicles Cons: Lack of any real armament Mechanics are excellent at repairing vehicles. One click and a vehicle will recover a significant portion of its health. These make great vehicle support units. Just remember to stay behind the vehicles you're repairing. ------ Sniper ------ Cost: 500 Health: 80/0 Weapon: Sniper Rifle Pros: Can kill dangerous infantry from far away Cons: Useless against tanks, infantry at close range Don't snipe unless you're good. No Havoc n00b cannons here: Sniper Rifles take THREE or more shots to kill any infantry with unless you get a headshot, which kills infantry in one. Snipers are equivalent on both sides. The main advantage of Snipers is to kill infantry from long distances away without them seeing you. Make sure you're reasonably well-hidden or enemy Snipers will take you out easily. However, Snipers can get rid of pesky Tanyas/Volkovs from a distance where they cannot retaliate. ----- Thief ----- Cost: 500 Health: 85/0 Weapon: Pistol only Pros: Steals money for your team Cons: Lack of weapons or armor Thieves are good for one thing and one thing only: providing your team with extra money. If you can stay in the lower level of the Soviet Ore Refinery, your team receives 500 credits roughly every 20 seconds... not bad at all. You are also awarded 500 credits for simply making it there in one piece. However, Thieves are shot at by base defenses. ----- Tanya ----- Cost: 1200 Health: 100/75 Weapon: Pistol (special) Secondary Weapon: C4 (9) Pros: Strong against buildings and infantry Cons: Doesn't fare well against base defenses and vehicles Tanya is the best infantry the Allies have: she's quick, has more health than other soldiers, and packs quite a punch. Her pistol does copious amounts of damage to any infantry (even Volkov!) and she's armed with 9 Remote C4 for building demolition. This means she can take down a building all by herself (with four left over). She is still not too much better protected than regular infantry are, so exercise caution when trying to get into the enemy base. Beware of Volkov, who has a lot of armor and can kill you by getting a decent shot off with his anti-tank rifle. Also, be wary of Snipers. --- Spy --- Cost: 500 Health: 85/0 Weapon: Dummy Weapon Pros: Not shot at by base defenses, looks like a Soviet infantry Cons: Identifiable at close range, no real weapon except the pistol Ah, the Spy. Easily the best flare-planting infantry out there, the Spy is completely ignored by base defenses and appears as a Soviet infantry unit. (You can pick one of three: Rifle Infantry, Grenadier, or Flamethrower.) The Spy is armed with a dummy weapon that appears to look normal but has no ammunition. However, if a Spy ventures too close to an enemy unit, he'll find that his name appears to enemies. When this happens, his cover is blown and suddenly he's the center of attention. Don't let that happen. ==================== 2.4 Soviet Infantry ==================== Soviet infantry are less varied but generally more powerful than Allied infantry are. The main function of these guys is to deal damage and lots of it. Support? What's that? NOTE: Again, for consistency, all infantry are armed with a pistol as a backup weapon. -------------- Rifle Infantry -------------- Cost: 0 Health: 75/25 Primary Weapon: AK-47 Assault Rifle Pros: Strong against other infantry at close range Cons: Outclassed by any combat infantry that costs money Rifle Infantry are the infantry you spawn as. They are exactly the same as their Allied counterpart except that the AK-47 has a single-shot function, while the M16 has a three-round burst function in addition to full auto. Rifle Infantry are easily killed, but do good damage up close to enemy infantry. If they hit the MCT and there are several of them, they actually can do pretty good damage to buildings, allowing for an early-game rush with this unit. -------- Engineer -------- Cost: 0 Health: 50/25 Weapon: Repair Gun Secondary Weapon: C4 (3) Pros: Repairs buildings, has C4 Cons: Not a good combat unit Engineers repair structures. Like in Renegade, they repair structures twice as fast when using their repair gun on MCTs. Engineers are not intended to repair vehicles -- use a Service Depot instead if the map has one. They also have 3 Remote C4 for building detonation. That isn't enough to take down a building with one engineer, but two can. These units help in early-game infantry rushes. Engineers aren't designed for combat, so they die quickly if under lots of enemy fire. ------- Officer ------- Cost: 200 Health: 100/75 Weapon: Chain Gun Pros: Well armored for infantry, stronger weapon than Rifle Infantry Cons: Ineffective against tanks Officers are exceptional at dealing with infantry due to their Chain Gun, which is stronger than either Assault Rifle, and their high health and armor help ensure that they get through an infantry battle alive more often than their free counterparts. They also run faster than Rifle Infantry do. Soviet Officers are equivalent to their Allied counterparts. --------- Grenadier --------- Cost: 160 Health: 100/25 Weapon: Fragmentation Grenades Pros: Extremely effective against infantry at close range, can damage vehicles somewhat Cons: Short range, not very effective against vehicles Grenadiers, as the name suggests, lob grenades at enemy units. Grenades are EXTREMELY effective against infantry at close range, making this unit the king of close-range infantry combat. One Grenade that lands relatively close to an infantry will kill it. Grenades also do decent damage to light vehicles. ------------ Flamethrower ------------ Cost: 300 Health: 100/25 Weapon: Flamethrower Pros: Good against infantry, light vehicles Cons: Doesn't stand up well against heavy vehicles Flamethrowers are good against infantry, and if you can hit someone directly, they will die in one shot. Like the new flame explosion? I know I do. Don't use against heavier vehicles, they will be nearly impervious to your fireballs, although you