OVER 9000!!!

This post is in response to the grave mistake of building lines of point defenses that I’ve seen many times when playing with/against n00b players.

So you’ve played against the AI a few times and have learned how to beat it on “normal,” “hard,” or even “cheating,” and now you’re ready for a human opponent online? I don’t think so.

Let me tell you – human players are not the AI. This is online, and you have a (hopefully) thinking human on the other side. If s/he has any brains, s/he won’t attack your point defenses (PDs) in small groups of short-range units like the AI did and simply throw them away at you. Instead, s/he will stay back when s/he realizes what you’re doing, and will do at least one of the following things which will defeat your point defenses (sorted from more to less likely, according to my experience):

• S/he will get mobile missile launchers (MMLs) and break down your PDs by staying out of their range and receiving no damage. All factions feature MMLs (for Cybran, they’re unlockable), and any faction’s MMLs have a greater range than any other faction’s PDs. In other words, MMLs always beat PDs.
• S/he will start making experimental units (like Fatboys, Assault Blocks, or Megaliths). Any of these experimental units have a greater range than PDs and can safely take them down without taking ANY damage.
• S/he will start arty (or tactical missile launchers if Illuminate – TACs). Arty always has a greater range than point defenses, and TACs can be EXTREMELY destructive if not handled timely (by making anti-missile units or taking them down).
• S/he will go air – possibly gunships. PDs can’t fire against air, and again – this is not the AI. A human does not “go land” and never change. Expect anything!

So you think you can make lots of PDs AND counter any of the above with shields, or anti-missile, or whatever?

Think again.

Let’s compare the cost of making a Megalith versus the cost for 3 x PDs.

So, it turns out a Megalith costs LESS to make than three point defenses! Assault blocks (Illuminate) and fatboys (UEF) are comparable to that number as well. Instead of 3 point defenses, it turns out you could’ve made an experimental unit!

Just trust me on this, even a medium-skilled player will completely overwhelm a line of point defenses with one of the above – very likely a land experimental – without taking any or with very little losses. A lot of Illuminate players dislike blocks due to their speed and range, compared to megaliths and fatboys, and would rather amass tanks and use their teleport ability, taking out your PDs in one shot, or even worse – teleporting behind them.

In any case, making a line of point defenses is NOT a good idea. I hope I’ve made it clear why above. You’ll understand that by yourself as well, after a few online games.

OK, so now you may be thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t make ANY point defenses or AA towers EVER, right?”

At a risk of sounding cliched, I’ll say it again – the best defense is most often an excellent offense. While “turtling” (defensive tactics, including building a lot of defensive structures like PDs, arty, loyalty guns, AA, recyclers, magnetrons under shields and winning by mass conversion and overwhelming your opponent) is a valid tactic, it’s EXTREMELY hard to pull off against skilled players, because defending against MMLs while getting out a structure which can successfully defend against land experimental(s) such as megaliths, assault blocks, teleporting tanks, or fatboys, is VERY hard to pull off because they require considerable resources or research. Such structures are the recycler, magnetron, loyalty gun, or a LOT of fortified arty with “harden” ability for the UEF. Even then, it’s often a prerequisite for the map to have a “choke point” to pull this off successfully, and overlapping shields are needed for the front lines to be able to “hold.”

So, if you’re not “turtling” (and as a beginner, I think you shouldn’t, unless the other person is doing it and doing it well), you’ve got to attack. Point defenses or AA towers don’t move, so building them should be very situational.

I’ve found three most common situations where point defenses or AA (anti-air) towers are highly effective:

• Area denial or counter against an ACU rusher.
• If your teammate (or you) have completely “lost air.”
• If you have a land rush incoming which you can tell you’ll lose by a (hopefully) small margin – i.e. you have 25 well-teched tanks incoming while you have 20 non-teched and your ACU is nearby.

I’ll discuss how to use PDs and AA towers in more detail in each of these situations in further posts.