-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------- Command & Conquer: Generals Beginner's FAQ for Command & Conquer: Generals By: TAKOYAKI E-mail: Last updated: 4/21/03 Best viewed with a fixed width font such as Courier New or else the FAQ would look horrible. . . Space Check: (if the below characters aren't aligned, better switch to the aforementioned font) +----------+ |0123456789| |abcdefghij| |!@#$%^&*()| +----------+ Versions: 6/28/03: v1.0 - First release. Didn't add too much to the Strategies section for a hasty release, sorry, I really have to upload it now, because of this thing called "school". Oh, and just broke the 100k mark! *throws party* Oh, and finally got Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week!!! (it's so cool, I finished reading it in less than 12 hours!!!) 6/9/03: v0.9 - Preparing for initial release... added many things and finished the Units section (what an overdue update!!!) 5/9/03: v0.5 - Finished Structures section, added Upgrades to Structures section 5/5/03: v0.4 - Major update, refined some existing elements and added more content to the Structures and Upgrades section 4/22/03: v0.2 - Added some Newbie Tips, and started the Structures section 4/21/03: v0.1 - First version, nothing special here, except for the fact that I've got the FAQ started __/\__+----------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Contents |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+----------+|/||/| I. What this FAQ is all about... II. Legal Stuff III. E-mail Policy IV. Newbie Tips V. Structures and Upgrades 101 VI. Units 102 VII. Strategy 103 VIII. Generals Abilities 104 IX. Credits __/\__+-------------------------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| What this FAQ is all about... |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+-------------------------------+|/||/| This is a Beginner's Guide to those struggling newbie commanders out there, as Generals is quite hard to learn by someone on his own. This FAQ assumes that you are acquianted with the basic elements of the game, since I'm not going to discuss them. (read the manual, dammit!) C&C Generals is amazing at the very least, it strays from previous C&C games since it runs on EA's SAGE engine (correct me if I'm wrong), and the game is not connected with any of the previous C&C games storyline. Almost all units and structures are not bogus (previous games had weird units and structures like Cyborg Commandos and Tesla Coils), making the game more realistic. The ever-present Construction Yard (the backbone of every base in C&C games) is gone now, replaced by the worker-units-build-structures-system thingie that's present in almost all RTS games out there. Throw in the Generals experience system and the new unit/structure upgrades that previous games didn't have, you have a first class RTS game!!! If you're one of those people who don't know how to utilize your units well, have an abundant supply of cash, seizing terrain advantages, or just plain win, then read on! Accomplished commanders may also make use of some of the information here in this FAQ! Without further ado, I present you the FAQ. __/\__+-------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Legal Stuff |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+-------------+|/||/| (from Kao Megura's FAQs, because I am too lazy to type up my own legal stuff. . .) *quote* This document is protected by US Copyright Law, and the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976. It is for private and personal use only--it cannot be reprinted in part or in whole, or reproduced in any way or in any form (written or otherwise). It is a free document that cannot be used in any sort of commercial transaction, including selling it or giving it away as a gift. This FAQ cannot be referenced, altered, or used by anybody (including webmasters, publishers, and magazine staff) without my express written permission. This FAQ was created and is owned by me, SSJ4TAKOYAKI . It can be found exclusively at (www.GameFAQs.com). All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged and respected that are not specifically mentioned herein. *end quote* This FAQ may be found outside GameFAQs, but only by my permission. You may also not rip off parts of this FAQ and use it for your own purposes. Remember, plagiarism is a crime and is punishable by law. If you want it on your site then ask my permission first. It won't take less than 5 minutes of your time, trust me. You shouldn't also make money from my FAQ!!! It's a very evil thing to do, making money from other's works without their consent. Shall you disagree with any of these statements, delete this FAQ and discard any help it has done for you. I shall make it clear: do not put my FAQ in your site unless I give you permission to. If I get notified that your site is hosting my FAQ, then I will have to get dirrty! If you find this FAQ on sites which are not listed below, then that site did not probably ask my permission to post my FAQ on their site. Report it to me and you'll be in the Nice People List! May the Force be with you. (Sites) www.gamefaqs.com __/\__+---------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| E-mail Policy |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+---------------+|/||/| 1. All replies about the FAQ should have a relevant subject or else I will regard them as spam, delete them, and block the sender. 2. No spam, death threats, hate mail, and chain letters. If your letter contains anything listed previously, I will delete it and block you from my list. And no, I don't want to get into flame wars, sorry. 3. No asking for CD keys!!! 'Nuff said. 4. No, I don't want to be your friend, sorry I'm not trying to be rude but my schedule is very tight and I can't go online much... But you can see me in IRC, (Undernet) and my nick is usually B00GS. The channel I'm usually on is #bedan. (sometimes I hang out on #capcom, EFnet server, which is SRK's channel) 5. Reader suggestions and contributions (like rushes or so) are gladly welcome. Just follow the guidelines above. If your contribution WILL make it to my FAQ I will give you due credit. 6. If you provide me with a link that links to a site which STOLE my FAQ, you will make it to the Nice People List. __/\__+-------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Newbie Tips |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+-------------+|/||/| *ON BASIC ARMY MANAGEMENT* First and foremost, the SPACEBAR is your friend. Make it a habit to press it when you see a radar event (cue the message on the upper left-hand corner of the screen or an minimap event). This little knowledge may to save your butt from being kicked! I've seen lots of matches lost because the loser didn't respond quickly to his opponent's attack, even when the message "Structure under attack" got spammed on his screen... Use it after building a superweapon (so you could hotkey it instantly), use it when your opponent launches a surprise attack on your units, and use it when Colonel Burton is wreaking havoc on your damn base!!! Don't ever forget this piece of advice! Place your idle units on guard mode. Normally, units don't automatically attack the enemy even if they're already planting TNT on their sorry asses. A simple press of the "guard" key and a click on their present location should prove to be sufficient. That way, when a MiG shows itself to your Quad Cannons, they'll shoot it down promptly. Or, you could just attack-move your units to the location you want them to guard. Pay close attention to the minimap! (assuming you have radar, which is a must have) Try to memorize your allies color so you know which units they are controlling. If you ever see a speck on the map with a different color than yours, check it out! Check if the enemy unit is going to attack you, and prepare your defenses if they are. Forewarned is forearmed!!! *ON DISPOSING INFANTRY AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE* First and foremost, if you have some vehicles, run the little buggers over! In this game, you only need to bump off the infantry to kill them, instead of of running over. (if you don't understand, watch how the AI does it) Also, if they are on your base, train some rifle infantry and mow them down, for you can produce as many of them, while your opponent is stuck with his attack squad. (unless he has a Barracks near your base, that is) For garrisonned infantry, there are many ways, but the USA's method is far the best. Why? Because it only costs 1025 bucks!!! Just get a Ranger, and research Flashbangs! Then send a decoy force (unoccupied Humvees recommended) to divert attention from your Ranger, and throw a Flashbang at the offending building. It's that easy. For China and GLA, just make some Dragon Tanks and Toxin Tractors respectively, and try the same tactic above, since both have low health to start with. Of course, USA has the Combat Drop, but it is easily shot down unless the garrisonned infantry are all rifle infantry *ON CERTAIN DEATH SITUATIONS* When a nuke/SCUD storm is on its merry way to obliterate your army (a very good strategy, IMO), try to evacuate and get the hell out of there!!! This does not just apply to the aforementioned, it also applies to things like Fuel Air Bombs and EMPs! (I once lost my whole marauder/quad batallion to one Fuel Air Bomb!!!) It's very humiliating to build a whole mess of Overlords and Nuke Cannons, only for them to go up in smoke, or get disabled and mopped up by incoming enemy troops. If, your base is being attacked by the enemy and there are no means of preventing the inevitable collapse of your base, take whatever worker units and supply collectors with you, and make another base in a distant location from yours. (USA is best at this, use your Chinooks) Build a Command Center first, then a Supply Stash. *ON DEFENSIVE STRATEGY* If you have truly built an Alcatraz of a base, then try to force your opponent to attack. The simpliest way to do this is build a couple of superweapons (GLA is very good at this), and your opponent might get annoyed and attack you. The other one is to destroy his cash flow. Simply hunt down his expansions and raze them to the ground, and don't forget to get his oil derricks, too! (just destroy them if you can't get 'em) Don't only place defensive structures near entrances to your base, place it everywhere, for Sun Tzu's sake! (Sun Tzu wrote the famous "The Art of War", which still plays an important part in military strategy, and you should get your copy now, since I got mine already!) Speaking of your cash flow, don't wait for your primary supply depot to get emptied before finding another one, get an expansion before the supplies on your primary supply depot get lower than 4000 dollars. And make sure to save up to build another supply stash! I've seen people build lots of defenses, only to sell them when their primary supply depot is screwed and they don't have any cash left. If you see your opponent do THAT, then attack!!! He will be crippled since he doesn't have a main way of collecting income (i.e. collecting supplies from supply depots as opposed to secondary ways like oil derricks, black markets, hackers and supply drop zones) *ON SCOUTING* Scouting is very important and should never be discarded. Without proper scouting, your troops may find themselves ambushed, your income disabled, and your attack routed. +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware | |that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only halfway toward | |victory. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that | |our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone halfway toward | |victory. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, and also know that our| |men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the nature of the | |ground makes fighting impracticable, we have still gone only halfway toward | |victory." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ You should ask yourself some questions. "What is the layout of the enemy base?" "Where is his army positioned?" "What supply depots are currently being used by him?" "Where is his superweapon positioned?" And finally, "How am I going to answer all of these questions?" Simple. By scouting. Scout using fast, light vehicles. (like Technicals, Humvees and Troop Crawlers) Scout your immediate area first, while going farther from your main base. If you see his base, attempt to go to the deepest parts of his base, since your purpose here is to scout, and not a nuisance attack (which is easily taken care of, BTW). Take note of the topography of his base, as well as the surrounding area of his base. Only by then can you be able to attack efficiently. USA and GLA have means of scouting which does not use of any ordinary unit. This is called spying. The USA has three methods of spying, and the GLA has only one, albeit arguably better than the USA's three methods. Let us study them below: *USA SPYING METHODS* 1. Spy Satellite - Will reveal a large area upon where it was deployed. Lasts for a few seconds before the Fog of War reappears. Detects invisible units. It can be accessed through the Command Center. It recharges every 1:00. 