Spoiler
General - Strategic styles
So you got a plan. As crazy your plan might be, the last thing you want is to scuttle it due to dissonance with your own style of play.
There are quite a few strategic styles that cater for some of the tactical plans you might want to experiment on your unfortunate enemy. These may be common in other strategy games as well. For more details, please attend an army college.
(Note: “Compatible with” lists out the best subfactions suited for this technique. You may still fare well using the same tactic with other subfactions.)
The Early Rusher
Ah, those damn tank rushers from RA1 / RA2 / YR! They ditch any plan to advance their technology and completely destroy the enemy before they even get their first tank out. While the advantages of early rushing are somewhat lesser in MO3.0, some subfactions may continue to get away from this… primitive but effective strategy. Rushers are still a force to be reckoned with.
Effective against Tech Rushers and Steamrollers.
Compatible with: The United States, the Latin Confederation, the Scorpion Cell
The Tech Rusher
You are comfortably building your army and economy (or just starting to do so), when suddenly your enemy has reached the Information Age, and are now training that single unit that will make your 5-tank army obsolete. What is this madness?
The Tech Rusher (sometimes known as the Techie) sacrifices an early army for mid-to-late game advantage, investing the saving into more powerful units in the third Tier of the technology tree. The early technological advantage is further advanced by eliminating their opponent’s technology structures to keep the gap. This gap allows the tech rusher more flexibility to adjust his strategy to suit the situation.
Compatible with: European Alliance, Pacific Front, China, PsiCorps, The Headquarters
The Steamroller
Essentially the spammer, except that in MO3.0, you need a strong economy and production line (read: multiple factories) to do so. Your first move then is to focus on having an economic advantage. The steamroller may still opt for an early strike, but will likely advance later than an Early Rusher. With more units. It will take its time to build a conventional but massive army, that even the Tech Rusher will be unable to hold him back.
This strategy is an easy strategy to master, once the player is flexible enough to account for incoming threats that can cripple its economy. Yet it is easy to defeat too, by being struck down before it ever gains momentum.
Compatible with: All subfactions, but in particular, Pacific Front, Russia, China, the Scorpion Cell
The Spec-Ops
A stalemate has happened on the battlefield, and you are sitting comfortably in your office, sipping a cup of coffee and looking towards the calm blue sky. Your defensive perimeter is as impenetrable as a mountain range, and the enemy cannot do as much as to tickle the front line.
In a flash of a second, “Unit lost… unit lost… unit lost… your base is under ‘a tack’.” You return to your base and see Rahn and Stalkers taunting, “Dood, I’m in your base, killing your doods”, while making good their threat. You send your reserve army to rid the base of this threat, which gets turned into Brutes and commit treason. Just then, the enemy sends its main army to attack…
The Spec-Ops is a style of play that is often secondary to the other strategies observed. Pulling such ‘cheap’ tricks is difficult, but can reap great rewards (such as taking down a superweapon). The success of a Spec-Ops commander depends on how well he can distract the enemy from where he will strike. Sometimes, the opponent can so dim-witted (or careless) that a distraction is not needed. Used wisely, and a Spec-Ops can break a stalemate in his favor.
Compatible with: Most subfactions, but in particular, the United States, Russia, the PsiCorps, the Scorpion Cell
The Turtle
A common playing style of the common people, the turtle is commonly accused of “noob-ish” behavior. But while it is easy to use and relatively easy to defeat, an expert turtle (with some Spec-Ops) can hold the ground long enough to turn the tides later.
The turtle sacrifices early map control for greater defensive ground, using base defenses as a secondary (if not primary) part of its army. Not so stupid if you are playing as China against Scorpion Cell. Who knew EMP Mines are so effective against early rushes?
Oh, and there is base expansion, and the more controversial base crawling tactic. It is utter humiliation losing map control to a turtle.
Not to be confused with a Steamroller (the spammer), who uses much less base defenses and more mobile defense.
Effective against Early Rushers.
Compatible with: European Alliance, Pacific Front, China, Headquarters
The Mirror
Another strategy that can be used to significant effect is to reflect your opponent’s moves, either by building an equivalent unit, or a counter unit. Lest your enemy decides to move out, you have the choice of building a counter to supplement your similar force. This can be useful when playing against a more experienced player.
Mirror sacrifices pace for flexibility, choosing to win by rock-paper-scissors rather than numbers or technology.
This requires you to have a clear view of the enemy, so scouting is essential. Being the mirror has a slight disadvantage of being slightly slower than your enemy. Be wary of psychological warfare too.
Effective against Early Rushers, Steamrollers
Compatible with: Pacific Front, Russia, PsiCorps, Headquarters
General - Strategic styles
So you got a plan. As crazy your plan might be, the last thing you want is to scuttle it due to dissonance with your own style of play.
