Most people, in general, grab two oil fields with two refineries. I personally grab 1 oil, and 1 aluminium field. But from examining other players, the best way to start is by grabbing two oil fields with 2 refineries, and getting one extra harvester for each.

Then you can grab a barracks, and start producing infantry, the minimum is six to get the most income out of it. For every infantry unit, you get +5 gold/money/oil, so for 6 units of infantry, you get +30 a second. This amount of income is pretty huge, and one bank can last you 20-30 minutes depending on it's size. Beginning banks (the closest ones you spawn next to) usually have a low amount compared to ones in the middle. But, they are still important to get because of the boost.

From what I've examined from other experienced players:

Either go Double Refinery or grab 2 oil fields
1 barracks
6 infantry units (for the bank)
(after your sixth infantry unit is out) 1 aluminium field
---------------------

Anything you build beyond that basic build order, is your choice. It depends on what you want out of your units.

Quick note: Make sure to sell your refineries after the resources are depleted. They give back a lot of money and give you enough to produce another refinery.

Usually grabbing two oil fields looks like this. And then you can grab the ALU next to it after your sixth infantry unit is out.

Double Refinery looks something along the lines of this. And sometimes it's an indication of a double barracks or some sort of rush. So becareful! Also, please take note that double refinery allows you to gather oil faster, so for those folks who enjoy pressuring their opponent, double refinery is for you!

EDIT: Double Refinery should probably be mandatory depending on your map. If you have two very close oil fields, by all means grab them! But if you've got one close oil field and one far away, go double refinery.

Here's why, so far all factions require (at the start) loads of oil in order to build their early game units.

Chimera should go double refinery, only because their spear vehicle bay costs so much. It's around 2670 oil. Not only that, but also because their SAS costs 650 oil as well. It's expensive.

US requires a lot of oil, and going double ref will allow them to push out with medivac and infantry faster. Their humvees cost quite a bit but can pack a punch when harassing other players. So yes, double refinery is a good start for them.

Cartel, they have a unique roster of units. But the most important part is that their scorpio (recon tank) is expensive in oil as well as the superhind. Not to mention Superhinds are only good with infantry! You should not be throwing in superhinds without infantry. Most, if not all, of Cartel's infantry use up oil, the Superhind is also mostly oil in cost. Opening up double ref will allow you enough money to not only afford these units, but also grab ALU refs, if needed.

Sometimes you'll be forced to sell your resources. But from what I could tell in many of my battles, the ONLY reason I lost was my lack of expanding. When you have excess money, trust me this will happen a lot of the time, grab a refinery, and maybe make some turrets to defend it.

How do you tell if you have excess? Well, generally if you got above 3000 oil, you should build a refinery. That is just a general rule, and if you've got 10,000 resources ready to spend! Either not enough refineries, or you didn't make enough factories/units!

Banks, and why they matter!
------------------------------------
Banks are top priorities compared to an Oil field or an ALU field. Why? Because every faction in the game requires money to build their most important units. From Pumas, to Abrams, to Superhinds, money is an extremely valuable resource that also allows you to mass infantry and grab important towns/oil/alu. With money, you can build cheaper, cost efficient units in the late game. You can re-take key resources and fortify them with turrets. With money, you can capture buildings in the late game.

Each bank produces +30 every second, yes, you heard me, EVERY SECOND! Having a bank is just like having a second HQ, and can be very valuable early game. Just capturing your nearest bank boosts your income by +60 every second, not including refineries. Imagine taking your opponent's bank, or other banks on the map; Having just three banks increases your income to +120 oil a second (as long as your HQ is still intact). US players with this much money on their hands can roll through the battlefield with abrams in no time! And if you're playing against a US faction, don't ignore banks! You seriously don't want to sit back and get facerolled by tanks, it doesn't matter how many AT weapons you have unless you're going for pure choppers.

(IN PROGRESS)

2 oil fields/Double Refinery
1 barracks
6 infantry units (for the bank)
(after your sixth infantry unit is out) 1 aluminium field
---------------------

Okay, so, what to I build next? But I think the best question is, what's your faction?

