Red Alert2 Game Basics

The information provided in this quick guide was made possible by our affiliate of three years, Prima Games.com. Prima is the publisher of the best Strategy Guides on the planet, including Red Alert2. The information provided here is geared towards the beginner or those new to RTS games in general. This guide will help teach you the basics of the game so you can survive in battle. Have fun playing Red Alert2 by Westwood!

Red Alert2 Game Basics For Beginners

Economic Reality:
If you out-produce your enemy, you will win. Generate more money and use it more wisely, and you'll eventually crush your foe. Although attacking and defending intelligently are important, nothing is as critical to your success as generating as much money as you possibly can while denying the same to your opponent. More money means more defensive structures, more power, and more units. Early in the game you'll want to get at least two Ore Refineries built and build a few more Ore Miners to get the money flowing.

In addition to out-producing your enemy, you must deny resources to them while you maximize your own income. The most obvious way to deny resources to an enemy is to attack enemy miners. This isn't without its difficulties, though. Miners have particular features that make them tough to kill. Allied Chrono Miners are completely defenseless, but they have the annoying habit of chronoing away just as your units move in for the kill. It's very tough to destroy what isn't there, and this defense mechanism keeps these units alive. Soviet War Miners, on the other hand, have the equally annoying habit of fighting back, and fighting back hard. In a battle against a Grizzly Tank, the War Miner will win. Also, Chrono Miners and War Miners constantly repair themselves. A badly damaged miner left on its own will eventually be fully repaired. This means that any damage you cause to these vehicles is temporary unless you destroy them completely.

The solution to all of these problems is to attack in force. When you spot an enemy miner, attack with as much as you can. It's worth breaking off an attack on the enemy base itself for a chance at the miner in many circumstances. But don't attack with just a unit or two. You should hit an enemy miner with a minimum of six tanks. Your goal, always, is to destroy the enemy base itself. Reducing their economy to rubble can help you do this, but it shouldn't become your primary goal.

Onward to basic base building »