There are quite a few strategic styles that cater for some of the tactical plans you might want to experiment on your unfortunate enemy. These may be common in other strategy games as well. For more details, please attend an army college.
(Note: “Compatible with” lists out the best subfactions suited for this technique. You may still fare well using the same tactic with other subfactions.)
The Early Rusher
Ah, those damn tank rushers from RA1 / RA2 / YR! They ditch any plan to advance their technology and completely destroy the enemy before they even get their first tank out. While the advantages of early rushing are somewhat lesser in MO3.0, some subfactions may continue to get away from this… primitive but effective strategy. Rushers are still a force to be reckoned with.
Effective against Tech Rushers and Steamrollers.
Compatible with: The United States, the Latin Confederation, the Scorpion Cell
The Tech Rusher
You are comfortably building your army and economy (or just starting to do so), when suddenly your enemy has reached the Information Age, and are now training that single unit that will make your 5-tank army obsolete. What is this madness?
The Tech Rusher (sometimes known as the Techie) sacrifices an early army for mid-to-late game advantage, investing the saving into more powerful units in the third Tier of the technology tree. The early technological advantage is further advanced by eliminating their opponent’s technology structures to keep the gap. This gap allows the tech rusher more flexibility to adjust his strategy to suit the situation.
Compatible with: European Alliance, Pacific Front, China, PsiCorps, The Headquarters
The Steamroller
Essentially the spammer, except that in MO3.0, you need a strong economy and production line (read: multiple factories) to do so. Your first move then is to focus on having an economic advantage. The steamroller may still opt for an early strike, but will likely advance later than an Early Rusher. With more units. It will take its time to build a conventional but massive army, that even the Tech Rusher will be unable to hold him back.
This strategy is an easy strategy to master, once the player is flexible enough to account for incoming threats that can cripple its economy. Yet it is easy to defeat too, by being struck down before it ever gains momentum.
Compatible with: All subfactions, but in particular, Pacific Front, Russia, China, the Scorpion Cell
The Spec-Ops
A stalemate has happened on the battlefield, and you are sitting comfortably in your office, sipping a cup of coffee and looking towards the calm blue sky. Your defensive perimeter is as impenetrable as a mountain range, and the enemy cannot do as much as to tickle the front line.
In a flash of a second, “Unit lost… unit lost… unit lost… your base is under ‘a tack’.” You return to your base and see Rahn and Stalkers taunting, “Dood, I’m in your base, killing your doods”, while making good their threat. You send your reserve army to rid the base of this threat, which gets turned into Brutes and commit treason. Just then, the enemy sends its main army to attack…
The Spec-Ops is a style of play that is often secondary to the other strategies observed. Pulling such ‘cheap’ tricks is difficult, but can reap great rewards (such as taking down a superweapon). The success of a Spec-Ops commander depends on how well he can distract the enemy from where he will strike. Sometimes, the opponent can so dim-witted (or careless) that a distraction is not needed. Used wisely, and a Spec-Ops can break a stalemate in his favor.
Compatible with: Most subfactions, but in particular, the United States, Russia, the PsiCorps, the Scorpion Cell
The Turtle
A common playing style of the common people, the turtle is commonly accused of “noob-ish” behavior. But while it is easy to use and relatively easy to defeat, an expert turtle (with some Spec-Ops) can hold the ground long enough to turn the tides later.
The turtle sacrifices early map control for greater defensive ground, using base defenses as a secondary (if not primary) part of its army. Not so stupid if you are playing as China against Scorpion Cell. Who knew EMP Mines are so effective against early rushes?
Oh, and there is base expansion, and the more controversial base crawling tactic. It is utter humiliation losing map control to a turtle.
Not to be confused with a Steamroller (the spammer), who uses much less base defenses and more mobile defense.
Effective against Early Rushers.
Compatible with: European Alliance, Pacific Front, China, Headquarters
The Mirror
Another strategy that can be used to significant effect is to reflect your opponent’s moves, either by building an equivalent unit, or a counter unit. Lest your enemy decides to move out, you have the choice of building a counter to supplement your similar force. This can be useful when playing against a more experienced player.
Mirror sacrifices pace for flexibility, choosing to win by rock-paper-scissors rather than numbers or technology.
This requires you to have a clear view of the enemy, so scouting is essential. Being the mirror has a slight disadvantage of being slightly slower than your enemy. Be wary of psychological warfare too.