CHIMERA (WIP)
------
As the Chimera, you're better off getting an early Spear Vehicle bay, UNLESS, you're against Cartel and their stealth vehicles. Chimera and Cartel are both factions that have the easiest access to detection against air and ground units. Recon teams are much harder to keep alive, and are less effective due to the fact they are ground units.

Spear vehicle bay compliments the Sword Protocol, which unlocks the research lab, the Rhino, metal storms, and exoskeleton soldiers.

The puma is sort of a mix between a combat-heavy-vehicle and a support vehicle. It's use is a jack of all trades, early AA/AT/Transport vehicle. HOWEVER! The Puma's greatest weakness as an early AA vehicle is it's serious lack of range and it cannot engage Bombers or Fighter Jets. It's Anti-Tank missiles have great range, and used in unison with SAS sniper teams, they can face down Stryker MGS units simply due to their range. Because of this range, Pumas become versatile units as they can act as early game harassment AND early game artillery. Rhinos are distinctively better, but for early harassment and prioritizing light tanks the Puma's AT missiles are very powerful. As a combat-heavy-vehicle, they have a SERIOUS lack of health and damage (without their anti-tank missiles). 8hp doesn't get you that far in fights!

I don't believe the Support bay should be prioritized over the Spear Vehicle bay. The main reason being, even against Cartel, is that you should be expecting any kind of light tank push and prepare for it. SAS are too slow to grab important areas of the map and with pumas you can lock down key points. However, IF YOU DO, consider only getting support bay AFTER a double barracks, this way you'll be able to at least pump out enough SAS/Felins to scout. The Ninjas will then provide some great support as Anti-heli weapons and recon.

The support bay allows you to build Namers which are the tankiest and virtually the best transport vehicles in their field. While they are slow, they can fight off helis and even survive harsh bombardment from Artillery. I don't really see much use with this unit, perhaps I should play with it more :)

Ninjas, are, you guessed it! Stealth units, but their value comes from the 2x damage they receive. Because while Cartel do have an easier time getting stealth detection, Ninjas can easily destroy helicopters. Ninjas provide decent heli defense as a low cost unit and used with upgraded Valors your chimera force can be a terrifying sight of missile barrages on the battlefield. Not to mention Ninjas are great recon units that should not be underestimated. (They can shoot fighter jets and bombers, though have a hard time tracking them.)

US
-----------
Starting off as the US Armed Forces, you really have two options (I believe), field hospital and/or Light vehicle bay. You only need a generator or a powerplant to get defcon 2, I think.

The Light Vehicle Bay seems like the best choice, it has five very good units.
stryker icv
stryker mgs
blazer
stryker mortar
stryker ATGM

Humvees have been buffed, their hp is now 8 and their upgrade costs have been significantly reduced. You can still do some fast hit and runs on the enemy or rush them in order to take hills/banks. Because they no longer cost so much for their upgrades, consider using them with javelins.

I've personally never used the stryker icv to full effect, mainly due to it's low combat efficiency. It's not a bad unit, it's because opponents tend to get combat heavy vehicles, like 1-2 pumas, or scorpios. If I grab an icv, usually I don't have an answer for that.

The stryker mgs, and the Blazer are very good midgame units. With the CIWS upgrade, enough blazers can actually mow down garrisoned Javelin teams! They become very versatile against air heavy armies because those armies tend to be supported by infantry and/or they can fire down missiles. Companied by the stryker MGS, they can be a deadly combination.

I've personally never used stryker mortars, but only seen other players use them to great effect. They can kill infantry quickly and destroy buidings fast, if they've got enough mass.

The ATGM stryker has been a wonky unit. Because while it does serve a purpose against tanks, against things like the terminator, I think their missiles get shot down. Other than that, with the NLOS upgrade, against any kind of tank you can get at least one or two kills. Naturally, you'll be able to fend off armies with it's range. I think they work well with blazers too.