actually will pack quite a punch against lighter vehicles, so these are almost anti-armor infantry on low-tech-level maps. Don't fire too close to yourself unless absolutely necessary, however - you run the risk of singing your own eyebrows off. ------ Sniper ------ Cost: 500 Health: 90/0 (OMG WTF 10 MORE THAN ALLIED UNBALANCES OMG) Weapon: Sniper Rifle Pros: Can kill dangerous infantry from far away Cons: Useless against tanks, infantry at close range Don't snipe unless you're good. No Havoc n00b cannons here: Sniper Rifles take THREE or more shots to kill any infantry with unless you get a headshot, which kills infantry in one. Snipers are equivalent on both sides. The main advantage of Snipers is to kill infantry from long distances away without them seeing you. Make sure you're reasonably well-hidden or enemy Snipers will take you out easily. However, Snipers can get rid of pesky Tanyas/Volkovs from a distance where they cannot retaliate. ------------- Shock Trooper ------------- Cost: 950 Health: 100/50 Weapon: Shock Rifle Pros: Strong, accurate anti-vehicle weapon, reasonably well armored Cons: Inefficient at killing enemy infantry, slow Smell something burning? The Shock Trooper is an excellent anti-vehicular unit. Shock Rifles are incredibly easy to use (Point. Fire. ZZZT. Repeat.) and are pretty effective at what they do. Light vehicles really have to beware of them, as they are quickly laid to waste by the Shock Trooper. The Shock Trooper is also reasonably effective against infantry. It isn't unknown to kill more than one Rifle Soldier at close range with a Shock Trooper. However, this great weapon and decent protection comes at a high cost, so don't just run your Shock Trooper up to Pillboxes aimlessly. ------ Volkov ------ Cost: 1200 Health: 100/150 Weapon: Ramjet Rifle Secondary Weapon: C4 (9) Pros: Best armor for any infantry, C4 Cons: Not completely invincible Volkov's role in the game has been changed from a uber-death machine to basically an anti-tank Tanya. He sports a nice anti-tank rifle, has more armor than any other infantry, and has 9 C4 for building destruction. Not bad at all. He isn't unstoppable anymore, so some form of caution will need to be taken when using him. ==================== 2.5 Allied Vehicles ==================== NOTE: Types of armor (Light, Medium, and Heavy) are not taken from the .ini files in Renegade. These are more for reference purposes, so don't be surprised if I say one of the vehicles has "Medium" armor when it really has Heavy. Allied Vehicles, much like their infantry, are cheap and effective, but often lack the sheer firepower or armor of the Soviet Army. Allied vehicles are generally fast, trading armor for speed. Even their heaviest vehicle, the Medium Tank, is outclassed in terms of firepower by the Soviets' two main battle tanks, but the Medium Tank is much faster than either of them. All vehicles, Allied and Soviet, will be remodeled for version .993. ------ Ranger ------ Cost: 600 Armor: 150/150 (Light) Armament: Machine Gun Pros: Speed Cons: Lousy armor, weak armament Rangers are quick and nimble, excellent for transporting soldiers to spots in short order. It can hold two passengers (including the driver), has a machine gun that you probably won't actually kill anything with, and is fast enough to be somewhat unwieldy. However, if you're good, infantry won't stand a chance - you'll bloody your bumper with their skulls. Rangers absolutely DIE against any sort of anti-armor weaponry, however, so don't go thinking your Ranger can take on a Mammoth Tank. hydra1945 also adds that Rangers in large groups should not be underestimated. Yes, that means Ranger rushes do actually work. --------- Artillery --------- Cost: 600 Armor: 200/200 (Light) Armament: Howitzer cannon Pros: Very powerful Cons: Difficult to aim, slow, minimum range Artillery are slow and vulnerable, but pack one of the strongest weapons in the game. Their howitzer is incredibly powerful, doing over 200 damage on a direct hit to a vehicle, and are extremely effective against buildings, and infantry at long range. However, the cannon, like real artillery pieces, have an arched trajectory, so a fair amount of practice will be needed before you can operate it with any sort of precision. Great for killing the Tesla Coil (it dies in 5-6 hits!). It stands very little chance against any sort of tank unless there is some advantage that it has, like terrain, or having another tank in front of it to absorb fire. Overall, it's not a bad vehicle considering its cost. Just have some other tanks with you to draw fire. ---------- Light Tank ---------- Cost: 700 Armor: 300/300 (Medium) Armament: Tank cannon Pros: Good armor, fast Cons: Not as well-armored as a Medium Tank, armament somewhat lacking Light Tanks are a very useful vehicle: they're quite fast, and a skilled Light Tank driver can drive back and forth to confuse Heavy Tank drivers into missing most of their shots. It also sports a tank cannon that can chip away at anything's health - buildings, tanks, you name it. However, the Light Tank will not win any fights with Soviet main battle tanks unless you learn to dodge cannon fire, so you better get some practice in. Their tank cannon isn't very strong either, at the moment. --- APC --- Cost: 800 Armor: 300/300 (Medium) Armament: Machine Gun Pros: Transports infantry, maneuverable Cons: Attracts attention to itself, only moderately armored Essentially for all intents and purposes a better-armored Ranger. Still quite good at running over infantry, as it is very maneuverable and decently fast, but the real threat it poses to the Soviet team is the same as the one in Renegade: its passengers. APCs can hold up to five infantry inside, and can take one direct hit from a Tesla Coil before being destroyed. Five Tanyas inside the Soviet base is not a happy situation for the Soviets, so watch out for these. Remember that it isn't some sort of uber-vehicle, though. Don't drive it right past a Soviet