Effective against Early Rushers, Steamrollers
Compatible with: Pacific Front, Russia, PsiCorps, Headquarters
Spoiler
The United States
Strengths:
++ Speed and mobility
+ Inexpensive equipment
+ Good pinpoint firepower
+ Ability to conduct strikes anywhere on the battlefield
+ Most support powers for a subfaction
Weaknesses:
-- Fragile armor
-- Few crowd control options
Synergy with strategic styles:
++ The Early Rusher (using speed, cheap units and mobility at its fullest)
+ The Tech Rusher (generally useful T3 units)
+ The Steamroller (cheap units make strong numbers)
++ The Spec-Ops (support powers and heroine are dedicated to this role)
-- The Turtle (poor armor makes a turtle easy to be steamrolled)
- The Mirror (US needs to lead the pace, not sacrifice it)
Summary
Playing as the United States requires significant tactical awareness and consciousness. As the lightest of the Allied subfactions, the United States relies on speed and mobility to keep its enemies in check. It must lead the pace of the game and stifle the enemy with carefully placed strikes.
In some ways the United States resembles the Scorpion Cell gameplay wise, but with better technology and a more diverse set of strategic options enabled by a better air force and its array of support powers, while sacrificing crowd control. The United States army cannot hold for long against heavier subfactions, and as such make a poor turtle. A seasoned Scorpion Cell player will be able to use a similar set of skills to play as the United States.
Notable Unique Entities
Bulldog Light Tank
The Bulldog is the fastest basic tank in the game. It is also relatively cheap, allowing for its commander to pull off a quick and successful early rush strategy on an unsuspecting player. In a pinch, it can offer support to other forces by suppressing infantry with its flash explosives, reducing the damage dealt by the enemy. It is great for rushes, harassment or being a general nuisance. You can use the tank as an armored scout too.
The Bulldog plays best against tanks, and has little armor. It is much easier to use them to kill off miners than the refinery or any other vital building.
The Bulldog’s high speed makes it a good candidate to crush infantry, making it useful against flak troopers. Note that the Bulldog cannot take much punishment, and at times it is better speedily retreat instead of sacrificing a tank for a few infantry.
Stryker IFV
The Stryker plays an important role in a tank fight; the US’ repair ability comes from this vehicle (and an engineer/medic). While slower than the Bulldog, it has decent speed and can closely follow the Bulldogs as they stop at targets. The IFV can also wield different weapons with different combinations, inheriting the infantry’s weapon and the IFV’s armor and speed. This makes it useful for certain hit-and-run strikes by itself.
A clever opponent will attempt take out the repair IFVs before taking out the more powerful tanks in your force, so guard your IFVs well.
Warhawk
The Warhawk is an anti-ground-only aircraft available at the Tier 2 tech level. Using a couple of them will guarantee the enemy to invest in anti-air, which can enable you to follow-up with their counters. The Warhawk fires on the move, and can pick off enemy stragglers without much micro-management. Their similar speed to the Rockeeter makes them a good pair, with rocketeers covering the lack of AA on the Warhawk’s part.
Investing solely in them is risky, as a small amount of investment in AA will knock your investment down from the skies relatively quickly. Use them in areas without AA. This makes them more useful in the early game than the late game.
Stormchild
While Stormchildren are more fragile the other two Allied jets, they have two great advantages – being the fastest of the three Allied jets, and being radar invisible. While still not able to cruise through significant AA fire, they provide essential support to your ground troops as well as your special operations taskforce.
Stormchildren are widely used to take out enemy heroes due to their speed and radar stealth, making their approach noticeable only to the most attentive.
Abrams Tank
The Abrams Tank is a decent all-round unit. Its speed, moderate rate of fire and ability to fire on the move allows it to outmaneuver slower enemies, especially those with a slow moving turret. The Abrams deal decent precision damage to infantry as well, allowing a quick rush to nab that pesky hero.
The Abrams can withstand a little more punishment, but just a little more; it is still fragile compared to most of the Tier 3 monsters. It is a good escort to the more fragile Basswaves.
Basswave
The Basswave is an efficient anti-structure and anti-infantry siege unit, providing instant strike capacity damaging enemies along the line of fire, over a decent range. It is relatively slow and cannot fire efficiently on the move, so guard them well.
Aeroblaze
The Aeroblaze. It is effective against single heavily armored targets such as the Kirov, Barracuda and the Irkalla, but its lack of area of effect fire, inability to fire on the move, relatively short range and moderate cost makes it a sub-par dedicated anti-air unit relative to those of other subfactions. It is very useful for taking out projectiles from Soviet and Epsilon capital ships though.
Tanya
The heroine of the United States. Her strength is the ability to engage and kill any structure in one hit, making her the most devastating hero against unsuspecting commanders. The question then is how to get her in that position. Tanya may use a variety of US assets to reach her intended killzone – the Stryker and the Stallion. Tanya’s laser rifle can deal decent damage against mobile base defenders, enabling her to maximize her destruction of the base. Add in an Airborne paradrop, a Bloodhound paradrop, a Stormchild strike, an armored reinforcement by Chronosphere and the occasional Mercury Strike (and target painter), the enemy may well have a difficult time in his hands.
