\\\\\\\\\\\\\\-----COMMAND & CONQUER--------\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Red Alert 2 FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE. ____The whole world must fall to the Soviets, and nothing will stop the rage that we unleash... Version Information ------------------- V1.1. I added some stuff from Scott Batass (aparently, he's a veteran player). I've also finished up the advanced strategies for the Allied Forces and the Soviets. Please mail any strategies/hints/sugestions/junk you have to me at bloodfreak@hotmail.com (can't say it enough). I will also make a walkthrough for the game with a lot of different strategies from a lot of people (at least I hope there are people out there who want to cooperate). This way I want to make sure that everyone finds the strategy to his liking. [TABLE OF CONTENTS] \------------------\ 1) Introduction 2) What is Red Alert 2 - Game Features 3) Allied Units/structures/specials 4) Soviet Units/Structures/specials 5) Tactical information on units/structures/specials 6) Main defensive tips for Allies 7) Main offensive tips for Allies 8) Main dtips for Soviets 9) Main offensive tips for Soviets. 10) Advanced strategies 10.1) Allies 10.2) Soviets 11) Secrets/cheats 12) Contact info 13) Credits \----------------------------------------------------------------------------\ 1) Intorduction. \---------------\ Hi guys, here's a strategy guide for the awesome game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. Caution: There is no walkthrough in here, however, I'm considering adding one in the next major update, so stay tuned! For the moment you can find all the things you need to know about Red Alert 2, and how to strategically make your enemies angry, paranoid, distracted and the like. Never forget: Your best defense is offense, but don't compromise your defensive strength because you want to attack. Try to take your time and hope the enemy isn't too quick about it either. If he is, make an efficient attack force, and strike back (just to scare him or to damage him in the early stages of the game). You can use strategies in this guide in the campaigns, but certain missions only give you certain units to build, and strategies listed here mostly use all types of units, so in the first mission, you won't be able to do a lot with these missions. I'm sure there is/there'll be a good guide for this, in the mean time, I'm working on one of my own. You may be sure that there'll be a Primagames Unofficial strategy guide, or one of those superb Game Guides of IGN! I hope you like this FAQ, if not, tell me what's wrong. Also, if anybody wants to contribute to this FAQ, you are more than welcome! Just mail your additions to: bloodfreak@hotmail.com, and use Red Alert FAQ as you subject, thank you. I'm trying to make this guide as big and as precise as possible (well that Walkthrough should help a bit). Okay, so without further addo, let's start. -------------------------------------- 2) What is Red Alert 2 - Game features. \-------------------------------------\ Alright, here's the section where the newbies will find some info about this game, and of course my personal review. Also I'll go a little deeper into the game features of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. First we need to look back a bit, to the very well-known Red Alert, the original. It begins when Einstein and an assistant make a time machine to teleport back in time, and prevent WWII from happening. They suceed in killing Hitler, but instead of WWII, there is an even bigger threat about to overrun the world: The Soviet Empire commanded by Stalin. Their tanks roll into the nearby countries and take them over without problem. Allied powers know that they have to act against this threat. There's only one problem, they lack the firepower to pose a big threat to the Soviets. The Allies rely on long-range assaults and quick air strikes, while the Soviets try to demolish the Allies with brute force, even with atomic weapons. After a long strugle, the Allies manage to kill Stalin and end the war. They choose a dictator, Romanov, to control and rebuild the Soviet remains. However, Romanov builds up the Soviet army and makes it stronger than ever. He plans on striking directly in the United States. Using his Cloning Vats he makes new soldiers faster than ever. They quickly overrun the surprised Allies, and they have to rely on newly developed technology to defend themselves... And that's where the game starts. Are you up to it? So what are some cool features of Red Alert 2 you ask? Well, first off, the camera is zoomed in much closer than in Tiberian Sun, which means cooler gameplay, and better graphics. On a sidenote, I was impressed with the minimum system requirements for a Command & Conquer RTS.... Anyways, you'll fight in real-life locations now, no more "Where the hell am I?????"-quistions. You'll be able to fight in New York, Paris, Texas, Chicago, Washington, somewhere in Germany I believe (I'm not that far yet...), and Siberia. Sounds pretty cool. Add to that, there's cars, a lot more buildings, and better gameplay rules if you ask me. I'll get to that a little later. The sound has gotten a lot of improvement, you'll now hear "sounds of the enviroment", which means birds, tanks, infantry marching, cows making that anoying noise and so on. Multiplayer has gotten some improvement as well. First you've got "Unholy Alliances", which gives you both an Allied and a Soviet MCV. VERY NICE. Here you have to be kind of strategic, since where for example the Allied lacks heavy armor, the Soviets make up for that nicely. So you'll have to work with deceptions and direct assaults while your enemies are occupied elsewhere. I'll cover this in the appropriate sections. Further more there are modes like naval war (you're left on a small island and you're enemy is on an other island", Land Rush (you start in a completely revealed map( and Meatgrinder (you can mainly use infantry and tanks). And IGNPC gives it a 9.3, so what are you waiting for (they won't lie about it...). -------------------------------------- 3. The Allied Forces \------------------\ Units ----- Infantry -------- GI Soldier ---------- Description: A well-trained infantryman with a powerful machinegun. He's more than a match for the Russian Conscript. He can deploy his machinegun and hold is ground, or you could place him in a building (yeah!!! Why not the Mac Burger King in the first missions?). When you "garrison" your GI, he will stay in the building and fire at anything that passes. This adds to the already massive strategic planning you need to do. This is especially handy as your infantrymen can take potshots at the marauding enemy forces, weakening them before they reach your base. And they aren't too expensive as well. What I'm trying to say is: DO NOT OVERLOOK THESE GUYS! Weapon: .50 Caliber Machinegun Attack Dog ---------- Description: These are the infantry killing machines. One attack and even Tanya will be toast. They are pretty fast compared to most infantry and they can sniff out spies for you (assuming your enemy is Allied or you are playing Unholy Alliance). Always keep some in your base. They'll kill the Engineers that try to sneak in and capture some buildings. I've had it happen once and it isn't pretty (lucky enough for me he took only my Power Plant, I was able to kill his 4 companions). Rocketeer --------- Description: You can call these guys the Jump Jet infantry of Tiberian Sun, there only a lot cooler if you ask me. I only found them useful in one department: to weaken approaching attack forces. Soviets mostly send heavy tank assaults to make you shiver. Just send a dozen Rocketeers to them, and half of them will be destroyed when they reach your base. Their weapons aren't impressive if you ask me, they're just good help. Weapon: Light Machinegun Chrono Legionnaire ----------------- Description: This one can be a real pain in the butt. What he does is wipe the enemy units you target from the map. The only problems are that he ain't strong and that he doesn't fire fast. So, keep these guys safe and victory might just be much easier... Weapon: Chrono Rifle (or something like that) Engineer -------- Description: This goon returns to the party, with some nasty upgrades. He hasn't gained the speed yet hehe, but he can do a butt load of things. First, he can take over an enemy building and turn it to your side. Secondly, he can repair your own structures. Just send him inside and he'll repair it for you. Thirdly, he can repair a destroyed bridge. You'll have to send him into the bridge control station. Once that is done, it will be safe to move along your units. Also, he can capture Tec buildings (airports, Oil Derricks, Outposts, hospitals, etc.), to help you in your efforts. This can prove very useful in the heat of battle. By supplying you with a steady flow of cash, paratroopers, free healing, repair etc. you could easily turn the tides on the enemy and kill him off. You can also capture normal houses and other civilian buildings. Lastly, he can defuse bombs. He has a Defuse kit with him to defuse any t explosive threats that you might encounter. This makes him the ideal weapon against Crazy Ivan's terrorism. The only drawback is that you will lose your engineers in most of these cases (except for the bomb defusing that is). Weapon: Defuse kit Tanya ----- Description: Your ideal special agent, Tanya will perform her duties quite nicely. She has a woopin' amount of firepower with her, and she can handle infantry attacks very well. Just don't use her against armored units, she'll probably die. Structures however, are very popular targets for Tanya. She just plants a C4 charge and destroys it in one blow. VERY EFFECTIVE. If you are lucky, the AI won't have much of defenses, and when the time comes that he threatens to destroy/harm you, just send Tanya in and clean out the super weapons. I've actually done it several times and it performs nicely! Weapon: Dual Colt45 pistols and C4 charges Spy --- Description: This one is vital to your strategy. In Red Alert, your spy could do a handful of things, but in my opinion it is much harder to discover a spy in RA2 than it was in the original. Still the best defense would be to place your dogs in Guard mode. A spy can do much more this time. Here's a rundown. 1) Get him into a refinery and he will steal some cash for you! 2) Get him into the Power Plant and he will shut off the power for 1 minute (VERY useful) 3) Get him into your enemy Radar Tower/Air Force Command GH and he will reset the shroud. 4) Get him into the Barracks/War Factory and he will make your units Veteran. 5) Get him into the Battle Lab and he will offer you a new unit to build. Just don't come to close to enemy Guard Dogs, as they will sniff out your spies pretty quickly. Vehicles -------- Chrono Miner ------------ Description: Without this, you'll die. That is the simplest description that I can give you. for old-school Command & Conquer players, you can call it the Harvester, but with extra teleportation ability. It has to drive to the Ore fields but it can teleport back to your base. This spares a lot of time, and you don't have to build that many to have a steady flow of cash! It doesn't have any weapons like its Soviet counterpart. It can crush infantry of course. Grizzly Battle Tank ------------------ Description: This is the main armor unit of the Allies. It has heavy armor, good strength and good firepower, however the Soviets Heavy Tank is better in every aspect but speed. It will certainly be the bulk of your forces in the whole game. In my opinion, it goes pretty fast for a tank. The nice thing is, because of its cheapness, you can send wave after wave of them to assault the enemy base. While you're first wave is attacking, you start building another wave. It should be almost or even completely finished when your tanks are destroyed. You must make sure that you have a constant flow of cash though. Capture an Oil Derrick, or build a bunch of extra Ore Miners to give fast money. Weapon: 105mm Cannon Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) ------------------------------ Description: Just your plain old APC. But this time, there are some special forms of the IFV. You can produce regular IFV that you pump full of infantry. These have some weapons (including the infantry's weapons of course), but you can also produce a Repair IFV, which functions a little like the MRV in TS. You send it to a unit and your IFV will repair it. It has its uses, but personally, I'd go with the Chopper. Just for those who can't figger it out, you have to put an Engineer in the IFV to make it a REpair IFV. Also, I've received some very nice tips from Scott Batass about what you can do with an IFV (I usually only use them to transport infantry to the destination, unload and then use them as support fire). He has the following combinations: - IFV +TeslaTrooper (if you can manage it) =Tesla Tank (acording to him, it has better range, but I didn't really feel like that, anyaways..) - IFV + Crazy Ivan =Demolition Truck (YEAH BABY!!!!!) - IFV + Yuri =IFV taht fires a Psychic wave (not all that useful) - IFV + Desolator =fires radiation weapon (good anti-infntry weapon, otherwise its just crap!!) IFV + Flak Trooper =Well, I'd like to call it the Golakeeper. It fires flak very quicly, and it gives the feeling of having a real anti-aircraft weapon that is used on Carriers (yeah! Where's the Goalkeeper on the Carrier for the Allies!) - IFV + Chrono Legionaire =Chrono IFV. They fire the Chrono Rifles and indeed fire a little faster then the normal Legionaires. - IFV + Attack Dog =These kill spies you know, looks like those dogs have good noses hehehe. Major thanks to Scott for this one! Weapon: Missiles +infantry fire Prism Tank ---------- Description: You could describe it as "a Prism Tower on wheels". It isn't very strong, but it is very destructive. They are best used as heavy defense, or as supporting unit in the assault on the enemy base. They pack quite a punch, but heavy units can still destroy it. Weapon: Mobile Prism Cannon Mirage Tank ----------- Description This one is pretty interesting, I like to refer to it as the Shape shifting Tank. It can mask itself in things like a tree for example. This is the best ambush-unit in the game in my opinion. Just have a group of them mask themselves, let the enemies strike force go by and do some backstabbin'! It's gun is quite powerful, but I didn't find its offensive capabilities very good. They can be used as a last line of defense if you wait. Weapon: Mirage Gun MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) --------------------------------- Description: This slow but strong unit is something you wouldn't want to lose in the beginning of a match. It probably won't happen but it is still a very painful thing... thrust me on this one. It is wise to build a second MCV and even a third, just in case the enemy turns nasty. The best thing is to make multiple, individual bases. I had an interesting strategy for TS. I haven't had a lot of time to test it here, but I think it will work out just fine. I'll cover it in the appropriate section. Weapon: NOTHING!!! Air Units --------- Harrier ------- Description: Ahhh, one of my favorite units in the game. They are pretty fast, they are very destructive and the Flak Cannons sometimes have a hard time shooting at 'em. They are the Harriers. to ensure your success you'll