2. Spy Drone - Will continue to reveal a large area upon where it was deployed. An invisible, airborne drone will "sit" indefinitely on the said area, detecting invisible units. However, it can be shot down by anything that can attack air units. However, it should be detected first by a stealth-detecting unit (like Radar Vans) or an ability (like Spy Satellites). Should it be shot down, the said area will remain revealed for a few seconds, and after that the Fog of War cover the area. It can be accessed through the Command Center or the right-hand edge of the screen. It recharges every 1:30. It must be "purchased" from the General Abilities screen. (Level 1 General Ability) 3. Intelligence - Will reveal every non-stealthed unit the enemy has. Lasts for 30 seconds before the Fog of War reappears. It can be accessed through the Detention Camp. It recharges every 2:00. *GLA SPYING METHODS* 1. Radar Scan - Will reveal a moderately-sized area upon where it was deployed. Lasts for a few seconds before the Fog of War reappears. Detects invisible units. It can be accessed through a Radar Van. It recharges every 0:30. It must be researched from the Black Market for 500 cash. As you see, the GLA are best in spying. Not only are Radar Vans cheap, you can virtually abuse the Radar Scan!!! However, this can't be done in the early game, since you need to research it from the Black Market, which is practically at the top of the GLA tech tree. With the USA, you could spy immediately and plan a rush at once!!! Poor, poor China... *ON ATTACKING* When fighting with your allies, attack together, and attack at different angles. This will ensure that your attack will succeed even against a superior adversary. Your opponent will panic because the enemy is attacking at different angles!!! This will split up his defending troops, which should spell his downfall. (should he defend one part of his base the other part will be crushed by the other) This will also work against the computer, but I believe that the AI will perform better since the computer doesn't panic!!! This is in no ways cheap, since if your opponent has allies then they should've helped him defend. That's what's allies are for!!! When attacking, you should have some anti-air units present. As you see, Commanches firing rocket pods at your army isn't very pretty to look at. Well, if you brought some Gatling Tanks with you, then you'll get them promoted (if the enemy doesn't go for them first) and maybe YOU, too. Beware of Auroras! If possible, attack from the rear. Since the rear is usually less well- defended by the enemy, then you will have better chances of penetrating through. Your opponent may call you cheap, but then again, it was his fault that he left his back door open, and that shall be his undoing. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"Rapidity is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness,| |make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ *ON AVERTING THE POSSIBILITY OF YOUR WHOLE BASE BEING DESTROYED BY AIRBORNE AGENTS* Place lots of anti-air defenses around your base! Since lots of deadly things like EMPs, Fuel Air bombs, Paradrops, Cluster Mines and Anthrax Bombs come from some big-ass cargo plane, your anti-air should be adequate enough to stop them before it's too late!!! Since your opponent makes use of these to catch you napping, it's imperative that you should take cautionary measures. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"No matter the fighting style, one cannot defend an attack from the air."| | -- Hennya, Rurouni Kenshin | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ *ON BASE MANAGEMENT* As you see, a build order is imperative. Playing without a build order is like an adventure without a handkerchief! (*cough* Bilbo *cough*) Excuse me for the obscure reference... Get your own build order! A basic one is: 1. (for China and USA) Build a Nuclear/Cold Fusion Reactor, respectively (GLA doesn't need to do this) 2. Order your Command Center to make a worker unit 3. (for China and USA) When the Reactor is finished building, build a Supply Stash near a supply depot (for GLA just build a Supply Stash ASAP with your first worker) 4. As soon as the worker unit comes out of the Command Center order it to build a Barracks 5. When the Barracks is finished pump out some basic infantry units (i.e. Ranger/Red Guard/Rebel) for immediate defense against rushes, if your opponent is USA then build some rocket infantry too (i.e. Missile Defender/Tank Hunter/ RPG Trooper) 6. Research Capture Building and take over any nearby Tech Buildings Well, you shouldn't follow the above one religiously, its just a basic build order! Feel free to add/change things of your own! Try to set rally points for your production buildings, that way, units won't crowd in the war factory/barracks. Try to put them in strategic places and make them guard ground to have more defense. __/\__+---------------------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Structures & Upgrades 101 |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+---------------------------+|/||/| This section will deal with the different buildings of C&C Generals, like how to use them properly and making the most out of them. I also added some things to remember about them. I also added the different upgrades to this section, and a brief description about them and how to make the most out of them. +----------------+ | USA Structures | +----------------+ *Note on all USA Structures*: All USA Structures repair themselves, making them very newbie-friendly. Command Center Cost: 2000 Abilities: Deployable general abilities (like fuel air bombs, A10 strikes, paradrops, and emergency repairs), Spy Satellite (1:00 countdown) Builds: USA Construction Dozer The Command Center creates your builder units, so you must protect it! It may not be as important as the Construction Yard of previous games, but lose it and you're in big trouble unless you make another one. You also need to have one if you plan on using those Particle Cannons of yours. Use the Spy Satellite to spy on the enemy, since it reveals a large radius where you deploy it. It also spots cloaked units. Unlike the Spy Drone, the Fog of War returns after a few seconds, but it can't be stopped by outside forces. (unlike the Spy Drone which could be detected by enemy troops and shot down) It can also stand severe punishment from a superweapon strike. Oh, and you start with it in every skirmish and multiplayer game. It also provides you radar automatically. Cold Fusion Reactor Cost: 800 Upgrades: Control Rods Power provided: 5 (10 if you upgrade it with Control Rods) Power is needed for your static defenses, superweapons, and radar to work. Therefore, Cold Fusion Reactors are a vital part of your base. You should build a whole lot of them since they only provide 5 power compared to China's Nuclear Reactor which provides 10 power. If your base is too cramped then research Control Rods on your Reactors. Two unupgraded Reactors are better than one upgraded one since one Reactor is easier to destroy than two of them. Cold Fusion Reactors with Control Rods researched will glow a yellow color from their windows (so you know which Reactor has Control Rods researched) Also, scatter your Reactors since things like Particle Cannons and nukes will destroy a whole lot of them in one use. Barracks Cost: 600 Upgrades: Flashbangs, Capture Building Builds: Ranger, Missile Defender, Pathfinder, Colonel Burton Power consumed: NONE This building has no prerequisites and eats up NO power. It is also a vital tool for victory. For it trains all USA infantry and heals them (just order wounded infantry to enter the Barracks and the Barracks will heal it). It also has important upgrades like Flashbangs and the Capture Building upgrade. Flashbangs give Rangers a secondary mode of attack that only damages infantry (but does a very good job at it). Capture Building allows Rangers to capture Tech Buildings (Oil Derricks and the like) and enemy Buildings. The good thing is you don't lose your unit anymore when you order it to capture buildings. If you train lots of infantry then you should have more than one of these in your base. Supply Center Cost: 2000 Builds: Chinook Power consumed: 1 Prerequisites: Cold Fusion Reactor Supply Centers spawn a supply gatherer which goes to supply depots to collect supplies, and when they can't carry anymore supplies they return to the Supply Center to dump supplies, which is converted to cash. (whew, I said a lot of supplies!) That means that to have the money flowing, you should have one of these. As in all RTS games out there, no resources means defeat. Build more than one of these so you'll speed up your income. (Chinooks drop supplies one at a time, not like Chinese Supply Trucks) Info about Chinooks will be in the Units 102 section. Patriot Missile System Cost: 1000 Power consumed: 3 Prerequisites: Cold Fusion Reactor This daddy is your only static defense. It excels in almost anything, it is quite effective against infantry! (something rockets aren't usually strong at) Try to place Patriots near each other, because when one of them fires at the enemy it relays the enemy's position to other Patriots which then start shooting when it normally couldn't! YAY!!! Eats a good lot of power, though, and doesn't have much health. Still better than Stinger sites, though, because they are smaller and not as easily neutralized. Airfield Cost: 1000 Upgrades: Rocket Pods, Laser Missiles Builds: Raptor, Commanche, Stealth Fighter, Aurora Strike Bomber Power consumed: 1 Prerequisites: Supply Center For such a cheap price, the Airfield will be a powerful tool to victory. Why? The Americans have the best air in the game. Raptors for defending your base, Stealth Fighters to strip the enemy of his defenses, Aurora Strike Bombers for mass building destruction, and Commanches for various uses. Airfields repair damaged aircraft, and reload them (except the Commanche, which reloads automatically in the air) when their ammo is expended. Rocket Pods is a cheap, albeit important upgrade for Commanches while Laser Missiles is very important when you find yourself using Raptors and Stealth Fighters a lot. Be careful though, Airfields have minimal armor and low health, so protect them well, since grounded aircraft are an easy target for Rebel Ambushes and the like. Also, your allies can also land and refuel on your Airfield. War Factory Cost: 2000 Upgrades: TOW Missile Builds: Crusader, Humvee, Paladin, Tomahawk, Ambulance Power consumed: 1 Prerequisites: Supply Center Another important building. Builds USA armor and repairs them. Since USA vehicles are a very good lot, you'll need this structure badly. Too bad, it isn't as well-armored as it was in previous C&C games... Strategy Center Cost: 2500 Abilities: Bombardment, Hold the Line, Search and Destroy Upgrades: Advanced Training, Drone Armor, Composite Armor Power consumed: 2 Prerequisites: Airfield OR War Factory This building researches vital upgrades for you. Not only that, it can be a defensive structure by itself! (Bombardment) The strategies Bombardment, Hold the Line and Search and Destroy need some explaining. Only one strategy can be declared at a time, and you can change strategies when needed. When you declare a strategy, your Strategy Center will be revealed to enemies (so don't throw out strategies at once!), and if your Strategy Center is already imposing a strategy and you change it, your units will temporarily be disabled. If you choose Bombardment, your units will receive a 20% damage bonus. And also, your Strategy Center will deploy a big cannon that acts just like the Grand Cannon from Red Alert 2. (big range and damage, has minimum range) Hold the Line increases the Strategy Center's armor. (you'll see it filled with sandbags) Its primary bonus adds 10% armor to all units. Search and Destroy however, will add a 20% sight range AND attacking range bonus to all units and structures. (yeah!!!) The Strategy Center can now detect invisible units and has a longer sight range than usual (so put the Strategy Center in from of your base). Now, go figure which strategy is the best. Hold the Line is certainly the WORST, since it gives so little bonus and the extra armor doesn't really help. (unless your base is being overrun by the enemy) Bombardment is especially good for those who love to attack the enemy, since the 20% damage increase is very good. Well, for those who can't choose, Search and Destroy is best! Not only does the 20% increased range help Tomahawks (which are very long ranged units on their own) outshoot any artillery, it gives them extra sight range, too! (more if you have scout drones) And I believe that Search and Destroy adds firing range to Patriots! Detention Camp Cost: 1000 Abilities: Intelligence (2:00 countdown) Power consumed: NONE Prerequisites: Strategy Center Build lots of these since they don't take any power. The Intelligence ability is important since it allows you to see all non-stealthed enemy units. Knowing where these units are is the key to victory. 