Tanya may serve another purpose lest the enemy base is too well defended for entry. The Tanya IFV mode is a great combination as well, being a speedy Basswave-like artillery that is decent against vehicles too. It is a good hit-and-run vehicle against the heavy subfactions – if you clear the skies beforehand.
Airborne Paradrop (Support Power)
The American paradrop of the original games is revived in the form of the airborne. The greatest difference is the presence of GGIs, taking into account the greatly reduced anti-tank capabilities of the GI.
Allegedly one of the most useless support powers in the game by itself, the airborne can be very effective when combined with other support, or placed near garrisonable buildngs.
Never underestimate a Russian-US team (as unlikely as it sounds in real life); an Airborne with an Instant Shelter in the enemies’ base can be a pain to handle (add Bloodhounds, Tank Drop, Repair Drone, and Mercury Strike for additional flavour).
Bloodhounds Paradrop (Support Power)
The American Bloodhounds is the vehicle variant of Airborne paradrop. The 2 Humvees and 2 Strykers are fast and agile, and carry good firepower against light infantry. Sending them against armor or base defenses is suicide though, so don’t do that unless you really really need that distraction and don’t mind spending almost $2000 in one go.
Target Painter (Support Power)
The Target Painter reduces your opponents’ armor, which can come in handy since your tanks don’t come with the best armor either.
Mercury Strike (Support Power)
The Mercury Strike is the only purely-offensive support power available to a subfaction that is not a superweapon. It is especially effective against infantry and fairly effective against vehicles.
Tactical Builds
Standard Economic / Tech Rusher Build
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 4 Miners (insert tanks where appropriate) -> Airforce Command Center -> Power Plant -> 2nd Ore Refinery -> Battle Lab -> Power Plant -> 3rd Ore Refinery or Ore Purifier
A pretty standard build. You will be able to keep your production flowing with little delays by the time you get your Battle Lab, as long as you are not overproducing an army. If you are not being rushed, it is unlikely you’ll ever need a large defending army or base defenses.
A Tech Rusher may forgo the 2nd Ore Refinery for faster tech expansion, especially if a rush is in the cards. On the other hand, an Steamroller may delay the Battle Lab for more refineries and war factories.
Early Bulldog Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 4-6 Bulldogs (concurrently, a 2nd Ore Refinery)
OR
Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 5-7 Bulldogs (concurrently, a 2nd Ore Refinery and Barracks)
Rush the Bulldogs to the enemy base. Priority targets include miners, ore refineries, war factories, technology structures. If the enemy has no defenses, you may target the barracks to remove the opponent’s ability to build defensive structures, infantry and walls. Retreat where necessary to minimize losses.
Skipping the initial barracks will allow a faster construction of the early army, but sacrifices the early scout and anti-scout. You may take the gamble if your enemy is a terribly poor scout.
US Aerial Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> Airforce Command Center (concurrently, 1-2 Miners) -> 1-2 Warhawks + 4-8 Rocketeers + 1-2 Stormchildren (concurrently, a Power Plant and a 2nd Ore Refinery)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Once the Warhawks and Rocketeers are ready, send them towards the enemy base (preferably away from areas the enemy has scouted). Summon the speedy stormchildren where appropriate. Priority targets include the ore refineries, miners, war factories, technology structures. If the enemy has no defenses, you may target the barracks to remove the opponent’s ability to build defensive structures, infantry and walls. Retreat where necessary to minimize losses.
Siege IFV Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> Airforce Command Center (concurrently, 1-2 Miners) -> 5-7 Strykers + 4-6 Siege Cadres + 1 Navy SEAL (concurrently, a Power Plant and a 2nd Ore Refinery)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Combine your Siege Cadres and SEAL with your Strykers. Group the SEAL Stryker and the Siege Strykers separately. Rush them to the outskirts of the enemy base, avoiding miners and tanks. Use the Siege Strykers to engage ore refineries, barracks, war factories and technology structures. If the enemy has prepared infantry or terror drones, use the SEAL Stryker from a fair distance to engage (some micro needed). Otherwise, rush the Stryker into the base and release the SEAL. Plant a few C4s on some structures to quicken your enemy’s demise.
You can build a Repair IFV ($900 investment for Stryker + Engineer) to accompany your force, for a delay in executing the rush. You can also send the Repair IFV after you have begun the rush; the taskforce is unlikely to be attacked en route to the base.
You may adjust your IFV combinations where necessary.