have to build a ton of them. A full squadron of 12 would be advisable, you never know what kind of resistance you run into. There Air-to-ground missiles are very powerful, bringing a structure down in about 2 hits. Be sure to break your squadron in groups of about 4, and let them attack individual targets. This works most of the time, for me at least. Follow up your air strike with a large taskforce and your enemy will be powerless. Weapon: Maverick Air-to-Ground missiles Night Hawk Transport Helicopter ------------------------------- Description: My favorite transport. I usually attack approaching vehicles with them, as they have unlimited bullets, and in packs they can pack quite a punch (man I'm getting sick of that "pack"). They can hold up to 5 infantry units and deliver them anywhere you want (if he can land anywhere near it that is). This is handy if you want to give your enemy a "Tanya Rush". Just load her into the Chopper together with some GIs or Engineers, deliver her just outside the most undefended part of your enemy's base, and blow up/capture some stuff! Be advised however, as there seems to be something wrong with the game. Once I attacked an enemy group of Conscripts and suddenly they began to fire at me. It is logical that people with machineguns can fire at helicopters, it just never happened to me in a command & Conquer game yet; Weapon: Blackhawk Chaingun F/A-18 Hornet ------------- Descriptions: You won't actually be able to control them, but they will be your best friends on the battlefield. You'll have to build an Aircraft Carrier (assuming there is water on the map you're currently on), and give it a target to attack. The Carrier will launch its Hornets, and they will move to the target at a nice speed, and demolish it. It is best if you have multiple carriers, because the hornets have to return and rearm before you can launch them again. You can target their Construction Yard and Service Depot at the same time (probably destroying them), making your enemy mad. He will not be able to build another MCV (if he didn't do that already). Weapon: Some kind of Rocket Pots. Naval Units ----------- Amphibious Transport -------------------- Description: A must-have if you are stuck, having to sail over ships to attack your enemy. They're not incredibly fast like in the original Red Alert, but they can deliver wave after wave of tanks, that if co-coordinated well, will eventually destroy your enemy. This combined with support fire from your warships, will without a doubt destroy your foe(s). Not that they're not useful over land. There just as useful. It's just not remarkable, I just overlooked them the first few time I could build them! Dolphin -------- Description: I overlooked these at first, but they ideal when fighting over water. They can destroy Giant Squids and subs easily, but are also ideal for freeing ships of the grip of the Squids. They have a weird sonic device that you could resemble a bit with the Disruptor from TS. Weapon: Sonic Pulse Destroyer --------- Description: This is your basic warship. Or not eh. It has a heavy cannon and to combat those annoying typhoons, the Destroyer is equipped with anti-submarine warfare helicopters. These do the job of killing the subs quite well if you ask me. It is a good vessel to assault defensive structures as well as infantry. I found it less effective against tanks and heavily armored units. Weapon: 155mm cannon +ASW helicopters Aegis Cruiser ------------- Description: This one can be very effective. It fires SAMs in a rapid rate, it has good strength compared to the Destroyer, too bad it has no other weapons. I found it both handy in destroying marauding Hercules planes, bringing those paratroopers, as well as destroying those tough Airships. This is a must have to protect yourself from long-range Soviet missiles. You can destroy both V3 rockets and the missiles of Dreadnoughts. Weapon: Surface-to-Air missiles Aircraft Carrier ---------------- Description If there is one thing I build after my Shipyard is deployed, it is this baby. It is strong, and it has some impressive friends on its decks. Look at the description of the F/A-18 Hornet to find out what I mean. You can attack both ships and ground units/structures with it, no air units (that's where the cruisers come in). This is the command vessel for your fleet. The main thing you will want to do is to destroy any flaks in sight with your Destroyers, while the Hornets destroy any heavy defenses with their deadly weapons. The Cruisers meanwhile, defend the Carrier from any assaults from both V3s and Dreadnoughts, not forgetting the airships of course. Structures ---------- Construction Yard ----------------- Description This is the main building of your base. Be unfortunate enough that an enemy destroys both your Construction Yard AND your Service Depot, and you're screwed. This building allows you to construct the buildings that you'll need. When destroyed you lose the ability to build any more defenses, go further up the Tech Tree and reduces your chances of winning the game. Defend it at all cost. Also, be sure to make a second or even a third Mobile Construction Yard so that you are sure that you are playing on the safe side. Take my advice boys and girls, you'll need it. Ore Refinery ------------ Description: This is where all the ore is stored and where the Ore Miner docks to deliver the harvested ore. This is the second most important structure in the game, the first being the Construction Yard. Do not leave it undefended, it is expensive to rebuild, and if you are unfortunate to not have enough funds for it, you might end up having to sell off important buildings. Power Plant ----------- Description: You cannot survive without a few Power Plants. They supply your whole base with power and most importantly, they power your defensive structures as well. The superb strategy is to first destroy the enemy's Power Plants and then destroy him, taking advantage of the absence of his heavy defenses. Using a spy to shut of the base power, while a special unit (like Tanya) moves through the base and destroys anything of importance, is crucial. If you just built a structure which needed a lot of power and you lost main power until you can build another power plant, there may be occasions where just then, the enemy decides to attack. This is very painful, as your Ore Miners could just be busy while your enemies are pouring into your base. The best strategy to do (the fastest btw) is to sell off the power-sucking building. Base power will be immediately restored and your heavy defenses will rip apart the unsuspecting enemy, hahahahahahaha! Barracks -------- Description: This is very simple: BUILD and ENJOY. This building is used for the creation of infantry and is also required to build the War Factory. It is pretty cheap for a building eh. War Factory ----------- Description: This, in my opinion at least, the third most important building in the game. It is used to build the heavily armored units, not the advanced ones. Things like tanks and heavy transports are built here. Air Force Command HQ -------------------- Description: This is a multi-role building. Firstly, it is a radar. It gives you a main view on the map. However there is a second function. This building is used to build the Harriers, and is needed to build the cruisers. Service Depot ------------- Description This is very important to build fast and to maintain. "Why?!" you ask? Well, it is very useful to repair your units, and the most important thing is this: in the event that your Construction Yard is destroyed, you will be in deep shit. However, if you have a service depot, you will be able to build a new MCV. Let this be your first priority once your main structures are up. Battle Lab ---------- Description: This building allows you to build the advanced structures/units and gives you access to the superweapons... NICE, I hear you screaming, hahaha. Gap Generator -------------- Description: You can take this as your average Stealth Generator, but that's incorrect. They hide any structure and unit in its radius in a big shroud. Units and structures that fire at enemy units will "declaim" so that they can open fire. Keep your power above nominal, or everything will shut down (NOT NICE!!). It can be pretty handy in the earlier stages (remaining hidden from your enemies), but don't really use it when your enemy has already scouted out your base, a good superweapon strike will still be imminent. Ore Purifier ------------- Description: Not all the ore you mine is usable to convert into cash. But now there is a solution to this problem: the Ore Purifier. They allow you to get all the resources you harvest into cash, this gives a huge bonus. The Allies already mine faster than the Soviets, now they even get more credits than them. Great, you gonna need it. Spy Satellite Uplink ------------------- Description: This little bastard allows you to unveil the whole map which is pretty useful if you ask me. Just be sure you have enough power, or the whole thing will shut down... And at that moment, an enemy invasion force arrives. You laugh at them, typing in the chat window "YOU WILL NEVER GET BY MY 15 PRISM TOWERS!!!", when you suddenly discover that they aren't working at all! Be warned! Chronosphere ------------ Description: The chronosphere has returned once more, and he's better than ever. First off, this structure sucks out power, so be warned. Secondly, it is actually kind of tricky to use IMO. When charged up to full, it allows you to teleport a certain unit/group to a location of your choosing HOWEVER, they will only stay there for a few minutes, so good planning is crucial! This can be handy to send swift attacks, or to reinforce your main taskforce with some extra supplies. You can't send infantry into an enemy base, but if you put them in an IFV, there shouldn't be any problems. Weather Machine --------------- Description: One of my favorite superweapons ever in the world of RTS. This Weather Machine creates a lightning storm, which approaches the targeted area. It is very deadly to enemy structures and infantry. This is of course the superb moment to bring in your heavy forces (NO! Not while the storm is busting them up!!!), or even chronoshifting an IFV with Tanya inside, hoping most of their defenses are destroyed/their power is down. Pillbox ------- Description: This is my favorite defensive structure in the game, especially the sound is very cool! What this is? Well, it is a bunker with a machinegun inside, firing at any incoming forces. While it is pretty strong, it is the weakest of the Allied defensive structures, and it is also the weakest of them all. You will always find them in my defense though... They are real infantry shredders, they aren't really effective against vehicles. Patriot Missile System ---------------------- Description: This is another of my favs, it's just so damn powerful... against the right stuff. It fires the famous Patriot surface-to-air missiles (for those who know them), they will knock every V3 and Dreadnoughts missile out of the air. You know that the Kirov Airships are very heavy. Just place enough systems and they will destroy them. Don't even dear to attack these systems with Harriers or Hornets, they will be knocked out of the sky before they even reach their base... units aren't really balanced to fight themselves you know... Prism Tower ----------- Description: These are the armor shredders for the Allies. They fire some weird type of laser. They are stronger than Pillboxes, but they aren't as strong as Patriots. They are essential to your defenses, never leave any base without them. Fortress Wall ------------- Description: These are the standard Concrete Walls. They are needed for your defensive needs. They'll keep out those pesky Terror Drones, as well as prevent any direct engineer attacks. Special Allied Multiplayer forces --------------------------------- Americans: Paratroopers ----------------------- Description: All of you Americans get free paratroopers. This is pretty cool, as GIs are a pain in the butt!!! They can take out tanks themselves, and you better get Flaks up fast, so that you can take out the Hercules planes down before they can drop off the troops. However, if you are one of the Allies, you can easily take 'em down with a few Patriots! Beware though, these planes are slow, but they can take some punishment (this is especially for the Soviets). Keep dogs within your base, so that your doggies can kill the infantry before they can do some damage. Weapon: .50 Heavy Machinegun (probably a Browning type) British: Sniper ---------------- Description: I haven't been able to test these yet, but my guess is that they are a little like the Sniper in TS. I will post a good description once I find the time to test them out. Weapon: Arctc Warfare Pistol France: Grand Cannon Description: These guys rock man!!! They can destroy marauding Soviet tanks like I eat candy (not that I'm fat or something). They are a little expensive, but it is worth the money. Weapon: Heavy Cannon Germany: Tank Destroyer Description: I haven't been able to test these as well, but I'm dying to get my hands on these! I'll just have to finish the missions yet (man! I'm stuck at the Soviet campaign! I cant believe it!!!!!). Weapon: SABOT Canon Korea: Black Eagle ------------------- Description: These are the Superharriers, but I do notlike them that much. They go a little slower tha the original, have stronger missiles though and can sustain more damage. Just be sure that you have several of these, as one will still do minor damage. They are good for the "Air Strike without warning" strategy (see further below in section 7). Weapon: Maverick air-to-ground-missiles -------------------------------------- 4) Soviet units/structures/specials. \----------------------------------\ Infantry -------- Conscript --------- Description: These soldiers are weaker and less trained than the GI, but they are cheaper. They cannot deploy themselves and I miss that here (you can bet I'm not a fan of the Soviets!). They are oh so easy to kill with dogs and their guns aren't as spectacular as well! So, why would you buy these nerds??? Well, you can still garrison buildings with them, so it is still good to use them for defensive purposes. If you need some support to kill infantry, use the Attack Dogs, they are much better (they kill much faster as well hehehe). Weapon: M1 Carbine assault rifle (you wouldn't say it if you see those wimpy weapons) Attack Dog ---------- Description: These are the infantry killing machines. One attack and even Tanya will be toast. They are pretty fast compared to most infantry and they can sniff out spies for you (assuming your enemy is Allied or you are playing Unholy Alliance). Always keep some in your base. They'll kill the Engineers that try to sneak in and capture some buildings. I've had it happen once and it isn't pretty (lucky enough for me he took only my Power Plant, I was able to kill his 4 companions). Engineer -------- Description: This goon returns to the party, with some nasty upgrades. He hasn't gained the speed yet hehe, but he can do a buttload of things. First, he can take over an enemy building and turn it to your side. Secondly, he can repair your own structures. Just send him inside and he'll repair it for you. Thirdly, he can repair a destroyed bridge. You'll have to send him into the bridge control station. Once that is