'Nuff said. Particle Cannon Uplink Cost: 5000 Abilities: Particle Cannon (4:00 countdown) Power consumed: 10 Prerequisites: Strategy Center I recommend to build at least two of these nasty little buggers, since one Particle Cannon isn't going to do much damage. With two of them, you could destroy any structure (superweapons included)! This will INSTANTLY kill any unit that comes into contact with the beam. You can move the beam by selecting the active Particle Cannon Uplink (the one that is currently firing a Particle Cannon and clicking to other places on the map. This is the superweapon with the shortest countdown, so you'll be able to churn out more superweapon strikes than the other factions can. Get lots of Reactors to compensate for the INSANE amount of power this baby consumes... +--------------+ | USA Upgrades | +--------------+ Flashbangs Cost: 800 Researched at: Barracks Units affected: Ranger Bonus: Allows Rangers to use the Flashbang attack Rating: ***** A cheap upgrade which you should get when fighting in urban maps. Flashbangs kill garrisoned infantry in one attack, also Angry Mobs, too! It's a shame that you can't use it and the Ranger's normal attack at the same time. You must select in from the Ranger's command bar. Capture Building Cost: 1000 Researched at: Barracks Units affected: Ranger Bonus: Allows Rangers to use the Capture Building ability Rating: **** You should get this up if you plan on taking Tech and/or enemy buildings. Since Tech buildings like Oil Derricks play an important role in your economy, be sure to get this! However, capturing buildings does not mean insta-capture when your Ranger reaches its target. You must wait for an amount of time before the building is finally yours. While capturing, the building being captured will flash your color. When it flashes your color fast it means that the building is nearly yours! The good thing is you don't lose your unit anymore when you order it to capture buildings. Be sure to have some escort ready while doing so. Rocket Pods Cost: 800 Researched at: Airfield Units affected: Commanche Bonus: Allows Commanches to use the Rocket Pods ability Rating: **** A very cheap, albeit important upgrade. If you plan to make the most out of your Commanches, research this! You don't need any ammo to use it, so if you deplete your rockets, use this! Beware, the rockets miss a lot and the Commanche is vulnerable while using this. However, a correctly used Rocket Pod attack will devastate its target... Laser Missiles Cost: 1400 Researched at: Airfield Units affected: Raptor, Stealth Fighter Bonus: +25% damage increase to Raptor and Stealth Fighter rockets Rating: *** Nothing much to say here, but the extra 25% damage helps a lot in air-to-air battles. Your call. TOW Missile Cost: 1200 Researched at: War Factory Units affected: Humvee Bonus: Gives Humvees a secondary rocket attack Rating: **** A must-have, if you plan on using Humvees. Since the Humvee's machinegun is weak, you should put some infantry inside it for additional firepower. However, if your Humvee gets killed, the infantry inside will die as well, so if you don't want to waste 300 bucks for every Humvee you have, research TOW Missiles! This will also let Humvees perform as cheap anti-vehicle and anti-air. Composite Armor Cost: 2000 Researched at: Strategy Center Units affected: Crusader Tank, Paladin Tank Bonus: +25% armor increase to Crusader Tanks and Paladin Tanks Rating: *** Get this is if you like using the aforementioned tanks. This will help in pitched tank battles, and will give you a bit more error space to operate against the enemy. This also stacks with Hold the Line, if you don't know yet. Advanced Training Cost: 1500 Researched at: Strategy Center Units affected: All except Construction Dozer, Chinook and Ambulance Bonus: Units gain veterancy at double the normal rate Rating: ***** For 1500 cash, all your military units will gain veterancy at twice the usual rate. That means you will have to kill fewer enemies for your units to get stronger. Whatever you do, be sure to research this. Drone Armor Cost: 500 Researched at: Strategy Center Units affected: Battle Drones, Scout Drones Bonus: +25% armor increase to Battle Drones and Scout Drones Rating: *** If you plan on making the most out of Battle Drones and Scout Drones, better give them more survivability for them to last longer. Battle Drones are a very cheap way to augment your vehicles, and Scout Drones detect stealthed units and give longer sight range to the unit that built it. So by all means get it!!! +--------------------+ | Chinese Structures | +--------------------+ *Note*: All Chinese structures except the Speaker Tower can deploy mines enveloping the surrounding area. These mines are invisible and will explode when a land unit comes into contact. Mines are purchased for 600 cash and will gradually regenerate after detonating. They can be cleared by worker units. Command Center Cost: 2000 Abilities: Deployable general abilities (like cluster mines, artillery barrages, cash hacks, and emergency repairs) Upgrades: Radar, Mines Builds: Chinese Construction Dozer The Command Center creates your builder units, so you must protect it! It may not be as important as the Construction Yard of previous games, but lose it and you're in big trouble unless you make another one. You also need to have one if you plan on using those Nuclear Missiles of yours. It also spots cloaked units. It can also stand severe punishment from a superweapon strike. Oh, and you start with it in every skirmish and multiplayer game. Take note that it does not automatically provide radar and you will have to research it at the Command Center itself. I recommend that you research it right after you build your second Construction Dozer. Placing mines around this is paramount! (just don't do it immediately) Nuclear Reactor Cost: 1000 Abilities: Overcharge Power provided: 10 The Chinese counterpart of the Cold Fusion Reactor. This one naturally provides more power than Cold Fusion Reactors and is more cost-efficient. (China spends only 1000 cash for 10 power while USA spends 1600 to get the same amount) The drawback is it gives out a small nuclear explosion when destroyed, so try not to build these near your units! Should you run low on power, quickly toggle the Overcharge ability on your reactors until the power reverts to normal, and then quickly build more Nuclear Reactors. Should your overcharged reactor lose half of its HP turn the Overcharge off and select another reactor to Overcharge. (this means that you will rarely run out of power!!!) Very ingenious, China. Barracks Cost: 600 Trains: Red Guard, Tank Hunter, Hacker, Black Lotus Upgrades: Capture Building Power consumed: 0 This cheap building lets you produce your infantry. Chinese infantry is very good, since their basic infantry unit, the Red Guard is produced in pairs for $300. This is also important in the late game since it produces Hackers which are important in pitched battles, since they collect cash for you! Heals damaged infantry, but Speaker Towers are a better alternative. Supply Center Cost: 1500 Builds: Supply Truck Power consumed: 1 Prerequisites: Nuclear Reactor This is basically the same Supply Center that GLA and USA has, but instead of Workers and Chinooks this Supply Center spawns a moderately-fast Supply Truck that can take $300 before going back to the Supply Center. This means that it collects supplies faster than Chinooks! And since Chinooks can only get supplies one at a time when more than one of them are assigned to a supply depot, USA is at a major disadvantage! Oh yeah! Just protect your Supply Trucks since they are lightly armored and are easily taken care of, while Chinooks aren't as easily dispatched. Oh, and build your Supply Centers as close as possible to the supplies since Supply Trucks aren't airborne units and will have difficulty reaching a far supply depot. Bunker Cost: 400 Power consumed: 0 Prerequisites: Barracks Surprised by the lack of information about this building? The Bunker is a very simple defensive structure. If you remember the Battle Bunker from Yuri's Revenge and/or the Terran Bunker (of StarCraft fame), then this one is an exact replica of it. You put infantry inside it, and they shoot at incoming enemy units with a damage and range increase (sorta like Battle Realm's Watchtower). Put 5 Tank Hunters inside it because anti-infantry is easily handled by Gatling Cannons and Dragon Tanks. Since this building doesn't consume any power, make a whole lot of them! What's more, they can't be cleared by ordinary means, rather, you have to kill the Bunker to get to the infantry inside. Gatling Cannon Cost: 1200 Power consumed: 3 Prerequisites: Barracks Another static defense ripped off from Yuri's Revenge. Gatling Cannons are expensive (compared to Patriots) but are a bit more effective against air units since they have a fast rate of fire and good damage. If they fire for a prolonged period of time, they will fire faster and faster and will deal INSANE damage per second!!! (just like the Gatling Cannon of yore) Again, don't go gaga over building them since they have low HP and take a lot of power... War Factory Cost: 2000 Power consumed: 1 Builds: Battlemaster, Dragon Tank, Gatling Tank, Troop Crawler, Inferno Cannon, Overlord, Nuke Cannon Upgrades: Black Napalm, Chain Guns Prerequisites: Supply Center Probably the most important unit-production building for China. This version produces powerful units essential for Chinese victory! Build one as soon as possible, and if you have enough money get more of them so you can pump out vehicles faster! This building also heals damaged vehicles. Airfield Cost: 1000 Power consumed: 1 Builds: MiG Upgrades: MiG Armor Prerequisites: Supply Center A large, vulnerable structure, the Airfield doesn't seem a good investment at first, because it only produces one unit, but it is nonetheless important. MiGs are arguably the best air unit in the game, with the right combination of power, speed, build cost, health and armor (*cough* Commanche *cough*). It can engage both land and air targets and are capable of producing a firestorm. You know the drill, it repairs and rearms friendly aircraft.Just put these on the back of your base because grounded aircraft are easy targets for the enemy!!! Don't be fooled by their large life bar, since Airfields have virtually no armor at all. Propaganda Center Cost: 2000 Power consumed: 2 Upgrades: Nationalism, Subliminal Messaging Prerequisites: War Factory This is China's building that will let you access the top of the Chinese tech tree. You'll need this to build Overlords, so try to get one as fast as possible. This building also researches important upgrades like Nationalism and Subliminal Messaging. Speaker Tower Cost: 500 Power consumed: 1 Prerequisites: Propaganda Center This simple defensive structure will increase nearby units' rate of fire and grant them automatic health regeneration as long as they are within a given radius. Research Subliminal Messaging to further improve these vital bonuses. Note that this is the only Chinese building that cannot deploy mines... Nuclear Silo Cost: 5000 Power consumed: 10 Abilities: Nuclear Missile (5:00 countdown) Upgrades: Uranium Shells, Nuclear Tanks Prerequisites: Propaganda Center Ah, China's superweapon. I believe that the Nuclear Missile is the best "buildable" superweapon in the game. Its countdown may be a bit long, but it definitely has a better effect than the SCUD storm. Also, it creates a very large mushroom cloud that will really piss the victim off!!! It also houses some upgrades for your vehicles, which makes this building a must have! Build a whole group of them and watch the enemy panic, which will make him attack you with impunity. Of course, your units should be able to tear them to pieces before they reach your base, right? +------------------+ | Chinese Upgrades | +------------------+ Radar Cost: 800 Researched at: Command Center Buildings affected: Command Center Bonus: Provides radar Rating: ***** Research