The field hospital on the otherhand, does not have six units, but it has the medivac and one upgrade. This upgrade allows you to kill less and preserve more enemy units. Having these guys allows you to trade them for ALU/Rare Earth, when you need it.

The medivac is an extremely good unit especially if used to harass or even rushing. With good control, you can even take the other guy's bank, because marines are healed by the medivac. So, when you see a medivac out on the field, prepare your stingers/grinch/puma. You can easily identify them with the giant pulsing 'plus' sign on it.

CARTEL
--------
As the cartel, their basic build is much more straightforward. You go for their light vehicle bay immediately, and then as soon as possible get their upgrade in the barracks. The prison module allows you access to Superhinds which are the tankiest helis in the game. Not only that, after getting Prison module it also allows you access to the Amos, which is the cartel's early artillery unit, and is probably the most powerful early artillery unit in the game.

The Otomatic is also an extremely resilient AA vehicle, as it can both engage infantry and aircraft. Because of their 22 hp they can handle strykers toe-to-toe, while scorpios deal damage from behind. I've found that Otomatics don't have that much range, but when used in unison with Scorpios, the complementary hp and range makes them a deadly combo. Their high hp and ability to engage any and all unit types in the game makes them great defensive units.

Superhinds also have an upgrade that allows them to FORCE INFANTRY OUT OF BUILDINGS! This allows cartel players to deprive opponents of their banks and grab them as early as possible. Because of their superior health, they can tank stinger missiles and force them out of their garrisons. It is extremely useful for heli insertions.

When you start the game you get ONE FREE recon team. Use it to scout the map, or you can even place it behind houses/on hills, and get a free kill on their recon team.


US Recon Team
-No real weakness
-Great for scouting, great range
-Good for harassment



Chimera Recon UGV
-Powerful
-Short Range
-Slow (in comparison to other recon units)



Cartel Recon Chopper
-Helicopter
-Air unit that can scout very quickly
-No weapons
-Very weak

With the Chimera recon UGV you're better off keeping one behind a house or hiding on top of a hill. They will take tremendous damage from killing US recon teams, but that is only because of their short range. If a US player starts shooting you from out of range, your best bet is to hit their recon team with an SAS.

You cannot setup or begin attacking without scouting. Many players (including myself) have done this, and to very little effect.

This picture is a great example of why you should scout. This map already provides an open hole, a weakness, which you could exploit. And in this picture the enemy has no eyes on the hill. Knowing this, I realized in this match, that at any time, at any moment, I could crawl inside my opponent ;)



(WORK IN PROGRESS)
------------------------------------
Setting up Attacks!
As you can see here, scouting is absolutely crucial in the early game. Knowing where someone places their refineries and is focusing their forces will give you a roadmap of their base.

From this picture you can see the blue Americans setting up an attack by not engaging the refinery directly. Instead, they garrison in the house and kill the tankers that pass by. With two javelins, I believe you can even kill American builder units. One javelin missile is enough to take out an MG nest starting to build, but you need to get the shot off at the correct time.

Contrary to popular belief, infantry are incredibly useful. And Javelins are very good against structures. On maps like these, you can easily see how Infantry are able to maneuver where vehicles can't, take high ground and high priority areas, and basically win the game from there. You can't exactly scout with infantry, but this is why you need to scout in order to build a 'roadmap' of the enemy's base. That way, you know what angle you should be attacking from, and where they are vulnerable.
Right here you can see an infantry platoon commencing an attack on a refinery, they are being supported by several light vehicles, who are attacking the front.
MG nests and turrets cannot attack high ground without vision. You can flank.

So, while this sounds good and looks great, on certain maps infantry require medivac/transport vehicles, in order to get around. But infantry are cheap, can be massed in terrifying numbers, and can secure high ground and high priority areas. They just need a little support and love from their CO's.

This is an attack commenced after the opponent began his attack on my frontal defences, his forces are away battering at my turrets and pumas.