done, it will be safe to move along your units. Also, he can capture Tec buildings (airports, Oil Derricks, Outposts, hospitals, etc.), to help you in your efforts. This can prove very useful in the heat of battle. By supplying you with a steady flow of cash, paratroopers, free healing, repair etc. you could easily turn the tides on the enemy and kill him off. You can also capture normal houses and other civilian buildings. Lastly, he can defuse bombs. He has a Defuse kit with him to defuse any t explosive threats that you might encounter. This makes him the ideal weapon against Crazy Ivan's terrorism. The only drawback is that you will lose your engineers in most of these cases (except for the bomb defusing that is). Weapon: Defuse kit Tesla Trooper ------------- Description: If you want tank zappers, than these are your men. They use electricity to zap enemy units however, you can use them to power Tesla Reactors to give them that extra boost (never done this though...). It isn't that useful against infantry, as these units tend to miss smaller targets. I do not use these troops often, actually I do not use a lot of Soviet infantry, Flak Troopers sometimes to protect my forces from those Rocketeers and harriers. Weapon: Electric bolt Flak Trooper ------------ Description: Okay, these are actually useful. They can fire at both Ground, sea and air units. They are essential to your offensive capabilities, unless you want to stick with the Flak Track. They are vulnerable to other infantry, so please give them some Attack Dog cover (if you would use the Flak Track, those grizzlys would blow them to smithereens). Weapon: Flak gun (both ground, sea and air units can be attacked) Crazy Ivan ---------- Description: I like this guy because of his fancy speech! "I've lost the bomb, do you have it?" The first time I heard that I was laughing until my parents came asking what was wrong. No, seriously. This guy, if used right, will make the life of the enemy very hard. You'll have to protect him well, but I assure you it is worth it. It is tricky, because you will have to keep someone kill the engineers who try to defuse the bomb, but if you can achieve this goal as well, the units/structure you bombed will be toast. Weapon: Dynamite Yuri ---- Description: Yuri is one of the most impressive units I have seen in Westwood games that I've played (that excludes the Dune series). He can mind control any unit your finger can click at. From grizzly Battle Tanks to bite happy alligators! This allows you to do the cow Rush (see appropriate section). But that is not all. He can do a Psychic Wave that kills all infantry that are near him. An all-around interesting unit to have AND to use of course. Weapon: Psychic Wave Vehicles -------- Rhino Heavy Tank ---------------- Description: NOW we're talking! Make a mass of these, and crush the opposition. It has a heavy cannon, I'm a little disappointed that the 2 barreled tanks haven't returned. Those were really cool! Take a look at the original Red Alert if you want details on this baby. Anyways, this tank isn't bad or something, they are just....... a little less cool. They are very effective against Tesla Coils, especially if they are in packs. They aren't very effective against Prism Towers however, Prism Towers are effective against THEM. The point of being Soviet is to start up your base immediately and build as many as you can, as fast as you can. Then, rush the enemy and hope they are overwhelmed (if you did it quick enough that won't be a problem really). Weapon: 120mm Cannon Apocalypse Assault Tank ----------------------- Description: Have fear of the Apocalypse. Twice the strength of the Rhino, heavy armor and impressive firepower, this is what a Mammoth Tank is all about baby. Not only can it fire at ground targets with its dual heavy canons, it can also fire missiles at aircraft. Scared yet? No? Well, just imagine what a dozen of these tanks could do to your base... They'll completely destroy it, unless you can retaliate appropriately. This is why my theory on the Allied forces is the following: The best defense, is a good defense of course! And that's more than true if you take a close look at the Apocalypse tank. Throw everything you have at it, assault it from the sea if you can, aircraft carriers help a lot here, as their hornets might be able to get through its missile defense, and will give it a nice beating. Weapon: Dual 120mm Heavy Cannons and SAM missiles Flak Track ---------- Description: Nothing special, only meant for scouting means, nothing more. It has some flak guns on it that can target both air and ground units, still nothing special, as it has spiffy armor and is incredibly weak. Weapon: flak guns V3 Rocket Launcher ------------------ Description: IJ already hear you guys saying "And what don't you like about this, you foolish nerd, well to give you an answer: it is much to difficult to get it working right. The only way you could do it a bit easier is by outgunning the patriots, and still, the Allies will come and screw your V3s up. Soviets are much more prone to V3s (spiffy air defense, anyone???). What you'll want to do is bring them in if you're absolutely sure that the coast is clear, and that brings me to my next problem: Aegis Cruisers. They are a pain if you ant to V3 something. They have a lot of rockets onboard, and they will shoot your rockets out of the sky before they are even launched... well not quite so but still. Weapon: V3 rockets Terror Drone ------------ Description: Do you really want to know what this is? Well, build one and test it out on your Ore Miner (the worst unit you could ever test it on). You will conclude that some way or another, your miner was completely destroyed, eaten you could say. That's exactly what the terror drone does: EAT, EAT and EAT. Nothing else. The AI tends to send some of these pests to your base, hoping they will make it through your defenses. Even with all your defensive structures and garrisoned infantry, they sometimes slip through and eat your miner. VERY PAINFUL. AVOID THIS AT ALL COST. BUILD WALLS, INCREASE YOUR DEFNSES OR SOMETHING ELSE. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET THEM EAT YOUR MINER. I was very surprised btw, when a group of Terror Drones approached my base. I sent out my infantry to destroy them. With a smile on my face I watched as the two groups approached each other. However, something very disturbing happened. When my infantry opened fire, the enemy drones came in and killed them all!!! I managed to kill a bunch of them, but all my GIs were killed! I never heard this happening to anyone before... Weapon: errrrrrrr, some kind of teeth I guess, or claws... MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) --------------------------------- Description: This slow but strong unit is something you wouldn't want to lose in the beginning of a match. It probably won't happen but it is still a very painful thing... thrust me on this one. It is wise to build a second MCV and even a third, just in case the enemy turns nasty. The best thing is to make multiple, individual bases. I had an interesting strategy for TS. I haven't had a lot of time to test it here, but I think it will work out just fine. I'll cover it in the appropriate section. Weapon: NOTHING!!! Air Units --------- Kirov Airship ------------- Description: This is the one and only Soviet air unit. It is impossibly slow, but oh man this is powerful. It drops bombs at its targets, which will explode after a few bombs. It is not too hard to defend against if you know how however, you'll have to keep shooting at it and still stay alive somehow, as this bastard repairs itself when it is damaged. A few Aegis Cruisers work fine, but be sure to have a nice amount of Patriots around when they do get to your base. Once, I played against an AI opponent (I was Russia, he was Cuba) and he somehow managed to destroy my construction yard. I was really mad and began massive production of tanks. Suddenly however, Lt. Zofia kicked in saying the enemy had a Nuclear Silo. I quickly had an airship, which I already built earlier, get there. I only had one minute remaining before the nuke was shot. The thing was able to fly there in time (lucky enough for me) and I was able to destroy his whole base with my lonely Kirov. Oh yes, he had about 5 Flaks but they couldn't stop me from destroying building after building, eventually killing the unit producing structures and the power plants eh Tesla Reactors of course. The only stupid thing was that I was playing on a map which was meant for 8 players, so I had to scout all over the place to find those last garrisoned infantrymen. Just to say: defenses aren't really made to stop their own units (mostly). Weapon: Bombs Navel Units ----------- Amphibious Transport -------------------- Description: A must-have if you are stuck, having to sail over ships to attack your enemy. They're not incredibly fast like in the original Red Alert, but they can deliver wave after wave of tanks, that if co-coordinated well, will eventually destroy your enemy. This combined with support fire from your warships, will, without a doubt, destroy your foe(s). Not that they're not useful over land. They're just as useful. It's just not remarkable, I just overlooked them the first few time I could build them! Giant Squid ----------- these are really annoying. They grab the target ship with their tentacles and play with it until it blows. The only way to remove these pests are Dolphins, with their sonic waves, the squids will have to release the ship. they are submerged so it is possible to target it, but not very easy. Use these wisely as you can rip apart the enemy fleet before it reaches your bases (if you're fast and there are no dolphins around). Description: Tentacles Typhoon Attack Sub ------------------ Description: These are very stealthy units, the only problem is that they aren't very useful against a well co-coordinated fleet. Not that good in defense in other words, but very good assault ships. Just destroy their heavy vessels (carriers and cruisers) while your other dreadnoughts and Sea Scorpions take care of the destroyers (be sure to assist them with your subs though, it is very hard for a destroyer to fight submarines and normal ships at the same moment. If you come in masses they will be destroyed immediately because their helicopters aren't fast enough). Then, bring in your transports full of lead and watch as their base falls before your armor. Weapon: Torpedoes Dreadnought ----------- Description: The heavy attack ships of the Soviet navy. They have devastating missiles that, when clear of air defenses, will destroy enemy units very quickly. So, is that all? Well, they are strong to say it this way. If you want the strongest and most deadly Soviet vessel in the navy, this is for you. If you'd rather stick with the swift and deadly sea scorpions + the subs, go on ahead. Weapon: Long-range missiles Sea Scorpion ------------- Description: These annoying little ships are your naval air defenses. They're a rather poor excuse for an equivalent for the cruiser, but they are handy in destracting destroyers, not killing them though. They are also handy to keep those Hornets at bay, aswell as Harriers and helis. Weapon: Flak guns Structures ----------- Construction Yard ------------------ Construction Yard ----------------- Description This is the main building of your base. Be unfortunate enough that an enemy destroys both your Construction Yard AND your Service Depot, and you're screwed. This building allows you to construct the buildings that you'll need. When destroyed you lose the ability to build any more defenses, go further up the Tech Tree and reduces your chances of winning the game. Defend it at all cost. Also, be sure to make a second or even a third Mobile Construction Yard so that you are sure that you are playing on the safe side. Take my advice boys and girls, you'll need it. Ore Refinery ------------ Description: This is where all the ore is stored and where the Ore Miner docks to deliver the harvested ore. This is the second most important structure in the game, the first being the Construction Yard. Do not leave it undefended, it is expensive to rebuild, and if you are unfortunate to not have enough funds for it, you might end up having to sell off important buildings. Tesla Reactor -------------- Description: This is the Soviet version of the Power Plant. The only difference is that this version gives less power than the Allied one. However, you can use Tesla Troopers to power these Reeactors up, so that you will have some extra power to your base. Think of them as Power Turbines in TS, only difference is that they're living people, who are powering the plant (always knew these Soviets were crasy!). You are better off with a Nucliar Reactor, but they are good reserves for when a superweapon strikes. Nuclear Reactor ---------------- Description: This is what I like about the Soviets. This power plant gives you about ten times as much power as a regular power plant (Allied version). They are pore expensive, but you save a LOT of money for it. Just imagine you had to build more than 12 Tesla Reactors, that would be expensive. The only trick is that when you are relying on this plant only, a super weapon strike on it will make your whole power drop to zero. This is why you should keep your Tesla Reactors. On a sidenote, you must take full advantage of the enemy's mistake of selling his old reactors and replacing it with the nuclear one. Strike with a super weapon and imediately bring in your strike force. You won't have to fight those pesky little tesla coils. Barracks --------- Description: This will be your first unit-producing structure. It can and will only produce infantry units, but, acompanied by a Construction Yard, will also build the defensive structures for you. It is cheaper than the other high-priority buildings and you will call upon it more than once. War Factory ----------- Description: You must be dying to get your hands on this one. Oh no, don't try to hide it. The veterans of the original already know why they should build this imediately (certainly when fighting the Allies) and newbies will find out soon enough, I just need to have the guts to describe this one. Well, it is a building... a building which will build all the armored units for you. It will build the oh so famous Soviet tanks, as well as others. Also, you need this building to create all the armored units. So even when you have a Service Depot but your enemies destroy your construction yard and your War Factory, you will be toast. This is the second most important building you should guard, people tend to overlook the Service Depot, so don't be too scared. Radar Tower ------------ Description: This gives the Soviet commanders among us, a better view of the map. It is basically the Air Force Command HQ of the Allies, but it doesn't allow you to build aircraft, for the simple reason that the Soviets do not have that much of aircraft. I hoped there would be a Hind Transport in the game, but they must've deleted it from their schedule, or IGN was lying about it... NOOOOO! IGN never lies! Enough stupid talk. That mainly all there is to say of the Radar Tower, for the veteran RA1 players, this is just a Radar Dome. Battle Lab ----------- Description: This allows the soviets to build their advanced units and defenses, as well as their superweapons. Oh no, now they can build