this as soon as you get your second Dozer. Don't ever think that you can survive without any radar... Capture Building Cost: 1000 Researched at: Barracks Units affected: Red Guard Bonus: Allows Red Guards to use the Capture Building ability Rating: **** You should get this up if you plan on taking Tech and/or enemy buildings. Since Tech buildings like Oil Derricks play an important role in your economy, be sure to get this! However, capturing buildings does not mean insta-capture when your Red Guard reaches its target. You must wait for an amount of time before the building is finally yours. While capturing, the building being captured will flash your color. When it flashes your color fast it means that the building is nearly yours! The good thing is you don't lose your unit anymore when you order it to capture buildings. Be sure to have some escort ready while doing so. Black Napalm Cost: 2000 Researched at: War Factory Units affected: Dragon Tank, Inferno Cannon, MiG Bonus: +25% damage increase to all flame units Rating: **** Dragon Tanks are very powerful once you research this for them. Inferno Cannon and MiG firestorms will become much more powerful. And since the MiG heavily relies on its firestorm attack to deal decent splash damage to vehicles and buildings, go get it!!! Chain Guns Cost: 2000 Researched at: War Factory Units affected: Gatling Tank, Gatling Cannon, Overlord Gatling Cannon Bonus: +25% damage increase to all gatling units Rating: **** Not only does this upgrade increase the damage dealt by gatling units, this also increases their rate of fire, I believe. This means that your gatling units are more powerful, and if the enemy is using lots of infantry and air, your gatling units will waste them with ease. MiG Armor Cost: 1000 Researched at: Airfield Units affected: MiG Bonus: +25% armor increase to MiGs Rating: *** MiGs really don't have much armor, so every point of armor counts! This is a good way to ensure that your MiGs reach their target. Nationalism Cost: 2000 Researched at: Propaganda Center Units affected: Red Guard, Tank Hunter, Battlemaster Bonus: +25% increase to hoard bonus effect Rating: **** If you plan on using units with hoard bonus (which you WILL use frequently), Nationalism will further increase the rate of fire bonus to hoard bonused units. The 2000 dollars you spend on this upgrade is compensated by the increased firepower of your units. Subliminal Messaging Cost: 500 Researched at: Propaganda Center Buildings affected: Speaker Tower Bonus: +25% increase to Speaker Tower's effect Rating: ***** Since the Speaker Tower's effects are very useful to your units, this really cheap upgrade will almost double its usefulness!!! I don't see why you shouldn't get it. Uranium Shells Cost: 2000 Researched at: Nuclear Silo Units affected: Battlemaster, Overlord Bonus: +25% damage increase to Battlemaster and Overlord shells Rating: **** An expensive, albeit powerful upgrade for your tanks. This will make Battlemasters and Overlords (which IMO don't really need a firepower upgrade) more powerful, and will make mincemeat out of enemy tanks! Nuclear Tanks Cost: 2000 Researched at: Nuclear Silo Units affected: Battlemaster, Overlord Bonus: +25% speed increase to Battlemaster and Overlord Rating: *** This upgrade will transform your clumsy Overlord to a speedy beast. And your already fast Battlemasters will become much faster!!! The side effect is your affected tanks will explode upon dying, and will deal some splash damage to nearby units. And if you upgraded your Overlord with a Bunker, you put in some infantry, and the Overlord dies, your infantry will get hurt by the radiation, too. +----------------+ | GLA Structures | +----------------+ *Note*: All GLA structures transform into a Hole when destroyed. The Hole will regenerate its health, and when it is fully regenerated the original building (the building that was destroyed previously) will appear in place of the Hole. Neat, eh? This means that GLA buildings have a bit more health than their American and Chinese counterparts! Also, the GLA doesn't need any power, so keep on building those SCUD storms!!! Command Center Cost: 2000 Abilities: Deployable general abilities (like rebel ambushes, emergency repairs, and anthrax bombs) Trains: Worker The Command Center creates your builder units, so you must protect it! It may not be as important as the Construction Yard of previous games, but lose it and you're in big trouble unless you make another one. You also need to have one if you plan on using those SCUD storms of yours. It also spots cloaked units. It can also stand severe punishment from a superweapon strike. Oh, and you start with it in every skirmish and multiplayer game. Barracks Cost: 600 Trains: Rebel, RPG Trooper, Hijacker, Angry Mob, Jarman Kell Upgrades: Capture Building The GLA produces no-nonsense infantry that are very easy to use, and these infantry have very good upgrades to start with. Make sure you have a Barracks up ASAP since the GLA doesn't need any power. The Barracks also heals damaged infantry. Nothing much to say, but since Angry Mobs are quite powerful build more than one of these to speed up your infantry production. Supply Stash Cost: 1500 Trains: Worker Nothing much different here from the other sides' Supply Stashes, only thing is, your harvesting unit is also your builder unit! Since Workers take only a few seconds to get supplies and return to the Supply Stash, you will see that the GLA is best at harvesting supplies this way! If you have at least 8 of them harvesting your economy is booming! Very vulnerable though, so have some defenses ready... Stinger Site Cost: 950 The Stinger Site gets my vote as the WORST defensive structure ever. It is just a building where 3 RPG Troopers take shelter and fire at every enemy unit that comes by. The problem is, the building doesn't provide any defense for the RPG Troopers so they can be killed by virtually anything! (Jarman Kell being the worst killer...) Flashbangs, flames, toxins, snipers, anything!!! Your only consolation is that it leaves a Hole when destroyed, and the RPG Troopers fire quite fast. Eventhough it is dirt cheap, this building takes an eternity to build, and while building it the worker is just as vulnerable!!! Nonetheless, you should build lots of these since it provides the GLA defense against vehicles and aircraft. Should the RPG Troopers get killed, the Stinger Site will respawn them. Tunnel Network Cost: 800 Wow, EA sure gets a lot of ideas from rival game companies, right? This is the GLA's version of the Zerg Nydus Canal from StarCraft. You put infantry inside it, select another Tunnel Network, ungarrison them there, and they will come out at that Tunnel Network! It also has a machine gun that fires at enemy units and is good against infantry (weak, though). You can put up to 8 infantry inside, I recommend to put 6-7 RPG Troopers and a Worker or two. The machine gun should be enough in dealing with enemy infantry, but if you're against the USA then get some Rebels or even better, Jarman Kell, to kill the annoying Colonel Burton they send to kill your expansions... Builds faster than the Stinger Site, too. Get one near your Barracks, and one in every expansion. (put some around your base, too) Arms Dealer Cost: 2500 Builds: Scorpion Tank, Technical, Radar Van, Quad Cannon, Toxin Tractor, Rocket Buggy, Marauder Tank, Bomb Truck, and SCUD Launcher Upgrades: Scorpion Rocket A more expensive War Factory we got here. The extra 500 cash is a bargain because this building produces what may be the most versatile array of units in the game. And since the GLA only has two military unit-producting buildings, make more than one of them since the GLA isn't known for fast production. If you plan on using Scorpion Tanks, Scorpion Rocket is a must-have. It is what the TOW Missile upgrade is to Humvees! You may already know it, but I'm going to say it anyways: this building repairs damaged vehicles! Demo Trap Cost: 400 Abilities: Detonate Now! A very simple trap, should an enemy unit come close to it, it will explode! You can also rig it to explode at your command! It is invisible and will most of the time surprise your opponents!!! Palace Cost: 2500 Upgrades: Camouflage, Arm the Mob, Anthrax Beta, Toxin Shells This building gives you access to the juicy SCUD storm and the all-important Black Market. You can also garrison 5 infantry units inside so put this in the front of your base to make the most out of it. Be sure to get the upgrades as you get a Palace up because all four are important in bringing out the best in your units!!! Black Market Cost: 2500 Upgrades: AP Bullets, AP Rockets, Junk Repair, Rocket Ammo, Radar Scan Another important building with very important upgrades. Also, as a bonus, this building gives you 20 dollars for every second that ticks!!! Get at least 5 of them to make the most out of it! The first upgrade you should research ASAP is Junk Repair, and then Radar Scan to have some cheap intelligence. AP Rockets is important since it strengthens ALL rocket attacks that the GLA has (except for the SCUDs). SCUD Storm Cost: 5000 Abilities: SCUD Storm (5:00 countdown) To start with, this baby doesn't take any power so you don't have to spend extra bucks to power this ones up!!! This is also the most ANNOYING superweapon since it has an INSANE spread effect and a potent Anthrax side-effect! It may not be very accurate, but it will really wreak havoc on a cramped base! (which is a bad idea, since your opponent's superweapons can be targeted on a smaller area, since the base is so small) 3 of these will really piss off the enemy, use them at the same time to really make him mad, then attack him!!! +--------------+ | GLA Upgrades | +--------------+ Capture Building Cost: 1000 Researched at: Barracks Units affected: Rebel Bonus: Allows Rebels to use the Capture Building ability Rating: **** You should get this up if you plan on taking Tech and/or enemy buildings. Since Tech buildings like Oil Derricks play an important role in your economy, be sure to get this! However, capturing buildings does not mean insta-capture when your Rebel reaches its target. You must wait for an amount of time before the building is finally yours. While capturing, the building being captured will flash your color. When it flashes your color fast it means that the building is nearly yours! The good thing is you don't lose your unit anymore when you order it to capture buildings. Be sure to have some escort ready while doing so. Scorpion Rocket Cost: 1000 Researched at: Arms Dealer Units affected: Scorpion Tank Bonus: Gives Scorpion Tanks a secondary rocket attack Rating: ***** This is TOW Missile of the Scorpion Tank. 'Nuff said. Camouflage Cost: 2000 Researched at: Palace Units affected: Rebel Bonus: Rebels are invisible when not shooting Rating: **** This upgrade gives Rebels the edge they need to compete with the other sides' basic infantry. As soon as you finish researching it, your Rebels will become mini-Jarman Kells! Just walk by his expansions, and start shooting at his defenseless workers! Or Radar Scan his base to find out weak points, and deploy your Rebel Ambush at the weakest possible point for a surprise attack!!! Arm the Mob Cost: 1000 Researched at: Palace Units affected: Angry Mob Bonus: Gives Angry Mobs AK-47 weapons Rating: ***** I've never use Mobs until I finish researching this vital upgrade. With this your Mobs' firepower will be much, much better. It's very cheap to boot! Anthrax Beta Cost: 2500 Researched at: Palace Units affected: Toxin Tractor, Scorpion and Marauder Tank (if upgraded with Toxin Shells), SCUD Launcher (with Anthrax warhead), Bomb Truck (if armed with Bio Bomb) Bonus: +25% damage increase to all toxin units Rating: **** A must-have for any GLA commander. The steep price is worth it since it also (correct me if I'm wrong) makes the anthrax side effect of the SCUD Storm stronger! And I know that you will be using the units I mentioned above. If you upgrade them with this the green toxin will turn into blue!!! Toxin Shells Cost: 1000 Researched at: Palace Units affected: Scorpion Tank, Marauder Tank Bonus: Adds a small amount of anthrax for each shell Rating: ***** You can't do without this one. This will enable your Scorpions and Marauders to easily dispose of enemy infantry! Also, research Anthrax Beta for more damage. AP Bullets Cost: 2000 Researched at: Black Market Units affected: Rebel, Technical, Quad Cannon, Jarman Kell Bonus: +25% damage increase to Rebel, Technical, Quad Cannon, and Jarman Kell's bullets Rating: **** Rebels may have no gimmicks unlike their American and Chinese counterparts (who have Flashbangs and hoard bonuses, respectively), but they deal more damage if you researched this upgrade. And since Quad Cannons are vital for