(my) Simple Commnder Strategy.

sokz · November 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">I know it's been done to death, but..</div> Alright, here's what I always see. I always see commanders who don't know what to do (They have the basics of commanding down, but not the strategy).

I won't go into detail AT ALL about upgrades, micro-managment and all those other nasty little things, you can find an excellent post on that <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=11578' target='_blank'>right here.</a>

I will, however, post a simple strategy that I use to win - almost always.

1. Start out, hop in the command console, and build two infantry portals.

2. Now that the portals are done, put up a turret factory (never near or against a wall).

3. Place 2 turrets on each side of the factory, making sure it is covered from ALL sides (aliens can take cover behind it and kill it)

4. Place an armoury.

5. Assuming you have a group of 3-5 marines, you'll want your FIRST priority to be taking over a vacant hive.

6. Working your way to a hive, take every resource point along the way, deffending it with a good amount of turrets (4-8).
Make sure all sides of the factory and resource tower are covered!

7. Now, you've got one, two or possibly three small bases set up, and you should now have your group of marines at a vacant hive. Get a resource tower, turret factory, and LOTS of turrets (as many as you can, try 12) in the hive area.

8. Build an observatory in the hive. Trust me. (Distress beacon)

9. Now, place an arms lab at your base and have it built. Prototype lab now.

10. Place a few more turrets with your (somewhat) abundant resources.

11. Place a phase gate in your spawn, and send a marine or two back to the hive to build the other end of the phase gate.

12. Now that you have 1 hive deffended and well off, you'll go for the next.

13. By this point, the aliens should have 2 hives. Arm your marines with HMG's, possibly heavy armour.

14. Using the same strategy, taking over resource nozzles on your way to the next hive, and deffending them, send your men to a wall OUTSIDE of the enemy hive (very near the hive, just in the other room) and set up a turret factory.

15. Upgrade the factory, and place lots of sentry turrets to deffend it.

16. Place a phase gate, because this little outpost will be hit hard.

17. Place the siege turret, get ready to be attacked (alot).

18. The hive should be down within a few minutes, and you can move in, build it up (with a phase gate) and secure it with lots of turrets.

Now, all that's left is arming everyone with HMG's, heavy armour, and setting waypoints to the last hive. You can use the siege turret strategy if you want to.

Anyway, that's probably not that useful, but newbies and good commanders alike can use it.

FlatlineUTD · November 2002

You're using WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too many turrets. I place 3, maybe 4 sentries and 2 sieges at a Hive base, tops. 12 is a total waste of resources.

And 8 at *every* resource tower? By the time you get all of them secured on the way to a Hive, the aliens will have already taken one.

sokz · November 2002

please not that I said 4-8, but it's totally up to you. I prefer to not allow skulks to sneak behind factories and resource towers, thank you very much. And besides, if you have taken the resource points along the way to the hive, you should have enough resources to make another turret by the time you place one.

FlatlineUTD · November 2002

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (sokz @ Nov 16 2002, 04:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>please not that I said 4-8, but it's totally up to you. I prefer to not allow skulks to sneak behind factories and resource towers, thank you very much. And besides, if you have taken the resource points along the way to the hive, you should have enough resources to make another turret by the time you place one.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
That's understandable, but you can prevent Skulks from sneaking around with only 3 sentry turrets placed in a triangle around the Factory.

While you may have enough resources to constantly place turrets, IMHO, the resources are better off spent on an Observatory and motion tracking early on, before the Hive is even taken, followed by an Arms Lab and upgrades once the Hive is secured.

sokz · November 2002

You just described pretty much part of my strategy, except I put the observatory in the hive.

And I do make arms labs and proto's after the hive is secured.

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'>

Elric · November 2002

I went this way a couple of times before I decided I was essentially giving the map away. I will tend to turret up the closest resource point with 3 turrets max to ensure an income later then turret up the first hive enough to ensure I keep it. Usually 4 max there and I'd rather get away with 2 and just get fast phase gates. Once I have those 2 points, I don't turret another resource point ever again. I would much rather spend the money on weapons and equipment to go on the offensive and take the second hive. Even if I can't take it, the aliens are spending most of their time defending it which means they aren't usually going after any of my naked resource towers. Even if they do take one down, I easily got back the 22 resources and then some. I just replace it by plopping another one down somewhere else.

Of course if they are spending all their time munching towers, then I'll get that 2nd hive easily. 3 RT's vs 1 hive aliens is something I'll take any day. The only time I try to build TF's after early game is either to defend a hive, or to use them as offensive weapons vs a hive or tower cluster. Even then I usually just upgrade the turret factory, put down a couple siege, and then once their job is done, abandon them. Should remember to use recycle a lot more =o.