Tanya-in-a-Stallion
Build order:
Tier 3 -> Tanya + 1 Stallion + 5 infantry of your choice (popular choices are Engineers, SEALs, Siege Cadres, Spies or a mixture of these)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Once the Stallion and passengers are ready, send them towards the enemy base (preferably away from areas the enemy has scouted). You can have your army cause a diversion (optional). Land and unload the Stallion where appropriate. Tanya can kill most structures in one hit; don’t use your other siege infantry on the same target. Priorities include superweapons, technology buildings, war factories, ore refineries, power plants.
If this is a suicide mission, retreat your Stallion immediately after unloading. Otherwise, attempt to retreat with Tanya alive. Summon the speedy stormchildren / barracudas where appropriate.
Early Anti-Tank Defense
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery (+ Turret near Ore Refinery) -> Power Plant (+ 4-8 GGI) -> War Factory -> 1 Miner -> 2-3 Bulldogs (prepare 2nd Turret)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Retreat your dogs once done (they will serve as anti-basic infantry defense and fodder). Build defenders depending on the concentration of enemy force in their base. Useful against early tank and Borillo rushes. Just in case, concentrate your defenders around your ore refinery and/or miners. Follow up with your Airforce Command Center to make use of the radar to track your enemy’s movements.
Warning: Do not invest excessively into defense; an early economic disadvantage can potentially cripple you throughout the game.
Strategies
Against European Alliance
The European Alliance is well armored but lacks mobility. Siegfried alone does tremendous damage against your lightly-armored tanks. Engage your opponent in a series of harassment attacks to delay European Alliance’s advance up the tech tree. Divide your armies so they are less vulnerable to European Alliance’s area damage arsenal. Distract your enemy on the frontline so you can sneak Tanya into the enemy’s base, but watch out for those defending Thors! That said, Aeroblazes are great against stray Thors.
Against Pacific Front
The Pacific Front is not only lacking in mobility, it is also very weak in the early game, with only heavier armor being its saving grace. Allow it to stay in technology Tier 3, however, and you will be in a world of hurt. The Pacific Front is hungry for resources and technology, so a good strategy might be to go for its economy. Even if the Pacific Front manages to get its big guns out, the US can still wreak some havoc due to its greater mobility – just avoid direct confrontation. The Pacific Front has the best AA base defense in the game, so plan your air strikes carefully.
Against Russia
Russia is a good all-rounded subfaction, which is easy to play with. An all-in rush strategy will work less well against them. However, with a small task force, an aggressive US player can significantly delay Russia’s advance up the technology level as Russia’s counters are generally more expensive and slower. Tickle Russia with small attacks (e.g. 1 Warhawk) and force him to respond, then withdraw without losing many units, and you might be able to get Tanya before your opponent gets Volkov / Chitzkoi.
Good anti-air is essential against Russia. A GGI team may be useful to deal with Rhino Tank drops and Wolfhounds. SCUDs may be countered by an equal amount of Aeroblazes (which can counter Wolfhounds too), while you can hit instantaneously with Basswaves. Abrams Tanks can go toe to toe with Tesla Tanks if Volkov and Chitzkoi are out of the picture. And Bulldogs can quickly surround a sneaking Stalin’s Fist before it can pull off a stunt.
A common defending strategy for the Soviets is to leave Terror Drones and/or Desolators in the base to fend off sneak attacks. This is where Airborne and Bloodhound paradrops while sneaking in Tanya can be very useful.
Against China
Never underestimate how being slow can hurt China in the early game! A Tier 1 all-in rush (add in one or two repair IFVs to account for the Terror Drones) can kill China within 5 minutes of game time if you are lucky (Qilins are expensive, slow to build and slow to move). China’s best hope against an early rush is to tech rush to Tier 2 and defend himself with mines and Tesla Troopers; deny him that by blasting his Refinery / Barracks / Power.
China at Tier 3, however, is a monster to kill. The United States has no quick and effective counter against significant amounts of Nuwa (by significant I mean about 5 or more) except Tanya IFV and Stormchilds (which can be countered by Yunru and Sentinels respectively). The most effective strategy then is to deny China its technology. Alternatively, one can raid his base while his army is away.
Against Latin Confederation
Being fast means the US player can easily counter the Confederation’s tricks. But the Confederation will also be quick to counter the US. The US has a few advantages over the Confederation – a T2 unique unit that is not of one-time use, better T3 siege artillery, and an airforce for quick strikes. Morales will bite hard at your army. Use Stormchildren to eliminate him where possible.
Against Others
Not written yet.