anti-infantry and anti-air, be sure to get this if you have the cash to make things easier. AP Rockets Cost: 2000 Researched at: Black Market Units affected: RPG Trooper, Rocket Buggy, Scorpion Tank (if upgraded with Scorpion Rocket), SCUD Launcher(?) Bonus: +25% damage increase to all rocket units Rating: **** Oh, and Stinger Sites are also affected by this upgrade, since the units inside are RPG Troopers, anyway. This will make Rocket Buggies even more ANNOYING than they are, because *mimics the Rocket Buggy driver's voice* they have AP roooockeeeeettts noooooow. Junk Repair Cost: 2000 Researched at: Black Market Units affected: All vehicle units Bonus: All vehicle units self-repair Rating: ***** This is the first upgrade I research when I get a Black Market up because this upgrade increases the survivability of your GLA vehicles! No stupid Speaker Tower healing, nor some weird drone repairing your damaged tanks, but junk!!! (bad joke intended) It sure beats sending your damaged vehicles all the way back to the Arms Dealer... Rocket Ammo Cost: 1200 Researched at: Black Market Units affected: Rocket Buggy Bonus: Rocket Buggies will fire 25% more rockets than normal Rating: *** This simple upgrade will make Rocket Buggies fire MORE rockets than normal, making it a very damaging unit. (combine it with AP Rockets for sheer destruction!!!) Its not that vital, but you may want to get it. You'll also see a visible effect on your Rocket Buggies' appearance. (bigger rocket launchers) Radar Scan Cost: 500 Researched at: Black Market Units affected: Radar Van Bonus: Allows Radar Vans to use the Radar Scan ability The best method on spying on the enemy. You can build a a lot of Radar Vans, and keep on spying nonstop on his base!!! Then wreak some havoc by deploying Rebel Ambushes on weak parts of his base! (if your opponent is China, try to deploy your Rebels near Hackers to disable his income) What's more, it's so cheap! __/\__+-----------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Units 102 |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+-----------+|/||/| Now that I have effectively discussed the different structures and upgrades of the game, on to the units!!! Same thing here, you shall learn how to make the most out of your units and use them effectively. I also added some data to remember about them. *Note*: All vehicles can crush infantry unless otherwise stated +-----------+ | USA Units | +-----------+ Construction Dozer Cost: 1000 Built from: Command Center Abilities: Build a USA structure, Clear mines Prerequisites: Command Center This unit is the first unit you'll acquire in any skirmish or multiplayer game, and there is a good reason: it builds all your structures! The Dozer doesn't have any weapon (although you can squish infantry with it), and is lightly armored. You must protect these units at all costs! If you lose all of your Dozers and Command Centers then you cannot build structures anymore! Make a lot of these to ensure fast base construction. Ranger Cost: 225 Trained from: Barracks Abilities: Flashbangs (secondary attack), Capture Building Innate Abilities: Can be garrisonned inside certain buildings Prerequisites: Barracks Basic infantry units are weak. At most they could engage light vehicles, and still they will get wasted by them. Well, they play an important in capturing buildings, and are cheap anti-infantry. Make sure to upgrade Flashbangs as it will help you deal with annoying Angry Mobs and will enable your Ranger to take out hordes of opposing infantry! Oh, and you can garrison them inside some buildings, but flashbangs, toxins, and flames will get them, not to mention combat drops! Missile Defender Cost: 300 Trained from: Barracks Abilities: Laser Lock Innate Abilities: Can be garrisonned inside certain buildings Prerequisites: Barracks Your American rocket infantry is equipped with a high-tech missile launcher (although I've been told its just a LAW with a laser designator) with a laser designator. You can use Laser Lock to lock on a vehicle target for a second, and after that second is up your Missile Defender will fire on that unit faster!!! Very good against aircraft and vehicles, and you can garrison them inside buildings, which will help eradicate the problem of building clearing weapons!!! (all of them are vulnerable to rockets) Assuming you have enough of them, of course. They are also very quick to build if your in some trouble. Pathfinder Cost: 400 Trained from: Barracks Innate Abilities: Invisible (unless moving or firing), Can spot invisible units Prerequisites: Barracks, Level 3 General Ranking A mini-me of Jarman Kell. He is a sniper with the added advantage of stealth. Unlike Jarman Kell, he will lose his stealth when he moves, but he can also shoot at invisible infantry (like Black Lotus). Oh, and one shot kills any infantry. You have to "purchase" them from the Generals Abilities to be able to produce them. Colonel Burton Cost: 1500 Trained from: Barracks Abilities: Knife, Remote demo charge, Timed demo charge Innate Abilities: Invisible (unless firing or planting a demo charge), Can climb over cliffs Prerequisites: Barracks, Strategy Center The most versatile hero unit. Colonel Burton plays like Tanya from the Red Alert series of C&C games. He lost the dual pistols, but gains a gatling gun (ala Vulcan Raven) to lay waste to infantry, vehicles, and even buildings. He also has this "silent" knife attack on infantry which kills them without revealing Burton. Of course, what could Tanya be without her famed C4 charges? Burton has them, in the form of Timed and Remote demo charges. The Timed charge deals more damage, and has a 10 second countdown. Remote demo charges are weaker, but you can instantly detonate them (of course, that's not a good idea since Burton is so close to the building that he may be taken out as well). Remote demo charges are hard-wired to Burton's heartbeat. Should he die, they explode, too. Also, he has this innate ability that other infantry don't have: he can climb over cliffs! If your opponent's base is surrounded by mountains, you can make him scale them and immediately penetrate his defenses! (assuming he didn't place some overlooking the mountains...) As all hero units go (in this game that is), he is invisible when not attacking or using an ability. (except for the "silent" knife attack) Chinook Cost: 1200 Built from: Supply Center Abilities: Combat Drop Innate Abilities: Can hold up to 8 units (infantry take 1 space, Dozers take 5 spaces, while vehicles take 2 spaces), Harvests supplies ($1200 per drop-off) Prerequisites: Supply Center Now, EA has upped the ante on logistics by employing the famous Chinooks as harvesters. A very good idea, IMO. Chinooks are fast, aren't hampered by the terrain, and takes quite a while to die. It can also transport units, which it does a very good job at. The problem is, they take a while to harvest supplies (the long rope coming down to get a crate of supplies is soooo slow, it even is slower when dropping them to the Supply Stash). And they can be dispatched easily with an EMP bomb! Remember, you can't transport heavy units like Overlords, Nuke Cannons and SCUD Launchers. Another innovation EA made, is the Combat Drop. Just put some Rangers inside your Chinook, select Combat Drop, and select a garrisonnable building. Your Rangers will rappel down the Chinook with the ever-present long rope, and take the building for themselves. Should there be enemy infantry inside it, the Rangers will instantly kill all of them should one of them enter the building. (they should be very good at fighting in built-up areas!) Beware, rocket infantry could easily shoot your Chinooks down before they have a chance to do the Combat Drop. Raptor Cost: 1400 Built from: Airfield Prerequisites: Airfield The Raptor is your basic aircraft. It can engage air or ground targets, and holds 4 missiles. It isn't very fast, but it can take some beating. Use these to guard some important parts of the map. Other than that, I haven't got much to say about them. If you use them frequently, them maybe you should consider researching the Laser Missiles upgrade, which helps Stealth Fighters as well. Commanche Cost: 1500 Built from: Airfield Abilities: Rocket Pods Innate Abilities: Automatically reloads in the air Prerequisites: Airfield Ah, the fabled Commanche helicopter. As all helicopters do, they have pitiful armor. However, they are very fast for helicopters (they seem to be faster than Raptors!) and could easily fire some rockets at unsuspecting enemy units, and retreat immediately when they encounter some organized resistance (in simplier terms, when the enemy starts shooting at them!). Very annoying, especially if you're GLA (they could dispatch your defenseless Workers and run away ASAP). Now that you have an inkling of what to do with them, I haven't got much to say. Remember, super speed, pitiful armor. Get Rocket Pods ASAP if you plan on making the most out of your Commanches, but be warned, although the rockets cover a large area, they aren't very accurate. Stealth Fighter Cost: 1600 Built from: Airfield Innate Abilities: Invisible (unless firing) Prerequisites: Airfield, Level 1 General Ranking Basically, a high-tech version of your normal Raptor. Stealth Fighters are invisible unless firing at something, so its quite good for defending (the enemy can't see it unless it engages them). However, it isn't very good in dealing with units, but it makes an excellent job destroying defensive structures. Remember though, you have to waste a hard-earned General Ability to authorize construction of them! A Fast Fact: In real life, stealth aircraft can be spotted by the naked eye. In fact, the only thing that's stealthed in it is it can't be seen on radar, and can't be easily targeted by heat-seeking missiles (to an extent, that is). Of course, firing at a high-speed plane with no radar is just like trying to shoot hawks without any sights at all! This make it so hard to shoot it down, even if you see a stealthed airplane, you have virtually ZERO chance of shooting it down with anti-aircraft guns/missiles! Even heat-seeking missiles have trouble tracking them down, thanks to the specially designed engine that minimizes heat leakage from the plane! Aurora Strike Bomber Cost: 2500 Built from: Airfield Innate Abilities: Invincible on its attack run Prerequisites: Airfield, Strategy Center The famous Aurora Strike Bomber is the most expensive unit in the game. Let me see its assets. Its virtually invincible on its attack run, so you don't have to worry about those Gatling Cannons your opponent placed all over his base. It will almost obliterate any unit it fires at! (be warned though, each Aurora can only carry 1 bomb, so choose wisely) When coupled with more Auroras, it will create an unbelievable shockwave that will inflict GRIEVIOUS amounts of pain on whatever it hits. Unfortunately, Auroras lose speed after dropping its payload, and is easily destroyed by the enemy defenses afterwards. Most often, your Auroras won't survive the return trip, so choose your target wisely. I've seen people who rushed 4 Auroras to the enemy superweapon, took it with ease, and got shot down after doing so. (that's an unfair trade; the guy lost $10000 but his opponent lost only $5000) Bombardment will make these things even more fearsome. Crusader Tank Cost: 900 Built from: War Factory Upgrades: Battle Drone, Scout Drone Prerequisites: War Factory Ahhh... Your standard MBT (Main Battle Tank). Good HP coupled with decent firepower makes it a good choice to have. However, it sucks against infantry, as most tanks do. You may want to pair them with some Humvees and build some Battle Drones to lay waste to enemy infantry. It basically is your staple on land, but you may want to discard them in favor of longer-lasting Paladin Tanks. Will deal good damage against enemy vehicles and buildings. Humvee Cost: 700 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Holds up to 5 infantry (infantry can fire from them) Upgrades: Battle Drone, Scout Drone Prerequisites: War Factory The Humvee is the most versatile unit in the game, hands down. It's fully customizable, since infantry inside can shoot within. Research TOW Missiles, put in 5 Missile Defenders and you have a fearsome anti-tank unit than can also function as potent anti-air. Put in 5 Pathfinders to annihilate whole legions of infantry. I recommend putting 3 Missile Defenders inside, and 2 Pathfinders for the best of both worlds (research TOW Missile for that extra rocket), but if you're like me I don't want to spend $1700 only for it to be wasted when the enemy Overlords start pouring in. I recommend 1 Missile Defender for starters, but if you get better at micromanagement then put more inside. (remember to evacuate them before the Humvee