The following that happens is the loss of a greatly needed player with a powerful air force and infantry. This is why you must scout, so you can setup powerful counter attacks.

For this section, I'll be doing Unit Counters and Unit Weaknesses for those units that just 'seem' overpowered or just... unstoppable. In this section of the guide I'll try to help you find an answer to these tough units.


The Chimera, when reaching late game likes to throw endless armies of unmanned, powerful robot drones that have, or seem to have, no equal in combat. These self-repairing, stealthed-mini-terminator units strike with surprise, power, and efficiency.

So, against other units how do they compare? Well, actually. While they are great units, they are only good after their speed and self-repair upgrade. Are they stealthed? Yes. Are they powerful? Yes. Are they tanky? Yes. They can even take several shots from an abrams tank at point blank, and regenerate fast enough to stay in the fight.

How do I beat them? Well, their role isn't exactly to fight armies on the field, that's why they are excruciatingly slow. Their defined role is to sneak and infiltrate bases, in order to take out key structures. They are powerful massed units, but they have poor range and maneuverability. You can easily stay out of their range with abrams/terminators... or just about any kind of unit.


Ever since the Chimera organization was created, they were keen on building bases fast, and striking fast as well. These exosoldiers are fast, powerful, and destroy anything and everything in their path. They self-repair during combat, and carry HMGs that pack a punch. With their numbers and cost efficiency, they can eat up fully upgraded Abrams tanks and Terminators. Exosoldiers could be very well compared to the Mongol Hordes.

You see about fifty of these guys running across the map, and your face goes pale. What do I do? Well, for starters, ALL INFANTRY ARE ONLY GOOD IN CERTAIN NUMBERS. Yes. That includes, exosoldiers. Their best, effective minimum number is 20. Which requires about 5000 oil, and 8000 aluminium. That does not include the upgrades. They are fast, and can regenerate health, but like all infantry they suffer the same weakness.

Exosoldiers are fragile. Powerful, fast, but fragile. In no situation, is there a game where you will not lose more than 20 exosoldiers, because anything that explodes around them will take at least one of their lives. Whether that explosion come from a building or artillery shell, does not matter. They take huge casualties to artillery fire, and turrets.... and you guessed it! EXPLODING BUILDINGS KILLS EXOS TOO.

There was one specific situation where I was actually able to destroy exosoldier spam. I had setup several stryker mortars and even an infantry mortar. I massed MG nests on the hill as well, and as they came up to the chokepoint I was able to kill enough of them to prevent a forward push. After I lost the battle for the hill, he pulled back his forces, so what did I do?

I built marines, and snipers. I've actually had five or so marines hold against 10 exosoldiers shooting them in the face. My opponent started throwing more men into my army, and they kept getting picked off by snipers... Here's a tip, US Snipers kill all and any infantry unit IN ONE SHOT. They cost less, and they have range... so even if these guys got close enough, there wouldn't be enough of them to fight my marines and snipers. Exo's HE and AP damage are designed to take out vehicles, AP being armor penetration and HE being explosive radius. High Explosive does no damage.

Then I started building Artillery. He came down a main road, and I began to lob Artillery shells at his Namers, which were holding exosoldiers. He kept unloading them and they kept dying. After his army was crushed from Artillery I simply walked in his base and nothing was there except a few barracks desperately trying to push out units.

The Abrams Tank
http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=483121336
The Symbol of American Freedom, the Symbol of Liberation, a giant hunk of metal that reigns death on the enemies of Freedom and Justice!
Abrams seem unstoppable, a formidable unit to be feared the moment it is seen amongst other clustered units. They are powerful, cheap, and compared against the other tanks it is the best tank pound for pound. This tank is truly specialized to be the best in it's field. However, being the best comes with it's cost.

Freedom takes a blind eye to the skies, because the Abrams Tank is so just and righteous, tank drivers believe God himself would smite down unsavory foes. Well, they believe that until someone shoves artillery shells down their throats. Abrams tanks' biggest weakness comes from above, that includes aircraft, helis, artillery, and NLOS upgraded missiles.