Besides, past early game you can have 3 turrets or 10, 2 hive tech will take them both down with little trouble if the aliens are smart. I'm looking to save even turreting the main in substitute for shotguns and mines. Turrets usually aren't up fast enough to stop the first rush anyway so I might as well give the marines a couple boomsticks and scare them off. I've seen a few rushes win because everyone was concentrated on building and get bit in the butt. I can just drop 3 SG's on rines heads with no chance of that. Not to mention if a marine dies, someone else can pick up an SG but turret money is gone forever =P. I'd have to build the TF at main eventually but I've never had a problem with the main getting hit much anyway and the most I've ever used to defend it was 3 turrets.

One more thing. I've noticed marines tend to have better morale if they're getting all the goodies instead of seeing all the money spent on things they can't use. Assuming they have waypoints and they aren't retarded, they seem to have no problem using all their new toys to make alien soup =D

Elric · November 2002

Double post

tommy14 · November 2002

i like to make the arms lab and advanced scanner earlier, as we work to the hive. i feel that gives a better chance during the hive attack - see them and hurt them more, while we have a little better armor. then research better armor/bullets as we secure hive.

1 note: i like to keep jump gate kinda away from base, had too many aliens use it to infiltrate. i put turrets around jump gate to defend it, and to get infiltrators.

2. note: one of the spawns should be by CC, other further away so skulk "gas" attacks cannot get both at once.

3. i like to make the hive a second backup base, with a backup CC chair and spawn, in case things go real bad. saved a team 2x. confused aliens. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

sokz · November 2002

The thing is, turrets are excellent time - buyers. I'm sure you know how long it takes a fade to rocket a turret to death.

Give the marines time to move in if there's no phase gate.

Jeebus · November 2002

I just tried out a new commander strategy that worked so well it even suprised me, What i did was analyze the attacks that the aliens employ and adapted them for marines. Basically it works like this

I do a basic start up with infantry portal armory Tfac and 2 turrets, then i send all but 2-3 of my marines to the enemy hive and tell them to attack like no tomorrow and stay grouped, mean while the other 2-3 marines go to another hive capturing nodes on the way, building no turrets because skulks will be too busy defending their hive to attack them. Once my builder marines get to a hive i lock it down with nesscary turrets and tell them to get to the 2nd hive

At this point my attacking marines are probably finding some pretty heavy resistance so i tell them to fall back to a resource node and build a few turrets for them as a foward base, If the skulks go to defend the 2nd hive i tell them to attack the main hive and if they attack the outpost i get the 2nd hive. Meanwhile you have in your control at least 4 resource nodes possibly more depending on the map and the aliens are frantically trying to stop you from capturing not one but two hives, its a simple matter to just tech up to HMG/HA and mop up the skulks.

The game i did this with I managed to win very easily dispite what i believe to be a group of marines who honestly didnt know what to do most of the time (I had 1-2 good ones mabye in a 10vs10) I couldnt even count the number of times i told them to do something and they just kept walking away and as soon I told them to build something ect and one Heavy marine which i just spent 60rps on proceded to jump into a bottomless pit (HA hmg and welder)

Just my 2cents <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'> try it sometime you'll be suprised

Necro · November 2002

you only need 4 POSSIBLE 5 turrets to cover EVERY side of a tfact.

matso · November 2002

Most every strategy will work, as long as the commander is halfway competent and the aliens isn't too good. Though I must say, the worst thing you can do as a commander is to spend resources on fortifications without covering all sides of the TF and resource node. If you don't have the resources to do a proper job, don't do it at all.

In a 8v8 game, it takes slightly more than a minute to earn back the 22 rp spend on an extractor, so just running around and smacking them down as fast as possible is a viable strategy against a not-so-good alien team.

Paying off a RT, TF and 3-5 turrets requires about five minutes. If you only HAVE one resource, as in the beginning, you can't afford to turret up. You need to get out there and kick **obscenity**. Better just drop a shotty for the commander ... if the skulks start to chew on the base, get off your lazy **obscenity** and do some bug squashing on your own.

Canadianmonk3y · November 2002

Main base defense is not necessary.

One strategy I have used 4-0 so far is to ignore the marine start, and send 2 squads out, one to each unoccupied hive, where I immediately build a CC, 2 spawns at one, and turrets. Once I get the money, turrets go up at the 2nd hive.

Why this works: Time.
Instead of spending all of your 100 starting resources on defending the strategically useless marine start location, you can spend those 100 fortifying a hive, and then at the same time you would normally be able to fortify the first hive if you build a main base at the start, you would be fortifying the second hive.

Lerks, skulks, and gorges can NOT take down turret farms if you have a 1/2 decent commander. Plain and simple. Take two hives = win for marines.

(my) Simple Commnder Strategy.

Comments