those nuke silos!!!!! It isn't really that important to defend. It is however important to have the necessary power before you deploy it, you wouldn't want to come into contact with a Allied taskforce, right when those superb Tesla Coils are offline!!! Cloning Vats ------------- Description: This building is evil........ very evil. It allows the Soviets to re- replicate or "clone" in other words, infantry. This is not all however. What you'll want to do as a Soviet commander, is to build a Yuri unit, mind-control an infantryman, send it over to the cloning vats and you just have your new GI infantry or whatever you cloned. This is superbly good. This way you can replace those pesky Conscripts with the superb GIs. Hey what about replicating Tanya??? Oh yes, you heard me right. Get Tanya in your forces... two of 'em. Iron Curtain ------------- Description: This is the good thing that you'll want to have. It allows you to make a unit (with armor, no infantry) invincible for a short period of time. This can be used as a defensive structure, for example: Your Construction Yard is absorbing shell after shell of tank fire. Make the Construction Yard invulnerable while you make repairs, and bring in a tank force to get those Rhinos out of the way. Or you could use it for offensive uses, for example: Your Kirov is getting close to the Patriots of the Allies and it will be destroyed unless you do something about it. Activate the Iron Curtain on it and you will have some spare moments to bomb those patriots and the Construction Yard to bits, followed by the War Factory and you're safe. Of course, the enemy AI never seems to use this to its full potential, and your buddies will do everything to destroy your own and with Tanya, it could be destroyed before you even noticed something. Nuclear Silo ------------- Description: NOW we're talking. This nuke is expensive, but it works. If you manage to pay everything and protect it well, everything will be fine for you. Launch it at your enemy base and watch in enjoyment as buildings are reduced to ruble and infantrymen are crushed by the shockwave that the nuke produces (quite a cool effect if you ask me hehehe, cool sound too hehehehehehehe). Westwood said they wannit to avoid violence, well every would-be terrorist who wants to ever bomb the US with a nuke will enjoy himself here... Sentry Gun ----------- Description: These are good anti-infantry defenses, they are a little like the Pillboxes but only the Pillboxes are much cooler (IMO). These are robotic machineguns that fire at anything that comes in range. Tanks should be able to handle these but it is still probable that a Sentry Gun will destroy a grizzly Battle Tank. They are good because they don't require any power, and if you place a lot of them, they'll be able to hold the enemy's advance until you can put the power back online/place some Tesla Coils. Flak Cannon ------------ Description: These are the Soviets air defense. They aren't really accurate but they are pretty powerful. Harriers and Rocketeers are easily shot down by them, as well as the Hornets, further than that, they haven't got that much importance. I'm not saying that they aren't important! Place these around your important structures and the Harriers of the enemy should be repelled. If only they were a little more accurate... Tesla Coil ----------- Description: Okay, let the electricity flow!!! These guys can destroy most tanks in one hit and are also effective against infantry. The only problem is that they take a while to charge, and sometimes they tend to miss their target for some odd reason. this gives your tanks time to destroy them (they aren't that strong). Reinforce them with Sentry Guns and you can also use Fortress Walls to make their lifespan a little longer. Special Multiplayer Forces -------------------------- Russia: Tesla Tank ------------------ Description: The Tesla Tank returns again with some new sh*t in it. It's basically a Tesla coil on wheels, only this thing is especially useful against buildings, they'll rip 'em appart! I don't use these guys too often myself, but they have some interesting power to exploit. Weapon: Electric Zappin' Cuba: Terrorist ---------------- Description: Now this is exciting. Finally, we can play with the famous Cuban Terrorists in a Command & Conquer game! Sneak these guys into the enemy base, and let them blow stuff up. Be VERY wary of the attack dogs, as they aren't really strong compared to other infatnry. Keep them save and they'll do the job just nicely alright? Weapon: C4 Bombs, Disguisable Iraq: Desolator Infantry ------------------------- Description: These are rather annoying. They are very effective against infantry, in fact, they can take out whole squads of them without them even dying by any oposition infantry. They use some kind of radiation, but they are imune to it themselves. They are useless against units with armor though. Weapon: What name could you give to this one? The rules say "Eruption Beam". But what the hell is that? Libya: Demolition Truck ------------------------ Description: Sorry, haven't been able to test thhese yet. Geel free to send your own opinion/strategy on anything you see btw. See the contact info for info. And we're true with introducing the units and structures, onto the strategies!! -------------------------------------- 5. Tactical Information On Units/Structures/Specials (MAJOR THANKS TO THE GOOD AND HELPFUL NADIA VORKOVSKY (Damnit, am I writing that right?) \------------------------------------\ A. ALLIED UNITS *********************************************************************** +++++Infantry+++++ GI Cost: 200 Weapon: M60 heavy machine gun (deployed) and Parabellum pistol (undeployed) Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 5 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, firepower and rate of fire. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 1 Engineer Cost: 500 Weapon: Bomb defusing kit Strength: 75 Armor: None Sight: 4 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None -------Elite abiliti-es: None Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 1 Rocketeer Cost: 600 Weapon: 20mm mini machine-gun Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: 9 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Air Force Command Headquarters Tech Level: 3 Spy Cost: 1000 Weapon: Make-up kit (disguise) Strength: 100 Armor: Flak Sight: 9 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: Tech Level: 5 Tanya Cost: 1000 Weapon: Double pistols and C4 charges Strength: 125 Armor: Flak Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, ability to scatter, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 SEAL Cost: 1000 Weapon: MP5 machine gun and C4 charges Strength: 125 Armor: Flak Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, ability to scatter, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, faster, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Battle Lab Tech Level: 1 Attack dog Cost: 200 Weapon: Teeth Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 9 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, ability to scatter, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 2 Chrono Legionnaire Cost: 1500 Weapon: Neutron rifle Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: instantaneous teleportation Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Tech Level: 10 Chrono Commando Cost: 2000 Weapon: Chrono MP5 machine gun Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: infiltrate the Spy into an Allied Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 Psi-Commando Cost: 1000 Weapon: Mind Control and C4 charges Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: infiltrate the Spy into a Soviet Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 +++++Vehicles+++++ Grizzly Battle Tank Cost: 700 Weapon: 105mm cannon Strength: 300 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 7 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) Cost: 600 Weapon: Hover Missiles Strength: 200 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 10 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 3 Mirage Tank Cost: 1000 Weapon: Mirage gun Strength: 200 Armor: Light Sight: 9 Speed: 7 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 Prism Tank Cost: 1200 Weapon: Comet laser beam Strength: 150 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Battle Lab Tech Level: 8 MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) Cost: 3000 Weapon: None Strength: 1000 Armor: Heavy Sight: 6 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: War Factory and Service Depot Tech Level: 10 Chrono Miner Cost: 1400 Weapon: None Strength: 1000 Armor: Medium Sight: 4 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: War Factory and Ore Refinery Tech Level: 1 Harrier Cost: 1200 Weapon: Maverick air-to-ground missiles Strength: 150 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 14 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Air Force Command Headquarters Tech Level: 3 Night Hawk Transport Cost: 1000 Weapon: Black Hawk Cannon Strength: 175 Armor: Light Sight: 7 Speed: 14 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 7 Amphibious Transport Cost: 900 Weapon: None Strength: 300 Armor: Light Sight: 6 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: Naval Yard Tech Level: 4 Destroyer Cost: 1000 Weapon: 155mm cannon and ASW helicopters Strength: 600 Armor: Heavy Sight: 7 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard Tech Level: 4 Aegis Cruiser Cost: 1200 Weapon: Medusa ground-to-air missiles Strength: 800 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Air Force Command Headquarters Tech Level: 7 Aircraft Carrier Cost: 2000 and 2500 (for Americans in multiplayer) Weapon: Hornet jet planes Strength: 800 and 1500 (for Americans in multiplayer) Armor: Heavy Sight: 7 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Battle Lab Tech Level: 7 Dolphin Cost: 500 Weapon: Sonar amplification device Strength: 200 Armor: Light Sight: 4 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Battle Lab Tech Level: 5 *********************************************************************** B. ALLIED STRUCTURES *********************************************************************** Construction Yard Cost: 3000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Concrete Sight: 8 Power: 0 Prerequisite: None. Tech Level: 1 Power Plant Cost: 800 Strength: 750 Armor: Wood Sight: 4 Power: 200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard. Tech Level: 1 Ore Refinery Cost: 2000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 6 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Power Plant. Tech Level: 1 Barracks Cost: 500 Strength: 500 Armor: Steel Sight: 5 Power: -10 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Power Plant. Tech Level: 2 War Factory Cost: 2000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 4 Power: -25 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Power Plant and Ore Refinery. Tech Level: 2 Naval Shipyard Cost: 1000 Strength: 1500 Armor: Concrete Sight: 10 Power: -25 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Power Plant and Ore Refinery. Tech Level: 4 Air Force Command Headquarters Cost: 1000 Strength: 600 Armor: Steel Sight: 5 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Ore Refinery. Tech Level: 3 Service Depot Cost: 800 Strength: 1200 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -25 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and War Factory. Tech Level: 6 Battle Lab Cost: 2000 Strength: 500 Armor: Wood Sight: 6 Power: -100 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, War Factory and Air Force Command Headquarters. Tech Level: 8 Ore Purifier Cost: 2500 Strength: 900 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Ore Refinery and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 Spy Satellite Uplink Cost: 1500 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -100 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 9 Fortress walls Cost: 100 Strength: 300 and 450 (for France in multiplayer) Armor: Concrete Sight: 1 Power: None Prerequisite: Barracks. Tech Level: 1 Pill-box Cost: 500 Strength: 400 Armor: Steel Sight: 7 Power: 0 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Barracks. Tech Level: 1 Prism Tower Cost: 1500 Strength: 600 Armor: Steel Sight: 8 Power: -75 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Power Plant and Air Force Command Headquarters. Tech Level: 6 Patriot Missile System Cost: 1000 Strength: 900 Armor: Steel Sight: 10 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Barracks. Tech Level: 4 Gap Generator Cost: 1000 Strength: 600 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -100 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 7 Weather Control Device Cost: 5000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Concrete Sight: 5 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 Chronosphere Cost: 2500 Strength: 750 Armor: Concrete Sight: 5 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 *********************************************************************** C. SOVIET UNITS *********************************************************************** +++++Infantry+++++ Conscript Cost: 100 Weapon: M1Carbine rifle Strength: 125 Armor: Flak Sight: 5 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 1 Engineer Cost: 500 Weapon: Bomb defusing kit Strength: 75 Armor: None Sight: 4 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 1 Attack Dog Cost: 200 Weapon: Teeth Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 9 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, ability to scatter, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 2 Tesla Trooper Cost: 500 Weapon: Electric bolt Strength: 130 Armor: Plate Sight: 6 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks Tech Level: 5 Crazy Ivan Cost: 600 Weapon: Dynamites Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 6 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Radar Tower Tech Level: 5 Flak Trooper Cost: 300 Weapon: Flak gun Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 5 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Radar Tower Tech Level: 1 Yuri Cost: 1200 Weapon: Mind control and psionic wave Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 12 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Battle Lab Tech Level: 10 Chrono Ivan Cost: 1000 Weapon: Dynamites Strength: 100 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: infiltrate an Allied Spy into their Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 Yuri Prime Cost: 2000 Weapon: Super mind control and psionic wave Strength: 200 Armor: Flak Sight: 8 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: infiltrate an Allied Spy into a Soviet Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 +++++Vehicles+++++ Rhino Heavy Tank Cost: 900 Weapon: 120mm cannon Strength: 400 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 2 Apocalypse Assault Tank Cost: 1750 Weapon: 120mm cannon and Mammoth ground-to-air missiles Strength: 800 Armor: Heavy Sight: 6 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Battle Lab Tech Level: 7 Flak Track Cost: 500 Weapon: Flak track gun and flak anti-aircraft gun Strength: 180 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 3 V3 Rocket Launcher Cost: 800 Weapon: V3 rockets Strength: 150 Armor: Light Sight: 7 