As the Cartel, you've got pleny of aerial options to counter this and that even includes early game options in preventing the cancer called "Abrams" because sometimes early prevention is the first step to a healthy life style. You have superhinds which are the mortal enemies of our paladin-god-worshipping-abrams-tank-pilots, they can steal banks and completely deny precious oil. For the mid/late game, the Amos has an ANTITANK barrage upgrade. Spectres outrange and outdamage Abrams, and I think they are much cheaper in comparison.

As the chimera, your options are getting Rhinos/Choppers/Aircraft, in order to defeat these Abominations of American Liberation. Pumas come with Anti-Tank missile that has the same range as an upgraded javelin, with range they can absolutely destroy unsuspecting tanks. Metal Storms can actually take and outregenerate damage from an Abrams tank.

Stryker ATGMs can easily repel attacks from these monsters simply because of their range and damage. They can destroy Abrams extremely fast and they are even cheaper than tanks. I believe the NLOS upgrade also affects them. US also has plenty of artillery, aircraft, and choppers, as other options.

But the best way to stop these "Freedom Titans" from appearing is to deny their source, Oil and banks. Abrams tusk 2 requires Rare Earth, so be sure to prevent that as well, and remember that Abrams cost around 3350 oil if they are fully upgraded!
(WIP)

Conflict in unfamiliar terrain can be the hardest trials you'll ever face. Constantly you'll be left feeling open and vulnerable to enemy attack. Without a "Map Plan" there is no real winning. True Strategy is your overall plan, and in an RTS game it's your position and situation on the minimap. Unlike what many people say about the RTS genre, RTS games have actual strategy and is not all about "Real Time Tactics." Remember, General, only fools believe you can win with tactics only.

You can win a thousand battles, and still lose the war.

I want you to separate your minimap (in your head of course) between your territory, and the enemy's territory. Split it in the middle, one zone, the 'green zone' and the other the 'red zone.' This will make things easier to understand whether or not you have the advantage or disadvantage.



In general, what determines your 'Zone' is where your refineries and army is currently occupying. This should help you plan out your attacks, harassment, and how to pick your engagements.



We draw a line between our forces. This how it 'should' look like. The squares indicate buildings/fortifications, and the circles indicate where individual units are concentrated.

The enemy line is drawn that way because they have gathered a concentrated defense in the middle, while our forces (the bottom blue) are building up. However, our entire army is scattered across several points on the map, we have two banks but no forward bases, or refineries/turrets defending the frontlines. The enemy has entrenched himself in the middle but has left both of his flanks open.

So, how does one go about "winning"? The only way to win afterall, is to win the map first, and battles later. How do you win the map? By forcing the enemy to retreat or destroying their bases. Too many players focus on attacking the main base and end up ultimately losing, instead of picking their fights on the map.

The best way to assault an enemy is to attack around their defenses, or use multi-pronged attacks.



Strategy in an RTS is all about gaining ground and occupying important resources or areas. You can lose battles, as long as you don't lose the most important ones. In this example, we are pushing the enemy back, and securing a foothold. You should never leave any enemy buildings untouched even if their army is annihilated. It still means they have eyes and a base on the map, and most importantly, resources. Your pushes should consist of destroying these outrlying fields as well as destroying the enemy's force.

The enemy's 'zone' should now look like this.

The Mini-map is your 'strategy map' and just knowing where the enemy's base is or how they are set up gives you information on how to assault them. Banks are top priorities, they usually hold the higher ground, and help you gain ground. The enemy's refineries and your own, help determine the frontlines and what parts of the map you occupy. Remember, this isn't tactics, this is the overall plan of your entire force.
WIP

Building refineries and holding them is easy enough, but fighting on the enemy's turf is much harder. Often opponents try to find ways to grab or capture nearby oil fields, and sometimes they try to expand more than they should.