tank column or you'll attract a lot of unwanted attention. ----------- Medium Tank ----------- Cost: 800 Armor: 400/400 (Medium) Armament: Tank cannon Pros: Decent weapon, good armor, good speed Cons: Has trouble killing infantry, lesser weapon than a Heavy Tank Probably the most well-rounded vehicle in the game, the Medium Tank is a balance of speed, armor, and power. It has a strong weapon and is the heaviest armored Allied vehicle while maintaining a reasonably fast speed. However, it is outclassed by the nearest equal to it in the Soviet army, the Heavy Tank, so try to use terrain to your advantage to level the playing field. These are nasty as hell, however, when combined with Mechanics, who can almost negate damage to them from a Heavy Tank. --------------- Phase Transport --------------- Cost: 1100 Armor: 250/250 (Light) Armament: Anti-tank rockets Speed: Fast Proposed Changes for .993: Fires a volley of missiles at once, missiles track targets, cost increase to 1500 Pros: Stealth, decent weapon, maneuverable Cons: Weak armor How do you destroy what you can't see? The Phase Transport is a true predator of the battlefield, picking off weak vehicles and units. Infantry? Run 'em over from behind; they won't hear the engine noises until it's too late. V2s or Teslas? Attack from behind and they don't stand a chance. Heavies or Mammoths? Get other tanks to come with you and help soften them up a bit. These are completely invisible to enemy units unless firing, hit by a projectile, or within roughly 10 meters of an enemy unit. Beware: Firing at a tank column without backup is suicide, though. ==================== 2.6 Soviet Vehicles ==================== Soviet vehicles are virtually the opposite of Allied vehicles: they're slow and expensive, but are well-armored and pack quite a punch. ------------------ V2 Rocket Launcher ------------------ Cost: 700 Armor: 150/150 (Light) Armament: V2 SSMs Pros: Extremely powerful weapon Cons: Large, lightly armored, can only fire straight, can't turn while stopped, minimum range V2s are the Soviets' long range attack unit, and they're very good at what they do. V2s pack an extremely powerful V2 rocket that does incredible damage to buildings, and outranges base defenses. (Use these to take out Turrets.) Allies CANNOT ignore these, as they do too much damage too quickly to be allowed to remain standing. Most Allied forces know this, so don't ever travel alone if driving one. Have tanks come with you to absorb fire. That way, you're guaranteed to do some damage. V2s can only fire straight in front of them, but their rockets fire in a straight line, making them easier to fire than Artillery. However, V2s have problems when dealing with any sort of vehicle whatsoever. If you're good/lucky, it is possible to hit vehicles with V2 rockets, and it does a crapload of damage to them - Rangers die in one shot! Most of the time they will be able to dodge your rockets, however. ---------- Heavy Tank ---------- Cost: 950 Armor: 400/400 (Medium) Armament: Dual tank cannons Pros: Strong weapon, well armored Cons: Somewhat slow, not good at dealing with infantry Essentially the same as the Medium Tank, except it trades some of the speed of the Medium Tank for some added firepower. This tank is a staple of the Soviet Army, so there will inevitably be one wherever there are Soviet forces. Their dual tank cannons ensure that almost nothing can win a stand-up fight against them, especially if the Heavy Tank drivers know how to lead their shots. Heavy Tanks fall prey to Rocket Soldiers, however, so watch out for those. ---------- Tesla Tank ---------- Cost: 1500 Armor: 300/300 (Medium) Armament: Tesla weapon Pros: Very strong, accurate weapon, equally effective against infantry, vehicles, and structures Cons: Somewhat slow, expensive, slow rate of fire, minimum range Tesla Tanks have a bizarre amount of precision for a Soviet vehicle, which can be used to your advantage. As with the Shock Rifle, it is incredibly easy to hit vehicles with the Tesla Tank, and each time you do, a very large amount of damage will be inflicted. Infantry also fall to the Tesla Tank. However, Tesla Tanks have a minimum range on their weapon, so anything that gets too close will be safe from your attacks. A Tesla Tank in a tank column is a good weapon for dealing with some of the faster vehicles that may attack you, such as Phase Transports and Light Tanks. With the new patch, Tesla Tanks are an excellent attack vehicle, so purchasing one is not a bad idea at all. ------------ Mammoth Tank ------------ Cost: 1700 Armor: 600/600 (Heavy) Armament: Dual tank cannons, Mammoth Tusk anti-personnel missiles Pros: Very strong weapon, effective against infantry as well, very well armored, self-healing ability Cons: Very slow, large target, attracts attention to itself Nothing is subtle about this vehicle - it's simply one of the most badass vehicles the Soviets get. Its twin tank cannons are the strongest tank cannons on the battlefield, and anti-personnel missiles help make up for the weaknesses that most other tanks have against infantry. This thing can take a large beating before dying, and in large groups is nearly unstoppable. Mammoths even self-heal back up to 50% health. However, the main problem with this vehicle is its speed. A one-legged tortoise could outrun the Mammoth Tank. Its slow speed makes it incredibly easy for the Allies to perform hit-and-run attacks on them, or to set up an ambush before you get anywhere near their base. Concentrated fire destroys a Mammoth Tank quickly, and with a vehicle of its size, it's bound to attract a lot of attention. Combat this by mixing it in with a varied tank force, or just more Mammoths, that works too. ======================================== 2.7 Planned Vehicles for Future Releases ======================================== --------------------------------- Apache Longbow & Hind Helicopters --------------------------------- Cost: probably 1200 Armor: 225/225 (Medium) Armament: Armor-Piercing Rockets (Longbow)/Chain Gun (Hind) Planned release: Version .993 The Apache Longbow and Hind were in version .991, but were removed in .992, mostly because they were too powerful. Don't worry, in .993 they'll be back with a vengeance. Longbows and Hinds will now make use of the Helipad. The Longbow will be armed with six strong armor-piercing rockets, and the Hind will be armed with somewhere between 50-200 chain gun rounds. Upon depleting these, they must return to the Helipad at their base to refill before being able to attack again. Longbows were/will be excellent against armored vehicles, while the Hind's chain gun was/will be deadly to any sort of infantry. Helicopters are weak against anti-vehicle weaponry, including rockets and the Shock Rifle, as well as Tesla Tanks, which could destroy an Apache in three shots in .991. ------------------------------ Transport "Chinook" Helicopter ------------------------------ Faction: Soviet Cost: probably 1200 Armor: 250/250 (Medium, value taken from version .991) Armament: None Planned release: Version .993 "The Allies get the APC, so what do the Soviets get for troop transportation?" you may ask. Well, that's where the Chinook comes in. The Chinook is a flying APC, essentially, able to carry five passengers to a location quickly. It can get to a location much quicker than the Allied APC can, but is in reality much more vulnerable than the APC is, as helicopters are anything but stealthy. The Chinook will not be able to take a whole lot of AA fire, and if it is destroyed, the pilot and all of its passengers fall to their doom. Use caution, and you may want a Hind to guard your passage from any marauding Apache Longbows. However, landing in the back of the Allied base with troops can be devastating, as five Shock Troopers or Volkovs can quickly lay waste to several buildings. --------------------- Gunboat and Destroyer --------------------- Faction: Allied Proposed Cost: none yet Armor: unknown Armament: Depth charge cannon, Stinger missiles (Destroyer only) Planned release: Version .993 The Gunboat and Destroyer will be new additions to the Allied military, creating the Allied navy. Destroyers will be the Allies' long range attack ship, while Gunboats will probably be cheap and most likely faster than the Destroyer, but they will carry a much weaker weapon. ------------------- Sub and Missile Sub ------------------- Faction: Soviet Proposed Cost: 950 and 1650, respectively Armor: unknown Armament: Torpedoes, SSM (Missile Sub only) Planned release: Version .993 Subs will most likely be VTOL underwater. Torpedoes will probably be quite good against ships, but they cannot be fired underwater. Or rather, they can, but they won't hit any ship, which forces the submarines to surface when they fire - just like Red Alert. The Missile Sub is armed with a surface-to-surface missile, making it the Soviet's long range naval unit, but for balance, the missile will do less damage than it did in RA. --------------- Naval Transport --------------- Faction: Both Proposed Cost: 700 Armor: unknown Armament: None Planned Release: Version .993 The Naval Transport will be the APC of the ocean, available to both sides. If any cues are taken from Red Alert, the Naval Transport will move moderately fast, be well-armored, and carry five passengers. This unit should be useful for establishing a beach landing somewhere. For .993, the Naval Transport appears to only be able to carry infantry, but no official plans have been released for this vehicle as of yet, so who knows. ----------- Chrono Tank ----------- Faction: Allied Proposed Cost: 2400 Armor: 300/300 (unknown armor type) Armament: Missiles, Chronoshift Planned release: Version .993 The main feature of the Chrono Tank is its ability to teleport around with its Chronoshift ability. Aim the gun where you want to go, and right-click, and there you'll be. It will be possible to Chronoshift yourself onto an object that you're not supposed to get on top of (like a tree), but just wait until the Chronoshift recharges and you can get out the same way you got in. Chrono Tanks will be armed with powerful missiles. No doubt these will be truly deadly when used correctly. -------- MAD Tank -------- Faction: Soviet Proposed Cost: 2400 Armor: 700/700? (Heavy) Armament: Timequake Planned release: Version .993 MAD (short for Mutually Assured Destruction, everyone's favorite acronym during the Cold War) Tanks, upon using their weapon, will force you out of the vehicle and a timer will begin. When the timer reaches zero, the MAD Tank detonates, and all tanks and structures within a 200-meter radius will be dealt 44% of their maximum health, but infantry will remain unharmed. The only method of defense against this destructive weapon will be to destroy it before it detonates or before it reaches your base. They will need to be defended, as they have no other weapon to defend themselves with. Using three of these at once successfully CAN win you the game instantly, so watch out for an organized rush using these. ---------- Demo Truck ---------- Faction: Both Proposed Cost: 2400 Armor: 150/0 (Light) Armament: A-Bomb Planned release: Version .993 Demo Trucks pack a nuclear payload, equivalent to that of an A-Bomb Flare, which detonates upon use of the weapon. It kills you, but get it close and it will absolutely devastate structures. However, EXTREME care will be needed to be taken with these, as they have an extremely low amount of health. A lone Rifle Soldier will be able to take it out in short order. When destroyed, Demo Trucks will most likely detonate in the same fashion as if they were triggered by the driver. ---------------------------------------------------------- Anti-Tank (Allied) and Anti-Personnel (Soviet) Mine Layers ---------------------------------------------------------- Proposed Cost: None yet, probably 800 Armor: Unknown Armament: Mines Planned release: Unknown, possibly .993 Plans to incorporate Mine Layers have been confirmed by Aircraftkiller. The Allies will get AT Mine Layers, for getting rid of pesky armored units that drive over them. AP Mine Layers, which the Soviets get, will prevent units like Tanya from entering a building so easily. Both mine layers will rearm at the Service Depot when their mines have been depleted. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 3. ALLIED STRATEGIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Have a strategy? Send them to pointlessambler@yahoo.com and I'll include some in the next version. Try to be clear. This guide is in real need of more strategies, so send 'em in! Well, soldier, are you ready to defend freedom and democracy? Well, this is the right place for you. Learn what it takes to kill those Commie bastards with ease! =============== 3.1 Basic Tips =============== 3.1.1 Work as a Team. The first thing to remember regardless of what faction you are fighting for is to WORK AS A TEAM. It's amazing how little teamwork happens in Renegade. Never go out alone unless you're trying to do something sneaky, like beacon planting or sniping. You have a very poor chance of succeeding in doing any significant damage to the enemy base on your own. Attempt to organize well-thought out attacks on the enemy. Don't just blindly rush into battle with a tank or you'll find yourself out of money fast. 3.1.2 Use Variety in your Vehicles A large number of a single type of tank can be beaten by a mixed group of the same size, because the mixed group covers each other's weaknesses while the unvaried one all has the exact same weakness. A group of seven Light Tanks seems a challenge for a Soviet army to beat, but if the Soviets have seven Heavy Tanks, I'd bet on the Soviets any day of the week provided they don't all simultaneously have mouse problems. For the Allies, having a mix of Light Tanks, Medium Tanks, and Phase Transports and maybe an Artillery makes a very good group, as the Soviets will have trouble dealing with heavier armor, speed, and stealth all at once, with an Artillery thrown in for a little added punishment. This generally works better in larger games, where there will still be infantry back at the base to defend it. Otherwise, you may want to leave some of the heavier units back at base to deal with any counterattacks. It gets annoying when a game degrades into a contest to see who can destroy each other's base the fastest. 3.1.3 Use Terrain to your Advantage Especially for the Allies, using the terrain is an important factor in a battle. It's definitely harder to deal with an enemy tank if it's up on a ridge than right in front of you, because the tank can retreat back away from the ridge to get out of your line of sight. Also, infantry are a whole lot safer above ground level than at it. They can hide from enemy armor, then set up an ambush, and be less easy to gun down and nearly impossible to run over. ====================================== 3.2 Strategies Involving Being Sneaky ====================================== 3.2.1 Tanyas Tanyas are an excellent unit if used properly. Putting one in a Phase Transport is probably the most dangerous threat to a base on maps without base defenses, particularly on Woods_Today. Tanyas can take down a single building without any warning unless someone sees them. Here's a neat thing you can try on Woods_Today: Step 1. Buy a Tanya and a Phase Transport. (Cost: 2300) Step 2. Drive to the Soviet base, making sure not to drive too close to any enemy units. Step 3. Drive behind the War Factory. Step 4. When you're sure no one is looking behind (or inside) the War Factory, exit the Phase and dash in. Step 5. As quickly as possible, plant all your C4 on the MCT. Step 6. Get back to the Phase and drive off, again trying not to get spotted. Step 7. A safe distance (and out of line of sight) from the Soviet base, exit your Phase, switch to C4 with the '9' key, and right-click. Step 8. If you did everything right, you should hear a "Soviet structure destroyed." message. That was the War Factory. I'm betting at least one person on the other team will say "WTF." Similar results can be acquired by parking behind the Ore Refinery and blowing it up instead. The main risk, other than your Phase being hijacked, is there being someone in the building (or you being spotted). It kinda blows the whole stealthy thing, and there's a good chance the Soviets will get your Phase if that happens. In other words, don't enter a building right after an Allied kill message appears: there's a chance the dead person may appear in the building you're trying to demolish. From Apache: "Don't throw C4 on a[n] MCT and detonate one at a time, this will normally make the whole team ambush you before you get the third C4 on." Ididyamom69 also has submitted that using Tanyas with Rangers can also prove quite effective (although Rangers are a lot more noticeable than Phase Transports.) 3.2.2 Spies Everyone loves Spies, except people on the Soviet team. Spy + Flares (Cost: 2900) are very very popular. Spies work better on maps WITH base defenses, as the Spy is not shot at by them. To reduce your chances of being spotted: -Be a Rifle Soldier. It's pretty inconspicuous. -When you buy a beacon, people can see it if it's on your back or in your hand, which gives you away. Switch to the pistol and it will put the AK on your back, which makes you look a whole hell of a lot more normal. -Try to not be seen as much as possible, and don't let people see you at a distance greater than, say, 100 meters, or they'll think you're an Allied soldier just because of where you are. Also, try to stay outside of about 15 meters of enemy units, as moving closer reveals your name to that person, colored bright yellow to signify you're a member of the opposite team. -If you absolutely have to move past some enemy units, move along the shortest path to behind the nearest building. If they only catch a glimpse and you're outside the "name lights me up like a