dies) Also a very fast recon unit that can take care of enemy infantry. Its only flaw is its low health. Ambulance Cost: 600 Built from: War Factory Abilities: Clear Toxins Innate Abilities: Heals nearby infantry, Holds up to 3 infantry (infantry are healed while inside) Upgrades: Battle Drone, Scout Drone Prerequisites: War Factory Many people overlook this unit, mainly because it doesn't have much fighting potential. Sure, you can put up to 3 infantry inside, but they can't fire from within and only get healed while inside. The Humvee provides better transport. However, it is vital against the GLA since it will clear any toxins or radiation in the selected area, which is useful for clearing up anthrax from SCUD attacks and maybe anthrax bombs (haven't actually tested it, sorry). It also renders the Contaminate ability of Toxin Tractors useless. Paladin Tank Cost: 900 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Has a laser that can shoot incoming missiles Upgrades: Battle Drone, Scout Drone Prerequisites: War Factory, Level 1 General Ranking A souped-up version of the Crusader Tank. Not much change in firepower here, but they have more armor and health to boot. They also have an extremely useful laser that shoots at incoming missiles, almost any missile can be destroyed by this, except for extremely large missiles (like SCUDs). This tank also uses a laser designator to guide its attacks to the target, but I don't see any increase in accuracy or damage. Well, you have to spend a General Ability for this to be available to you, but its worth it. Get Composite Armor to further increase your armor, and declare Hold the Line to make them longer-lasting. (of course, if your opponent chose Bombardment then it won't make much of a difference...) Tomahawk Missile Launcher Cost: 1200 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Automatically locks on vehicles Upgrades: Battle Drone, Scout Drone Prerequisites: War Factory, Strategy Center The Tomahawk Missile Launcher is the resident USA artillery. It does a very good job at exterminating vehicles, since its missles lock on them. It packs a good punch against almost anything, though you should have more than 6 of them to stand a good chance of punching through the enemy defenses. Anything less wouldn't make the cut. If you declare Search and Destroy then this unit will even gain more range!!! +---------------+ | Chinese Units | +---------------+ Construction Dozer Cost: 1000 Built from: Command Center Abilities: Build a Chinese structure, Clear mines Prerequisites: Command Center This unit is the first unit you'll acquire in any skirmish or multiplayer game, and there is a good reason: it builds all your structures! The Dozer doesn't have any weapon (although you can squish infantry with it), and is lightly armored. You must protect these units at all costs! If you lose all of your Dozers and Command Centers then you cannot build structures anymore! Make a lot of these to ensure fast base construction. Red Guard Cost: 300 (comes in pairs) Built from: Barracks Abilities: Capture Building Innate Abilities: Hoard bonus, Can be garrisonned inside certain buildings Prerequisites: Barracks Red Guards are your basic Chinese infantry units with funny accents, nothing special here, but you have the ever-important Hoard bonus that allows you to squeeze in a few more shots against the opposition. They are produced in pairs, which means the better to overwhelm your enemies! They also capture buildings, so make a few of them to get some Oil Derricks. Tank Hunter Cost: 300 Built from: Barracks Abilities: TNT charge Innate Abilities: Hoard bonus, Can be garrisonned inside certain buildings Prerequisites: Barracks Tank Hunters are your rocket infantry with a twist: they have Hoard bonus and the strange but useful TNT charge. It's just like Burton's Timed charges, but the seemingly lowly Tank Hunter has it. This will obliterate almost any vehicle it is planted on! Make lots of them to put inside Bunkers. Hacker Cost: 625 Built from: Barracks Abilities: Building hack, Collect funds Prerequisites: Barracks This is your secondary income source. The primary ability of Hackers is to collect funds by stealing money from the Internet. Of course, the money they steal is pitiful, starting from $5 (hey, real-life Hackers can do better than that!!!),to $10 for every 3 seconds. However, they aren't very cost-efficient because they cost a lot of money and it takes time for them to collect a big amount of cash for you. Also, don't put them in one place! They can die to one Rebel Ambush! Also, beware of things such as fuel air bombs and anthrax bombs, which will make very, very short work of them. Put them at the back of your base to minimize the risks of them being killed. Black Lotus Cost: 1500 Built from: Barracks Abilities: Cash hack (not to be confused with the Level 3 General Ability, Cash Hack), Vehicle hack, Building hack Innate Abilities: Invisible (unless using an ability), Can spot invisible units Prerequisites: Barracks, Propaganda Center This is the Chinese hero, this Black Lotus babe. She doesn't have any weapons, which sucks, since EA could've gave her some pistols to kill infantry. (like Tanya from the Red Alert series) The good thing is she is quite fast for infantry and has a huge sight range. She can also spot invisible units like Demo Traps so she could dodge them. Her primary ability is the infamous Cash hack that shall steal half of your opponent's cash! He should be fuming after this. She can also disable vehicles and buildings. This makes her a super Hacker!!! MiG Cost: 1000 Built from: Airfield Innate Abilities: Can create a firestorm (if at least 4 MiGs simulteneously strike a target) Prerequisites: Airfield Ah, the infamous MiG. MiGs are the fastest and most manueverable aircraft in the game, are very, very cheap, and are deadly against buildings and infantry. If at least 4 of them are firing at one ground target, the blast will create a firestorm that will deal heavy damage to the target, and has major splash damage, too! They are also very good at defending your base. Be careful though, they can only house up to 2 rockets... Battlemaster Tank Cost: 800 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Hoard bonus Prerequisites: War Factory Battlemasters aren't very special tanks, since they have low HP and are easily taken care of. They have the incredible Hoard bonus with them though, and are good meat shields to divert attention from your more important Overlords. Make some of them, but don't overdo it. Overlords are much, much better. Dragon Tank Cost: 800 Built from: War Factory Abilities: Firewall Innate Abilities: Can clear garrisonned buildings (not the Chinese Bunker) with flames, immune to flames Prerequisites: War Factory This is an annoyance unit than anything else. It clears garrisonned buildings with its flames, and will nearly kill infantry in one heartbeat! A bunch of them creating a firewall around your base is very useful to dissuade enemy infantry from intruding, but beware of Jarman Kell (who could easily disable your Dragon Tank) and Black Lotus (who see your Dragon tank from a mile and disable it with ease). Get some MiGs to alleviate the problem. The problem with this defense is you have to turn off the firewall to let your other units pass through since the flames hurt your own units, too (wouldn't want you to learn that the hard way). Their firepower is boosted dramatically if you research the very-important Black Napalm which turns their flames to a blue color. Oh, and they are immune to their own flames, so fire away! Gatling Tank Cost: 800 Built from: War Factory Prerequisites: War Factory Gatling Tanks are the mobile versions of Gatling Cannons; they function just like Gatling Cannons but they are cheaper and are mobile. (they also don't take up power) These tanks are fantastic against infantry and aircraft, so you should take them along while attacking the enemy base. These are better anti-infantry units than Dragon Tanks, since they have a longer range and better armor. Get Chain Guns to increase the damage output, and the rate of fire. Rapid fire!!! Troop Crawler Cost: 1400 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Holds up to 8 infantry (infantry are healed while inside), Comes with 8 Red Guards Prerequisites: War Factory Did you know, that the not-so-fast Troop Crawler is China's fastest unit? Well, I'm stumped! This unit comes pre-loaded with 8 Red Guards. Yes, 8 of them and a fast transport for 1400 bucks! Very good for rushes. Send at least 5 of them, get Red Guard Training from the Generals Abilities, and attack! I they may not give you the win, but they will sure put the enemy base in a bad shape, ready for you to place the finishing blow. When facing the GLA, get some of these on your attack squad, because if Jarman Kell disables one of your vehicles, just pop out a Red Guard out of it and send it to the disabled vehicle! (of course, you have to dispose of Jarman Kell first or he'll repeat the process again and again) Inferno Cannon Cost: 900 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Can create a firestorm (if at least 6 Inferno Cannons are simulteneously strike a target) Prerequisites: War Factory, Propaganda Center The cheapest artillery you'll ever find. Inferno Cannons are just your standard artillery, low armor, slow, long-ranged, and has good if not great firepower. Inferno Cannons are best as siege or long-range anti-infantry. Of course, since they are sitting ducks while firing their flaming shells, get some escort! Same thing as MiGs here, they can create a firestorm if at least 6 of them are firing at the same target. If you love using this and the Nuke Cannon, get Artillery Training from the Generals Abilities to automatically produce veteran artillery!!! YAY!!!!! Nuke Cannon Cost: 1600 Built from: War Factory Prerequisites: War Factory, Propaganda Center, Level 1 General Ranking This unit is possibly the unit with the most firepower I've ever seen in my RTS-playing career (excluding the Mammoth Mk.II from Tiberian Sun or a glitched Koril from Battle Realms). Nuke Cannons have the ability to rout an entire army in its tracks. (my friend had 3 Nuke Cannons destroy 7 Crusaders and 3 Paladins in one volley!) Its disadvantages is it takes years to unpack itself (kinda like the Trebuchets from AOE), and even longer to reload. It is also damn slow, maybe as slow as the Reavers from StarCraft! (you can see that I play lots of RTS games!) Fortunately, all of the above problems can be remedied with a Speaker Tower, even Overlords upgraded with them also work! The only thing the above tip can't cure is its low health. It is easily disposed of so keep them from the front lines. Overlord Tank Cost: 2000 Built from: War Factory Innate Abilities: Can crush vehicles (except for other Overlords) Upgrades: Propaganda Tower, Gatling Cannon, Bunker Prerequisites: War Factory, Propaganda Center This behemoth is the grandaddy of all Mammoth units from the previous C&C games. Overlords outclass any previous Mammoth unit because they are EXTREMELY powerful and will give your opponent a major headache while dealing with them. The reason: he has 3 different unit upgrades!!! Gatling Cannon is your normal Gatling Cannon defensive structure mounted on top of your Overlord. Bunker is same as your plain old Bunker where you house your infantry units, only that the Overlord carries it. And last but not the least, Propaganda Tower is your Speaker Tower strapped to the Overlord's massive turret. Heck, it can also crush vehicles like the Battle Fortress from Yuri's Revenge! Not only does it have an INSANE amount of health and armor, its strength can be even more powerful if you research Uranium Shells from the Nuclear Silo! Yes, it is slow, but you can remedy that with Nuclear Tanks, which will make your cumbersome Overlord faster. Get it. Lots of it. It is very powerful to the point that you won't need much of other units. 