A refinery is about 1800 for Cartel, 1400 for US, and 1600 for Chimera, I believe. When people start building over 3 refineries, they'll be practically defenseless. They won't have money for an army and all they will have is turrets. When the enemy begins to rely on turrets, and defensive structures, it's your move. They don't have an army, and will lack the ability to do much if they expand too much. In some maps, expanding a lot is fine, but it depends on the distance. You should be able to gauge the distance it takes for you to effectively harass with certain units.

Scouting is crucial, and it doesn't even require the best control! All you really need to do is send units out and discover enemy buildings/refineries, etc.

Here's where early infantry and the 'breaching training' (building capture upgrade) come in. With a unit that costs 200 oil you can take a refinery and basically force the enemy off an oil field if they see you. The best part, with infantry, is that they can garrison houses, and banks. It makes them extremely effective when holding down areas, and securing important ground from the enemy. You can even start capturing banks with infantry, which will yield you important resources.

As Chimera, you can try to rush for shield protocol and ninjas, for harassment. Or, you can still go your standard build with pumas, but get the shield upgrade instead of the sword protocol. Yes, this will leave you very weak against Cartel otomatics, and Ninjas are more or less a situational unit against Cartel.


Early ninjas can easily dispatch K-Max, they two shot these things when detected, but stealth gives them the ambush advantage. Their HE (high explosive) is 3, which gives it a tremendous amounts of splash. 1 Ninja can 1 shot (with ambush) 3 kmax tankers.




Ninjas are even powerful enough to prevent Cartel from building, if you can ambush their engineers. I think it takes 1 volley from a Ninja, the game doesn't show me the cartel's engineer hp. The best part is that each of them do 6 damage if undetected, and since they are cheap (with 3 HE) they can be effective anti-helo defense. They kill a tigre in 3 volleys, with ambush, so if you can get 3 Ninjas, you can actually kill helo armies if they are clumped up. Superhinds have 40hp, 7 Ninjas can 1shot an entire army of superhinds IF they are clumped up.






With the US and Cartel factions, you could easily utilize the scorpio's range to take out tankers on the roads. Stryker MGS works really well in unison with Javelin teams. It is absolutely crucial that you take the fight to the enemy on their turf, as early as possible. And if they are smart enough to deflect your attacks, you retreat and build up your army and defenses.

Cartel can actually push with otomatics or scorpios, and they can do a lot of economic damage with their range and hp. Otomatics are also very beefy in fights, and can tank enough damage to retreat if needed. Superhinds backed by infantry are also gloriously powerful. As a US player, I absolutely dread this unit. With good control, they can avoid stinger's range, force units out of banks, and drop vipers right on top of your units. USE SUPERHINDS WITH INFANTRY IT IS SO GOOD.

US faction has a multitude of rush options. From the medivac bank steals, to the early stryker/icv pushes, their harassment can pack quite the punch. Humvees and ICVs allow you to quickly deploy stingers/javelins and pick them up again. Early bank stealing allows you to flood in a ton of income, with the medivac, and with the capture upgrade you can steal lonely refineries. Stryker MGS are also good enough to harass refineries on their own. Just make sure they aren't caught alone.

US humvee buff has allows US players to do some early harassment, their grenade launcher upgrade is cheaper and they can withstand 1 javelin shot without slowing down. I'll have some screenshots of it in action.

(screenshots later)
I've heard many complaints that scouting and maneuvering. From everywhere to keeping tabs on armies or having trouble getting your screen back to base if you're building new vehicle bays or research buildings. While so many people say that base management requires so much micro and godlike capabilities, all of your micro-management can be solved with a single button.

Control groups, a guide to less micro!

When the game starts you should hotkey your HQ and your recon team. This allows you to 'jump' from base to scouting unit whenever you need. NO fancy tricks, just a push of a simple button and... BOOM! You're already there.

I tend to have only four control groups.
1: Recon Team
2: Tank battalion/main battle group
3: Support vehicles/valuable units
4: HQ
(I keep my HQ at 4 only because my home button DOESN'T CENTER ON MY HQ for some weird reason)

If I don't hotkey certain units it means I'm sending them on suicide missions. Mainly Chimera's Metal Storms or if I'm using Javelins, or Vipers. But nothing beats the metal storm's ability to infiltrate bases and take out power/factories/HQ's.