Christmas tree" range, you look like a normal soldier. -Plant as far away as possible from any enemy units. The upper level of the Refinery is good as it's hard to see the smoke inside if planted correctly, and people have to wait a few seconds to get up there to disarm it, and with beacons, every second counts. The same is true with the lower level of the Construction Yard, although it may be hard to get in unnoticed as all of the doors that give entry to it are on one side. -Again, stay out of sight. You're not completely invisible like any SBHs were in Renegade. This warrants stating again because throwing away 2900 credits for absolutely no reason is a waste of your team's manpower and a waste of your money. Apache has this to say about Spies: "If you use a spy to plant a nuke, be sure to get in a place where no one will see you right away, but you will be able to jump out and headshot them a few times." Also: "If an enemy base is currently empty, try to get more than one building with a nuke, the more the merrier." Another fun thing you can do with Spies is wait near the Soviet War Factory, wait for a tank to be purchased, and kill the person running toward the vehicle. Whee! Free tank. Now just try to cause as much destruction inside the Soviet base as possible to keep them concentrated on you, and not your team, which can then plan a real strike. (Thanks to BloodyCreep for the tip.) 3.2.3 Flanking the enemy Got a Phase Transport? Good, listen up. If the Allies happen to engage the Soviets in a stand-up tank fight, drive around behind the Soviets and attack from behind. The Soviets can either choose to go after you or the tanks in front of them, but either way, they're gonna take a lot of damage. In fact, you should always attack from behind in a Phase Transport. If you're lucky, the person you attack won't know how to turn around his tank turret. ============== 3.3 Artillery ============== Artillery are difficult units to use, but when teamwork is involved, they can truly be devastating. Ididyamom69 submitted this: "Always mix Mechanics and Artillery together to make a lethal combination. Artillery can destroy any target very quickly, including tanks. The downsides are that it is slow in speed and turning, inaccurate, it has a large minimum range which makes it hard to hit infantry who get too close, ...weak armor, and it is hard to aim. Make sure you have plenty of backup for this, because this is not a main combat tank and can easily be destroyed if snuck up on." Hydra1945 also has several good tips for using Artillery (and you should listen to him, as he's quite good with them). "-Try to find secluded spots behind obstacles from which you can bombard the enemy base with the artillery. -Always keep on the lookout for any infantry that might be trying to sneak up on ya; if they get within your minimum range, you're screwed. -Use the terrain to your advantage. If you find yourself being harassed by a rifle soldier jumping around right next to you and you can't seem to hit him, try to hit any objects close to him, like a tree or large rock. If he's close enough, the explosion will kill him. -An easy way to find the rough maximum range of the artillery is to position the firing cursor about three cursor-lengths above the top of the cannon. -The artillery is a support vehicle. When a part of an attacking force, it should hang back and shower the main battlefield with shells. It should not be directly involved in the heavy fighting since its armor is so weak. -Always go in with support. An artillery cannot survive on its own if it is directly engaged in combat. For example, you can bring along a Tanya to kill those pesky infantry that get within your minimum range, or a medium tank to destroy any heavy tanks that might ambush you from behind. -When there's a pesky volkov moving around and shooting at you from a hilltop (as often is the case on Keep Off The Grass), keep shooting him in the same place (with a little variation, of course). Often times that annoying little volkov will run right into the explosion and be incinerated :)." <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 4. SOVIET STRATEGIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Well, comrade, let's get to discussing how to crush those capitalist pigs under the treads of our mighty tanks. =============== 4.1 Basic Tips =============== 4.1.1 Work together, dammit! Always travel in groups if you're in a vehicle, as the Allies can pick you off with all sorts of ambushes long before you get anywhere near their base, including the ever-nasty Phase Transport, which can ambush you from anywhere, and is great at picking off lone units. If you're in any sort of tank, stay close to other Heavy Tanks and Mammoth Tanks, and you'll be able to cover each other. Tesla Tanks actually do well to provide cover for other vehicles, too. 4.1.2 Open ground is the best ground If you can force the Allies to commit to a fight on open, flat terrain without cover, the superior power of Soviet tanks and units will ensure a Soviet victory in that battle. Keep that in mind. ============ 4.2 Rushing ============ Just like in Red Alert, Soviets are best at rushing. Here are some types of rushes the Soviets can perform to strike fear into the hearts of the Allies. 