The United States
Strengths:
++ Speed and mobility
+ Inexpensive equipment
+ Good pinpoint firepower
+ Ability to conduct strikes anywhere on the battlefield
+ Most support powers for a subfaction
Weaknesses:
-- Fragile armor
-- Few crowd control options
Synergy with strategic styles:
++ The Early Rusher (using speed, cheap units and mobility at its fullest)
+ The Tech Rusher (generally useful T3 units)
+ The Steamroller (cheap units make strong numbers)
++ The Spec-Ops (support powers and heroine are dedicated to this role)
-- The Turtle (poor armor makes a turtle easy to be steamrolled)
- The Mirror (US needs to lead the pace, not sacrifice it)
Summary
Playing as the United States requires significant tactical awareness and consciousness. As the lightest of the Allied subfactions, the United States relies on speed and mobility to keep its enemies in check. It must lead the pace of the game and stifle the enemy with carefully placed strikes.
In some ways the United States resembles the Scorpion Cell gameplay wise, but with better technology and a more diverse set of strategic options enabled by a better air force and its array of support powers, while sacrificing crowd control. The United States army cannot hold for long against heavier subfactions, and as such make a poor turtle. A seasoned Scorpion Cell player will be able to use a similar set of skills to play as the United States.
Notable Unique Entities
Bulldog Light Tank
The Bulldog is the fastest basic tank in the game. It is also relatively cheap, allowing for its commander to pull off a quick and successful early rush strategy on an unsuspecting player. In a pinch, it can offer support to other forces by suppressing infantry with its flash explosives, reducing the damage dealt by the enemy. It is great for rushes, harassment or being a general nuisance. You can use the tank as an armored scout too.
The Bulldog plays best against tanks, and has little armor. It is much easier to use them to kill off miners than the refinery or any other vital building.
The Bulldog’s high speed makes it a good candidate to crush infantry, making it useful against flak troopers. Note that the Bulldog cannot take much punishment, and at times it is better speedily retreat instead of sacrificing a tank for a few infantry.
Stryker IFV
The Stryker plays an important role in a tank fight; the US’ repair ability comes from this vehicle (and an engineer/medic). While slower than the Bulldog, it has decent speed and can closely follow the Bulldogs as they stop at targets. The IFV can also wield different weapons with different combinations, inheriting the infantry’s weapon and the IFV’s armor and speed. This makes it useful for certain hit-and-run strikes by itself.
A clever opponent will attempt take out the repair IFVs before taking out the more powerful tanks in your force, so guard your IFVs well.
Warhawk
The Warhawk is an anti-ground-only aircraft available at the Tier 2 tech level. Using a couple of them will guarantee the enemy to invest in anti-air, which can enable you to follow-up with their counters. The Warhawk fires on the move, and can pick off enemy stragglers without much micro-management. Their similar speed to the Rockeeter makes them a good pair, with rocketeers covering the lack of AA on the Warhawk’s part.
Investing solely in them is risky, as a small amount of investment in AA will knock your investment down from the skies relatively quickly. Use them in areas without AA. This makes them more useful in the early game than the late game.
Stormchild
While Stormchildren are more fragile the other two Allied jets, they have two great advantages – being the fastest of the three Allied jets, and being radar invisible. While still not able to cruise through significant AA fire, they provide essential support to your ground troops as well as your special operations taskforce.
Stormchildren are widely used to take out enemy heroes due to their speed and radar stealth, making their approach noticeable only to the most attentive.
Abrams Tank
The Abrams Tank is a decent all-round unit. Its speed, moderate rate of fire and ability to fire on the move allows it to outmaneuver slower enemies, especially those with a slow moving turret. The Abrams deal decent precision damage to infantry as well, allowing a quick rush to nab that pesky hero.
The Abrams can withstand a little more punishment, but just a little more; it is still fragile compared to most of the Tier 3 monsters. It is a good escort to the more fragile Basswaves.
Basswave
The Basswave is an efficient anti-structure and anti-infantry siege unit, providing instant strike capacity damaging enemies along the line of fire, over a decent range. It is relatively slow and cannot fire efficiently on the move, so guard them well.
Aeroblaze
The Aeroblaze. It is effective against single heavily armored targets such as the Kirov, Barracuda and the Irkalla, but its lack of area of effect fire, inability to fire on the move, relatively short range and moderate cost makes it a sub-par dedicated anti-air unit relative to those of other subfactions. It is very useful for taking out projectiles from Soviet and Epsilon capital ships though.
Tanya
The heroine of the United States. Her strength is the ability to engage and kill any structure in one hit, making her the most devastating hero against unsuspecting commanders. The question then is how to get her in that position. Tanya may use a variety of US assets to reach her intended killzone – the Stryker and the Stallion. Tanya’s laser rifle can deal decent damage against mobile base defenders, enabling her to maximize her destruction of the base. Add in an Airborne paradrop, a Bloodhound paradrop, a Stormchild strike, an armored reinforcement by Chronosphere and the occasional Mercury Strike (and target painter), the enemy may well have a difficult time in his hands.