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Radar Tower Tech Level: 3 Terror Drone Cost: 500 Weapon: Drone jump Strength: 100 Armor: Light Sight: 4 Speed: 10 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: War Factory Tech Level: 4 MCV (Mobile Construction Vehicle) Cost: 3000 Weapon: None Strength: 1000 Armor: Heavy Sight: 7 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: War Factory and Service Depot Tech Level: 10 War-Miner Cost: 1400 Weapon: 20mm machine gun Strength: 1000 Armor: Medium Sight: 4 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Ore Refinery Tech Level: 1 Kirov Airship Cost: 2000 Weapon: Blimp bombs Strength: 2000 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Battle Lab Tech Level: 10 Amphibious Transport Cost: 900 Weapon: None Strength: 300 Armor: Light Sight: 6 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: Naval Yard Tech Level: 4 Typhoon Attack Sub Cost: 1000 Weapon: Torpedo Strength: 600 Armor: Heavy Sight: 4 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard Tech Level: 2 Dreadnought Cost: 2000 and 2500 (for Russians in multiplayer) Weapon: Dred rockets Strength: 800 and 1500 (for Russians in multiplayer) Armor: Heavy Sight: 7 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Battle Lab Tech Level: 6 Sea Scorpion Cost: 600 Weapon: Flak weapon, flak track gun and hover missiles Strength: 400 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Radar Tower Tech Level: 6 Giant Squid Cost: 1000 Weapon: Tentacles Strength: 200 Armor: Light Sight: 5 Speed: 8 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Naval Yard and Battle Lab Tech Level: 9 *********************************************************************** D. Soviet structures *********************************************************************** Construction Yard Cost: 3000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Concrete Sight: 8 Power: 0 Prerequisite: None. Tech Level: 1 Tesla Reactor Cost: 600 Strength: 750 Armor: Wood Sight: 4 Power: 150 Prerequisite: Construction Yard. Tech Level: 1 Ore Refinery Cost: 2000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 6 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Tesla Reactor. Tech Level: 1 Barracks Cost: 500 Strength: 500 Armor: Steel Sight: 6 Power: -10 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Tesla Reactor. Tech Level: 2 War Factory Cost: 2000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 4 Power: -25 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Power Plant and Ore Refinery. Tech Level: 2 Naval Shipyard Cost: 1000 Strength: 1500 Armor: Concrete Sight: 10 Power: -20 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Ore Refinery and Tesla Reactor. Tech Level: 2 Radar Tower Cost: 1000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 10 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Ore Refinery. Tech Level: 3 Service Depot Cost: 800 Strength: 1200 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -20 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and War Factory. Tech Level: 6 Battle Lab Cost: 2000 Strength: 500 Armor: Wood Sight: 6 Power: -100 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, War Factory and Radar Tower. Tech Level: 7 Nuclear Reactor Cost: 1000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Concrete Sight: 5 Power: 2000 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 9 Cloning Vats Cost: 2500 Strength: 1000 Armor: Wood Sight: 5 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 9 Fortress Walls Cost: 100 Strength: 300 Armor: Concrete Sight: 1 Power: None Prerequisite: Barracks. Tech Level: 1 Sentry Gun Cost: 500 Strength: 400 Armor: Steel Sight: 7 Power: 0 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Barracks. Tech Level: 1 Tesla Coil Cost: 1500 Strength: 600 Armor: Steel Sight: 8 Power: -75 Prerequisite: Construction Yard, Tesla Reactor and Radar Tower. Tech Level: 5 Flak Cannon Cost: 1000 Strength: 900 Armor: Steel Sight: 5 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Barracks. Tech Level: 4 Psychic Sensor Cost: 1000 Strength: 750 Armor: Wood Sight: 10 Power: -50 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 Nuclear Missile Silo Cost: 5000 Strength: 1000 Armor: Concrete Sight: 4 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 Iron Curtain Cost: 2500 Strength: 750 Armor: Concrete Sight: 4 Power: -200 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Battle Lab. Tech Level: 10 *********************************************************************** E. Special Multiplayer Forces *********************************************************************** America = Paratroopers Cost: None Weapon: M60 heavy machine gun (deployed) and Parabellum pistol (undeployed) Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 5 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, firepower and rate of fire. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. France = Grand Cannon Cost: 2000 Weapon: None Strength: 900 Armor: Steel Sight: 10 Power: -100 Prerequisite: Construction Yard and Air Force Command Headquarters. Tech Level: 7 Germany = Tank Destroyer Cost: 900 Weapon: SABOT shells Strength: 400 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 5 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Radar Tower Tech Level: 2 Britain = Sniper Cost: 600 Weapon: Sniper rifle Strength: 125 Armor: None Sight: 8 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Air Force Command Headquarters Tech Level: 1 Republic of Korea = Black Eagle Cost: 1200 Weapon: Maverick2 air-to-ground missiles Strength: 200 Armor: Light Sight: 8 Speed: 14 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Air Force Command Headquarters Tech Level: 3 Russia = Tesla Tank Cost: 1200 Weapon: Electric bolt Strength: 300 Armor: Heavy Sight: 8 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: War Factory and Radar Tower Tech Level: 10 Cuba = Terrorist Cost: 200 Weapon: Make-up kit (disguise) and C4 charges Strength: 50 Armor: Flak Sight: 9 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: Tech Level: 5 Libya = Demolition Truck Cost: 1500 Weapon: Mini nuclear bomb Strength: 150 Armor: Light Sight: 5 Speed: 6 Veteran abilities: None Elite abilities: None Prerequisite: War Factory and Radar Tower Tech Level: 10 Iraq = Desolator Cost: 600 Weapon: Radiation (beam and eruption) weapon Strength: 150 Armor: Plate Sight: 6 Speed: 4 Veteran abilities: stronger, faster, increased sight, rate of fire and firepower. Elite abilities: self heal, stronger, increased firepower and rate of fire. Prerequisite: Barracks and Radar Tower Tech Level: 8 -------------------------------------- 6. Main Defensive Strategies for Allies \--------------------------------------\ Alright people, let me say one thing first: Defense is KEY if you are playing the Allied Forces. No matter what you do, defend, defend and defend some more until you have the strength to retaliate. Otherwise, don't do a thing but building defensive structures/units. And if you do not know wy (for some odd reason I guess), try it without significant defenses. If you have good anti-ground but not a good anti-air defense, the Soviets will cripple you with their airships. If the opposite happens, they'll send a few of their Apocalypse tanks, accompanied by Rhinos, to your base and completely destroy it. And do you want to lose the match you're playing? NO OF COURSE NOT. Well, read on, I've tried to put together the best of things I could think of. Of course if you have better strategies e-mail them to bloodfreak@hotmail.com with the subject "Red Alert 2 FAQ" and you will be placed in the credits section and your strategy will be placed in the appropriate section. Alright, let's get started shall we? Are you lucky today??? ---------------------- If you are lucky enough to play on a map with water, then it is time for some celebration. Allied forces have the best naval ships you could hope for. This first section will focus on the good luck you have. Alright, first thing you'll want is to deploy your base close to the water, so that you have access to it. Now, blow up every single bridge you see to force the enemy to find alternate routes to your base. If there aren't any (which is possible but unlikely, or your enemy is to lousy to look for one) you'll have to get up good defenses close to the shore. As soon as you have built a shipyard, begin building destroyers and Aegis Cruisers, they are your first line of defense. Your destroyers will hold off all ships while the cruisers will destroy those missiles of the dreadnoughts. Okay, now build Prism Towers and a lot of them. On a side note, playing against the soviets has one rule: SCATTER YOUR STRUCTURES. In the event that the Soviets launch a building, it is best that you have no 2 buildings at the same spot. This ensures your lifespan. Defensive structures will be difficult to spread, but do every effort you see thick to do so. Now, begin building patriot missile systems. In the event that there are units that manage to destroy the cruisers, you will have some defense against missiles. The best defense against superweapons is the offensive, but I think you already knew that, but you'll want it as cheap as possible. So, build Tanya and maybe a spy as well. Sneak her in and in case you brought a spy along clear the immediate area of dogs. Beware however, that normal people spot spies faster than computer opponents. The AI has to sniff out the spies, while humans can normally just know it when they try to select that unit but it won't happen! So SNEAK, don't just walk in and say your prayers, the enemy will find out about it. Or you could just run like hell and hope you'll make it (which sometimes works if the enemy realizes it too late). But on to the defensive again. If you read my structure descriptions, you'll know that I love the Pillboxes, but I am sorry to say that they aren't as good against infantry as the Prism Tower. I know it sounds weird but that's the way it is. Also, you should garrison structures all over the map, in case the enemy is going to do a sneak attack on your base, via a route that you didn't know, but we know much more than he thinks we know. In fact, his few Engineers escorted by those tesla troopers will be toast. Garrisoned infantry rock and that's NO LIE. They can take out whole platoons of armored units. Just keep the structures you garisone repaired and you'll be fine. Man! You're Out Of Luck!! -------------------------- That's right! There's a high probability that your stuck on land, and that's a real bad thing. The AI Soviets will kick your butt unless you find a way to stop them in their advance. First off, build some GIs and let them garrison any structures that are on the route to your base. Also, set up a lot of prism towers and build lots of prism tanks. Than, and only than, start building grizzlys, they'll be your last line of defense against the Soviets tanks. If all else fails, bring these in. Also, you'll want to set up a few patriots, because you won't have the support from the cruisers this time around. I can guarantee you: you'll miss 'em. Another problem is the Terror Drones. These pests will harass you until you fall for it. The enemy just loves to send a whole group of these to your base and let them target the Miner. Do everything in your power to stop them. The best thing is to wall off your base. This will keep them out of your base. Also, keep your miners your base until the terror drones are cleared. Destroy them at any cost, target them with harriers or how about a Night Hawk (it goes pretty slow but it works superbly). I use a very unusual defense strategy (at least I think it is unusual). I build my base and make sure it is fairly large. Than I wall off my base, but not with walls. I wall it off with Prism Towers. This gives a good protection from all sides. And began this wall is an other surrounding wall of patriots. It is impressively expensive, but if you can pull it off, you'll thank it. The only way the enemy will get through is by nuking the place, but w e will not allow this. We will strike swiftly, sending wave after wave of Prism Tanks until their Nuke silo is destroyed. Or you could send a scout to see how well- defended it is. If the site is pretty prone to attack, send in a full squad of Harriers and destroy the silo. It worked for me several times. Or, you could do the Tanya rush, but this isn't very useful against human opponents. AI opponents tend to leave certain parts of their base relatively undefended, or they place Flaks on one side, while the less important side is defended with Sentry guns and Tesla Coils. Still if you are new to the game, you should let your enemy nuke you once to see the cool effect of it... no scratch that! Unforeseen problems! -------------------- Sometimes, terrible things happen. Just imagine the consequences of missfiring your Lightning Storm. What should you do to recover from such mistakes. Well, you can almost be sure that the enemy will notice your problem and attack with everything he has, strategically very well planned of course. Now that is the thing we don't want. Lightning Storms are more lethal to structures than to armored units, so you should have most of your armor columns still alive. Throw them all at the marauding enemy and if it isn't enough, hope that the most of your Prism Towers survived and pull back to them. The remaining armor of your enemy should be weakened or even completely destroyed. If this for some odd reason doesn't work, bring in the infantry (if you still have a lot of them). Deployed GIs are very effective at demolishing tanks, just make sure that the tanks don't run over them. Also, try to slow the advance by conveniently placing walls, they'll probably go and destroy them, giving you some extra time to build up some tanks. And if all else fails, bring in your aircraft. If you have a good total of Harriers left, there's a good chance that you will take out the remenants. That's all I can give you for advice, good luck! Above all, avoid these accidents at all cost, you don't want them, especially not if you're playing the Allied Forces. Not all Soviet Commanders are rushers... ----------------------------------------- That's right, not all about the Soviets is rushing with tanks; That's why it is imperative to your defensive strategy to keep Attack Dogs in your camp, especially when fighting multiple enemies (I'll go deeper into this later). You'll want to do this because the Soviets sometimes send some sneak- engineers to keep you occupied. And there's nothing more annoying then an engineer attack. Imagine that suddenly your power shuts down. You can't understand why and then you remark that a few of your power plants have changed to the enemy's color. And that is not all, before you can even react, all your structures are under fire by Apocalypse tanks. I think you get the picture? This is something you must absolutely NOT allow to happen. Therefore, we will place about 4 to 6 dogs in our base. They will also sniff out the spies that want to annoy you. Another nice sneak attack of the Soviets is their subs. They are very stealthy and if you do not defend against them, they will annoy you until you die by it. They can bombard your structures with their torpedoes and will probably destroy them unless you come up with something good. You should have a lot of destroyers around, escorted by Dolphins who will take care of the Squids for them. If you happen to face an Allied enemy (which I hope you don't, the match is so much more fun when you face the opposite faction), you'll have to try to have the most ships. This is your only chance of really dominating the match. This is, of course, assuming you are fighting on land. Otherwise, you'll have to be king on the ground and in the air. Build as many Prism Tanks and Harriers if you can to make sure that you can attack your enemy without too much fear. Tech Buildings --------------- Another good thing to do if you're put on the defense, is to capture tech buildings, especially the Airport an Oil Derricks. The Airport will give you additional reinforcements when you need some, and the Oil Derricks sup my good cash for capturing them. And keep giving cash of course. Now that you have the Tech Buildings, give them some defense as well, because the enemy will want to capture these as well, especially the oil Derricks? You can also make him angry by parachuting wave after wave of GIs into his base. But this will tempt him to find and destroy/capture your airport. The Hospital is a good Tech Building if it is close to your base, otherwise, I wouldn't recommend taking it. Don't forget to keep your Tech Buildings repaired. In the next section, I'll go a little deeper into this. In the Middle of a Fight ------------------------ If you are playing a match with multiple opponents and no allies, there may be some problems here. It could happen that you have one opponent on each side of the map, and you're right in the middle of it. This will increase the enemy's interest in you, you could be a good stop for repairs and such. Or another terrible thing could happen, the two guys are fighting right by or in your base. If this happen, choose a side, I'd say the side which is losing the current battle and overpower the other. Once that is done, 2 things could happen: 1) The guy you helped will form an alliance with you (would be nice of course) 2) The guy you helped turns on you and tries to destroy you. This shouldn't be a problem, because they had lesser forces than the other (hint, hint!), so you should be able to contain them. If the option is enabled, you could repack your MCV and go elsewhere, setting up a new base and keeping the old one as a good unit producing base. Try to defend the old base for as long as possible. Conclusion ----------- As long as you can keep the enemy armor out of your base, you can wear off any sneak attacks and you can deal with the superweapons of the enemy, you'll do fine. On a sidenote of superweapons, the best way to avoid a severe loss is to repack your MCV when the Super weapon is launched. For example: DarkNUrt (your enemy) attacks FullBurst41 (you) with a nuke. FullBurst41 waits until the nuke is launched (when the fancy alarm starts) and repacks his MCV and places it at a safe distance. He takes as many units with him as he can. NOTE/ If you want the MCV to get out of there a little faster, quicly load him into a Transport and get the hell out of there. The Amphibious Transport goes quite a bit faster than the MCV itself. Another thing to do is to make your Miners go into the Transport just a minute before the nuke is ready. This will make it easier to escape. Once the nuke takes off, get in your MCV and you'll be sure to save all/most of your Miners. The missile impacts on your base where your Construction Yard used to be. This limits the chance of a severe loss and he will be in for a surprise. Hopefully, he won't take your War Factory or Refinery with him. I say that most people target the Construction Yard, but some have other means of attack, be warned. To help with this, build an extra War Factory and Refinery and place them far from the original ones. That's it for this section. If you have a good strategy or a note to these above, feel free to mail me at bloodfreak@hotmail.com place "Red Alert 2 FAQ" as subject and I will place your strategy where it belongs and your name and possibly your e-mail address in the credits section. I hope I helped you with somethin'. -------------------------------------- 7. Main Offensive Strategies For Allies \-------------------------------------\ We will be using sneak attacks to scare are enemy a little. What you'll want to try is to force the enemy into defending parts that are not of vital importance to your offense. We will do this with Tanya's and spies. Tanya +a spy or two is really vital. If you can keep the dogs busy with Tanya, he'll have to somehow kill the Spy with force firing. The key here is to keep the spy moving. NEVER let him stand still. If you are a little lucky, he'll make it through without a scratch. Now shut of the power and bring in Tanya. Ignore the tanks and concentrate on the structures. If you have multiple Tanya's, it's even easier. Let one Tanya kill off all infantry threats, while another few Tanya's destroy buildings. The only problem will be the tanks. Not their cannons but their ability to crush you. Try to avoid it. The primary buildings you should target are the Construction yard, War Factory and Refinery(s). Once you have taken care of these key structures, try to destroy as many reactors as you can. If there is only one Nuclear Reactor, it is a breeze. Destroy that one, let your Tanya's kill off the rest of the infantry, destroy the Barracks and get them out of there. If you can pull this one off, the enemy will be very confused and crippled. Bring in all your Prism Tanks and destroy the pest. If you encounter Yuri, kill him FAST. If he manages to mind-control your Tanya, you're toast, or not. Try to kill the mind-controlled version as fast as you can but target Yuri first. He will go down in a single shot. The Ai isn't really smart... ----------------------------- There is a nice trick that sometimes leads to a big AI smackdown. In most maps, there is a bridge somewhere. It happens often when you are on one side of the bridge while the enemy is at theother, meaning this is the only/one of the routes to your base for ground units. Well, we will destroy this bridge. Here comes the interesting part. The AI doesn'tseem to notice this happening and if he doesn't, he won't build a Naval Yard to make ships to defend his base. This makes him very vulnerable. Make a shipyard yourself and start mass production of ships. Go and attack the enemy. He might notice that you have chosen another method of attack, but he is far too late to prevent us from destroying him completely. In the few skirmish matches I've played with a bridge-to-the-enemy situation, it always worked for me. Keep in mind though that you may not leave your base undefended now, the enemy will send small attacks from another route if he can find one. They include sending over a tank or two to harass you. If you don't have any good defenses/tanks, you might even loose an important structure to the enemy. This still is a good and easy way to defeat the AI. Still note that this may not work too often. Lightning Storm Created! Yiiiihahahahahaaaaa!! ---------------------------------------------- Westwood has been balancing Super Weapons, but they overlooked this one a bit. And this gives us a little advantage over the Soviets. Just target the place you want to see totally wiped out, and you will get your wish. Too bad this storm isn't too good against armored units (good against infantry though). He will probably be seriously crippled. Now, send in the cavalry, and destroy the armor (if you're up to it). If he isso smart to set up a Construction Yard and a War Factory right beside eachother, he'll be toast. Build up/send your army to destroy the enemy's units. Now everybody says "Thank you Wetwood Studios, we all love you!". Good boys/girls, now all sing in enjoyment! Firezone Confirmed!!! ---------------------- If you are going with a straight armor assault, take the Prism Tanks? They can take out Tesla Coils from miles away and are nice tank killers. Just be sure to build lots of them, they aren't very strong compared to the Heavy Tanks of the Soviets and certainly not the Apocalypse Tank. If you can destroy some things with the Tanya Rush first, you'll be very happy when you see the Victory message flash across your screen. FEAR the Soviet army! ---------------------- Do not tend to send wave after wave of grizzly Battle Tanks if the enemy has an impressive amount of tanks himself, your tanks will be demolished. It would be better to back them up with Prism Tanks to help out. Split them up in two groups, if the enemy goes for the Prism Tanks, do a full assault with all your grizzlys and they'll be forced to attack your tanks. Now bring in the Prisms and destroy their key structures to make life easier. If your tank army is big enough (I'm talking about 50-80 tanks here), you'll be able to destroy the enemies. The best thing to do is to let all your tanks target one unit at a time. If you have that many tanks, it will be instant death for the unit. Each unit you destroy is one cannon shell less that your tanks have to deal with. If there is an Apocalypse around (which is very probable), give it everything you've got, including the Prism Tanks, it won't be able to handle that much. if you succeed in all this, you may call yourself a good platoon leader. Don't let the Construction Boys stop! -------------------------------------- This is KEY to your survival, especially when fighting multiple enemies. When you send a big taskforce to attack an enemy, the other one could be in for an assault on you himself. If this doesn't happen, it is imperative that you still do it because you'll have backup forces in case that your first wave couldn't push through. If the battle takes long enough, you'll have built up another massive taskforce to finish them off. Naval Warfare ------------ It is time for some real fighting. If you can destroy an enemy from the waters, you'll have a good advantage. What we will do is very simple. - First, build a lotof destroyers and force an opening in the enemy base. Support them with Carriers and Cruisers. The Cruisers will destroy any missiles that are launched from the Dreadnoughts, while the Destroyers kill them off. It is imparitive that you build some Dolphins. Not only do they have fancy sounds, they can also remove those annoying Squids, otherwise your Destroyers will be killed off like flies by spiders. The dolphins will also help to kill the nurdy Typhoons. We will crush them under the iron fist of FullBurst41 rule. - While you have sent all your ships to attack, build a lot of Amphibious Transports, tanks, IFVs, GIs and Engineers. Build as many as you can. Now, place a few Engineers in one of those IFVs so that it becomes a Repair IFV. These will be handy for you. Stock up the rest of the IFVs with GIs. We will deliver them in the enemy base. To speed up destruction later, we will train a few Tanyas for quick building destruction. This will be vital, we want to destroy the enemy quickly. - Once you have the opening, bring in all your transports and unload them on the shore of your enemy. Protect them from any submarines and other enemy ships and give the enemy everything you've got. Once you have cleared all the ships, let them help with the units and destroy the base defenses that you can reach. If your initial assault dies off, let your carriers destroy any targets of oportunity. Once you have cleared out their base, bring all remaining forces home and rally there. if you were only facing one enemy, take a light vehicle, like an IFV, an stock it up with infantry. Let them scout out whole the map, and give them an Amphibious transport if needed. It is likely that there are some troops garisoned in some houses (this only aplies to AI oponents, humans will probably surender directly instead of sending all their last resources just to watch them die). Air Strike without Warning -------------------------- Always give random air strikes. This is crucial to keep your enemy on his toes. What he might think, is that you will send planes untill he falls for it. For this he will place massive amounts of Flak Cannons, troopers and Tracks around his base. But while you are doing this, build a massive amount of Prism Tanks and a few Tanyas. What we will do is simple. - We will continue to strike with Harriers and still try to take things with it. What you could try is to lure the enemy fire away with some Rocketeers, then quickly strike their key structures. The Rocketeers should target the Flak Tracks. They will probably replace every Flak they lose. Now when you have massed all your Prism Tanks (build about 50), send them and your Tanyas to the enemy base. Let your Tanya-squad take out any Flak Troopers while the Prism Tanks take out the Tracks. Once you managed to destroy these, target the Tesla Coils that are present from afar (Note: Targeting from afar is crucial. You don't want to lose any units to the Tesla Coils!!!). Once the defenses are out of the way, let Tanya move in while the Prisms take care of any Rhinos in the area. Let Tanya destroy the key structures that are left. Your enemy will be forced to flee (if he has a second base, otherwise he's toast). Try to perform these strategies as good as possible. If you don't destroy the enemy, you will seriously cripple them and remember, first build up your defense, then your offensive power. ------------------------------------- 8. Main Defensive Strategies for the Soviets \------------------------------------------\ Now this gets exciting. It's not easy to organize a good defense for the Soviets. Close off all the entrances to your base ---------------------------------------- There'll be multiple holes in your base entarnces. You should build as many defensive structures by eachother, and leave some space for units to move out. BUT we will do something else. The open spaces will be filled with Apocalypse Tanks. This way, you'll keep those spies away from you. They will also greatly assist in the defense against tanks. If you see Prism Tanks aproach your base, intercept them before they can wreak havoc among your defenses. Lightning Storm Created!!! §certain death) ------------------------------------------- It seems that Westwood has been overpowering the Lightning Storm a little. They tend to take out your whole base! So what can we do against it? One thing would be to build a second base and keep that one hidden for as long as possible (or scatter your buildings of course). Make the ilusion that everything you have is in there while you're building lots and lots of Rhino Tanks at the other base. Once the Lightning Storm hits, send in all your tanks while you're preparing a nuke. You should've made a lot of tanks already so they should give the enemy a really hard time. If the storm does not wipe out your original base, see what defenses you have left, bt I would recommend to evacuate it, sell off the Refinery so that the Ore Miners you had there will start working for your newer Refinery(s). Once all the units have arrived at your base, the enemy will probably send something to find any remaining "straglers". Your nuke should be finished by now. Launch it at the enemy base and they will know the deal. If your original tank assault took out the enemy base, that's good for you. Now sell off all the buildings of your crippled base and use the cash for your reinforcement tanks. The enemy is probably angry now and will start to think of a good assault. NOTE: LAUNCH THE NUKE AT THE WEATHER MACHINE OR YOUR NEXT BASE WILL BE LOST ASWELL. He will scout the whole map out