4.2.1 Infantry rush! In Renegade Alert, even a basic Rifle Soldier can damage a building, especially if he shoots the MCT. Allies can infantry rush as well, but Soviets have an advantage: the Grenadier. Grenadiers are cheap enough that you will probably be able to afford them with your starting money, as long as it's not 0. Grenadiers are excellent against enemy Rifle Soldiers, who have a relatively short range on their rifles, so one or two of these along with Rifle Soldiers can help assure that an infantry rush is not decimated before it can enter a building and do real damage. It's not unusual even against a large group of Rifle Soldiers to get two or three kills before finally succumbing to enemy fire, and that's two or three infantry the rest of your team doesn't have to worry about. It isn't a bad idea to include Officers in an infantry rush, either. tooncy has this to say about infantry rushing: "Don't doubt the effectiveness of rifle soldiers, sometimes a quick rush on the enemy refinery at the start of the match can win you the game." Kabill has a useful tip, as well: "If you are infantry rushing spread out a bit or a fireball or rocket or sumthing else could kill a bunch of you [in] one hit." 4.2.2 Heavy/V2 rush Wanna keep the Allies from getting too sneaky for their own good? Execute a Heavy Tank rush. As soon as everyone has enough money, have everyone buy Heavy Tanks, with a couple of V2 Rockets thrown in, and roll towards the Allied base. If the Allies are slow on the uptake or just not very good, you'll cut through them like a hot knife through butter. If they are good, you'll at least be keeping them on their toes. Hopefully, you can scare them into defending most of the time, instead of sneaking into your base and causing havoc. Later in the game, it's a good idea to include Mammoth Tanks along with these attacks. 4.2.3 Tesla Tank rush Now that Tesla Tanks have gotten a significant boost in their usefulness, this tactic is possible. Tesla Tanks suffer from a slow rate of fire, but this can be combated if you have three Tesla Tanks come with you at once. You can virtually kill any Allied unit in one or two shots from each of your tanks. Individual units will be completely incapable of stopping you. It takes at least three Medium Tanks to deal significant damage to three Tesla Tanks, and Allied armor is usually spread out, so you probably won't encounter more than one or two at a time outside their base. Once in the base, you'll be able to take out structures very very quickly, long before the Allies have a chance to destroy them. The only real risk of a Tesla Tank rush is if you come across a large (three or more) group of Medium Tanks. (Rocket Soldiers in large groups pose a threat if they can get inside your minimum range, too, so make sure you dispose of any you come across.) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 5. MISCELLANEOUS STRATEGIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> One that we all should remember, from patterson: --"Don't concentrate on points, concentrate on winning because points don't really matter." An anonymous person submitted this hilarious little strategy: --"If soviets, get a Grenadier at the very beginning and head for the enemy base, this usually works well on KOTG. Sneak in and try not to get noticed. You will usually make it there before the enemy ore truck has dumped. Try to be as close to the War as possible, if not hiding in it. When you see the first tank come out, head toward it, and kill anyone you see heading to it. Since Grenadiers are VERY effective against infantry, you can easily kill the player attempting to get his vehicle and steal it. Ive done that a couple times and have gotten me a light, Artillery, and 2 Phases because of it =D" NOTE: This would more likely work on Woods_Today, as it doesn't have those nasty Pillboxes to prevent the whole thing from ever happening. ============ 5.1 Snipers ============ Snipers require a lot of skill to use, but with these tips, you'll have that kill count up in no time! A few handy tips involving being a Sniper: --"Aim for the head. This one should be obvious. Headshots on any weapon to 3x the damage than if shot anywhere else." Headshots from a Sniper kill in one hit, so keep that in mind. Thanks to tooncy for that tip. ToXiN has submitted a list of Sniper tactics, as well: "#1 If you see a [friendly] sniper hiding somewhere, do not even start running near him because that could get both of you killed, also try to avoid blocking his line of sight. #2 after every 3-5 kills switch positions, because people can usually work out where you are shooting from after about five kills. #3 Bushes are your friend, pretty much first spot a person in 3rd person view then pop out of the bush for a second to kill him, this way you can camp for a bit longer, but i wouldn't suggest going over 8 kills in any one place. #4 backing up a Mammoth tank or even a tank rush by sniping off of a nice location can help your team dramaticly. [AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's actually probably more useful to snipe for a group of Heavy Tanks instead of Mammoth Tanks, as Mammoth Tanks fare well against infantry with their Mammoth Tusk missiles.] #5 If you are spotted, usually go for the cowards tactic, hide somewhere good, if you have to, take them on with the pistol but you'll get slaughtered. #6 Now the most fun tactic with a sniper is to hide well and then take out tank driver as he repairs his tank and steal the tank. #7 hide in your enemies base and kill from there, if done well they won't know who or where this is coming from. (Note: This does not mean Spawn killing) #8 Defending your base from infantry rushes as a sniper, not many people do this." Alternatively, drunkill has this tip to avoid being killed by Snipers as easily: --"When running, mix it up a little, jump everynow and again, or even side step, so its harder for snipers to hit you." ======================== 5.2 Building Priorities ======================== Even though all your team's buildings are important, certain buildings are more important to your team than others. In general, you'll want to attack these buildings in an order something like this (buildings higher on the list indicate higher-priority targets): Ore Refinery Construction Yard War Factory or Barracks Tesla Coil/Flame Towers/Turrets/Pillboxes Service Depot Power Plant Radar Dome Refineries are vital, as they control virtually all the source of income that your team gets, so naturally there's going to be some ways that you should handle yourself concerning them. Another tip from tooncy: --"Defend your refinery! This is the single most