This allows me to switch from army to army, to recon team, and jump back to HQ if I need to start building. With the control groups from 1-4, you don't even need to click that much! One button and you're there, the best part is that you can see how many casualties you're taking during fights and whether or not you've lost your recon team. With the updated UI you now have a better view of how well your army is doing and keep better track of your win/loss rate in battles.

Remember, this game is only extremely hard without control groups and I highly recommend you use them. Control groups makes it easier to scout as now you don't have to pan the camera to units or locations, and then simply click a few times. It alleviates the stress during battle as you'll be worrying less about micromanagement at home and across the map.

I don't usually place control groups past 4 due to the fact I can't select multiple buildings and put them in a group. It is far more efficient to just hop back to base where most of your buildings will be.

(WIP)

So, what's your first impressions of infantry? What about the first time you ever used a medivac rush? Aren't infantry powerful, and exciting to use?

Oh.

US Infantry
----------------
Marines!

These marines seem like one of the weakest and useless units in the game. Their strengths are only great against infantry, or for taking banks. While their weaknesses are obvious, people are confused as to what to use them for other than banks or POWs. Well, I'm here to clear that up.

While these guys don't seem great, they are strangely resilient against attacks from infantry, unless it's a sniper. They aren't good against vehicles, but they can take rockets to the face, and machinegun fire, they can even withstand the exosoldier's HMG for a while. It seems to me, that these infantry are supposed to serve as meatshields for the weaker and much more important infantry. The capture upgrade (breach training) makes them great against someone trying to set up an early forward base.

Javelins

These guys are arguably the best early infantry unit in the game. They are terrifying to most players because of their ability to completely destroy light vehicles, and even tanks. You can actually do powerful early game pushes if marines are there to tank damage for them. While having the Javelins in the back. They also get an upgrade that increases their range WHICH IS HUGE BTW, and will reign terror on your foes.

Stingers

The best defense against any kind of heli attack. In most cases, a single shot is guaranteed to doom helicopters, unless it involves Cartel.

Infantry Mortar
Mortars aren't very good for besieging. But they are incredible when it comes to forcing an opponent to attack. These Mortar volleys look distinctively like Amos or Stryker mortar volleys, and you can scare the enemy into thinking you've massed better artillery outside his base. From what I've experienced, against garrisoned infantry (except banks) they can clear houses and buildings with a few good shots. They are even good at 'counter-sniping' enemy snipers, just as long as you've got line of sight and the range. (they can only countersnipe if the sniper is out in the open and not garrisoned)

Sniper
The US Sniper is by far the best unit for killing just about ANY INFANTRY in the game. And yes, you guessed it! They are even good against exosoldiers, cost less, and have better range. Just make sure they act like snipers, and less like combat heavy units.

Chimera Infantry
-----------------------
Felins
Felins don't seem to have the durability that Marines have. But in CQC they might have a distinct advantage. I'm not sure, and I'll have to look up the unit statistics, but they seem like very good units for holding banks for a strange reason. Heli insertions don't seem to work at all against 6 felins even with medivac, but that might just be the CQC upgrade.

SAS Snipers
SAS snipers might be slow, but I wouldn't underestimate them. Their sheer power is enough to deter players away from a Chimera base, and they get an upgrade that gives them better damage against vehicles. Because of their natural ability to take out vehicles and infantry, they are better used as defensive units. I suspect they compliment Felins, because felins seem to have a CQC superiority.

Grenadiers
I've personally never used them. But they can act as mortars and are effective against vehicles. Their only weakness is fighting snipers and probably artillery.