until he finds you, giving us some spare time. Once you have some tanks, you should be thinking about that second nuke strike right? I'd say, target the scouting group (if they haven't found you yet) or their base again. If you're going for their base, hope that he has massed his power plants together and target that place. With a little luck, the power will go off. Send in all the tanks you have (produced and evacuated) and fight your way through the Pillboxes. Destroy their advanced defenses so that he won't be able to use them when the power gets back up. Get a Yuri along to help in the attack. Turn enemy units against themselves you know. Once you have this done, you should be able to desroy the enemy base. Tesla Setup ------------ Something you should know is that the Tesla Coils work best when you put them in a triangle. This will allow the Tesla Coils to protect themselves from enemy attack, something pretty important for Tesla Coils if you ask me. Place these triangles all around your base, making sure you have a few Nuclear REactors sticking around to power everything (DO NOT BUILD ONLY NUCLEAR REACTORS, YOU WILL REGRET IT!! BUILD A GOOD AMOUNT OF TESLA REACTORS TOO, SO THAT WHEN THE POWER OF THE NULCEAR REACTORS FALLS, YOU STILL HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO DEFEND YOURSELF. DON'T FOLLOW THIS ADVICE? AND BE DOOMED°. Do not rely on your coils alone, use tanks to intercept/weaken enemy units en route to your base. Or, if it is a real big force, send your airships to kill off most of the enemies. Intercept, intercept, intercept!!! ---------------------------------- Once you have the option, build a Kirov Airship or two (one will usually do, just to be sure...). Once you see the enemy armor aproaches your base, go and bomb them. They will not survive for long. The nice thing is that the Allies don't have a lot of anti-air units. They can use IFVs, but they are easily crushed by your bombs. I found this strategy to work pretty well. Just don't send any tanks with it, it will be destroyed by the bombs of your Airships. Now you tell me "So what if my enemy uses this tactic against me, I can't do a thing? What kind of idiot are you!". Well, it is indeed a close call. My advice is to build as many IFVs as possible and bring them along. Or use Chrono Legionaires as your attacking units, they will be able to outrun the Kirovs easily. See the advanced Strategies Section for the Allies for more details on the Legionaire Rush. Using Sentry Guns wisely ------------------------- Sentry guns may not sound very impresive but it can be handy. I prefer to build about 6 to 10 at each side of the base. This will be more effective than placing only one or two for your base. If you have placed them all, they'll buy you some valuable time to build some extra Tesla Coils or something else. They'll keep out limited amounts of forces for you, especially infantry. Another good tip I can give you, is to place Sentry Guns around your important buildings. The main reason for this is because the Chrono Legionaires can warp past them and if there is some space between the perimiter of your base and the key structures, they'll easily wipe out your structures. This works very well against the AI (the Legionaire Rush I mean especially on Easo Difficulty. LOL!). This Sentry Gun defense can also help against Tanya attacks, as they will find holes in your base defenses easily and slip through. -------------------------------------- 9. Main Offensive Straategies for the Soviets \--------------------------------------------\ Josh would like to play!! -------------------------- Description: If you have acces to monkeys on the map, use Yuri to gather as many s possible and stick a few bombs on'em. Now, hury to the enemy base and let them fry the enemy. HOpe you get there in time eh. Let the monkeys go to the construction yard and let it blow! Send some dogs to kill off any Engineers that might be around. The AI isn't really smart... ----------------------------- There is a nice trick that sometimes leads to a big AI smackdown. In most maps, there is a bridge somewhere. It happens often when you are on one side of the bridge while the enemy is at theother, meaning this is the only/one of the routes to your base for ground units. Well, we will destroy this bridge. Here comes the interesting part. The AI doesn'tseem to notice this happening and if he doesn't, he won't build a Naval Yard to make ships to defend his base. This makes him very vulnerable. Make a shipyard yourself and start mass production of ships. Go and attack the enemy. He might notice that you have chosen another method of attack, but he is far too late to prevent us from destroying him completely. In the few skirmish matches I've played with a bridge-to-the-enemy situation, it always worked for me. Keep in mind though that you may not leave your base undefended now, the enemy will send small attacks from another route if he can find one. They include sending over a tank or two to harass you. If you don't have any good defenses/tanks, you might even loose an important structure to the enemy. This still is a good and easy way to defeat the AI. Still note that this may not work too often. Frosty is angry! ----------------- Description: You can do the same thing with a Polar Bear, Frosty! Just be careful not to come too close... He'll be found on the arctic maps and is nice tohave around. Try the same strategy or try to look as friendly as possible and scout out the complete enemy base. If you happen to find yourself in a fight, test them out on the infantry (Frosty seems to be very hungry today you know!). You could also do the famous "Cow Rush", but I think nobody falls for this anymore. There has been so much publicity for it months before the game was released, and everybody who was planning tobuy the game knows what this is or can guess. The Standard But Effective Rush -------------------------------- Build about two dozens of Apocalypse Tanks and build some aditional (no sorry, a LOT of aditional) Rhinos to assist with th Apocalypse. I'd say building about forty or something around that number. Now build some dogs and let them come in behind the tanks. On a side note, try to render this rush with the Unreal Tournament engine, and I can assure you that you will have a very SLOW framerate. Yes, even you GeForce users. Okay now, rally your forces and move to the enemy base. Let the Rhinos wait for the Apocalypses. We're planning on a mass attack. Your 64 tanks will slowly advance to the enemy base. This looks cooler IMO. NOTE: You could say (these guys go too slow, I want some transmorts". This is correct, but you'll have to build about 13 Transports and that gives you some extra cost to attend to. Once your force reaches the enemy base, the Prism Towers will start zappin'! Fire with all tanks at the same target, meaning instant death to the enemy you target. Try to hold off any Air Attackers with your Assault Tanks. Demolish defensive structure after defensive structure. You'll eventually clear out everything. Let your Rhinos assault the grizzlys. They'll be pretty much toast with all this. Once you've taken care of all the Prism Tanks aswell, begin targetting key structures. Destroy the Construction Yard, War Factory and Barracks. Also, the enemy will do a desperate move by lettinglose group after group of GIs. Well, you didn't forget to bring all those dogs did you? If you did, you may be in for a little fight. However, I presume you brought them along and we will now kill off leagons of infantry. After the biting spectacle, bring in your tanks and destroy the Battle Lab, any defenisve structures that may still be here, destroy any super weapons and destroy the refinery(s). The Miners will just sit there, waiting to be shot by your tanks. Relieve them of their painful thoughts and destroy any and all remaining units/structures of the enemy. If you didn't win yet, gather your tanks and move. You should've only lost a few tanks (if you brought the dogs of course). The Kirov Rush!! ---------------- This will work just fine. Build a whole squadron of Airhsips (that means 12 for those who aren't at home at those terms) and let them move to the enemy base. I agree when you complain "But they go so slow!", but you'll have to put up with that. What you're about to witness is very spectacular and very irritating for the enemy. When you arrive the Patriots will start firing. Target them first. Once they are out of the way, fire at any IFVs that may be firing at you. Now that this is out of the way, target their War Factory tne their Barracks and Battle Lab. The enemy might think you're overlooking his Construction Yard but that ain't through. We are NOT. We're just sparing it for last. Target it and fire. Now shut off the power by targeting all the Power Plants and destroying them. The enemy might be smart enough to flee now. If he isn't, so much the better. Destroy any unit that leaves behind, then bring in your Rhinos and attack any grizzlys that are fleeing the Kirovs. This is another very hard strategy to defend against, but it is possible. Hey did you ever try to bump your helicopter into that thing? I never tried it, but it just apeared in my strategic thinking. I'll test it out, probably won't work. -------------------------------------- 10. Advanced Strategies 10.1: Allies \-----------\ The Legionaire Rush -------------------- This may sound a little odd but it is effective as hell! Build a dozen or so Chrono Legionaires. I know it is expensive but you'll get there eventually. Once you have the Legionaires, scout out his complete base by continiously teleporting out of the range of enemy weapons. We'll search a relatively undefended area. If you can find one, the enemy will probably send tanks or infantry to attack you. Let them com to you and teleport away when they're going to attack you. Don't go too far and the enemy might be stupid enough to send them after you; Wait until they come back to you. Now go back and destroy any structures you can mange in the time you have. With 12 legionaires you should be able to destroy some. If there are Power Plants here, errase them from time and try to power down the base. Move into the heavily defended area (probably where the imortant buildings are). Target at your discretion and fire at will (consentrate your fire on one building at once, don't use one legionaire to attack alone). The tanks will have a harder time shooting at you. If it gets hot for one legionaire, teleport him out of there. These guys are very handy to avoid the enemy Kirov Airships.So the Kirov can destroy everything, but he isn't fast enough for your Chrono Legionaires. Another advantage of the Chrono Legionaire is that you can scare the enemy, giving the feeling you're at two places at once. You can split up your Legionaires and strike at two different points. The enemy will have a little fear, especially humans tend to get mad and smash on the computer screen "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! THAT GUY IS CHEATING DAMNIT. HELLO, WEBMASTER, I WANT FULLBURST41 BANNED FOR HIS LIFE. HE SENT FIFTY LEGIONAIRES AT ME. THAT ISNT REALISTIC." "Stop screaming, it's hurting my ears. He's NOT cheating, you're the one who is too slow to react to it!" Don't stick with your original base too much --------------------------------------------- This was the key strategy I used to overcome the enemy in Tiberian Sun, and the way I have tested it, it works pretty good in this game aswell. What is this? Well, we will just make multiple bases to make our life easier. >From the beginning of the match, start building your base. Get up your barracks and start placing defenses; Follow this up with the War Factory and build about 5 extra ore miners. You should be getting a good flow of cash this way. Get up your power plants a little and begin building Air Force Command so that you have a radar. Build a Battle Lab so that we can build the advanced defenses. Start placing Prism Towers and some Patriots aswell. Build a Harrier and search for a few Oil Derricks that might be around. If you can find some, build a couple of engineers, a helicopter, and get them in there. Capture the Oil Derricks so that we'll have even more cash. Also, search for some crates, if you're a little lucky, you'll find a few money crates to keep up the good cash flow. Once you are ready with all your defenses, build a Service Depot. Once you're ready with that, start building a dozen or so Prism Tanks, so that you can withstand an attack for some time. Build some extra grizzlys if you want, but it isn't really vital to your existence. Build an MCV and find a good place to place your new base. Begin building a Gap Generator while you're getting your MCV there. Once the Gap Generator is ready, deploy the MCV and the Gap Generator right beside it. Build some Power Plants right there. Build up a Barracks here, aswell as a Refinery and a War Factory. This base will be independent, but for the moment, there'll be no unit-production here, except for the extra ore miners of course. Once you have a War Factory, begin building about 5 extra miners so that you'll have an income for this base independently. Now, at your original base, start building lots of GIs and get them into buildings so that they will defend your the route that they're stationed near. Build some Attack Dogs for quick Infantry-killing. Once you have those defensive units ready, it is time to place some defenses by the second base. To minimize power requirements, I'd stick with the Pillboxes for the moment; Once you have a total of 8 Pillboxes standing there, start building up some tanks in your original base. If the enemy waited this long to attack you, he's eithrer preparing a massive attack, or he's lazy. Let's say that he is preparing a massive attack on your base. Make about 50 grizzlys to be certain. Now, build some more power plants at the second base, build up your Chronosphere and Weather Control Device at your second base. Once you have these, it is time to see what the enemy is doing. If you are American, or you got your hands on an Airport, get some paratroopers in there to scout out the plae. If not, build a spy and sneak him into the enemy base. Once you have some info on the enemy, you can infiltrate a structure (War Factory or Battle Lab are recommended) and you'll have a little advantage over the enemy. Alternatively, you could build a Spy Satelite Upling to get info on the eemy. Presuming you took the War Factory, build another platton of tanks (consisting of about 30 to 50 tanks). You should be ready for the enemy now. There is a slight problem still. If the enemy gets to you with his Kirovs, we cannot let him destroy your entire base. To combat this, we'll be forced to find him after he has left their base. If you were lucky enough to be stationed far from your enemy, you'll have some spare time to get your people there. Build Rocketeers 'till your base is full of 'em. Rush the Kirov with all your Rocketeers, and he'll die pretty quickly. Once you've taken out the Kirocs, it gets easier. If the enemy managed to reach your base and your Rocketeers can't hold them off, get all your tanks, infantry and any other unit you still have out of there, to the second base. You should be able to save most of them, as your tanks go faster than the Kirov. I hope you have some IFVs around there so that you can get the infantry out quickly. Otherwise, use the