Tanya may serve another purpose lest the enemy base is too well defended for entry. The Tanya IFV mode is a great combination as well, being a speedy Basswave-like artillery that is decent against vehicles too. It is a good hit-and-run vehicle against the heavy subfactions – if you clear the skies beforehand.
Airborne Paradrop (Support Power)
The American paradrop of the original games is revived in the form of the airborne. The greatest difference is the presence of GGIs, taking into account the greatly reduced anti-tank capabilities of the GI.
Allegedly one of the most useless support powers in the game by itself, the airborne can be very effective when combined with other support, or placed near garrisonable buildngs.
Never underestimate a Russian-US team (as unlikely as it sounds in real life); an Airborne with an Instant Shelter in the enemies’ base can be a pain to handle (add Bloodhounds, Tank Drop, Repair Drone, and Mercury Strike for additional flavour).
Bloodhounds Paradrop (Support Power)
The American Bloodhounds is the vehicle variant of Airborne paradrop. The 2 Humvees and 2 Strykers are fast and agile, and carry good firepower against light infantry. Sending them against armor or base defenses is suicide though, so don’t do that unless you really really need that distraction and don’t mind spending almost $2000 in one go.
Target Painter (Support Power)
The Target Painter reduces your opponents’ armor, which can come in handy since your tanks don’t come with the best armor either.
Mercury Strike (Support Power)
The Mercury Strike is the only purely-offensive support power available to a subfaction that is not a superweapon. It is especially effective against infantry and fairly effective against vehicles.
Tactical Builds
Standard Economic / Tech Rusher Build
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 4 Miners (insert tanks where appropriate) -> Airforce Command Center -> Power Plant -> 2nd Ore Refinery -> Battle Lab -> Power Plant -> 3rd Ore Refinery or Ore Purifier
A pretty standard build. You will be able to keep your production flowing with little delays by the time you get your Battle Lab, as long as you are not overproducing an army. If you are not being rushed, it is unlikely you’ll ever need a large defending army or base defenses.
A Tech Rusher may forgo the 2nd Ore Refinery for faster tech expansion, especially if a rush is in the cards. On the other hand, an Steamroller may delay the Battle Lab for more refineries and war factories.
Early Bulldog Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 4-6 Bulldogs (concurrently, a 2nd Ore Refinery)
OR
Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> 5-7 Bulldogs (concurrently, a 2nd Ore Refinery and Barracks)
Rush the Bulldogs to the enemy base. Priority targets include miners, ore refineries, war factories, technology structures. If the enemy has no defenses, you may target the barracks to remove the opponent’s ability to build defensive structures, infantry and walls. Retreat where necessary to minimize losses.
Skipping the initial barracks will allow a faster construction of the early army, but sacrifices the early scout and anti-scout. You may take the gamble if your enemy is a terribly poor scout.
US Aerial Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> Airforce Command Center (concurrently, 1-2 Miners) -> 1-2 Warhawks + 4-8 Rocketeers + 1-2 Stormchildren (concurrently, a Power Plant and a 2nd Ore Refinery)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Once the Warhawks and Rocketeers are ready, send them towards the enemy base (preferably away from areas the enemy has scouted). Summon the speedy stormchildren where appropriate. Priority targets include the ore refineries, miners, war factories, technology structures. If the enemy has no defenses, you may target the barracks to remove the opponent’s ability to build defensive structures, infantry and walls. Retreat where necessary to minimize losses.
Siege IFV Rush
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery -> Power Plant -> War Factory -> Airforce Command Center (concurrently, 1-2 Miners) -> 5-7 Strykers + 4-6 Siege Cadres + 1 Navy SEAL (concurrently, a Power Plant and a 2nd Ore Refinery)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Combine your Siege Cadres and SEAL with your Strykers. Group the SEAL Stryker and the Siege Strykers separately. Rush them to the outskirts of the enemy base, avoiding miners and tanks. Use the Siege Strykers to engage ore refineries, barracks, war factories and technology structures. If the enemy has prepared infantry or terror drones, use the SEAL Stryker from a fair distance to engage (some micro needed). Otherwise, rush the Stryker into the base and release the SEAL. Plant a few C4s on some structures to quicken your enemy’s demise.
You can build a Repair IFV ($900 investment for Stryker + Engineer) to accompany your force, for a delay in executing the rush. You can also send the Repair IFV after you have begun the rush; the taskforce is unlikely to be attacked en route to the base.
You may adjust your IFV combinations where necessary.
