Expansion
trav
Join Date: 2002-11-06 Member: 7417Members
Join Date: 2002-11-06 Member: 7417Members
ok, i've played as commander pretty much since the game came out, and the main key to victory in this game is to expand quick and hold down resources.
when starting, make sure you have all your troops following orders. everyone hates rambo's and you gotta let them know that. they waste resources and distract other troops. try not to give them any help at all.
the initial build queue should be:
1 spawn
1 turret factoryt
depending on the map 2 turrets at each entrance and one covering command, spawn and turret factory.
it is important to lay out your base so that the last turret can cover all 3 critical buildings, you don't want to have to send troops back there when those aliens are jumping your sentries. Most soldiers will **obscenity** about not having an armory at this point but just ignore them. their lmg's are not worth reloading and it makes them take longer to get out there and build your expansions
so, once you have your minimal first base assembled, push out to the first resource node, if there's a room with two, head towards that. otherwise, head towards the hive with the flattest ground
i like to slam down lots of resourse collecters without any defense early in the game to get the cash flowing and hope that the aliens are still organising themselves. failing that, one undefended, and one with a 3 turret defense should be sufficient.
most commanders like to flood rooms with turrets, but in the early game, ESPECIALLY now that the aliens have the uber fade, it is important to expand quickly and stop those extra hives.
now the dirtiest of all tactics, the one that has saved me many a game. build a command center in a vacant hive. then set up a base their as big or bigger than your first. build order as follows
1 turret factory
3 turrets - 2 at entrance, 1 somewhere central to protect critical buildings
1 command center
1 spawn (2 if you have the cash)
1 armor
then start filling that room with turrets as it will become a focul point for any smart alien force. you need to defend it.
by this time you should have 5 resourse collectors minimum, that should be enough to start teching. i like to go for heavy armor before hmg's to save replacing those expensive guns, but on the other hand, if you're fighting fades now you want your troops to be able to kill them. personally i never give out grenade launchers. previously, troops blew themselves up with them, and now they should be nerfed (i wouldn't know) but in general i find them a cheap(not money) gun anyway.
after getting your hive base down it's time to think about holding down resourses. look for spots to set up siege camps (5 sentries 2 siege's) that can hold down multiple resourses. remember, the siege cannon has a range slightly bigger than your screen, so if you can see two, chanses are they are both in range.
the new patch seems to be changing things. now two hives is enough for aliens to be a real threat, so it may be worthwhile sneaking a squad of marines to set up a siege base close to a second hive location (remember you have a base in one) but if you loose them all straight away don't waste resourses trying to force your way in there, go for the other hive, or another goal. distract the aliens, then come back later
i hope this helps some of you commanders out there, and try not to loose heart with the new patch, it makes for a challenging game, and loyal soldiers will become ever more important to winning the game. and if you ever see me as your commander DON'T BE A **obscenity** RAMBO! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
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omg i forgot all about the hotkeys!
commanders, LEARN THE FECKIN HOTKEYS! it should not take 3 seconds for you to place a health pack
jump - go to last radio point
q - open equipment tab
m - select ammo
h - select health
p - select hmg
then click away. the default key for heavy armor is not bound properly, so i like to bind it to o as shotguns are useless, then you can equip your soldiers with speed
when starting, make sure you have all your troops following orders. everyone hates rambo's and you gotta let them know that. they waste resources and distract other troops. try not to give them any help at all.
the initial build queue should be:
1 spawn
1 turret factoryt
depending on the map 2 turrets at each entrance and one covering command, spawn and turret factory.
it is important to lay out your base so that the last turret can cover all 3 critical buildings, you don't want to have to send troops back there when those aliens are jumping your sentries. Most soldiers will **obscenity** about not having an armory at this point but just ignore them. their lmg's are not worth reloading and it makes them take longer to get out there and build your expansions
so, once you have your minimal first base assembled, push out to the first resource node, if there's a room with two, head towards that. otherwise, head towards the hive with the flattest ground
i like to slam down lots of resourse collecters without any defense early in the game to get the cash flowing and hope that the aliens are still organising themselves. failing that, one undefended, and one with a 3 turret defense should be sufficient.
most commanders like to flood rooms with turrets, but in the early game, ESPECIALLY now that the aliens have the uber fade, it is important to expand quickly and stop those extra hives.
now the dirtiest of all tactics, the one that has saved me many a game. build a command center in a vacant hive. then set up a base their as big or bigger than your first. build order as follows
1 turret factory
3 turrets - 2 at entrance, 1 somewhere central to protect critical buildings
1 command center
1 spawn (2 if you have the cash)
1 armor
then start filling that room with turrets as it will become a focul point for any smart alien force. you need to defend it.
by this time you should have 5 resourse collectors minimum, that should be enough to start teching. i like to go for heavy armor before hmg's to save replacing those expensive guns, but on the other hand, if you're fighting fades now you want your troops to be able to kill them. personally i never give out grenade launchers. previously, troops blew themselves up with them, and now they should be nerfed (i wouldn't know) but in general i find them a cheap(not money) gun anyway.
after getting your hive base down it's time to think about holding down resourses. look for spots to set up siege camps (5 sentries 2 siege's) that can hold down multiple resourses. remember, the siege cannon has a range slightly bigger than your screen, so if you can see two, chanses are they are both in range.
the new patch seems to be changing things. now two hives is enough for aliens to be a real threat, so it may be worthwhile sneaking a squad of marines to set up a siege base close to a second hive location (remember you have a base in one) but if you loose them all straight away don't waste resourses trying to force your way in there, go for the other hive, or another goal. distract the aliens, then come back later
i hope this helps some of you commanders out there, and try not to loose heart with the new patch, it makes for a challenging game, and loyal soldiers will become ever more important to winning the game. and if you ever see me as your commander DON'T BE A **obscenity** RAMBO! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
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edit
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omg i forgot all about the hotkeys!
commanders, LEARN THE FECKIN HOTKEYS! it should not take 3 seconds for you to place a health pack
jump - go to last radio point
q - open equipment tab
m - select ammo
h - select health
p - select hmg
then click away. the default key for heavy armor is not bound properly, so i like to bind it to o as shotguns are useless, then you can equip your soldiers with speed