Helicopter. If your Patriots somehow get rid of the Zeplins, lucky you. This is where I have to look at two situations: 1) You were able to stop the Kirovs. We're back at our base with a nice total of tanks in here. Build a Tanya, find a little hole in the enemy's defenses and sneak inside. Destroy as much as you can, killing off all infantry. Be warned of any Yuris around there, as they're pretty deadly... Once your Tanya is crushed/killed/whatever, build up some Chrono Legionaires. Get them inside aswell and start wiping out buildings (or at least try). Once you've lost all your Legionaires, launch a Weather Storm in there. Once the storm has stopped, bring in your complete tank force and demolish/cripple your enemy. If this wasn't enough (although very unlikely), you must build aditional tanks while you're attacking with the first wave. Once you've lost your first wave, do a desperate move in destroying them all. If this fails aswell, launch a Weather Storm at him. With a little luck, the enemy will not have known about your second base while you were using it as a support for your original one! 2) The Kirovs were able to destroy you, bring all the tanks you have to your second base, and sell off any remaining building so that you have some extra money. The miners you had should start working for your second base. Put your Battle Lab down in your second base (there isn't a lot of choice right). Build a Spy Satelite Uplink and aditioonal power plants if needed. Now, start making a Service Depot. I wouldn't order you to build another MCV, but if you want to, go on ahead and continue the little game, or you could show your real face to the enemy now and go to kill him. We'll show our face. First, uild up more advanced defenses, build a lot of Patriots for the next time the Kirovs would find you. Try to keep your cloak good. The Gap Geerator should be able to mask you enough. Go and garison some GIs in buildings throughout the map. The enemy might think this is a move to slow the game, as you might be searching for valuable crates. Once that's done, you should already have a Weather Storm ready for an hour or so. Launch it at the enemy, and he'll no the deal baby! This makes the enemy panic, he doesn't know what's hitting him! He'll sit there asking himself how he could've missed those super weapons. He'll send out his scouts, and if he passes a garisoned building, the scout passing will probably be destroyed (best for scouting are the Flak Tracks, so that isn't a problem). Chronoshift an IFV with Tnyas in his base and start woopin' his ass! Blow things up 'till every Tanya and the IFV are dead. Build up Harriers, a lot of them.Launch them to deliver air strikes at the enemy. Take potshots at them, and try to scare the hell out of 'em. He'll know for sure there's another base somewhere. Build up as many tanks as you can manage. I'd try to reach a group of 100 tanks, but you don't have to build that many. Once you have a big group, smash it at the enmy, who will be increasing his efforts to find you. Before he knows our exact loacation to fire a Nuke at us, we'll give it to him. Destroy them all. Before the tanks attack, you might aswell strike with your weather again, then with the harriers and finaly with the tanks (this will help saving tanks hehehe). If the enemy uses this strategy against you, you are Allied so you can bring up your Satelite, or you can quickly scout out things with your Harriers or Rocketeers. The more complex Base Strategy... ---------------------------------- This may sound crazy (and it is...) but it is a lot of fun to do. I will not promise you will win a match with it, it's just a lot of fun you know. NOTE: Make sure you meet the folowing requirements to make sure the strategy can work to its full potential: - Play on a map suited for 8 players so you have a lot of space to build. - Do this match with only oneof your friends, again to conserve space - Hope that you're kind of far from the enemy - Try to make sure that your enemy is Soviet not Allied (I just keep repeating the same thing man!) Start by setting up your base. Build a Refinery, Power Plant, Barracks, some GIs, a Pillbox or two, War Factory, 4-7 Chrono Miners, a bunch of grizzlys, Air Force Command HQ, 4 Harriers, Battle Lab, some Prism Towers, some Patriots, aditional Power Plants, Service Depot and a new MCV. Move the MCV to a position further from your base (preferably away from the enemy hehe). Deploy it and start building a lot of Power Plants. Once you have about 20 that's good. We'll place them in the new construction area. Scatter them around as much as possible. Build a Barracks here too and set up some Pillboxes in this base, aswell as training your GIs here for a moment. Build about 30 GIs here and deploy them. Build some dogs here too. Once all this is donee, switch back to the original Barracks. Make sure you have about 50 GIs here, all deployed. Once you have it done, it's time to place a Refinery at the newer base. We should have a good defense now, but if iyou feel unconfortable, feel free to place some extra Prism Towers or Patriots. Oh, and if you're interested, we'll call the new base the "Power Grid". You should see where I'm aiming with this strategy now, right? Once the new REfinery is in place at your second base, build some extra miners at your original base to make the Cash Flow even bigger. I'd say buildig about 5 extra miners isn't bad. Once you have a lot of cash in your grasp, start to worry about the enemy for a minute. If the enemy already showed his face, I'd say we find him, and show we are here aswell. Send something to gain some recon info. Once that is done, replace your lost unit(s) and start worying about your bases again. If the enemy didn't attack you yet, I think it is time to build a Gap Generator. We'll have enough power for now so don't worry. If you would need any more Power Plants, build them at the Power Grid, to keep things right. Once the Gap Generator is up, we can be sure the enemy will have a hard time to find us. If the enemy spotted you or not, we are going to have to defend ourselves against their Super Weapons. To do this, we will do sneak attacks. First, build some Attack Dogs. STation them by your important structures to keep out any spies (if you're playing against Allied Enemy of course). Build a Tanya unit and four Spies. Build a Helicopter and place them all in it. The enemy won't detect your helicopter so don't be woried. Bring in your Spies and infiltrate the following: War Factory, Barracks, Battle Lab and Power Plants. Teh Power will be down and your Tanya will be able to blow up the Tesla Coils in her way. Destroy any and all super weapons that you can detect. When she dies, build up another 30 GIs and anotehr 30 when that is finished. You should have about 100 GIs at your original base. You can march them to the enmey base, or you could make a Rally Point and bring all your GIs there with the Helicopter (it will take some time of course). Find the most undefended place of their base and strike their. move your GIs into position and deploy them. Detroy any defensive structures you see. OMve on destroying tanks with all that machine gun fire. Deploy your people around their Constrruction Yard and demolish it completely. Since we want to play with the enemy, we'll move out all our troops back to the base. I like to fight my way through the other side of the base, instead of turning them around. One more thing, if you're playing against Iraq, don't even bother using this strategy alright? If you happen to play against IRaq, do the same thing but then with tanks. Destroy the weakest defended part of the base, and demolish their Construction Yard. Now that the enemy felt the power of our forces, replace any GIs/Tanks that you lost in the initial assault. It is time for the next step in our base building scenario. Build a new MCV and place it somewhere far from your base. This will ba the Air Base. Put down the truck and start building a Refinery there. Build a Barracks. This place must be guarded well, so we'll place a lot of Prism Towers here. let your Harriers take off from the original base and move them to your newer stronghold, wait there a minute. Sell off the original Air Force Command HQ, and build a new one here. Land your Harriers in there and build about 5 more HQs here. Once that is done, stock them up with Harriers (oooh, expensive baby!). Now that we have two squadrons of Harriers, we'll have a good air base. To make things look cooler, build another 5 Miners at your original base. Alright, now that you have so many miners at your disposal, we can slowly begin to destroy the enemy, or not yet... Launch a harrier and let it fly around to find some tech buildings that we can capture. If you can locate an Oil Derrick or two, that's great. an AIrport is not bad aswell. Build as many engineers as there are TEch Buildings and capture them. Good work Commander, time for some extra bases. First, build some new Power Plants (about 5) at your POwer Grid. If you left the enemy's Service Depot and War Factory standing, then it is very likely that he will have built up his base again. I recomend to leave that standing, to keep the match a little fair aliright? Build a new MCV and deploy it somewhere. Dump a REfinery next to it and a Barracks aswell. Build about 30 GIs here and dump some Pillboxes and Prism Towers in the base. Build a Battle Lab here, sell off the old one. This makes your original base the main Tank-producing facility. Now that we have the Battle Lab at our other base, build some Prism Tanks there. This base will be our "Advanced Production Facility" (fancy name hehehe). Now, place Patriots in all your bases, in case the enemy begins to send its Kirovs. If your radars detect one, get all the anti-air units you have to its location and smash it, hiping to bring it down. Now comes an optional part. If you can locate a river of some sort (probably with a bridge), bring your tanks there and smash down the bridge. Build a new MCV, once it is ready, begin building a Prism Tower. Once you have set your MCV, dump the Prism Tower by it, to give some first-aid cover if needed. Imediately begin building more Prism Towers and Patriot Missile Sytems to help out with the Dreadnoughts. It is good to build a Tanya and send her this way, so that she can help destroying enemy vessels. Build a REfinery and Barracks as usual, train some GIs (the regular 30) and build a Naval Yard. Start cranking out Destroyers and Dolphins. Once you have about 4 Dolphins and over the ten Destroyers, build a few Cruisers to destroy the missiles of Dreasnoughts and help take down any Kirovs there may be. Of course, ifthe enemy isn't using Naval capabilities, this will be a little stupid to use, ut it adds ot the overall feel of the strategy. Back to the building stuff. Crank out some Carriers and some extra Destroyers. Now, move your ships a little closer to where you think the enemy is and see if you can strike with the Hornets from here. If this is possible, hold here for a moment. Keep tabs on the enemy to see if he begins to make his Naval Yard, it is vital that we know. Now it is time to give us that bt of advantage in harvesting. Build an Ore Purifier in every base you have. And while you're at it, why not build another five Chrono Miners??? Good! I knew you would agree. I won't even calculate how much ore you get with all those miners (man, you'll have to switch ore fields quite a lot hehehehehe!). Now comes a pretty important base for us: the Intel Base. Make your MCV and start building a new REfinery while you're busy. Whe the MCV is ready, deploy it somewhere and place the Refinery right beside it. Make a Barracks, some Prism Towers and make about 50 GIs and bring some tanks that you built here aswell. Once that is done, build a Spy Satelite Uplink. Now, you'll have a much better look at the enemy. Good, now that we have intel on the enemy, there is only one remaining thing we have to take care of. Build the last MCV and build a REfinery. Place the MCV and the Refinery. Place 2 Ore Purifiers, one for each base. Build a Barracks and build as many GIs and Prism Towers as you can manage. Build a Chronosphere and a Weather Control Device. Build some Chrono Legionaires and bring all of them together at the enemy's base. Warp them intto a relatively unprotected part of the base and take out some buildings, just to keep the enemy scared. Once all the super weapons are ready, build as many tanks as you can in the ten minutes the super weapon is charging. Gather all the GIs out of all your bases and let everybody rally en route to the enemy base. Hit the enemy with a Lightning Storm then try to attack enemy targets with your vessels you have in there. if the enemy's structures/units are in range, launch your Hornets to make short work of them. Once you've picked off all targets of oportunity, bring in all the tanks and GIs you rallied (man! That'll be a lot!) and rush the enemy. Target defenses first, let the GIs deploy and concentrate at any tanks there are. Let the tanks worry about the structures and let the dogs take on the infantry of the enemy. Once you have destroyed everything, scout out the rest of the map to find any remaining stragglers. Once that is done, you will be victorious. The advantage of this strategy is that you can send reinforcements from other bases if another part of your infrastructure is under attack. I hope this is a good strategy for you. It works for me most of the time, especially against humans, because they actually get confused of situation, while the cold-blooded computer is so cold to play against... -------------------------------------- 10.2) Soviets \------------\ Well, there is only one good strategy that I use often with the Sovets (with taking the "good" word in its relative form ehum). Build up your base as usual. Find a good place (preferably close to the water) to build a Naval Shipyard. Once that is done, start mass production of Dreadnoughts, Submarines and Sea Scorpions. Once that is done, move your massive armada of ships to the other side, trying to get a shot at the enemy's base. Try to find his base within range of the missiles of a Dreadnought. Another thing you can do, is to build a Dreadnought as early as possible, even if it means delaying a Refinery. Once you have one, send him over to bombard the enemy base. If you were fast enough (and the enemy was slow enough hehehe), he won't have a Patriot Missile Launcher (or bad placed/not enough of them). If you can spot a Patriot that is lonely, destrooy it first. Then target at your discretion. Try to keep them out of the range of enemy defenses (pillboxes in this stage of the game). If you can succeed in this, then you will probably be able to smash the enemy to pieces. The wisest thing to do when you find yourself in such a situation, is to undeploy(repack) your MCV and move away of the field, while selling off all your buildings and taking your units with you. Another thing you could do, is to quicly build a Barracks, a Tesla Reactor and the War Factory. Build a bunch of Terror Drones and move them to the enemy base. If you are fast enough, the enemy won't have a lot of a response against it. You can wipe out both Infantry and vehicles with them, so use that to your advantage. All this only works if you have luck. It is sometimes a little dangerous to use such a strategy. Long live the Soviet Union. ---------------------------- Well all th