'Nuff said. Oh, and for choosing those 3 upgrades, choose Propaganda Tower if your Overlord is playing defensive, Gatling Cannon for base assault, (since the Gatling Cannon is useful against enemy aircraft and infantry, units which the Overlord has trouble dealing at) and maybe Bunker if you want to fully customize your Overlord. +-----------+ | GLA Units | +-----------+ Worker Cost: 200 Trained from: Command Center, Supply Stash Abilities: Build a GLA structure, Clear mines Prerequisites: Command Center This unit is the first unit you'll acquire in any skirmish or multiplayer game, and there is a good reason: it builds all your structures! This guy is vulnerable to anything that fires. You must protect these units at all costs! If you lose all of your Workers and Command Centers then you cannot build structures anymore! Make a lot of these to ensure fast base construction. Take note that they are the slowest worker unit in the game, not only do they run at a snail's pace, they take a loooong time to finish building structures... So protect them! Rebel Cost: 150 Trained from: Barracks Abilities: Capture Building Prerequisites: Barracks "No cost is too great!!!" That is the motto of the GLA's basic infantry unit, the Rebel. Unlike his other counterparts, he doesn't have any special abilities other than Capture Building. Fortunately, he can be upgraded with AP Bullets, which will increase the damage dealt by his guns. But the real thing that keeps the Rebel the leader of the pack is the all-important Camouflage! This will turn them into ultimate ambush units that can open fire on the enemy, and hide into the shadows on the first sight of retaliation!!! RPG Trooper Cost: 300 Trained from: Barracks Prerequisites: Barracks Like most GLA units, this unit doesn't have your usual special feature from the other warring factions. However, it is still useful because it provides very cheap anti-vehicle and anti-air. They are quick to build too, which will help if you are under siege. With AP Rockets, you can increase their damage output, something that Missile Defenders and Tank Hunters don't have. Hijacker Cost: 400 Trained from: Barracks Abilities: Hijack Innate Abilities: Invisible (unless moving or using an ability Prerequisites: Barracks, Level 3 General Ranking Shades of the Mutant Hijacker from Tiberian Sun here. The Hijacker is invisible when not moving so just let him lurk somewhere, and when a lone enemy vehicle comes by, hijack it! Of course, you should mindlessly hijack any vehicle that comes by (if its a Dragon Tank, then you're toast). Rather, try to take defenseless units like Supply Trucks or Dozers. Just watch out for their escorts, since a smart player won't send a Dozer far from his base alone and unguarded. Since Hijackers require a Level 3 General Ranking you can't get them soon enough. Sorry... A better tactic in hijacking is to have Jarman Kell kill the driver of the vehicle you want to get, and send a camouflaged Rebel inside it. There! Angry Mob Cost: 800 Trained from: Barracks Prerequisites: Barracks, Palace This is a very strange, but entertaining unit. An Angry Mob consists of civilians which band together to form one unit. This means multiple attacks!!! Some people throw molotov cocktails while others throw rocks at the enemy (they fire AK-47s if you researched Arm the Mob). The rocks and the AKs are great against infantry, while molotov cocktails are fantastic against vehicles and buildings. Their disadvatage is the Mob is quite slow and are easily killed by flashbangs, flames, and toxins so watch out! If used correctly they can wipe out the enemy. Quite expensive and takes time to train, though. Jarman Kell Cost: 1500 Abilities: Disable vehicle Trained from: Barracks Prerequisites: Barracks, Palace Jarman Kell is the most annoying hero unit in the game. He is an upgraded Pathfinder, and he is invisible when not shooting! Not only does he have the Pathfinder's long range rifle, he can kill the driver of a vehicle rendering it neutral for infantry to ride it! As you see, this ability will give your opponent major problems in killing him, since he is quite fast and will cloak himself right after shooting. The Disable vehicle has long cooldown, so you can't abuse it. Oh, and after sniping that driver, immediately move Jarman Kell from his immediate position since smart opponents will force-fire upon the area where he was last seen in. Scorpion Tank Cost: 600 Built from: Arms Dealer Prerequisites: Arms Dealer Scorpion Tanks are very, very cheap, so you may think that this unit is very, very, weak, right? Wrong. On their own Scorpions suck, but if you acquire all their upgrades then they will become much more powerful. If you get Scorpion Rocket the effectiveness of Scorpions will be increased tenfold since this upgrade will allow them to waste infantry (yep, that's right, infantry!) and aircraft with incredible ease! Also, if you research Toxin Shells and Anthrax Beta, the aforementioned upgrades will turn your tank into a mini-Toxin Tractor!!! And for the icing on the cake, get Junk Repair and AP Rockets to further enhance the capabilities of your Scorpion Tanks! What's more, they are fast, small units and can overwhelm the enemy with their numbers. Of course, as cheap units go, they are lightly armored are and very susceptible against high HP units like Overlords and Paladin Tanks. Technical Cost: 500 Built from: Arms Dealer Innate Abilities: Holds up to 5 infantry, Steals the weapon of the vehicle it scavenged Prerequisites: Arms Dealer The name of this unit is LAME!!! Technical? The first time I heard about this unit I though of a repair vehicle or something like that. However, imagine my shock when I built one and realized that it was a highly mobile, cheap transport that can hold up to 5 infantry units!!! What maybe the most innovative idea that the GLA fabricated was its scavenging ability! Should you see the scrap of a destroyed vehicle and take it with your Technical, your Technical will acquire the weapon of that vehicle! Even vehicles like Troop Crawlers give the Technical a badass gun that will kill infantry in two rapid shots!!! Beware, they aren't built to last a century... Radar Van Cost: 500 Built from: Arms Dealer Abilities: Radar Scan (0:30 countdown) Innate Abilities: Can spot invisible units Prerequisites: Arms Dealer This should be the very first unit you build upon finishing construction of your Arms Dealer. This cheap van will provide you radar, and if all of them get destroyed, you lose it (obviously, of course). So, build lots of them and scatter them all over your base (put some in the frontlines to spot invisible units). An added extra is that you can use the very crucial Radar Scan which will make your Radar Van an espionage unit! Not only does it have fast cooldown, it also allows you to see the enemy base nonstop as long as you have lots of Radar Vans at hand. Of course, Radar Scan is researched at the Black Market so you may have a bit of trouble since it comes after you've reached the top of the GLA tech tree. (which you should do fast) Quad Cannon Cost: 700 Built from: Arms Dealer Innate Abilities: Upgrades its weapon upon scavenging Prerequisites: Arms Dealer GLA is very resourceful. They attached a simple flatbed truck with quad machine guns to create a good anti-air unit. It's also very powerful against infantry, too. The main problem is its low armor and it gets creamed by rocket infantry. Try to pair this with Radar Vans around your base to spot Spy Drones and shoot them down. Remember that it upgrades its weapon upon scavenging something, and the machine guns get more powerful with every upgrade... Toxin Tractor Cost: 600 Built from: Arms Dealer Abilities: Contaminate Innate Abilities: Can clear garrisonned buildings (not the Chinese Bunker) with toxins Prerequisites: Arms Dealer Another innovative idea from the GLA. Add a toxin sprayer to an ordinary tractor to transform it into the dreaded Toxin Tractor! In case you're wondering, this is the GLA's answer to the Dragon Tank. It has less armor, but has basically the same mission, to clear buildings garrisonned by the enemy. Its toxin attack almost kills infantry instantly, but doesn't do much damage to anything else (unlike the Dragon Tank, which is very effective against buildings). Its upgrade, Anthrax Beta is slow to research and expensive, unlike China's Black Napalm, which can be accessed immediately from the War Factory. In other words, the Dragon Tank is a much more useful unit than this one, but Toxin Tractors nevertheless do the job. Contaminate is a very underused ability. Unlike the Dragon Tanks' Firewall, this lingers on even if the Toxin Tractor stops the ability. And, its toxins cover a larger radius than the Firewall. (use it against swarms of rocket infantry!) Rocket Buggy Cost: 900 Built from: Arms Dealer Prerequisites: Arms Dealer, Palace Finally, a fast recon unit that can hold its own against other units. Rocket Buggies actually count as artillery, since they have long range to outshoot other enemy units. It also has the other attributes of its brethren, low armor and slow firing rate. Fortunately, you can improve the damage output of this unit by researching the cheap Rocket Ammo upgrade. With this upgrade you can fire more rockets per rocket volley! And, to further increase the damage dealt by its rockets, get AP Rockets!!! Oh, and this unit is one of the most annoying units in the game. It can zoom up, fire at your lethargic units, and retreat after emptying its load. Grrrr.... Marauder Tank Cost: 800 Built from: Arms Dealer Innate Abilities: Upgrades its weapon upon scavenging Prerequisites: Arms Dealer, Level 1 General Ranking A step up from the Scorpion Tank. Marauder Tanks actually pack a punch; that is, if they scavenge enough vehicles. Scavenging at least 2 enemy vehicles will add an extra turret to its arsenal. Powerful stuff, that's what I can say. It has more HP than Scorpions, so they make good meat shields to divert attenton from your better armed Scorpions. Toxin Shells make this unit dispatch infantry (that is, if they are standing still) with ease. Quite fast for its size, too. Bomb Truck Cost: 1200 Built from: Arms Dealer Abilities: Disguise as vehicle, Detonate Now! Upgrades: Bio Bomb, High Explosive Bomb Prerequisites: Arms Dealer, Palace Remember the Demolition Truck from Red Alert 2? This is its brainchild, with some few changes. First, it can disguise as any vehicle that it wishes, and can further increase the damage of the explosion for a measly 500 bucks. A further way to further increase the havoc created is by getting the Bio Bomb upgrade, which will spread toxins around the explosion area. (for those who are asking, you can get both of them) A good tactic is to get a Scorpion/Marauder army, have your Bomb Trucks disguise as Scorpions, and while engaging the enemy defenses, rush your disguised Bomb Trucks to key enemy targets!!! This way, your opponent won't know which units to kill first, tsk tsk tsk... SCUD Launcher Cost: 1200 Built from: Arms Dealer Abilities: Explosive Warhead, Anthrax Warhead Prerequisites: Arms Dealer, Palace, Level 1 General Ranking GLA's artillery doesn't come cheap, but you can choose between two flavors: anthrax and explosive (warheads, I mean). For me, I don't see any difference between the two, yes, the anthrax warhead spreads toxins around the area, but the explosive warhead deals a large amount of splash damage, and wipes out infantry from the face of the battlefield... The range is shorter than Nukes and Tomahawks, but it still outranges all defensive structures, enough for you to make short work of them. Also, they fire faster than Nukes, and can fire a missile while moving. __/\__+------------------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Generals Abilities 103 |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+------------------------+|/||/| Newbies get stumped by which General Ability to pick, so I'll give them a hand! I added some useful tips for people to add to their arsenal. Enjoy!!! *Note*: Some General Abilities can be strengthened if you put more than one General Ability point at them, but this only goes for some Level 3 Abilities. +------------------------+ | USA Generals Abilities | +------------------------+ * * *L E V E L O N E* * * Paladin Tank Rating: **** This Ability allows you to create the Paladin Tank at the War Factory. What I do is get this after the Spy Drone Ability, which is infinitely useful, because you can use it at once!!! Very vital if you're going hardcore land assault. Stealth Fighter Rating: ** I usually don't use Stealth Fighters, since they are just like Raptors with stealth and other things (like easy defense killing), so I really don't make much of a point to spend my points on this unit. Oh, and this Ability lets you create Stealth Fighters, duh... Spy Drone Rating: ***** This is the Ability I research ASAP as USA, since you can utilize it immediately. With this, you could plan a rush at once!!! It also has fast cooldown and is a pain to track down. Get it at the beginning of the game, and get the other two Abilities when you actually start fighting. * * *L E V E L T H R E E* * * Pathfinder Rating: **** Get this as soon as you reach Level 3. Pathfinders very useful and will kill loads of infantry for a low, low price! Yeah!!! Paradrop Rating: ** A so-so General Ability. This will drop Rangers at the target. Level 1 will drop 5, Level 2 will drop 10, and Level 3 will drop 20 Rangers. Not very useful, since the plane can be shot down... Rebel Ambush is better. A10 Strike Rating: **** This will call a number of A10s (depending on its level, first level calls 1 of them, second calls 2 and does much more damage, while the final level calls 3 A10s and deals MASSIVE damage) which will fire machine-guns at the given target, and then fire its missiles. More A10s = more damage. A very good offensive tool, but the A10s take a while to reach the target, as they are appear from one side of the battlefield, and they can be shot down. (though they have lots of armor) Emergency Repair Rating: *** This isn't a very good ability, as cooldown is insanely long. Basically it repairs damaged units in a given area. The more levels, the more HP healed. BTW, this ability is universal, so all sides have this. * * *L E V E L F I V E* * * Fuel Air Bomb Rating: ***** As soon as you reach Level 5, get this one. This is USA's alternate superweapon, and has the firepower to wipe out an entire army, while damaging buildings to the point of destruction. Basically, a huge cargo plane appears and drops a bomb that will explode, (and deal a small amount of damage) spewing fuel in the process, and after a few seconds, the fuel will ignite and will literally make everything in the area go up in smoke!!! As you see, the plane can be shot down, so you may have to destroy the enemy anti-air before deploying the bomb. Use wisely!!! +---------------------------+ | Chinese General Abilities | +---------------------------+ * * *L E V E L O N E* * * Red Guard Training Rating: ** This Ability will make all your trained Red Guards veteran. Only select this if you are going for a rush, as Red Guards are still weak even as veterans... Artillery Training Rating: *** Slightly better than the previous Ability, this one will make all your built Inferno Cannons and Nuke Cannons veteran. Much better, but pales in comparison with the Nuke Cannon Ability. Nuke Cannon Rating: ***** This is the ability to get, 'nuff said. Nuke Cannons are an absolute must for every Chinese commander. Get this first if you aren't rushing. * * *L E V E L T H R E E* * * Cluster Mines Rating: *** Average Ability. This will drop mines on a given area, and the mines are similar to the mines deployed for your structures, only that they don't respawn when detonated. If you're going to use it, deploy the mines on places where the enemy is likely to tread upon to give him a nasty surprise. Artillery Barrage Rating: ***** Better than USA's A10 Strike, since this Ability cannot be stopped. This ability will send lots of artillery shells plummeting to a given area, and will deal heavy damage to anything it touches. The more points you pump on it, the more shells will appear per barrage. Max this before EMP Bomb, as this is better, but the EMP is better if you plan on using it right before a major attack. Cash Hack Rating: *** This will steal money from a target Supply Center, and give the amount stolen to you. Level 1 steals $1000, Level 2 steals $2000, while the final level steals $3000. As you see, you only steal a little amount of money, but you got it from your opponent anyway, so this ability is quite good, but Artillery Barrage is much, much better. There is a nasty trick involving this and the Artillery Barrage. First, find out the location of the enemy base. Then, Artillery Barrage the supply depot nearest to that base. Now, when the Artillery Barrage reveals the area, search for any Supply Centers and Cash Hack them, should your opponent build them right next to the supply depots, which most people do. Now, not only did you deal some damage at your opponent's economy, you also stole some money from him!!! Emergency Repair Rating: *** This isn't a very good ability, as cooldown is insanely long. Basically it repairs damaged units in a given area. The more levels, the more HP healed. BTW, this ability is universal, so all sides have this. * * *L E V E L F I V E* * * EMP Bomb Rating: **** The cargo plane is back, and it has a different present for your opponent, in the form of the insidious EMP Bomb. This bomb won't do any damage, but will release an electro-magnetic pulse that will put every vehicle and building that it hits out of commission for a few minutes. As pointed out, very destructive if you deploy it right before a major attack, as the defenses are fizzled out to intervene... +-----------------------+ | GLA General Abilities | +-----------------------+ * * *L E V E L O N E* * * Technical Training Rating: ** This Ability sucks!!! Please don't get it, because even with veteran status, Technicals are still puny. Marauder Tank Rating: **** This one however, is the Ability to get. Marauder Tanks don't need anything but the Arms Dealer, so this is a good first buy. SCUD Launcher Rating: *** SCUDs require a Palace, so you might need to get the Marauder Tank first. This however, is a must-have. You can survive without any Marauders at all but not without any SCUD Launchers! * * *L E V E L T H R E E* * * Hijacker Rating: ** Just use Jarman Kell and Rebels instead of this Ability, which costs you a hard-earned General point. Rebel Ambush Rating: **** Better than USA's Paradrop. This Ability will immediately spawn a number of Rebels upon a given area. Level 1 spawns 5 Rebels, Level 2 spawns 10, while Level 3 spawns 15 Rebels. Research Camouflage and AP Bullets to make this Ability even deadlier. Use this to kill Hackers, as they have very low, low HP. Cash Bounty Rating: **** An economy-oriented General Ability. This will give you some resources upon killing enemy units or buildings. The resources given is equal to a small percentage of the destroyed unit/building's cost. Level 1 gives back 5%, Level 2 gives 10%, while Level 3 gives 20%. A very good buy, this will make the GLA prosper in long games where all the supply depots are exhausted. Emergency Repair Rating: *** This isn't a very good ability, as cooldown is insanely long. Basically it repairs damaged units in a given area. The more levels, the more HP healed. BTW, this ability is universal, so all sides have this. * * *L E V E L F I V E* * * Anthax Bomb Rating: **** This is GLA's additional superweapon, and is dropped from a big-ass cargo plane. Basically, what this bomb does is spew anthrax all over ground zero (in different colors, I might add) which will almost instantly wipe out infantry while damaging vehicles severely. The anthrax lingers for a few minutes before disappearing. No effect on buildings. A great superweapon, but the Fuel Air Bomb is better, since it can destroy buildings as well. __/\__+--------------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Strategy 104 |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+--------------+|/||/| Sorry, I only have a few basic strategies for starting players, but expect more to come. Experienced players can also submit their own, but keep it simple because this FAQ is for beginners!!! +------------------------+ | Easy-as-pie strategies | +------------------------+ The Starve-Him-Out The name says it all. Starving your opponent out shall put him out of commission, with only a few skirmishes. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without | | fighting." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Well, the concept is simple, but in reality it isn't as easy to pull off. However, once done correctly, your opponent will be hard-pressed to shake this strat off. But you have to be fast. Basically, just find out the location of his base as early as possible in the game, and build Supply Centers near supply depots nearest to him (not the one that he starts with). Then get some Barracks or War Factory there and pump out units to secure that outpost. Build some defenses too, but units are your first priority. Now, just let your units guard theses supply depots and destroy any enemy unit that comes. Now, after you've already drained that supply depot of resources, it's time to move on to another supply depot near him and secure it before he does, or you're screwed. Be sure to have more than one supply depot at your control, as this strat can be quite taxing to your resources. Now, when your opponent's harvesters travel farther and farther to gather resources, he will find difficulty in producing a decent army, because of his weak economy. The best time to do this strat is in early to midgame, where both of you haven't got much units out yet. Best to use on people who don't know when to expand and attack, so know your opponent! You can use this against the AI, but they won't react as badly as human players do, and are oblivious to the fact that your economy is thriving while his income is rotten, and will produce units, anyway. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a | |hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory | |gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor | |yourself, you will succumb in every battle." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The "Turtle" +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"The art of war teaches us not to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's | |not coming, but on our own readiness to recieve him; not on the chance of his| |not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position | |unassailable." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ With this strategy, you don't even need to attack. Just mass your troops, build defenses (lots of them!) and expand, expand, expand. Guard every passage to your base. Don't let anything through. Now, when you feel that your base is strong enough, lull your opponent into attacking. Now, when he DOES attack, crush his army. With the units you have massed, you should be able to send them to attack the enemy base, which should have a few units left. Now, while you're at it, here are some ways to force your opponent to attack you: 1. Type annoying, n00bish messages like, "Bet you can't break through my Alcatraz of a base!!!", or, "What's the matter, scared of attacking, you big *insert expletive here*?". Oh, and add a :P to further infuriate your opponent. You know, actions speak louder than words... +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be| |weak, that he may grow arrogant." | | -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2. Constantly spam "annoyed and bored" messages like, "Man, I was supposed to ask my girl for a date, oh bummer...", or "Hey guys, do me a favor and end the match quickly, I'm bored, you know? Please?". These messages may irritate your opponent to the point of doing exactly what you told him to do, where he will be for a big surprise. 3. This is quite old, but pretend to be an annoying newbie! Just keep on asking how your opponent got those "groovy planes" or "massive tanks", and he might bite the bait and attack you, thinking that you don't know a thing or two about C&C Generals. Well, commander, show him that you do!!! Oh, and tell your allies (privately, of course) that you are just enticing the opposition to attack your well-defended base, or they might lose respect for you and worse, desert you. 4. Ambush his harvesters. 'Nuff said. 5. Mass tons of superweapons and allow them to count down to zero, but don't use them. Oh, the pressure!!! Of course, this strat works better if all of you are turtling, that way, your opponents will have a harder time breaking through. Works good on impatient people with short tempers, but not on the AI, who doesn't really put too much ooomph on his attack to have only a handful of men in his base after being beaten back by the defenders. Remember that your opponent could starve you out or mass superweapons to beat you without losing a unit. Act accordingly. Beware, most people will call you a n00b for this. Tell them that they fell for an old Chinese strategy over a thousand years old!!! (More to come...) __/\__+---------+__/\__ \ /| |\ / /_/\_\| Credits |/_/\_\ |/||/|| ||/||/| |/||/|+---------+|/||/| - God for allowing me to walk this world - My parents for shaping me into the man I am now - My pesky little brother for allowing me to test some tactics with him - Gravity, for this exciting, new, cool game, called Ragnarok Online (pity we have to pay for it) which I got instantly hooked! - People at the GameFAQs boards for the hilarious threads and tips that kept me coming back - Sun Tzu, for the extraordinary book "The Art of War", which holds true to this day - My friends for providing me with various tactics - Square-Enix for classic RPGs which kept me occupied at home - People at the AN (AnimeNation) forums for being, very, very nice people who respect the integrity of others (which most forum sites lack nowadays) - J.K. Rowling, for a new Harry Potter book!!! I'm a big fan!!! - CJayC for hosting this FAQ - Me for writing this FAQ - You, the reader, for reading this FAQ, and respecting it as it is (hopefully, that is) This document Copyright 2003 by TAKOYAKI