Exoskeleton Soldiers
One of the best, most strongest units IN THE GAME. And yes, I'm comparing them to abrams, terminators, and stealth tanks. They are THE STRONGEST and the fastest out of all of these units. Their natural tech path 'sword protocol' allows you to grab their speed upgrade, I believe, from the research lab. There's a reason I suggest Spear Vehicle bays, because exosoldiers are heavy on ALU, and Pumas are Oil heavy, so they work nicely together. Once you grab Chimera's capture upgrade for infantry you'll soon be able to outflank, out maneuver, and out DPS against any unit it comes across. Against 'superior units' they can outnumber and outgun helicopter armies, abrams tusk2, and even terminators.

Cartel
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Contractors
Relatively ♥♥♥♥♥♥ units but their strength is their low cost.

Vipers
These guys seem to be an early Anti-Tank weapon but the reality is that they aren't. They are far better suited to fighting off infantry with Contractors, especially due to their splash damage. I've had Vipers go toe-to-toe with felins and win an engagement. They also destroy light vehicles. Like the SAS snipers, they are great defensive units.

Shershen
These guys pack a punch, and range. They have the uncanny ability to outsnipe sniper teams, as long as you can detect them. They are also great against tanks, and their range makes them great support units. They have a twin launcher upgrade that allows them to shoot faster than snipers as well, leading to one of the most intense sniper duels I've ever had in a game. The unit also has an upgrade that makes them act like a mortar, I think.

Punisher
These guys are medics that destroy infantry both in the field and in CQC combat. I believe this might be due to their healing ability but they can handle exosoldiers and destroy them.

Vanguard
These guys are basically close range snipers, from what I could tell. You're supposed to use them to take banks if it is heavily fortified by snipers/CQC units.

The best part about Cartel is that they have an upgrade for 1000 oil that refunds units when they are lost in battle. You get half the money back if they die, and I think that upgrade in itself, gives off a huge advantage.

Disregarding some of the false info above, there are a few damage types in AoA.

Ambush! = Damage is increased by 100% if unit is not discovered, AND is a stealth unit.

Bullet = Damage is added if weapon is used against inf
AP = Amour Piercing, damage is added if weapon is used against vehicles/air
HE = High Explosive, does not do damage but determines blast radius, higher the number the bigger the radius

There are also different weapon types I believe:

Anti-Tank (sometimes referred to as ATGM)
Anti-Air/SAM
HMG

Weapon types all have 'base damage' which is the default damage of the weapon if they are used without having any of their damage types applied. For example AP damage cannot be applied to infantry, so that infantry unit will only take the base damage of that weapon.

I'll do some screenshots of it later.

So far the game doesn't tell us how fast weapons can fire OR how big their salvo is. Like the Ninja for example, they have two salvos, can fire after one shot, but has long reload time. This is extremely vague, and requires you to play a bit more to figure out.

Work In Progress

The best part of any RTS game is it's freedom of choice. There are so many things you can do and enjoy with the game. Now that you've grasped some of the basics, you can try to innovate with your own builds, speculate, and experiment. This guide was made so you can jump into Act of Aggression's Multiplayer and enjoy the game for what it is.

The RTS genre was never really about 1v1s or tournaments, it's about the ability to control armies, and send them at your enemies, while cackling like a madman. It's about taking risks, and building an army that fits your style of play. Do cheesy builds, rush, steal other people's banks, capture their HQ and build turrets in their own base!

Don't let people tell you you can't do something or that you shouldn't do something, just because they think it's bad or cheesy. The game gives you units, and strategies, where the only limit is your mind. Innovate, where others won't. Act, when people can't. Bring flavour, and style to your play! Do what you enjoy the most about your strategies, and do it in such a way that people will fear you. Use underpowered units in a stylish way that makes them seem broken, surprise players, deceive them. If someone beats you in an overwhelming manner, explore and beat other players the same way that one player beat you!

Don't submit to someone's written rules about 'honor' and 'integrity' in a RTS, or what they have to say about rushing or cheese builds. Act aggressively, tear down their plans, rules, and blow them away! But please, do it in style.

But most importantly;

Good Luck
Have Fun

...and...

Good Game.

So I really like Chimera, played them at Beta release...