important structure in the game. If your refinery gets hammered early on, your chances for winning are at about 10%, becuase you won't have enough cash to buy advanced vehicles and infantry." Also: --"If the enemies weapons factory is destroyed, send a few tanks to kill the enemy ore truck. Losing the ore truck is as bad as losing the refinery itself." Construction Yards are high-priority targets because their auto-repair function negates a significant portion of the damage done to all buildings except itself, so destroying it will make the rest of the base fall easier. The War Factory and Barracks control the purchases of vehicles and advanced soldiers, respectively, and the enemy is significantly hindered without either. However, whether you should go for the Barracks or the War Factory is really a judgement call you'll have to make - there are arguments for both. Taking down base defenses with long-range vehicles makes it a whole lot easier to destroy the enemy's base, as automated defenses are powerful and are good at preventing entry into their base. The Soviets are especially vulnerable if their Tesla Coil is destroyed. Service Depots are important structures, too, as tooncy says: --"Protect your service depot. This goes double for you soviets! The service depot is the only way that you can repair tanks if your on the soviet side, and if your on the allied team and you loose the barracks, same thing. This is a vital structure, and many people fail to protect it. Also, use your service depot! If your at the base in a slightly damaged tank, don't sit on your butt and wait for a teammate to repair you, drive to the service depot! It repairs faster than a mechanic." Power Plants currently double the price of all purchases when destroyed. In future versions, this building will move up in priority, as superweapons, Allied AA Guns, and the Tesla Coil all stop working without power. Radar Domes aren't the most important structures ever, but you can tell the relative location of allied and enemy A-Bomb Signal Flares, which isn't a bad deal. Your nifty little compass goes away, too, when these are destroyed. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 6. MAP SUMMARY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DM_Isles: A deathmatch map featuring a bunch of hilly islands interspersed about some shallow water. One point is awarded for every kill. The team with the highest number of points at the end of the match (which only ends when the timer expires) wins. There are crates that spawn on certain islands that you can get which give out weapons. C&C_RA_Zama: A C&C mode map where the Allies and Soviets are separated by a river with two points that it can be crossed by vehicles. One of these points is a bridge which is destroyable. The other point is all the way on one side of the map, where the river ends. Both sides have a War Factory, Ore Refinery, and Barracks. The Soviets have a Tesla Coil in front of their buildings while the Allies have Turrets and Pillboxes at the front and side entrances to their base. The Soviets are on a cliff, which can be scaled away from their base or near it, the former of which can be used by Artillery or Phase Transports as a relatively stealthy way to get to the Soviet base. There are two Gem fields on either side of the bridge. C&C_RA_NorthNorthWest (referred to as North By Northwest or just NNW): A Tech Level 2 map, which means that both teams only have basic tanks and infantry available to them. Also a "snow" map. Each base has five real ways of entry: two side entrances (which have gaps in Concrete Walls for infantry to enter) and two frontal entrances, armed with base defenses, and one back entrance, also armed with a base defense. Both sides have a War Factory, Barracks, and Ore Refinery on this map. Allies get Pillboxes while Soviets get Flame Towers. Both bases are surrounded by Concrete Walls except for two places, but the frontal gap in both bases is separated by a cliff, which creates two entrances. Vehicles can scale the cliffs at other points on the map, and can come roaring down the cliff at the front of the base, but usually if a vehicle is heading toward the front entrance they will use one of the two paths instead of the cliff itself. There are two Gem fields on top of the hill separating the Allied and Soviet bases. C&C_RA_Woods_Today: A map set in a coastal area with a light forest. There are two paths to the Allied base, which is up on a hill, and the Soviet base is next to a small hill, allowing Allied units to sneak behind it. Both sides have a War Factory, Ore Refinery, Barracks, Service Depot, and Radar Dome. No base defenses or walls are present on the map. There is a Gem field a fair distance from the Soviet base. C&C_RA_Fjord: Another snow map. The Allied and Soviet bases are separated by two bridges. One of them is a land (ice?) bridge, and the other is actually the top of a giant dam. Both sides have a War Factory, Barracks, Construction Yard, Ore Refinery, and Power Plant. Again, no base defenses or walls are present on this map. This map is mostly open ground. C&C_RA_KeepOffGrass (referred to as Keep off the Grass, or KOTG): Mountains separate the two bases, with two passageways between the two. The Allies have Turrets and Pillboxes on one side, and just Turrets on the other. The Soviets have a Tesla Coil on one side, and Flame Towers on the other. Both bases are surrounded by walls. Between the mountains, there is a walled-off area containing a Gem field. At least one section of wall must be destroyed before an Ore Truck can get to the Gems. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 7. CREDITS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Writer/Editor/Head Honcho Guy - PointlessAmbler Contributors - Apache Ididyamom69 Kabill hydra1945 BloodyCreep tooncy ToXiN patterson drunkill Special Thanks to - Apache for hosting this FAQ! The entire mod team for making RenAlert kickass. ////////// END OF FAQ //////////