Tanya-in-a-Stallion
Build order:
Tier 3 -> Tanya + 1 Stallion + 5 infantry of your choice (popular choices are Engineers, SEALs, Siege Cadres, Spies or a mixture of these)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Once the Stallion and passengers are ready, send them towards the enemy base (preferably away from areas the enemy has scouted). You can have your army cause a diversion (optional). Land and unload the Stallion where appropriate. Tanya can kill most structures in one hit; don’t use your other siege infantry on the same target. Priorities include superweapons, technology buildings, war factories, ore refineries, power plants.
If this is a suicide mission, retreat your Stallion immediately after unloading. Otherwise, attempt to retreat with Tanya alive. Summon the speedy stormchildren / barracudas where appropriate.
Early Anti-Tank Defense
Build order:
Barracks (+ Dogs) -> Ore Refinery (+ Turret near Ore Refinery) -> Power Plant (+ 4-8 GGI) -> War Factory -> 1 Miner -> 2-3 Bulldogs (prepare 2nd Turret)
Scout the enemy base beforehand. Retreat your dogs once done (they will serve as anti-basic infantry defense and fodder). Build defenders depending on the concentration of enemy force in their base. Useful against early tank and Borillo rushes. Just in case, concentrate your defenders around your ore refinery and/or miners. Follow up with your Airforce Command Center to make use of the radar to track your enemy’s movements.
Warning: Do not invest excessively into defense; an early economic disadvantage can potentially cripple you throughout the game.
Strategies
Against European Alliance
The European Alliance is well armored but lacks mobility. Siegfried alone does tremendous damage against your lightly-armored tanks. Engage your opponent in a series of harassment attacks to delay European Alliance’s advance up the tech tree. Divide your armies so they are less vulnerable to European Alliance’s area damage arsenal. Distract your enemy on the frontline so you can sneak Tanya into the enemy’s base, but watch out for those defending Thors! That said, Aeroblazes are great against stray Thors.
Against Pacific Front
The Pacific Front is not only lacking in mobility, it is also very weak in the early game, with only heavier armor being its saving grace. Allow it to stay in technology Tier 3, however, and you will be in a world of hurt. The Pacific Front is hungry for resources and technology, so a good strategy might be to go for its economy. Even if the Pacific Front manages to get its big guns out, the US can still wreak some havoc due to its greater mobility – just avoid direct confrontation. The Pacific Front has the best AA base defense in the game, so plan your air strikes carefully.
Against Russia
Russia is a good all-rounded subfaction, which is easy to play with. An all-in rush strategy will work less well against them. However, with a small task force, an aggressive US player can significantly delay Russia’s advance up the technology level as Russia’s counters are generally more expensive and slower. Tickle Russia with small attacks (e.g. 1 Warhawk) and force him to respond, then withdraw without losing many units, and you might be able to get Tanya before your opponent gets Volkov / Chitzkoi.
Good anti-air is essential against Russia. A GGI team may be useful to deal with Rhino Tank drops and Wolfhounds. SCUDs may be countered by an equal amount of Aeroblazes (which can counter Wolfhounds too), while you can hit instantaneously with Basswaves. Abrams Tanks can go toe to toe with Tesla Tanks if Volkov and Chitzkoi are out of the picture. And Bulldogs can quickly surround a sneaking Stalin’s Fist before it can pull off a stunt.
A common defending strategy for the Soviets is to leave Terror Drones and/or Desolators in the base to fend off sneak attacks. This is where Airborne and Bloodhound paradrops while sneaking in Tanya can be very useful.
Against China
Never underestimate how being slow can hurt China in the early game! A Tier 1 all-in rush (add in one or two repair IFVs to account for the Terror Drones) can kill China within 5 minutes of game time if you are lucky (Qilins are expensive, slow to build and slow to move). China’s best hope against an early rush is to tech rush to Tier 2 and defend himself with mines and Tesla Troopers; deny him that by blasting his Refinery / Barracks / Power.
China at Tier 3, however, is a monster to kill. The United States has no quick and effective counter against significant amounts of Nuwa (by significant I mean about 5 or more) except Tanya IFV and Stormchilds (which can be countered by Yunru and Sentinels respectively). The most effective strategy then is to deny China its technology. Alternatively, one can raid his base while his army is away.
Against Latin Confederation
Being fast means the US player can easily counter the Confederation’s tricks. But the Confederation will also be quick to counter the US. The US has a few advantages over the Confederation – a T2 unique unit that is not of one-time use, better T3 siege artillery, and an airforce for quick strikes. Morales will bite hard at your army. Use Stormchildren to eliminate him where possible.
Against Others
Not written yet.
Edited by lovalmidas, 21 January 2014 - 01:11 PM.
